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Yesterday,I found this article: "20 Horus Heresy Solar Auxilia Trooper Colour Schemes and Painting Recipes All In One Place", by Vicent Knotley, from his own blog. Quite interesting and useful I think. And very handy. Some schemes are really cool. Each image per Trooper and colour scheme . https://vincentknotley.wordpress.com/2024/03/02/20-horus-heresy-solar-auxilia-trooper-colour-schemes-and-painting-recipes-all-in-one-place/

The Inanis Thrashers are the elite Astra Militarum regiments that hail from the inhospitable and harsh void stations of Inanis. Due to their harsh living and working conditions, the troops of these regiments make ideal void-borne warriors and often deploy as heavy void infantry formations. They also excell at planetary operations and can deploy as light infantry ground formations. As such, they are fully trained and equipped to deploy to void war zones, hazardous planetary environments and operate both as "interface" troops (meaning transitioning from void to ground operations in combat conditions) and fight heavily contested boarding actions. The regiments of Inanis are hardened fighters and vicious up close, deadly in melee as well as at range. Armed with the tools of their grim trade, they are not afraid to face their enemies in single combat, and feel the hot blood of the freshly-slain on their skin. The deadly, winding corridors of Inanis, endless mineshafts and tunnels deep below an asteroid's surface are where these specialists are borne and bred. Lightly armoured and armed with carbines, bullpups, and other short-barrelled weapons along with numerous deadly melee weapons, these close quarters specialists are trained to move and fight effectively in confined spaces. Most Inanis Clansmen regard the strict rationing, draconian regulations, and complex bureaucracy of the Departmento Munitorum as needless restrictions upon their capabilities. These regiments are populated with those who scavenge additional equipment from the battlefield, possessing a habit of finding things that have dropped into their pockets by 'accident', picking things up in the streets, finding 'junk', and generally acquiring things that belong to other people. Inhabitants of a varied kinds of orbital stations from agri-domes and trading hubs to defence stations. Inanis Clansmen generally spend time in heavy mining operations strip an entire belt of asteroids of valuable metals and materials as they freely flow between what jobs are required on their stations. It is no surprise that many individuals born to serve aboard these facilities spend their entire lives space-bound, never setting foot on a world's surface, unless, that is, they are chosen to serve in the Imperial Guard. Life amongst the machinery and cramped corridors of a void station is quite different to life beneath an open sky, and is confining even by the standards of a hive world. Due to their being born and raised in these void stations, the Inanis Thrashers train extensively in artificial and even zero-gravity environments, becoming especially adept at operating in such environments under normal conditions and in emergency situations. They are considered a Void born regiments are relatively rare within the Imperial Guard, as such are often highly valued by the general staff for their unique skills. Thrashers are often appear unnaturally pale and gaunt, combined with the insular, clannish ways of many Inanis have difficulties when interacting with non-Inanis regiments. Thrashers are well known for their fierce independence, as well as their highly innovative (though somewhat dangerous) methods. Other regiments generally do not think well of them. The Inanis use mines and processing facilities located throughout the subsector to acquire materials for the Imperium. Homeworld The Inanis' top priority is the survival and sustainability of their Complex. Most of their laws and customs revolve around this goal. Because every Inanis depends on his or her crewmates to survive, they are much more community-minded than individualistic than most. Loyalty, trust, and cooperation are highly prized qualities. Even in their ancient past they were very emotional people. Conditions aboard most Inanis stations and ships are extremely cramped. It is not uncommon for all family members to share the same small living space, which in turn is in close proximity to many other families' quarters. These spaces are often uncomfortable and ill-designed for living in, having been reappropriated from other functions such as storage. Families decorate their individual dwellings with colorful quilts, which serve to muffle sound and also to make the environment more cozy. Inanis place low value on personal possessions, instead evaluating objects by their usefulness and bartering them for other items once they are no longer needed. Every ship has a designated trading deck where those looking to barter can gather to do business. Inanis is governed by bodies such as the Board and the democratically-elected Conclave, though ship captains and onboard civilian councils tend to address most issues "in-house" before it gets that far. The Conclave is overseen by the Board, five Inanis who can override the Conclave's decisions. Inanis are divided into several clans that can be spread across several ships, or restricted to one. The Inanis