Black Legion; What's the Appeal

[Trel]

Hi All,

 

I am interested in getting a little Chaos force together to complement my loyalists. Since I'm a person who has to be engaged in my army's backstory rather than be enamored with any paint scheme, I've been going through the Legions to see which appeal to me.

 

The other Legions' coolness factors are pretty in-your-face: the stealth and subversion of the Alpha Legion, the lethal ambition of the Word Bearers, the terror tactics of the Night Lords, etc etc etc

 

What struck me as odd, when going back and doing my research, was that the Black Legion itself seemed to come up a little short when it came to coolness, apart from the wicked black-and-gold livery.

 

The Sons of Horus were the first to turn tail when the Siege of Terra failed. They were subsequently decimated by their poorly-planned dalliances with Chaos. The planet-fortress they claimed in the Eye was splattered by the other Legions and now they're fleet-based. The only thing the other Legions really seem to agree upon is how much they loathe the Black Legion and if it weren't for Abbadon's force of will, the whole Legion would probably dissolve.

 

If anything, it really seems that they've spent the last ten thousand years being punished for leading the Heresy. So, then, what is the appeal of the poster-boys of the Chaos Marines? What are the cool things about them?

[A D-B]

We're in exactly the same situation at the moment, I think. I'm casting about for a Traitor force, asking myself the same questions. Though, in this instance, I think I have some answers that might help. At least, they work for me. The "poster boys" aspect is drawn from their current strength as the most powerful Legion, and their all-inclusive theme that allows them to make easy (and canonical) use of all their codex options. And conversely, I find those the least interesting things about the Legion.

 

The Black Legion are the absolute embodiment of an Astartes force rising from the edge of extinction. They're unique in that aspect - where all the other Legions are enduring a slow decline, the Black Legion have risen from almost complete destruction to ascendancy over the Traitor Legions. Most of this is down to Abaddon, and whether you'd use him or not, having Traitor Astartes sworn to him can be pretty cool. As leaders go, he's an interesting one. It's not all about being the best, and being right all the time. It's about interesting flaws shaping a character.

 

I know you know all this, but I'm going to wax lyrical anyhow. To battle.

 

The daemon primarchs have very little interest in the actions of the Traitor Legions, these days. Established canon tells us they're mostly engaged in the Great Game for their gods (and for Chaos as a gestalt pantheon), and it seems the physicality of war - of invading the Imperium - is sort of... beneath them. In a sense, they no longer care. They operate on spheres of consciousness far above the need to kill people and claim territory. Leadership of the scattered Traitor Legions has fallen to charismatic and bitter Astartes - and the epitome of those is Abaddon. He's Warmaster of Chaos, blessed by the Ruinous Powers as the one to herald the downfall of the Imperium. He's, in a very real sense, the Antichrist of 40K. He's the one humans whisper about in fear: The Despoiler, Warmaster of Chaos, the "clone son" of Horus who threatens them all. That's how scared of him the Imperium actually is: they consider him Horus's cloned son. The Devil's progeny.

 

And that's all kinds of awesome. The physical threat has fallen to the second generation, as it were.

 

The Sons of Horus suffered immensely during and after the Scouring. While the other Legions slowly fractured or gradually degraded due to infighting in the Eye of Terror, the Sons of Horus suffered direct attacks from their former brothers more than any other Legion. They were hated, hunted, preyed upon by the others as a failure beyond any other Legion, and their primarch's death was clear proof. Once hailed as the finest Legion, now a poor joke. They scattered and died, inch by inch, day by day.

 

Abaddon was the one to turn this around. He launched an assault on the Emperor's Children fortress where legend has it, the III Legion were attempting to clone the Warmaster. Abaddon, wearing the Talon of Horus (in a clear example of "I'm the heir, not your genetic abomination"), ended that plot, and set about rebuilding the Legion. I'd imagine it was much like the popular image of the Mongol tribes coming together under the Khans: "We've beaten your warband, so join us or be destroyed." And obviously, more and more chose to join. His army swelled.

 

Then comes the crucial moment. Abaddon stands at the head of a united Legion, and decides to confront the other Traitors. He casts aside the failures of the past, saying that they will no longer bear the shame of being Horus's sons. They reconsecrate their armour - the Sons of Horus no more - now standing as the Black Legion.

