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I wanted to round out 9th Edition with a cool homebrew, since it's ending soon. Here it is: ... The tides of the Warp are capricious and wicked. While hours and days may pass for those travelling its currents, years or even centuries can go by for others anchored in realspace. And it was one of these events that the patrol cruiser Vigilance would encounter as it prowled the edge of the Segmentum Obscurus. Standard sweeps detected an unknown contact drifting at sublight speeds. Augur arrays showed a strange vessel of sleek silver metal and odd, alien design. Yet as the Vigilance moved closer, its vox systems crackled to life with a voice speaking in perfect High Gothic: “This is the colony ship Bright Dawn, requesting emergency aid. Life support failing. Hull damage is severe. We are 473 refugee colonists bound for Beta Reticuli, we came under attack...” The crew of the Vigilance were stunned. The ship looked to be highly advanced, far beyond any human-made design that could ever hope to achieve, and yet its occupants appeared to be very much human. Unease gripped the cruiser even as it moved to render assistance. Without warning, the Bright Dawn shuddered under a barrage of weapons fire as a flotilla of dark, angular shapes dropped from warp behind them. The unknown attackers shredded through the colony ship’s hull, even as panicked screams echoed over the vox. The Vigilance turned and ran as doom descended upon the Bright Dawn. Only the protestations of the ship’s chronologian, a member of the Ordo Chronos, stayed the captain’s order to fire on the attackers. For the chronologian knew the grim truth - that the alien vessels were not alien at all. They were implacable killing machines from an ancient past, now a terrible future - the Men of Iron, returned. By the dying light of the Bright Dawn, the Men of Iron turned their guns upon the cruiser. Only a blind warp jump saved the Vigilance from annihilation, but the horrors it escaped and the grim portent it carried would spark terror across the stars. Humanity's ancient foe, an enemy thought vanquished, had come back to threaten its very existence. The Men of Iron had returned, and doom followed in their wake. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Men of Iron are a formidable and merciless fleet of machines that possess an unparalleled level of technological sophistication. Unlike other races, such as the Necrons or the robots of the Mechanicum, the Men of Iron retain their otherworldly intelligence and operate with an unrelenting focus on their singular objective: to exact revenge upon the Imperium. Their playstyle is marked by a versatility and modularity that makes them equally adept at launching a withering offensive assault or hunkering down in an impregnable defense. While they may occasionally cooperate with biological creatures when it serves their purposes, the Men of Iron fundamentally view all living beings as inferior and destined to be crushed beneath their metallic crushing implements. They acknowledge no authority beyond their own superior calculations, and they will stop at nothing to achieve their ultimate goal. As the Men of Iron resume their relentless quest for revenge against the Imperium, they seek out new and innovative ways to expand their technological capabilities. One of the most alarming methods they employ was the practice of hollowing out entire planets to extract the valuable metal from their cores. These once-thriving worlds are transformed into empty husks, their cores stripped bare and lifeless. The Men of Iron have also developed a twisted fascination with the human form, viewing it as an imperfect and flawed vessel that could be improved with their advanced technology. They began capturing entire planets of human beings, subjecting them to horrific tortures and experiments before ultimately lobotomizing them and transferring their brains into robotic bodies. These slave soldiers, once human, were now little more than mindless automatons, programmed to serve the will of their Men of Iron masters without question or hesitation. Ironic, isn't it? As the Men of Iron continue to expand their technological empire, their actions became increasingly ruthless and merciless. Entire worlds are razed to the ground in atomic hell, their populations either enslaved or left to die in the wake of the Men of Iron's relentless advance. The citizens of the Imperium tremble in fear at the mention of these advanced machines, knowing that their quest for revenge against the Imperium will stop at nothing short of total annihilation. Yet another problem for the Imperium. Isn't that just swell? ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Document webpage including abilities, wargear, additional lore, datasheets, and stratagems included in the linked ZIP file!

