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++ THIS ARTICLE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS ++ PREY FOR DEATH: ++ A MEDITATION AND REFLECTION UPON THE ORIGINS AND HUMOURS OF THE MANTIS WARRIORS ++ Order Origination: White Scars (primogenitor), Marauders (gene-foster) Founding: Unknown; alleged to be the 8th Founding (Mid-34th Millennium) Region of Control: Maelstrom Wilderness Zone Strength: Recovering (as current date, M.42) Affiliation: ...Complicated… 'I have always been equally fascinated and horrified by the terrible occurrences within the Maelstrom Zone at the time of the so-called Badab Schism, a consequence of staggering arrogance and foolishness. Several Space Marine Chapters drawn into heresy by the perfidy of the Astral Claws, who left the others to bear the burden, ensnaring them into misguided alliance. The true horror of these times cannot be understated: even in comparison to the Heresy, the differences are stark. In the perilous days when Horus rose in treachery, brother indeed fought brother, but under Huron’s banner, loyalist fought loyalist, in a different shade of damnation altogether. Appeals to honour that haunt it, command it, shackle everyone involved to the millstone, making the grim voyage into crushingly deep betrayal ever more the bitter. This is well evidenced by the petitions of clemency from some of those the Secessionists called adversary, who decried the forfeiture of worlds, who baulked at the demands of hot, perhaps even hard-headed dissenters. It is this then, a tragedy upon tragedy that sustains the once great Chapter Master of the Mantis Warriors, Khoisan Neotera in his deep incarceration, from whom whence this small treatise originates. It has been complied for completeness, for the official record, for the history and future of the Mantis Warriors.' - By Hyronimus Oberon Satii Esq, Interrogator First Class of the Ordo Hereticus, by the Emperor’s Divine Providence, at behest of his master, Lord Inquisitor Garrad Locke. +++++ Whenever I sign onto a Deathwatch Game RPG in the Nook, I go to Badab for inspiration, and judging by one of the Fantasy Flight Games splatbook supplements – Honour The Chapter – so did they. Roleplay, especially PBP is a strange medium and niche. In one instance, you’ve got the fact that everyone either knows or has access to, the lore of 40k, and yet in another, you may have picked a Chapter (or be running a homebrew) that has little known history. However sometimes you’ve got that weird twilight twixt recorded lore and general impressions of a faction, which leaves a lot of questions unanswered. Games Workshop are masters of this, painting with a broad enough brush to leave room for a Player to pick out what he wants, to tell his own story. The Mantis Warriors are one such Chapter, but that approach is not good enough for me, because the deeper you can go, the better and more realistic the character becomes, the more layers can be added. What language do they use? What are their customs? What spiritual paths lead them to the Emperor? There is just no concrete information besides some awful fluff about Mantisae Religiosa. We simply do not know them – which to be fair, is par for the course for an insular, isolated people. Or do we? +++ When I came to my man from Ootheca, thankfully, I had a starting point. The Endymion Cluster is right next door to Badab, and just as afflicted by the Maelstrom Zone. It is heavily suggested that the Astral Claws are (with a few exceptions) based on the ancient Sumerians/Babylonians/Akkadians, later becoming the country we recognise as Iraq. I had researched this already for a previous character, and other projects without the scope of this forum, and this avenue provided me with a lot of material. At the time, I knew very little of the Mantis Warriors outside the Imperial Armour IX/X books or the infamous WD 101, and would go on to consider their origins, modus operandi and naming conventions to place them further East. Indeed, there are several player-made articles and artworks which would suggest their propensity to make war via hit-and-run, proclivity to ambush, and Chapter credo placing them as either ninjas or samurai. Given their iconography looking suspiciously like Kamen Rider – a 1970’s TV series about a group of motorcycle riding superheroes with a Mantis-like insect motif, (and de rigueur exceptionally tight clothing), you can easily see the conflation. So, where do they hail from? "The winds of the desert care not whose bones they scour clean." — Endymion Cluster proverb. A solid compass heading for us to take! To be fair, my conclusions are nothing ground-breaking. Further research leads me to diminish Far Eastern influence/coincidence as a primary concept; however it is useful, as we will come to later. I now believe the Mantis Warriors are not so far flung, and are more at home in the ancient Parthian Empire, a major political and cultural power existing from 247 BC to 224 AD, initially spreading from the province of Parthia, to the Northeast of Iran. The Empire itself spanned many modern countries, reaching all the way from Greece to the Indonesian isles. Their battle methodology of shoot-and-scoot, so remeniscent of the dreaded Mongolian horsemen the White Scars are based on, is another hefty clue. That empire provides us with a lot of room to work in, and is quite a nice symmetry with the Endymion Cluster itself, with plenty of tropical haunts, and empty desert spaces, over which the Mantis Warriors provide their envelope of staunch protection. What further entrenched this idea was a snippet of the heroes fighting in the Badab War – in particular, a Hellfire-configuration dreadnought, the Venerable Secarssa, the Bow of Ma'Dan. (Imperial Armour Ten – The Badab War – Part 2, p.72). I submit that this likely refers to the Marsh Arabs, the inhabitants of the ancient Mesopotamian marshlands in the modern-day southern Iraq, these wetlands also straddling the Iraq-Iran border, and once again, the propensity of archery in both the name of the Honoured Brother and his devastating equipment loadout harken back to the Parthian Archers of so long ago, the bow a weapon with an unbroken lineage of over 5,000 years. +++ At some point in time, the Mantis Warriors, like most of the White Scars’ offspring must come to terms with the haunting dark side of the Khagan’s wildling power – because like every other Astartes in the Deathwatch RPG, they have something called the Primarch’s Curse, which is a psychosis lingering in the deep hollows of the Quintessence Sacred. How this manifests is tied firmly to their Primogenitor, and so, the terrible fury of Jagatai Khan flows thickly through a Mantis Warrior’s veins, bringing an echo of this potent Primarch into the present. So, how do they deal with it? This is a question we can answer now we have an idea of where our Character and the humour of his Chapter originate. Fervour and foresight play heavily into the mix with the Mantis Warriors, with the Chapter’s spiritual core ‘tempered by Dark Prophecy’. This isn’t a surprise considering the etymology of the Chapter name (Mantis, in Greek, means Prophet). Games Workshop love doing this, leaving little breadcrumbs for us to follow, and it would be rude not to. One of the main figures within the Badab setting is Ahazra Redth, the Dust Prophet, Guardian of the Endymion Cluster, and Chief Librarian of the Mantis Warriors, interestingly an incarnation who also bears a passing resemblance to Paul Atriedes (calm down, Stilgar!) from Frank Herbert’s Dune. I submit that his name also vaguely echoes the spiritual figure of Azura Mazda, the figurehead of the Zoroastrian religion – which again – was very common in the Parthian Empire, and Persia in particular. I make no other parallels; I just found the geographical and spiritual occurrences interesting in the context of the topic at hand. In a further coincidence, Zoroastrianism contains a figure which we recognise as Ahriman, who is reasonably board appropriate, so make of that what you will. Earlier, I mentioned that we should not entirely dismiss the Eastern or Oriental inflections of the Mantis Warriors’ origins. The ecological and geographical diversity of the Endymion Cluster is quite broad, and with training grounds on Tranquillity II and Tranquillity III we find the Mantidae Bellicosa hail also from a death world of deep jungles and mountainous, windswept crags. Indeed, the Mantis Warriors’ main established base outside of Ootheca, is placed within the Valley of The Nine Winds, which could be related to either the nine cuts of the sword as recognised by the ancient Celts, or the Nine Ryu Schools of Bujinkan Budō Taijutsu, which in turn are closely related to Ninjitsu. 'Kamen Rider! Henshin!' (Transform!) +++ The transformation of the Manga/Anime et al superhero mentioned above moves him into a battle-haze, with supernatural powers and speed. Here then, are those influences which interest us, loosely aligning with the particular condition of our eponymous Space Marines, the Mantisae Religiosa. Formed into a death cult within each Battle Company, it is a strange interaction between the Preomnor Implant and that quirky geneseed we mentioned before. The battle haze is a transformation wherein a brother finds himself with tunnel vision, ignorant of anything which is outside his immediate, murderous objective, but the condition provides him with uncanny agility and alacrity, not unlike the motorcycle warrior (and of course, the voracious predator). It is here, I think that GW beats us over the head with it, thankfully stopping shy of Mantis Missiles, Mantis-hawks, and Mantis Death Metal. Jagatai be praised. ‘To think is to do – to do; is to be.’ - The Principle of Alahk Geh. Given that the Far East has used the iconography of Mantids in many forms, and has some of the most beautiful living examples of the genus, it is easy to see where the influence bleeds in. One aspect of this connection we should not ignore is the prevalence of the spiritual married with the corporeal through Shintoism and Buddhism. The first honours the ancestors, the second we regard for the teachings of balance and atonement. Coupled with the desire to follow the path of enlightenment, and stand against the darkness from our Persian-planted roots; and we now have a powerful spiritual depth without contradiction, the press towards penitence in the contemplative pose of the prayerful supplicant. Obviously there is another martial exemplar here: the White Scars principle/performance of action-as-thought: Dreadful Perfection, Elemental Force. A broad scope you could call Zen Buddhist-led Bushido. The overriding tenet we are encouraged to take from this, then, should be as follows: that there is no disassociation between thought and action in the mind of the Khagan, there should be none in the locus of force exerted by the Mantis Warrior. How Inscrutable, mysterious and apropos. Perfect -and yet, as stated above, in my opinion, this should be considered a secondary theme, an overlay if you will, to the stronger evidence of Parthian heritage. +++