Complex is broken up into various clans, sometimes spread over several ships and stations. Each individual ship or station has long been retrofitted to house as large a crew as possible. Over time the Inanis thin out the vessels they can't use or are too damaged to repair, pooling the resources to buy and convert new ships and stations. They rely mainly on secrecy to ensure their safety from predatory Imperial Representatives. They are extremely adaptable and can adjust their equipment and lifestyle to suit various harsh conditions. They rely on others for assistance, products, etc. as little as possible. Regimental Combat Doctrine First Wave clears a hole Second wave comes out and forms a kneeling firing line Throwing grenades Final line charges in melee while enemy is off balance I was thinking pop choke grenades into a tunnel, Flamer march forwards, spewing flames, then they can split, melee dudes charge forward, then behind them you could lascarbines supporting with suppressing fire and stun grenades

The Arali Siege Sappers are the Astra Militarum regiments that hail from the industrial trade world of Arali. Primarily recruited from the planet's Trade Guild Families who operate as the Regiment's officers while various gangs and travelers are rounded up to make up the foot troops. Arali Siege Homeworld A lifeless planet with an economy centered around gambling. Aside from a few uranium mines, gambling is the only industry on the planet, and with few resources and a poisonous atmosphere, loose gaming laws are the only reason this backwater colony exists. A small rocky planet with a toxic atmosphere of 83% carbon dioxide, 10% oxygen, and 6% nitrogen. The planet is famed for the many terraces that look as though they have been 'carved' into rock faces. An extensive network of caves also exists. While many people insist that these structures are not natural and must have been made by intelligent lifeforms, there is no actual evidence of this. In fact there is no evidence of life ever having existed on the planet besides these strange rock formations. When a nearby inhabited planet suffered a catastrophe, the caves were sealed off from the atmosphere and converted to serve as an emergency refugee camp. Many of the survivors still live there today, having converted the caves and tunnels into a vast underground city. Regimental Recruitment & Training The harsh Arali Siege homeworld conditioned the Arali psychology for toughness just as it did the body. Arali have always had a tendency to be selfish, unsympathetic, and blunt. They respect strength and self-reliance and are neither surprised nor offended by treachery. Their worst insult is to call someone "not worth killing". Most Arali trust and serve no one but themselves. This solitary attitude stems in part from a deep sense of fatalism and futility. The Arali live with a generally violent and short-sighted attitude of personal gain. Their version of cooperation is reflected in one of their sayings: "Seek the enemy of your enemy, and you will find a friend." Regimental Combat Doctrine Traditional Arali tactics are built on attritional mass-unit warfare. Equipped with cheap, rugged gear, troop formations were powerful but inflexible. Command and control was very centralized; soldiers in the field who saw a target contacted their commanders behind the lines to arrange fire support. To a Arali Commanders, killing is a science. They focus on developing clean, brute-force economy of motion that exploits their brutal strength to incapacitate enemies with a swift single blow of overwhelming power. They are callous and brutal, but methodical and disciplined. They use any means at their disposal to achieve their goals, no matter how reprehensible. Hostage-taking and genocide are acceptable means to ensure a quiet occupation with few Arali casualties. Arali military doctrine has a different take on what "scouting and reconnaissance" means. While other Regiments scouts prefer stealth and discretion in carrying out their tasks, Arali Seige scouts instead opt to deal psychological warfare when they find the enemy by way of occasional harassment or intentionally exaggerating their numbers. The reasoning is that it is a lot easier to count enemy numbers when some of them get blown up. Arali are known as siege sapper specialists. Methodical planning for finding a stronghold's weakness is premier for Arali Siege success for when found all sorts of further weakening such a point is applied before directing a brutal but swift taking of a point, breaking sieges. Notable Arali Siege Lt. Inoke Arterius: An extremely short-tempered and proud young man who always likes to think he is the strongest fighter in a situation, constantly challenging most people he comes across and wanting others to respect and praise him for his skill. Sergeant Eden Williams: Following her family's tradition, Eden enlisted in the Imperial Guard after high school and was assigned to the Recruit Training Depot. During training, then Private Williams was certified proficient with the standard-issue lasgun and light to heavy-weight combat suits. She also completed certification in zero-gravity combat aboard the Orbital Platform in geosynchronous orbit. For Hostile Environment Assault Training, she was awarded a commendation for her bold assault technique in a field exercise simulating an attack on defense emplacements.

