Index Traitoris: The Nephilim

[The Nephilim]

Reserved for final copy. Edited June 9, 2011 by The Nephilim

[The Nephilim]

A Legion Shattered

"For good or evil, may no Space Marine forget where he came from." Edited February 19, 2010 by The Nephilim

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

Right, Nephilim.

 

 

In keeping with the traditions of the Legion prior to their banishment to the Eye of Terror, Phrixos reinstated Fulgrim’s edicts. His warband, named the Nephilim, would be scholars and artists as well as warriors. The Lodge was reformed as well and the Brotherhood of the Phoenix acted as an inner council for the Nephilim, members ranging from rank and file marines to Fleshsmiths to commander of the Nephilim’s companies.

Erm, by the time they were banished to the Eye, they had already become decadent Slaaneshi worshippers. The closest you going to get to artists is how they carve up their victims. I don't think there are going to be any scholars either, why study when you can fill every moment with sensual delight?

 

Over time, the mutative effects of the Warp began to show themselves in the Nephilim. Mutation running rampant, Phrixos amassed his forces to join with Abaddon in the 4th Black Crusade. Assisting in fleet actions near the Cadian Gate, Phrixos pulled the Nephilim to the Ultima Segmentum as the Crusade began to move back to the Eye.

 

Hold on, it went from began to show to run rampant like that. Also, by that time the Emperors children were already showing mutation, as soon as you hit the Eye (if it took that long) you are going to start mutating in some way.

 

 

Phrixos, ordered the temple refortified and sent coteries to explore the remaining ruins while the sorcerer coven and the Brotherhood plumbed the depths of the temple, seeking to learn the hidden mysterious of the planet. Many ancient scrolls, tomes and artefacts were pulled from the depths and Phrixos saw the references to gods as blasphemous and ordered them destroyed. The sorcerer coven, seeking the forbidden power that lay within, rebelled against Phrixos secretly and kept the ancient lore and reported them destroyed. The coven was not the only one to rebel against Phrixos’ edict. As more ruins were discovered, secret cults worshipping the Dark Prince spread like a wild fire through the Nephilim.

 

Like I have said before, the whole legion has long since already turned to Slaanesh worship.

 

Without warning, they came. Webway portals opened up all over the planet, warlords supported by fire prisms overtook outposts within minutes and the fortress temple was besieged on all sides by the Eldar.

Warlords? You are refering to autarchs, and they are called such.

 

By the time the skirmish had ended, Phrixos lay dead, nailed to the temple grounds, transfixed by shimmering spears.

Comma.

 

 

One captive taken was slain,

Edit, you need to go back and correct that.

 

The Eldar as one, screamed. A wail that could be heard in both the real world, and the immaterium.

You need to word that a bit better. Doesn't sound right.

 

The Nephilim will devour the souls of your enemies and offer unto Slaanesh a tithe of souls, and for this, he will reward you. ”

 

Dark Eldar, anyone? Probably not what it would have said, and Slaanesh doesn't go for the whole booming voice thing either... She whispers quietly in your ear...

 

The Nephilim favor rapid mobility while maintaining on constant hail of fire. The Nephilim rely heavily on rhino transports and deploy bikers to support their rhinos while the mounted coteries maneuvers into a favorable position. Obliterators and vindicators are deployed for heavy-hitting firepower and terminators for severe close-combat fighting.

 

This sounds very loyalist to me...

 

 

For a Lord Commander to ascend to his position, he must first be of Fulgrim’s geneseed.

 

Why, if they hate him?

 

The Devadasi are the Lord Commander’s personal bodyguard. The Devadasi consist mostly of fallen Sisters of Battle.

 

Woah, big no no. Very, very, very few Sister of Battle fall. They are zealots for the Emperor. Inense faith. Chances that you happen to get more than one is very low.

 

 

Beneath the Brotherhood is the Coven. All sorcerers of varying skills, as well as keepers the Nephilim’s librarium,

 

Not sure you should even have a librarium...

