Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'Space Wolves'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Forums

  • ++ GUESTS, ADVERTISERS, AND LOGGED OUT MEMBERS ++
    • + REGISTERING AN ACCOUNT +
  • ++ COMMUNITY ++
    • + NEWS, RUMORS, AND BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS +
    • + AMICUS AEDES +
    • + EVENTS +
    • + INTRODUCE YOURSELF +
    • Blogs
    • Clubs
  • ++ FORGE ++
    • + GENERAL PCA QUESTIONS +
    • + WORKS IN PROGRESS +
    • + HALL OF HONOUR +
    • + TUTORIALS AND HOW TO'S +
  • ++ IMPERIUM ++
    • + ADEPTA SORORITAS +
    • + ADEPTUS ASTARTES +
    • + ADEPTUS MECHANICUS +
    • + ASTRA MILITARUM +
    • + IMPERIAL KNIGHTS +
    • + TALONS OF THE EMPEROR +
    • + THE IMPERIUM OF MANKIND +
  • ++ CHAOS ++
    • + CHAOS DAEMONS +
    • + CHAOS KNIGHTS +
    • + HERETIC ASTARTES +
    • + REALM OF CHAOS +
  • ++ XENOS ++
    • + AELDARI +
    • + DRUKHARI +
    • + GENESTEALER CULTS +
    • + LEAGUES OF VOTANN +
    • + NECRONS +
    • + ORKS +
    • + T'AU EMPIRE +
    • + TYRANIDS +
  • ++ STRATEGIUM ++
    • + OFFICIAL RULES +
    • + TACTICA +
    • + LIBER VICTORUM +
  • ++ THE HORUS HERESY ++
    • + AGE OF DARKNESS +
    • + LEGIONS IMPERIALIS +
    • + ADEPTUS TITANICUS +
    • + WARHAMMER: THE HORUS HERESY +
  • ++ IN THE GRIM DARKNESS OF THE FAR FUTURE ++
    • + OTHER GAMES +
    • + THE BLACK LIBRARY +
  • ++ FAN-MADE ++
    • + THE LIBER +
    • + HOMEGROWN RULES +
    • + SPECIAL PROJECTS +
    • + FAN FICTION +
  • ++ ORDO ADMINISTRATUM ++
    • + FORUM RULES +
    • + BOLTER AND CHAINSWORD 101 +
    • + BUG REPORTS +
    • + THE SUGGESTION BOX +
  • Brotherhood of the Lost's Discussions
  • The Chronicles of Saint Katherine's Aegis's Rules Development
  • The Chronicles of Saint Katherine's Aegis's Saint Katherine's Aegis Campaign
  • North America's Discussions
  • South America's Discussions
  • Europe's Discussions
  • Asia's Discussions
  • Africa's Discussions
  • Australia's Discussions
  • 40K Action Figure Afficionados!'s Custom Figures
  • 40K Action Figure Afficionados!'s Fun Photos/Poses
  • + The Battles for Armageddon +'s Which War is Which?
  • + The Battles for Armageddon +'s Useful links
  • + The Battles for Armageddon +'s Discussions
  • +Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten+'s Topics
  • The Cabal of Dead Ink's Submissions Box
  • Oldhammer 40k's Oldhammer Discussions
  • Indomitus's Discussion

Categories

  • Painting & Modeling
    • Decals
  • Game Systems
    • Warhammer 40,000
    • Adeptus Titanicus: The Horus Heresy
    • Aeronautica Imperialis
    • Age of Darkness - Horus Heresy
    • Battlefleet Gothic
    • Epic
    • Gorkamorka
    • Inquisimunda/Inq28
    • Inquisitor
    • Kill Team
    • Necromunda
    • Shadow War: Armageddon
    • Space Hulk
    • Warhammer 40,000 Roleplaying Games
    • Other Games
  • Background (Lore)
    • Tools
  • Other Downloads
    • Army List Templates
    • Desktop Backgrounds
  • Legio Imprint
  • Oldhammer 40k's Oldhammer Files
  • Indomitus's Files

Calendars

  • Community Calendar
  • Warhammer Mt Gravatt Championship Store, Brisbane's Championship Store Events
  • North America's Calendar
  • South America's Calendar
  • Europe's Calendar
  • Asia's Calendar
  • Africa's Calendar
  • Australia's Calendar

Blogs

  • Noserenda's meandering path to dubious glory
  • Evil Eye's Butterfly Brain Induced Hobby Nonsense
  • The Aksha'i Cruentes - A World Eaters Crusade Blog
  • Waffling on - a Hobby blog about everything
  • + Necessary Ablation: apologist's blog +
  • I am the Very Model of a Modern Major Hobbyist
  • Liber Bellum
  • +Cooling the Rage+ Majkhel's blog
  • Drakhearts - Hobby blog and general musings
  • CFH test blog.
  • The Motive Force Was Inside You All Along
  • Spazmolytic's Trip into the Void
  • Wandering the Void
  • Skirmish Mats Product and Company News
  • Khornestar's Amateur Blood Blog
  • Its the Horus Apostasy, not Horus Heresy....
  • GreenScorpion Workbench
  • Flitter Flutter Goes the Hobby Mojo
  • The Yncarne's Hand
  • Conversions and Scratch Building Madness
  • Ordo Scientia
  • Doobles' slow grind to inbox zero
  • Death Angel
  • WAR's Blog
  • Xenith's Hobby Hangout
  • Brother Nathans...everythings...
  • Killersquid's Chaos Knights
  • 40K Feast & Famine
  • The Black & Red: An Accounting of the Malexis Sector and the Nihil Crusade
  • Plz motivate me blog
  • Wraithwing's Primaris Space Wolves - The Blackmanes
  • Brother Casman's Meanderings
  • Antarius’ Aisle of Fame
  • My 40kreativity blog ( mostly art )
  • The Archives of Antios
  • Straight Outta the Warp - A Brazen Claws Blog
  • Lord Sondar
  • The Strifes of the Matteus Subsector
  • Some Little Plastic Homies
  • immortel
  • General hobby blog
  • Moonreaper's Lore Introspections and Ideas
  • Snakes of Ithaka Hobby Blog
  • McDougall Designs News blog
  • Grotz Hobby Hole Commissions
  • Stealth_Hobo's Hobby Blog (Imperial Fists and Other Stuff)
  • Wall A & B1 up to damp course
  • ZeroWolf's Hobby Madness
  • Saucermen Studios - 3D Printable Terrain
  • TTCombat Paints and Ultramarines
  • Bouargh´s miniatures´ closet clean-up
  • Faith and Teef, a toaae blog
  • Here There Be Monsters
  • Cult of the Octanic Blade - tinpact's Drukhari
  • Sons of the Dawn
  • Maybe this will help
  • Ashen Sentinels - an Ultima Founding Space Marine Chapter
  • Sanguine Paladins Hobby Blog
  • Silver Consuls-Rise to Glory
  • Gaston's Salamander Cult: A GSC Blog
  • A hobby journey for the Horus heresy
  • selnik's hobby blog
  • Tyriks's Tyranids
  • Halandaar's Badab Blog!
  • Saracen's Batreps
  • milddead’s Deathguard
  • TC's Odds and Sods
  • The Order of the Broken Arrow
  • Sporadic Hobby Thoughts
  • TheArtilleryman's Fighting Machines
  • Hobby And Design
  • Wormwoods' Various Projects
  • The Observation Post
  • the blog that will probably be renamed
  • Domhnall's hobby goodness
  • Tomcat's WH40K Laser Creations

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Discord


Location


Interests


Faction


Armies played


CustomTitle

  1. Hello! I’m new here and a returning player to 40k. I’m starting a new space wolves army, and thought I’d make a thread to document the process. I’ve chosen the Stormwolves Great Company and my first model conversion is a Primaris in Gravis Armour interpretation of the Wolf Lord Bjorn Stormwolf. Forgive the blu-tac handle on his noggin.
  2. https://www.myminifactory.com/frontier/primal-hounds-1772 primal hounds - space wolf bits - my mini factory (Kickstarter like) I like a bunch of the bits in this, example of Some of them below. They are offering stl files and or physical prints
  3. - WELCOME BACK - With the release of 9th edition and our shiny new supplement it seems we've good reason and cause for some new discussions relating to our units. Every week we'll feature a new unit available to the 6th with the purpose of discussing the tactics, use, and synergies around them. The Space Wolves are also about legends, sagas and great deeds as well so each week will also kick off or feature a showcase for you bloodclaws and longfangs alike to show off your units and inspire your battle brothers. These discussions will be archived to allow for reference by the new and old as well! Note, this isn't to overly focus on any nerfs, etc, from previous editions; the rules are as they are so try to unlock its potential for those who wish to use them all the same. Similarly, this thread is only for using the option being discussed; if you feel something is a better choice make your case in a constructive way. - Week 1 - - Drop Pods - How do Space Wolves best use Drop Pods? Wargear? Which strategems are worth throwing out? Any solid unit combos? What say you fearless Warriors of the Rout? And please post your finished orbital death taxis here!
