BlackHammers

[Lysimachus]

Hey all,

 

Not been very regular in the Liber recently but I’ve been inspired by the prospect of a new C:CSM (and also by having just read ‘Know No Fear’ which I thought was very good) to rethink an old DIY. Previously a fairly young, knightly themed, upstanding, virtuous UM Successor, I’m now viewing them as an old, grim, barbaric (but still kind of knightly) traitor force.

 

It’s unusual for me, but if I’m honest I’ve got much more of idea of what I want for these guys visually than I do in terms of fluff, so any thoughts/suggestions would be very welcome!

 

Cheers

 

Lysimachus

 

 

BLACK HAMMERS

 

 

 

THE LOOK

 

Metallic black armour, white hammer badge (painting – chipped, dirty)

 

Grim, grimy barbarians, furs (think northern Houses from Game of Thrones), often wear charms, trinkets (lucky bones, etc)

 

Chaosy (trims, skulls, etc) but not ostentatious, no gold trim + big horns

 

Lots of different MKs, common to see MK IV helms or MK V style ‘studs’

 

Functional, utilitarian armour and weaponry (dark blue weapons casings?)

 

 

 

THE FLUFF

 

“What wins the fight is what wins the fight. Ultimately, nothing should be excluded if that exclusion leads to defeat”- Roboute Guilliman

 

2nd Founding Ultramarines Successor

 

Led by master Tor Agamon, a survivor of Calth massacre, sgt at time who survived by using wb chaos knife against enemy

Threw away at end (told to by captain) but secretly bitter, wanted continue use enemy weapons against them, obsessed with understanding source of their power – UM victory at Calth pure luck; WB should never have been able to defeat UM (fewer, less disciplined, etc) but almost did – how?

 

After Heresy/Scouring, 2nd Founding, Agamon by now promoted -> Captain -> Chapter Master (never told anyone of his growing obsession), his Chapter sent to edge of EoT as part of some kind of pre-Praeses (Guilliman wasn’t stupid, some of his forces would have been keeping an eye on the traitors)

 

Agamon discovered nearby feudal world, local clans strong warriors, but superstitious, used many rituals to appease, keep away, chaotic influence – chose as new home world. Continued to research ways to protect from Chaos and increase fighting power; same time start recruit from clans, Chapter influenced by their attitudes

 

Soon after, censured by Guilliman for superstitious behaviour during joint campaign (against another enemy, maybe Eldar?). Shortly after this forces from 3 other chapters sent by Primarch to investigate Black Hammers (after Heresy, not take any risks), arrive at home world to find fortress monastery stripped and empty – Agamon knew what Guilliman would do, fled (eventually into Eye – no other option)

 

Hate other traitors but eventually forced to make peace with some in order to survive; pacts with BL, IW, Dark Mech – never with WB

 

Turned renegade within 200 years of founding, been fighting against imperium for more than 9 millennia

 

Mix of UM strategic planning, backed up by warp ‘fortune’(but always aware of its vagaries – something useful but not to be relied on), tend to use ‘more reliable’ forms of warpcraft – bound in engines, weapons, etc

 

Tactically flexible, but favour close range fire fights

 

Forces: CSM (larger than average units – scornful of codex, returned to legion style formations after turning), TDA, clan warriors, quite infantry focussed (few transports) but some battle tanks, engines, etc

 

Icons very common, marks less so

Respectful of all of Chaos pantheon, slightly superstitious (fearful?), wear charms, make small offerings before battle, etc, but not worshippers

 

”No man is forced to worship the gods, but only a fool fails to give them their due.” –Tor Agamon

[Orlunu]

Seems good enough, but until you start expanding out into the subsections of an IA I can only comment on the core idea. To that I can't say much more than "seems good enough". It's nice to see some old smurfs realising their mistakes though. :geek:

[Ace Debonair]

2nd Founding Ultramarines Successor

 

I thought the second Founding was still considered 'off-limits', so to speak. :)

 

Not that I have a problem with it being declared open for business, it's just something that occured to me might cause issues down the road. :P

 

Apart from that, the concept seems pretty solid.

I particularly like that Agamon gets out of town before the other loyalists show up. It's a nice subtle sort of nod to the idea Guilliman's strategies can become predictable without really going on about it. :D

 

I'm not sure why Agamon would be so anti-codex, though.

He seems quite a pragmatic sort (that's even why he turned to Chaos if I'm reading it right), and the codex evidently works prety well, so I could see him happily borrowing from it and using it's insights to secure victory whenever the opportunity came up.

[Lysimachus]

Thanks for the comments guys!

 

@Orlunu: Ta, and will do (hopefully over the next couple of days/weeks)

 

@Ace:

 

I thought the second Founding was still considered 'off-limits', so to speak.

 

Not that I have a problem with it being declared open for business, it's just something that occured to me might cause issues down the road.

 

 

Well, given the recent changes to the fluff about the sizes of the Legions in and after the HH and the resultant number of Chapters formed during the 2nd Founding (according to C:GK, around 400 Chapters!), and given that a sizeable proportion of those Chapters would have been Ultramarine Successors, I figured we can now pretty much get away with it.

 

Try to keep up, buddy. ;) :P

 

Plus, even if you really don't like the 'new' numbers, there are still the unnamed ones from the 23 UM Successors recorded in the Apocrypha of Skaros (C:SM, pg8)

 

Either way, there's some wiggle room... plus (as I've probably learned from your dwarfy WS and artillery RG) it's fun to break the rules every now and then! :)

 

 

I'm not sure why Agamon would be so anti-codex, though.

He seems quite a pragmatic sort (that's even why he turned to Chaos if I'm reading it right), and the codex evidently works prety well, so I could see him happily borrowing from it and using it's insights to secure victory whenever the opportunity came up.

 

It's not so much the tactical side of the Codex that he dislikes, it's just the strict structure of 10x10x10 Tac/Ass/Dev. He is pragmatic so it's more 'if you need a 6/10/24/whatever man squad to do the job, that's what you use'

 

I should make that clearer though so thanks!

[Ace Debonair]

Well, given the recent changes to the fluff about the sizes of the Legions in and after the HH and the resultant number of Chapters formed during the 2nd Founding (according to C:GK, around 400 Chapters!), and given that a sizeable proportion of those Chapters would have been Ultramarine Successors, I figured we can now pretty much get away with it.

 

Try to keep up, buddy. ;) :P

 

Plus, even if you really don't like the 'new' numbers, there are still the unnamed ones from the 23 UM Successors recorded in the Apocrypha of Skaros (C:SM, pg8)

 

Either way, there's some wiggle room... plus (as I've probably learned from your dwarfy WS and artillery RG) it's fun to break the rules every now and then! ;)

 

Hey, like I said, I don't have a problem with it. I just didn't remember what the general consensus on the second founding was. :P

 

I also get the distinct feeling you were just waiting for someone to point it out. :)

 

It's not so much the tactical side of the Codex that he dislikes, it's just the strict structure of 10x10x10 Tac/Ass/Dev. He is pragmatic so it's more 'if you need a 6/10/24/whatever man squad to do the job, that's what you use'

 

I should make that clearer though so thanks!

 

Ah, I see. That does make more sense!

[Dosjetka]

I'm not too keen on the obsession part, which I find a bit strange (but then again, obsessions are strange). But otherwise, I like the idea ;)

 

I don't have much time now, so I'll post some suggestions later on.

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic