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March of the Fallen - ETL VII ETL VII is upon us! The „March of the Fallen“ (MotF) is meant to support any participant building and painting characters, units or whole armies themed around the Fallen. It is meant to work in the context of ETL VII and support the wider CSM forum effort for this year. If you are interested in being a part of MotF, please post your vows in this thread as well as in the CSM Outpost. I will keep track of all players doing so, including their points pledged and completed. To receive one of the titles listed below, you only have to include one or more Fallen models in your vow (and then complete it of course). Titles are: Fallen Brother for including Fallen themed unit(s) in one vow. Fallen Raptor for including Fallen themed unit(s) in two vows. Fallen Havoc for including Fallen themed unit(s) in three vows. Fallen Terminator for including Fallen themed unit(s) in four vows. Fallen Lord for including Fallen themed unit(s) in five vows. Disciple of Cypher for the three players with the highest number of actual Fallen over all their vows. In detail: You can claim any of the first five titles by including models themed around Fallen in your vow(s). This means: the background of one or more character(s) or unit(s) in the respective vow(s) makes them a Fallen Angel, and that background is represented in the build and/or painting of the model(s). Any choice from Codex: CSM can be used here, as long as the „Fallen theme“ is visible in build and or paint. One example is given under the spoiler tag: The last title – Disciple of Cypher – is given to the three players with the highest number of game-legal „actual Fallen“ units over all their vows. In contrast to the other titles, this one takes into account all vows of somebody, but only counts units from the following CSM datasheets: Cypher, Fallen, Sorcerer, Rhino. The models have to be modelled and painted to represent Fallen, you can not claim points for just any Sorcerer or Rhino for example. Some cases will be not 100% clear – such is the nature of Chaos! If in doubt: please just ask in advance. More likely than not your idea will be perfectly fine. How you declare your vow is up to you, just make clear what models/units you pledge. Please include point numbers for each individual entry, and ideally link to the corresponding vow in the CSM Outpost. OOC points are allowed! My thanks go to Captain Semper for organising ETL in general and giving me feedback on this idea early on, as well as Forté for doing the image wizardry that gave us the banner and title badges!

Life is a series of struggles – if you fall, you get up again. Accept your flaws – only then you can overcome them. True growth – impossible without failure. Only The Fallen Can Rise In Truth [source] Overview In this project log I want to document a force of Fallen I will do over the coming weeks and months. Maybe years? It is meant as a side project to my many other Chaos forces, and is not focussed on gameplay effectiveness, but variety in modelling. Each model will get a name and its personal backstory – so expect some depth when it comes to their background. This Plog will contain WIP pictures as well as completed models, and I appreciate any and all comments and questions. The second post will contain links to different parts of the project for easy reference. Project goals The main goal is: getting models painted and on the tabletop in a reasonable time. To me this means that I will go for „tabletop ready“, instead of spending hours and hours on every single model. I am a perfectionist at heart, but this has lead to little results in the past. More often than not I got demotivated over the process of painting something, and never finished it. This time I want to purposely shoot for „mediocre painting“, to actually get stuff done. The first intermediate results should stand at the end of this years ETL. I want to have a Vanguard Detachment of Fallen ready to game at the end of August. It will consist of Cypher, a Sorcerer and about 30 Fallen, plus a couple of Rhino transport tanks. If you are not familiar with the details of Codex: CSM, this means using a special detachment from „Vigilus Ablaze“. Being a Vanguard Detachment also means that this will hardly be an „army“ yet, but a starting point. This first detachment should give me something to either field on its own for smaller games, as part of a larger Chaos force of my own, or as something I can bring to larger games in stores or hobby clubs – Apocalypse says hello! Afterwards I will expand the concept into a full CSM army. There are some ideas for this already around, but the details will get worked out later down the road. What I will do – and what not As mentioned already, I want to keep the painting at a level that could be called „tabletop ready“. I will not aim for high-level results on anything other than (maybe) the characters. This approach does not include the building side of things though, so I will spend some time making each model an individual in some way or another. The first part of the force is supposed to represent Fallen in an early stage of corruption. So there will be no Chaosstars, no overly spikyness, no open mutations and the like. There will be no imperial eagles either though. The general idea is: they should look like loyal Dark Angels at first sight, but with clues to their true allegiance obvious for anybody who knows where to look for them... While I am aiming for a gameplay legal force, I have no interest in „competetive gaming“. So effectiveness on the battlefield will never be a major concern. I am fully aware that almost everthing that can be done with Fallen can be done better with Chosen – but for this project I simply do not care. Concerning the background there are some gaps in my knowledge I hope to close soon. I know the general Dark Angels background since the 2nd edition „Angels of Death“ codex, and not a lot has changed regarding the Fallen. There are some bits I missed out on in „Gathering Storm“ though, and I have to read through stuff like „Fallen Angels“ and „Black Legion“ for more – both novels are ordered already, so... soon™. However, I will not follow any of the official background slavishly. If there are things I deem fit to ignore to better represent my own ideas - I will happily do so.