The Ishtar Rangers are the highly trained Astra Militarum Regiments that hail from the Imperial pleasure wold of Ishtar, located in the Ishtar Sub-Sector in the Segmentum Ultima. These Guardsmen serve as Scouts and Snipers for the Imperium. Raised in the forests of Ishtar, hunting and scouting the way of life. Background Their origin from legitimate hunter/anti-poacher forces patrolling giant noble forest estates made ideal recruits. Skilled in woodcraft, hunting and marksmanship, self-reliant, but obedient to authority, extremely mobile, especially in forested terrain, the Ishtar Rangers are some of the best scouts on foot around. The regiments are skilled at surviving in the wilderness, and its soldiers are masters of operating in forests. Hunters and trackers almost without peer, there are few who can escape their pursuit. Utilising the long las or sniper rifle, the soldiers of these regiments hone their abilities to strike at range, preferably neutralising their targets without ever revealing their own presence. These Guardsmen are light infantry units trained in covert warfare tactics and deployed against the Imperium's enemies as infiltrators, assassins, and saboteurs. Stealthy and dangerous, these soldiers spend much of their time well behind enemy lines carrying out clandestine, top-secret missions behind enemy lines or even on worlds entirely held by foes. They tend to show more initiative and creative thinking in the field than the average Guardsman. Indeed, it is this ability to think on their feet and adapt to quickly changing tactical situations that keeps them alive and allows them to carry out their dangerous missions successfully. Experts at asymmetric warfare, their missions typically include killing or capturing enemy leaders, interrogation, and deep infiltration strikes against enemy installations and infrastructure. The commanders of these regiments are often quiet and contemplative, men of few words. When one of them does speak, it is with great and solemn purpose, to give commands that have been considered in exacting detail. The Commanders of Ishtar Rangers do not command loyalty through rhetoric or heroics, but through quiet competence, and their men have learned to trust in the skill commanders show and rely on the chain of command. Regimental Recruitment & Training Soldiers endure the great mental and psychological stresses and physical fatigue of combat; to create and cultivate such a physical and mental environment. The training primarily comprises field craft instruction; students plan and execute daily patrolling, perform reconnaissance, ambushes, and raids against dispersed targets, followed by stealthy movement to a new patrol base to plan the next mission. Receive instruction on military mobility training, as well as techniques for employing a platoon for continuous combat patrol operations in a mountainous environment". The stamina and commitment of the Ishtar Ranger is stressed to the maximum. At any time, he or she may be selected to lead tired, hungry, physically expended Ishtar Rangers to accomplish yet another combat patrol mission. The Ishtar Ranger continues learning how to sustain themselves and their subordinates in the Forests. The rugged terrain, severe weather, hunger, mental and physical fatigue, and the psychological stress the Ishtar Rangers encounters allow the leaders to measure their capabilities and limitations and those of their fellow Ishtar Rangers. Regimental Combat Doctrine Rangers are full-time soldiers employed by nobles to patrol between fixed border fortifications in reconnaissance providing early warning of raids. During offensive operations, they act as scouts and guides, locating villages and other targets for task forces drawn from the militia or other troops. Rangers often perform Fire-fighting and Law Enforcement duties as well. Further their doctrine reflects these duties when in the field, often deployed to aid in policing civilians on the battlefield. When in combat they prefer to remain unseen and act from a distance.

The Cogger Hive Guard are the Astra Militarum regiments that hail from the industrial hive world of Cogger. Primarily recruited from the planet's factory workers that fail to uphold their industrial quotes or from the most incorrigible hive gangers, these recruits are rounded up by the hive cities local Adeptus Arbites and forced to undergo neural-conditioning. After being "programmed" with the necessary knowledge and skills needed, they are inducted into the ranks of the Cogger Hive Guard. Cogger Hive Guard The PDF of the Hive World Cogger are made from those factory workers that don’t meet quota or particularly troublesome Gangers arrested by the Arbites, they then go through a variation of mind wipe and are implanted with new memories and training and are used to protect the great Hive Cities. The most promising of these mind-wiped PDF are formed into the regiments of the Cogger Hive Guard. Cogger Hive Guardsmen undergo a variation of mind wiping known as Neural Programming provided by Mjorn Techpriests that is for the mass use of training their soldiers. A subject endures multiple sessions in a Neural Programming tank where they were "programmed" with knowledge and skills needed for the desired occupation. Cogger Hive Guard commanders preferred "obedient" over "improvisational" and use of Neural Programmed soldiers possessing little or no initiative a fodder for the grinding wheels of the Imperial wars. These Cogger Hive Guard are known for the Line Infantry, Armored, and Mechanized Infantry Regiments they produce from the foundries and factories of the Hives on the planet Cogger. Cogger also produces