Alternate Heresy Community Project

[Wade Garrett]

Instead of the Grim Reaper with rabies, I liked the idea that...I think it was 1000heathens? tossed out, about Daemon Melek being flame and magma barely contained in armor, something like the Balrog in the Lord of the Rings movies.

 

To that end, I'd honestly vote for giving him and his Legion tridents/military forks, which they use to impale their enemies and hurl them into the flames that burn in their wake.

 

If I recall correctly, justice and redemption were big themes with the Burned Man and his Legion, who crusaded to punish the crimes of tyrants and xenos raiders.

 

After having his ears filled with stories of Jonson's oppression of the Palatinate, Melek plunges into the fight alongside Lupercal, but soon finds that the rabble rousing anarchy and guerilla tactics of the Astral Wolves are just as distasteful as the First Legion's tyranny.

 

And so he starts to listen to that voice...the one that tells him everything is corrupt. Everything is wicked. Everything should burn.

[Wade Garrett]

Before this thread gets closed for being too long, I'd like to talk about what I see as the big differences between this alternate Imperium and the canon one:

 

A lack of unity.

 

Instead of a single Ecclesiarchy, we have three major religions, the Catheric Church, the Lectio Divinatus, and the Enumerations. (Four if you count the Steel Gospel faction of the Ad Mech and their "Have you thought about submerging your individuality into our gesalt noosphere today?" approach).

 

Instead of the Administratum, multiple Great Houses, all with their own agendas.

 

The Imperial Army and the Agentes En Rebus are more organized than the canon Guard/Navy and the Inquisition, but their reaources are smaller.

 

The eldar are likewise sundered, with Eldrad fanning the flames of galatic catastrophe, Iyanden preying on their kin to build armies of the dead, and (insert other Craftworlds) doing (insert other things).

 

If the Silent King was lost fighting Angron and Jonson, the Necrons will likewise suffer from a lack of centralized coordination.

 

Meanwhile, the Orkz (and Chaos?) are more unified than in the normal grim darkness of the far future.

 

Huh. The Dornian and Guilliman Heresy Imperiums seemed to be doing better than canon.

 

Now that I've typed all that out, it seems to me that the Imperium of Corax's Coup is doing worse.

[Conn Eremon]

That is acceptable to me. Having the Imperium be worse off.

 

A few other changes from canon:

 

Astartes are more organized and empowered than in canon, with our Codex-equivalent being less a true plan to limit power and more a subtle exercise of creating power.

 

What with the Silent King's appearance being so early, it seems fitting that we have the Necrons themselves awaken early. To prevent the event from being a stand-alone with no context for thousands of years.

 

Though it would perhaps make sense for the Tyranids to arrive early as well, I think it would be better to let them keep their normal timeframe.

[Rune Priest Ridcully]

I don't know, the imperium still has the more radical/experimental ad mech this time round, so it could be things like Apocalypse class battleships and other bits of tech that are diserpearing in cannon are fine in this one.

[Wade Garrett]

A radical Ad Mech that turned itself into Borg-Lite and was planning to feed the souls of all its members to the Void Dragon up until the very end of the Scouring.

 

The Imperial Army and AER Operatives may have nicer toys than the Guard and the Inquisition, but the systems of logistics and command that support them are much less resilient, thanks to being the product of a power grabbing Jonson and a still naively idealistic Angron undercutting one another instead of a single Primarch concerned only with seeing the Imperium strengthened.

[Adra'Melek]

Ash'akon was the first. The first to join Adra'Melek on his crusade to free Nocturne. Saved as he awaited death at the hands of Eldar. Saved because instead of fleeing and hiding like the others sentenced to death, he stood a fought with his father's hammer. He still remembers the tremble of the ground and turning to see the lumbering giant hurtling towards him, wielding a discarded scythe in one hand. The next few moments were blur of blood and violence as the stranger tore the alien invaders to pieces. Ash'akon followed Melek into the wilds of Nocturne as was reborn, cast aside was his past life. He was first of the Damned Warriors of Nocturne, the volcanic ash daubed warriors who defended the civilisation they had failed in their first life.

 

Ash'akon?

 

Ash'akon conscious being swam to the surface, his remote senses ramping up as he became aware of the world around. His Assault Claws clenched as his vox projector rumbled "We fight?". Melek's rasping voice replied "Always my friend, always"

[Noctus Cornix]

I have returned.

[Conn Eremon]

Interesting. Glad to see you make that decision.

 

It will be good to have your input again.

[Ace Debonair]

Welcome back, Noctus.

On the note of the Imperium doing worse, I'm totally OK with that.

We don't have Guiliman's sweeping reforms and careful planning after the heresy, and the Emperor is down and out from earlier on, giving him less time to put any contingency plans into place.

Did we ever decide if there was going to be equivalents to the Black Crusades? Or is that something to think about later?

[Conn Eremon]

It was determined that there would be a Chainsworn Warmaster along the same vein as Abaddon, but no progress has been made on that front.

 

We have been calling the return of the traitors, where Lorgar dies, the First Black Crusade, but more as a placeholder name to show what the event is meant to parallel.

[Ace Debonair]

Right. I thought there was something, but I couldn't find any details.

My search-fu is getting worse.

[Noctus Cornix]

It was determined that there would be a Chainsworn Warmaster along the same vein as Abaddon, but no progress has been made on that front.

 

I'll get to work on that.

[Aqui]

Hello!

I'll be getting to grips with everything Cormac has pointed my attention to over the next day or so (eight days off and this is a perfect way to get over the last two months of work.)

I'm looking forward to this

[Conn Eremon]

To provide some context, the roster of authors is getting shifted around as some of our more absent brothers are no longer part of the project.

 

It was decided that Aquilanus will be provided the opportunity to include his Olympian Alpharius and Omegon. There will be further changes coming when we finalize what we are going to do, and I have the time to set it up.

 

Aquilanus, welcome!

[Adra'Melek]

Welcome back Aquilanus (and Noctus)

[Nomus Sardauk]

Perhaps we should do like a role call or something to see which author's are still active?

[Conn Eremon]

One already has been made, through messages to make sure I reached everyone.

 

Our current roster is new guy Aquilanus, returned absentee noctus cornix, and our regulars Ace Debonair, Wade Garrett, Rune Priest Ridcully, Thunor's_Hammer, and myself. The rest have expressed desire to no longer be a part of the project, either through disinterest or an inability to dedicate the time and effort they would want to.

[Conn Eremon]

Just to be clear, I am not placing a moratorium on this thread while I am working gathering stuff. It might delay me a bit, but I am not exactly in any rush to meet a deadline as it is. Once done, I will approach a mod to get this thread closed and open another up that will have a post or two in the beginning summing this thread up.

 

In the meantime, feel free to continue as we have been. The more there is here, the more will information will be available more readily in the new thread. That, and if everyone holds off on anything, the new thread will get just as jumbled right off the bat as everyone posts their backlog.

[Nomus Sardauk]

One already has been made, through messages to make sure I reached everyone.

 

Our current roster is new guy Aquilanus, returned absentee noctus cornix, and our regulars Ace Debonair, Wade Garrett, Rune Priest Ridcully, Thunor's_Hammer, and myself. The rest have expressed desire to no longer be a part of the project, either through disinterest or an inability to dedicate the time and effort they would want to.

 

So who has dropped out and if they have left the project does that mean the Legions they wrote up are null and void or are they still being used?

[Conn Eremon]

Previously Gree, and presently 1000heathens, Brother Heinrich and no, I'm alpharius.

 

A full disclosure on that will be made when I get things in order and start getting under way what we have planned next.

[Conn Eremon]

Explanation:

 

The warship Courage Above All bore two precious things as it traveled to its rendezvous with Angron at the Scholam World.

 

The first was the Lion Shield, crafted to replace the buckler Angron lost in his duel with Lassertine Bron at the beginning of the Blood Game, and the second was a collection of children from all over Ultramar, honored to be selected to study at the academies of Armatura.

 

It was the second that drove Eighth Captain Khârn to desperation when the Scar's fleet ambushed them. He knew what they sought.

 

Lassertine Bron had unveiled a truly vile tactic on Calth, unleashing a host of children his Legion had taken during their raids on Angron's worlds and subjected to vile mind sorceries until they were little more than feral war beasts, charging the Lions and Imperial Army with crude spears and clubs.

 

Khârn would not have these children meet that fate, and so as the Scars capture teams wormed their way through the ship he ordered his men to draw their weapons and kill every child onboard.

