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Index Traitoris: Absinthian Reavers


Dosjetka

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Ideas:

  • Sons of Harlek: Loyalist ?th Founding Chapter
  • Hear word of a local Forge World falling to Chaos worship (Dark Mechanicus plot). Decide to take the matter into their own hands before things spiral too far out of control.
  • A full half of the Chapter is deployed, along Imperial Guard regiments and a small group of Battle Sisters. Other half of the Chapter called back from various missions to assist in the invasion of the Forge World.
  • Planetfall causes many casualties, but the Imperial forces push ever forward, forcing the corrupt AdMech to retreat further and further into their lair.
  • Corrupt AdMech see their situation as hopeless and so start to invoke the aid of their patron gods through a Warp Portal.
  • 1st Company and Storm Troopers burst into the inner sanctum where the Warp Portal is and kill the corrupted psykers and Tech Priests there. This causes the collapse of the Warp Portal but also causes a massive explosion that completely obliterates an area of enourmous proportions, thus wiping out a large part of the Forge, the entire 1st and 5th Companies along with countless Imperial soldiers.
  • After the battle, AdMech and Inquisition force arrive and the AdMech Magos sees the devastation wrought to one of their sacred worlds. The AdMech is furious at the loss of their Forge World and looks for culprits. Accuses the Sons of Harlek of treachery against the Omnissisah and of the use of brutal force when none was needed. The remaining Chapter officers keep their calm all along, despite the growing tension. However the Magos loses patience after many weeks of arguing and decides to attack. The Inquisitor, bribed by the Magos, joins the AdMech side. While they manage to take the Sons by surprise, their superior numbers and strength prevails, and they kill the whole AdMech force and the Inquisitor along with his retinue.
  • The Sisters have already left, as has a large part of the Guard force, but the remaining soldiers are all killed, in case they ever talk about what they have just seen. A small bunch of survivors manage to hide away in the bowels of the Forge World. Sons depart with the remaining plundered fleet assets and start rebuilding their Chapter, believing that their only "crime" was the execution of the innocent Guardsmen.
  • Years later, a group of Dark Mechanicus Tech Priests visit the ruined planet and discover a pack of insane men and women, hidden away in the darkness beneath the old Mechanicus complex. All are killed, but not before some are tortured to get whatever information out of them. They also discover their lair, with walls covered in writing relating the events of the battle. The Dark Mech, intent on getting their revenge on the Sons for destroying their base of operations, plan to send the collected information via spies posted among the Sector authorities so that the crime of the Sons is uncovered and dealt with in proper Imperial fashion: Excommunication.
  • Inquisition leads investigation into the killing and find the Chapter guilty after many years of thorough investigation. Chapter declared Excommunicate Tratoris, Inquisitorial fleet sent with two Space Marine Chapters to destroy the Chapter and take their home world. Chapter fights back, but it is still understrength, and so breaks the through the Imperial fleet and flees into the Warp. They are hounded all along, but manage to hide among the dying celestial bodies of the Solios Nebula.

As always, comments and criticism are very welcome. I shall add some more to this as soon as I get permission from SCL to use his Iron Lords and Solios Nebula :mellow:

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

Sounds like a great start. I wasn't sure what to make of the Sons' short tempered murder of AdMech personell, but the escalation followed nicely from there. Is the Dark AdMech's revenge complete, or will there be more from them, perhaps returning to manipulate the now 'bitter' Sons. I don't think that's a problem name at all, or something like it. Looking forward to seeing more.

Thanks Messor, I'm glad you like the idea.

 

For the short temper, I guess I didn't word it well enough, but there was meant to be some quite tense discussions that lasted for several weeks before the Sons lose it and kill the AdMech representatives.

