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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.

The tranquil star system named after the famed saint Lazarus started seeing increased activity of the brutish space ork raiders scouting planetary defences and falling upon the pilgrimage crafts of the faithful. The governing cardinal Thietmarus LXXII requested from Ultima segmentum command at Kar Duniash to send reinforcement to his world to protect the 17 billion loyal souls. The response came in the form of an astra militarum battlegroup 3 million strong compromised of the Dniepr armoured guard’s experts in mechanised warfare. The small forces of Orks that had made planefall was quickly dealt with in the deserts outside of the gleaming white hive cities and the men and women of Dniepr was hailed as heroes. Then for reasons unknown to the citizens, relic keepers, priests, deacons and even the cardinal himself disaster struck, as the Cicatrix Maledictum spread across the galaxy and a wall of darkness fell between the Cardinal hive world of Lazarus prime and the divine light of the Astronomicon. In the coming year fear and panic gave way for terror as long range scans of the star systems edges showed an org fleet approaching, not mere raiders willing to settle for loot and plunder. This time it was full blown Waaagh. The small system defence fleet made a brave last stand in high orbit trying to protect the worlds space station. As the people of the world turned their eyes to the night sky they could watch as the explosion of the Deodate class space station turning the night for a short moment into brightest day. As darkness retuned the fiery streaks of the space Ork landing crafts descended thru the atmosphere. The armies of Dniepr was still planetside and the Cardinal had reinforced the veterans with millions of conscripts. Barley trained but driven by an unshakable faith in the god emperor of making blessed be him on holy Terra. The white towers of the hives were reduced to rubble and the dust of the desert settle in the ruins. After 3 years of fighting a gridlock had been reached, the Orks had taken a defensive posture as their slaves scourge the ruins for material to build bigger war machines, the astra militarum units spent after horrible fighting limited itself to brief combat patrols to seek out survivors and find holes in the ork defences to be exploited when opportunity present itself. The Human spirit was still intact. As the nights feel mass was still held in the crushed cathedrals, defiled Basilicas and broken mausoleums. The hymns of the faithful could be heard in the cities crossing the no man’s land giving hope to the slaves captured by the Orks uniting the people of the shattered world as a prayer for deliverance. I am the light, the light in void; who looks to me will never be lost. I am the light, the light of heaven; who pray to me will never die. And as you pray, remember me, my body broken on the throne: my life was given to set you free, and I'm alive for evermore. - Ego sum lux; hymn CDLXXXII the book hope saint Cecilia the blind Captain-General Sergeius of the Dniepr armoured guards didn’t expect deliverance when the vox servitor announced that a messaged had been received from a unidentified ship at the edge of the system. When the voice honed from wars on a hundred different worlds came thru the vox link Sergeius felled to his knees and thanked the god emperor. Lazarus command, This is castellan Tancrède of the Black Templars we are the knights of Dorn, the vanguard of the Lazarus crusade! We will cleanse the invaders of this world with our righteous wrath and restore these holy places. Imperator in fidem est aeternum! +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ This thread marks my return to 40k, I left around the end of 4th edition due to disappointment in the rule system. After that I have played a whole bunch of other games including games set in the 40k universe as I have always loved the setting itself. What pulled me in to begin with was the fantastic 3rd ed start box front cover featuring the black Templars, the flames of my interest were fanned with the war for Armageddon and codex City Fight all the way back in 2001. What I have seen so far 8th editions have the makings of something great so I have set three goals to archive for this project to fulfil what I wanted as a boy but didn’t have the skills or means to archive: 1: Make a Black Templar crusade that invokes John Blanche black Templars. 2: Make a supporting Imperial guard army in the vein of Armageddon steel legion. 3: Create a ruined gothic city to fight the enemies of mankind in. My plan is begin with a mainly infantry force featuring the new primaris marines backed up with dreadnoughts, and scouts to fufill the roels of Neophytes. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all and hope you will enjoy it. My armor is comtempt, my faith is zeal, I'm a weapon fated to fight forever in the eternal crusade. - Brother Georgius The idea is to keep the colour scheme limited to mostly black and white with gold as the main accessory colour. I will have a theme of holy relics going thru the entire army where the dreadnoughts themselves are walking reliquaries. The green Maltese cross is the crusade badge for the Lazarus crusade and will be included on all models in the army, here it’s free-handed but I will replace it with a transfer decal at a later stage. Later during the coming week I will try to post another dreadnought and some Neophytes, after the release of 8th edition I will focus on converting the characters and get some test marines done.

Hello all The index version of our dreadnoughts was discussed a lot on this forum. I think the consensus was that especially the Libby was a strong unit. But that both the libby and the Death Company Dread was a bit too points-expensive. The Furioso wasn't used much at all. But what about now? I can't seem to find a lot of discussions concerning the codex version of our Dreadnoughts. The Libby and the DCD have dropped somewhat in points - and the new psychic powers means more flexibility. But what do you think? Are they still to expensive? Is the DCD still to vulnerable and difficult to get into combat? I would love to hear your thoughts and game-experiences with them. Cheers

"Following the hard lessons learned during the Rangda Xenocides, the Hrud Exterminations, the Decimation of the Voregore, and the ongoing Ork Wars, it had become obvious to the Lupercalian Strategos of the 16th Legion that there existed a need for dedicated eradication units, though something less contaminating than the tried and tested Destroyer formations. Zhuhal Ghorrost, then 2nd Captain of the 86th Company, proposed the formation of a mixed arms company, combining highly mobile units of jump-enabled infantry, armed with Volkite weaponry in order to scour the biomass of the offending Xenoforms with fire and heat. Supporting this, Ghorrost proposed the deployment of Dreadnought units. Intrigued, the Lupercalian Strategos approved the proposal, and rolled it into the then-experimental Contemptor Program. With the implicit backing of Horus Lupercal, through his intermediary Strategos, Zhuhal Ghorrost was promoted to 1st captain of the 161st Assault Company. In the following decades, the 161st accrued a reputation as ruthless exterminators of any threat to the Pax Imperialis, often undertaken gruelling Xenocides, alongside the thankfully rare tragedy of nescessary Re-compliance operations on Human populations." - Excerpt from Tactical Dispositions of the Legionnes Astartes, vol. MCMXXXVI, 986.M30 1st section, Squad Spite, lead by 2nd Captain Engra Ekakkios, a so-called True Son of Chtonia. Imposing, even amongst his fellow Astartes, Captain Ekakkios embodied the directed brutality of his homeworld, and combined it with a razor-sharp tactical acumen, borne of the expert tutelage engendered upon those inducted into the 16th Legion. 2nd section, Squad Spite. Of note amongst the warriors in this pict-capt is one Othon Marr, wearing a modified Mk.IV helmet with reinforced molecular bonding studs and Mantilla-pattern re-breather. An extraordinary amount of Chtonian affectations adorn his armour, including variant heraldry. Venerable Agathocles originally hailed from the 64th Company, but upon his internment, he was reassigned to the 161st, owing to his experience from the Destroyer Corps. Armed with a heavy Volkite Culverin and a Dreadnought powerclaw with integrated flame-projector, the Contemptor-chassis proved highly adept at effectuating the scorched earth-ethos of the 161st.

Let's continue the "Watching Out" discussions with a focus on the Ancients of the Watch: Dreadnoughts & Venerable Dreadnoughts I want to survey the boards opinions on their relevancy and useful weapon load-outs.