  4. 1. Army Building in 9th Edition post. A preview of the follow-on article. 2. Army Building Guide for 9th Edition article. The full eleven page article. 3. Buying Recommendations for new Space Wolves Players. 4. Wulfen Lore through the Ages article. Sixteen pages of consolidated Wulfen Lore, from Rogue Trader through 8th edition. 5. Example Terrain Traits cheat sheet. Something you can put together for your own specific terrain, to have all of the traits close at hand. 6. Strike Force Missions cheat sheet. To have the details of the Mission Primaries and Secondaries close at hand. I haven't included all of the Secondaries - just the ones that I expect to use most often. 7. Blank Stratagems cheat sheet. Fill this in with the Stratagems that you expect to use most often. Put them in order of 'Timing' so you find things more quickly, according to whatever phase you are in. 8. How I Organize for Battle post. A description, with photos, of how I assemble useful 3-ring binders for each of my armies. 9. 9th Edition Score Sheet. An excellent way to track your Primary and Secondary mission victory points. 10. 9th Edition Space Wolves Faction Focus. Enjoy, Val
  5. - The Hunters in the Dark - Bran Redmaw, bloody-handed warrior, He piles the skulls of his enemies, He builds a mound of the fallen, His foes weep rivers of blood. Compared to my pace last year, this break I've been on has felt like forever. I haven't really made it a huge secret that the direction of late has been taxing so to speak but nothing is taking my wolves from me. I just need a direction shift. My previous work was sort of conceptually "the best of the best". Space wolf special forces from Logans own Company of the great wolf. I used a lot of older armor marks to denote ranks with a lot of noble and heroic poses and characters. What i imagined the ideal Space wolf army is. http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/322036-the-storm-stalkers-wip-blog/ Im going a different way here... One of my favorite things about the wolves is the duality, the way they are the best of the imperium but also seen as monsters by a lot of them. I did the first part, and now I'm going to do the second. The Redmaws are at the top of the list for the inquisition for a reason. They have the highest appearance of the mark of the wulfen of all the great companies. Im going to take a crack at pushing the horror of that while keeping them "the good guys". It should be terrifying to face them on the field. So far it's going to stay somewhat conceptual and narrative. Heavily infantry based, and tricksy with a lot of CC. Im going to be testing a new color pallet too that may be divisive, we'll see... It's going to be a slow process (my last log started like 5 years ago or something) with lots of misses I'm sure but that why I like doing these. It's good to be properly back.
  6. One of the first threads we did when I got back into the hobby some four years ago, was a pretty well-received effort entitled "Vox Stellarum: True-Scaled Horus Heresy". It's exactly what it says on the tin. An array of Horus Heresy Astartes , Auxilia , Agents of the Sigillite , and other more esoteric miniatures done by myself and my longstanding collaborator, Umbral. Now, since then, we've developed a whole lot. And I don't just mean my actual painting and conversion skills [umbral's were already pretty ace to begin with]. I also mean in terms of our ability to *actually present* our efforts in thread form, as well as the narrative for the area of space our efforts take place in - which now spans roughly eleven thousand years ... So it seemed high time to go back to the Heresy , and re-present for a hopefully broadened audience , some of our work in that light. With better photographs. With that in mind - here's the first few of my Heresy-era truescales . To begin , the four Space Wolves I've done relatively recently : Space Wolves were the first force I did even semi-properly as a young lad , and as with many people of Scandinavian heritage ... the Vikings In Space element has always had a strong appeal. Even though my professional area of expertise (Indo-European theologian , with rather strong Nordic incorporations ) means I occasionally wince a bit when GW art or official miniatures mix up various different Runic scripts etc :P With these Wolves, I was looking to convey a sense that they were 'hunters', 'trackers' - hence the pointing, the auspex, and the misericordia . And also the highly mobile look of what might otherwise be static-appearing gunners. In terms of truescaling method, we use terminator legs. *All* the terminator legs! Which occasionally presents a bit of a difficulty, because frankly ... some of them just aren't posed especially dynamically - or there's so many we've done with a particular set of five that it becomes a challenge to work out how to do a 'novel' pose rather than yet another repeat. The Grave Warden legs are a particular problem in this regard, because while many of them are really quite cool - and certinly help spice things up in the Mk.III department relative to more 'ordinary' looking Cataphractii .. there's one or two legs in there that are just standing still, in an excessively wide leg stance that's .. difficult to work with. Still, I like to think I've done a reasonable job even here. Detail shot - showing the Misericordia ... and also the Raptor Imperialis pad. I figured that as this particular Astates was acting as a direct agent of the Throne in hunting down whatever it was that these chaps were pursuing, it made a certain sense for him to be carrying a Custodes blade for the purposes of personally administering the Emperor's Sanction. And, given the pad, it really drives home the loyalties and the authority of the pack. The Headhunter bolter's also good for the 'stalker' theme. Next up .. the 'Oddballs' - which is not a designation, just a characterization. Umbral had an idea awhile back for a 'Dungeons of Terra' sort of campaign, wherein various Imperial forces would be fending off the undermining incursion salients of Traitor forces into the eponymous dungeons during the course of the Siege. The campaign never got off the drawing board ... but I nevertheless wound up building a few miniatures in general service of the concept. They may show up elsewhere in our storylines. I say 'oddballs', because each one was a bit of a twist or a subversion on the more usually expected characterizations of given Legions. This is partially because each one was suffering in some fashion from 'Post-Human Traumatic Stress Disorder' - that particular form of mental illness which appears to have afflicted many Astartes during the Heresy due to .. well .. their established and comfortable loyalties and allegiances and place in the universe going out the window in an immense way; and alongside that the particular traumas of betrayal, the witnessing of horrific spectacles of the mass-mortality of their brethren (in the case of the Shattered Legions), and in some cases even their Primarchs ; and, in the case of the loyalists from Traitor Legions, the losing of their brothers and their own former lives in an entirely different way. But on with the show - As applies the Night Lord - Indraj - this is one of those aforementioned loyalists of a traitor legion origin ... and is showing the 'subversion' theme by being an incredibly direct and pulverizing combatant rather than a 'strike-from-the-shadows' sort in terms of his armament. There's nothing subtle about a thunder hammer and a rather large shield; and I like to think that the posing, with the raised head and gaze indicates that he's going after something rather larger than himself - the direct opposite of what we usually see from the Night Lords deliberately choosing to prey upon those weaker than themselves. Now, in terms of the name ... Felt I should highlight the Raptor Imperialis . The Salamander, meanwhile, is a bit of a tribute / injoke to the third man of Vox Stellarum, who's also a longstanding collaborator with my academic / theological work . Hence the heavy flamer [due to the meme that's gone around for ages around getting the flamer .. no, brother, the *heavy* flamer] , and also the thunder hammer - which is a rather more ... curious theological reference. This brings us on to the next two ... First up, a *very angry bird* - an XIXth Legionnaire who's quite clearly rather furious. As in, has eschewed the more customary caution of the Raven Guard in order to be blatantly throwing himself at the enemy whilst wielding a rather large axe. It seemed the best way to get across that he's expressing his trauma through rather incautious rage ; as opposed to the more studious approach of some other XIXth forces post-Isstvan , who favour their Legion's own habitual modus operandi of stealth and conservation of force given their limited numbers. Next , a Son of the Emperor : Now, the idea with this chap is that he's a demolitions expert. Hence all the grenades and other explosives he's got on his person - as well as the hand-held gadget that seemed ideal for a detonator. Signal'll be broadcast via the comms antenna on his backpack. In the actual Dungeons game, I'd intended to have tonnes of the Necromunda sprue grenade-piles and suchlike, as traps that he could remotely detonate to frustate the advance of the Traitors. Hence also his pointing posture - he's gesturing to where something is about to become rather more heavily geographically distributed. The bionic leg may, perhaps, suggest that he's run afoul of ordnance in-the-flesh earlier in his career - and is a tangible mark of his own , i guess you could say .. imperfection. Both in terms of physical form, but also in likely terms of tradecraft to lead to the injury in the first place. The more interesting thing about him, however, is that he was a close friend of a now-deceased (blown apart, in fact) Xth Legionnaire ... and feels that loss quite keenly. So much so in fact that he's effectively absorbed and started expressing some of the dead Marine's personality traits - giving voice to the dead , almost as if the spirit of his former comrade had been blown into him during the detonation. Certainly, the rosary of prayer-beads about his wrist speaks towards an Astartes who has moved in a rather more overtly religious direction than many in response to his trauma. Meanwhile, the ballistic apron [from the Iron Warriors tyrant siege terminators] seemed apt for a marine with his combat specialization - as it would absorb shrapnel etc. from things going off in front of him etc., help protect his fellows. There is one nod to the more 'traditional' IIIrd legion vibe, however (other than the bejeweled shoulderpad) - these two paired master crafted power-blades, which he'll be fully capable of utilizing as a matched pair of dueling weapons. Perhaps that's how he got that fine scar across his face, Prussian style. Anyway, that's the first eight of my Heresy-era Truescales posted ... there's 22 Astartes to go , plus a whole range of other miniatures from the same period [the Auxilia , Agents of the Sigillite , a rather impressive truescale Custodes , etc. etc. ] . And then there's Umbral's various efforts ... I'm hoping that a fresh start log will help me get some motivation back to do more in this era. And perhaps do some writing a la what I've managed for the Adamanticores [ Hara Barazaiti ] and Haunting Harii of Hvergelmir . Really 'bring things to life' and tie up a few ends for your presentation and enjoyment.
  7. "Born on Mother Fenris millenia ago. Raised on Mars for his Great Work. Fought through half the Imperium. Shall die for the Future of Mankind, To be laid to rest on Father Skogr." _________________________________________ Now that the summer heat is calming and construction of the house is far enough that I have SOME Hobbytime now and then, the Painting commences once more. And along the way I want to flash out the Chapter's Story&History with the help of you fine gentlepeople in the Aett.
  8. Well after 5 years out in the cold and away from then hobby an Old Wolf returns to the great feasting halls. I bring you my first Primaris SW (and model that I've painted in a long time) for your C&C. Please feel free to look back through some of my previous work in my gallery. Base still needs finishing and a few highlights added. My next project will be to convert my converted 6th Ed Ragnar into a Smash Lord with a Jump Pack.
  9. Fellow Denizens of the Fang, I have finished putting the last polishing touches on my Army List Building Guide just in time for the new edition. I hope this proves helpful to y'all, as you consider how to put your new lists together. In the past, I've put the whole Guide into a single, long, post directly here on the B&C, but it'll be easier for me to update and revise by hosting it off-site on my Google Drive. For those that haven't see it yet, you may also want to check out my earlier Army Building in 9th Edition post, that should serve as a preview of the Guide; that earlier post reinforces some of the Guide's concepts. Val
  10. After so many false starts I've got my McFarlane Primaris Intercessor and he's gonna get the Space Wolves treatment. First up was to break him apart so I can paint in sub-assemblies - I popped of his Shoulder pad as a starter: It was pretty stiff but came away ok. Next I broke down the main parts I think I'm gonna paint in pieces: Most of the bits came apart ok, you do need some pressure, but the 2 parts that caused me some concern were: Leg from the groin, you need to pull to the side to pop the pin, this does mean the thigh plate gets in the way, but that is very flexible plastic so it does give, but I might cut it off (then glue it back later) as I can see when I attach the leg again, it will scrape the paint job. Head, now that was nasty, I could not pull it off so I had to pry it with a screwdriver, first attempt was in the u-shape above the chest plate and I ended up leaving a dent in the armour, so I moved to the edge over the shoulder and it did come away a little easier but did leave a mark, so if you're doing this at home, be careful. I had a play around with posing him holding the bolter but the fingers are very tight on the handle and it will ruin any paint job you do before hand, so I might pull the hand out and glue it to the handle before I start painting, I might even go as far as removing the trigger finger first and then glue it back on once I have a better fit. All in all it's a hefty piece of plastic and does have some mould lines, not sure how easy the clean up with be as it has a slightly rubbery feel to it. The backpack sits too far off the main body, so I think I will trim the box it fits into to keep it closer and also the backpack looks very wide compared to the body. I was hoping that I could cheat and use a vehicle decal or press-mould, but as you can see they are way too small: Time for some free-hand!
  11. What do y'all prefer for the various Primaris units' weapon options? I figure if I want to start building any of these, I want to get the choices right the first time. Please provide the justifications with your choices; I'd like to know your reasoning behind which is "best," (understanding, of course, the the right choice is often, "it depends"). Reivers: Bolt Carbine or Combat Knife Intercessors: Bolt Rifle, Auto Bolt Rifle, or Stalker Bolt Rifle Aggressors: Flamestorm or Boltstorm? Inceptors: Assault Bolters or Plasma Exterminators? Eliminators: Bolt Sniper Rifle or Las Fusil? Hellblasters: Plasma Incinerator, Assault Plasma Incinerator, or Heavy Plasma Incinerator? Invictors: Incendium Cannon or Twin Ironhail Autocannon Redemptor: Fragstorm Grenade Launchers or Storm Bolters? Impulsor: Fragstorm Grenade Launchers or Storm Bolters? Thanks in advance, Val
  12. Legion Datafile: Beasts of Boudicca "And the Roots of the World reached deep into the earth, but even they could not reach there, where the Deep One lay dreaming without sleeping" Primary Data FoundingFirst Founding Legio NumeralVICognomen (Great Crusade)Wolves of Caliban Cognomen (Post-War of Secession)Beasts of Boudicca PrimarchVarus Nemestrinus (Segimer) HomeworldCaliban (Boudicca) [DESTROYED] AllegianceTraitoris Extremis Introduction Once, the Beasts of Boudicca prowled the stars as the Wolves of Caliban, the VIth Legion of the Emperor of Mankind. Led by their Primarch, Segimer, known to the Imperium as Varus Nemestrinus or as the King of Woad and Wyrd, they were an unstoppable, merciless force of nature, let loose as punishment upon those who would oppose the Emperor’s design. They were a savage, fierce force, noted for their uncompromising attitude to warfare and a curious tribal culture that hearkened back to the Primarch’s days amongst the mortals of his homeworld. They were counted amongst the Emperor’s most trusted assets, relied upon to do what others could – or would – not do. But it was all a lie. In secret, Segimer had pledged his soul to the Primordial Annihilator long before the Emperor had come to Caliban, and in the shadows he planned the destruction of his Father’s realm. When the War of Secession came, the Wolves of Caliban lay in wait, sowing discord and mayhem amongst the warring factions before finally revealing their true colours. With all pretence of loyalty cast off, the Legion went on to commit atrocities the scale and scope of which has never been eclipsed, bringing millions of Neverborn into the material world and drowning hundreds of worlds in blood and fire, all in service to the Ruinous Powers. In the end, it was Segimer’s own arrogance that led him to his death, and the breaking of his Legion. Seeking to make use of the Emperor’s weakened state after the Battle of Molech, he launched an all-out attack on the space station where his Father’s battered fleet was recovering. Tearing through the station’s defences with his Legion’s elite as his fleet massacred the loyalists in the void, Segimer finally confronted the Emperor of Mankind deep in the station’s bowels, only to die moments later as the Emperor revealed the trap he had lain for his errant son. With their Primarch and their entire command staff eliminated, the Wolves began a disorderly retreat, any semblance of discipline lost in the chaos and confusion that reigned in their ranks. When a second wave of loyalist vessels arrived in-system to finish what the Emperor had started, the Wolves of Caliban knew they were doomed. Only a bare handful of ships escaped the massacre, and those who managed to limp back to their homeworld found only a dead rock, scoured clean of all life by the newly-formed Adeptus Mechanicus. With no other option, the remaining Wolves of Caliban retreated into the Eye, where they would eventually transform into the myriad warbands that form the Beasts of Boudicca. Now, the Beasts are no more than petty raiders and pirates skulking in the shadow of the other Traitor Legions. Their hearts still burn with the desire to visit vengeance upon the Imperium for the death of their Primarch and homeworld, but without their Primarch to bind them together, their forces remain too scattered and disunited to threaten the loyalists’ holdings. But it is whispered that recently, a champion has risen among their ranks, one of legendary charisma and skill, who seeks to bring back his Legion from its slow and agonizing death… HISTORY Caliban The Wolves of Caliban’s homeworld was, as their name implies, the Death World of Caliban, located in what would later become the Segmentum Obscurus of the Imperial domain. They did not refer to the world as such amongst themselves – the Wolves were noted for using a variety of nicknames for the planet, such “The Hearth”, “The Great Mother”, or “Boudicca”, the latter term always spoken with a reverence for which no explanation was ever given. At first sight, Caliban was undeniably a beautiful world. The planet’s mountains and valleys were covered in dense, dark forests, through which clear streams and rivers ran; banks of mist rolled gently over the landscape at dawn and dusk; and all over the world one could experience the sights and sounds of a pure, natural ecosystem, untouched by the relentless industry of civilisation. Indeed, in the reports of those first human explorers who came to Caliban during our species’ diaspora across the stars, the world is described as nothing short of a paradise, a jewel amongst the stars – that is, until these explorers came face to face with Caliban’s original inhabitants. For Caliban’s forests were home to some of the foulest, most monstrous creatures ever seen in the galaxy. Creatures that had no right to exist in any sane universe stalked the forests, the valleys and the mountains, as varied in shape and size as the stars themselves. What few records remain of the first human civilisation on Caliban paint a horrifying picture of their struggle against the sanity-rending beasts that were now hunting them, a struggle that only ended when the few survivors escaped the planet in their last void-capable ship, never to be heard of again. Later, much later in fact, Caliban was recolonized, this time not by naïve explorers but by a hardy military expedition. Upon encountering the beasts, these proud men and women dug their heels into the dirt and set out to exterminate the creatures once and for all. They fought the horrifying beings with bullet and blade, driving many of the lesser breeds into extinction, and built vast fortresses meant to withstand the assaults of even the greatest of the monsters. It is in these holdings that the first Orders of Caliban were formed, and from where these warrior-knights would sally forth in later years to strike against the darkness that surrounded them. Despite the victories the Orders won in those dark, unsung days, it was clear to all that the battle against the beasts could never truly be won. In the end, there would always be too few knights to fend off too many creatures; and some of the greatest threats to the settlements could only be harmed by the most exotic weaponry in the Orders’ arsenals. Whilst the common populace might give in to despair in the face of such a truth, the Orders themselves steeled their souls with the hope that one day, they would find a way to rid their world of the monsters that dwelled upon it. But it is whispered that one Order, perhaps broken by the prospect of failure or seduced by powers beyond their understanding, turned to a darker path to victory, and in doing so, became something worse than what it had sought to destroy: the Knights of Lupus. But before the other Orders of Caliban could discover the full extent of the Knights of Lupus’ perfidy, a bright comet appeared in the planet’s night sky, heralding the coming of the one who would change Caliban’s fate forever… The coming of Segimer The Thucydes Named after a famous Athenoi historian from Mankind’s ancient history, the Thucydes were one of several Imperial organisations concerned with the recording of the history of the Great Crusade. Unlike the Remembrancers, who would grow popular within the Imperial administration later in the Great Crusade, the Thucydes were scholars first and foremost, dedicated to the compilation, editing and archiving of accurate histories of the Imperium’s experiences among the stars. To that end, the Thucydes were attached to all sorts of expeditions, military and otherwise; for no part of the Imperium’s history could go unrecorded. Initially, their work was well-received in both the civilian and military branches of the Imperium – the idea of being immortalized in the pages of the Imperium’s grand history appealed to many indeed. But as the Great Crusade wore on, the Thucydes were increasingly pressured to embellish the tales of the Imperium’s victories and downplay its defeats and failures. Revolts against Imperial rule were to be swept from the annals, the genocide of mutant populations erased from memory, and the ruthless exploitation of recently colonised worlds was to be outright ignored. Those among the Thucydes who spoke out against this perversion of their ideals were quickly silenced or branded as ‘anti-Imperial’ agents, and those who remained found their skills in decreasing demand. By the time Varus Nemestrinus took command of the VIth Legion, only a handful of Thucydes were still active. By chance, a group of these was present on the ship that carried the VIth Legion officers to their newly-found Primarch, and intrigued by their work, Varus petitioned the Emperor to attach them permanently to his Legion. From then on, the Thucydes were to record the Legion’s history, without embellishments or omissions – for Varus Nemestrinus felt that the truth, no matter how unwelcome or painful, should be embraced rather than banished. How the life-pods containing the infants that would one day become the Imperium’s greatest warlords were taken from the Emperor’s gene-labs and scattered throughout the galaxy, none can say. Even the Custodian Guard, the Emperor’s own bodyguards, have no answer for that question, even after ten thousand years of deliberation. Regardless of how it came to be, the Emperor’s sons were ultimately taken from Him, cast into the void and spat out on a variety of worlds. Some landed on prosperous, civilised worlds; others on barren wastelands devoid of human life. Some had to fight for their existence from the moment they woke; others were taken in by the local populace and raised as one of their own. Most of the stories of the Primarchs’ early lives, and the challenges and tragedies that came with them, have been lost to the vagaries of time, as such things must. The story of Segimer, however, is particularly obscure. Despite the Thucydes’ best efforts, the King of Woad and Wyrd never spoke of what happened to him in those first few years he spent on Caliban. Even the location of the crash-site of his life-pod remains a mystery to this day, although it appears to have been somewhere far from the civilised parts of the world, in those shrouded places where even the Orders of Caliban dared not tread. ++ The boy stares into Caliban’s night sky as he is tied to the stone slab at the center of the pillared structure. He does not resist when the hooded figures attach the ropes to his wrists and his ankles, nor when they smear the foul-smelling blueish paste unto his flesh. He does not fight back, even though he could, even though his body rails at the thought of being bound or leashed. He lies still, listening to the words and the chants of the people surrounding him, watching the smoke of the fires burning between the stone pillars drift upwards towards the stars. In the distance, he hears the wind rustling the leaves of the forest, and the howls of animals crying out in anticipation for what is to come. Even when the eight hooded figures draw their crude, onyx blades, the boy’s gaze does not shift from the midnight sky. Somewhere, deep inside his mind, he can hear a voice crying out, begging him to turn away, to flee – but he does not. Instead the boy stares into the void, wondering what it is he will see when the darkness takes him, and what will emerge from his journey to where the Deep One sleeps… ++ The Primarch himself usually began the tale of his life’s story with his first meeting with another human being - a member of one of the planet’s forest tribes, those few bands of humans who, against all odds, eked out a short, brutal existence in Caliban’s wilderness. He would describe how the man – a druid, as he later found out – came across him as he was feasting on a wolfhound he had slain moments before. What was said between them, the Primarch never did reveal, but he ended up following the druid to the tribe’s camp, where he was taken in and raised as one of the tribe’s own. He would go on to say that he took to his new life well, and eagerly fought and bled alongside his adopted brothers and sisters against the many dangers threatening his new home, becoming a fierce hunter and warrior in only a handful of years. Upon reaching adolescence, he passed the final rites of initiation, and was elevated as a true member of the tribe. This momentous occasion was marked both by the tattooing of his scalp – a tattoo none save the druids of the tribe were ever to see –, and the bestowal of the name he would carry until the day he died: Segimer. This story was later added to the’ ‘official’ history of the Primarch’s life as compiled by the Thucydes, albeit with the caveat that they had not been able to verify the claims for themselves, given that they too were prohibited from ever setting foot on Caliban itself. Despite this, it was readily accepted as the truth – for none could see any reason to doubt its veracity, and the story in itself was unremarkable enough to not draw suspicion; certainly compared to the tales of some of his brothers, whose tragedies are related elsewhere. However, ever since Segimer turned against the Emperor during the dark days of the War of Secession, the tale of his early years on Caliban, like the rest of his history, has come under closer scrutiny. Through these investigations, it has become increasingly clear that the Primarch had been enthralled to the Ruinous Powers from a very young age, perhaps even from the very beginning. In all his actions, both those before and after his reunification with the Emperor, the seeds of the ruin he would bring upon Mankind can be seen, sown by either his own hand or that of his servants. Imperial investigators have traced this trail of corruption to its very roots, and coupled with what the Adeptus Mechanicus uncovered in the camps of the tribespeople Segimer claimed as kin, some sliver of the truth has been lain bare. With utmost certainty do we now know that the tribes of Caliban had been corrupted by the Primordial Annihilator long before the Primarch had even arrived on the world, their heresy hidden from sight by the forests and caves in which they dwelled. It is our belief that these tribespeople and their wicked faith were instrumental in turning the Primarch of the VIth Legion against his gene-father, and that it was they who set in motion the events that would set the galaxy ablaze. The First War for Caliban Yet the tribespeople were far from the only warp-tainted humans on Caliban. Indeed, even in the settled parts of the world, where the Orders of Caliban held sway, corruption festered in the hearts and minds of the weak and weary. Whilst only fragmentary evidence on the Orders has survived – the result of Segimer’s thorough purge of all that could be traced back to them -, the few records that escaped this destruction hint at the many insidious threats the Orders were confronted with in the years Segimer was growing up among the tribes. Unnatural diseases, mutant uprisings, court intrigues and general unrest forced the Orders to increasingly look inwards, their extermination campaigns against the beasts of the forests temporarily put on hold as they struggled to maintain order amongst their charges. The extreme measures some Orders had to take to ensure the peace in their communities – ranging from witch hunts, summary executions, and in one case even the decimation of the population – began to lead them down a dark path of tyranny and oppression, which only bred more resistance to the Orders’ rule among the populace. In desperation, or perhaps in cruelty, some among the Orders turned their scientific and technological endeavours to the creation of a variety of instruments of control and domination, ranging from the mundane to the outright horrific. The forges of these Orders blazed with industry as they sought new means to combat the madness sweeping through the streets of their homes, and long-forgotten weapons of devastation and annihilation were brought back from hidden vaults as deterrents for both internal rebellion and outside interference. A few of them sought salvation in genetic experimentation and mass cybernetic enhancement, mutilating their subjects into things incapable of independent thought or action – or things so antithetical to human existence that our sources dare not name them. When the other Orders discovered these heinous practices, the backlash was immense. So horrified were they by the actions of their fellows, that they saw no other option but to eradicate them in their entirety. The revulsion they felt at what could only be described as the complete and utter perversion of their duty was enough for the remaining Orders to transcend their personal differences and unite themselves into one greater whole: The Grand Order of Caliban. The Grand Order descended upon the errant Orders with fire and fury, toppling fortresses and outposts, burning down settlements and putting entire populations to the sword. Neither quarter nor mercy were given in these grim battles, as both sides fought to preserve their own way of life at any cost. Caliban was set ablaze, its landscape scarred by the horrid weaponry unleashed upon its soil, its streets and cities covered in blood and ash, and its people dying in their millions. Slowly but certainly, the treasonous Orders began to fall, their rulers dragged from their holdings and executed by the Grand Order’s vengeful commanders. Stronghold after stronghold fell as the Grand Order marched on relentlessly, heedless of the casualties it was taking, increasingly blinded by its desire for vengeance against those who had defiled their homeworld and people. By the time the Grand Order reached the last few holdouts of its enemies, its strength had been greatly diminished – barely a fifth of its original numbers remained. And yet the Grand Order’s warriors fought on, determined to see this conflict end, and peace return to the lands. As the last of the Orders were being wiped out, one of the Grand Order’s armies stumbled upon the isolated stronghold of the Knights of Lupus – an Order about whom dark rumours had circulated long before the other Orders had turned to their vile methods. They had not been heard of throughout the entire war, which had led some to believe that they had been wiped out by the beasts of the forest – or perhaps, a rival Order. There was some truth to these rumours, as the Grand Order’s warriors discovered no more than an overgrown ruin, which was in the process of being reclaimed by Caliban’s ever-expanding forests. Curiously, there were no signs of any struggle or battle having occurred either inside or outside the fortress’ walls; nor was any trace found of the castle’s former occupants. It appeared as if they had all simply vanished, along with all their belongings and records – as if they had been erased from history itself. The only true clue as to the Knights of Lupus’ ultimate fate was found in the catacombs below the fortress – but what the Grand Order’s men found there was apparently so revolting that it was stricken from all records, and the fortress itself was atomized by controlled demolition. When the last Order was finally defeated by the Grand Order’s forces, the people of Caliban breathed a sigh of relief. Bloodied but unbroken, the men and women of Caliban could now turn their gaze to the future once more. The civil war had cost them much, but they would rebuild, as their ancestors before them. As the armies of the Grand Order began to march back to their homes, and their leaders turned their attentions to the restoring of their communities’ glory, the threat of the beasts of the forest, their primordial enemy, drifted ever further from their memory. None of them had questioned the sudden decrease in the creatures’ attacks when the civil war had begun in earnest – many believed that the horrific weaponry unleashed during the great battles between the Orders had been enough to scare