 

This achieved, Abaddon declares a crusade - the crusade - against the Imperium. The infighting within the thousands of systems contained inside the Eye of Terror will never end, but here was the first leader to rise up and declare war on the Imperium again, in a consolidated, unified crusade. It wasn't about fighting to survive inside the Eye anymore, or occasional raids led by a charismatic leader or the increasingly rare appearance of a daemon primarch with no real goals. Abaddon declared that the eternal war had to be resumed, and the Imperium bled worse than it had since the Horus Heresy. That's what each of these Black Crusades is: We laugh and say "Teehee, he failed again", but he's achieving goals we may not know about. The Imperium doesn't laugh at Black Crusades. The Imperium regards them as the worst threat since the Horus Heresy, and millions upon millions die every time Abaddon declares one.

 

He declares the war's resumption, and the Imperium comes to know it as the Black Crusade - that's how grave it is. Abaddon spills from the Eye at the head of a united Chaos Marine war host, with armies of daemons, and beneath the Tower of Silence on Uralan, he claims what is surely one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy: Drach'nyen, a sword with a daemon's soul that literally rends reality apart. The Imperium is left reeling, and manages to defeat the Chaos forces, but that doesn't matter. Abaddon waged that war for the sword, and he got what he wanted.

 

And in the years since, he's bloodied the Imperium worse than any other outside force. His new flagship, the Planet Killer, can destroy entire worlds on his whim. His last crusade saw him even gain footholds (and kill billions around) Cadia itself: the most heavily-defended world in the Imperium except Holy Terra. Again, people laugh that he failed. But the Imperium's not laughing when their toughest fortress world burns, and they came close to losing. If they'd lost the 13th Black Crusade, the way to Terra would have been open, and signs point to the Imperium literally falling if Cadia is lost. Those are the realities as seen by the people living in the universe, who don't get to giggle that "he couldn't even take one planet", which you see a fair amount of online. Perspective, etc.

 

EDIT: It's not like Codex: Space Marines suddenly claiming the Ultramarines are the best, honest, really, they totally are. The Black Legion are in a strong position, but not because they're "just better than everyone else". They have cool reasons for their ascendancy, and they worked hard for it. It doesn't devalue any other Traitor Legion, or lessen their storylines and themes.

 

So that's the appeal, at least for me. The Black Legion have the lows, the highs, the membership/personality variation and the unrivaled bitterness that makes them awesomely characterful as an army.

 

...unfortunately, I can't paint the Eye of Horus very well. So...

[David the Despoiler]

A-D-B, I normally avoid this forum, as almost every single post that is not about models tends to devolve into the same, repetitive smatterings. However, whenever I see a post that has the slightest possibility at being interesting, you seem to somehow be one of the posters and your input earns more and more respect from me. You've beautifully gone into great depth into one of my favorite legion's backgrounds. Good job. ;)

 

I agree with you completely, Abaddon may not have achieved his ultimate goal (yet), but he is working his way there. A true war isn't one immediately blitzkrieg and then the winner stands tall, it's drawn out over several battles and conflicts, as each side tries to give themselves the advantage over the other. Abaddon started out being at the worst point of all the Traitor Legions to battle the Imperium.

 

Now look at him. He's the single most feared name in the Imperium, who is coming closer and closer to achieving what his predecessor failed to succeed in doing. Dethrone the False Emperor. He wields (as ADB said above) the arguably most powerful weapon in the Galaxy, next to the Life Eater itself.

 

And remember, each time the Imperium barely manages to push him back. This doesn't necessarily mean he's given up, rather he's achieved whatever objective he was seeking for and decided that it wasn't worth the trouble or casualties to keep fighting. Abaddon is no fool.

 

Despite the fact that my DIY Renegades despise the Black Legion, I personally love them. Originally I intended to play Black Legion, but wanted at least a hint of originality, so I changed the trim on my Marines.

 

The only turnoff for the Black Legion (for me, anyway) is the fact that they are seen as the poster boys of Chaos. I didn't want to be like one of those kids that simply paints whatever he sees on the boxes (now that I know about the Black Legion, I would in a heart beat).

 

EDIT; Oh, and ADB, the pewter Black Legion shoulder pads are actually very nice.

[Captain Tezdal]

Umm...didnt the Planet killer get hulked during the 13th black crusade when a Ultramarine Honor guard knocked out its shields before it blew up Macharia, then the debris hit it and tore it up?

