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How Wolfy were the Luna Wolves?


Devon M

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I was wondering how wolfy were the luna wolves? Did they have lots of wolf iconography like modern Space Wolves? If I was to make a Luna Wolves army would the new space wolf stuff be a good place to start?

Also, along the same lines... were the Space Wolves really wolfy before the heresy? lots of icons?

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The Luna Wolves, no.

 

http://ui17.gamespot.com/1808/falsegodsbig_2.jpg

 

That's what the Luna Wolves looked like. Not like Space Wolves.

 

As for the Space Wolves, track down the cover of Prospero Burns. I can't find a good picture of it at the moment. However, it would indicate that they were still pretty wolfy before the Heresy. Some might contest it with the Rogue Trader era pictures, so, it's up in the air. I'd say they were.

 

The argument for organization in the Space Wolves codex opposes Legion Organization as well. The debate mostly being that the best representation of the Legions would be the Black Templar or vanilla Space Marine codex (depending on how assault oriented you would like to be).

 

Bell of Lost Souls have a pre heresy codex up: http://www.belloflostsouls.net/search/?q=W...p;submit=Search

Thanks... And i've seen that cover. I just don't know how official in terms of heresy era fluff they are, since the bolters are off and I don't think those helmets are a real variant. So i just was wondering.

For the luna wolves then, what kind of iconography would they have?

No battle cries involving wolves, eh?

"Lupercal! Lupercal!"

The Lupercal ("lupa", Latin for she-wolf) is a cave at the foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome, between the Temple of Apollo Palatinus and the Basilica of Santa Anastasia. In the legend of Rome's foundation, Romulus and Remus were found there by the lactating female wolf who suckled them until they were found by Faustulus. The priests of Lupercus later celebrated certain ceremonies of the Lupercalia there; from the late years of the Republic till A.D. 494, when the practice was ended by Pope Gelasius I.

 

The Luna Wolves were a Roman Legion. They're based on the legend of the wolf-raised children Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

I'd imagine wolves were quite common among the Luna Wolves as a power animal symbol the way it was in Rome. The Roman Aquilifer's (standard bearers) which ended up carrying Aquila (eagle) topped standards originally also carried standards with a wolf, boar, bull or horse. So basically anywhere you see Marines wearing an Aquila you could assume the Luna Wolves might've worn a wolf symbol instead.

Like the Romans and Space Wolves, the Luna Wolves would also probably wear wolf pelts.

http://gladiatorstories.akito.us/images/maximus.jpg

 

Luna Wolves probably didn't have wolf tail talismans the way the Space Wolves do, and they wouldn't likely use runes or wear fangs, but otherwise I imagine you could put most of the Space Wolf bitz to use appropriately.

You know im am in the process of building my Luna Wolves army, and am using wolf iconography, though what i have done is buy one normal marine set and one Space Wolf set and fusing the two together with conversions to make them pre-heresy. I think the wolf aspect makes them a bit more interesting than just being a Roman inspired army, like other chapters/legions. Its mainly based on choice, though i think where agreeing that the Moon has an important role in the Luna Wolves background, as said earlier, the tatoos of the Mournival are a good example. Mixing wolf and moon symbols will differentiate them from Space Wolves, even though while looking throught the Space Wolf kits, (i got both wolf guard and marines), there are some shoulder pads who include a moon and a wolf. Too bad GW seems to ignore Luna Wolves completly, prefering to focus on more up to date chapters. "Sigh" Back on topic, the color scheme is what will, in my opinion, seperate them from the Space Wolves, I have painted some, and even with the Space Wolf icons, furs, and general style, when you look at them, you see Luna Wolves, not Space Wolves, which is a good start. My two pence on that topic,

 

Cheers, Brother Mordeus

They'd not use more axes than Ultramarines. Why the Ultramarines or Luna Wolves would have axes at all is beyond me (WTH Honor Guard???).

Leave the axes to the Space Wolves. Romans used swords and spears/javelins more than anything. Axes weren't really common.

And if you'r going for a moon thing, the weapon of choice would be a bow and arrows....which is useless to Marines.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_militar...ersonal_weapons

Is it possible that the Space Wolves are meant to represent Remus, and the Luna Wolves the representatives of Romulus?

 

IIRC Romulus killed Remus after they built Rome, hence the naming of the city after him. Romulus, betrayed his brother for glory, founded the Senate, Republic and the Roman Legions. Horus betrayed his brothers for the good of mankind and his own glory and in turn turned the Imperial Legions in the Chaos Legions.

 

Not direct parallels... but ehh, there's something there maybe.

Eh.... I think the Space Wolves are just Viking+Werewolf Space marines. I don't think the concept was much more elaborate than that, but it'd be pretty cool if it was.

 

Although, there's something to be said for the similarity between the names "Remus" and "Leman Russ".

Mash "Leman Russ" together into a single 5 letter name and you can get "Remus" pretty easily.

