The History and Legacy of Dorn's Betrayal

[Ace Debonair]

The first issue of the Legio Imprint B&C e-zine - featuring the first half of the Dornian Heresy - is being loaded into the drop pods now. Expect a new B&C banner some time tomorrow announcing its publication. ;)

 

I am trying and failing to contain my excitement. <_<

Suffice to say, I am quite looking forward to this. :)

[Aurelius Rex]

How will we get our hands on it?

There will be a link to download the pdf file. You should be able to get to it by clicking on a funky new Dornian Heresy board banner which has an image of the corrupted Rogal Dorn from Badaboom.

[Aurelius Rex]

The board banner is up now, and clicking on it will take you to the download thread. :P

 

Thanks to all involved in getting the Dornian Heresy to this point... Now to crack on with the rest of the IA articles. :P

 

Aurelius.

[Yvonmukluk]

Wow...been reading through the ezine. These are some of the best web articles I've ever seen. Slightly confused as to the absence of the Iron Warriors-were they too late to make it in?

 

Another thing I couldn't help wondering was-what would the galaxy look like if Ultramar and the Imperium had been able to bury the hatchet? I'm guessing the imperium would be a lot healthier.

 

A what if of a what if...just goes to show how detailed you've made this series.

 

I'm looking forward to the next installment.

[Aurelius Rex]

Wow...been reading through the ezine. These are some of the best web articles I've ever seen. Slightly confused as to the absence of the Iron Warriors-were they too late to make it in?

 

Another thing I couldn't help wondering was-what would the galaxy look like if Ultramar and the Imperium had been able to bury the hatchet? I'm guessing the imperium would be a lot healthier.

 

A what if of a what if...just goes to show how detailed you've made this series.

 

I'm looking forward to the next installment.

Glad you like the final product. :)

 

Given the large size of the project I thought it best to divide it into two, with the overview and first nine articles in this issue... with one thing and another, we wanted to keep three articles back as original content for the Legio Imprint and delays meant that the Iron Warriors leapfrogged it and was published before the SW, TS and BA. :)

 

What would the galaxy look like with Ultramar and the Imperium as allies? Who could say, but probably a lot healthier. :) Thanks for derailing the chance of peace go to Fulgrim, who let a desire for payback for Istvaan get in the way of reconciliation. :huh:

 

Aurelius.

[army310]

dude this is great i love the story and the art work!!!

[malika666]

The Ultramarines seem interesting! I would have expected them to be a rival traitor faction rather than independent loyalists. Do they also keep developing their technology? Mk16 armour seems to suggest that kinda!

 

What about the other Legions? Will they be covered in Volume 2? I'm very curious about the Night Lords, Alpha Legion, Death Guard and Iron Hands!

[Kelbor-Hal]

Ok, I stared at the banner about an hour, drooling and mumbling... It was worth the wait... <absolutely stunned> :)

[Pcm979]

Having the Thousand Sons soulbound was an inspired touch. Linking Baal's radiation poisoning to Nurgle is also clever, I have to admit, despite what it does to my favorite Loyalists.

 

At the very least, and it's a lot better than the very least, it's great brainstorming material. I wish I was part of something like this...

[malika666]

I'm digging this alternate universe more and more! I'm very curious how for example, the Badab War would have been in this universe!

 

The Lamenters are suggested to be a Successor of the Blood Angels. What if the corrupted Blood Angels have tried to find a cure for their affliction? Or at least have a faction of the Blood Angels do that! They might even have worked with the Clone Lord. Maybe the Lamenters have been successful and managed to have cured their affliction. They might have been rejected by the rest of the Legion because of this. Perhaps the Lamenters even tried to re-integrate into the Imperium or at least try to be neutral.

 

The Astral Claws/Red Corsairs might always have been a collection of marines from various Legions/Chapters who have cut themselves free from the Imperium. Perhaps in the image of Ultramar they tried to start a new society, free from the oppression of the Imperium and the High Lords. This organisation could have been divided into small companies which have taken on names such as "Astral Claws", "Mantis Warriors" or "Executioners". The Lamenters might have joined them since they have not been accepted by the Blood Angels or the Imperium.