them back into their hiding places. This assumption would cost them dearly – for as soon as the fighting between the Orders had ended, did a new enemy reveal itself… ++ Why am I here? The captive stared at the walls of the pit he had been thrown in. One could hardly call it a cell; it was no more than a natural hole in the soil, covered by a crude wooden grate. A poor substitute for the dungeons he was accustomed to; if he still had his armour, he would have broken out of this would-be prison in moments. But he did not have his armour. At the moment, he had nothing. Why do I still live? He could barely see anything. Both his immediate surroundings and the world beyond the grate were cast in a gloomy twilight. Here, in the depths of the forest, every shred of Caliban’s meagre sunlight was as much a luxury as water in the desert. He wondered if he would ever see it again, that distant star. If he would feel its warmth on his skin once more before the end. Will I die here? The man idly traced over the scars on his arms, his legs, and his chest. Each of them was a memory of a battle fought, a challenge met, an enemy defeated. With a measure of pride, he noted that he had never earned a scar on his back. Not even this time. Not even when all he had built had been brought down around him, he had not fled. He had not turned his back to his enemy. He had stood and he had bled, alongside the last of his knights, bringing death to the vile things that had come to destroy them, until at last they had been bested. They had fought well, all of them. Were they here, too? Satarna, Grandmaster of the Knights of Lupus, pondered these questions in silence. He could not tell how long it had been since he had been brought here. He found that he could not even recall how exactly he had ended up here; everything between the battle for the citadel and the present was no more than a blur, like a dream, fleeting and ephemeral. Perhaps he was dreaming; or perhaps he was already dead, and all this, the pit, the darkness, the pain – was the hell he had consigned himself to when he had opened that blasted tome. If only he had turned back. If only he had turned back from that place, if only he had let the tome burn along with it. If nothing else, at least his soul would have remained pure. He would still have risen to greatness – perhaps not to the heights he had achieved through the tome’s secrets, but high enough at least. High enough to make a difference. To inspire. To be something… more. More than the wretch he was now. More than a fool destined to die in the hole he had dug for himself. More than - No. Satarna growled, tightening his calloused hands into fists. I made my choice. I stand by it. But would I do it again? He unclenched his fists, and slowly turned his hands around. He studied the lines crossing his palms, as his mind mulled the question over. Would I? “Still alive, are we?” The voice hit him like a splash of cold water. Startled, Satarna jumped back, his hands instinctively reaching for weapons that weren’t there. His eyes darted around, looking for the source of the sound, but found nothing. A low chuckle echoed through the cave. “And lively, too. Calm yourself, Lord of Wolves…” A face appeared in the gloom on the other side of the grate. Two piercing blue eyes and a wolfish grin met Satarna’s gaze as he turned his attention to it. “… I have come to make you a deal.” ++ The death of the Orders The Emperor arrives The Great Crusade Pre-War of Secession Scheme COMBAT DOCTRINE Much like its organisation, the Wolves of Caliban’s combat doctrine was shaped primarily by the teachings of the Principia Belicosa. Whilst the Legion had a natural penchant for close combat, they did not specialize themselves in that aspect of warfare to the extent that certain other Legions did. Instead, they continually used and refined the strategies and tactics outlined in the Principia Belicosa, perfecting its combined-arms approach to the point that the Wolves of Caliban became the textbook example of how a Legion should operate in the field. When the War of Secession’s second phase began, it rapidly became clear that the Wolves of Caliban had not limited themselves to the Principia Belicosa’s teachings as much as was often believed. For rather than hurling its own warriors into the fray, as many of its peers did, the Legion heavily relied on the mortal auxiliaries its Discipline Corps had swayed to Traitors’ cause, using them to detrimental effect against the Loyalists whilst at the same time minimizing their own casualties. Indeed, much of its overall strategy now seemed to revolve around the conservation of its own strength, keeping it in reserve until the enemy was weakened enough to destroy with a well-aimed decapitation strike. Additionally, with all pretence of loyalty to the Imperium cast off, the Psykers amongst the Legion – who had continued to train in secret – were now free to unleash the full might of the Empyrean against the Legion’s enemies. Aside from the myriad powers that the Librariums of the Adeptus Astartes had taught its members before they had been disbanded, the former Librarians of the Wolves of Caliban now harnessed the raw essence of the Warp to rip tears in the fabric of reality, bringing scores of Daemons into the material world, or to empower weapons and armour with fell sorceries. The most gifted among their number specialized in the dark art of daemonic possession, turning their brothers (or, more often, unwilling sacrifices) into vessels for the Neverborn, or binding powerful daemons to their vehicles. As the War of Secession dragged on, and the Traitor Legions began to rely more heavily on the fell powers of the Empyrean, other changes were wrought in the ranks of the VIth – changes of a more physical kind. Those who fought against the Legion increasingly faced warriors who were more beast than man, both in temperament and in appearance. The most disfigured amongst them appeared as massive, wolf-like creatures, with clawed hands and feet, distended jaws and elongated teeth, their bodies covered in matted fur and scraps of ruined Power Armour. Post-battle dissection of these warriors revealed the horrid truth behind their origin. Unlike the possessed Astartes, they had not been artificially created by the Legion’s sorcerers, or even its dreaded Druid-cult; shockingly, it appeared that the Legion’s gene-seed itself was causing these transformations. Whilst the Legion had always had its fair share of minor mutations – such as the long canines seen amongst its veterans, and their unusually well-developed senses – due to the addition of the so-called Canis Helix to their gene-seed, continual exposure to the Warp’s corrupting influence seemingly triggered a far more drastic reaction within their bodies. The gene-seed of these warriors began to actively rewrite itself, continually breaking apart and rebuilding, causing their bodies to mutate uncontrollably. Over time, this genetic breakdown caused immense psychological and physical trauma to those who fell victim to it, shattering their sanity and eventually turning them into little more than rabid beasts, capable of only rudimentary coordination and speech. Those who were too far down that path were so uncontrollable that the Wolves did not so much direct them into battle as simply unleash them, using them as expendable shock troops or to sow terror and confusion amongst their enemies. Those who endured the strain did not fare much better, as both their own mental state and that of their fellows progressively degraded to the point that even the Legion’s infamous Discipline Corps had tremendous difficulty maintaining even the slightest semblance of order. This gradual deterioration made the Wolves’ combat doctrine increasingly difficult to predict on the battlefield. Only when they were headed by Segimer himself did they act with some of their former discipline, and even then, units often broke off from the main force to pursue their own ends. After the death of their Primarch, and the breaking of the Legion, this pattern of behaviour became even more pronounced. Unlike the other Traitor Legions, the remnants of the Wolves of Caliban largely went their own way, carving out their own path in the galaxy without much care or thought for their once-brothers. Each of the former Legion’s warbands gradually developed its own unique combat doctrine, based on the preferences of its leaders, its arsenal, and the alliances and enemies it made throughout the Long War. Some of these still cling to the old methods, operating much in the same way as they had under Segimer’s command, but most now wage war in ways befitting their new status as raiders and pirates. CULTURE AND BELIEFS The VIth Legion’s culture was an interesting blend of its Terran roots and Caliban’s heritage. Unlike many of his brothers, Segimer did not shy away from his Legion’s pre-unification legacy; on the contrary, he embraced it. Prior to taking to the field in the Great Crusade, the Primarch spent the majority of his time immersing himself in all facets of Imperial culture, learning its many intricacies from scholars and warriors alike. Once he had learned all he could, and thoroughly impressed by what he had seen, Segimer set forth to mould his Legion into a vessel for the Imperium’s ideals, implementing a range of Terran customs into its cultural, ideological and organisational make-up. One of these customs was the adoption of an Imperial name upon ascension into the Legion, to which additions were made throughout a Legionnaire’s career. This was no attempt to erase a warrior’s origins – rather, it was to remind them that they belonged to a greater whole, a greater unity than their former Calibanite tribes. Each Legionnaire took great pride in their name, and each part of it was chosen with considerable care. Most often, they were derived from ancient Terran literature, although some also sourced them from other cultures who had been sufficiently suffused by the Terran spirit. Another was the practice of Discipline Masters, who were elevated into instruments of the Primarch’s own iron will. The VIth Legion had always struggled to contain the ferocity of its members, and only the strict enforcement of order by the Discipline Masters had managed to bring some cohesion to the Legion. After its reunification with the Primarch, the Legion did not suffer this problem to the same extent as before, but Segimer considered it useful to keep the Discipline Masters in place to further temper his Legion’s choler. As symbols of their authority, they were allowed to bear the Raptor Imperialis on their breastplate, and often bore standards topped with the Imperial Aquila into battle. Caliban’s own heritage was not forgotten, however. In fact, Caliban remained as it had been before – an isolated, feral world ruled by cultured, yet undeniably savage tribespeople. At Segimer’s personal request, no attempts were made to integrate the Calibanites into the wider Imperium beyond what was necessary for the Great Crusade’s demands, and no Imperial outposts were raised on the world barring those of the Legion itself. This caused no small amount of controversy, particularly amongst those who adhered most strongly to the Imperial Truth, who saw the Calibanites’ belief systems as troublesome superstitions that warranted censure, and the Adeptus Mechanicus, who coveted the planet’s mineral wealth. Caliban’s inhabitants therefore remained an insular people, whose cultural practices were largely a mystery to the wider Imperium. The Wolves of Caliban themselves were no more forthcoming when it came to their homeworld’s culture, and even Segimer himself provided only scant details when pressed. What little was known painted the Calibanites as a people whose lives were dominated by nature in all its myriad forms. Caliban was a harsh, unforgiving world, and only by attuning oneself to its natural rhythm could one hope to survive its many challenges. To prosper in its forests and valleys, one had to understand and respect the laws of nature, and accept one’s own place in the greater cycle of