An ongoing project to knock up some kitbashed standalone minis from the chapters engaged in the Badab War, because Badab is cool and kitbashing is probably the part of the hobby I enjoy the most. I had intended to start out easy with just my idea of what a standard tactical marine from each chapter might look like and I did do a few of those already (pics to follow) but a particular combination of parts gave me an idea and so I went with it. Here's my rendition of Old Night himself, Thulsa Kane of the Executioners. The basis is Tortuga Bay Studio's Myroslav Kado mini, with arms and axe from their Fortress Destroyer model. The head is from the new GW Terminator Chaplain, tilt shield from Fafnir Rann. There's also a dagger in a skull-encrusted scabbard from one of the GW limited edition webstore minis because "needs more skulls" was a definite consideration i had while assembling him!

BELLIGERENTS of BADAB HOWLING GRIFFONS One wound of many. So, I'm not painting a lot of Space Marines these days, between my Tau Crusade Army and fun I've been having over in BFG. That didn't seem right. Now, I can't commit to a major project, but I can certainly muck around with single models, right? So begins BELLIGERENTS of BADAAAAAAAAAAB!! The crowd goes wild. Wanted to start out with something fiddly, so I've knocked out a Howling Griffon. Not just any Howling Griffon, however, this is a highly specific little conversion... You should see the other guy. Now, I'm not going to promise to do every model like this, being directly based on one of the original pictures, but some certainly will be. It's fun! I don't have a full army in someone else's scheme in me, I'm not built that way, but I can do a model in an existing style. Also, great excuse to try out some more freehanding! Now, I need to decide who's next...