[Wolfbiter]

@Trel: If you haven't already, you also might want to read the first 3 Horus Heresy books: "Horus Rising," "False Gods" and "Galaxy in Flames." They give you much better descriptions of the Legion's personalities and combat doctrine, and you get to see them at their best (completely loyal as the Luna Wolves), on the brink (willing to bargain with Chaos to save the Warmaster) and corrupted (the Istvaan battles).

 

The old 3.5 Codex had a very good description of Black Legion combat doctrine (high-pressure assaults that gradually cut the enemy off from options for counter-attacks, followed by a rapid strike, usually by Terminators, to destroy enemy leadership). Unfortunately it was left out of the latest Codex. (Though I do really like the alternative Black Legion paint schemes in the new book.

 

Plus, as you mentioned, the color scheme is great. I have been painting a squad of Marines, one of Terminators, and an old Land Raider I had just to see how it came out. I've been really enjoying the process. (Though the symbol takes patience to paint on the shoulder pads).

[Legatus]

The Black Legion has a decent enough background (as described in more detail by A D-B ). They were on the top of the Legions during the Great Crusade. Their combat doctrine, much like Guilliman's, was one of using highly disciplined and well trained forces that were flexible and able to perform all kinds of operations successfully, where other Legions were often focusing heavily on a particular kind of warfare.

Then, after the heresy, the other traitor Legions turned on them and beat them down, at a time where the Black Legion had no clue how to deal with their defeat and the death of their Primarch of their. The final insult came when the body of their Primarch was stolen and used for experiments by the Emperor's Children. At that point they went "that is enough!", painted their armour black, and gave the other Legions a heck of a smackdown. Now they are once again the top dogs among the traitor Legions.

 

A nice thing about the Black Legion is that they can really do anything you want them for. For example, I like the image of an opening warp portal where Traitor Marines with giger-esque twisted armour come marching out. But you cannot really do that with the Alpha Legion or the Night Lords, as their interaction with the forces of Chaos is only superficial. You want grossly mutated Marines? Black Legion can do that. You want tight ass military operations with Astartes precision? Black Legion can do that. They are the mightiest of the Traitor Legions, and they allow you to focus on the models or the tactics that you personally enjoy the most. I think that are enough reasons for why someone would chose the Black Legion.

 

 

 

EDIT: It's not like Codex: Space Marines suddenly claiming the Ultramarines are the best, honest, really, they totally are. The Black Legion are in a strong position, but not because they're "just better than everyone else". They have cool reasons for their ascendancy, and they worked hard for it. It doesn't devalue any other Traitor Legion, or lessen their storylines and themes.

You know, I usually find it hard to leave such statements standing. :( This one I would like to contest on two levels. The first is that the Ultramarines had been introduced as "the greatest of all Space Marine Chapters" in 2nd Edition. It is not something Matt Ward suddenly came up with for the 5th Edition Codex Space Marines. In 2nd Edition GW was promoting four main Chapters. There were the "vikings in space" Space Marines in the form of the Space Wolves, the darker "gene flaw" and the "dark secret" Space Marines as the Blood Angels and the Dark Angels, both with a more "ecclesiastic" theme, and finally the "exemplars of what it means to be Space Marines", with a more roman theme. Other than the Space Wolves, Dark Angels and Blood Angels, the Codex Ultramarines was not meant for just this one Chapter or a hand full of successors, it was meant for the ~950 remaining other loyalist Chapters as well. And the Ultramarines were the paragon of these "Codex Chapters".

The second point is that while Matt Ward may have enraged the community by saying in a White Dwarf interview that "all the other Chapters want to be like the Ultramarines" (which if one would swallow his pride and think about it is actually reasonable, Marines are professionals, the Ultramarines are the finest example, so they are an example to aspire to), with the traitor Legions and Chapters you actually have members of the other Legions join the Black Legion, because they are the awesomest. With the Ultramarines you merely have other Chapters look at them and think "they are so disciplined and get things done, we should be like them", with the Black Legion you have World Eaters Champions or Word Bearers Marines go "we want to be part of the Black Legion now and swear allegiance to Abaddon".

