mightygoose Posted February 6, 2009 Author Share Posted February 6, 2009 no replies, ach well ploughing on.... i feel i should go back and start at the beginning..... who are these guys in the 14th? where do they come from? Why was the 14th formed? I am sure at least some of you are wondering... well i think a Index Astartes type article is appropriate.... Origins The 14th Grand Company was created under the supervision of Peturabo on Medrengard in 004.M42. In the aftermath of the 13th Black Crusade, various warbands and newly renegade traitors made their way back to Iron warrior Homeworld with the existing Grand Companies from Kasr Partox and Agripnaa. Seeing the casualties, in particularly to the 8th, 11th & 12th Grand Company, and the large numbers of initiates that were only now, after the crusade reaching combat age. In addition seeing the presence of so many minor warbands, some of whom had never see Medrengard, Peturabo decided that a new Grand Company be Assembled to continue the war in this new millenium. Homeworld Although from many worlds as individuals the Grand Company's Home is Medrengard. Combat Doctrine The new Grand Company is schooled in the Legions own particular combat patterning, however this has been altered slightly to allow for the inclusion of a small number of Defilers and the small numbers of Obliterators. Organisation The Company is assembled of 120 new marines wearing a peverted facsimile of the new Mk.8 Errant armour. 117 rebel marines new to the cause, this from nearly 500 supposed traitors that accompanied the Iron Warriors to Medrengard. The rest failed to survive the Induction process. The remaining number are comprised of the warriors from no less than six large warbands and remnants of eight others that suffered near total casualties in the last Black Crusade. The six major warbands were: The Cohort of the Iron Beast, The Golden Host of Territo, The Shadowsiege Company, The Death Blasters, The Firetraps of Magnot Four Zero & The Dark Gunners of the Titankiller. The majority of ranking leaders in these warbands were promoted and a new crop of Aspiring Champions were created. Squads from within these forces were not broken up but instead assigned as a unit to various companies and supplied with new equipment where applicable. As almost all newly created Obliterators went to replace losses in the other Grand Companies, the 14th has only 30 to its name, these are assigned en masse to the Close Support Company, the 7th. The Warsmith has a particualr distaste for Defilers, seeing them as machines of war designed by inferior engineers. To this end only the defilers present within the pre-existing warbands were included in the force. Following precedence from the sole previous creation of a Grand Company since the Betrayal, the 14th were blessed by Peturabo and granted a selection of siege engines from the guns of Medrengard. Each Unique piece binds a powerful daemon within it, and some of the machines even feature technology long lost to the Imperium. Six of such machines were awarded to the 14th and comprise the centre of any large scale bombardment. The 14th as a whole is organised in a similar way to the 13th, with marines organised into companies according to battlefield role. 1st Company comprises of Terminator veterans, it is considered an honour to be bestowed with a set of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, and members of the 1st would be shamed in going to war without it. The 2nd, 3rd & 4th Comprise of fire teams wielding predominantly ranged weaponary, however all warriors will still carry close combat weapons and pistols should the need for a counter charge arise. The 5th is an enlarged company and comprises of the 14th's close combat and infiltration veterans. These warriors are used initially in disabling perimeter defences & patrols in stealthly attacks and then in the support charge behind the 8th for the breach. The 6th Company is identical to the 2nd, 3rd & 4th although will act as a rearguard, defending landing sites & guarding siege engines, however these marines are just as competent as their compatriots and will happily any other role if necessary. The 7th Company is geared for close action, with a large number of flame and melta weapons. These marines are forefront in urban engagements and also excel at ambushes. the 8th company is made up of marines who have began so sacrifice tactical clarity for the thrill of combat, vaguely aligned to Khorne, the company is a spectrum of devotion, from the plain bloodthirsty to the rage driven incoherents. They wear Khornate helms, but maintain tradition colouring. The 9th company consists of those