Hey folks, I am finally going to sit down and get my dream army going. I have always wanted to throw together an army of the fallen. The only problem is I am not sure what codex to use.. Since Cypher has the imperial tag, i am debating going either Vanilla Marines, Chaos Marines, or Dark Angels.. The army would not consist of much in line of vehicles and the sort but more along the lines of elite space marine units. Maybe a few vehicles, if i went with chaos the armor would not be tainted as much as normal CSM. I am wondering if anyone has any recommendations and feedback or if anyone knows anyone else that has made a fallen army? Does anyone know of any other folks who have already taken this on?

A "short" story about the Fallen, the Unforgiven and a Homebrew Chapter of mine. Enjoy! C&C are welcome. It was the middle of the night, heavy rain drops ran down his archaic power armor and everywhere he looked, he saw flashes and heard thunder. Not all of that was from the storm which ravaged the sky. Many more flashes originate from weapon discharges and the thunder were the explosions of heavy weapons and impacting Bolt shells. While he reloaded his Bolter, he looked behind him. There was a town, which was partly burning with the flames of war. Beside him stood many of the inhabitants of this town, shooting with scavenged weapons and shouting insults at their attackers. There were also some members of the PDF, more disciplined than the civilians, but they remind silent, only their zeal and the last dose of stims kept them on their feet after weeks of combat. All of the humans looked so fragile, while their assailants where the embodiment of nightmares. Not all of them were Traitor Astartes, but even the humans looked more like creatures of a horror novel than members of the destined rulers of the Galaxy. Once he really believed that humanity would rule the Galaxy. He was part of a great undertaking to cleanse the stars of the filth which stood against the Emperor of Mankind and the advancement of mankind. Now, on this forgotten world and after the experience of his prolonged lifetime, he felt the deep-rooted seeds of doubt in his hearts grow evermore. Was there still hope for humanity? He fired three Bolts into the face of a Traitor, who was equipped with a jump pack and was diving from the sky to slaughter the heavy weapon team, which secures the street he stood in. The skull of the Traitor was pulverized, his corps crashed into the earth mere meters in front of the heavy weapon team, but he already searched for a new target. “AVE IMPERATOR! Stand fast and proud! For your neighbors, for your loved ones, for mankind! Kill these abominations in the name of the Emperor!” The call rang through the village and he could not stop the smile which crept on his face. Even if he had doubt, his Battle-Brother had always hope. He looked to the Space marine who rallied the defenders fifty meters to his right. The battle plate of his brother was as old and in the same sorry state as his own, yet his brother looked glorious as ever. He held the standard of the town they where fighting for high enough for everyone to see. But the battle cry did not only encourage the defenders, also the traitor scum got fired up. One of the Champions of the Traitor Astartes charged at his brother. This abomination hid his bulk under a great coat of flayed skin, the black horned helmet looked like obsidian in the rain and reflected the lightning in the sky. The traitor swathed the human defenders away like flies until he crossed blade with the Standard Bearer. Concerned with the well being of his Brother, he ran towards the combat. He killed cultists left and right and shouted orders to the defenders, while he draw closer to the combat. While he drove his fist through the ribcage of a cultists, he saw the right shoulder pad of the traitor and under the layers of flayed skin, he saw a well known Legion symbol, a winged blade. The moment of shock nearly cost his live, as another Traitor Marine came at him with a roaring chainsword. He ducked in the last moment and disemboweled the traitor and put a Bolt through his eye lens. When I looked to his brother, he was horrified. The weapon of the Champion penetrated the chest plate of the Standard Bearer and he sunk to his knees. With a last ditch effort his brothers decapitated the Champion while the traitor was gloating over his most recent kill. Again the doubts which plagued him for many lifetimes, resurfaced. Was humanity really destined to rule over the Galaxy? Was his Genefather righteous or just as flawed as his brothers? Did his service really help humanity? Would he … While he struggled through the surrounding Cultists to reach his fallen brother, a Heavy Bolter scythed through his foes and he felt several impacts. The traitors shoot at him, without remorse for their companions. He tried to locate the Heavy Bolter, but before he could retaliate, the onslaught of bullets penetrated his worn Power Armor. Flesh ruptured and blood flow freely while he sunk to the ground. Darkness began to envelop him. He heard more fighting and it seemed like the noise of war relocated to the lines of the traitors. In his haze, he saw that his brother still held the banner high, but he did not see him move anymore. The sound of heavy boots let him turn his head. He saw a group of Marines approaching him. They seemed taller than normal and they wore a kind of Power Armor which was unknown to him. Yet, in the haze of his massive blood loos, he saw some kind of winged blade on their shoulder pauldron. He tried to raise his bolter and spat “You won’t get me without a fight! You won’t harm the Imperiums citizen! AVE IMP…” and then everything went dark. ---- “Thank you Brother Apothecary. Without