 

I dunno...is this thread the right place to discuss such alternate events connected to the Dornian Heresy universe or should I post this somewhere else?

[bogdan]

I have a question. In the space wolf codex you said that the space wolfs never fought on Terra during the Heresy but in other legions codex(like Blood Angels) you mention that they indeed fought on Terra during the Heresy. It is a mistake somewhere? Great magazine article but I didn't some legions that were already present in this thread like Iron Warriors in the magazine article.

[Aurelius Rex]

The Ultramarines seem interesting! I would have expected them to be a rival traitor faction rather than independent loyalists. Do they also keep developing their technology? Mk16 armour seems to suggest that kinda!

 

What about the other Legions? Will they be covered in Volume 2? I'm very curious about the Night Lords, Alpha Legion, Death Guard and Iron Hands!

The Ultras are not 'evil', but are certainly no friends of the Imperium. Dorn was able to drive a wedge between them at Istvaan and use them for his own ends. They have also continued developing, although from the Calgar colourpieces, there is perhaps a stagnation brought on by an over-reliance on Guilliman's Codex Ultramar.

 

The plan is to cover the other nine legions partly here in the board - the Iron Warriors are already here linked in my sig - and eventually collected in a later issue of the Legio Imprint.

 

@Kelbor-Hal - Glad you liked the end product. :P

 

@Malika666 - Clone-Lord... It isn't clear if Corax managed to kill him. ;) His continued existence is unknown. As to the Lamenters... I never mentioned the name of the Ultramarines successor chapter that colonised Baal and then went all Nurgley.... :) I had not even considered the Astral Claws... there might be a way to integrate it in future IA's. ;)

 

@Bogdan - The intention was that the Space Wolves never made it to Terra. I checked the Blood Angels IA and it said that the BA finally gave in on Terra when they heard that the Space Wolves had turned their fleet aside from their advance on Terra. :) Was that what you were referring to?

[malika666]

Clone-Lord... It isn't clear if Corax managed to kill him. devil.gif His continued existence is unknown. As to the Lamenters... I never mentioned the name of the Ultramarines successor chapter that colonised Baal and then went all Nurgley.... wink.gif I had not even considered the Astral Claws... there might be a way to integrate it in future IA's.

 

As for the Clone-Lord, you could vaguely hint at him being involved in the project, either him directly or maybe an apprentice who has taken over his title?

 

As for the Lamenters, they are originally a Blood Angels Successor, they also were immune to the Black Rage and Red Thirst, hence the cure idea.

 

I'd love to brainstorm more with you guys on other themes in this alternate reality, but would it be fitting in this thread or should we maybe continue it somewhere else?

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Great job to Aurelis first off, but everyone involved. This was what made me stop dragging my feet and sign on to the forums here. Excellent work and I'd be willing to contribute to the X and XX Legio stories if necessary.

[malika666]

To return to the topic of the Badab War. We know that the Salamanders originally fought in it. What if in this version they were partly the instigators? They dislike both Chaos, the Imperium and probably also Ultramar. Maybe they tried to deliver a blow to all factions. Setting up and supporting some Space Marine formations (Lamenters, Astral Claws, etc) to become an independent faction, then lure the forces of Ultramar against them, Chapters such as the Fire Hawks and Nova Marines are sent in to strike them. Then the Imperium joins in, trying to gain something from this conflict. Ultramar and the Imperium enter a very fragile and temporary alliance against the independent faction (who they believe to be Chaos worshippers). Eventually these forces are driven back but manage to escape. Now with all factions weakened the Salamanders step in, trying to attack both weakened factions. It might be them who were responsible for the Fire Hawks to become lost in the Warp and become the Legion of the Damned. however, the Word Bearers are sent in and push the traitors into the Maelstrom. The Ultramar loyal chapters retreat, the Word Bearers guard the Maelstrom and inside the Maelstrom are the Salamanders and independents (Lamenters, Astral Claws, etc) fighting amongst themselves.

