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The term 'Blackshield' came into being to describe the phenomenon that came into being in the early to middle years of the Insurrection. The term, however, was not new and had it roots in the most ancient of martial codes. According to such codes, a warrior might choose to forgo his identity and allegiance, and cover the symbol of his identity on his knightly shield. As such, this action hid both the warrior's identity and his true intentions. Although this practice was not uncommon during the earlier ages of man, were factions warred and tousled, it had no place in the blossoming Imperium of Man where there was unity and the Emperor's Imperial Truth. War and chaos took root, however, in the dying days of the Great Crusade as Icarion Anasem turned on his Emperor - and on his father - and the Icarian Insurrection began. It is not known when the first Blackshields appeared on the battlefields of the Insurrection, although black-clad warriors without any emblem or design on their armour were recorded to be mounting hit-and-run operations on traitorous Harbinger fleets. It was widely noted by traitor fleets that it is likely that a high proportion of the loyalist Blackshields were Iron Bears, enraged at the loss of their genesire. Likewise, it is to be noted that many recorded Blackshields identified appeared to be supporting Icarion, outcasts from various loyalist-pledged legions. Although the Blackshield warbands scattered across the galaxy are completely individual and have little relation with one another, it is noted that most have crudely painted their armour and wargear black to hide their allegiance and identity. In this regard, Blackshield warbands are completely different to the bands of Shattered Legion marines who still loyally retain the sense of identity and belonging to their legion. In the Eastern side of the galaxy, it is recorded that various Traitor battleships have been boarded, and crew executed. Although Insurrectionist generals have sent small search-and-destroy parties to hunt down the Blackshield group, none have returned. It has been proposed by some more audacious scholars that the Blackshield war band is far larger than previously thought, and has been infiltrating weapon cartels and other underground organisations. Others suggest that there is not one, single war band, but multiple groups working is a similar Segmentum of the galaxy. This notion has been dismissed, however, as blurred pict-captures from pillaged ships show marines in chalky black armour covered in warpaints and tattoos, with no signs of Crusade heraldry recognisable. The marines have been identified to be a singular organisation because all recorded marines bore icons and painted designs of angels and cherubim. As such, Traitor and Loyalist personnel alike have taken to calling the war band the Lost Angels. +++MORE FLUFF TO COME+++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ First Character http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/HQ.gif HQ Eros and Damocles(??? Points) WSBSSTWIALdSvEros and Damocles4666434102+ Eros was a Terran aspirant to the XII legion - the Wardens of Light, and having passed all tests and trials, he was implanted with additional bodily systems and organs (as well as the gene seed of Gwalchavad, the XII legion's primarch). However, the implantation and transformation process to become a fully-fledged space marine is notoriously fickle, and while his brothers and kin emerged from their hab-pods as demigods, Eros emerged stunted and misshapen. Eros' stature did not change, and his left arm was now a withered stump, ending above the elbow. Worst of all, Eros' face was malformed, and he would never naturally see again. The marines responsible for their legion's recruitment agreed that although Eros could not possibly serve in the field of battle, he could become a chapter serf. So, Eros toiled in the legion's armoury in the service of astartes techmarines after being outfitted with a pair of augmented eyes. Because of the nature of his work, Eros was not present during the devastating Day of Revelation. However, vox casts and rescue flares alerted him of the treason, and so he snuck aboard a tiny vessel and immediately jettisoned from the larger Wardens cruiser. The tiny ship Eros used to flee had very little supplies, and therefore would only last a week, at best, so eventually Eros sent out a flare, fully aware of the potential for a traitor vessel to be alerted to his presence instead. However, a ship identifying itself as the Parable of Hope located Eros' ship and welcomed him aboard. He took refuge in the ship while he spent months designing, building and tinkering on a project he kept hidden from the ship's crew. Months later, crew were astounded to see a wraith-like shadow following Eros, as big (or so some said) as a dreadnought. One day, the ship was assaulted by a small frigate of void corsairs. Despaired, the Hope's crew offered their cargo to the invaders. Ignoring their muted plea, the corsairs boarded the ship and began a systematic slaughter of the ship's crew. When asked if anything could be done to make the corsairs abort their attack, the pirates' leader laughed and claimed that if anyone could beat him in one-to-one combat, his crew would abandon there raid. Shocked, the pirates' leader watched in horror as a metal goliath strode forward to accept his mocking challenge. The metal being picked up the corsair and smashed him against the ship's wall, before tossing him back to the terrified corsairs. Predictably, the corsairs fled, and in gratitude the Hope was pledged to Eros' service. Eros, forgoing his legion, painted his armour black and began his crusade to unite refugees of the Insurrection, assembling a crew of marines who had left their chapter (and were hence labelled Blackshields). UNIT TYPE Eros and Damocles: Infantry (Character).WARGEAR Deliverance Leviathan-Pattern Talons The Steel Hide SPECIAL RULES Independent Character Legiones Astartes Very Bulky Fear Cyclic Tactical Protocols An age-old relic recovered by Eros from a xenos merch-frigate. Identified by Mechanicum techs-seers as a fully-automatic gun restored from a bygone era. Eros has heavily modified the gun to fire rounds laced with tiny, razor-sharp pieces of shrapnel that shred and tear through flesh and armour alike. In the middle of battle, Eros has been know to climb upon Damocles' gigantic shoulders, and use him as a stable firing platform; Deliverance spewing razor-filament bullets while Damocles hacks and smash foes with his huge, custom-built lightening claws. Deliverance WeaponRangeStrengthAPTypeDeliverance36"73Assault 4, Rending, Shred. Wargear - Deliverance Eros fitted Damocles' fingers with huge talons, each one pulsing with electrical energy. Each talon's edge is atom-thick, and thus able to cleave clean through the hardest, most armoured, objects with horrifying ease. Leviathan-Pattern Talons WeaponRangeStrengthAPTypeLeviathan-Pattern Talons-+21Melee, Master-crafted. Wargear - Leviathan-Pattern Talons When Eros toiled under the guidance of XII legion Techmarines, he learnt of technologies and systems that further enhanced the object that they were implanted on. As such, when Eros fled from the Day of Revelation, and began to build Damocles to guard him and compensate for his grievously stunted physical form, he was quick to work technology into the machine that further enhanced his martial performance. The Steel Hide confers to Eros and Damocles a 2+ armour save and a 3++ invulnerable save. Additionally, it contains a teleport homer, nuncio vox, cognise signum and gives Eros and Damocles the Nightvision USR. Wargear - The Steel Hide Although Damocles can claim to have a from of sentience, he is still ultimately a machine, and as thus had to be programmed with various tactical protocols to bolster his tactical flexibility in combat situations. In the beginning of his/her turn, the owning player must choose one Tactical Protocol. The effects of the Protocol last until the owning player's next turn: Anti-armour: All assault attacks made by Eros and Damocles gain Armourbane. Weaponmaster: Eros and Damocles gain +1 WS. Umbra-pattern cloaking protocol: All enemy models firing at Eros and Damocles must do so at -1 BS. Special Rule - Cyclic Tactical Protocols Any feedback, C&C and advice would be appreciated! http://image.bolterandchainsword.com//public/style_emoticons/default/smile.png