Some basic background info requests...

[arctic]

Hello wolf lords, I'm just getting back into space wolves after a brief flirtation back in 5th edition and I'm drawn more than ever to the background, so I've got some (probably quite basic) questions:

 

How is vlka fenryka pronounced?

Why is space wolves armour blue in 40k whereas it was grey during the horus heresy?

How do space wolves get on with white scars (I like bikes but i'm not keen on swiftclaws, so I'm thinking of adding some allies)?

Presumably the line in the codex about fighting with feet on the ground refers to a dislike of teleporting rather than flying?

How are the great companies organised? Are they analogous to codex space marine companies?

 

Many thanks in advance!

[Vash113]

Hello wolf lords, I'm just getting back into space wolves after a brief flirtation back in 5th edition and I'm drawn more than ever to the background, so I've got some (probably quite basic) questions:

 

How is vlka fenryka pronounced?

 

Don't know, I just say Space Wolves and leave the Rout and Vylka Fenryka stuff to the Horus Heresy era.

 

Why is space wolves armour blue in 40k whereas it was grey during the horus heresy?

 

A number of Legions changed their markings and colorations to a greater or lesser extent following the Horus Heresy. There's no specific reason.

 

How do space wolves get on with white scars (I like bikes but i'm not keen on swiftclaws, so I'm thinking of adding some allies)?

 

Not very well, White Scars dislike being grouped together with the more "barbaric" Space Wolves. However there's nothing stopping you allying with Codex: Space Marines, taking a Captain on bike and Bike Squadrons as Troops and simply painting them as Space Wolves. Rules wise as long as you make the distinction clear the paint scheme is entirely up to you.

 

Presumably the line in the codex about fighting with feet on the ground refers to a dislike of teleporting rather than flying?

 

Overall the Space Wolves do not prefer to fight using Land Speeders, Jump Packs, Flyers or teleportation, that does not mean there are not those warriors who break from the traditional temperament of the chapter and prefer those methods of combat, that's why we have Lone Wolves and Skyclaws.

 

How are the great companies organised? Are they analogous to codex space marine companies?

 

There is no "standard" organization for a Space Wolf Great Company. The size and composition of each Great Company directly relates to the popularity and temperament of the Wolf Lord commanding it. Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company contains more Blood Claws than usual while Erik Morkai's includes many more Lone Wolves than most others. Ragnar and Logan Grimnar's Great Companies both number around 200 marines while other Great Companies may stand at the normal 100, possibly even less than that or anywhere in between. In short any given Great Company should have more Grey Hunters than Blood Claws, and a smaller number of Long Fangs and Wolf Guard.

 

EDIT:

 

There is a Great Company datasheet formation for Apocalypse which suggests a rough outline as follows:

 

1 Wolf Lord

1 Wolf Priest

1 Rune Priest

0-1 Iron Priest

1 Wolf Guard Battle Leader

1 Wolf Guard Pack

0-2 Thunderwolf Cavalry Packs

5+ Grey Hunter Packs

3+ Blood Claw Packs and/or Skyclaw Packs

2+ Long Fang Packs

1 Wolf Scout Pack

0-3 Lone Wolves

0-3 Swiftclaw Biker Packs

0-3 Fenresian Wolf Packs

3+ Dreadnoughts and/or Venerable Dreadnoughts

 

That doesn't mean your Great Company has to exactly conform to that outline, mine certainly doesn't.

 

EDIT 2: Oh and you may want to check this article out for an overview of Space Wolves fluff: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254833-space-wolves-a-comprehensive-history/?do=findComment&comment=3104658

[MaveriK]

Hello wolf lords, I'm just getting back into space wolves after a brief flirtation back in 5th edition and I'm drawn more than ever to the background, so I've got some (probably quite basic) questions:

 

How is vlka fenryka pronounced?

Why is space wolves armour blue in 40k whereas it was grey during the horus heresy?

How do space wolves get on with white scars (I like bikes but i'm not keen on swiftclaws, so I'm thinking of adding some allies)?

Presumably the line in the codex about fighting with feet on the ground refers to a dislike of teleporting rather than flying?

How are the great companies organised? Are they analogous to codex space marine companies?

 

Many thanks in advance!

1) Vlka Fenryka pronounced Vil-ka Fen-ri-ka.

2) blame the heavy metal team for White Dwarf back in the day...

3) check the allies sheet

4) we use flyers such as thunderhawk gunships and we have on dire occasions used teleport. We just dislike the idea of using teleporting but it hasn't stopped us from doing so in the past.

5) check/read up on the SW codex on how great companies are organized.

[Quixus]

4) we use flyers such as thunderhawk gunships and we have on dire occasions used teleport. We just dislike the idea of using teleporting but it hasn't stopped us from doing so in the past.

AFAIK teleportation however is prohibited by C:SW, or at least there are no units that can deep strike without a drop pod - not even terminators.

[MaveriK]

 

4) we use flyers such as thunderhawk gunships and we have on dire occasions used teleport. We just dislike the idea of using teleporting but it hasn't stopped us from doing so in the past.