heavily wounded, although bionic implants are present virtually unanimously among the warriors of the legion, those of the 9th have more than 40% total replacement. They demostrate often unrivalled feats of strength, speed and combat prowess, bestowed with their augmentations. each of the four squads of augmented marines act as minders for the Manglers. Manglers are marines with more than 80% body replacement, those not worthy of a full dreadnought sarcophagus teleport in to support their augmented brothers in times of need. However due to their small size and high rates of energy consumption, they can rarely function for more than a few hours before requiring a recharge. The 9th also has two Machine wraiths, Manglers who earn sufficient merit are upgraded to dreadnought sized bodies, these infernal machines are rarely armed with ranged weaponary but take additional armour to survive the most heavily contested breaches, they also teleport in. The 10th & 11th companies, provide the ranged firepower for the 14th. They take on tank hunting, anti-aircraft and Bunker bunker busting roles. The 12th is the armoured company of the 14th. This would form the lead of any armoured spearhead and help protect the rhino's on route to their deployment targets. The siege battery forms the remainder of the company. Beliefs As with all Iron Warriors, the 14th believe that they were betrayed by Dorn, and do not pledge allegiance to any of the Chaos gods. The loyalty of the 14th lies firstly to Peturabo, secondly to the Grand Company, thirdly to their Warband and finally to themselves. By relying heavily on a well structured Hierarchy many of the marines paranoid thoughts are supressed subconsciously. The Iron Warriors display intense martial pride, they will never refuse a challenge and will often solve disputes and rivalries with single combat. Gene-seed The Majority of the 14th have Peturaboean stock so suffer from mildly asynchronous biscpoea gland. This stock also has tendencies for suspicion and paranoia but in exchange for a marked increase in intelligence and problem solving. However approximately 35% of the marines have other Stock from their respective original Chapters. However any visible mutation is removed and replaced with inorganic architecture. Many marines from less strictly adhering warbands were required to undergo surgery before being officially inducted. Battle Cry In battle under the banner of the 14th, "IRON WITHIN; IRON WITHOUT" In battle under individual warbands, varies with warband On Parade, "BY THE FORGE AND GUNS OF MEDRENGARD, IRON WITHIN; IRON WITHOUT" thoughts, bearing in mind this is loose but allows me to structure my fluff for easy referral when writing narrative.... EDIT - REPLACE ALL INSTANCES OF 14TH WITH 17TH - FLUFF REVISION Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/157518-an-old-warsmith-returns-the-17th-grand-company/page/2/#findComment-1873091 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightygoose Posted February 8, 2009 Author Share Posted February 8, 2009 Going back through codex 2 & 3.5 I believe couple of revisions are in order, firstly in codex CSM v2.0 the iron warriors entry state that after the dropsite massacre, the legion "....split up to attack a dozen other worlds and contingents of Iron Warriors led assaults on the Imperial Palace." To me this Implies that at least 13(probably 14-16, assuming larger force went to Terra) Grand Companies were present at the dropsite massacre. If the Iron Warriors were dividing surely this would be done at a grand company level. my support for this is that, in IW IA, warsmiths replaced the leaders on a dozen worlds, with a warsmith being the leader of a grand company. furthermore of these twelve other worlds, one is Tallarn. the final tank battle after reinforcements left the wreckage of a million vehicles in the sand. Even with 2:1 kill ratio's and a heavy contingent of sentinels it requires that the Iron Warriors Contingent plus allies lost over 400,000 vehicles. How many remained??? I cannot imagine many of these vehicles being guard as i am not sure as to the numbers of traitor guard that took part in the heresy??? of note my warband/grand company dual organisation structure is supported in the IW IA also.... "A grand company will often be divided into component detachments led by lesser champions". also in my musings the IW IA data on the Iron Cage seems to indicate by way of organisation that the event occured after the acceptance of codex and the formation of chapters.... the fact that 400 marines dead is deemed as a such a significant loss, and that they attack in parade formation four companies wide implies chapter organisation. also in codex v4 manneus Drath seems to command a grand company on the planet of steel. so revising the list of Grand Companies.... WARNING - I have taken what is known about the Iron Warriors, as well as what is inferred, and extrapolated, i have tried to fill in gaps as realistically as possible, however i have made some of this stuff up, don't get mad, im just trying to create a better picture for us to share, contributions are welcome although somewhat absent..... The Fate of the Iron Warriors 1st Grand Company - Active, Peturabo's original Grand Company, Form his personal army and primarily marshal/defend the forges on Medrengard. 