 

 

No offence intended, just pointing out some of the flaws. Very intresting idea.

 

2/however many nesesarry.

[The Nephilim]

Erm, by the time they were banished to the Eye, they had already become decadent Slaaneshi worshippers. The closest you going to get to artists is how they carve up their victims. I don't think there are going to be any scholars either, why study when you can fill every moment with sensual delight?

I disagree about how fast the entire legion came to worship Slaanesh. Noise Marines, sure, but not all Emperor’s Children became Noise Marines. As to the artists and scholar part, I think so. Instead of Michelangelo, it would be more along the lines of HR Giger. Why should they stop studying things that interest them as well? Thousand Sons do it. A thirst for knowledge isn’t just limited to Tzneetch.

 

Hold on, it went from began to show to run rampant like that. Also, by that time the Emperors children were already showing mutation, as soon as you hit the Eye (if it took that long) you are going to start mutating in some way.

I disagree with you start mutating as soon as you hit the eye. Its more gradual. With longer exposure to the warp, sure, but I don’t think completely rampant as soon as you hit the Eye. I’ll fix the time lapse part on my second draft.

 

Warlords? You are refering to autarchs, and they are called such.

Tomato/tomatoe. I’ll fix it later.

 

Dark Eldar, anyone? Probably not what it would have said, and Slaanesh doesn't go for the whole booming voice thing either... She whispers quietly in your ear...

Yeah. I was going for the whole lore being found on an old Eldar settlement. The souls devoured is going to be a reoccurring theme with my army with the armor being sculpted on my marines to look similar to that of Lucius the Eternal’s. As to booming, yeah… I was trying to pound out my rough draft as soon as possible. As to the Dark Eldar, they're my inspiration for what's going on with the Chapter. And when they get re-released, they'll be my Apoc ally over traitor guard.

 

This sounds very loyalist to me...

Not really. Lust Wing was the army I played in the previous edition’s Codex. Sonic termies, bikers, everything.

 

Why, if they hate (Fulgrim)?

Good point. I cut and pasted a lot from an old write up I did that was a WIP. That’ll get fixed.

 

Woah, big no no. Very, very, very few Sister of Battle fall. They are zealots for the Emperor. Inense faith. Chances that you happen to get more than one is very low.

I’ll fix it to Malcanthet being the only Fallen Sister. I still want them in my army. I’m holding out for when Sisters will be done in plastic for the conversions though.

 

Not sure you should even have a librarium...

Records got to go somewhere.

 

No offence intended, just pointing out some of the flaws. Very intresting idea.

None taken. Thanks for the input.

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

The whole scholars thing... read Fulgrim. It should tell you why I say what I said.

 

Mutating - Yes, its going to be gradual, but once in the Eye, the process will start and you are garunteed to be mutated at some point, 9/10 sooner rather than later.

 

How you presented it sounded loyalist, sorry if I messed you up there.

 

Would they call it a Librarium is what I am saying, or would hey call it the cave or some such. Also, they aren't going to be called a fortress moastery either, I think they were established after the Heresy and the traitors probably wouldn't call it that either.

 

I know the whole what it is called sounds stupid, but small things like that make it sound better.

 

3/21? was that helpful Nephilim?

Edited January 8, 2010 by Dark Apostle Thirst

[The Nephilim]

The whole scholars thing... read Fulgrim. It should tell you why I say what I said.

 

Mutating - Yes, its going to be gradual, but once in the Eye, the process will start and you are garunteed to be mutated at some point, 9/10 sooner rather than later.

I have read Fulgrim.

 

As to the mutations, Phrixos took the Nephilim from the Eye to try and save it from the decadent corruption, there will be a side panel explaning the apothecaries curing most of the insignifcant mutations, inspiration from Soul Drinkers. Samael damned them and led them back to what Phrixos was trying to prevent.

 

Yeah. That was helpful. What about the Vault instead of a librarium?

Edited January 8, 2010 by The Nephilim

[Grand Master Tyrak]

Woah, big no no. Very, very, very few Sister of Battle fall. They are zealots for the Emperor. Inense faith. Chances that you happen to get more than one is very low.

I’ll fix it to Malcanthet being the only Fallen Sister.

 

Canonically, I think there has only been one Fallen Sister (the name escapes me though).

 

Plus the whole Slanneshi SoBs is a bit predictable.

[Argon]

Naegon

 

When the Nephilm reached Naegon, the massive planet was inhabited by simple barbarian tribes, all worshiping the Dark Prince, Slaanesh. Dark ruins littered the landscape. The Nephilim fleet put in low orbit and began fortifying an ancient citadel located deep within a chain of mountains. Here they established their dark fortress monastery and began monitoring the warring tribesmen for potential recruits.

 

Naegron itself is roughly one and half times the size of Terra. Dark thunderstorms roam across the planet ravaging the tribesmen unfortunate enough to find shelter. Various indigenous plant life covers the planet, including the ingredients used in the combat drugs used by the Nephilim. Most of the planet is inhabitable, the exception being a few areas of vast desert where life is barely sustainable and the polar icecaps. The tribesmen themselves lead nomadic lives traveling with the seasons.

 

There's an inhabited planet in the Eye of Terror? I assume Slaanesh likes these people (no, not like that :P) because that's the only reason I can think of these people aren't dead yet.

 

Also, you have the planet's name as Naegon, Naegron, and Naergon. So which is it?

 

 

The Devadasi consist mostly of fallen Sisters of Battle. There are only twelve Ishtari at any one time.

 

Again, you've got them as the Devdasi and the Ishtari. Which are they?

 

Like Dark Apostle Thirst said, the chances of a Sister falling to Chaos are officially pretty low. However, they're still regular, unaugmented humans. I personally don't see how only one Sister has fallen to Chaos when thousands of Astartes have done the same. If you want fallen Sisters, go for it.

 

However, the whole "Sisters of Battle falling to Slaanesh" thing is kinda predictable. I'd personally like to see Sisters of Khorne at some point in time. But I ramble :P.

 

 

IRON GAUNTLET COMMENTS CHALLENGE: 4/20

[The Nephilim]

Updated in post #2.

 

Some general questions:

-How would you recomend describing their combat doctrine to sound less like their loyalist brethren?

-What commander titles do you think would work versus Lord Commander, to help seperate further from Imperial Astartes?

-How could I tie more Dark Eldar influences into the article without being to obvious with the statements?

 

To the nay sayer Sisters people: I fixed the altered the fluff slightly. Only Malcanthet is a fallen sister. As Argon stated, they're still regular, unaugmented humans. I personally don't see how only one Sister has fallen to Chaos when thousands of Astartes (who undergo psycho-indoctrination) have done the same. The Devadasi, themselves, historically are pulled from historically, as a Hindu sacred prostitute, which I feel ties in perfectly to the apocryphal Nephilim. 40k is steeped in hidden lore and I felt these were Slaaneshi appropriate.

 

As to regular humans exisiting in the Eye of Terror, I would like to point to Daemonworld as my inspiration for that. If they can exist in the Maelstrom, they could exist in the Eye of Terror.

Edited January 8, 2010 by The Nephilim

[Grand Master Tyrak]

To the nay sayer Sisters people: I fixed the altered the fluff slightly. Only Malcanthet is a fallen sister. As Argon stated, they're still regular, unaugmented humans. I personally don't see how only one Sister has fallen to Chaos when thousands of Astartes (who undergo psycho-indoctrination) have done the same.

 

I think you're confusing psycho-indoctrination with genetic enhancement. Psycho-indoctrination is not unique to Space Marines, there are plenty of other organisations (like Inquisitorial Storm Troopers) who get it as part of their training. The Shield of Faith rule has got to come from somewhere, no?

