Black Legion Tzeentch warband

[RagingGriffon]

The Raiders

Battles are Won Before the Army is Committed

T

he Raiders are a warband devoted to the Black Legion and swear utter fealty to The Despoiler. They are a small group of veteran Astartes specializing in rapid attacks focusing on critcal nodes of the enemy. The Raiders are well-versed daemonologists, and they use summoned daemons to enhance their precision assaults. They strike from their Dark Age of Technology ship, The Shadow's Soul, which allows the to pass virtually unseen into Imperial space and wreak havoc on high priority targets. The Raiders are led by Lord Svarog who is a former Loylaist from the unique Exorcists Chapter. He was one of the unfortunate few that re-succumbed to daemonic possesion. Lord Svarog was born again, his soul forever altered by The Great Manipulator, and he has subsequently struck at the heart of the Imperium for the last 7000 years.

Origins

The Raider's beginnings stretch back to M34 with the creation of The Exorcists Chapter. It is there that their eventual leader became a member of a unique Chapter of Space Marines. The methods, which some would say were heretical, allowed Svarog to be touched by daemons at an early point of his life, and it was there that would sow the seeds of corruption in Svarogs soul. The Exorcist's first mission was on a daemon planet and a botched jump pack drop assault via Thunderhawk gunship would be the turning point for Svarog. The target was a temple perched near the apex of an obsidian crusted volcano. Initial scan reported only human cultists occupying the temple. Unfortunately, The Exorcist assault squad jumped into a ritual binding daemons to Black Legion Traitor Marines. The battle was bloody, violent, and destructive. The injuries sustained by Sergeant Svarog left his soul open for the swirling daemons to assault. He temporarily lost the internal strife to the daemons, and after possession he slew the Traitor Marines his two remaining comrades. He instantly lost consiousness when his immeasurable will wrested control from the daemon intruder.

Svarog was found by a Black Legion Warlord in the middle of the ritual circle unconscious with the bodies of nine Loyalist Marines in Crimson armor and eight of his Black Legion bretheren that were supposed to be enhanced with daemons. The Warlord ordered his retinue to bind the Marine and take him into custody. The temple was sacked and then razed to the ground. The small Black Legion warband and their captive took leave of the planet that was being scoured by the Exorcists.

After many interrogation sessions, propaganda indoctrination, and terrible hypno-therapy, it was determined that Svarog was no longer a loyalist. In fact, he was far from what any of them expected. Svarog had become the mortal vessel for a Tzeentch daemon in the temple. He was able to purge the daemon under his own power. Apparently, the Inquisition’s rites gave Svarog resistance against a complete take-over by the daemon. Unbeknownst to the Black Legion, this was Svarog's second possession. Since his induction into the Black Legion he has shown an affinity for daemons as well as being a strong Daemonologist.

He quickly proved himself reliable in combat and worked his way back into squad leadership. He has allowed himself to possessed many times since his induction into the Black Legion, and the use of summoned daemons had allowed him to turn the tide of seemingly lost engagements. His ability to sense the ebb and flow of combat is attributed to his keen combat planning along with the touch of Tzeentch. These abilities, his accumulated victories, along with well-timed demises of his leaders, allowed Lord Svarog to gain command of a sizable contigent of Traitor Astartes.

Lord Svarog and a band of veteran Black Legion Astartes wrested control of an ancient, assumably pre-Dark Age of Technology, spaceship from a band of Emperor's Children. The ship was used to penetrate Imperial space virtually undetected and raid lightly protected colonies so the followers of Slaanesh could take slaves for nefarious uses. Lord Svarog usurped control of the ship, henceforth named: The Shadow's Soul, and has used it for the last three thousand years to make critical strikes against the Black Legion's enemies. His strategic planning and victories have gained him much credibility amongst the Black Legion leadership. Lord Svarog uses his influence to hand select warrirors who are best suited for his missions directed towards critical targets.

Base of Operations

The Raiders headquarters is on the ship, The Shadow's Soul. The ancient, long, blacked out, needle-like space craft, daggers into a systems undetected. It has very few offensive capabilities, but its defensive weapons and anti-detection countermeasure systems suite are immense. It is highly manueverable and it is capable of deploying a small force into strategic locations without being noticed.

The Shadow's Soul carries a Thunderhawk Gunship and it has been rigged to carry several Deathclaw Assault Pods. It is designed for long-term deployments behind enemy lines. As such, Lord Svarog personally selects a crew of human retainers to maintain the ship in impeccable order. He considers the retainers a part of the ship, and treats them as such. If a crew member is not functioning in top condition, then they can be replaced. However, they are not entertainment for the Traitor Marines inbetween missions. He has, on several occasions, taken the life of a member of the Raiders due to the murder of a retainer.

When the Raiders and The Shadow's Soul are not on a mission they are found nestled in the middle of the Black Legion's fleet. The Shadow's Soul is a strategic asset for the Black Legion, and it is maintained and protected so it can be used for essential taskings.

