Raptors

[Rune Priest Ridcully]

I have always liked the current raptor models, but have always tried to play my Thousand sons to the fluff, but I am wondering if there is any way that you may be able to get a squad of Thousand son raptors?

[The Colossus]

I believe they became Raptors way back in the heresy, counting themselves as just elite shock troops, but have mutated into their current forms. However, there's raptors of all stripes. Personally I'd go for Tzeentchian Raptors rather than TS raptors, mostly because of the Rubric- it's more likely fluff, as the Raptors are frequently portrayed as a cult unto themselves, rather than belonging to an individual legion. I.e. their loyalty goes themselves>squad>Raptor Cult>Warband>Legion.

 

Just my two kraks...

[Kol Saresk]

It depends on how, when and where you look at it. Once upon a time, they belonged solely to Night lords. Then they were just Traitor Chaos Assualt Marines. Then they were the elite of the Chaos Marines. Then they were a type of cult. Judging by what I've seen happening so far, I think the Raptors are going back into the cults. So basically, they have become mercenaries which means they can fit into any fluff.

[Brother Ambroz]

I'd say it's possible for TS, it'd just be difficult to explain fluffwise. At least going by the fluff that says everything without psychic abilites turned to dust. I'm assuming you want to be able to use the egyptian like theme with these guys, otherwise you could just go with a Tzeentchian warband with mutated raptors. Personally I can't really think of how to explain it yet, gimme awhile though. Maybe someone else will be able to help first though.

[A D-B]

One of the more gamey things that's always bugged me is how Raptors all mutated exactly the same way. I mean, I love Raptors - but I love Chaos Marines with ancient jump packs that call themselves Raptors, too. When I dreamed up the Bleeding Eyes in the Night Lords Trilogy, I used the baseline 3rd-4th-5th Edition Raptors as their origin, but I like to deceive myself into pretending not all Raptors were like that.

 

besides, I'm sure in a setting as vast as 40K, there are a bajillion Raptors that are mutated in other ways, or still just Chaos Marines with jump packs and an attitude problem. The world is your oyster in that regard. Opportunity is the watchword of a Chaos player / writer.

[Muskie]

I don't think they were "Raptors" in the black codex or even the 2nd Edition Codex. GW seems to have no problems relaxing or outright altering their 'canon'. I think Rubric Raptors doesn't work as Slow and Purposeful plus Jump seems odd rules to give to Infantry. But I'm sure you could do some cool modeling of Egyptian themed jump pack marines.

 

Raptors are high on my ta-do list, but I was thinking Khorne or Nurgle Raptors or just undivided. I'm still waiting for the new codex, but I was dismayed to learn Chosen may lose Infiltrate. From a gaming standpoint, just giver, but if you're hung up on all Rubric all the time... Field a Sorcerer of Tzeentch with wings, model all the Raptors with Wings give them Mark of Tzeentch and call them his flying adepts or something. Say they are under his spell and started worshipping Tzeentch after the whole dust incident. A unit of marines with wings flying around with a Sorcerer with wings seems pretty fluffy. They can even deep strike (teleport magically). Use special weapons as counts as spells maybe or have them breath fire...

[Rune Priest Ridcully]

One of the more gamey things that's always bugged me is how Raptors all mutated exactly the same way. I mean, I love Raptors - but I love Chaos Marines with ancient jump packs that call themselves Raptors, too. When I dreamed up the Bleeding Eyes in the Night Lords Trilogy, I used the baseline 3rd-4th-5th Edition Raptors as their origin, but I like to deceive myself into pretending not all Raptors were like that.

 

besides, I'm sure in a setting as vast as 40K, there are a bajillion Raptors that are mutated in other ways, or still just Chaos Marines with jump packs and an attitude problem. The world is your oyster in that regard. Opportunity is the watchword of a Chaos player / writer.

It was the bleeding eyes who pushed me over the edge, especially Lupacopous (I cannot remember the proper spelling, I do apologize) and his knowledge/sense of things of a warpish nature he seemed to have gained.

Ra-Horakhty had been an Sargent-Sorcerer leading one of the legions Assault Squads in the great crusade, and the burning of Prospero and the dark campaigns that followed.

"You can't understand what it was like, to soar in the sky's of that world, to feel the currents wash over your form... it was like how the higher adepts would describe walking in an ether body..but this, this was real... and to fly as a squad... as one.. that is something even an Aetheanian could not understand unless he had done it himself"

Ra-Horakhty- A discourse on the Planet of the Sorcerers

After Ahriman's rubric, Ra-Horakhty was devastated, no longer could he fly with his squad, for whilst they could still fight and use their jump packs it was not the great soars and glides and acrobatics they used to do, but rather brief straightforward jumps.

He traveled, as many of legion did, selling his services to the other legions and warbands of the eye, his rubrics fighting with boltguns then jump packs, yet he always dreamed of restoring their grace. It was not until the fall of Willothis, acting as a navigator for Lord Preliazk. The northern pole of that unfortunate planet was filled with many henges and barrows from long before the great crusade. Ra-Horakhty spent the decade after studying them as Lord Preliazk ruled the planet, forcing his new subjects to build ever grander monuments to him and the young prince.

It was in the central chamber of one of the tombs where he found texts and formulas that would form the basis of what called, "The awakening of the devestated".

It was at the planet's solstice where he declared, he would conduct a ritual that he declared would bring wonder and joy to all who saw it.

It was in the heart of a new complex of henges, Obelisks, Pyramids and temples, built specifically for this at the southern pole, where as surge in the warps tides hit the planet that the ritual happened. Ra-Horakhty plunged diamond dagger through Preliazk's heart, as his rubrics did likewise to Preliazk's bodyguard, the sons of Fulgrim lost in the haze of illusions, opiates and sounds that had captured them.

The ritual did not restore his brothers, at least not completely, but now they could fly again, and taking Preliazk's ship, set to rejoin any Thousand son warband they could find.

That any good?

[Kol Saresk]

It looks decent to me. The only thing I could think of adding is why Ra-Horakhty wasn't affected by the Rubric. I mean, it becomes obvious that he had some sort of psychic ability since he was able to organize the ritual, but there are individuals who will point it out in an extremely brutal manner. Also, elaborate a bit more on who Lord Preliazk is/was and what the relationship between the two factions was. Basically, just flesh it out.

[Rune Priest Ridcully]

Ra-Horakthy was a Sargent-Sorcerer before the Heresy, being a lesser member of the Pavoni, using his powers to boost his and his squads abilities whilst draining those of his opponents and descending upon them with lightning.

Lord Preliazk was a lord of the Emperor's children who led the "Sons Mirth" warband, and hired Ra-Horakthy's services to act as a navigator for his ship and to proved psychic support for the warband.

After the conquest of Willothis, he kept Ra-Horakthy on as court magician style figure, and also ordered him to catalog the Henges and barrows of the northen pole for their suitably in summoning rituals and the possibility of an ascension ritual for himself.

[Lord_Caerolion]

This thread reminds me of Greyall's Raptor artworks. To me, Raptor is a catch-all term for Legionnaires who mostly used to be Assault Marines. Many of them form Cults, like the Bleeding Eyes, which owe loyalty to no Legion, and operate as mercenaries, but this isn't exclusively the case. There are guaranteed to be Raptors who still have strong allegiance to their warbands, rather than to a Cult.

[Pariah Mk.231]

This thread reminds me of Greyall's Raptor artworks. To me, Raptor is a catch-all term for Legionnaires who mostly used to be Assault Marines. Many of them form Cults, like the Bleeding Eyes, which owe loyalty to no Legion, and operate as mercenaries, but this isn't exclusively the case. There are guaranteed to be Raptors who still have strong allegiance to their warbands, rather than to a Cult.

 

For my Raptors, their warband IS their cult. They consider themselves to be the pinnacle of the art of siege warfare and strive to prove their dominance over their Iron Warrior brethren by breaking fortifications and taking enemy strongpoints while the rest of the warband is playing it safe with their trenches and big guns. The object of their worship is the warband's leader, Warsmith Hephaestus, a worship that the Warsmith plays on by almost exlusively teleporting himself and his terminators directly to the Raptor's icons (I run 2 units). This in turn fuels Hephaestus' ambitions of daemonhood and considerably buffs his ego, in turn giving the Raptors a figure who carries himself in a suitably god-like manner to focus on.