 

If you're looking for how it's done, just look at the Grey Knights, or the Adeptus Custodes. None of them have ever fallen to Chaos. In fact a better example might be the Space Wolves - they turn into Wulfen instead of falling to Chaos. I see the Sisters working in a similar way - there are plenty of things that can tempt them to fall, but because of their training they die before reaching the point of turning to Chaos. Being human would be an asset in that case, and you'd be able to stand less punishment (unlike the Astartes).

[Solomon de Gravier]

Prehaps have a girl who wasn't fully a Sister of Battle when she was taken over by a deamon of Slannesh that eats at her soul.

 

She could have been descovered helpless on a war torn planet by samuel who took her in. She's now grown up to become a sorceress and pays for her tolerance with certain favours that she gives Samuel?

[The Nephilim]

Prehaps have a girl who wasn't fully a Sister of Battle when she was taken over by a deamon of Slannesh that eats at her soul.

 

She could have been descovered helpless on a war torn planet by samuel who took her in. She's now grown up to become a sorceress and pays for her tolerance with certain favours that she gives Samuel?

 

My one problem with that is I don't see a cruel Sorcerer Lord just taking in a helpless broad. Even is she is hot. *shrug*

 

If one Sister can fall, so can others. I'm standing by that.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

If one Sister can fall, so can others. I'm standing by that.

 

If one Chapter can fall, so can others. Therefore the Imperium should exterminate them all as a precaution. See the flaw in the logic? ;)

 

Can does not imply will. Sisters certainly can fall (we know that from the one who did), but that's not a guarantee that others have or will. It just creates a precedent.

 

More than that, by having more fallen Sisters you're effectively laying claim to established areas of fluff and then changing the fluff as you wish. That's not something a DIYer should be doing. It's worded harshly, but I'm going to quote Eddie Orlock here:

 

Yeah and verily look at me, I alone am the unique and special fool who can latch onto specific parts of the universe and claim them as my own. It's in the same vein as those who start by trying to claim they're marines are inheritors of the expunged ones.

 

It might be closer to the tomfoolery that would be claiming that your chief astropath on your lead battle barge is the one and only brother of Marneous Calgar. It is a far to specific hook into the established canon. . . . Being an Ultramarine successor is lovely. Being a later founding experimental successor of Leman Russ could be plausible. Being the one and only secret second founding female surviving secret loyal splinter of the Luna Wolves is deplorably specific.

 

He was using it in this thread against someone trying to claim a Primarch for the Red Hunters, but the principle still stands. To avoid breaking the suspension of disbelief, you have to fit your Chapter into the 40k universe, not change the 40k universe to fit your Chapter. Changing fallen Sisters from an exception to something more common is just that - changing the 40k universe.

 

I see you've changed the piece in question to make it only the one Sister, but just to avoid any more trouble I wouldn't name her. That means you can imply that it is 'the' Fallen Sister without actually having to come out and claim her as your own (ie changing the 40 universe). IIRC, it was Slaanesh that she fell to.

 

My one problem with that is I don't see a cruel Sorcerer Lord just taking in a helpless broad. Even is she is hot. *shrug*

 

That depends on how you write it. If you have the Sorceror Lord playing the Good Samaritan, then you're right: it's not going to work. On the other hand, if you have a manipulative Sorceror Lord taking her in as an acolyte and potential sacrifice (or even as a 'battery' for his own powers), then it could work.

[Solomon de Gravier]

My one problem with that is I don't see a cruel Sorcerer Lord just taking in a helpless broad. Even is she is hot. *shrug*

That depends on how you write it. If you have the Sorceror Lord playing the Good Samaritan, then you're right: it's not going to work. On the other hand, if you have a manipulative Sorceror Lord taking her in as an acolyte and potential sacrifice (or even as a 'battery' for his own powers), then it could work.

It would work if you went with what i originally said in my post and have (Slannesh is the god of pleasure) her giving certain Services to the cruel sorcerer(hint, hint :P ).

[The Nephilim]

More than that, by having more fallen Sisters you're effectively laying claim to established areas of fluff and then changing the fluff as you wish. That's not something a DIYer should be doing. It's worded harshly, but I'm going to quote Eddie Orlock here:

 

Yeah and verily look at me, I alone am the unique and special fool who can latch onto specific parts of the universe and claim them as my own. It's in the same vein as those who start by trying to claim they're marines are inheritors of the expunged ones.

 

It might be closer to the tomfoolery that would be claiming that your chief astropath on your lead battle barge is the one and only brother of Marneous Calgar. It is a far to specific hook into the established canon. . . . Being an Ultramarine successor is lovely. Being a later founding experimental successor of Leman Russ could be plausible. Being the one and only secret second founding female surviving secret loyal splinter of the Luna Wolves is deplorably specific.

 

He was using it in this thread against someone trying to claim a Primarch for the Red Hunters, but the principle still stands. To avoid breaking the suspension of disbelief, you have to fit your Chapter into the 40k universe, not change the 40k universe to fit your Chapter. Changing fallen Sisters from an exception to something more common is just that - changing the 40k universe.

 

I see you've changed the piece in question to make it only the one Sister, but just to avoid any more trouble I wouldn't name her. That means you can imply that it is 'the' Fallen Sister without actually having to come out and claim her as your own (ie changing the 40 universe). IIRC, it was Slaanesh that she fell to.

Fair enough. I'll leave her unnamed. Would it work better if she was an initiate and not a full-fledged Sister?

 

My one problem with that is I don't see a cruel Sorcerer Lord just taking in a helpless broad. Even is she is hot. *shrug*

That depends on how you write it. If you have the Sorceror Lord playing the Good Samaritan, then you're right: it's not going to work. On the other hand, if you have a manipulative Sorceror Lord taking her in as an acolyte and potential sacrifice (or even as a 'battery' for his own powers), then it could work.

It would work if you went with what i originally said in my post and have (Slannesh is the god of pleasure) her giving certain Services to the cruel sorcerer(hint, hint :yes: ).

Not going to happen. It's implied in their name.

Edited January 8, 2010 by The Nephilim

[Grand Master Tyrak]

Fair enough. I'll leave her unnamed. Would it work better if she was an initiate and not a full-fledged Sister?

 

That's up to you. It might make it easier to explain to people if they ever ask about this fallen Sister, but it wouldn't actually impact on your IA.

[Ace Debonair]

Another possible option regarding the fallen battle sisters is to have the Nephilim attack a planet which was about to become home to an order, and to capture a group of the potential recruits, then turn them to chaos via whatever devious means; and the group can wear armour made to mock the Sisters of Battle and marked up with chaos stuff.

 

I hasten to add that my knowledge on the sister of battle is pitifully small, and this idea may not even be plausible. But if it was, then that could be a fun aspect to play with for your story.

 

If this is complete guff and wholly impossible, I'm sure some more experienced board members will kindly point this out for me. :)

[The Nephilim]

Another possible option regarding the fallen battle sisters is to have the Nephilim attack a planet which was about to become home to an order, and to capture a group of the potential recruits, then turn them to chaos via whatever devious means; and the group can wear armour made to mock the Sisters of Battle and marked up with chaos stuff.

 

I hasten to add that my knowledge on the sister of battle is pitifully small, and this idea may not even be plausible. But if it was, then that could be a fun aspect to play with for your story.

 

If this is complete guff and wholly impossible, I'm sure some more experienced board members will kindly point this out for me. :)

I think it's plausible. They're not yet indorctinated and it would be an affront to the Ecclesiarchy. Brilliant! Thank you Ace.

[Ace Debonair]

If you're going to do the army stuff later in the challenge then it also gives you some fun ideas to play around with for squads.

I'm only allowed so many good ideas in a week, and I'm running close to my limit for once, it seems. :(

 

Out of curiosity - what colours do the Nephilim wear? I've just sort of assumed dark, dull blue and purple trim but I now realise there isn't actually any picture evidence for this. :lol:

Edited January 8, 2010 by Ace Debonair

[The Nephilim]

I'm going to do a very dark purple with silver trim, scorpion green lenses, blue-white plasma cells - probably similiar paint for force and power weapons, bone trim were appropriate. I have the paints at home, so when I get a chance, I'll get their hex codes and do up a scheme for theme.