 

Oh, and one more thing, which unfortunately is not mentioned in the background enough: Where other Chapters take their recruits from gang members or warrior tribes, children on Macragge have to undergo mandatory military training of the hardest kind from the ages 6 to 14. And then, if selected to become Ultramarines, the Astartes training begins. That is a whole kind of bad ass that is not usually attributed to the Ultramarines, which I think is a shame. The background usually focuses more on the past accomplishments of their Primarch, which of course should be mentioned, but then forgoes to mention why the Ultramarines might be the most disciplined fighting force of the Imperium. They have already had 8 years of training in disciplin, combat and tactics before they are even chosen to become Space Marines.

 

 

Edit: I am so sorry, I am so easy to bait with Ultramarine related criticism...

[Mithril hound]

Oh, and one more thing, which unfortunately is not mentioned in the background enough: Where other Chapters take their recruits from gang members or warrior tribes, children on Macragge have to undergo mandatory military training of the hardest kind from the ages 6 to 14. And then, if selected to become Ultramarines, the Astartes training begins. That is a whole kind of bad ass that is not usually attributed to the Ultramarines, which I think is a shame. The background usually focuses more on the past accomplishments of their Primarch, which of course should be mentioned, but then forgoes to mention why the Ultramarines might be the most disciplined fighting force of the Imperium. They have already had 8 years of training in disciplin, combat and tactics before they are even chosen to become Space Marines.

Wait- are you saying this training is more bad ass than living on Fenris? I think not.

[Legatus]

Fenrisians are tough as nails, but they do not have military drill. They fight with axes and shields. And really, all the Marines are looking for in the young aspirants is the right mindset and spirit. The training and physical abilities are provided by the Chapter. However, Ultramarine recruits already start out with military disciplin and combat training before even being taken in by the Chapter. That is why the Space Wolves are reknown for their warriors, and why the Ultramarines are the epitome of Space Marines.

Perhaps you could see them as Space Wolves being high tech space vikings and Ultramarines being high tech space spartans.

[A D-B]

Edit: I am so sorry, I am so easy to bait with Ultramarine related criticism...

 

No harm, no foul. I was being excessively pithy about it. Regarding the Ultramarines as the spiritual fathers and ultimate aim of most Chapters, yeah, I absolutely agree. I never suffered any page-rage when I read the Codex; in fact, quite the opposite, I thought it was nice these prototypical 'defining' Space Marines were getting recognised as the "founding fathers" of modern Astartes glory, as it were. The problem as I saw/see where they're concerned, is that it mostly felt like we were being told, in indelicate terms, that they were the best, with no really compelling, realistic evidence in the lore. Literally, it felt like telling, instead of showing, and I think that's what a lot of people found unpalatable.

 

Annnnd back on topic.

 

The Black Legion background showed us they rocked, in believable terms. The Ultramarines one told us (indeed, insisted in and out of the codex) that they rocked. All in the presentation.

 

So, no, I don't disagree with you, Legatus. And I love the Ultramarines. I spend my fair share of time defending them, too.

 

EDIT: Fixed typos. Jeez.

[Trel]

Thanks for the many replies, fellas.

 

My understanding of the...personality...of the Black Legion was one of over-achievers with some pretty significant father-figure issues. (Even moreso than father-figure issues play heavily into the character of pretty much every one of the original Legions.)

 

The door to Heresy was unbarred by Horus' feeling of abandonment when the Emperor left the Great Crusade, and naturally Chaos was going to find a way in. Horus was afraid that the Emperor was leaving him and that Horus would eventually be forgotten. Much as Horus loved the Emperor as a father, his Legion loved Horus as a father. ...And now they have to wear that shame of having a screw-up for a father.

 

The cool thing, I can see: by the standard of the Black Crusades, no Legion prosecutes the Long War like the Black Legion. I get the impression that they, more than anyone else, specifically wants to take the Imperium down; not for the glory of Chaos or a specific god, or any kind of material gain.

 

If Abbadon can tear down the Imperium, then Horus becomes a martyr, a casualty, and a hero who died over the course of a war. He would be the one who crippled the Emperor and allowed the Imperium to be taken down, but at the cost of his life. (What a guy!) Abbadon, himself, and his Legion is also redeemed because, once again, they are the tip of the spear doing "all the hard work" but getting all the glory for it.

 

The problem with all of this is, in my mind, is the root shame and fear inherent in all of this. If the Black Legion does not succeed, then they will eventually die out, and eventually be forgotten. To a glory-centric bunch like former Luna Wolves, this is worse than death.