your generous usage of sedatives, he might have shot at fellow loyal servants of the Imperium. Please bring him out of this downpour and treat his wounds and send one of your Helix Adepts to the Standard Bearer, maybe we can save him too. Brother Sergeant Tokhar, start the flanking maneuver and coordinate your strikes with the Reivers, I want this scum eradicated before the Dawn come upon us.” With the assurance that his order will be followed, the Primaris Captain strode onwards to the place of the duel of the Standard Bearer and the Chaos Champion. He saw the duel happening from afar, while they prepared their assault. They tried to contact the surviving Loyalists, but they could not identify their frequencies, which vexed him. It was not enough that the Warp currents around this system delayed their arrival, the heavy storm also made an earlier arrival on this site impossible. He was always in a sour mood when he saw the loss of proud defenders of humanity, especially when he was only moments from their survival away. As the Primaris Captain stood before the Standard Bearer, he got to one knee and asked the Helix Adept behind the fallen warrior “Is he still alive?” With a static rush, which could have been a cough, a silent voice came from the warrior. “Barley. Who are you? Are you Son’s of the Lion?” The Captain shook his head. “No, we hail not from the proud First Legion. We are a new breed of warriors, called Primaris. We are from the Chapter of the Dawn Blades and were sent from the returned Primarch Guilliman into this system.” Another cough came from under the helmet and this time, the Captain saw a trickle of blood dropping from the Vox grill. “Primarch Guiliman returned? What great news for… Imperium. Tell him and those disillusioned cubs of our Legion… still loyal Brothers on Caliban. AVE IMPER…” Looking to the Helix Adept, the Captain hoped that the Marine before him just lost consciousness, but the Helix Adept just shook his head. He stood up and surveyed the battle ground. The town stood unbroken, and he could hear the sound of fighting further down the valley, where his Company cleared the planet of the last insurgents. He looked to his Lieutenant, who hunched over the fallen form of the Chaos Champion. “Any Information on the origin of our foes?” “None, Sir. It seems that the initial reports about a Chaos worshipping warband of mismatched Traitor scum was correct. But this one here seems different.” “Why so?” “Because he has the same markings under his coat as the two defending Astartes.” To highlight his point, the Lieutenant lifted the flayed skin on the right pauldron with one of his knifes. Under the skin lay a defaced down striking sword with wings. “Let no mortal go near this place, until I say so. We cannot let them see who was the leader of this attack. It would tarnish the deeds of these two proud Marines and it would eliminate their hope.” With that, the Captain turned and walked towards the Town center. He had to ensure that these people see the light of a new Dawn for Humanity, but his own mind was clouded with dark thoughts and a new seed of doubt. ---- Three days later, a Rhino stopped before the town and a troop of robbed Space Marines excited its troop compartment in a battle formation. Behind them, came a captain with a winged helmet and a broadsword at his waist. All of them wore the proud bisected livery of the Angels of Redemption and they came to fulfill their duty. The Captain could see a standard fluttering in the soft evening wind, it was held by the sunken form of a slain Space Marine. He began to approach the site, but a trio of big Transhumans in unknown Power Armor stood between him and his destination. Two of them where bare headed and the other wore a long cloak with a hood far over his face. He walked to them, his troop spreading out around him. He felt that something here was not as it should be, but he could not determine what it was. “I am Captain of the Third Company of the Angels of Redemption! I demand the body of this Marine! You will not stand between me and my goal!” His words rang loud through the valley and anyone could feel the authority of one who was used to the fact that his orders would be followed. “I greet you Cousin! My Name is Captain Kadoq of the Fifth Company of the Dawn Blades of the Ultima Founding. I assure you that we have no intention to stand between you and your goals. Yet I am surprised that you did not even greet us and that you demand the body of one who is not part of your Chapter. May I inquiry your reason to do this?” The one in the middle of the trio bowed slightly with a fist over one of his hearts. The Captain of the Angels of Redemption could see a slight light of humor in the eyes of his adversary. Who does he think he is? “So you are those ‘Primaris’? I have to say that I am not impressed. Why we lay claim to this one is none of your concern. Let us take him and we will leave this planet. We have no other business on this world.” He seems that he hit a wound point of this new Captain, as he could see how his mind darkened. The honour of the Primaris was probably hurt after saying that he was not impressed. “No Business? I assume then that you do not see it as your duty that the imperial citizens of this world need your help? That the death of the live blood of the Imperium is none of your concern. That it is not the duty of the vaunted Angels of Redemption to do the Emperors work. Well then enlighten me Cousin, what is the reason you came to this planet, if it is not to save humanity, although it is so far away from your fiefdom?” The Captain was taken aback at the outburst of the Primaris. Not his disrespectful manner of speaking nor the attempt to tarnish the existence of this new