AFAIK teleportation however is prohibited by C:SW, or at least there are no units that can deep strike without a drop pod - not even terminators.

Thanks but I was referring to the fluff not rules.

[arctic]

Thanks for the replies so far. I've read the codex (and allies matrix) but couldn't find the answers to the above questions and a forum search turns up so many responses it's difficult to trawl through them (I also tried searching "thunderwolf lord" so you can imagine). So many thanks and some ale to the experts!

[Valerian]

I'll start by addressing the color issue first:

In the fluff the Space Wolves' armor color has always been described as "Wolf Grey". It is the artists interpretation of what "Wolf Grey" is that has changed over time. I've gone all the way back into Rogue Trader era sources, and it's always been simply "Wolf Grey." I've got sources from multiple editions of the game that all say the same thing. Wolf Grey before the Heresy, Wolf Grey after the Heresy, Wolf Grey in the 41st Millenium, and Wolf Grey at the Wolf Time.

Back in 3rd Edition, there was an Index Astartes article in a White Dwarf (#258/259) that discussed the Space Wolves. There was a picture in that article that showed a "Pre-heresy" Space Wolf with the dark grey color, and a "current" Space Wolf with the standard blue-grey color scheme that you see in the Studio army (in the current codex, for example). So, although there has never been anything published before or since that talks about a change in color in the background material, this picture alone has been enough to drive many players into believing that there are official pre/post colors for the Wolves. Please note that this is significantly different than several other Chapters that expressly do have a deliverate color change addressed in their fluff, including the Dark Angels (went from Black to Dark Green) as well as most/all of the Traitor Legions.

Here is the picture in question:

The other aspect of this is that about the same time as the White Dwarf article and picture noted above, GW released the 13th Company models that tied in with the Eye of Terror campaign, and the 'Eavy Metal team that painted them used the "new" dark grey color scheme. One can assume that 'Eavy Metal team's work influenced the picture in the article, or vice versa. The implication (or inference by players) was that because 13th Company in the fluff had been chasing Magnus and the Thousand Sons through the Eye of Terror since Prospero, their dark grey color scheme must be indicative of an "official" pre-heresy color.

Here is what Jervis Johnson had to say about Space Wolves' colour schemes/markings back when the 3rd Edition codex was released:

From US White Dwarf 244 (May 2000):

Quote

Fortunately, one of the things we've tried to get away from with all of the new Codexes is'straight-jacketing' players by telling them how they must paint their models. Instead we'd rather provide guidelines, and then let players give full rein to their own imagination and creativity. Bearing this in mind, I decided to say that with the Space Wolves, the markings worn on the armor of a Space Marine were chosen by his Company's Wolf Lord. As a new Wolf Lord is elected to lead a company, one of the first things he will do is decide what markings his followers should bear on their armor. Thus markings could range from Space Wolves Grey armor with a Great Company badge on one of the shoulder pads, through to pretty much anything the player could come up with. Under this system, the markings shown in the previous Codex [2nd Edition] became those worn by the Space Wolves in Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company, rather than those worn by every Space Marine in the Chapter. The photographs accompanying this article will give you some idea of the markings we've chosen for our new Space Wolves army, and the hobby section in the Codex includes lots of other examples. However, the bottom line is that the new system lets you pick a set of markings which suits your own tastes and skill (which for me is Space Wolves Grey and a transfer, thank you very much!).

Will come back later with a little more on the other topics.

Valerian

[Valerian]

Regarding Chapter and Great Company organizations:

The Space Wolves are organised in a very different way from most other Space Marine Chapters. The Chapter dates from the First Founding and its structure owes more to the personality of Leman Russ than it does to the Codex Astartes. It also reflects the preferred fighting style and social organisation of the native Fenrisians.

There are a dozen Great Companies, all of whom owe allegiance to the Chapter's commander, the Great Wolf. Each company is led by a Wolf Lord and his circle of advisors. Each company has its own Lair within the Fang and its own allocation of starships and weapons. A Great Company takes as its totem and insignia one of the legendary wolves of Fenris tamed by Leman Russ in ancient times. One company is named after the Blackmane wolf, the Howler in the Night. Another company takes as its insignia the Thunderwolf who it is said still flees in terror from Russ around the world, the sound of its paws being the thunder, the glint of its teeth the lightning. Still another takes the two-headed wolf as its emblem, this being the symbol of both the monster that guards death's gate and the sign of Russ's two wolves, Freki and Geri.

Tales are told of a thirteenth Great Company that took as its sign the pelt of the Wulfen, the legendary spirit of evil whose curse can still turn Space Wolves into the monsters of that name. This was a bad choice for a banner; the Great Company vanished into the Eye of Terror during the Horus Heresy, and none know its fate. Since then the Space Wolves have traditionally considered the number thirteen unlucky.

In addition to the Great Companies there is the household of the Great Wolf himself, within whose walls dwell the Wolf Priests and the Chapter's dreadnoughts. The emblem of the Great Wolf s company is the wolf rampant, the wolf that stalks between stars - the emblem of Russ himself. The current Great Wolf, Logan Grimnar, is one of the Imperium's longest serving warriors. This cunning and fierce old man has led the Space Wolves for over five centuries.

