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Grey Death At the dawn of the 37th millennium, tragedy struck the Imperium. Warp Storm Dionys ripped through a swathe of occupied star systems with no warning, a psychic tornado of colossal proportions that left Astropaths blind and contaminated billions of souls. Even the Adeptus Astartes did not escape untouched, for many Chapters drew recruits from warp-ravaged worlds, and others found that Dionys had aggravated ancient flaws in their gene-seed, bringing mania and mutation to the fore. Saint Basillius the Elder, who centuries later would be condemned as a false idol, demanded the right to judge these storm-touched Space Marines for spiritual purity. No fewer than thirty Chapters were found wanting, and such was the Saint's influence that these Judged Chapters accepted a suicide mission: an Abyssal Crusade of penitence into the unconquered depths of the Eye of Terror. Prominent among the Judged were the Iron Drakes. Well-regarded specialists in aerial warfare, the Iron Drakes had freely admitted to the effects of the Warp Storm: newly-emerged faults in the haemastamen and multi-lung left them reliant on specialist rebreather equipment to perform the high-altitude warfare that was their signature. Basillius' judgement shocked the Chapter, who had thought the damage minor and their reputation firm. Some believed they had been condemned merely as an example, to show that none were above reproach, but now the Iron Drakes were trapped: having willingly submitted to judgement, they could not flee the verdict. Matters only worsened when the Abyssal Crusade Fleet was scattered, marooning the Iron Drakes on Anathrax. A planet overrun by sapient grey vegetation and mad fungus of toxic iridescence, the spore-clogged air of Anathrax left the Iron Drakes grounded and low on oxygen. They were soon set upon by the various Death Guard warbands who fought over the daemon world, harried and worn down, exposed flesh and cracked armour left bulging with fungal growths. And there it might have ended, were the Iron Drakes unwilling to adapt. Unwilling to survive. Over the next standard century, the Iron Drakes carried out their mission. Scouts mapped the shifting jungles of Anathrax, learned to move untouched through its bloated boughs. Techmarines repaired armour with strange resin as tough as ceramite, engineered winglike jump packs that could glide through air thick as foam. Apothecaries developed new remedies of sap and spore, studied which growths could be left to flourish and which should be trimmed like bonsai. Librarians developed a sense for the strange seasons of the planet, communed in psilocybin dreams with a creeping intelligence they called Ygg. Warband after warband was purged or fled, overcome by a foe who seemed ever-more part of the daemonic jungle they had thought to claim. By the time victory had been achieved, the Iron Drakes were no more. Their blue armour was dulled to a cesious grey, its bright steel heraldry tarnished to black, fungal growths of every lurid hue protruding from every gap and joint. The Chapter had conquered Anathrax, but in so doing had learned the beauty of its strange garden. Chapter Master Toskr at last went alone to the daemon-tree Ygg, nephew to Nurgle and father of all the daemon world's infernal vegetation, and sealed a pact atop its canopy. He returned to his Chapter bearing the grey fruit of Ygg, surrounded by a chorus of the squirming, iridescent Dhogg-Spawn that had been born from his fallen brothers. As the Astartes ate, the jungle writhed with joy, and the Grey Death was born. Renegade Trait Warlord Trait Stratagem Artefact Of Chaos ********* All we have for the Grey Death is a broad origin story and a colour scheme; I've filled in the origin story, which involved nudging the Chapter's fall away from "we got Chaos stuffed down our throats until we turned evil" (never hugely inspiring) and into a more insidious "the abyss gazes also" situation. I also tweaked the colour scheme slightly; still grey-on-black, but blue-grey rather than green-grey (because we do not need another green Nurgle warband) and with lurid mushroom growths to act some actual colour. In mechanical terms, I wanted to represent a warband that used bizarre terrain-control in the form of creeping daemon-vegetation, and also do what the Vigilus Renegades largely didn't: encourage the Grey Death to actually fight as a Nurgle warband. The Renegade Trait has three parts. First, it lets Grey Death models benefit from Feculent Gnarlmaws, a static "terrain" unit in the daemon list. This seems narrow, but the benefits are hilariously good; if you're within 7" of a Gnarlmaw, you get a +2 cover bonus and can shoot/charge even if you fall back/advance. You become tough as hell and very maneuverable... but only beneath the branches of your daemon trees. Second, it lets Grey Death characters summon more Gnarlmaws. This