 

I dunno...just tossing ideas there for now!

 

 

I'm currently pondering a bit on Successor Chapters and such and well, they could exist in both Traitor and Loyalist sides. The original Loyalists were split into Chapters by Guilliman after the Horus Heresy. The Traitor Legions were also partly split up in warbands. If you look at the Imperial Armour books we see that the Chaos Warbands involved in the Siege of Vraks have chapter like names but are connected to the original Legions. In the case of the Dorian Heresy we see the same, the Imperial Fists split up into the Black Legions, Scions of Dorn and Crimson Fists (oh please let them be kinda Khornate, kind of a wink to how the original Iron Warriors could also have Khorne Berzekers). I see more of the Traitor Legions split up in Warbands which have very Chapter like names. The Blood Angels could indeed have the Flesh Eaters, Lamenters, Blood Drinkers etc. But instead of Successor Chapters they are warbands which are still part of the Legion.

[bogdan]

The Ultramarines seem interesting! I would have expected them to be a rival traitor faction rather than independent loyalists. Do they also keep developing their technology? Mk16 armour seems to suggest that kinda!

 

What about the other Legions? Will they be covered in Volume 2? I'm very curious about the Night Lords, Alpha Legion, Death Guard and Iron Hands!

The Ultras are not 'evil', but are certainly no friends of the Imperium. Dorn was able to drive a wedge between them at Istvaan and use them for his own ends. They have also continued developing, although from the Calgar colourpieces, there is perhaps a stagnation brought on by an over-reliance on Guilliman's Codex Ultramar.

 

The plan is to cover the other nine legions partly here in the board - the Iron Warriors are already here linked in my sig - and eventually collected in a later issue of the Legio Imprint.

 

@Kelbor-Hal - Glad you liked the end product. :)

 

@Malika666 - Clone-Lord... It isn't clear if Corax managed to kill him. :ph34r: His continued existence is unknown. As to the Lamenters... I never mentioned the name of the Ultramarines successor chapter that colonised Baal and then went all Nurgley.... :wink: I had not even considered the Astral Claws... there might be a way to integrate it in future IA's. :)

 

@Bogdan - The intention was that the Space Wolves never made it to Terra. I checked the Blood Angels IA and it said that the BA finally gave in on Terra when they heard that the Space Wolves had turned their fleet aside from their advance on Terra. :) Was that what you were referring to?

I actually believed that the Space Wolf legion fought on Terra from the codex blood angels. Thank you for clarifying the misunderstanding.

[Hergrmir]

VERY clever work! The choices for the god-specific traitors are truly inspired, particularly where the Blood Angels wind up. The Wolves are expectable, but that bit about Skyrar in the Thousand Sons IA... genius, really.

 

Spoilers ahead:

 

There's a TON of little things like that people who don't read the sidebars or who don't read the thing all at once will miss, and that adds a lot of depth. Varren's little reflection after killing the Space Wolf, Corax's interaction with Fabius... heck, even naming Mk16 Damocles-pattern is awesome.

 

I think one of the things I really like is that the fall of Corax mirrors the fall of Magnus in just how tragic it is. Abaddon's Black Templars are another inspired bit of work, as is the twist-within-a-twist nature of the first siege of terra. Vandire and Thor being Word Bearers is pretty cool too, and I wasn't expecting the annihilation of the Brides. Raven Guard and Thousand Sons having a particular antipathy for each other is made delectable for the audience because it really plays with our knowledge of the two universes.

 

Are the traitors going to number 9 in total? I kind of expect the Iron Hands to not having anything to do with the other 8, and this way it breaks down to 8 on each side plus the Ultramarines and the Iron Hands standing off. or maybe the Alpha Legion are secretly traitor-ninjas? :sweat:

 

Cannot WAIT to see how you guys play out the Dark Angel schism, since it's already twisted enough as it is. Even what the colour scheme shakes out to be is going to be extremely interesting, and the place of the Fallen and all that. Same thing with the Perturabo/Rogal Dorn rivalry.