Combat Doctrine

The Raiders specialize in rapid attack, High Value Asset (HVA) targeting and destruction. This could be an agri-world's only space port, it could be a small Black Templar's Keep, an Ecclesiarchal orphanage, or even other Chaos warband leadership. The Shadow's Soul allows The Raiders to infiltrate normally inaccessable critical nodes of command, control, and logistics. The Raiders destroy these targets, and these help shape the future endeavors of the Black Legion. Lord Svarog and The Raiders fully understand that wars are won before the initial conflicts begin.

They uses stealth and precision troop placement to station his themselves in the most advantageous position to eleminate the target as quickly as possible. THe Raiders make up for the lack of sheer numbers of Space Marines by maximizing their well maintained battle gear and their advanced skills as a daemonologist. It is suspected that Lord Svarog's affinity of daemons has allowed them to have a easier than usual ability to summon daemons. The impeccable military ability and discipline, along with mass swarms of daemons, leaves their targets torn assunder.

Beliefs

Lord Svarog and The Raiders are incredibly patient. They have been assaulting the Imperium in one fashion or another for the last seven thousand years. This has given immense perspective to the goal of tearing the Imperium assunder. Their belief that shaping the future wars of the Black Legion is the first step to victory has allowed them to pick seemingly random targets. The cadre of leadership Lord Svarog has surrounded himself with are well-practiced psykers and daemonolgists. The Raiders would not be able to accomplish most of their missions without the force multiplying capabilities of strong psychic powers and the high use of daemons.

They believe they are the absolute tip of spear of the Black Legion. The Shadow's Soul has allowed them to destroy many strategic targets in their current state as The Raiders. The only loyalty higher than Lord Svarog that Raiders have is to The Despoiler himself, for he is the Chosen Warlord of The Ruinous Powers.

Geneseed

THe Black Legion is an amalgam of Traitor Legions and renegade Astartes, and the Raiders are no different. Lord Svarog's gene lineage comes from the unknown background of the Exorcists geneseed. There are members of the original XVIth Legion along with other traitors and renegades. The only requirement to be selected into the Raiders is the individual Astarte's abilities.

[Kabuse]

I actually really like it, I think this sounds really cool; Especially the Dagger-like ship. I can totaly see stealth bomber like Drop-ships deploying marines on gliders before deamons burst into existance inside bunkers.

 

makes me want to play Chaos now :rolleyes:

[RagingGriffon]

Moved from "Outline" phase to "First Draft" phase. Give me hell, Liber. I know you can do it.

[Captain Juan Juarez]

Maybe I'm missing something but..

 

This seems more like the Tales of Lord Svarog thaan an Index Traitoris?

[RagingGriffon]

Yeah, I suppose so....

 

Well, he is the central character. Everyone else is auxillary. You look at someone like Hakanor's Reavers, Skulltakers, or even the Astral Claws/Red Corasairs. It is about Hakanor, Zhufor or Huron. They are the figureheads, and really the most important part of the fluff. This isn't a 450 Astartes Chapter or Warband. This is about a 100 Astartes warband that falls under the Black Legion.

 

Outside of the original Legions, and about a handful of renegades, I don't see them more than a couple hundred strong.

 

I guess that is why people say it is so difficult to create a renegade DIY Liber submission. I think Traitors/Renegades are defined my nefarious individuals. Whereas Loyalists are defined by their cohesion and tradition.

 

Am I way off the mark here?

[Ferrus Manus]

I guess that is why people say it is so difficult to create a renegade DIY Liber submission. I think Traitors/Renegades are defined my nefarious individuals. Whereas Loyalists are defined by their cohesion and tradition.

 

Am I way off the mark here?

No, I think your right. It's what makes writing an IT difficult - you have to balance the individual with the warband as a whole.

[Captain Juan Juarez]

I guess that is why people say it is so difficult to create a renegade DIY Liber submission. I think Traitors/Renegades are defined my nefarious individuals. Whereas Loyalists are defined by their cohesion and tradition.

 

Am I way off the mark here?

No, I think your right. It's what makes writing an IT difficult - you have to balance the individual with the warband as a whole.

 

Thats thrown a spanner in my own works - I've been constructing an IT based along the lines of a Loyalist one.

[Ferrus Manus]

Thats thrown a spanner in my own works - I've been constructing an IT based along the lines of a Loyalist one.

I'm not saying it's not doable - heck I'm attempting it with my Changelings - it just seems harder to do compared to if you write it in the style here.

[RagingGriffon]

I think I need to ease off my references to The Exorcists, and focus more on Lord Svarog's warband. I think I need a better name for them as well. However, you can't seperate the two.

 

Any ideas for a Warband name?

[Captain Juan Juarez]

What kind of thing do you want to evoke with the warbands name?

[Ace Debonair]

I thought Svarog was one of your Khorne-worshipping characters?

 

Apart from that, I'll echo CJJ. What did you want from the name of your warband?

[RagingGriffon]

Svarog is the name of a former Exorcist turned Chaos. He was used in my Dynasty of Blood IA, but they are now defunct. The name is probably just a place holder for now, as he is a character I am modelling for my World Eater figures.

 

As for a name.... well, they are stealthy, they hit hard and fast, and they are daemonologist working for the Black Legion. I will brainstorm later when I get some work done.