 

This, then, is what makes the Black Legion unique to me, but also makes their appeal difficult to grasp: they are the only Legion that is motivated by fear. (Fear of losing, fear of becoming irrelevant.) So much for "...and they shall know no fear."

[DrDoom]

For me the issue is slightly differant. For some of the Black Legion, Horus is already a martyr and the reason for the Long War. These guys have been fightig for 10,000 years, I think they're more motivated by hate then fear. For others Horus is yesterday and Abaddon is today (Abaddon has that great quote about "Horus was weak...").

 

I've been playing Black Legion since I started 40k and their return from the brink of destruction was what attracted me. I like the doctrine of flexibility (mainly because it lets me really vary my armies and still be fluffly). Playing one of the more tacticly dogmatic legions would get old for me after a while.

[Yogi]

The black legion possess a good name a good color scheme, but come across as the inspector gadget type bad guy. Always harping on about next time.

 

ADB says their raids were to achieve goals and once achieved they returned to the eye. But that is very glass half full and this is chaos.

 

The Black legion has failed repeatedly. Millions dead is irrelevant when you look at the scale of the Imperium. Thraka has done as much. What the raids show is inability. Inability to really do something drastic. I dont expect them to because the framework of the game would be completely destroyed, but thats just it. They can never achieve anything because its a game. So because Abbys goals are so high, he fails to achieve anything.

 

The other problem is they aren't know for anything other then being bad guys. And to me thats terrible. Theres is no flavor. They dont have a nasty signature like all the other traitor legions. Huron is a mini me Abaddon and he isnt interesting either. Sitting on a throne growling hateful words is very 'Next time gadget, next time!" and as such is boring.

 

The final nail in the coffin for me is abby and his boys are just spiky marines. Abby is a negative version of calgar.

 

Cool color scheme cool name, but inspector gadget bad guys.

 

EDIT: Also the current codex is pretty much codex black legion.. Look how much everyone enjoys it. haha.

[DrDoom]

The Black legion has failed repeatedly. Millions dead is irrelevant when you look at the scale of the Imperium. Thraka has done as much. What the raids show is inability. Inability to really do something drastic. I dont expect them to because the framework of the game would be completely destroyed, but thats just it. They can never achieve anything because its a game. So because Abbys goals are so high, he fails to achieve anything.

 

The other problem is they aren't know for anything other then being bad guys. And to me thats terrible. Theres is no flavor. They dont have a nasty signature like all the other traitor legions. Huron is a mini me Abaddon and he isnt interesting either. Sitting on a throne growling hateful words is very 'Next time gadget, next time!" and as such is boring.

 

The final nail in the coffin for me is abby and his boys are just spiky marines. Abby is a negative version of calgar.

 

Cool color scheme cool name, but inspector gadget bad guys.

 

EDIT: Also the current codex is pretty much codex black legion.. Look how much everyone enjoys it. haha.

 

 

The problem with that line of thinking is that you assume the end result of individual Black Cusades is the destruction of Terra, but thats not the case. Abaddon is building to something and brought his legion back from the dead to accomplish it. Like you said the deaths of millios means nothing to the Imperium, its not like Abaddon is going to rip it apart without alot of prep.

 

Black Legion actually have a distinct tactical flair. They still use Horus' tactics of assaults that apply pressure while terminators or specialists troops tear the enemy's throat out (eliminate HQ's). It allows for alot of variation in your army list while still staying fluffy.

 

As for the codex, its been done to death. Some people like it, others don't, such is life.

[Rain]

Well, the Black Legion always have been my least favorite Chaos Legion mostly because as has been mentioned they are very vanilla. As for the Black Crusades, well, granted, the first one was carried out by Abaddon and the Black Legion, but many other crusades had nothing to do with the Black Legion at all, or were conglomerates of legions with the BL being but one part of a massive force. I also think that the Black Legion had the least interesting reason to turn, while other legions were in some way themselves used or betrayed (or at least thought they were) the Black Legion turned because Horus got stabbed by an evil knife. I understand that they are meant to be the fallen angel types, the greatest legion turned into traitors, but I always preferred the red headed step children like the Iron Warriors, World Eaters, and Night Lords that turned because the Emperor didn't really care very much for or about them.

 

Furthermore, while you can play many themes with Black Legion, I think in most respects they end up something like the "store brand" of whatever theme you go with. For example religious Black Legionaries with text on their armor along with scrolls and candles are just diet Word Bearers, so if you like that theme, why not just play Word Bearers? They just have no individual character, in fact I've always found them less interesting than Ultramarines because at least the Ultras have a history of enmity with Tyranids and a Roman centurion type theme while BL are just mustache twirling evil marines without any particular idiosyncrasies or rivalries or anything to add character.

[the jeske]

you should read the fluff about abadon and blood angles then [unless that was retconed ] or about the post heresy legion war [unless that was retconed too]. For me they were always specials because of the we worship and get boons from all gods[without dieing too offten] . that what was cool. all other legions either worshiped one god , the whole pantheon or didnt worship at all. BL guys could say hey I have all 4 marks of all the 4 gods on me and it feels good. They were not just spiky marines . they made pacts with demons and had a huge number of possessed [but unlike other legion possessed , they didnt die shortly after being possessed] . But yeah with the new dex and the new fluff they are nothing . the legions dont exist anymore , each warband does what it wants and worships what it wants , full enforced counts as means you cant even show the special quirks of a legion in your list , because all look like BL builds.

[Rain]

Yeah what you're referring to is 2nd edition fluff which although not officially retconned had kind of fallen out of my mind by this point. But hey different strokes for different folks, I know a lot of people dislike IW's especially from back when they were seen as Pete Haines's Mary Sues yet I love my boys in boltgun. That said, what you said about each warband doing what it wants is what makes me dislike them, I like a strong unifying theme around an army and faction and the Black Legion just don't have that, it's the same reason I've never considered a DIY warband, I like the history GW has made for certain factions such as rivalries, MO's, notable battles, etc.

[Trel]

What always strikes me as incongruous is how, supposedly, Marines from other Legions or renegade Chapters can join the Black Legion.

 

Why would an organization as proud as the Black Legion allow other, lesser Marines to join? They'll let someone fight in the same campaign as them, sure. They'll let someone else take orders from them, that's a given. To allow someone else to wear their colors? Unthinkable.

 

To them, the Marines from the renegade Chapters are already inferior, being descended from lesser Legions and diluted over the course of ten thousand years. Additionally, the former Sons of Horus have got some pretty bitter rivalries going with the other Traitor Legions and probably aren't keen on joining up with them in such a friendly manner. I'm sure each Legion has thought, at one time or another, how prosecuting the Long War would be a lot easier and more effective if the other Legions were cowed or eliminated outright. You know the Black Legion has...

[Argon]

Awesome argument is awesome

 

What he said. A-D-B has put it perfectly.

 

However, I would like to add to what he said.

 

Consider this: The first Apocalypse book has a sample battle that has the Imperium against Abbadon's forces. The Imperium is trying to lure Abbadon into a trap so they can finally kill him. The bait in said trap?

 

Lord Castellan Creed. You know, the guy in charge of one of the more important worlds in the Imperium. The world that's keeping us from finally attacking Terra and taking down the false emperor. That guy is bait. The actual trap is calling down Exterminatus on the world this is taking place on.

 

This is all so they kill just Abbadon.

[Lexington]

What always strikes me as incongruous is how, supposedly, Marines from other Legions or renegade Chapters can join the Black Legion.

Abbadon's a uniter, not a divider! :huh:

 

While there's petty (and not so petty) rivalries between the Traitor Legions, they're usually not at all-out war with one another. To heap another reason for Black Legion love onto this topic, Horus' Boys are the organizers and visionaries of the Adeptus Traitores. While the rest of the Traitor Legions bicker over the purity of their vision, the Black Legion knocks heads together, rounds up the Black Ships and reminds the others who their real enemy is. Thankless work, maybe, but someone's gotta do it.

[minigun762]

The daemon primarchs have very little interest in the actions of the Traitor Legions, these days. Established canon tells us they're mostly engaged in the Great Game for their gods (and for Chaos as a gestalt pantheon), and it seems the physicality of war - of invading the Imperium - is sort of... beneath them. In a sense, they no longer care. They operate on spheres of consciousness far above the need to kill people and claim territory. Leadership of the scattered Traitor Legions has fallen to charismatic and bitter Astartes - and the epitome of those is Abaddon. He's Warmaster of Chaos, blessed by the Ruinous Powers as the one to herald the downfall of the Imperium. He's, in a very real sense, the Antichrist of 40K. He's the one humans whisper about in fear: The Despoiler, Warmaster of Chaos, the "clone son" of Horus who threatens them all. That's how scared of him the Imperium actually is: they consider him Horus's cloned son. The Devil's progeny.