2nd Grand Company - Active, Ferrous Ironclaw, 2nd Grand Company, present at the siege of Terra, Famous for the sacking of the fortress archive on Auxesia, 4393597.M38, remains loyal. 3rd Grand Company - Disbanded, Remnants disbanded and scattered following flight from siege of Terra, The Golden Host of Territo are known to contain members of this Grand Company and still possess a fragment of the standard. Thydkeae bears this as his personal heraldry. 4th Grand Company - Active, Traitors to the Legion, Honsou "half-breed", after civil war with 5th & 11th Grand companies on Medrengard 998.M41 (around same time as third war for Armageddon,absorbed the surviving remnants of the 5th and 11th into his own Grand Company, making his the second largest contingent of Iron Warriors after the warhost of the Primarch himself. The 4th were notably absent from the Dropsite Massacre on Istvaan V, engaged in putting down rebellion elsewhere in the galaxy, Initially remained loyal to the emperor, racing toward Segmentum Solar, news reached them of Dorn's Corruption of Olympia and the subsequent Cleansing, and further to the defeat at Terra due to the incompetence of the Sons of Horus, Rendevouzed with their beloved primarch shortly after the initial retreat at one of the legions many fortress worlds. This Grand Company remained largely unscathed through the Heresy and slaughtered countless millions during the scouring. They had been one of the most favoured contingents of Peturabo, thus bestowed with the task of recovering the gene-seed of the betrayer on Hydra Cordartus. This favour was soon rescinded when only part of the full quota was delivered to the Daemon Primarch. Angering him greatly, the wrath of the 5th and 11th was also incurred when Honsou's rebelliousness reneged on the bargain struck with his fellow warsmith's, taking the remaining gene-seed for himself. Honsou since abandoned khalan Gohl, and on a rampage of vengeance across the galaxy rendered Tarsis Ultra devoid of all life, just to spite Uriel Ventris, an exiled ultramarine. Following this his whereabouts are unknown although with a force of nearly three thousand warriors it will not be long before his hiding place is revealed... 5th Grand Company - Disbanded, Berossus, now deceased, having betrayed his primarch, the discovery of the betrayal of his co-conspirator was all the more disturbing, after defeat at Khalan Gohl, the survivors of the Company split in three, a number loyal to the legion, and unaware of Berossus's betrayal, returned to the forges to update their Primarch of the events that transpired. A second faction loyal but fearful of Peturabo's wrath, fled Medrengard as a collection of small warbands, deciding to make their own path to glory till such a time as the forgiveness of the Legion can be attained. The third group, cowardly as they were sided with the Traitor Half Breed Honsou, bolstering the numbers of the 4th Grand Company. Thus at this time the 5th Grand Company no longer exists. It is estimated that the warriors that returned to the forge were around 150, and those that survived punishment were later assigned to the 17th Grand Company. 6th Grand Company - Lost, Present at the Dropsite Massacre, Invaded the Manufactorum world of Drask IV, after the construction of a mighty fortress, the Grand Company was destroyed by forces of the Blood Angles and the Valhallans, around four dozen warriors escaped with three full traitor regiments of the Draskian Home Guard. This force later came to be known in the Neo Baku system as the Cohort of Uzrad, harassing the eastern fringe as pirates to this day. 7th Grand Company - Disbanded, After Beginning a major campaign against tithe worlds in Segmentum Pacificus following the Dropsite Massacre, the Grand Company fell into disarray following the loss of the Warsmith's Battlebarge along with much of the 1st Company. The Remaining troops split into several large warbands, each attacking different worlds in different sectors. Only after considerable Astartes