[Ferrata]

Are the traitors going to number 9 in total? I kind of expect the Iron Hands to not having anything to do with the other 8, and this way it breaks down to 8 on each side plus the Ultramarines and the Iron Hands standing off. or maybe the Alpha Legion are secretly traitor-ninjas?

One of the things that is noticable in the Dornian universe is the weakness of all sides - especially chaos. Unlike the actual timeline where most of chaos might align to Abaddon, Sigismund doesn't hold much sway with any of the other legions, bar maybe a little with a couple.

[Skritz]

Mk16 Damocles Armor looks so damn awesome. A little too awesome, if I might say. Anybody think it looks a little too Tau-like? :blush:

[Pcm979]

Are the traitors going to number 9 in total? I kind of expect the Iron Hands to not having anything to do with the other 8, and this way it breaks down to 8 on each side plus the Ultramarines and the Iron Hands standing off. or maybe the Alpha Legion are secretly traitor-ninjas?

One of the things that is noticable in the Dornian universe is the weakness of all sides - especially chaos. Unlike the actual timeline where most of chaos might align to Abaddon, Sigismund doesn't hold much sway with any of the other legions, bar maybe a little with a couple.

It makes me wonder how the Xenos are doing in the Dornverse. Are they capitalizing on Humanity's relative weakness, or do they have problems of their own?

[malika666]

I'm very curious about the role of the Alpha Legion and the Cabal in this universe.

 

Mk16 Damocles Armor looks so damn awesome. A little too awesome, if I might say. Anybody think it looks a little too Tau-like? msn-wink.gif

There is a reason why it looks Tau like... :D

[Kelbor-Hal]

I just hope that more gifted artists will gravitate to this thread and start doing som more fine art for this concept (Aerion's, Badaboom's and Madscuzzy's works kick ass, Fire Lizard is a bit too sterile for my taste, the others... well, they lack the artistic vision or the talent - but that's just my opinion of course).

I'm looking forward to the other legions, especially the Alphas :D

[Badaboom]

Aerion's, Badaboom's and Madscuzzy's works kick ass, Fire Lizard is a bit too sterile for my taste, the others... well, they lack the artistic vision or the talent - but that's just my opinion of course.

 

Thanks for that but, what about Sergio Camarena´s Nurgley Blood Angel? Don´t you like it?

 

I hope to be able to contribute more to the next pdf release, but that doesn´t actually depend just on me.

[blackoption]

Are the traitors going to number 9 in total? I kind of expect the Iron Hands to not having anything to do with the other 8, and this way it breaks down to 8 on each side plus the Ultramarines and the Iron Hands standing off. or maybe the Alpha Legion are secretly traitor-ninjas?

One of the things that is noticable in the Dornian universe is the weakness of all sides - especially chaos. Unlike the actual timeline where most of chaos might align to Abaddon, Sigismund doesn't hold much sway with any of the other legions, bar maybe a little with a couple.

 

 

Based on what I read, I got the impression that more of the "traitor legions" would follow Luther over Sigmund. It is suggested that Luther killed a Primarch, meanwhile Sigmund couldn't keep one in line. Maybe those two are having power struggles against one another?

[Ferrata]

It is more of a case that a lot of the non-Imperial armies will not follow anyone. The Ultramarines are not chaos, so they are out. The Salamanders are Malal-worshippers, so they are out. The Raven Guard don't know what they are doing, so for a majority they are out. The White Scars are self-serving double-traitors, so for a majority they are out unless the price is right. The Iron Hands aren't really team players (for some reason). The only leaves the Imperial Fists, Dark Angels, Space Wolves and Blood Angels to fight together - and most of them aren't really hugging buddies :rolleyes: