Differences of the Successors - Update Project - AoR

[Grand Master Belial]

I originally wrote this at the end of 2007 after the previous codex came out and the Frater of that time wanted more information about their beloved successors. As one who liked to write science fiction for fun, I took to the boards with my own interpretation of each of the Successors and allowed the community to shape them into what became the original article that has since been added to the Librarium. Now it is 2013, little more than five years has passed and a new Codex has come out. With it, the canon for the Successors have intentionally been kept to a minimum to let us the gamers add the missing details with our creative imaginations. Now all of us here have our area of the hobby we enjoy more than the others, be it gaming, painting, converting or writing narratives. For those that enjoy other aspects of the hobby besides creative writing and would like to know more about the Successors, I present this UNOFFICIAL background to you for your use. Take from it what you like, discard what you don't. Use this as a framework to add more depth to your Successor and enjoy!

 

THE ANGELS OF REDEMPTION

 

If a person thought the piety and zeal of the Dark Angels were beyond reproach, and then they have not encountered the Angels of Redemption.

The brothers of the Angels of Redemption are not above any known method of purification in existence in the Imperium. While also fervent users of the Pain and Nerve Gloves, the brothers also participate in ritual scarring, flogging, or tattoos. Members of the Angels of Redemption seem to show off tokens of shame more than laurels of valor. Even the parchment attached to their purity seals seems to convey shame and their desire to purify their souls.

On the battlefield, they fight with an eerie calm around them. Believing that they have a heightened tolerance to pain, this trait was recognized as a key factor to the success of the Angels of Redemption boarding a Blackstone fortress controlled by the Despoiler when a few severely wounded marines were able to survive long enough to rig the station to explode. Their calm demeanor and high tolerance to pain also allowed the Angels of Redemption be very adept in boarding and breaching actions. Actions that would typically chew through hundreds of guardsmen would be taken with relative ease by the Angels of Redemption as they continue to push through the breach to make room for their brothers to come behind them before finally succumbing to their grievous wounds.

Only when fighting the forces of Chaos has the Angels of Redemption shown anything resembling fervor or a sounding a battle cry. The First Company especially seems to come to life when arrayed against the forces of Chaos, though there are rare reports of them coming into their own when fighting against another Xenos - typically one that has had repeated contact with the Imperium.
HOME WORLD

Most of the chapter resides on a number of battle barges that continuously travel the galaxy in search of the Fallen. However, they have adopted a barren world, Purgum, in the Segmentum Pacificus that provides the Angels of Redemption a place to routinely train their brothers and any new recruits to the chapter.

Whenever a marine is inducted into the First Company, they take part in a ritual journey on the surface of the planet. The inductee, reduced to the conditions not unlike that experienced by the Lion, is led by numerous Chaplains and Librarians along the journey that can last as little as two-months to as long as a full Terran year. Those that complete the journey are never the same and of what happens during the journey none speaks.

COMBAT DOCTRINE

The Angels of Redemption have become masters of breaking sieges as a result of their heightened tolerance to pain. Like all Unforgiven chapters, they are master tacticians and capable of fighting on any battlefield. However, their success rate of breaking sieges cannot be ignored.
Imperial commanders are more willing to let the Angels of Redemption take part in a campaign involving a siege given their checkered past. To the commanders, breaking a siege is a short enough time that they can expect the Angels of Redemption to remain and finish the task before they mysteriously decide to depart from the system.

The Angels of Redemption have taken to expecting this treatment and harbor no ill-will to their human counterparts. In response the Angels of Redemption have taken to refining the techniques of breaking sieges often using their second company as forward observers for their artillery barrages. The Angels of Redemption have even taken to having a larger number of Whirlwinds and Vindicators.

ORGANIZATION

The Angels of Redemption follow a standard DA Organization. The First Company is referred to as the “Redeemers.”

BELIEFS

For the Angels of Redemption, the very existence of the Fallen is their ultimate shame. To that end, the only way they can truly find purity is to voraciously purge this shame one Fallen at a time. They undertake the Hunt with such zeal that it has cost millions of Imperial lives as the Angels of Redemption has routinely dropped out of a campaign to follow a lead on the Fallen. This has not gone unnoticed for many a commander has repeatedly turned down the Angels of Redemption’s offers of assistance. It has also been noticed by the Inquisition who is very closely monitoring the activities of the Angels of Redemption for any heresy or taint.

The armor of the Angels of Redemption is that of a split scheme. It is taught to the young initiates that one side is painted an off-white color to represent their quest for purity (white is reserved only for the Emperor and the Lion), but it is counterbalanced with the vulnerability to fall to the lure of Chaos denoted by a deep dark green representing the forests of Caliban that once teemed with creatures warped by Chaos. Only by their actions and the manner of their death will they know if they have truly have achieved Redemption. Only the greatest heroes of the Chapter are seen depicted wearing the single color armor. The robes worn by the Angels of Redemption are typically of a dusty brown often thought to mimic the color of the ground on their training world.

BATTLECRY

"Through Pain our Weaknesses shall be Purged!"


Time to update this venerable old document to take into account some changes from the new Codex. But I will let the Frater to suggest any modifications or additions. I left the photos out for the moment so I could see some painted models.

[Phoebus]

I appreciate the need to differentiate one Successor from another... or any Successor from the Dark Angels.

 

That have been said, I think there's a big difference between saying the Angels of Redemption routinely deserting their allies for their own reasons and doing so on occasion (the Codex's specific wording).

[Grand Master Belial]

Hence the need to update. Thank you Brother for pointing this out.

[Grand Master Belial]

Adding a Legal to reduce confusion.

 

I originally wrote this at the end of 2007 after the previous codex came out and the Frater of that time wanted more information about their beloved successors. As one who liked to write science fiction for fun, I took to the boards with my own interpretation of each of the Successors and allowed the community to shape them into what became the original article that has since been added to the Librarium. Now it is 2013, little more than five years has passed and a new Codex has come out. With it, the canon for the Successors have intentionally been kept to a minimum to let us the gamers add the missing details with our creative imaginations. Now all of us here have our area of the hobby we enjoy more than the others, be it gaming, painting, converting or writing narratives. For those that enjoy other aspects of the hobby besides creative writing and would like to know more about the Successors, I present this UNOFFICIAL background to you for your use. Take from it what you like, discard what you don't. Use this as a framework to add more depth to your Successor and enjoy!