a small number of Penal Legions of those that resist Neural Programming but fill up the over flowing prisons of the Arbites. Those workers who commit minor offenses are given neural programming to quickly render them combat capable and to ensure obedience, at the cost of some of their memories, prior skills, personality, and initiative. They are led by non-programmed officers drawn from the nobility that runs the massive Factorum-Cities. These soldiers form the PDF of Cogger, which are under the direct command of the Planetary Governor, as well as forming the bulk of forces seconded to the Imperium as part of Cogger's Tithe, in the form of Cogger Hive Guard Mechanized Regiments. The second kind of regiment is the Cogger Hive Guard Armored Regiment. Using the Leman Russ Exterminator as it's primary vehicle, it is one of the most common Leman Russ variants, and although it surrenders the ability to effectively combat enemy armour, it is an extremely effective anti-infantry vehicle. The Leman Russ Exterminator is capable of laying down a withering hail of fire. The Exterminator's Autocannon shells can tear through a lightly armoured chassis as easily as they rip through flesh and bone. Though lacking the long range of some other tank variants, the Leman Russ Exterminator is capable of devastating whole ranks of enemy infantry before they have reached the Astra Militarum lines. The final kind of regiment that is produced is more of a way to get rid of the worst scum of the hives. These individuals are those that resist Neural Programming but are the worst kinds of criminals and heretics the Hives produce. Coming from the various prison facilities that each hive has for those that cross the nobility, the Cogger Hive Penal Legions are massed light Infantry given explosive collars and shock cuffs, are transported as mine sweeper support for the regiments in which Cogger Hives pride themselves on. Also those who have committed greater crimes, rather than taking up space in prisons, are subjected to far more intense levels of neural programming, completely washing away their former selves until the subject is barely more than a servitor. These programmed criminals are then sent to the Legiones Penatante for use as cannon fodder. Regimental Recruitment & Training A significant proportion of the Cogger Hive Guard was manned by "culturally challenged" individuals who had undergone neural programming via brain surgery, implants such as aggression inhibitors, and programming tanks. Counseling and drug therapy were also used to help overcome criminal and/or anti-social tendencies. Despite this source of manpower, it was not always sufficient to replace battlefield losses, and instances of law-abiding persons being conscripted and subjected to "programming" were not unknown. In any case, volunteers are few. Recruits and conscripts considered too scrawny or weak for the Cogger Guard are given steroid and stimulant treatments in order to increase their muscle mass. Criminal recruits were given no R&R time. Regimental Combat Doctrine The Cogger Hive Guard Mechanized Infantry is the Militarum Regimentum of the Astra Militarum that fights as mechanized infantry alongside Chimera and Chimerax armoured personnel carriers in defense of the strategically-located Imperial Hive World of Cogger and its surrounding star systems. Cogger, located in the Segmentum Ultima, is a planet blighted and poisoned by millennia of heavy industrial output, though it is also a major manufacturing centre of Autocannons. In addition, Guardsman from Cogger make fine assault troops for fighting in urban and hive city environments as well as heavy industrial zones, chemical sumps, and other such toxic regions. Their equipment and experience with such acrid environments make them invaluable for trudging through all sorts of polluted or otherwise noxious wastelands, from underhives filled with the toxic residue of ancient atomic generators to ruin-filled swamps rife with hallucinogenic flora, quicksand, and near-invisible pockets of lethal gas.

I haven't been having any luck with my skitarii infantry in my past games. to be fair I haven't built my lists around them per say either, but for what they do right now It is hard to justify bringing them in my games. Maybe I am just having really bad luck with them, or maybe I am expecting too much, but right now I feel that they don't do as much as scions or other guard units while being more expensive at the same time. Is there any way to get more milage out of vanguard or Rangers?

Dear Liber, more than half a year later, kindled by the upcomming 8th Editon, I took the time to go through my Index Astartes for my Chapter the Thousand Fists, and finalize the texts. I can't remember when or why, I came up with writing it as letters from an Apothecarius of the Thousand Fist to an Apothecarius of the Scythes of the Emperor, but that's the form it has now. Probably it's because, the whole reason for coming up with a homegrown chapter is, it have an own background to start writing more stories about. I'll be publishing a new letter every day in this thread (five are already written two others half way done and I have content for a ninth). As always: Please be kind, when it comes to orthography (English is not my first Language) and thanks in advance for any Feedback. I sincerly hope you enjoy it, your humble servant, Filius P.S.: Thanks everyone, who already helped me. I wouldn't have come so far without the people in this most amazing place of the Galaxy in the 40th Millennium. Thanks a lot! P.P.S.: I skipped that "publishing a new letter every day" thing. I'l just publish them here, when they are ready.