breed of transhuman warrior led to this outburst, but that they did not response faster to the reported traitor attack on this backwater planet? The brute on the right side of the Primaris Captain cleared his throat and spoke while repeatedly throwing one of his many knives into the air. “What my esteemed commanding officer means is, why should we leave the corpse of the saviour of imperial citizens and his comatose brother in your care?” There was another one? The reports only indicated that one would be here. Otherwise he would have brought more troops to this site. The rest of his Demi-Company was still in Orbit as the had to leave fast to follow another lead. Why was their information wrong and why are these abominations here? While these thoughts cruised through the head of the Angels of Redemption Captain, a Sergeant stepped up beside him and demanded “Lead us to him immediately! Don’t waste anymore of our time you brute!” The Primaris brute seemed ignorant to the importance of the survivor and added one knife to the one which was already spinning in the air while saying “First you should say ‘Don’t waste anymore of our time, Lieutenant brute’ and secondly, why should we? You still did not answer our questions.” The Captain signed his Sergeant to stand down and addressed the Primaris trio after clearing his thoughts “We are longer in this galaxy then you. We Firstborn know the importance of certain individuals and the information they can provide. So do not stall for time and PLEASE bring us to the survivor, COUSIN!” That answer brought out a laugh from the Primaris Captain and he walked up to him until their chests where mere inches away from each other. While glowering down on the shorter Transhuman, the Primaris spoke “So you mean because you think you are older than I am, you have superiority over me? Well, let me tell you this: I was born over five thousand years earlier than your mother, and while I stayed in Stasis, it seems that things got only worse with people like you in charge. Tell me, why should I, who is obeying a direct order of the Imperial Regent, follow you, who does not even seem to have any orders he follows?” A direct order of the returned Primarch? Did the Primarch hear about their hidden agenda? Did one of the many misconducts of his Chapter was the final straw which broke the camels back? He knew that the Inquisition started several investigations, but they could mislead them until now. He needs to mislead these brutes too. But still, why does he feel as something is not right with this situation? Without breaking the stare of the Primaris Captain, he tried to appease the giant before him “I am on a mission from my Chapter Master. These Marines are part of an order which have vital information for our Chapters mission. So we are here to escort them for further int… for a interview about these matters. We are only a small force on their way home, so we were not ready to attack these priates.” Kadoq did back up and gestured to the form of the Standard Bearer. “Follow me, Cousin.” Did this Captain believe him so easily? They walked a few paces until they stood before the fallen marine. Around him lay several slayed enemies, even a Chaos Champion could be seen, with his head some feet away. “This noble warrior sacrificed himself to secure the survival of this town. He slew several Traitor Astartes and this banner never felt the touch of the ground, not even in his death. Our scout probes recorded the battle, but unfortunately we where to slow to save him. But he left a message for the son’s of the Lion.” “A message? Who did hear this message? What was it about?” Although he was built to not know fear, something akin to this feeling crept into his voice, as he asked this the Primaris. “Tell our Legion that there were still loyal Brothers on Caliban. Ave Imperator.’ Only my staff and the Helix Adept who currently treats the comatose Battle Brother of this one know of this message. Do you know what it means?” The inquisitive look of the Primaris unnerved the Angel of Redemption and he answered far to fast “No, I do not.” “Well, then I assume you also do not know what this might mean…?” With that Kadoq pulled back the coat of flayed skin from the beheaded Chaos Champion, to reveal a symbol he has seen far to often on his adversaries. A symbol which was the reason for all the problems his Chapter had to endure. “Again, I demand that you give us the survivor. After that, you will leave this planet. We will secure the perimeter and ensure that the sanctity of this place remains unburdened.” The Primaris Captain let out a short laughter and responded “And again, why should I? You had no interest in these mortal lives, and now that you know more about the situation here, you changed your mind and want to help them? We Transhumans can smell a lie, but I am surprised how bad you are at lying. I know that there is a Strike Cruiser with a Demi-Company in Orbit, so you would have had more than enough men to eliminate the traitorous scum from this planet. So please enlighten me, why should we stand back?” For the second time did his Sergeant sept up beside his Captain before he could formulate an answer and said, “Because you are outgunned.” And with that 9 Bolters and 1 Plasmagun were trained at the Primaris. The Primaris Lieutenant chuckled and asked, “Is that a threat?” The Sergeant spat through clenched teeth “A promise!”