 

And that's all kinds of awesome. The physical threat has fallen to the second generation, as it were.

 

I wanted to comment on this section here because for me, its the most important.

 

I believe that there is an assumption both within the other Legions and the players themselves that the Daemon Primarchs are merely bidding their time. As you mentioned they are engaged in the Great Game but unlike pure Daemons, they still maintain that distinct level of (super)humanity that sets them apart. This means that while they might be preoccupied with their patron's endevours at the moment, they aren't completely bound to their will and will likely maintain some level of interest in the destruction of the Imperium.

 

Could it be that they are willing to let the "2nd generation" do the initial bleeding and fighting? Quite possibly. Could it be that they must resolve something first in the Warp before returning to the physical plane? I think thats very likely, especially for the "cult" Primarchs.

 

Personally, the crux of the matter is Abaddon's role in a Black Crusade in which the various Primarchs return. Would he still be the leader? Would he be demoted to a battlefield position? Would he fight back to maintain what he has?

 

Or to put it another way, how much will the game change once the Daemon Primarchs make their appearance?

[Rain]

Just a quick comment on the using Creed as bait to kill Abaddon, I'm really not sure how this is so special. Yeah Creed is a bigshot, but he is still only a human, he will die relatively soon due to old age anyhow while Abaddon will remain a massive threat until/unless he is killed through violent means. Honestly, sacrificing any mere human to end the life of a 10,000 year old demigod seems like a small price to pay, especially for a state as draconian and dehumanizing as the Imperium.

 

Oh and I agree with Trel as to the whole "happy Chaos family" thing, I also always liked the fact that each legion is arrogant and believes that its own tactics, beliefs, and gene seed are the best and that all others are lesser and therefore unworthy to associate with them. Bearing this in mind, it does seem odd that the mighty legion of Horus and now the personal army of the Warmaster himself would accept lowly criminals or paranoid machine savants into their ranks. Likewise any good Night Lord should be disgusted by the occasional faith and mutation that the Black Legionnaires exhibit, and the Iron Warriors always knew there was something shifty about those guys in black, and the guys in red, and well, you know.

[Lord of Worms]

The Black Legion background showed us they rocked, in believable terms. The Ultramarines one told us (indeed, insisted in and out of the codex) that they rocked. All in the presentation.

 

Well put. However, I find myself extremely perplexed: Abaddon is portrayed as being their salvation. He`s the reason they`re not the running joke of the EoT, getting punked around left, right and centre. Yet, in spite of his appearance in three HH novels, as well as a host of other places including snippets and short-stories he is never shown to be anything other than a goony, cartoony meat-head. He reminds me of those guys who wear "Tapout" brand clothing and are rabid fans of MMA. The closest thing to leadership he ever shows is having his sniveling minions be so afraid of him, that they are too scared to warn him about not being so close to the exploding planet, or something to that effect. Nothing is shown to demonstrate any of his supposed capability of getting things done.

 

Personally, I think the only explanation to this wretched lapse is that Zaraphiston is the true power behind the throne. Abaddon is just a puppet figurehead.

[Lucifer216]

This raises an important point. Much of what A D-B says regarding the Ultramarines is true to some extent for Abaddon. There really needs to be a series of novels documenting his ascension to power, in which he gets to be truly badass and to develop his character away from the "Hulk Smash" of the Horus Heresy series. That way it will feel less like he got to be Warmaster "because his daddy was".

[Rain]

Well A D-B does feature Honest Abe in Soul Hunter in which he is portrayed as a pretty imposing figure although I still don't understand why

he just leaves Talon when Talos is having his vision, if he really wants to convert him so much why does he leave him with only the humans that are performing the ritual around to guard him, you would think that the Warmaster of chaos would have better coercive methods, seems kind of sloppy of him

[Lord of Worms]

This raises an important point. Much of what A D-B says regarding the Ultramarines is true to some extent for Abaddon. There really needs to be a series of novels documenting his ascension to power, in which he gets to be truly badass and to develop his character away from the "Hulk Smash" of the Horus Heresy series. That way it will feel less like he got to be Warmaster "because his daddy was".

 

Written by Ben Counter...hilarity ensues. :P