Home Brewed Slaanesh Warband

[Renoster]

Elders,

 

I don't play the game other than in SH form, and I'm new to the forum. Those sins aside, I'd like your esteemed advice regarding my own brand of Chaos marine. I like to write fluff for my SH squads as it allows reasonable creation of the house rules we play, depending on chapter. I'm building a squad right now that I wanted to enter into the painting challenge, but as it's designed for SH and not 40k, isn't legal! Bah.

 

Does this fluff fall within acceptable Slaanesh parameters? I posted it originally with a phot of the first marine in the Hall of Honour, but think it should have gone in this forum, so apologies for putting it in the wrong place. Any CC happily received. I'm a fan of all the fluff but far from an authority so would like to know what you think.

Petrificus Marines

 

Formerly elite of the Emperor's Children, these terminators swore allegiance to Fulgrim on his tainted journey and were at the vanguard of the horrors and excess of the Heresy and its wake. Prideful and lethal, their slaughter and debasement of countless souls on the path to Terra saw a small contingent honoured by their patron with daemonic biomechanical plate and weapons and named 'Soul Tasters'. Bound within each suit, a demanding, unquenchable, sensation-seeking daemon writhed and seethed, making them near impervious to destruction in order to goad, plead and drive them on to acts of orgiastic barbarity outside the ken of mortal men. Looking into their shoulder pauldrons was like viewing the Warp itself, a maelstrom of light and colour, a mirror of the symbiotic sensation experienced by marine and the bound daemon within, and death or madness to all but the strongest.

 

Once driven into the Eye and under constant pressure to seek new experiences, they attached themselves to whichever band or cause promised the greatest potential for debasement. On one such quest, they were approached by Fabius Bile, who promised them anything their twisted hearts could desire in exchange for their martial prowess. Bile plundered Imperial and renegade alike in his search for genetic material and knowledge and used his hedonistic terminators as a near invulnerable strike team.

 

Eventually, realising their bargain was one-sided, the Soul Tasters demanded recompense from Bile: enhancements to their physiology that would intensify their sensations even more. Bile seemed more than happy to oblige them, realising their utility to his cause. All was not as it seemed however, for Bile, unwilling to be dictated to and understanding the nature of their daemonic plate, implanted them with his Golem Gland, a tainted, warp-mutated organ which slowly but surely turned their tissue and armour to stone, and severed their ability to sense and experience all but the most basic facets of their blighted lives.

 

Inexorably, each succumbed to this new affliction, only able to see and hear in rudimentary terms, articulated and saved from death by the daemons within their plate. Denied sensation, both marine and daemon suffer greatly and yearn for combat and the fleeting and uncertain chance to feel anything, if only for a nanosecond. Their shoulder pauldrons are black as the void, now mirroring the sensory famine of marine and daemon.

 

A single animated eye is often now visible on some part of their plate, the daemon gazing with frenzied wretched hope from within. Now with plate, weapons and flesh almost completely petrified, save but for a few remaining patches of ceramite or adamantium, nothing but disintegration can stop them, and even this does not kill them. Rather they are turned to sentient rubble and dust, a torment far far worse then death itself. Their grasp slowly petrifies all it touches, new weapons and equipment slowly changing until it matches its masters. Areas they inhabit are slowly turned into bastions of rock and dust and the rare enemies penetrated by their weapons who survive, suffer an agonizing fate.

 

Now the Petrificus seek only the means to reverse their condition, for their patrons grow tired of their lack of tribute. If their daemons are released from their duties, death will be instantaneous. They seek Fabius Bile, but he has evaded far better seekers than they, for far longer. They seek arcane lore and knowledge and will treat with any who can offer them hope of cure.

 

Perversely, Bile's gift makes them better at what they do. Now unrecognised by bio scanners and sensors, they excel at infiltration and stealth and fall outside of the comprehension of many xeno species. When the Sin of Damnation tore from the warp in 600.M41, Blood Angels were not the only Astartes present.

Remembering Bile's fascination with the Genestealer, the Petrificus waded unimpeded through lakes of genetic material and tissue, sampling for later study. Few minds knew they were there. The Hive was irritated by their presence in its most valuable resources, but could not identify them. Lexicanum Calistarius of the Blood Angels could feel the nagging spike of keening rage of the bound daemons, but was far too busy fighting for his Chapter's survival to take proper account. He will see them again...

 

Thoughts? The Heavy Flamer is in the Petrificus Marines thread in the HoH if you want to take a peek.

[Crystal Geyser]

I don't know...the whole dust thing and accumulation of lore is way too Thousand Sons-ey for Slaanesh. It was all great, until that part.

[Renoster]

Geyser, thanks for the feedback, I'm seeing that now myself. Once these boys are dust though, they will remain as such, no Thousand Son type animation inside their armour. I've considered their ship full of cells of broken brothers, kept either because nobody has bothered to tidy them up, or because their rivals enjoy seeing them looking like playground sand! I may leave it so that they remain in Bile's employ, with him claiming he will fix the affliction with more work on them, although will need to think on and tidy things up a bit.

[Drelthar]

At a basic level, the unit idea is similar to the rubric marines, but you've put enough detail into your lil Petrificus termies that they really stand out. I love the rise and fall of the Petrificus - they achieved what many Slaanesh marines dream of, but after screwing with Bile, they got screwed and lost what matters most to a worshiper of the Dark Prince - sensation. The shoulderpads turning from like "viewing the Warp itself, a maelstrom of light and colour" to "black as the void" was an especially nice bit of info.

 

I believe that they are very Slaaneshi, and it's a really well thought out idea on your part. However, sticking with them hunting after Bile isn't a bad idea. On an individual level, he's a blight on the galaxy, and as such, he's got plenty of enemies - adding just one more faction that has a grudge against him works well.

[Imperial Deceit]

Another perhaps subplot to consider, as well as searching for ether Bile himself or some other way to cure their aliment, they may also be searching for anything that could cause them some sort of sensation. Indulging in depravity and indulgences far beyond anything previously experienced, even unto the point of death for some. Also I do like the dust idea, however, what if they keep the dust believing that when they uncover a cure that perhaps their brothers can also be saved. The twist being that those reduced to dust are, in fact, still alive. Unable to truly die, and isolated from everything in their Urns, the ultimate punishment for the followers of She who Waits. (Slaanesh to the Dark Eldar)

[Renoster]

Drelthar and Deceit,

 

thanks for the feedback and ideas, very much appreciated.

 

Deceit, I had in my original fluff above that even when they are dust, or blasted apart they are still very much alive and sentient. I am going to run with your idea however of them experimenting with new rituals and experiences to try and glean some sensation. ~Light Bulb~ This is why they keep their dismantled comrades in their arming cells, as material to experiment on.

 

Would Slanneshi followers care to return their comrades to 'normality' or would they solely seek a 'cure' to save their own necks? How much altruism would they display, if any? Would they hybridise themselves with other races solely to feel something new? I'm thinking of their scouring of Tyrannid Hulks and fascination with Genestealers and their genetic incorporation physiology.

[Azekai]

Would Slanneshi followers care to return their comrades to 'normality' or would they solely seek a 'cure' to save their own necks? How much altruism would they display, if any? Would they hybridise themselves with other races solely to feel something new? I'm thinking of their scouring of Tyrannid Hulks and fascination with Genestealers and their genetic incorporation physiology.

 

Well, altruism doesn't necessarily have anything to do with wanting to cure one's cursed brothers- maybe their squad leader simply wants to have as many powerful minions as possible, or perhaps another wants to use the cure as leverage over the insanely desperate daemon/marine hybrids.

 

I am curious about the genestealer connection- what is their purpose in meddling with the genetics of the Devourer? To taint oneself with the DNA of a genestealer is self-destructive.

[Aqui]

Would Slanneshi followers care to return their comrades to 'normality' or would they solely seek a 'cure' to save their own necks? How much altruism would they display, if any? Would they hybridise themselves with other races solely to feel something new? I'm thinking of their scouring of Tyrannid Hulks and fascination with Genestealers and their genetic incorporation physiology.

 

Well, altruism doesn't necessarily have anything to do with wanting to cure one's cursed brothers- maybe their squad leader simply wants to have as many powerful minions as possible, or perhaps another wants to use the cure as leverage over the insanely desperate daemon/marine hybrids.

 

I am curious about the genestealer connection- what is their purpose in meddling with the genetics of the Devourer? To taint oneself with the DNA of a genestealer is self-destructive.

 

Unless I read it wrong, Fabius Bile is the one with the fascination with Genestealers etc, so I suppose the Warband are trying to lure him out with the promise of genetic material direct from a hive ship in exchange for reversing what he did to them.

 

In either case, it's one of the most original Slaaneshi ideas I've seen for a long time :D

[Renoster]

Would Slanneshi followers care to return their comrades to 'normality' or would they solely seek a 'cure' to save their own necks? How much altruism would they display, if any? Would they hybridise themselves with other races solely to feel something new? I'm thinking of their scouring of Tyrannid Hulks and fascination with Genestealers and their genetic incorporation physiology.

Well, altruism doesn't necessarily have anything to do with wanting to cure one's cursed brothers- maybe their squad leader simply wants to have as many powerful minions as possible, or perhaps another wants to use the cure as leverage over the insanely desperate daemon/marine hybrids.

I am curious about the genestealer connection- what is their purpose in meddling with the genetics of the Devourer? To taint oneself with the DNA of a genestealer is self-destructive.

Whythre,

thanks for the response. The band's leader, Coralon, listened intently to Bile during their time together. He understands the concept of the Hive Mind, and dreams of being able to access the myriad sensations of such an incomprehensively massive consciousness. He thinks this may be possible by incorporating Tyranid tissue in himself. Again, listening to Bile, he has developed an idea that the the Tyranids' ability to produce specific tissues from boiled down genetic essence will be of use to him, replacing or upgrading their petrified flesh.

Aquilanus, thanks for your input bud. An interesting twist, but they won't be working with Bile again. He has stitched them up good and proper! The rancour in the warband is over Coralon's insistence that Bile would help them in the first place.

Coralon

[Imperial Deceit]

I can see the purpose of utilizing the genestealer DNA as a cure because it is so prodigious that it can overwrite any DNA pattern, even that of a Chaos Marine (This happens in Dark Disciple to one of the Word Bearers). If they could maniuplate it to serve their own purpose it might be able to cure them. I also like the idea of the hive mind, and maybe that's something they figure out later, becoming interconnect to each other and even those who have been Dusted. Which could be a reason they are keeping them, to experiance the agony that must come with being completely without experiances or stimulations.

 

Hilarious idea for an objective marker, a jar of sand and a nametag on it. (I found these while looking for some tiny bottles for a different project.)

[Renoster]

Deceit,

 

I'm liking that though, thanks for the time to feedback. Haven't read Dark Disciple, will have to do so now to make sure I'm not infringing.

 

I'm all over that objective marker. Added to list! Give me some time and keep you posted!

[Imperial Deceit]

It's used as more of moral imperative then as a key plot point.

 

Looking forward to seeing more of your army and fluff, I am really liking this concept. Keep it up!