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So. Time to properly introduce y'all to My Dudes™️/DIY project(s). Here's how this is gonna work. I'm gonna post a bit of a write up briefly describing each of My Dudes™️ and also briefly go over the inspirations (or, as I like to call them, "touchstones") for each. Ok? That sound good? Yeah? Then let's hit it. Starting off with... ~~~~~~~~~ The Brotherhood of the Remnant Shepherds After returning to their home of Prospero at the urgent behest of their Primarch, a cadre of Terran veterans from the XV legion discovered that their adopted home was burning, the Space Wolves were rampaging, and that Magnus had fallen to the Ruinous Powers. Treachery and horror gripped their home, and for a moment, they were unsure of what to do. Deciding to rescue who they could, they reorganized under the leadership of the sorcerer-lord Ifrit bin Sa'Nabaali (EE-free ben sah-NAH-ballee) of the Orison of the Wayward Wanderers, fleeing the burning planet with as many civilians they could feasibly bring with them, escaping across the stars, and consigning their fellow legionnaires to their fate. During their journey to find safe harbor, the former XV legionaries had come across the battered, bruised, and desperate survivors of the Istvaan III Massacre. Legionaries from the III, IV, VIII, and XVII legions described how they were betrayed by those whom they called brothers, whom just earlier had broken bread with them not a day before. The survivors sought refuge with the runaway veterans, who graciously accepted them into their ranks. Now, the decision had to be made: Who to support during this time of struggle? Both candidates looked bleak. In one corner, the Emperor had just ordered the arrest of His own son and cared little for the collateral damage it would've caused, and this was saying nothing of the way He insisted that all of humanity must be brought to heel beneath His so called "benevolence." In the other, Horus had gone mad with power, hubris and rage blinding him in equal measure, visions of prophecy filling his mind with delusions of power and prestige. Neither party would have the wayward legionaries' best intentions at heart. Neither one would treat them (and those that they had rescued) with the respect and dignity they deserved. Neither one would care what would happen to the multitude of civilians caught in the crossfire of their titanic conflict. In the end, the combined group of veterans and survivors chose neither. To hell with The Emperor. To hell with Horus. The newly reorganized Blackshields decided to kick their heels free of this madness and journey deep into the dark, rescuing who they could and bringing them along for the perilous road ahead. Across the stars, the Blackshields saved who they could, rescuing stranded Solar Auxilia units and shepherding as many civilians as they could on to their ships. All along the way, they were hunted by those who declared for the Emperor and for the Warmaster, chased across the galaxy by foes who wished to consign them to a futile struggle. If that were not enough, it was discovered that a cadre of legionaries from the XX legion had infiltrated their ranks, ostensibly to turn them to the Warmaster's cause. The infiltrators, however, were given the choice to either join the Great Journey or be cast into the void. Several XX legionaries had refused, having chosen "death before dishonor," being thrown out of airlocks en masse without their power armor. A significant portion, however, were swayed into joining, not merely to stave off death, but because they genuinely believed in the Blackshields' mission to find the one place that was untouched by the madness, unmolested by this insane war. In doing so, they were admitted to join the Blackshields and assist in any way they could with the Great Journey, helping their new brothers navigate the treacherous path ahead. The Great Journey was not without peril, nor was it without loss. Imperial forces hounded the Blackshields across the stars. The Warmaster's ilk chased them as well, demanding fealty in exchange for the opportunity to die for an ultimately nihilistic cause. Rations across the fleet ran low. Supplies could not be replaced in time. The pace of the Journey pushed all their ships, all their people (Astartes and mortal alike), to their breaking points. Ad-hoc repairs never held for long. And still, they voyaged. Still, they searched for a place to call home. Still, their odyssey flung them far afield, away from the war-torn places they knew. In the end, they did find a place. A place that was once hidden, but now could be entered. A star system, known only as J1623-BR235, on the trailing edge of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way galaxy; within it, a planet called...Out There. And, surprisingly enough, people. Humans. Humans who knew of the ages before Old Night. Who claimed to be from the ages before Old Night. A people who had previously had their homeworlds veiled by aetheric miasma, hidden just out of view of the Emperor's jealous and imperious gaze. People who were experiencing an influx of psykers and psychic phenomena, the majority of which manifested in children. People who were doing all they could to alleviate such a burden, but unable to truly comprehend the scope of what they faced. Thus, the Blackshields did vow to protect these people. Thus, they did claim The Watchtower. Thus, they struck a pact of mutual defense with the inhabitants in exchange for teaching, shepherding, the youthful psykers. Thus, they found their new home. And so the Blackshields became The Brotherhood of the Remnant Shepherds, reorganizing themselves to better serve their new home and its people. And woe betide those who would attempt to scour their charges from the face of the galaxy. ----------------- Touchstones: Battlestar Galactica 2004 (behavioral/historical; loss of homeworld, panicked journey across the stars, desperately trying to rescue who they can) Babylon 5 (behavioral; attempting to fight/flee a fascist government and the toll that brings) Mass Effect (historical/aesthetic; just couldn't resist adding some shades of the Quarians to them, even though I was already adding BSG to the mix) Homeworld (aesthetic/historical; again, I couldn't resist; it just fits! Besides, I was already giving it an homage with Ifrit bin Sa'Nabaali, I might as well ape some more from it!) ;;;;;;;;; So those are my Blackshields. Basically, they're what you get when you decide to add sanity to a setting that is incredibly, almost ontologically hostile to it. They reject the nihilism of Horus. They reject the narcissism of Big E. They choose the people, the common folk, the working class guy trying to keep himself alive. They choose those who cannot defend themselves. They're like the Salamanders...if the Sallies didn't hitch their wagon to a fascist government (currently) being run by a narcissistic edgelord who doesn't understand that maybe the reason why people traveled across the stars was to get away from clowns like Him because He was a fascist whacko who didn't like being told "no thank you, good sir, we'll be just fine without joining your fancy Imperium." Next Time™️, I'll have you folks meet the United Remnant. And trust me, they're a bit of a doozy.

“Last of a ragged house long bereft of lordship.....” Unknown author, Terra, M2 “Brothers, fellow warriors, We have sat in the shadows and have watched our legion descend into madness. We have endured the uncontrolled rage of our so called father. We have been shunned for our enduring loyalty to the emperor, banished to the corners of the galaxy to seek and destroy terrors that stalk the night. But our loyalty runs deeper, we lay down our lives for a vision vast in its ambition and millennia in its creation. A vision that is threatened by the actions of one who we once recognised as warmaster. It is clear to us now, that Horus has rebelled against the imperium. His reasoning is unclear but our gene father stands by his side, the loyal remnants of our legion lie slaughtered on the sands of Istvaan III. But we will not succumb to this heresy, and we will bring honour back to the name of our legion! We are shunned because we are feared and rightly so, for our fury comes from a deeper well, natural, innate, not manufactured by a fools design. We will endure and we will exact vengeance for those loyal to the XIIth, those murdered on Istvaan. For the emperor!” Endryd Haar. Extracts taken from a speech to loyal members of the XIIth legion under his command. M32. ——————————————— Greetings fellow warriors! Welcome to my new WIP log, I was intending to finish my iron hands and alpha legion projects before embarking on this, but my desire to start a new project has overcome my ability to focus. I’ve always found following what you enjoy in the hobby, rather than forcing yourself to do something you “should” do is more productive in the end! Ever since we saw the first images of betrayal and the models that accompanied the release, I have always wanted to start a world eaters force. The Typhon in glorious blue and white was such an awesome sight to behold! Even before that, I remember reading various index astartes articles about the traitor legions before their fall to chaos. Alas, I was distracted by bringing my 40k iron hands into the 30k universe and more recently by the beautiful metallic alpha legion airbrushed paint schemes. But now I return to what first drew me into the heresy, the XIIth legion. I’m a loyalist at heart (I know, I know), and reading about Endryd Haars background really got me inspired to produce a loyalist world eater force. He has so much character and the mystery of his background is intriguing. He is also a force to be reckoned with on the tabletop..... So this is the start of my loyalist world eater blog, with a twist. I will be using the blackshield rules to represent the force on the table. The Chymeriae rules (option 3: Fleet, fear and rage) really represent them well, still ferocious but subtlety different to their world eater kin and distrusted by everyone around them (no allies). I also couldn’t resist the modelling opportunity of having marines wielding chain axes and shotguns! I aim to slowly build a 2000 point list, which you can peruse here: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/361713-blackshields-endryd-haar/?do=findComment&comment=5472970 The force will be modelled and painted in the time just after Nuceria and the legions reorganisation after the discovery of Angron. So they will be painted in the blue and white of the XIIth legion. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am! Cadmus.

:::::::::Attempted Data-Recovery::::::::: :::::::::Accessing File AXXR-29748::::::::: :::::::::Please stand by::::::::: :::::::::Access denied as per the Sigillites request::::::::: :::::::::Termination Protocol engaged::::::::: :::::::::Inquisitorial Override, Access Level Charon::::::::: :::::::::Please stand by::::::::: :::::::::Greetings Inquisitor Yannik::::::::: :::::::::Unspooling Data-crystals::::::::: :::::::::Access granted::::::::: ++++++++++Thought for the day: Where dark reigns, light must fall++++++++++ File nr. 229837-11; The Euripides Incident >Date: 013.m31 >Segmentum: Solar >System: Sol >Locis: Europa, orbiting Jupiter >Function: Mechanicum research facility >Assigned Overseer: Genetor-Supreme Kykeron ++Ancient Pict-Reconstruction of Pre-Imperial Europa; date unknown, probably m3/m4++ Settled since age immemorial, Europa, like many of the solar moons, has served as a secretive haven for research most esoteric - it is here that Cult of Solex devised the first examples of darkfire weaponry, and it is here that the predecessors of the Empyrean Engineers would scrawl the first blueprints for Gellar Field Devices on everlasting sheets of platinum. That the Emperor, blessed in His wisdom, would come to desire such a trove of knowledge, appears self-evident even to us, who live in the shadow of His passage. It was thus then, that he would send forth his Angels of Death, the then-nascent Legio Primus - the Angelum Mortis - to root out the entrenched xenophile cults that had come to inhabit Europa by that point. The operation was swift, if bloody, and fiefdom over the stellar body would be ceeded to an enclave of the Helvetian Technocracy - an offshoot of the Machine Orthodoxy that had weathered the Age of Strife in isolation most extreme upon Terra. Where then Deimos and Phobos of Mars would become the twin-seats of the martian synode of Beherrean, and Io became the heart of the lunar Simvulsean Complex, Europa would become home to the Ansilean Circle, a branch of the Technocracy responsible for the research of weaponization of warp phenomena. Due to the high-priority technologies developed and improved upon - research that held keenest interest among a number of the Emperor's subjects - the station had long been obscured from regular imperial authorities and been declared interditum absoutis to any and all who did not hold the appropriate seals of authority. It is during the early stages of the Horus Heresy that elements of the Alpha Legion would conduct a series of assaults on the Solar system - most famously the grand assault on station Hydra, in the orbit of Pluto - and research outposts would prove to be some of their most favoured targets, both due to the wealth of material and knowledge that could be raided there, and the relative isolation in which they existed even in this most fortified of circles. On the third day of the Septimus in the thirteenth year of m31, all contact from Europa would cease, prompting Lord Dorn to send out an investigative force of Imperial Fists to ascertain what had transpired and - should the situation require it - secure and extract any technology still present in the Ansilean vaults. It is to be noted that Lord Dorn was, at first, unwilling to send out any of his own men, for in those early days of the Great Fratricide many things had been uncertain and he - rightly so - feared more direct attacks against Terra and thus sought to hold back his own forces as best he could. It was only after a private audience with Lord-Hierophant Ecneon, master of the Technocracy, that Lord Dorn would relent. The investigative force would quickly discover that a strike force of the Alpha Legion - henceforth termed Strikeforce 'Lintwyrm' - supported by allied Mechanicum and Militia elements - henceforth termed as Strikeforce 'Koleikos' and Strikeforce 'Sarthaccan' respectively - had disabled all communication in the facility and begun off-loading the present technology. It appeared then, that the stationed Helvetian forces had been seeded with operative elements of the Alpha Legion many years prior. This is the documentation of the Euripides-incident. :::::::::Unspooling fragmentary audio-data recorded by Legionnarie Karst of the Imperial Fists::::::::: :::::::::Data is heavily damaged::::::::: :::::::::Please stand by::::::::: :::::::::Data partially recovered::::::::: :::::::::Open the record: Y/N?::::::::: :::::::::Input: Y::::::::: +For the Emperor+ :::::::::Close the file: Y/N?::::::::: :::::::::Input N::::::::: :::::::::Fareth well, Inquisitor Yannik::::::::: :::::::::The Emperor protects::::::::: ++Pict-Captures extracted from reconstructed Helvetian Cybergholam++ ++Identity unconfirmed; presumed to be Consul-Delegatus Autilon Skorr++ We are not gods. We are creations of science. And therein lies our problem, for we are neither human, nor divine. We are flawed versions of both. Attr. to Primarch Alpharius, recorded by remembrancer Mikhael Bro'ok

Blackshields take a Wrought by War rule which "...the owning player may choose one of the following special rules to apply to their entire detachment.." One o f these is called Orphans of War has the following rule: "Non-Character models with this special rule: When within 6" of another unit of at least five friendly models with the Legion Astartes (Blackshields) special rule, the unit gains +1 Leadership (to a maximum of 10), and can re-roll all failed To Hit roll of a 1 during the Shooting phase Assault phase. They may not however benefit from the Leadership value of other models, and if they fail a Moral check in the Assault phase, D3 models from the unit are removed as casualties in addition to any other effects Character models with this special rule: Gain the Preferred Enemy (Character) special rule" Question is: do vehicles which are within 6" of a unit of 5 friendly models (say a Marauder Squad) gain the ability to re-roll ones? My opponent was of the view that Non-character models includes vehicles. His position was that if the writers wanted to exclude vehicles they would have said "Non-Character Infantry models". In the rules the definition of models is very broad "Models represent a huge variety of troops - from the massed forces of the Legion Astartes to the automata and the titanic constructs of the Mechanicum" My view as that this rule is only applicable to infantry models During the discussion it was also raised that the usage of the word "another" dictates that the unit wishing to gain the benefit of this rule must also be 5 strong - therefore if there were two units of Marauders next to each other, one was 5 strong and one was 4 strong, then neither get this rule) - not sure about this strict grammatical issue but this is for another day )