 

As for the name, I'm not keen on it, but it was the first thing that poped up in my mind, so I left it like that. If you have any suggestions, then I'd be glad to see them :)

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

No worries, my reference to the AdMech slaughter was more because it surprised me, though it could be elaborated, and I think (or feel) that to turn violent against the AdMech, the tech priests should be inciting wrath with threats of their own, whether of war or Inquisitorial investigation. Then again, I'm new delving into the SM/Imperium world, and maybe Astartes-AdMech relations are really just that bad. As for names, in the vein of bitter, I thought the Bitter Legion, or Bitter Sons had nice rings, but if its the word that bothers you I think that any name playing off the Chapter/Legion's perceived betrayal at the hands of the Imperium would be good. Things like Forsaken, or Abandoned (Though that last one errs a bit on the melodramatic side).
No worries, my reference to the AdMech slaughter was more because it surprised me, though it could be elaborated, and I think (or feel) that to turn violent against the AdMech, the tech priests should be inciting wrath with threats of their own, whether of war or Inquisitorial investigation. Then again, I'm new delving into the SM/Imperium world, and maybe Astartes-AdMech relations are really just that bad.

You are actually completely right and what you said is indeed logical. I just didn't write it down as it is a tendancy of mine to not write down enough :)

 

I will however update my first post soon with (hopefully) more detail to make it more understandable.

 

Messor & Jacobius: Cheers for the suggestions. As pointed out, I don't like the sound of "bitter" in a name (or "forsaken"). But "absinthal" and "absinthian" sounds quite good. I'll play around with various things before I decide for a defintive name (and it's not the most important thing either in an IA, so I can leave it for later) :)

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

I dig the new name direction, sir. Carry on.

Thanks again Messor :)

 

So, I got a reply from SCL giving me the green light to let me use the Solios Nebula and his Iron Lords in my IT, for which I am very grateful! I've established that the remaining Absinthian Reavers number around 80 Astartes post-Excommunicate Traitoris (with a Strike Cruiser and a handful of Thunderhawks as naval assets) and right now, we're discussing what form of payment the Iron Lords would accept to let the Reavers stay in the Nebula.

 

By the way, if you haven't read Strike Captain Lysimachus' Index Traitoris, then I recommend that you click here and read it. It easily the best IT out on the B&C :P

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

Figured I might as well post a reply here, hope that ok!

 

Yup, 80ish sounds about right, they're not enough to be a serious threat to Varn's lot, but also not so few that he can just absorb them without a messy fight. Same for naval assets, although the Iron Gods also only have one Strike Cruiser too, they also have their base as well as numerous light cruiser/escort type pirate ships whose Captains answer to Varn.

 

As far as payment goes, I'm not sure, there are lots of options. You're quite right that he'd definately expect something. The IG are (in the present) trying to build up their forces, the IT hinting at Varn's efforts to create more Marines. Maybe your Chapter remnants managed to get away with some of their Armoury? I could see some extra power armour suits being very useful?

 

Or they could offer their support militarily, working alongside the IG in their raids. Bear in mind that I'd imagine in that situation, Varn would be giving them all the dangerous jobs, ostensibly helping them but at the same time wearing them down so that he can swallow them up into the IG. Of course, at the same time Varn would be quietly trying to persuade the squad Sgts/individual Marines of the advantages of following him directly...

 

Alternatively, Varn might not demand anything immediately, they might just have to owe him a favour. A big one. Scary thought, yes?

 

 

Wow, this could actually be quite a lot of fun... :(

It's absolutely fine that you post here. It's probably better than and endless stream of PM's :)

 

Right, well yes, they probably tried to embark as much as they could into their Strike Cruiser before leaving, so I'm guessing that there would be at least twenty suits they could part with (secretly keeping twenty for themselves, just in case). They could probably donate some of their gene-seed, but if they would do that, I think it would be to get Astartes of their own. Could be very interesting, I think :D

 

They could also bring back slaves from raids on Imperial shipping lanes and worlds.

 

On a slightly different note, I don't know if you read through the ideas I posted in the first post, but I mentioned that the fall of the Sons was due to the DarkMech. Would Varn help them if they requested his aid (in exchange for something naturally) or wouldn't he want to get into such a fight?

 

Wow, this could actually be quite a lot of fun... B)

Yes it could ;)

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

Right, well yes, they probably tried to embark as much as they could into their Strike Cruiser before leaving, so I'm guessing that there would be at least twenty suits they could part with (secretly keeping twenty for themselves, just in case). They could probably donate some of their gene-seed, but if they would do that, I think it would be to get Astartes of their own. Could be very interesting, I think

 

They could also bring back slaves from raids on Imperial shipping lanes and worlds.

 

On a slightly different note, I don't know if you read through the ideas I posted in the first post, but I mentioned that the fall of the Sons was due to the DarkMech. Would Varn help them if they requested his aid (in exchange for something naturally) or wouldn't he want to get into such a fight?

 

Twenty-ish suits probably wouldn't sound like much to a normal Chapter but to poorly supplied renegades, would be a treasure. Sounds fairly reasonable to both sides. I'm guessing your guys would hate giving it up, but if they didn't have enough Marines to wear it anyway...

 

With regard to the DarkMech, I'm thinking that Varn probably wouldn't want to get too involved. The whole point for him is that the Solios Nebula is an unimportant place where he can bully the local planetary Governors and quietly build up his strength without attracting too much attention from any of the big players.

 

Come to think of it, until he's ready, I figure he'd probably insist that anyone operating out of the Nebula keep it low key/not bring the Imperium down on his head, or he'd very politely ask them to leave. Once. :P

Twenty-ish suits probably wouldn't sound like much to a normal Chapter but to poorly supplied renegades, would be a treasure. Sounds fairly reasonable to both sides. I'm guessing your guys would hate giving it up, but if they didn't have enough Marines to wear it anyway...

 

With regard to the DarkMech, I'm thinking that Varn probably wouldn't want to get too involved. The whole point for him is that the Solios Nebula is an unimportant place where he can bully the local planetary Governors and quietly build up his strength without attracting too much attention from any of the big players.

 

Come to think of it, until he's ready, I figure he'd probably insist that anyone operating out of the Nebula keep it low key/not bring the Imperium down on his head, or he'd very politely ask them to leave. Once. ;)

OK, twenty suits it is then. My warband is going to hate you for this :P

 

And I thought that Varn wold be more on the "sneaky-sneaky"/low-profile side of things, but I thought that I would ask anyhow.

 

So far so good :(

 

I think you have some very interesting ideas, Ludo, and I can't wait to see who you'll ties this into SCL's awsome IT:Iron Gods.

I always found the low-key traitors the most interesting, so I'll definetly be watching this!

Cheers Malthe! B) I'm glad you like it and I hope that I won't disappoint!

 

Ludovic

  • 1 month later...

Late to the party, but I have a suggestion. It seems off to me that the (now) Reavers would just obliterate everyone because they got a bit frustrated.

 

It would be better (to my mind) if the Inquisition/AdMech were the aggressors initially, since they were the first to be offended via the planet being partially destroyed. The Reavers retaliate with superior tactics/manpower, etc, and then destroy the Inq/AdMech. However, killing an Inquisitorial force, being very taboo, forced their hand to remove any witnesses via the remnants of Guard. So in their mind, the only true crime was killing the Guard (which they can attempt to blame on the AdMech), as they were only defending themselves from the AdMech.

 

So when found out, they can continue to profess their loyalty to the Emperor and their innocence of any heresey, but their crimes against the Inquisition cannot be overlooked.

Late to the party, but I have a suggestion. It seems off to me that the (now) Reavers would just obliterate everyone because they got a bit frustrated.