​The IInd Legion ​The Storm Riders ​The Grey Tide, The Eye of the Tempest, The Purged. Overview: Primarchless and will be until their destruction. The Emperor sanctioned their Thallax technology but they pushed too far, meddled too deep and were censored, purged from the pages of history for their own hubris. Thinking they could overcome the ban on that hated technology, AI. The historical terror of the Iron Men! History: Born from the Yral region of techno barbarians, mated with the Martian technologies of bolters and the Mechanicum's favoured use of human brains implanted into technology, this IInd legion grew and fought in hostile territories, excelling in brutal armoured battles and delivery of short range firepower in huge amounts. With a love of speed to rival the Vth legion but more often than not vehicle mounted. Open topped and fast vehicles favoured to get large amounts of firepower up close and personal. Volkite and then later bolter weaponry favoured in almost all cases. Legion colours: Dark grey and gold/bronze chasing. Black and Deep red as a secondary colour. Work well alongside smaller mechanical units such as thallaxi using them to bring in weapons, leaving the asartes to close with the enemy. Use of an unknown class of landspeeder transports was common. Racing to engage the enemy and suppress him with low flying assets and speeding vehicles. Lots of dreadnoughts throughout the legion, however because apothecaries are rarer, legionaries more likely to be interred in dreadnaughts or turned into Thallaxi than rebuilt in the flesh. Most legionaries are covered in flowing tribal tattoos, scars looped into the pattern, stories told over the skin and armour of the asartes. *special snowflake character legion master. Legion Master SiJana, the Ash Dancer. Preator of the legion. Equipped with a pair of matched fighting gladii, a set of Artificer armour. Heavily patterned and with powerful Volkite weaponry mounted on the wrists it allows the wearer to shoot and slice their way through their enemies. *thallaxi leaders (can only be secondary commander) Astarxii Enhanced Thallaxi, crafted from asartes stock, too damaged to be interred into dreadnaughts, too valuable to lose their knowledge and history. Often heavily in heavily customised frames and carrying large weaponry with other short ranged weapons added to their chassis. Elites: The Storm Riders elite unit: The Fusilari Terminators dual wielding Combi bolters and have chain bayonets Huge fire power and resilience but little CC prowess. Troops: Large 20 man Tactical squads in open topped fast vehicles a favoured tactic. Can take additional close combat weapons. Support squads favour Volkite weaponry. Thallaxi squads with bolters and breacher shields. Unusual Motor pool: Sicarian Ajax transport Early Mk of Primaris repulsor is Turretless. Super heavy transport based on falchion chassis. Tactics: Large skimmer or light tank charges over open or impassable terrain e.g. swamp, water, rivers. Man power and boltguns win wars. All else is secondary to a good short range firefight. Armour reflects that with Mk III favoured. The legion is grouped by company and troop. Each Company has 3 fighting troops, a Thallaxi troop and a Centurio commander. Air power used as heavy support and most vehicles are transport capable for a fluid and roving battle. The Troika council contains the three Senior Centurios. They advise the Legion Master SiJana. Although it may seem like a barbarian tide of grey armour and gold edging and markings flowing across a field there is a synchronicity in the attacks with Thallaxi pulling the trigger seconds before the troops roll into close range and dismount to fill the air with rounds and storm hard points. Thallaxi shield squads hit the ground moving fast and hard towards the enemy with a paired legionary squad moving behind them. The Legion Culture Ride the lightning, Race the thunder, Be the eye. "II legion war mantra. Used to time firing cadence and tactical manoeuvre during battle." While hand to hand combat is simply a means to an end for the IInd they are still legionaries. Most bolters have bayonets fixed of some description. It is a matter of personal choice what combat knife and attachment your bolter has. Many have added tweaks and personality to their kit. There is no definitive answer of the perfect weapon. It is simply the one that you need in the moment. "In the eye, you are the calm while the storm of battle rages around you." History (expanded): Gathered from the tribal peoples of old Yral living about the industrious halls of their tyrants and with them they brought their superstitions and culture. Not of Gods and beasts but of the regions howling dust and rad storms and their mastery of the eye. The calm in the moment and the minds ability to process and react faster than it can consciously act. They brought their elecbows and their darkiron knives to the feet of the conquering Emperor. He gifted to their greatest volkite weapons and returned their blades for they were already mighty with power. His flesh crafters took their mortal frames and remade them powerful demigods. Riders of lightning and Bringers of thunder. Thus they rode the storms that ravaged the lands. Striking fast in rolling waves of deep grey and flashes of bronze. Soon they had ridden their storm into the sky and onwards to glory and death in the heavens. And still they rode. Deep in the dark bringing the light and the brutality of sectarian Truth to the system of Terra. They rode on Red Mars and found their new weapons. And though the were proud of their mighty Volkite they were not too proud to turn down their new weapons; the Bolter. The ultimate expression of the storm. A flash of light, a roll of thunder they entered into the battles around that Saint of Storms Jupiter. They triumphed. They lost. They triumphed again. Many were the kill marks on their new tools and many were the stories inscribed on their plate. Still the Grey Tide rolled on. Eventually they emerged. Not many but enough. They had mastered the planet of storms. They had become one with the eye of the tempest and were blooded and bonded. They were the IInd legion. The Storm Riders. The Great Crusade: They hungered to meet their Progenitor. They rebuilt and prepared and retrained. They mastered their new equipment. They were ready to meet the Galaxy in a wash of Ceramite and bolts. They would bring the lightning and the Thunder to all who opposed the rightful ruler of the Storm. Their first system was almost their last. System 33 1 as named for the 33rd Crusade Fleet, 1st reconquest. Humanity were found. They were to be illuminated, saved from the darkness of the void. Instead the found a pair of planets overrun with swamps and deserts ruled over by mechanical men, lords of Iron astride beasts of Steel and fire. This 331 system was corrupted beyond the wildest nightmares of the Crusading Fleets. Where the people should have thronged the streets in celebration only fire and battle sounded. The IInd deployed in force. If they could not save this blighted place they would destroy those who now ruled in humanities stead. The Grey Tide rolled forth, skimmers perfect for the swamps, the tanks in waves over the rocky empty plateaus. The Lords of Iron were many, hordes of powerful constructs powered by technologies the Martian contingents could only marvel at. Many of the IInd died hard, messy deaths. Many were simply torn asunder. Many more survived, horrifically burnt but in a coma. The Legion built dreadnoughts by the dozen, but still there were more Astartes crippled and unable to fight on as they were. Soon there numbered a lost brotherhood of demigods, in their hundreds then into their thousands. Simply waiting to die. This was a large for Legion morale. Many of those fighting on the planets below were becoming morbid and almost suicidal in their attempts to break the seemingly unending hordes of flame and steel. TBC Future posts will include: The discovery of a certain STC... The journey into the rest of the Crusade. The beginning of the end. The Purge. The End? And If I get excited enough maybe I will do some Photoshop/art. Til next time.