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At last some fluff on the Chaos Marine style backpack!


seaglen

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I've always wanted a fluffy reason for the chaos marine backpacks, and look what turns up in the Betrayal book!

 

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/7181/32717465.jpg

 

the accompanying text says that it is a prototype "anvilus" pattern backpack. It has enhanced stabilising thrust vents to help with void based operations, but has poorer rad shielding than normal packs. So! the vents are used as thrust units in space...

As a young-un people always debated if the marine backpacks were "jetpacks".... not too far off the truth at least!

 

hope this pleases a few people!

I've always wanted a fluffy reason for the chaos marine backpacks, and look what turns up in the Betrayal book!

 

 

hope this pleases a few people!

I was in that boat. Good to know some of the loose ends are getting tied. Poor rad shielding = more mutations over time maybe?

There's an old picture of beakie armour that shows the internal bits of it. The "vents" are stabilizer jets on that. I suppose that is why they're round at the base, so they can turn. I assume on regular backpacks it gives extra thrust when a marine is jumping and helps a marine to land exactly where they want to or to change direction in mid-leap.

 

The actual vents are the two pairs of square things at the bottom of the pack. One pair is intake and the other exhaust. Don't know what the big vent you see in the middle of some packs is, maybe it's part of the cooling system.

The way I see it is that the two ball vents are the thrusters, the 4 square vents are intake/exhaust, and the central fan cooling or some sort of system. does this mean that the sandard round vents on loyalist contempary marnes are also thrusters? I had always like the idea that they were just big vents for the nuc-powered pack.
Well rad sheilding would be important in space for the actual armour that protects the body not a nuclear powered backpack. Also if the backpacks help with void combat that big vent in the center is for propulsion

 

Fair point.

The way I see it is that the two ball vents are the thrusters, the 4 square vents are intake/exhaust, and the central fan cooling or some sort of system. does this mean that the sandard round vents on loyalist contempary marnes are also thrusters? I had always like the idea that they were just big vents for the nuc-powered pack.

Apparently back in the original RT days they were - see here.

 

Over time they seemed to just be considered exhaust vents though by most. But could it be that they always served both functions? A think a little push goes a long way where there is no gravity, they don't really need to give must thrust to help stabilize the marine so he isn't spinning out of control. Could fans push the exhaust out as necessary?

 

These look very fan like to me. Perhaps in newer marks they simply put a grill over the fan?

 

 

Did the article state that the traitor Legions had exclusive access to the packs?

It's noted that the Traitors did receive much of the newer/better equipment by design - these packs could fall under that umbrella, limiting how many the loyalist ever saw.

 

----------------------

 

I can venture a guess that by "poorer rad shielding" they mean the actual radiation the unit itself contains. Perhaps the "arms" of the Anvilus pattern pack let more escape. That gives you one reason Loyalist may have never adopted the design after the Heresy, thinking it wasn't worth the risk. Another simple reason could be that the Forgeworld they were developed and produced on was simply lost to the Imperium and the designs were never copied. Perhaps a combination of both.

The way I see it is that the two ball vents are the thrusters, the 4 square vents are intake/exhaust, and the central fan cooling or some sort of system. does this mean that the sandard round vents on loyalist contempary marnes are also thrusters? I had always like the idea that they were just big vents for the nuc-powered pack.

Apparently back in the original RT days they were.

 

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/image...compositiom.JPG

 

Over time they seemed to just be considered exhaust vents though. But could it be that they serve both functions? A think a little push goes a long way where there is no gravity, they don't really need to give must thrust to help stabilize the marine so he isn't spinning out of control. Could fans push the exhaust out as necessary?

 

These look very fan like to me - http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/File:MkIII...pg#.UJQ8J0LAKS0

 

 

Did the article state that the traitor Legions had exclusive access to the packs?

It's noted that the Traitors did receive much of the newer/better equipment by design - these packs could fall under that umbrella, limiting how many the loyalist ever saw.

So Space Marines are solar powered?

 

I find this explanation a bit underwhelming, but then again, the subject itself is difficult to explain and relatively insignificant.

Haha. Well apparently they were when they were first conceived according to the diagram. I think it's been changed since then. Nuclear power plants. How there isn't some nuclear explosion every time one gets shot in the back, I don't know. At least solar power wouldn't have that problem. ;)

 

I'll admit, I don't know much about nuclear whatevers. Perhaps power plants react different then a weaponised warhead

I'll admit, I don't know much about nuclear whatevers. Perhaps power plants react different then a weaponised warhead

 

Neither do I, but Chernobyl went boom right? I'm gonna handle those bits of plastic with a little more care from now on, just in case...

It's noted that the Traitors did receive much of the newer/better equipment by design - these packs could fall under that umbrella, limiting how many the loyalist ever saw.

 

If memory serves the example is the only one in the book and he's wearing MkIII armour so I wouldn't really use that explanation. The answer is presumably in the name: During the Great Crusade the Land Raider was used by all branches of the Imperial military, however the vast majority of Land Raiders came from one specific Forge World which fell to the traitors early in the Heresy thereby forcing the Emperor to restrict their use to the Astartes. The Forge World? Anvilus 9.

Finally a concrete explanation! I find nuclear powered backpacks to be more realistic than solar power. Nuclear power would probably produce more power and allow long term fighting underground and on planets without the brightest/strongest of suns. As for an explosion, I doubt a simple puncture would cause an explosion, provided it doesn't cause the nuclear material to form a super critical mass. This is why I'm glad ForgeWorld is having a go at the Horus Heresy, they always get down into the nitty-gritty parts of the universe that often gets missed.
The Forge World? Anvilus 9.

 

Aha! yep that makes sense!

 

So by the looks of it, the traitors took with them the majority of Land Raiders and these prototype packs when they fled into the eye...

 

on another note, regarding being shot in the back, would that lead to a huge amount of radiation leaking problems? I can imagine the battlefield any astartes died on would be quite inhospitable after the fight...

The Forge World? Anvilus 9.

 

Aha! yep that makes sense!

 

So by the looks of it, the traitors took with them the majority of Land Raiders and these prototype packs when they fled into the eye...

 

on another note, regarding being shot in the back, would that lead to a huge amount of radiation leaking problems? I can imagine the battlefield any astartes died on would be quite inhospitable after the fight...

Certainly possible, but in 40k, some carcinogens are the least of your worries. And chaos space marines themselves certainly don't care about rad leaks. What is a bit more radiation when you spend your existence basting in raw mutating energy?

I preferred this version...

 

-"I am Horus lord of Chaos and I want you all to extend the upper vents on your back packs in some way or another so they stick out past your shoulders"

-"but won't that make it difficult to get though doors - you know if we're on a ship or space hulk or something?

-"You dare to defy the Lord of Chaos?!"

-"no but, I'm just saying it will make it difficult to get through doors ... er ... my Lord"

-"HAVE THAT MARINE EXECUTED!!"

 

(this from the-lost-and-the-damned)

I thought they needed the increased venting for the power cells because they were stacked or something I think it was mentioned on lexicanum or in the last edition codex. Stacked cells meaning more power but more danger.

As for the explosion, they wouldn't explode unless the power plant had more fissionable material forced in to it, though a stacked cell may cause a nice little light show of punctured and may appear as a fireball as the air ignites and burns for a bit.

 

But that's just a guess depending on how much power is going and if they can overcharge there armour by bypassing safety protocols, would be handy if there isn t much time to replace drained nuke fuel rods or whatever they use.

It was noted that the MKIII amour had power issues, mainly due to it being a suit of MKII with a MKII powerpack and a load of slabs of extra Armour bolted to the front surfaces. It would make sence to experiment with a Better power pack... any how i had some broken resin Back Packs in a set of FW MKIII, i couldnt be bothered to drill and pin them so i stuck on some Chaos Marine Back packs from my Bits box and now that the Fluff supports it, they look quite cool
If I remember correctly, in some extremely old White Dwarf they said that MK6 and later just developed better cooling of power station, so they don't need those big vents any more... Quite interesting to watch changing of all that fluff with time.

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