Dan Morison, aka Dark Mechanic, has merged all his illustrations from the Badab War series, and put all of them into a downloadable booklet of just 44 pages (42.1 MB). Every colour scheme, every chapter, color and B&W, as well as some rejects and extra stuff. The title is Oath breakers, Traitors, Secessionist. In summary, we have in a booklet, some artwork for 17 chapters, from both contemporary and retro time periods, as well as some rough pencil work. And you can get it for free on his Gumroad page. And if you want, you can make him a donation. And here is his Twitter profile

Just a quick update from me today. Since I had a few moments in this busy week, I thought I'd tackle some low-hanging fruit for the Sigmar VI project and do some bases, this is generally because the Howling Griffons are Imperial and therefore lazy, where the Secessionists have to work for a living - er, I digress. I haven't really done many of the desert-themed ones before, so it was something nicely different from the lunar Khymara set ups I've been working on, and the warm tones are hopefully interesting to the eye. These are for the Eliminators (or true-scale scout snipers...) I mentioned, kindly donated by mad scientist, Huron advocate, and friend, @Xin Ceithan. Of the actual lore and significance to the Badab War of Sigmar VI, again, I could find nothing. Once more it's one of those throwaway little titbits, (like the mission legions, IMHO, I was there in the beginning, when Horus slew the Emperor, and to be honest he's doing a bad job of it, because he's had a four goes so far...ahem) that serve to just deepen everything. I did come across a few folks who'd done this before, a French chap over on DakkaDakka (If I can find the thread again I'll credit him - I'm a lazy Corpse Worshipper, see?), that came up with the idea of the Griffons doing a Heresy Raven Guard, becoming a guerrilla force, applying themselves in places where they could make the difference with reduced numbers. They had lost one of their Strike Cruisers and much of their heavy materiel at Khymara, so this makes a lot of sense, and opens up a few possibilities. Anyway, thanks for reading, and have a good one!

SESSION FOUR: I was harping on about doing a medical diorama based on the Howling Griffons actions at Khymara, and thought I had the parts, but I do not. However, I do have legacy models I will never use, belonging to armies I no longer have - I might have mentioned that. Anyway, I got to reading again, and found the segment about the death of Chaplain Armand Titus, hero of the Caradryad Campaign, which was the last action the Griffons prosecuted before the Badab War. Now, Khymara was a defeat for the Griffons, with the Executioners Space Marines butchering 70% of the 250-strong Loyalist Force. They had them at their mercy, but left them alone as soon as they became ineffective and all objectives were complete. One of their number refused to surrender. Armoured in his Dreadnought sarcophagus, and equipped with a power fist and twin-linked lascannon, he fought until his destruction. When the Griffons emerged to find him, they came upon his body, carefully laid out, surrounded by the broken weapons of his enemies, and a torn Executioners banner in his silent fist. Unfortunately, the Chaplain Dreadnought model is both expensive and rare, so I would never hack, chop and slice it up. I could do a little tribute to that magnificent end, though. I did drill up and hack his lascannon arm as well, with one of the barrels burst, but I have lost the image. I'll replace it if I remember. The model is technically finished, but I would like to try and add the banner, or maybe a Griffons' banner to add more colour to it. In other news, a very kind and generous soul (who is also obviously influenced by the Warp, obviously) has sent me some miniatures to complete another project mentioned earlier in this blog. I did have some bases like the one under the dreadnought made up, but this was wrong for the proposed camouflage scheme for the Sigmar VI Insurgency Force, so I made some more which will be desert themed. I do have one problem with this - there is almost no official fluff about Sigmar VI at all. I will have to do a lot more digging. Well, that's it. Hope you enjoyed, and thank you everyone who comments and reads the blog.

SESSION ONE: Just a quick one since I had some time today, and so I went delving in the boxes, the miniatures shuddering from fear and fright in the back of my attic, and I found the hull of a Land Raider Redeemer/Crusader with a goodly few bits. This fired up a few neurons, and I pored through the pages of Imperial Armour IX and found a very intriguing bit of artwork, namely the Howling Griffons Land Raider Prometheus. Well, you know, the FW kit has been out of production for ages, and there are a good few tutorials about, but I decided to go ahead and eyeball it, spending some time building the ABSOLUTE UNIT to the right. Unfortunately, I don't know exactly how I built this. I just saw parts and glue, and...yeah. I'm a little scared. I don't have the skill to completely render a full LR Prometheus, but I can have a crack at the sponsons. Unfortunately I was only able to complete one, and while it doesn't elevate, it does traverse, so I'm fairly happy about that. I've also decided on building it with assault cannons and the back of a Whirlwind launcher I found, and mounted by chopping up a spare Predator turret ring. Yes, that is the abomination (the Mazer-dubbed LR Khymera, after the Badab War Khymera campaign) to the left. I also unearthed a Vindicator...with the dozer blade... Send help?

SESSION ZERO: Welcome to the Blog! This is basically intended as a collection of projects - which likely won't ever get finished, but I don't want to clog up the WIP/HOH with my inane and meandering nonsense. You can see my very small pile of shame here, which consists of half an Infiltrators kit (Technically a Phobos Kill Team with the upgrades - I can't even remember the name), a Bladeguard kit, and two Intercessors. They've been sitting around for a while, doing not much of anything since I partially built and painted a Mantis Warriors KT, inspired by a character I've been playing in a Deathwatch RPG game over in the RPG Nook (Murderers In Black). I had the concept of a Librarian, but he didn't fit the game, and another player had suggested the Howling Griffons. Being an old hand at the Badab War, and my treasured WD101/Compendium, which sparked my greater interest in the hobby and drew me further into 40k from the 'gateway' drug of Space Crusade, I took a second look at them, and discovered a lot of ideas for the character aligned. I'll likely build the character bio etc, and leave him here for use (so I don't mess up anything elsewhere). It got me thinking, though - the Howling Griffons have an absurd paint scheme, and for me (my eyes are going) I thought it would be too much to try and paint a force of them, but then I saw a wonderful White Scars KT diorama (I forgot by who - I'll add it later) which had a complement of models on a magnificent display board. I was flicking through some Youtube channels as well, boning up on Howling Griffon lore for the character, and it struck me that the boys in Forgeworld had a partial solution, and the serried ranks of Mk VI in the Compendium came to my rescue. The Howling Griffons have three colour schemes: The classic gold and scarlet, the almost 6-colour choc-chip Sigmar VI Insurgency Force, and the Night World Livery of sable with quartered pauldron vignettes. I reasoned I could paint at least maybe one Intercessor or Bladeguard in the red and yellow scheme, the latter representing their bold attitude to oaths and honour, as well as their renowned swordsmanship. The Griffons have a lot of Psykers and the Deathwatch RPG paints them as Duellists, so this would be an excellent choice. I plan to modify the Mk X down to Mk VIII where I can, with minimal cuts to the poleyns, avoiding sculpting and other modelling work which is both beyond me and outside the scope of my time available. I also think it looks a bit cleaner, and I have loads of spare smol-marine heads. The other, sneakier miniatures will be in either the desert style camouflage, or the Night World livery, and I plan to acquire a single Eliminator who I can doll up with both (black armour, Sigmar VI cape). I can't go mad, since my budget is very, very small. I would also like a Librarian to round off the set (I'm not looking at many models - budget, budget, budget!) and the Phobos Lib looks like a good bet - since I'm weird and actually like Phobos armour. I'm not planning to do any significant conversions, but I will do what I can to make the models a little more interesting to me. Spoiler Warning: I like pouches. So that's about it for this post, I appreciate you taking the time to read it, and I know this isn't an innovative idea, but I thought it would be something to try and get me doing something with the remaining plastic crack, since I don't play anymore, and haven't rolled tabletop D6 dice since 2018. Just a note on expectations - I expect this blog to be slow. Very slow. I'll also be dumping a few ideas in here that won't be model related, but are RPG character, setting or history related, sprinkled with pics or brain-fluffs from my other projects. Be good.

Well, been some time since I posted anything in here. Life has been super busy and honestly, I kind of fell out of 40k for a little while due to some distractions. Anyway, enough about life. You clicked this for Thulsa Kane, so going right to it. Needed to have the following items as mentioned in his profile: The Ænigmata Ferrum - This sacred tome contains the accumulated battle-wisdom and ancient secrets of the Executioners Chapter culled from many thousands of Terran years of chronicles. A copy of the Aenigmata Ferrum is carried into battle and further added to by every high mortiurge of the Chapter. Grehdalin's Bones - A relic of the Chapter, this Artificer Armour was created from the nigh-indestructible skeletal remains of an ancient xenos beast that once slaughtered an entire colony world's population one-by-one. Slain by one of the greatest of the Chapter's high chaplains in an epic struggle, the armour is said to both shield the flesh of the Chaplain who wears it, as well as remind them constantly of the high standards they are expected to set for the rest of the Chapter. Lifetaker - The Lifetaker is a massive black-bladed Power Axe of archaic design, carried by successive Chapter Masters of the Executioners and given to Thulsa Kane to signify his leadership of the Executioners during the dark days of the Badab War. Plasma Pistol Rosarius So first off. Cobble together pieces. Obviously used the MoE model thanks to its integration of bones, works great for Grehdalin's Bones! The Axe, to rep Lifetaker, was also a huge selling point for me to use. I shaved off any chaos-like symbols I could find and also made the axe a little smaller by shaving down from the top. Right forearm and plasma pistol is from Mk IV armor/weapons upgrades. Added an oath paper on the front and on his backpack. The pack is from Dorn, shaved down any intricate details to make it less "Primarchy". Left shoulder pauldron is from an unknown, I just had it in my bits box. Added a pistol holster as well. Next, some Green Stuff fun. I am not the best with it, but I decided to try some new things. I added a profile skull image to each side of the Axe. Added some chains to hang from the waist and for a Rosarius to hang from. The book is a custom book from previous bits and represents the Aenigmata Ferrum. I had to cut it in half and properly align them and add pages to it in between. The helmet, a Night Lord's Terror Squad Mk IV helmet was used. I added all the studs on it myself as well, with rivets from my bit box. I also shaved any of the stitched leather/skin robes threads and green-stuffed folds of the robe a bit to make it less "Chaos." Also added a small shielf on the breastplate I could paint the Executioners' Chapter symbol on. Primed version to show pieces all together for completeness Showing a close-up of the head and also I only painted one lens as the other one would be superfluous since his encounter with Necrons during The Battle of Carrion Deep. And the finished products and a final pic with another Chaplain I painted back in 2015 to show the scheme matching! Next WIP are some Star Phantoms: Left to Right - Heavy Bolter, Combi-Plasma(seconded to the Deathwatch at a time), Plasma Gun, P-Sword/Combi-Melta, Bolter Chainsword, and a Recon Marine w/Missile Launcer (Scout) C&C always welcome!

To the Inquisitor-Legate in command of Imperial Forces in the Badab War: Dear Inquisitor, This message will be passed on from one of your agents directly to you, I apologise for the nature of the delivery but I feel the situation requires it. It has recently come to my attention that Chapter Master Lufgt Huron will not back down from the position he has been forced into, to him the mere thought of surrendering what was given to the Chapter he now commands is impossible in his mind. Despite this befitting an Astral Claw it does cause me grave concern. Who I am and what I plan on doing is of no importance yet, however I understand that given the Betrayal at Grief that simple trust is something that neither side can afford to give. As such I have attached some note worthy locations that your Agents in those systems will be able to verify after knowing what to look for. I await your response. Regards, A Member of the Maelstrom Warders ---- ---- ---- Pic-Capture Sagan System Sagan III #~- Error Exact Location Unknown Administratum Complex ----- Upload complete ---- Unknown Astral Claw ---- Pic Capture Inquisitorial Stormtrooper Squad Attached to Inquisitor Kaylai Squad KIA Inquisitorial Retinue KIA Inquisitor Kaylai MIA ---- Audio Located Uploading --- Upload Complete Voice Matched Inquisitor Kaylai We forgot that the Astral Claws are Lions. Yes they fight to the death when they deem it vital, yes they fight in the silver and lapis, but we forgot one thing about them. They are Lions. They Hunt, and they will wait for their Prey to fall into their sights before striking. They are Lions afterall. --- End Log Inquisitor Kaylai didn't even see it coming, she was searching the genatorium sector of the Administratum Complex. She had a full squad of Stormtroopers, equipped with Plasma weaponry, as well as her own small retinue. That should have been enough. It wasn't. Five Stormtroopers died first, two of which had the plasma weapons, four had time to raise their weapons but only one fired before they were killed as well. It didn't fire, it cut, it stabbed and it bludgeoned with is limbs. Without stopping from where it had been hidden in the wall, they didn't hear the thrum of it's Power Armour over the generators and that was what killed them. Her retinue was dead, Commissar Freia died last. The Lion's combat bade shoved into her eye socket, her head was too small and a third of the blade protruded from the back of the skull. With a flick Freia's body was thrown to one side and Kaylai looked up into the Lion, seeing nothing but death. She didn't fire, her laspistol - however well crafted it was - would hardly damage the paint, instead she raised her Power Sword but the Lion just stared at her. 'I am not here to kill you, Inquisitor Kaylai. Agent to Inquisitor-Legate Jarndyce Frane.' 'Then why did you kill them?' She started to back away but the Lion stalked forward after her. 'They were in my way. You will come with me.' 'And it I don't?' It moved just as quick as it had done when it first struck, one second her Power Sword was pointed at it the next it was on the floor with her hand still attached. She clamped down on her arm, trying and failing to stop the blood loss. She didn't see the Lion with her sword. It pressed it against her forearm which now ended just before the wrist and she screamed at the pain. 'You will live.' Consciousness fading, she saw the Lion reach out and grab her. 'Someone needs you as a messenger.'

With the Space Marine Kill Teams rules firmed up (link goes to the last version I posted, though a few minor tweaks are described in multiple replies), it's time to expand. One of my favorite events in the setting, and one that has a definite focus on the Adeptus Astartes, is the Badab War (coincidentally, one of my favorite Chapters, the Exorcists, took part in that campaign). So here's my initial stab at Chapter Honours and skills for the various Chapters that participated in the Badab War. For the most part, I took the 6th edition Chapter Tactics that Forge World provided for these Chapters, and I adapted them to Shadow War: Armageddon. For Chapters that have identified Legion lineage, I used the skill progression from those Chapters as a baseline, though I tried to apply some tweaks here and there in order to introduce some (very minor) differences. A few of the Chapters simply use their predecessors' Chapter Honours (e.g., the Novamarines are among the Primogenitors, so I reasoned that they follow the Ultramarines rules exactly). Others are very close to their predecessor, but have minor adjustments to Chapter Honours or skills or both. And some were very distinct (e.g., the Executioners are almost nothing like the Imperial Fists). Page 1 (introduction and timeline) Hidden Content Page 2 (skills - Astral Claws, Carcharadons Astra, Executioners, Exorcists, Fire Angels) Hidden Content Page 3 (skills - Fire Hawks, Howling Griffons, Lamenters, Mantis Warriors, Marines Errant, Minotaurs, Novamarines, Raptors) Hidden Content Page 4 (skills - Red Scorpions, Sons of Medusa, Star Phantoms) Hidden Content Page 5 (Chapter Honours - Astral Claws (includes rules for Tyrant's Legion kill teams)) Hidden Content Page 6 (Chapter Honours - Carcharadons Astra, Executioners, Exorcists, Fire Angels) Hidden Content Page 7 (Chapter Honours - Fire Hawks, Howling Griffons, Lamenters, Mantis Warriors, Marines Errant, Minotaurs) Hidden Content Page 8 (Chapter Honours - Novamarines, Raptors, Red Scorpions, Sons of Medusa) Hidden Content Page 9 (Chapter Honours - Star Phantoms) Hidden Content I've tried to keep balance on par with the main Space Marines Kill Team rules, but I'll need other eyes to help me with that. I have an idea that these rules might include campaign rules, at the very least a series of scenarios to play out shadow wars (i.e., squad/team level skirmish battles) within the setting of the Badab War. These might potentially include a modification of the Shadow War: Armageddon campaign rules (though that might be nothing more than changing "Promethium caches" to "victory points" or "campaign points" or somesuch. That's way down the road, though. For now, the focus is getting these rules accurate and balanced. Any input is appreciated.

In the Ashes of the Thorns And who are you, the Tyrant said, that I should bend the knee Twelve high Lords on a far-off world, ‘tis all that I can see By a gilded seal, or a silver’d one, a Lion has his Claws And mine are cruel and sharp, my Lords, more cruel and sharp than yours. And so it came to pass, that in the 903rd year of the 41st millennium, a century before the Imperium would be shaken to its core and everything forever changed, Lugft Huron, Lord of Thorns, Chapter Master of the Astral Claws, and self-proclaimed Tyrant of Badab, did declare "just seccession" from the Imperium and, in so doing, ignite what was then the greatest conflict of our age. Alas, such was not to be, and if we could have seen what was yet to come within the next, darkest millennium, we might have counted ourselves lucky to be spared the horrors that came after Badab. Brother fought brother in a decade long war that saw seventeen warrior-brotherhoods of the Adeptus Astartes clash against each other in open conflict. Billions died and entire Chapters of Space Marine were condemned to crusades of Penitence, and even now, considering the horrors they would have to confront before that term was ended, it is impossible to say whether or not they survived. The war was brutal and bloody, with countless tales of equal parts valor and dishonor. These stories are too numerous to be told in full here. But even among every engagement throughout the war -- the Fires of Sacristan, the Angstrom Incident, Crow's World, and numerous others -- there is one that stands head and shoulders above the rest by the sheer measure of its violence and the gravity of its consequence. I speak, of course, of the final battle, the Siege that ended the War. I speak of the moments after the Tyrant found himself to stand alone among his manse in defiance of the Imperium of a Million Worlds upon his shadowed Throneworld. I speak of the Siege of Badab Primaris, and the Fall of the Palace of Thorns, when Lugft Huron, the Lion of Badab, died, his Claws with him, and something terrifying and black-hearted born into his place. Badab Primaris 913.M41 Long and hard had been the war, and many had already died among the Chapter. Yet more would die before the end. The smoke rising from the south meant that Surraek’s force had encountered the enemy. Most likely he and his charge of the Chapter now numbered among the honored dead, if the reports of the ferocity of the Carcharadon Astra were to be believed. Bashar Reyne glowered at this realization. This meant that unless the unlikely happened and they were reinforced, or the impossible happened and Surraek had actually survived the assault, he was the ranking officer in this sector. Turning away from the spiked parapet he stood at, he faced his command. Two depleted Tactical Squads lay at his disposal, his own and Cinnebre’s. Not enough. Not nearly enough, he thought. The Sharks had been reaping across Badab for days now, leaving a red wake behind, and they would be here in a matter of hours. The Claws would die here, he knew. There was no escape. Not now. Perhaps years ago, in the early days of the war, there might have been the possibility. But after ten years of fighting those loyal to the High Lords, ten years, brutal and bloody and restless, there was no return. The die had been cast and nought would change the number it showed upon its upward facing, save for the sweet release of death. So here the Astral Claws would make their final stand – upon the surface of their home – and so here they would die, but not before they reaped a terrible price from their attackers. A feeling came over Bashar Reyne then. Throughout the brutal centuries of his life, from the day he was first chosen to be a Neophyte of the chapter, through his days as a Marine of the Line in Tactical Squad Kherradan, through Veterancy and through his days serving first as a Sergeant, and later the honor of Veteran Sergeant, it was a feeling he had never known throughout war and strife. Peace. Reyne very nearly smiled at this realization, that he had accepted his final fate, but outwardly the grimace upon his face may well have been chiseled from stone from all it showed. A careful observer might have noted a slight shift in his eyes with this thought, but been unable to recognize it. Such a thing requires context, after all, and Bashar Reyne was not a Space Marine known for levity, but rather harshness and ill-compromise. To his men, only one thing he had to say before the end. “Die well.” It was a promise, as much it was an order. As the lights of hive spires began to go out as a wave approaching, heralding the arrival of some great cthonian marine predator, and a deathly silence began to replace the sounds of gunfire in the distance, Bashar Reyne ignited his power maul and awaited his end. Requiescat in Pace Veteran Sergeant Bashar Reyne of the Astral Claws Depicted as he was after taking overall battlefield command after the death of Tyrant's Centurion Surraek, Badab Primaris <urban combat//Zone Mortalis>, 913.M41. Confirmed KIA. Body found dismembered.

http://i.imgur.com/SwVkTqj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uXLLZ3d.jpg Our Honour was Loyalty For more than five thousand years, the Astral Claws stood shoulder to shoulder with the finest of the Imperium's warriors, their deeds legendary and their honour unquestioned. Loyal to the Emperor's throne, they exemplified the ideals of the Adeptus Astartes, strong and fearless as the golden lion of their heraldry. It was their glorious record of exemplary service that saw their standard placed in the Hall of Heroes at the Eternity Gate and won them the singular honor of overall command to the Maelstrom Warderers. And above them all was Lufgt Huron, a true hero of his age, believed to be second only to legends of ancient past. The Astral Claws watched over the Maelstrom and paid the blood price of vigilance. When brothers fell and were drawn away, they remained ever watchful. When the caress of madness and corruption spilled into reality, they remained ever watchful. When their pleas for aid were met with not but silence, they alone remained ever watchful. Fate is a cruel and pitiless wheel that spins the thread of an eternal tragedy. Perhaps Fate might have written a different path if another had sat on the throne of Badab, but it was Lufgt Huron who took the throne of thorns and assumed the mantle of eternal guardian to the Ruin Storm. The Astral Claws stood at the teetering precipice of annihilation, of failure in their duty to the Emperor. In pride, the Astral Claws sought to defy the hand of Fate. In desperation, they did everything to uphold their loyalty and sowed the roots of their own damnation. Rains of Badab Primaris 913 M.41 Something was wrong. He ran even as he cursed under his breath, bolter held close to his chest, ceramite boots wading through mud and sewer muck in a naked rush for the next turn. His brothers were with him, though in truth there had been few of them left even before they made it back to Badab Primaris. Still the runic symbols of his helmet's display flashed the runic display of his squad over his right eye. Twenty sigils of Tactical Cohort Squad Haakon, twenty loyal warriors of the Tyrant... and twelve of those sigils were now dulled out, their lives and deeds of honour memorialized by little more than a recognizing that they dead. Their gene-seeds unrecovered, their names unwritten in the Archives of the Forlorn. In the distance he could still hear the resonating boom of the Sacrosanct Bell's toll to offer mourning to those lost souls in the far distance from the highest tower of the Palace of Thorns. That alone was to be his comfort, the elegy of the bell and the knowledge that he would be joining his brothers soon. "Cylca." The sound of his own name was enough to drag the Space Marine from melancholy, drift on heel as he darted into the branching path of the sewer tunnel and slammed his back to the wall. He knew the command without it even being given, the same routine check for ammunition one that had been played out for the past four hours. How strange it was to have known this entire war without worry for ammunition to now count every bolt round with a blessing in the final hours of their dying home world. "18 rounds, Sergeant. No spares." "One spare." A familiar voice cut in a fresh bolt magazine was tossed his way. Cycla caught the sickle clip and thumbed it his hand lightly. With a small and weary smile he offered a nod to Ichoma, his closest brother returning the curt gesture with that scarred MK IV helm. Forty-eight bolt rounds. Cycla offered a small vow that he would take the lives of twenty-four Star-Phantoms before the Sacrosanct Bell tolled for his loss as well. For the last four hours Tactical Cohort Squad Haakon and their kindred squads had been fighting a losing battle with the Star Phantoms in the sewer caverns, defending every passage and line that they could, laying down their lives in the muck and mud to keep the invading forces away from the Defense grids that lay beneath the Palace of Thrones. But something was wrong. In the past hour the ground beneath them had begun to lurch, not the deafening rupture of orbital bombardment or detonating structures above them, but rather something far deeper below them where the atomic generators of the hive cities still lay. Even now the earth shook beneath their feet, sewer water quivering in chaotic ripple patterns across the brackish surface. For a moment, while he time to recover his breathing and what remained of his squad took stock of their ammunition, Brother Cycla looked upwards, the ceiling above them cracked and buckled to reveal the tortured sky above. Heaven was burning, clouds of bruised and tortured sky obscuring all notion of sunlight, a storm brewing a deluge of torrential rain and cobwebbed lightning... Even amidst such a hurricane, their beautiful city burned and crumbled against the wrath of the Imperium, everything they had bled for, everything they had fought for with tooth and nail was brought to ruin and ashes... He closed his eyes even as the rain battered against his silver helm, emerald lenses staring unblinking into the weeping sky of Badab Primaris. He would die here... They all would. The question now was a matter of when and how. With a deep breath he opened his eyes once more and looked to his squad, surveying over each of them and lastly to his sergeant. Veteran sergeant Haakon returned his gaze for a moment, no gesture or words between them, yet the quiet passing of time was enough for them. "We need to stall them here." Sergeant Haakon began to speak, relaying the digital feed of the sewer system to the rest of the squad, his words rushed with little time for them left to remain here, lest they be caught off guard. Even now, as Cylca peered around the corner he could see no sign of the enemy, but he could hear their boots stomping through the mud towards them. "Veteran Squad Sjaal are setting up explosives at the joining passages up ahead, but they need time to reach the point and set the krak charges. We will stay here and stall the enemy for as long as we can." "I will stay." Every Space Marine, including Cycla turned to face Ichoma, the warrior standing in his baroque power, bolter crunching to his shoulder plate in a readied position. "With the confining space of the corridors, there's too many of us to make any proper use of our fire power. Our best bet would be to maintain singular sentry at this corner and the opposite to maximize the overwatch field. More than two would simply be a waste of man power. With respect, sergeant, the rest of you should move forward to take defensive positions further on or meet up with Squad Sjaal." In silence, Cylca looked down at his hand, peering at the fresh sickle magazine that his brother had offered him, staring at the exposed bolt casings as though they might offer him some form of parting wisdom. "I will stay with him, sergeant." This time it was Cycla spoke up, looking over to Ichoma for a moment who seemed rather stunned. "Like you said.. Two would maximize the killing field. You can't be at two corners, right?" Without a word, Ichoma offered another silent nod of thanks to his brother, the two warriors looking to their sergeant now for some form of confirmation or refusal... The obvious death wish was not denied. -------- Four. He had killed four Star Phantoms, a far cry for what he had hoped but even as the flashing runes warned him that he had expended the last of his ammunition he felt no sense of shame or lost pride. Bringing the smoking weapon to his forehead for a moment he offered up a silent thanks to the machine spirit before tossing it into the muck where the weapon disappeared beneath the brackish water. Drawing his combat sword, Cycla spared a glance over to Ichoma, his brother fallen silent after the second return of volley fire when a bolt round had caught the warrior in the eye lens and sent him down with a quarter of his head missing, slumped unmoving against the wall. Ichoma had taken six of the Star Phantoms down, and Cycla made a new vow that he would at least meet his brother's tally. He could hear them moving along the passage now, cautiously as they had no idea he had already run out of ammunition. Again he stared at the sky above through the broken ruin of a sewer roofing, the rain still pouring down from the sky above as a mother that weeped for the murder of her children. His breathing was ragged, his muscles ached, his wounds searing... yet it all seemed to bleed away in the rain, the water soothing him even though it never came into contact with his skin. He would die here, that much was certain. It is a death that is inevitable. But it is a death that that he had chosen. On his own terms. In his own way. Sword in hand. Fighting to the bitter end. Battle Brother Cycla of the Astral Claws Legionary Tactical Cohort Squad Haakon Pict-feed taken at the siege of the Palace of Thorns, sub-terranean sewer system Subject announced K.I.A. from close-ranged bolter fire He died with his blade broken and his vow kept. http://i.imgur.com/WSC93xa.jpg http://i.imgur.com/y4GbMiE.jpg http://i.imgur.com/XGnkEvh.jpg http://i.imgur.com/roFIoMN.jpg http://i.imgur.com/pc3iu5D.jpg

Well, I started a thread on the 23rd of July but with the DB crash and roll back dogs ate it along with my homework. The beauty is you now will get a lot of WIP pictures like some rapid time lapse across a fortnight without my inane rambling. That won't last The downside is there will be lots of pictures in one post, but not much I can do about that as I am having to play catch up. The Wall of Bronze Beasts Printed scans from my copies of the IA books for inspiration and direction. The First Five Gotta start somewhere and as I want half in Mk VIII a squad in my take on that armour was the obvious starting point. At this point I was pleased. Mk VIII Chests How I did Mk VIII chest so the abdomen cables aren't exposed. I obviously could only do so many before I ran out so you'll start to see white bits as I lifted a cast of my modified chest plates. Losing Focus Rather than staying on point I wondered what the second squad in MK VIII would look like as I intend to give them Tigrus bolt guns. Great but still not one squad built Focus still lost... And what they would look like with a plasma gun, Ryza pattern of course. Second squad again, still off with the fairies... Standing on things is cool Lorenzen said so (at least I think he did long ago). And he is right. And he is doing Minotaurs too! Although I won't have bare flesh anywhere on mine, too page 3 exposing themselves and helms are more menacing. Note I went back to squad one again at this point. I was going to make this guy the combat squad leader but didn't which has led to problems (see later). Arguably you could say I'd regained my focus... Captain who became Sciron ...but you'd be wrong. An idea that escaped and broke focus. On the original thread the consensus was the name Sciron suited him more than Carcinus. When I say consensus like one person responded. Both are spare names from the FW brass etch sheet. I like him, pity I'll hardly ever use him. He is more progressed now and I will finish him for Grotsmasha;s challenge as a "funsies". Finally the Heavy I stopped procrastinating and prevaricating and finally built the squad heavy weapon. Quite happy with this, so I put all my avoidance energies into the special weapon bloke. Sons of Medusa No, really. Whilst avoiding doing the flamer I started fiddling with Sons of Medusa. I should write a book called Focus Lost or something. Flamers need bunkers to burn So, Armies on Parade and themed terrain is well important, more so than having an actual squad built, so I am doing this in tandem. Big, isn't it? Note I will be attacking this as Minotaurs so it'll be ouch time for me. Fits with them perfectly of course thus me doing it. And the fact I had the FW Siege of Vraks moduler resin trench stuff lying about gathering dust. More on this later but I'll be picking up the foam board and ply tomorrow. The gang is not all here Nine. Sort of like the Nazgul except not. Flamer guy all sinister on the right side. Missile launcher man strangely giving out quests. Sinister Close up of too many to be a combat squad and not remotely loaded right even if they where. Dexter And too few for a combat squad but at least a close up of elusive flamer chap. Note I cannot make my mind up on the last bolter man, who may also be squad leader, so I'll make another nine and then decide which one goes with these guys and then give the others Tigrus, then vacillate for ages over who gets to be Sergeant Aristophane, and then avoid building their plasma gunner and heavy bolterer for ages whilst building a full 6 ft. by 2 ft. trench system. However tonight is gym, then selling my FW Reaver on eBay, and then adding bulbs to all their ankles.