[The Nephilim]

http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp7/jstead2/My%20Minis/TheNephilim.jpg

As promised, here's the paint scheme. I've ordered a metric arseton of bits for the up and coming army work. I'll be working on them soon.

Here's an idea of what my Chosen will look like. Obviously, there will be no loyalist scum bits on the actual model. I will be using moderately converated Black Templar tabard chest pieces. I'm think there will be a lot of flayed skin on my guys and the armor will be green-stuff'd to look similar to Lucius the Eternal's armor with souls devoured by the Nephilim seeking to free themselves from their captors.

Bits ordered thus far:
A crapton of Black Templar tabard torsos.
An arseton (bigger than a crapton) of various possessed bits.
Some Empire Flagellant bits.
Some Chaos Lord Pre-Heresy pattern lightning claws.
Some Khorne Bezerker legs.
Some Black Templar heads.
Some other weapon bits.
Space Hulk Objectives. Stupid Canada orders take forever.
Some zombie and skeleton heads.
More possessed bits.
Some icons.
Some Chaos Knights weapons.
And much, much more I can't remember.






http://i392.photobucket.com/albums/pp7/jstead2/My%20Minis/TheNephilim_Chosen.jpg Edited January 9, 2010 by The Nephilim

[Ace Debonair]

Very nice! The purple looks cool, and the silver works quite well with it.

 

Can't wait to see an updated version of this chapter's backstory. :sweat:

Keep up the good work!

[The Nephilim]

Very nice! The purple looks cool, and the silver works quite well with it.

 

Can't wait to see an updated version of this chapter's backstory. :sweat:

Keep up the good work!

Thanks! It's hard to tell from the colors alone, but I'll be doing the tabards and cloaks in a rotting flesh color and work to make them look similar to Fabius Bile's skin coat.

 

I've chosen a new title for Lord Commander to help seperate themselves from the Loyalist Astartes. I've chosen Autokrat?r.

[Ace Debonair]

Nice.

 

Hopefully that makes it into the next update.

Normally I'm not a big fan of Slaanesh chapters, but these guys are the exception.

 

 

“I am Ail'Slath'Sleresh,” it forcing its voice whispering seductively words into his mind, “You have pleased my master greatly and he wishes to reward you.”

 

Highlighted is a bit of sentence that doesn't really make sense.

 

Infamous for seeking out a rival Emperor’s Children forces, he would engage the leaders of the warbands in one-on-one combat and absorb the warband into his own, those who dissented, slain with their fallen leader, their gene-seed reclaimed.

 

Highlighted bit might read better as a second sentence, although it would need rewording slightly, something like;

"Those who refused to join, or who tried to spread dissent amongst the Nephilim's ranks would also be slain, their gene-seed reclaimed."

 

Interesting stuff, all in all.

But how do the Nephilim go about recruiting? Do they raid places, taking captive any young enough to be implanted with the gene-seed? This could be novel as they could even implant them into those not willing to become marines. They could also train the toughest women taken prisoner to join the ranks of the Devadasi or similar.

Also a brief mention of perhaps taking prisoners for sacrifice in ghoulish rituals to Slaanesh might not go amiss in the combat doctrine. It seems a little abrupt as it is, and although I realise it is not the most important part of the article, perhaps fleshing out the way the Nephilim prefer to battle might be fun. Do they only engage in combat if they are sure of victory? Do they employ any tricks or schemes to overwhelm strong enemies like space marines?

 

 

Something for you to think over, with any luck, while working on the next update.

 

Ace's Iron Gauntlet Constructive Criticism - 8/20.

Edited January 10, 2010 by Ace Debonair

[Reyner]

Spotted a couple of typos.

 

A schism has been created by Samael between the Brotherhood and the Devadasi

 

Fleshsmiths are the apothecaries who attend to the warband’s wounded

adding "the" makes it read a little better I think.