 

It would be better (to my mind) if the Inquisition/AdMech were the aggressors initially, since they were the first to be offended via the planet being partially destroyed. The Reavers retaliate with superior tactics/manpower, etc, and then destroy the Inq/AdMech. However, killing an Inquisitorial force, being very taboo, forced their hand to remove any witnesses via the remnants of Guard. So in their mind, the only true crime was killing the Guard (which they can attempt to blame on the AdMech), as they were only defending themselves from the AdMech.

 

So when found out, they can continue to profess their loyalty to the Emperor and their innocence of any heresey, but their crimes against the Inquisition cannot be overlooked.

Never late to the party, as creating an IA is an eternal thing. You never stop :P

 

Anyway, back to the twist you've kindly provided, I must say that I like it. Humans do seem to get irritated far quicker than Astartes. Much appreciated mate :tu:

 

And I'm glad that you like the colour scheme Messor :) As for the boltgun, I'll see what I'll do. And yes, hopefully I'll paint some Reavers up sometime soon!

 

Ludovic

Okay. Now that I've fully read your notes and SCL's Iron Gods, I'm ready to spew forth my thoughts and ideas.

 

First, I love the fact you guys (Ludovic and SCL) are working together on Ludovic's idea. I think two warbands working in concert can really create quite a ruckus once they both get closer to full-strength. Realistically, the AR's warlord would be ever cautious of Varn. Varn would naturally be planning/plotting to absorb the AR (which SCL's already mentioned). I like this a lot.

 

This dynamic, realistically, will either weaken both warbands, strengthen one warband, or if both warlords can actually wind up working together in the long run, actually strengthen both warbands. The enemy of my enemy kind of thing. I think it would be important, if the two are working together, to introduce a powerful foe to menace the Solios Nebula for the warbands to unite against. In opinion, if you guys went in this direction, you'd be able to rebuild, fortify and then possibly fight for the sector, or have the AR leave Solios to find a home of their own.

 

If the last thought is one that you're both comfortable working with, I think it would be really cool to see in either a series short stories or a massive joint narrative.

You've got some very cool ideas Nephilim and your feedback is much appreciated :) I'll mull over these ideas and see if I can get SCL to read them and see what he thinks about them.

 

In any case, this is going to be an interesting project :P

 

Ludovic

I've just realised something that I overlooked before: the Reavers don't know who turned them in, so they can't hold a grudge against the DMech (which is what I said they had). I'm not too sure what to do with the Dark Mechanicus now. Especially since they're very fractured and not really unified, as all Chaos-related groups tend to be, and so its not the whole DM that's "against" the Reavers but a small coven. And I wonder if it would be plausible if the DM would believe that their vengeance is complete?

 

And something that could really interesting would be creating an obsession of the warband's members about finding out what happened and how the Inquisition got all of that information about the massacre.

 

Thoughts/ideas/suggestions?

 

Ludovic

I've just realised something that I overlooked before: the Reavers don't know who turned them in, so they can't hold a grudge against the DMech (which is what I said they had). I'm not too sure what to do with the Dark Mechanicus now. Especially since they're very fractured and not really unified, as all Chaos-related groups tend to be, and so its not the whole DM that's "against" the Reavers but a small coven. And I wonder if it would be plausible if the DM would believe that their vengeance is complete?

 

And something that could really interesting would be creating an obsession of the warband's members about finding out what happened and how the Inquisition got all of that information about the massacre.

 

Thoughts/ideas/suggestions?

 

Ludovic

I imagine the DM to be as varied as Chaos warbands. I don't really see a far reaching hierarchy. Dark Magos A would be a specialist. Dark Magos B would specialize in something else and so on. Each powerful magi would have their own hierarchies with some respect/envy/rivalry between the various DM factions.

 

As far as the Reavers knowing who screwed them over, I kinda like the idea of the Reavers finding out for themselves. Perhaps a rival group of Dark Magi offer them a deal. You help us, we give you some info on the bastards who brought you to the brink of annihilation.

 

 

Just some thoughts.

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