 

"Horus" on the other hand has always struck me as being totally out of left field as a name.

"Horus" on the other hand has always struck me as being totally out of left field as a name.

 

LOL Try looking up the names of Egyptian gods.

 

Yes, but it is rather random since the Egyptian-inspired people ended up being the Thousand Sons. The influence on the Romans was pretty importatn, but never THAT big.

 

But again we have a Primarch who was named Ferrus Manus and then LATER got metal hands!

 

But back on topic, Space wolves are space vikings, Luna wolves were early romans, Smur... er... Ultramarines are later roman/placeholder for almost every video game because they are 'neutral' enough to not offend anyone playing another chapter. These influences were all dreamed up with little thoguht to congruency and are only as traditional and interconnected as the writers felt like putting effort into. The Luna wolves probably look like older Romans without as much of the Greek influence (the Romans did more or less worship the Greeks for some reason, but that came more in the later years) so a few minor wolfy bits here and there would probably work, perhaps mixed with some Grey knights or otherwise older variations of power armor. Lets keep in mind the stuff the marines use now is newer and the older stuff often has Chaos stuff on it.

Iron Warrior - Greek (at least a little)

Ultramarines - Greco-Roman/Spartan

Luna Wolves - Roman

Imperial Fists - Holy Roman/Ottoman Empire/Eskimos

Space Wolves - Vikings/Werewolves

Blood Angels - Dante's inferno/Catholic/Vampires

Dark Angels - Dark Ages

Black Templar - Crusaders

Crimson Fists - Spanish

White Scars - Mongols

Iron hands - Paranoia and Technology

Salamanders - Blacksmiths/Ring Of Fire cultures.

Raven Guard - Edgar Allen Poe/Ninjas

Red Corsairs - Pirates

Thousand Sons - Egyptian

 

Add any themes you think you know...I'm trying to complete the list for the 1st Founding Chapters.

Anyway backon topic... I would definately go with the marines with wolf pelts. Like has been said before, they weren't vikings so they would have all the runes and beards and other viking-y parts ;) But I personally wouldn't go too overboard with the pelt idea. Maybe save it for sergeants and captains etc.

 

@The Emperor's Champion : I've never heard the blood angels be described as Catholic Vampires. If any chapter was Catholic, surely it would be the Black Templars?

 

@Hrathnar F: The Romans didnt "Worship" The Greeks. The Greeks influenced their culture, but the Romans ruled the Greeks. They used the Greeks as slaves etc. Sure Rome was founded by Greeks but I would not say they worshipped them.

According to the HH books, they're barely any Wolf and mostly Luna. Almost so much that the 'Wolves' part of the name seems almost superfulous (barring the name/battle cry of 'Lupercal'), though it seems the Cthonians in the Legion were slightly more 'wolfy' (dark, gutteral, violent, etc) than the Terran influence. I wouldn't expect to see pelts, teeth or other SW iconography, barring their similar symbol, on them at all.

Surely you've SEEN the Blood Angels and heard of some of their stuff before. The imagery, sacred shrouds, grails, drinking of their lord's blood....

 

And yea, the Romans did more or less worship the Greeks; not as rulers or anything, but rather as the greatest civilization to ever exist. That's why they copied all their art and architecture and adopted their gods and culture.

They're not really ignored at all.....they're the Black Legion now and the game is Warhammer 40,000, not Warhammer 30,000....

 

Thanks for the reminder really i didnt know the game was 40k and that the Black Legion where actually former Luna Wolves. All im saying, and i am holding my foul language back, is tht GW hasn't focused on the Luna Wolves themselves, not what they became later on, expanding their looks and influences, other than what is described in the HH books.

Iron Warrior - Greek (at least a little)

 

Actually, I don't think the Iron Warriors are Greek inspired. I know you think that because their home planet is Olympia, but to me the IW always seemed to mirror the German SS Panzergrenadiers, at least in older fluff, though they may be trying to get rid of this now to sanitize the fluff.

 

I think so because 1.) They both use a lot of heavy tanks supported by mechanized infantry 2.) The Battle of Tallarn is almost certainly styled after the Battle of Kursk as the BoT was specifically said to be the largest tank battle ever and the BoK was the real world largest tank battle ever and both occurred on a charred landscape that was left after the scorched earth tactics of the aggressor. 3.) The Battle of Maginot Four Zero when the IW circumvented and destroyed the "impenetrable" Cadian defense line which is obviously a reference to when the Germans circumvented the Maginot line in the beginning of the war 4.) The Death's Heads are a titan legion that works with the IW's and the Death's Heads was the name of an SS group that worked with the Waffen SS Panzergrenadiers. 5.) The general austere nature of the Iron Warriors seems very stereotypically Germanic to me

 

So yeah, it's the blitzkrieg German army, though GW would probably now deny this as all of the fluff I pointed out is at this point pretty old, and arguably politically incorrect.

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