. “Captain, it seems that you need to educate your subordinates better. They did not secure and surveyed the perimeter according to the Standards of the Codex Astartes. Also, they should know to not throw empty threads at Astartes.” Kadoq seemd not daunted by the overwhelming firepower which was directed at him. Wait, surveying the perimeter? Is the hooded one beside Kadoq a… “Facing such an empty threat, I feel like I should tell you our credo: From the grim darkness, our blades rise from the shadows to bring Humanity a new Dawn!” At the last word, the Lieutenant moved faster than any Space Marine should be able to and held a knife at the throat of the two officers of the Angels of Redemption. Additionally, something like a vile was lifted and around them stood twenty-five Primaris, all weapons trained at the Angels of Redemption, several of them where some kind of plasma weaponry. Now he knew what seemed of. There were no other Primaris units in the vicinity, although the Angels of Redemption arrived without a formal introduction and as fast as their Rhino was able to. Also the temperature displayed on his helmet was previously far lower then it should have been at such a sunny day. “Witch!” “He prefers the title Librarian, Captain.” Chuckled the brute, while the Captain could still feel the steel of the Knife at his throat. “Traitors!” spat the Sergeant, but at that moment Kadoq grabbed him by the throat and lifted him up like a child. “TRAITOR? YOU CALL US TRAITOR? YOU WHO DO NOTHING MORE THEN FOLLOWING YOUR PETTY HIDDEN AGENDA WHILE THE CITIZEN OF THE IMPERIUM ARE SLAUGHTERED? YOU WHO DO NOT FOLLOW THE WILL OF THE EMPEROR IN SAVING HUMANITY FROM THE DARKNESS OF THIS DAMNED TIME? STAY SILENT AND LET THE GROWN-UPS TALK YOU CUR!” Spittle flew into the face of the struggling Sergeant and now he could see the big canine teeth of the captain, as if they got larger with his rage. While still holding his Sergeant by the throat, Kadoq addressed him again. “Captain, I do not care for your true reason why you came to this place today, so far away from your fiefdom. But what I do care about is, that you left these brave mortals to die, instead of helping them. How should the imperial citizen have hope, if the Emperors Angel are not there to protect or at least avenge them? I will not allow you to steal the last hope they have in the Imperium through stealing them their martyred hero. If you want, you can take the corpse of this traitorous filth with you and I will even allow you your one-to-one Interview with the survivor, if he wakes up. But after that, you will leave this planet immediately!” and with that he let the half unconscious Sergeant fall to the ground, where he gasped for air. “And a word of advice. Remain true to the oaths you swore onto the emperor, as only he is able to judge your live worthy. If I get a notice that you stray again from the path of righteousness, I will put every ounce of my being into unraveling this hidden mission of yours, and may the Emperor have mercy upon your Chapters souls, if it is a mission that works against the hope of mankind!” Although outgunned, a knife on his throat and only inches away from a brute that lifted a fully armored Space Marine like child with one hand, the Firstborn officer frowned and asked, “Is this a threat?” “No, a promise! And ask your self this: is this agenda of yours worth the lives and souls of the Emperors objects?” At the same moment, a Primaris Apothecary ran to the assembly and reported to his superior with urgency in his voice “Captain, we have a problem!” Kadoq inclined his head and said, “Tell me something new Brother Apothecary.” The Primaris Apotehcary flushed and started “When I returned to the chamber of the surviving Marine, I saw another Marine entering the chamber. It was no Primaris and he wore a great hooded cape, and on his back was a big sword. He seemed like he wore the same or at least a similar livery as my patient. When I reached the camber, it was empty.” Both Captains shouted in unison “WHAAAT?” ---- Kadoq sat on the roof of the majors building and looked into the setting sun. While he preferred the symbolic notion, which gave his chapter its name, he always thought the sunset much more beautiful. The whistling of a knive thrown into the air destroyed his solemn thoughts. “What is it Lieutenant?” he asked without looking back. “A direct order of the Primarch? Really? I know you are a bad liar, but that was really low, even for your standard. As far as I know, the only direct order we ever received from the Primarch was bringing hope and the light of the Indomitus Crusade to this sector.” “Well, I took the liberty to interpret this order as I saw fit. And in that case, it was to keep the hope of these people up, without shedding the blood of fellow Astartes” chuckled the Primaris Captain. “Now tell me what our Techmarine found.” “Nothing. No traces of a hidden escape route or of teleportation. If it were not for the blood stains and the message, you could think that they were never there. What do you think about this ‘Leave the Fallen to me, as they are Loyalists and Traitors alike. There is still hope’ Should we have told the Angels of Redemption about it?” “No, for Thrones sake! They did not even intended to help us in rebuilding the planets defense system, so why should we help them? I am glad they left so soon. Did our Librarian already searched the chamber?” “No. He had to rest after hiding three troops for so long. He will search the chamber tomorrow.” The Lieutenant sheathed his knive and set beside his Captain. “By the way, the thing about unraveling the Agenda of the Angels of Redemption – was that true or just a threat?” Kadoq smiled, yet his eyes could not hide a glimmer of sorrow. “There are to many secrets in this millennium. We need to work together to save humanity, but that is impossible if everyone has a hidden mission or secrets to keep behind his back. You know my tribes name, and so I see it as my duty to destroy every secret which hinders that mankind has hope for a new Dawn of the Imperium.” “Aye, Truthseeker, aye.”