commitment and over 100 years of rebellion and war were the last of the warbands driven from their keeps, The Deathblasters and The Shadowsiege Company are both warbands surviving the 7th. 8th Grand Company - Active Chaeron, now deceased, Conquered Perdictor following the Dropsite Massacre, and during his decade long reign established, with the help of entirety of the Legions surviving traitor librarians, created the Jataal gate. A secret door to the warp outside of the eye. This cost the lives of all those librarians and is why sorcerors among the Iron Warriors are so rare. Unfortunately the World had to be abandoned during the scouring but the gate remained undiscovered. six thousand years later, while the forces of the Imperium were distracted by the 6th Black crusade, Peturabo sent Chaeron to reclaim the gate and rebuild his fortress, the world, declared perdita, was long forgotten and the 8th slipped passed the forces of the False Emperor. Since then they have maintained the gate and guarded it against rival legions seeking to take control of it. The Grand Company is currently holding a gladiatorial tournament to decide the next Warsmith among the various claimants. 9th Grand Company - Lost 10th Grand Company - Disbanded 11th Grand Company - LostToramino's forces took heavy casualties at the siege of Khalan Ghol and all survivors sided with the traitor 4th. 12th Grand Company - Active 13th Grand Company - Lost 14th Grand Company - Active Manneus Drath, Planet of Steel 15th Grand Company - Disbanded 16th Grand Company - Active, created out of assembled warband remnants of lost Grand companies and new recruits from acquired geneseed stock. 17th Grand Company - Active, Arven Gandha, created out of assembled warband remnants of lost Grand companies and new recruits from acquired geneseed stock. I will fill in the gaps but my creative juices are running low.... 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minigun762 Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 very nice, alot of good information. I'm particularly interested in the 8th Grand Company, is the material surrounding them canon, made up or somewhere in between? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/157518-an-old-warsmith-returns-the-17th-grand-company/page/2/#findComment-1875168 Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShotgunFacelift Posted February 9, 2009 Share Posted February 9, 2009 Nice details!! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/157518-an-old-warsmith-returns-the-17th-grand-company/page/2/#findComment-1875211 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightygoose Posted February 9, 2009 Author Share Posted February 9, 2009 very nice, alot of good information. I'm particularly interested in the 8th Grand Company, is the material surrounding them canon, made up or somewhere in between? its actually in between, canon wise, chaeron was a deamon prince, he did command a grand company, he was tasked by peturabo to guard the jataal gate, he was killed defending the gat against black legion, before honsou arrived and subsequently killed the black legion commander.... the number 8, the creation of the gate & librarian sacrifice, the reacapture of the world, are not canon, but i think they make sense....... ----------------------------------------------------------- I just noticed rereading a siege of the emperors palace piece again that IW destroyed an imperial fists fortress monastery adjoined to the palace after breaching the walls. that's awesome.... i will include that somewhere.... does anyone have any ideas about Grand Company organisation details circa great crusade, for any legion????? Well my stab going by what I think makes sense.... Pre - Heresy Grand Company organisation. 1st Company - Veterans Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Veterans, Terminator Armour, Power Armour, 10 Hellfire Land raiders 2nd Company - Shock Troops (BP & CCW) Captain, Chaplain, Techmarine, two Apothecaries, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, Jump Packs, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators 3rd Company - Shock Troops (BP & CCW) Captain, Chaplain, Techmarine, two Apothecaries, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, Jump Packs, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators 4th Company - Tactical Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators 5th Company - Tactical Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators 6th Company - Tactical Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators 7th Company - Close Fire Support (assault weapons) Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators - with heavy bolter sponsons 8th Company - Ranged Fire Support (devastators) Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators - with heavy bolter sponsons 9th Company - Ranged Fire Support (devastators) Captain, Chaplain, Librarian, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos, 10 Predators - with heavy bolter sponsons 10th Company - Reserve (scouts are pretty poor in sieges, the neophytes wore power armour) Captain, two Chaplains, Techmarine, Apothecary, Standard Bearer, 100 Marines, Power Armour, 10 Rhinos 11th Company - Armour 10 Techmarines, 20 Jetbike marines, 50 Predators - with heavy bolter Sponsons, 50 Hellfire Landraiders. This is circa great crusade, after the Iron Warriors became renowned for siege warfare, thus the balance is shifted toward siege. i put this here so it becomes easier to describe the evolution of the Grand Companies over time and you can see their losses gains are restructuring.... there were 15 Grand Companies of Iron Warriors at the commencement of the Heresy, totalling 165 Companies, 15000 Astartes. Directly after the scouring this number I estimate at around 6000. anyway later.... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/157518-an-old-warsmith-returns-the-17th-grand-company/page/2/#findComment-1875534 Share on other sites More sharing options...
mightygoose Posted February 12, 2009 Author Share Posted February 12, 2009 continuing.... 9th Grand Company - Lost 10th Grand Company - Disbanded 11th Grand Company - LostToramino's forces took heavy casualties at the siege of Khalan Ghol and all survivors sided with the traitor 4th. 12th Grand Company - Active Jeronus Maxima was the Warsmith of the 12th from its assembly right through to heresy. He had long distrusted Peturabo, how could someone be chosen to lead without first proving his military prowess and command acumen. As much as he disliked their Primarch however he was a loyal Astarte and would never voice such opinions in public. This mistrust however was just the seed the chaos gods desired. In fact Jeronus turned to chaos nearly 15 years before Horus revealed his true colours. During the Heresy the 12th went on a bloody rampage entirely independent of the legion command structure and by the time the scouring had begun, scores of daemons of both Khorne and Nurgle could be seen fighting for the breaches alongside his most frenzied warriors. Of all the Grand Companies, the 12th probably caused most chaos and destruction. they would land on a planet next to the largest city, lay siege to it, spreading the foul contagions of Nurgle to lessen the enemy, before using the fury of Khorne to decimate them in the massacre following the siege. Then as quickly as they arrived, they would leave, having killed millions in a matter of days for few to no casualties. However as the scouring progressed and the Adeptus Astartes began to recover from the assault on Terra, Jeronus and his 12th came up against increasing numbers of space marines and began attacking larger and better fortified cities. To counter the casualties and stronger foes, Jeronus and his sorcerors began summoning more and more daemons, even sacrificing warriors to summon greater daemons to the field. This displeased many of his soldiers as they believed it was untrue to their legion, and over the course of the decades nearly a third of his original Grand Company deserted to make their way to the eye of terror, to what rumours said was their new home world, Medrengard. The bloody rampage met its climax in the Piscina belt. On the world of Piscina the 12th were defeated in a series of bloody engagements with orks and Harbinger space marines. with as few as 230 Warriors left the survivorts of the rag tag fleet fled the planet, mutation rife as more and more gifts were demanded to aid extract their own lives from the deathtrap they had fought their way into. Jeronus did not survive the battle and a succession of leaders of both cults rapidly passed, each assassinated by the next. But none commanded the respect of the entire force. Around the same time a thousand sons techmarine, Murchad Kite, was fleeing his father legion, believing that machinery and not sorcery was the way to fight wars. With his lone Battleship and only sixscore marines remaining he saw an oppurtunity. Brought to the belt by a Space Hulk with experimental teleportation technology, Murchad saw a way of bolstering his numbers. His Battleship "The Infernal Device" easily outgunned what was left of the 12th. They surrendered without a fight, hoping to join the chaos leader aboard the mighty vessel. When the marines discovered the Techmarines disdain for sorcery, they felt