 

Some saw this as madness and tried to restrain their Pride Leader, only to be struck down as Khârn was engulfed in rage at the actions he was forced to take.

 

It is said that when Angron's vanguard finally found the battered hulk of the

Courage, Khârn was the only living thing onboard, surrounded by the corpses of Scars, Lions...and children.

 

For his actions, Angron cast him out of the Legion, stripping him of his armor, his rank, and even his name. The Lord of Maccrage struck the lion sigil from the shield and hurled it at the disgraced Marine, telling him to go find an honorable death far from his Primarch's sight.

Just now noticed this beauty from a month ago. Must have missed it while typing out one of my responses to a previous post.

 

Definitely awesome.

[Ace Debonair]

Bron's next move after that?

Send a squad to find Khârn and recruit him to the White Scars.

I mean, it almost certainly won't work, but if Bron doesn't at least try to convince Khârn to take up arms against the Primarch who couldn't appreciate his wisdom and forethought, then we're doing it wrong.

"...It's not about what we want, Khârn, it's about you, and what Angron did to you. What kind of Primarch casts out a warrior who will go to any length in service of him? What we want, and Primarch Bron wants, is exactly what you want, deep down. Revenge. And Angron's death. Join us, and we can give both of those things to you..."

[Wade Garrett]

"Lord Bron...he's never really understood my father." The exiled captain said, staring thoughtfully at the warriors ringing him, their Mark V armor gleaming the white for talking.

 

Khârn's own war plate was a hodge podge, cobbled together from the dead of enemy and ally alike, a mish-mash of marks and colors hammered together into crude functionality.

 

"Angron...he's like all of us, Primarchs and Astartes. He likes talking, writing, building...but killing's what he loves. And he knows it. He knows he's got that in him.

 

He keeps the Legion on a chain, makes the old War Hounds especially wear a heavy yoke, but the thickest chain, the heaviest yoke is the one he wears himself. Now, me..."

 

Khârn's fist slammed into the unhelmed Scar's face mid-sentence, and he felt

reinforced bone shatter under the blow even as his other hand was clawing for the bolter at the mag locked to the stricken Legionary's thigh.

 

In spite of the swiftness of his attack, bolt rounds were already impacting on the Martian relic secured to his back, a testament

that whoever had picked the members of this embassy, Lassertine himself perhaps, hadn't simply drawn names at random.

 

Well and good. Maybe, just maybe they'd have it in them to fulfill Angron's last command to him. And if not...well, hopefully the Subjugator hadn't sent the best he had to deal with one disgraced Celestial Lion.

 

Maybe the next bunch, the ones who'd come wearing black or red, could do better.

[Ace Debonair]

When news reached Lasartine Bron that the squad tasked with Khârn's retrieval had perished, the Worldburner laughed aloud.

 

"Of course. Nothing is simple where Angron's ilk are concerned. But if Khârn won't stand with me, he will burn like the rest." The Primarch paused. "Have my sorcerers conjure up a daemon or two worthy of the task, just to keep Khârn on his toes. Make sure they use the corpses of the prisoners we took from Calth in their ritual." Lasartine turned his attention to another data-slate. "I'm sure the results will continue to amuse me."

[Ace Debonair]

My computer just crashed, mid post. 

Bit of a shame because I'd written a lot of stuff.

 

Oh well, I'll sum up.

 

I've come to suspect that Lupercal would have mad respect for Angron and Anubis. The former because he leaves the worlds he conquers more or less as they are when possible, and the latter because Anubis spend more time revitalizing worlds than laying down laws.

 

So Lupercal only really stays on the Red Team because Corax is the undisputed master of cunning and gets the Liberator's attention on Jonson's pocket empire before Angron or Anubis can sway him to change sides.

 

Also, Corax most definitely has plans for disposing of Lupercal once Jonson goes down, but Adra'Melek takes matters into his own hands and renders those plans moot. Corax's response to Lupercal's death is therefore 'he was going to betray me sooner or later', a shrug, and a heartfelt thanks to Melek for giving Jonson's Legion hell.

 

I'm planning on expanding Lupercal's history a bit more, but currently my plan is 'have him work/ get into a fight with one or both of the Twins before the heresy' depending what Aquilanus does with them.