Hi gang, Long time, no post! I have a game arranged with a fellow Frater at our local club on the last Friday night before Christmas, pitting my Deathwatch against his Dark Angels. I've written a narrative play scenario for the game and I thought I'd share it with you. Consider it an early Xmas present! Don't focus too hard on the wording of the special rules, victory conditions, etc; it's meant to be a bit of fun. Also squint a bit if you are offended by semi-awful fluff. I hope you enjoy it and thanks for taking the time to read it. Retrieve the Fallen Brother Brother Talus of the Dark Angels had been seconded to the Death Watch, but his true loyalties had always been to the 1st Legion. A Veteran of long standing, Talus had been a member of the Inner Circle for many years and was well aware of the Dark Angel's secrets and shame. On receiving the call to join the Death Watch, Talus joined and served with Kill Team Hekati for a number of missions. One of his fellow Kill Team members was a secretive Black Shield named Jaro; the Black Shield tradition meant that the Death Watch Veteran did not acknowledge a parent Chapter, the Death Watch being his Brotherhood now. As Talus observed, and spent time with Jaro he felt the Black Shield was certainly a former Dark Angel, and perhaps, worse, potentially a Fallen. Talus communicated his suspicions to the Inner Circle and they plotted a means to capture Jaro so he could be questioned. Their opportunity came during a mission undertaken by Kill Team Hekati in the deserts of the Hive planet Keonides IV. Imperial Surveyors had uncovered an ancient Xeno structure housing an artifact of great power. The Surveyors inadvertently activated it and in doing so unleashed an energy pulse which destroyed them! The artifact continues to transmit a pulse on a regular basis; each more powerful than the last. If the artifact is not disabled in time it will annihilate the nearby Hive City, killing millions. Fearing that attempting to destroy the artifact from orbit would set off one of the destructive pulses, Kill Team Hekati were dispatched to the site to disable the device on the ground. The Kill Team managed to remove most of the devices safeguards, but were seriously injured in the attempt. All the Space Marines were killed bar Jaro (who was seriously injured) and Talus. Taking the opportunity Talus signalled his Dark Angel brothers to come retrieve Jaro and himself. The drop in bio-signs from Kill Team Hekati was received by the Death Watch Command, who in turn sent reinforcements to Keonides IV to save their comrades and finish the job they started. The race is on; who will reach the alien artifact and the fallen brother first? The Armies Each player selects a Battle-forged army to an agreed Power Level. One player represents the forces of the Dark Angels; all his units must have the Dark Angels keyword. The other player represents the Deathwatch; all his units must have the Deathwatch keyword. Neither player may utilize Fortifications in their armies. The Battlefield The battle takes place in a desert environment; the alien artifact has destroyed most structures in the vicinity with it's energy pulses, so there should be ruins rather than intact buildings on the battle field. A large ruin in the middle of the board houses the artifact which should be represented by a significant piece of terrain or objective (placed directly in the centre of the board). In addition a second objective is placed in the centre representing Brother Jaro. The scenario uses the Search and Destroy (Table Quarters) deployment map (p216 of the Rule Book) on a 6' by 4' table. The players roll off - who ever rolls highest chooses a table quarter as his deployment zone, whilst his opponent uses the opposite quarter. Each player then places a marker 18" along the long table edge and 12" along the short table edge, from the table corner of his deployment zone; this represents his Extraction Point (see Victory Conditions). The players then start alternate deploying their units, one at a time, starting with the player who did not choose their deployment zone. A players models must be set up within their own deployment zone. Continue setting up until both sides have set up their army. First Turn The players roll off - who ever rolls highest may choose whether to go first or second. The player who finished deployment first adds one to his roll. If the winner decides to go first his opponent can roll a die and on a 6 seize the initiative, taking the first turn instead! Battle Length The game lasts for 7 battle rounds. If both Place the Charges, and Retrieve the Fallen Brother have both been achieved before the end of the 7th battle round, then the game finishes automatically at the end of the player turn that the second of the two Victory