life, death, and rebirth. The world around the Calibanites was thus as integral a part of their existence as their own flesh and blood, and they treated it accordingly. These simple teachings were passed on from generation to generation through rituals and festivals, which were usually led by members of the planet’s caste of druid-priests. These wandering hermits stood apart from the rest of Caliban’s often violent society; they were not beholden to any of the world’s many tribes, nor did they pay tribute to any of its warlords. Due to their duties as keepers of the faith and guardians of its mysteries, they were seen as veritable holy men, as sacred as nature itself. None amongst the notoriously bellicose Calibanites, not even the most foolish and brash, would dare make demands of them, let alone threaten them, for doing so would bring down the wrath of Caliban itself upon the transgressor. Of the rituals and festivals themselves no information was ever recorded, for outsiders were not allowed to witness them. It is clear, however, that many of these rituals and festivals were still performed or celebrated within the Legion, albeit presumably in a different form. Their main purpose appears to have been to forge bonds of unity between those who hailed from rival clans, and to keep the Calibanite spirit strong within the Legion. This secrecy remained unquestioned for most of the Great Crusade, although some amongst the Imperial administration, and even a few members of its fellow Legions, quietly voiced concerns about this throughout the period. Warmaster Teman apparently broached the subject with his brother Segimer once, but little seems to have come from it. Given that there were other Legions whose cultural idiosyncrasies sparked greater outrage – such as the blood-rituals of the XIVth -, the Wolves’ naturalistic spirituality, while bordering on a violation of the Imperial Truth, presumably did not warrant any further investigation by the Hand of the Emperor. In his eyes, these peculiar rituals and festivities could be tolerated, as long as they aided the Legion in maintaining order and cohesion. Since then, a lot has been revealed about the Wolves of Caliban, but details of its cultural practices still elude us. It has, however, been proven that the rituals and festivities in which the Legion indulged were, in fact, dedicated to the Primordial Annihilator, and that sacrifices – both of humans and of other creatures - were a common element in these practices. These gatherings appear to have been moments of catharsis for the Legion, in which the Legionnaires could drop the mask of loyalty and civility and embrace their primal, barbaric nature for a while, and bring praise to the Ruinous Powers as their Calibanite kin did. Unlike the other Traitor Legions, the Wolves appear to have always worshipped the Primordial Annihilator as a single, undivided entity. In fact, they seem to have actively shirked away from the cult-worship of specific aspects of the Ruinous Powers that was so prevalent amongst their brethren. In an intercepted communique between two of the Legion’s officers, one of them even claimed that the very concept of gods, or a Pantheon, was no more than a delusion, a simplistic interpretation of the true, unknowable shape of Chaos, fit only for the small-minded and weak. Curiously, the Wolves maintained much of the secrecy surrounding their culture even during the later stages of the War of Secession, when the treachery and corruption of the Traitor Primarchs had been laid bare. They continued to hide their activities and practices from view, sometimes even going as far as executing their own allies to ensure that their secrets did not spread. What drove them to such drastic measures, none can say, but given the depths to which the Legion sunk, perhaps it is better not to know. At the tail end of the War of Secession, Caliban was destroyed by the newly-formed Adeptus Mechanicus, and with its death much of its cultural legacy disappeared. Coupled with the fragmentation of the Legion following its decimation at the hands of the Emperor, this caused a gradual shift in the Wolves’ beliefs, and eventually, the Legion’s original culture was supplanted by new creeds, which appear to be more in line with those of the other Traitor Legions. At present, only a few warbands of the Beasts of Boudicca still cling to the veneration of Chaos Undivided, whilst most now worship a single deity of the Pantheon. NOTABLE MEMBERS Aulus Saturninus (Atrebas), Master of Discipline Legionnaire Atrebas, known as Aulus Saturninus to the Imperium, was the Master of Discipline of the VIth Legion during the Great Crusade and the War of Secession. A native of Caliban, Atrebas was one of the first inductees from the world after the Segimer’s reunification with the Imperium. Known as a stern, uncompromising and dependable figure, Atrebas would quickly draw the attention of the Discipline Corps, who recruited him into their ranks. Over the course of several decades, Atrebas became one of the Corps’ most prominent members, first rising to the rank of Consul-Opsequiari, and later, when the Terran Master of Discipline died in battle against the perfidious Aeldari, being unanimously elected as his successor. Under Atrebas’ leadership, the Discipline Corps gradually began to shift its attention from its role as peacekeepers amongst the Legion’s ranks to the forming and maintaining of relations with other branches of the Imperial war machine. To this end, members of the Discipline Corps were sent out across the galaxy to lend their experience to other Legions, or to take temporary command over isolated regiments of the Imperial Auxilia. This strategy was but one of many ways the VIth Legion was steadily expanding its network of allies and friends within the Imperial political and military machine, but it was perhaps one of the most insidious. For unbeknownst to the other Legions and Imperial High Command, Atrebas had entrusted the Calibanites under his command with a hidden, secondary objective: they were to sow the seeds of dissent amongst their charges and cousins, seek out those amongst the unenlightened who might accept the truth of Chaos, and weed out those whose loyalty to the Emperor might compromise the Legion’s plans. Only when the Traitor Primarchs revealed their true alliance during the War of Secession did the full extent of this hidden treachery become apparent. Both sides found many of their soldiers defecting to the traitors’ cause, their pledge of allegiance often accompanied by the immediate betrayal of their once-allies. Regiments were torn apart from the inside as traitors assassinated commanders and destroyed critical infrastructure, or turned from the Emperor’s light entirely, purging their ranks of any dissenters along the way. Even the loyalist Legions did not escape Atrebas’ machinations. Many of their Warrior Lodges, serf-populations and auxiliaries had been infiltrated by agents of the Traitors, who subtly caused discord and mayhem amongst the loyalists’ ranks by acts of sabotage and misinformation. Only when the Edict of Nikea was revoked and the Legions’ Librarians returned to active service, were many of these hidden traitors found out and eliminated, but by then, the damage had been done. Atrebas himself did not live long enough to see the results of his actions. He was caught in a surprise attack by a Secessionist Solar Auxilia Cohort early in the War of Secession, his vessel obliterated by the Cohort’s flagship during the ensuing void battle. Ironically, said Cohort would later go on to join the Traitors, its officers having been corrupted by one of Atrebas’ subordinates. NOTABLE WARBANDS The Blackbloods The warband known as the Blackbloods is currently the largest warband of the Beasts of Boudicca. Sworn to the service of the Plague God, Nurgle, these warriors seek to finish what their Primarch had started: the enlightenment of all of Mankind to the glory of Chaos. To that end, their rusted, plague-stricken vessels are always on the move, travelling from world to world, seeding cults wherever treachery is yet to blossom, and spreading vile diseases there where the Corpse-Emperor’s lackeys hold fast. In combat, the Blackbloods make use of a variety of tactics, as their Legion before them, although they have picked up several new tricks since devoting themselves to the God of Disease. Their Druids have learned the secrets of rot and decay, allowing them to inflict unholy horrors upon the flesh of their enemies, and to bring those unfortunate souls back to serve them as horrific Plague Zombies. Many of their warriors have also taken in the gifts of the Grandfather, becoming hosts to a myriad of diseases, their forms hideously disfigured by tumorous growths and grotesque mutations. Black blood oozes from open wounds and sores, rotting flesh and skin sloughs off brittle bones, and toxic vapours are pushed out of wheezing lungs as these so-called “Death-sworn” make their way across the battlefield. These Traitor Astartes are disgustingly resilient against all but the heaviest firepower, and only by the complete obliteration of their corpse can the lingering taint they exude be removed. The Blackbloods often uses packs of these warriors to dislodge fortified positions or entrenched enemies, for even if they do not manage to reach their target, their sickly aura and the horrid diseases they carry are often enough to erode their enemies’ willpower and strength, making them easier prey for the rest of the warband. The Blackbloods are led by an enigmatic Chaos Lord known as Warchief Ambior, of whom it is claimed that he is the very last of the Primarch’s original followers. While this is extremely unlikely, given that all of Segimer’s closest companions were recorded as having died during the ambush that destroyed the Legion, it cannot be denied that Ambior’s skills and knowledge rivals those of the Legion’s former elite. He has orchestrated hundreds of successful campaigns against the Imperium, ranging from simple raids to full-on invasions, and it is said that he has sired a thousand cults to the Dark Gods across the Segmenta, many of which have yet to reveal themselves. Despite the many encounters the Imperium has had with the Blackbloods, no-one has ever been able to lay eyes upon the Warchief himself. Even the Assassins of the Officio Assassinorum have never gotten Ambior in their sights, despite their numerous attempts to slay the Blackbloods’ leader. Some have therefore argued that Ambior does not in fact exist, that he is merely a misdirection, a ruse used by the Blackbloods to keep their enemies in the dark. But those who have faced the Blackbloods know, with absolute certainty, without any true shred of evidence that whatever Ambior truly is, he is very, very real. ++ PLACEHOLDER - WORK IN PROGRESS ++ General concept: - Evil Space Wolves who are more Celtic-inspired than Viking-inspired, and who worship the Primordial Annihilator in a Lovecraftian manner (think spreading evil cults, bringing forth unspeakable daemons from the aether, etc.) - Have slightly mutated into a mixture of Evil Space Wolves, Evil Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus, and Word Bearers Outline: Culture - Worship Chaos Undivided – to the Beasts of Boudicca, Chaos is a force of nature, unknowable and primordial. The idea of a Pantheon is a delusion, a construct for the limited human mind to make sense of what Chaos truly is. The Truth of Chaos must be spread to all of Mankind, and the Beasts of Boudicca will stop at nothing to make that happen. - Venerate nature in all its forms. To the Legion, nature is sacred, as it is the purest manifestation of the Primordial Annihilator. Mankind should not attempt to transcend its natural state through industry or technological development, as in doing so, Mankind moves away from its true self. Man should only take what nature provides - all else is stealing from the Great Mother. Relations with other branches of the Imperium - Poor relation with the Adeptus Mechanicus, due to the latter's veneration of the machine over the natural.
  13. Been working from home now for 3 weeks, UK is in full lock-down and my eBay order of Ragnar got cancelled last night (1st world problems huh). So I figure a lot of you will be in the same boat and maybe coming up with some crazy ideas to keep you sane in these troubled times, so bring your crazy ideas you've come up with to keep the hobby flowing... So I present my 1st lock-down loco, Wolf Hunter Bowman:
  14. Fellow denizens of The Fang, I figured I might as well share what my plans are, going forward. It's a turbulent time for everyone, and we all have decisions to make about how we're going to proceed in the hobby. I know many of you are currently struggling with that. What follows is simply my way ahead. THE PAST: A little backstory. I started collecting Space Wolves back when their first 'real' army list dropped in White Dwarf magazines 156-158. This army list coincided with the first unique models for the faction, and pretty much all were pewter. Even the basic troops (Blood Claws, Grey Hunters, etc.) were metal, with plastic arms, weapons, and backpacks. Over time, I slowly collected what I could, to create a playable army, and that took several years, as a young college kid, without a lot of resources. Over the years (hell, decades!) since I started collecting, GW eventually updated all of those old pewter models with plastic models on sprues. I'd integrate some of the newer plastic model units into the army a little along the way, but I resisted, for a very long time, replacing my original units and models. However, I eventually came to appreciate the plastic models. They were simply better. More variety in how you could assemble them, lighter and easier to transport, and if you dropped one, they usually held together, whereas a metal model with plastic arms and weapons would inevitably snap into pieces. GWs techniques and processes really have improved tremendously over the years, so eventually I made the decision to sell off most of my old metal models (I held onto just a few of the more special ones), and focus on building a new army that was primarily plastic. I did this sometime in the years of 5th and 6th edition. I usually did my own assembling, and I bought all of the special Space Wolves shoulder pads I could get my hands on, so the whole army had the 'bas relief' style markings on both shoulders, for Great Company and for Pack. I never developed the skills or patience for painting, so I used commission artists to do the painting for me; have found several different folks over the years that did good work for me. I've been really happy collecting and playing with these guys over the past decade+. When 8th edition dropped, and GW first revealed the initial Primaris Marines, I was pretty stoked. I know a lot of folks didn't like what they saw, as they knew these new models were going to be a threat to their collections. I realized this too, but instead of focusing on the bad, I focused on the positive. We were finally getting 'true scale' Marines that would be as large on the table-top, as they are supposed to be in the fluff. Giants among men, finally, instead of models that were more-or-less the same as Catachan Imperial Guardsmen. Not only were they finally a proper size, they came with boosted stats, and better weaponry. 2A and 2W base, and a more powerful basic rifle (AP-1 with an extended range). After 30 years of collecting them, we were finally getting models and units that evoked what Space Marines should have been like all along. And, I really like the style of the new Tacticus Armour and Helmets, and the new Gravis Armour and Helmets. Some of the units look a little goofy, to me, but I don't have to use those, or can make some modification to them to make them into something I'm happy with. But for the most part, I've been a huge fan with what they've done to refresh and modernize a 30+ year old line of core miniatures. Despite loving most of the initial models, I didn't do anything with them for most of the three years of 8th edition. After all, I already had nearly 4k points worth of models to play with, and I wanted to see where, exactly, GW was going with these. What other developments were in store for us? But in play-testing, using my existing models for "counts-as," I've been really impressed with how many of the new Primaris units performed. And, knowing that they really are the future of Space Marines, I finally decided to go "all-in" and refresh my army once again. THE FUTURE: As I type this, I have Ragnar Blackmane, Haldor Icepelt, 4x units of 5 Intercessors, 2 units of 3 Eliminators, a unit of 3 Aggressors, and a unit of 5 Wulfen, all with an artist being painted as we speak. They should be finished up in the next week or two. These units alone are a little over 1000 (current) points worth of models, and will form the core of a new, modernized, Primaris (primarily) Space Wolves army. Luckily, I hadn't coordinated with the painter yet on the next batch of models. My initial plans were to add 10 Incursors to the above, to fill out the last two required Troops units for a double-Battalion. Now, however, i'm going to wait and see what we learn about the newly revealed Assault Intercessors. If they can also get a special melee weapon on the Pack Leader, and especially if they can take advantage of the Veteran Intercessor stratagem, then I'm going all in on these guys, and will add 2 Packs to serve as proper escorts for both Ragnar and Haldor. With the next batch, I'm going to get the painter to add 4 Impulsors to the army. I've been play-testing these using Rhinos and Razorbacks as "counts-as," and they have been phenomenal. In the past, I was always a fan of Drop Pod (Claws of Russ) style Space Wolves, and have never played a mechanized list before (the Rhinos and Razorbacks are from my Grey Knights army, and I used them in previous editions, when they could cast psychic powers, too), so this style of play is new to me, but I've really grown to appreciate it. Impulsors are amazing at getting your melee units into close combat, safely, right where you want them to be. Until something better comes along, the plan for now is to finish off the army with Bjorn the Fell-handed - not Primaris, but still one of my favorite units and characters. And, he still brings a ton of utility to the army in shooting (Twin lascannons) and Close Combat (Trueclaw), in addition to the the re-roll Hits aura and the extra CP. And, the final unit will be the Jump Pack Wolf Priest. He's just too important for getting the Canticle of Hate to the right place when you need to make those charges. Anyway, this is what I'll be working on building and developing, as we transition into yet another new edition of the game. Best, Val
  15. I thought this might be helpful for some of y'all. The pics that will follow were taken from a distance, so nobody gets any "free rules," but I think the pictures are necessary to help with the explanation of how I build my binders. I'll go photo by photo to explain what's in the binder, and why. First is the cover, obviously. I've labeled it for the army, since I've got three binders like this, one for each of the three factions that I have collected: The back cover of the binder has my Stratagem "cheat sheet." I recently shared a blank copy of the format for this from my Google drive. I keep the stratagems that I frequently use sorted by "Timing" so you can quickly scan to find the available stratagems, by Phase. In the front inside pocket of the binder is the most recent Codex Errata and FAQ document, that you can print from the Warhammer Community website. The first sheet in the document protectors is the Army List summary, as provided by the Buttscribe web tool. The next three pages are the Space Wolves special ability descriptions. I don't really need ready access to these anymore, but they were really handy when first getting used to the army in 8th edition, and then again when we got access to new rules/abilities, like Bolter Discipline and the Combat Doctrines. Next up is a page with the correct version of our Warlord Traits, since the version in the actual Codex was already out of date upon printing: Next up are the data sheets that make up the bulk of the binder. There is a sheet for each type of unit, for ready access throughout a battle. These were also printed off using the Buttscribe web tool, that takes your Battlescribe .ros file, and translates it into a much more user-friendly output for printing and use. I can describe how you do this later, if anybody needs help with that. After all of the data sheets, I've got copies of the Stratagems, from the Codex and Saga of the Beast. I keep these here in case I need the full language of the stratagem; otherwise, I just refer to the "cheat sheet" in the back cover of the binder. After the stratagems, I keep some random pages, like a copy of the Relics, the Psychic powers, and the new Wolf Priest Litanies (seen here, below). In the back binder pocket, I keep my spare data sheets, for the units that I have in my collection, but am not currently including in the army list. That way, if I decide to change the army list around, I've already got the sheet printed, and don't have to reprint every time I want to make an adjustment to the army. Using these Army Binders has been extremely convenient for me. I keep the ePub version of these source materials on my iPad, which I can just keep in my backpack, in case I need to look anything up, but for the most part, everything is right here in the Binder. I have all of the "crunch" that I need ready access to, but none of the "fluff" that just gets in the way, when you're trying to play a game. Hopefully y'all find this stuff helpful. Feel free to share any techniques that you use to organize for battle in the comments below. Val
  16. The good folks at Goonhammer have finally updated their very comprehensive Space Wolves Tactics article. This is a must read for Space Wolves players. I do think they undervalue Bjorn the Fell-handed, but otherwise, it is excellent analysis. Val
  17. So as not to clutter up the Unit of the Week: Reivers thread, or Debauchery101's thread on Aggressive Tactics, I'll just start a new thread to explain why Reivers are such a bad choice in 8th edition. I've brought some of these issues up to Simon Grant, and others on the rules development team, so hopefully they get some love in the future and are improved enough to make them worth taking. 1. The first big issue with Reivers is that they're an Elites choice. This is problematic in two ways: first, they aren't Troops, so aren't helping you fill out battalions, which is extremely important in generating as many Command Points as possible. In 8e, Command Points fuel successful armies. Troops are also better at contesting/securing Objectives, which is extremely important in most game scenarios. The second problem with their slotting, is simply that they compete with so many other Elite choices that are really effective and/or efficient units. Aggressors, Invictor Warsuits, Wolf Guard in Terminator Armor, certain Dreadnought options, and certainly Wulfen, all out-perform Reivers. This doesn't leave you much space for taking Reivers in your typical double-Battalion army list. 2. Since the Vanguard/Spearhead release, most (all?) of the Phobos armored units get Concealed Positions as a unit ability. This allows these units to be setup outside your deployment zone, to put early pressure on the enemy, or to secure objectives, or important terrain that you wouldn't normally be able to immediately access. Reivers don't get Concealed Positions. Instead, they get two different (but similar) options for a Tactical Reserves (Deep Strike) deployment, both of which you have to pay extra for. Taking either of these options makes them more expensive per model than Intercessors, which: are Troops, and outperform the Reivers in Shooting and Melee (if the Pack Leader is appropriately equipped). 3. They do have one very cool ability in their Shock Grenades, which can eliminate a target unit's ability to Overwatch. Unfortunately, the Shock Grenades, like all grenades, only have a 6" range, so they only work in game in very specific situations, where you're already very close to your Charge phase target, and they NEVER work if you chose to take advantage of either of their Deep Strike type of deployment options. 4. They appear to be intended as close combat specialists, but aren't actually any good in close combat. They have no option for anything more than S4, AP 0 attacks. Certainly, the amount of attacks that they can generate seems somewhat impressive (5 for the Pack Leader and 4 each for the other Reivers on the charge), until you remember that Blood Claws put out the exact same number of melee attacks, and will save your 4 points per model, and are Troops, and can actually outperform the Reivers in close combat because they have the option to include a couple special close combat weapons in the pack (like a Power Fist and a Thunderhammer). If all you want to do is generate a ton of S4, AP 0 attacks (the only thing Reivers can do), you'd be a lot better off taking Aggressors, that can generate a shed-load of these per turn, and can do it from up to 18" away. And if they do actually get into melee, the Aggressors, unlike Reivers, can actually do some work, with every model's Boltstorm Gauntlet/Power Fist. --As it stands, Reivers are outclassed by a basic Intercessor squad in every meaningful way. The Intercessors are only 1 point per model more expensive, but If you take either of the Reivers upgrades, then the Intercessors are cheaper. The Intercessors are Troops choices, more effective in the shooting phase with any of their 3 Bolt Rifle options, and, when you put a Thunder Hammer or Power Fist on the Sergeant, are more effective in close combat, as well. If Reivers can't even compete with the most basic Primaris troop type, then they are miles away from being able to compete with any of the other actual Elite slot choices that we have. Val
  18. EDIT: This will now become my consolidated plog for all my Projects, Side-Projects, Side-Side-Projects and Commissions. Anything hobby-related will be dumped into this plog from here on out. Enjoy Saga of the Lost "...they fell and were lost to the Mark. Rage and hunger took control and the Beast within us all claimed them to a man." - excert from Skald Stormcrow's Saga of the Lost So begins my next project. Guess what it is? Heh. Very basic start at the moment but there are big plans. Here's the beggining of some Wolf Scouts: Waiting on a another care package of Bitz to turn up the I can get into these guys properly. All will be explained then. Enjoy PHM
  19. I noticed that the link to the original thread that I posted in the Resources for the titled subject is now broken. Instead of redoing it all in bbc code for a new post, I decided just to make it a shareable Google doc, that y'all can access through the link, below. Hopefully that works for everyone. Lore of the Wulfen Through the Ages. Also, perhaps a current-era Mod can link the old broken Resources post to this new thread. Enjoy! Valerian
  20. Hello. Quite recently I'd started buildng an Ultramarines force for my son. That was before he saw the Wolves!! He really loves the look of them and luckily someone local was selling a Force!! So I snapped them up for him and although they're all first born Marines I think it was a good deal. The bundle has a lot of the flavour units (Thunder Wolves, Termies etc) Thankfully the only models built were the Thunder Wolves, everything else was still on sprues!! I've painted a few models to see how the colour scheme would work, nothing original I'm afraid I've just used the typical grey/yellow scheme. Here's what I've got so far: Space Wolf Space Wolf Thunder Wolf Cavalry Thunder Wolf Cavalry Thunder Wolf Cavalry Thunder Wolf Cavalry Eventually I'll be adding Primaris to the force but for now I'll be working on the little ones!! My aim by the end of the project is to improve at human faces. Wolves being such heroes there are plenty of bare heads to practice on!! Thanks for looking C&C welcome.
  21. Denizens of the Fang, Every now and then we get brand new Space Wolves players in here that are curious about what to buy, and where to start. I put together this little Google Document to spell it all out for those folks, with some explanations on why I make those recommendations. Thought this would be helpful for any new folks joining the Space Wolves bandwagon, after the recent release of Psychic Awakening: Saga of the Beast. Enjoy, Val Guide to Buying Space Wolves Units for New Players.
  22. Gang, I've created a little Tier Listing of our Space Wolves units as an additional resource for The Fang. This was vetted with a few other competitive Space Wolves players, as well as a couple other competitive players that do not play Space Wolves, but who have played games against them in 8e. This Tier List can be used in conjunction with the Buying Guide, to help inform new and existing players on where to focus their resources. You will notice that I only included a handful of available Forgeworld models; there are way too many options to evaluate, when you open it up to everything that FW offers to Marines, but there were a few notable standout Dreadnought options that I wanted to include. I also didn't not include any of the Characters. When you start to list out all of the different ways you can field them, it gets a little unwieldy (for example: Wolf Lord, Wolf Lord in Phobos Armor, Wolf Lord with Jump Pack, Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf, Wolf Lord in Terminator Armor, etc., etc.). Although we can certainly discuss the Top Tier character options within this thread. Hope this is helpful, Val
  23. Gang, The Cheat Sheets that I shared earlier for Space Wolves here, and for the Grey Knights over on the subforum for Titan had too much information on them. So, instead of providing the actual rules, here is a link to a mostly blank Example Cheat Sheet Format that you can fill in on your own to use. All you need to do is go through your Codex and Saga of the Beast (as well as the Rulebook and Vigilus Defiant, if you wish to get all of the them) and add in the relevant information from any Stratagems that you want to have at your fingertips during a game. You'll see in the Example Cheat Sheet how I have the rows sorted by Timing, so you can quickly access the information about the Stratagems as you flow through the game; I found this to be the most useful technique. So, this will take just a few minutes of work on your part to make a copy of the format and fill in with whatever information you wish. For my purposes, I printed off the Cheat Sheet (once filled in) and slipped into the back laminate area on the outside cover of a 3-ring binder. Inside the binder is my army list, special rules, psychic powers, and all of my unit data sheets, inside document protectors. I don't have to carry the actual codex, but have all of the rules that I need readily at hand. Enjoy, Val
  24. Hey pack, I just picked up a Primaris Librarian from my flgs relatively cheap and turned him wolf (pics soon, when I resurrect my plog). This might be a bit of an untimely discussion, as things might change very soon. But still... what are your favourite Rune Priest builds (normal/ njall/ "jötunn" (
  25. So, I'm in the middle of my next wave of Wolves - one Wolf Lord with Jump Pack, ten Grey Hunters and a Rune Priest in Phobos. This'll bring me up to around 1k in Wolves - good for running with my 1k of Custodes, and especially good because I have a friend who runs Thousand Sons. Gonna burn Prospero all over again. But I'm hedging on what color to make my Rune Priest's robes. I've seen them done in black, grey, white... I'm unsure what to do, so I've decided to ask the forum.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.