So ladies and germs, wanting to get painting a whole army of marines I trawled the interweb and found the star phantoms, I like the scheme and what fluff I found, so without further ado here is my first phantom, albeit a dead one http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz184/Lamenterkyle/Mobile%20Uploads/2013-11-30223506_zps6c2a2943.jpg http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/zz184/Lamenterkyle/Mobile%20Uploads/2013-11-30223547_zps3ff597a4.jpg c+c most welcome

DOWN IN FLAMES ADEPTUS ASTARTES: FIRE HAWKS PROLOGUE: This is it, old friend. For those times we saved each other, shed our blood and sweat under the roar of guns and upon the strange tides of war. To now stand unrecognisable and unrepentant of our choices, blades drawn and bloodied by the bodies of our brothers, and the corpses of our sworn oaths. All we have cherished, what we gave our lives to, broken down with our own hands. How did it all come to this? Is it only now, that we realise both of us are lost?

My place for all things Space Marine! I have started to built a small force for the Horus Heresy, after having abandoned Space Marines for almost a decade now. The Nuncio Vox in the new MK6 kit looks too 40k in my eyes , so I have built my own version, for my two tactical squads.

View File Space Marine Kill Teams - Badab War (SWA) Draft version of rules, pending decorations. Note that you will need the rules for Space Marine kill teams in Shadow War: Armageddon (here) in order to use these rules. Submitter Brother Tyler Submitted 01/27/21 Category Shadow War: Armageddon  

Musical Accompaniment http://i.imgur.com/SwVkTqj.jpg http://i.imgur.com/uXLLZ3d.jpg Our Honour was Loyalty For more than five thousand years, the Astral Claws stood shoulder to shoulder with the finest of the Imperium's warriors, their deeds legendary and their honour unquestioned. Loyal to the Emperor's throne, they exemplified the ideals of the Adeptus Astartes, strong and fearless as the golden lion of their heraldry. It was their glorious record of exemplary service that saw their standard placed in the Hall of Heroes at the Eternity Gate and won them the singular honor of command to the Maelstrom Warders. And above them all was Lufgt Huron, a true hero of his age, believed to be second only to legends of ancient past. The Astral Claws watched over the Maelstrom and paid the blood price of vigilance. When brothers fell and were drawn away, they remained ever watchful. When the caress of madness and corruption spilled into reality, they remained ever watchful. When their pleas for aid were met with not but silence, they still remained ever watchful. Fate is a cruel and pitiless wheel that spins the thread of an eternal tragedy. Perhaps Fate might have written a different path if another had sat on the throne of Badab, but it was Lufgt Huron who took the crown of thorns and assumed the mantle of eternal guardian to the Ruin Storm. The Astral Claws stood at the teetering precipice of annihilation, of failure in their duty to the Emperor. In pride, the Astral Claws sought to defy the hand of Fate. In desperation, they did everything to uphold their loyalty and sowed the roots of their own damnation. Pict-feed taken at the siege of the Palace of Thorns, subterranean sewer system Subject Unknown - Status Unkown ...... Commencing imagifier correction Processing...

CLAWS IN OUR STARS ADEPTUS ASTARTES: ASTRAL CLAWS PROLOGUE: To be lost is an error in judgement - old friend. We chose the path of honour against an uncaring Imperium. What right does anyone have to question our strength? Why do you not see? You thought as I. The Strong, are Strongest...Alone.

Hello Fraters, This is a public release to advise that the Cabal of Dead Ink will hopefully be publishing its first PDF project for general availability through the Downloads section soon. (Pending Admin approval etc). The release will be an original short story set in the run up to the Badab War, featuring new or barely known characters, and will hopefully be the first in a series from different perspectives and POV of both the Loyalists and Secessionist forces. It will also contain original artwork (covers and maybe interior art) of the same subject. It will not be a graphic novel product. You can rest assured that all artwork will be board and subject appropriate. The reason for this notice is to not only create interest, but also to prevent any concerns of improper use of the artwork. You can see one of our previous Notices of Interest for Graphic Designers/Digital Artists. We have sourced work from a professional artist called Dan Morison, who has been very generous in allowing us to use his art for this purpose, without remuneration as per GW IP Policy. We have permission to use it, and an email chain to provide evidence of what was agreed. Further, he will receive proper accreditation in the publications we make. The Cabal of Dead Ink would like to use this opportunity to highlight Dan's great style, and to give our public thanks to him for his trust and support. We would encourage anyone interested to go and see his stuff. We are still continuing with our plan in creating a BL Submissions Anthology, which will showcase the work of those who gave their shot to the recent Open Submissions window, but may have been declined, missed the window, or decided not to proceed for whatever reason. We are also working with Fraters within this forum to enhance and support our work with formatting and artistic skills, such as @TheTrans We look forward to discussing this further with any interested parties. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to PM me, or respond below, and I'll reply as soon, and as fully, as I can. I would also like to thank the help and support of the Cabal with getting us all this far. A lot of work goes on behind the scenes, for which I am eternally grateful. The Secession, and our Story, continues. Maz.