Conditions has been achieved. Special Rules Disruption field: The vestiges of the last energy pulse remain in the air near the artifact, disrupting comms and technology; no unit may deploy or scout move within 9" of the centre of the board (e.g. scout infiltration, deep strike, etc.) Energy Leak (1CP): This unique Stratagem is available to both players in this scenario. The Alien Artefact is beginning to build up it's energy in advance of it's next devastating pulse, and some of this energy may discharge before the pulse is released. A player may use the Energy Leak Stratagem during his Shooting Phase. Choose one enemy unit within (battle round number x 12") of the centre of the board. That unit is struck by an energy surge causing D6 automatic hits (Str = battle round number, AP-). Victory Conditions At the end of the game, the player who has scored the most Victory Points is the winner. If both players have scored the same number of Victory Points then the game is a draw. Place the Charges: Both factions wish to disable the alien device to save the nearby Hive City. If a unit ends it's movement phase in base to base contact with the device, it may begin placing Demo Charges; however this is a complicated activity, and the unit must not be distracted. If unit remains in base to base contact with the artifact for a whole battle round (i.e. remains in base to base until the end of it's next movement phase), then it has placed the Demo Charges, scoring 2 VP. Retrieve the Fallen Brother: Both Factions wish to save Brother Jaro, although for very different reasons! Brother Jaro is seriously injured and can only be moved with great care. Treat the Objective representing Brother Jaro as a Relic (see the rule book p223). If Brother Jaro can be moved to within 6" of an Extraction Point he will be teleported to safety (or captivity depending on your point of view), scoring the extracting player 3 VP. If Brother Jaro is on the table at the end of game, and controlled by a player, then the controlling player scores 2VP. Slay the Warlord, First Blood, Linebreaker: As per the rule book

Hey guys, interested in how people are reading the rules for Cypher and the Fallen. Was really looking forward to them getting a small boost in 8th edition & building an army around them that could double as DA Horus heresy models. Looks like they're virtually unplayable though, unless i'm reading something wrong or thinking about it in the wrong way. Fallen datasheet does not have the Heretic Astartes keyword - which means they cannot board any of the CSM transports. Nor is the Imperium keyword sufficient to allow them to board imperial transports, as they have no special rule allowing that (ie like Inquisition). Finally, they lost the infiltrate special rule they received with the 7th edition formation. So basically there's no way to get them up the field. With only one heavy weapon they're not so exciting as a backfield option. Cypher's datasheet has the same problem. I don't see anyone fielding these in matched play due to the transport handicap. To put it more strongly, the units are even more a load of trash than they were in 7th edition, even with the points decrease. Am I missing something? Thoughts? ....all that's not to mention they have the same unexciting Chosen loadout they had in 7th. The re-roll & morale buffs are nice, if not extremely characterful.

Hey everyone! There maybe similar posts floating around in random places but I think I may have found a way to use Cypher in a somewhat effective way. A little about this Fallen Angel. Dude uses two pistols with ranges of 16" & 12" meaning that an army he is in should be all about close range firepower. He can be fielded with any Chaos army or Imperium army allowing him incredible flexibility and Mysterious Protection is really damn good. This tactica is designed to develop deployment methods for Cypher with the goal of winning in mind. List - 975pts Faction: Imperium Outrider Detachment HQ Cypher - 110 (Warlord) FAST ATTACK Inceptor Squad x3 - 675 HEAVY SUPPORT Hellblaster Squad - 190 This army is 13 models. Has significant firepower. Denies Warlord victory conditions. Is fast and can disengage with the Inceptors and Cypher and still fire (without penalties?). I know this is a very small list. You will need to know which targets to need to use the hellblasters and Cypher's plasma pistol on. S7AP-4D1 and S8AP-3D2 is pretty damn good imho. Sure you don't have all the rerolls and that could hurt but you're still rolling 2+ for Cypher and 3+ for everything else. Also don't forget that Cypher can advance and still shoot. Anyway... what are your thoughts on Cypher? Edit: Also looking into using custodes to team up with Cypher. Might be interesting to have a bunch of gods roaming around the battle field.

A Cruel Angel's Thesis Being an account of the I Legion Angeli Tenebrae, the war prosecuted against a tyrant Emperor by the Warmaster Horus, and the fall of a Legion. "We, once-merciful Angels, have forgotten sympathy. Ascend now, for our names have become legend." - Attributed to Master Azas Vem, Knight of the Angeli Tenebrae, Blood of Terra, Lord of the Eastern Sphere, Survivor of Rangdan, the First Reaper, and a battle-born brother to Luther of Caliban. +++ The Fall of the Knights of Caliban and of Terra, of the Emperor's holy Angels of Death and Darkness, the revered First, is often attributed in cause to the perfidy of Ser Luther el'Caliban, brother to Lion el'Jonson, Lord of Angels and Slayer of the Last Beast. Rejection and custodianship weighed heavy on my lord Luther's shoulders, until he could stand no longer and broke beneath the strain. Independently of the Warmaster's rebellion of the same era, he made attempt to use the confusion and chaos of war to his advantage, a political gambit to seize the power his Lord had given him and claim the world of Caliban for his own. But he failed, and as a result Caliban was lost and a full half the Legion was lost to void, scattered to space and time. So does the story go among the ranks of my former brothers who even now relentlessly seek me, in a futile effort to redeem their perceived shame. The story is a lie. While it may well be true that the catalyst of the Fall of Angels was the action of Ser Luther, its true roots can be traced back many years prior, long before the Horus Heresy, or the great Crusade that preceded it, before the Genocides of Rangdan, all the way back through the Solar Pacification and the Unification Wars, to the very foundations of the Astartes upon Terra. The processes later founded to raise Legions to strength were merely in the very earliest stages of gestation, and the Emperor still prosecuted his war with the cohorts of the Tontrua Milites that would define that era of the Imperium. At the Legions' incept, many projects were being undergone, variations on the implantation process of geneseed that made a Space Marine. The best known of these were the Firstborn and the Paragons, but many more besides these existed, their names lost to history. The pain of these processes were unlike any other, and is it any surprise that many of those who survived the march of years turned their backs to the Emperor in grave defiance of tyranny? The First Legion's, always, even before the founding of Caliban and its lost primarch, and the subsequent melding with the Order, has been one of layers and complexity of rank and standing. Our organization was the template, yes, but the later Legions never fully knew all of that. The nominal Legion structure outlined by the officiants of Terra was merely a pale reflection in a darkened glass of the original. Circles within and circles without, informal and ritual, hidden, though not always secret: that was what defined us. We knew our place and we held our tongue before others. As such, our disquiet was silent until spoken of. Through our time in the Legion, nary a wayward word, though. There were five of us to begin with. Over time this number grew in strength. By the time of Caliban, our circle numbered in the thousands, all who had the same mind: sic semper tyrannis. The Emperor was a tyrant of the worst sort, and we would one day destroy him. We had chosen our side, even if we never chose to exercise upon our decision until the time was right. We stood in silence with the Warmaster. This tale, this recollection, is a history of our circle. We forwent with mercy and sympathy: such was a liability in the war against a tyrant and a despot who had none, even if it never was open. I was there at the beginning, and I remember my brother Azas Vem speaking us into motion. This here is my account, and my argument, my reason. This is my thesis. [Pict-capture: Knight-Sergeant Marqius was a brother who had served with us since the earliest days of Crusade and through the punishing days of the Rangdan Genocides that destroyed our Legion. I trusted him with my life, right up until the day he took the blade of a Decurion Paladin meant for me that final day on Caliban.]

Hi all, Having embarked on the 12 Months Hobby Challenge for 2022 by GrotSmasha, I thought I would track my progress here for general pointers and thoughts. As an FYI, this will be my first time using enamels, and anything outside of GW, and I dont own an airbrush. This is also my foray back into painting after about 5-6 years. I am seeking to play also, which has been a bit longer since I last did. First up, I posted a Leviathan in the 2022 hobby; Because I am on leave, and probably as I was too keen to get the model done this month, I am done already! However I am going to take a day to see if I want to go further; Couple of points, the black base has very much come out a Grey/Brown. Next model I will be using a better drybrush method on the black, and the AK Brown Wash, might be switched out for streaking grime, with less focus the higher up the model. The base does need more life, however I'm going to see how it sits with me over the coming weeks. It was just some All purpose filler with stones, and some spare plastic bits. However the legs do blend in well with the surrounding. Thoughts?

Welcome to the start of a project I’ve been brewing for the past 3 years in the back of my mind. This project is an attempt to bring the Visage of the Visions of Heresy 1st Legion to the tabletop. Above is my first proof of concept images, a decade ago when I first joined the Bolter and Chainsword I was an avid Horus Heresy Fan and was always rushing any ideas I had without taking time to really indulge my creativity, this time after a massive Hiatus I decided to look back on my fondest memories of the hobby and bring something from my childhood into the community, my beloved First Legion and Sons of the Lion. I welcome you to join me on this adventure of recreating a beloved army and concept of the angels of Death and the emperors first. We will be diving into Abrahamic lore and naming conventions and going to be setting many rules for the project in order to expand my potential and force me to learn new skills. Till the next update…