they had found the leader they should of had. In a secret meeting aboard the Infernal Device, the sixty remaining untainted Iron Warriors made a pact with Murchad. The deal was that they would accept him as their leader provided they killed every single marine that bore the taint of the gods, including Kite's own men. Looking at the men Murchad saw nothing but the cold decisiveness and true honour of the men in front of him, the deal was set and three days later in a carefully orchestrated repair schedule only the sixty and Murchad were aboard the Infernal Decive. At that moment she opened fire on the fleet, utterly decimating them for minimal reply. At last the 12th were redeemed, their integrity and loyalty to the legion intact. Now they could resume the long war. Kite rapidly replaced all the armour of the battle weary marines and replaced any injured limbs with cybernetics. New vehicles and heavy weaponary were created and the 12th now had a formidable arsenal. Over the next two thousand years, the 12th took in renegades of pure biology and clad them in accursed armour. the ranks began to swell. For a long while ship to ship battles were the only way such a small force could achieve victory for nearly a third of the force were needed to run the ship, even in a stable orbit. With the addition of a contingent of traitor guard, Murchad was ready to set foot on solid ground again. In M33 the 12th embarked on the start of a massive campaign, their raids centred around unknown and experimental technology. Imperial research stations, and even installations on the exodite worlds of the eldar, beyond the edge of the galaxy felt the blades of Murchad Kite. In an attack on a fortress archive in Segmentum Tempestus, not even a combined force of Blood Angels and White Scars could stop them for stealing many secrets key to the creation of new Astartes. Ulthwé and Saim-Hann craftworlds too fell victim to the precise surgical strikes performed by Kites original sixty, now each and all clad in the finest Terminator armour, crafed by Kite himself. Although some of those warriors, through the years remained as little as 15% organic tissue and 85% steel and rage. In 620.M34 following a recent large shipment of a rare Adamantium alloy, the only spaceport on the planet of Khai-Zhan came under viscious attack from multiple factions. The city of Vogen was beset on all sides by Night Lords, Black Legion, Orks and the 12th, all vying for the great prize. While the the limp wristed sons of Dorn were massacred within the starport itself, the orks spread far too rapidly to be easily contained. It seemed that the Black legion had more prestigious goals and intended to take the palace, this left the Manufactoriums around the railhead depot somewhat devoid of violence. However a large force of the PDF stood strong in the south and a siege with so many rogue elements in play would have been foolish. After a series of barrages and sweeping advances followed by a devasting bombardment of the regimental HQ, they were virtually eliminated, many survivors committed suicide in the face of servitude but a fraction defected to the cause. With minimal casualties and the prize intact the Infernal Device left orbit, all the while fighting in the Palace raged on between orks and Abaddon's lackey's. With this momentus Prize and the 12th nearly back to half strength, Murchad Kite and his followers decided to return to Medrengard concluding an 1500 year campaign. There, they hoped they would be blessed by their Primarch and acquire new ships to help with the overcrowding. (that's for Pete) 13th Grand Company - Lost 14th Grand Company - Active Manneus Drath, Planet of Steel 15th Grand Company - Disbanded 16th Grand Company - Active, created out of assembled warband remnants of lost Grand companies and new recruits from acquired geneseed stock. 17th Grand Company - Active, Arven Gandha, created out of assembled warband remnants of lost Grand companies and new recruits from acquired geneseed stock. 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soshuro_tenchi Posted February 24, 2009 Share Posted February 24, 2009 Mighty_goose, I really like what you did so far. I'm an old IW player myself and you gave me the inspiration to work more seriously on the fluff of my own great company. I claimed the 9th Great company for myself and I'm currently writing the fluff for it. I will post it as soon as enough is done. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/157518-an-old-warsmith-returns-the-17th-grand-company/page/2/#findComment-1895875 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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