is important because Gnarlmaws are Fortifications, which means taking even one of them eats a detachment slot. And since they can't move, the only way to get them anywhere outside of your deployment zone is to use the Denizens of the Warp stratagem (you can do that, if you're all-Nurgle, thanks to your Daemons Detachment of Gnarlmaws). Summoning means you can be more flexible with detachments, and lets you spread the Nurgle love across the battlefield, albeit pretty slowly since you can't Ritual-and-move. Third, it gives you CP when you set up Gnarlmaws right next to Grey Death models in deployment. This encourages you to turn your deployment zone into a jungle, and massages the need for a no-CP Fortification Network detachment to take any Gnarlmaws at all. It obviously doesn't work with deep striking or summoning. The Warlord Trait is a Heroic Intervention range boost. Less reliable than the Black Templar or Farsight versions, which give you a full 6" move, but this one lets you bring Gnarlmaws along. See, the other ability of Gnarlmaws is that they can inflict mortal wounds on non-Nurgle units within 3" – but it's normally pretty simple to stay out of that range, since they can't move. This way your Warlord can drag the Gnarlmaw into range when your opponent starts a fight outside of the killzone, nudging it forward that extra three-or-so inches. The Stratagem is the most straightforward one so far – you lose your precious Gnarlmaw cover save in close combat, but now you can spend CP to keep it. Finally, the Artefact of Chaos seems like a complete departure that only exists to play on the history of the Chapter... but it's actually there to mess up flyers, because they're the units most capable of quickly getting to you in combat, and of backing off outside of your Gnarlmaw radius when need be. Now your jump pack Exalted Champion can latch onto that Winged Hive Tyrant or driveby Stormraven and carve into it with a chainfist. Worth noting that the reduced Movement can really mess with some vehicles; take a Valkyrie down to 7 wounds, and its Movement suddenly becomes 20-15". That's an autocrash next turn.

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Index Astartes The Void Vultures "For the Emperor. For Sanguinius. For every last citizen we spill blood for. Dine upon their flesh! Feast upon their marrow! Let none of them survive! In the name of Sanguinius, death! Death! Let all blood fly!!" ~ Commander Donal, previous Chapter Master of the Void Vultures. The Chapter known as the "Void Vultures" ("Gypaetus Astra" in High Gothic), also known as the "Vultures of Ochim", Void Vermilion, and the Eaters of the Dead are a group of berserk, cannibalistic warriors hailing from a barbaric planet. Origins They were once known as the Vermilion Wings Chapter. One of the 23rd Founding. The High Lords of Terra found one area of space on the Eastern Fringe to be unprotected, within the Oshim system, and under constant threat of being invaded by the Greenskins. A petition had been signed, and the creation was underway. A training cadre was created from the Red Wings Chapter, and Mars had forged them a number of ships, arms and armor to begin with. The Brother-Captain Saon, formerly of the Red Wings, was put in charge of this cadre while a larger force of Red Wings space marines led the fight into the Oshim system. Within they had discovered that the Orks were terrorizing the Imperial planets in the sector. The entire system was in chaos. From the Battle Barge Angel’s Flame, Saon sent his cadre to several worlds, alongside the large force of Red Wings space marines who had come in with their own small fleet, retaking the worlds from the Orks. The final battle against the Orks was upon the planet Callisto, where Saon did battle with the Ork warboss. The warboss was defeated within a massive desert valley in the largest battle of the campaign. Callisto, and the Oshim system had been conquered. Saon was named the first Chapter Master. The system’s local Techpriests began construction on the new Fortress Monastery on Callisto. Whilst the Fortress Monastery was being built, the newly formed Vermilion Wings used the Angel’s Flame as a base of operations. After a Puritan Inquisitor had discovered that the Astartes on Callisto were engaging in cannibalistic rituals they had deemed heretical after investigating the disappearance of several Imperial nobles and governors, along with an Inquisitor, they stormed the Feudal World en-masse with a full detachment of Tempestus Scions and Astra Militarum. After several days of fighting, the Marines made a final retreat from their home, leaving its fate to the Inquisition. The barbarian and medieval inhabitants that made up the Planetary Defense Forces who fought the Inquisitorial forces using guerrilla tactics were made into a penal legion, sent out to various fronts across the galaxy. The Chapter then took on the name Void Vultures. They became renegades, running from the Imperium that they fought for, losing many along the way. They hid within the fleet of a rogue trader of the Everec Dynasty for many decades. They have since reclaimed their homeworld after aiding Baal during the Tyranid incursion and participating in the Indomitus Crusade fighting the Tyranids and the forces of Chaos. Home World Callisto is a temperate Feudal World located in the Ochim Sector. The world is mostly swamps and bogs, snow-capped mountains and gnarled forests in the north and desert wastelands with a few jungles in the south. One vast ocean could be found in the northern hemisphere, inhabited by fishing communities. The ancient fortress monastery of the Void Vultures was built in a wasteland full of Ork and Imperial wrecks leftover from the first engagement in the sector. The Astartes mainly recruited from the various barbarian tribes found throughout the desert region and the various mountainous regions that surrounded it. Fortress Monastery The Fortress Monastery of the Void Vultures is known as The Spire, a vast castle complex within the wasteland where they first battled the Orks on Callisto, still surrounded by wrecks and ruins. The insides are lined with the bones of dead battle-brothers. Organization Each company is made up of one hundred marines each, and led by a brother-captain. The first company is made of veterans and Terminators, the tenth are entirely made of neophytes, and the rest are full of a mixture of assault, devastator and tactical marines. Beliefs They have embraced the fact that, even though that Astartes are by far much longer than the average human citizen, the vast majority of them die in battle. Due to their curse, they all expect to die in battle one day, and sometimes entire forces are wiped out if only to hold the line to the last man. But they pay love and respect for their fallen. Once a battle is finished, they collect their dead, and lay them out in rows, and then devour their flesh. This horrific act will give them the memories of those who have passed on, and will sometimes rarely give them a brief glimpse at the memories of Sanguinius due to their hyper-sensitive Omophagea organ. The only ones allowed to eat the body of a fallen brother are those within his own squad. Before the body is consumed, a servitor sucks out the blood of the marine through a giant needle. This blood is put within the Pool of Remembrance. The Pool of Remembrance is a vast underwater lake within the Angel's Flame full of the blood of every dead battle brother, it is unknown what keeps the blood warm. When an initiate is first taken aboard, they must take a ritual bath for some time within the Pool, so that they may become one with their brothers before entering the chapter in-full. Once a battle is over, and their own dead are separated from the enemy's dead, they cook and consume the flesh of their enemies in a great ritualistic feast. If a battle-brother is caught devouring a Chaos warrior, he is brought to a chaplain, who will put him out of his insane misery. They will also transport the bones of the fallen back to the Angel's Flame, where they would be put within the Fortress Monastery to decorate the corridors lined with bones. They see themselves as servants of the Imperium, but being renegades, they fight battles on their terms, for whatever reasons that they deem worthy. Combat Doctrine The Void Vultures fight with a tendency towards aggressive assault actions using mobile forces, along with guerrilla warfare and surprise attacks. They make a heavy usage of scout squads to do recon after making landfall and use little in the way of vehicles. Recruitment The Void Vultures recruit from the various tribal and feudal societies on their homeworld of Callisto. Those who do not pass the requirements for joining generally help the Chapter as serfs. Gene-seed They have a hypersensitive Omophagea organ. This, mixed with the Red Thirst, makes them bloodthirsty killing machines on the battlefield. They will stop at nothing to get as close to the enemy as possible, and rip their hearts out and, if possible, devour it in front of their enemy. After a battle is done, they will build a camp and cook their enemies, then dine upon their flesh. Usually this is done in secret. This flaw appeared not long after they were created. Even in the earliest days of the Oshim campaign, the newly-made marines were found tearing off their helmets and ripping into grots after a victory and devouring them raw, along with eating anything that died, civilians, battle-brothers, and enemies. This was first thought to have been just the Red Thirst, but Sanguinary Priests of the chapter have discovered otherwise. Within months they had learned to control themselves to an extent. Regardless, whereas the Blood Angels are noble warriors, the Void Vultures are vicious monsters in comparison. Battle-cry ”Let all blood fly!”