Each Great Company is made up of various elements. The company is led by its Wolf Lord, who has a personal retinue of picked warriors, the Wolf Guard. It is from the Chapter's Wolf Lords that a new Great Wolf is selected on the passing of the old one. The majority of troops in the company are Grey Hunters, proven warriors of ability. Also present are packs of youthful and glory-hungry Blood Claws as well as the wiser, older Long Fangs.

Warriors of the Great Companies fight in squads known as packs. In battle Space Wolves risk their lives for their pack-brothers without a second's thought. This creates debts of honour and friendship that may take centuries to repay. Even after pack-brothers have moved on through promotion or being assigned to other duties, these bonds remain. Thus Great Companies are bound together by chains of honour and loyalty stronger than tempered steel.

It is easy to tell a Space Wolf s role in his company by his appearance, for age plays a great part in the the assignment of tasks. Space Wolves grow progressively more grey-haired as they become older: their fangs become longer and their skins become ever more tanned and leathery. The veterans, called Long Fangs, are the company's long range support troops. The mature warriors are Grey Hunters, who are used in a variety of roles. The least experienced troops are the Blood Claws, whose role is to act as assault troops.

The Wolf Lord is the company's finest leader, chosen by acclamation of the company from the ranks of the Wolf Guard. He is a man who has proven himself time and again in battle, who has performed many exceptional feats of heroism and who has also shown wisdom and cunning in battle. The warriors who follow him have total faith in his honour and courage.

During a campaign the structure of a Great Company is less formalised than many other Chapters' units. Forces are organised on a temporary basis with whatever troops seem necessary for the job assigned to the task. If any man has the specialised skill needed to do the job he will be listened to regardless of his rank. The Space Wolves are a band of brothers and their leaders are first among equals; they hold their position because they have the respect and trust of their comrades. It is true that many of the Wolf Lords are held in awe by their men but the forces of this Chapter resemble a warrior band more than a formalised army. On a battlefield leadership falls to whichever senior warrior is present. Thus, depending on circumstance, Space Wolves can be led Wolf Priests, Wolf Guard. Rune Priests, squad sergeants or simply the most respected warrior in the band.

The Space Wolves are sometimes seen by outsiders as being less disciplined than other warriors of the Imperium but this is not true. Every man knows his task and knows that the honour of his unit depends on him performing it well. They do have a flexibility that suits them well for lightning attacks and warfare deep behind enemy lines. They are commandos and raiders without peer. The self-reliance of the troops suits them well to operating independently in small units far from their commanding officers.

When war blazes across the Imperium. the Space Wolves are always found in the forefront of the battle, keen to get to grips with the foe, chainswords at the ready, mighty howling war-cries drowning out the screams of their foes. In battle they always follow Russ's maxim: conquer or die.

 

 

Both sections excerpted from White Dwarf 156 Wolves of Fenris article.         

 

Valerian

[Karack Blackstone]

 

Hello wolf lords, I'm just getting back into space wolves after a brief flirtation back in 5th edition and I'm drawn more than ever to the background, so I've got some (probably quite basic) questions:

 

How is vlka fenryka pronounced?

 

Don't know, I just say Space Wolves and leave the Rout and Vylka Fenryka stuff to the Horus Heresy era.

 

>Why is space wolves armour blue in 40k whereas it was grey during the horus heresy?

 

A number of Legions changed their markings and colorations to a greater or lesser extent following the Horus Heresy. There's no specific reason.

 

How do space wolves get on with white scars (I like bikes but i'm not keen on swiftclaws, so I'm thinking of adding some allies)?

 

Not very well, White Scars dislike being grouped together with the more "barbaric" Space Wolves. However there's nothing stopping you allying with Codex: Space Marines, taking a Captain on bike and Bike Squadrons as Troops and simply painting them as Space Wolves. Rules wise as long as you make the distinction clear the paint scheme is entirely up to you.

 

Presumably the line in the codex about fighting with feet on the ground refers to a dislike of teleporting rather than flying?

 

Overall the Space Wolves do not prefer to fight using Land Speeders, Jump Packs, Flyers or teleportation, that does not mean there are not those warriors who break from the traditional temperament of the chapter and prefer those methods of combat, that's why we have Lone Wolves and Skyclaws.

 

How are the great companies organised? Are they analogous to codex space marine companies?

 

There is no "standard" organization for a Space Wolf Great Company. The size and composition of each Great Company directly relates to the popularity and temperament of the Wolf Lord commanding it. Ragnar Blackmane's Great Company contains more Blood Claws than usual while Erik Morkai's includes many more Lone Wolves than most others. Ragnar and Logan Grimnar's Great Companies both number around 200 marines while other Great Companies may stand at the normal 100, possibly even less than that or anywhere in between. In short any given Great Company should have more Grey Hunters than Blood Claws, and a smaller number of Long Fangs and Wolf Guard.

 

EDIT:

 

There is a Great Company datasheet formation for Apocalypse which suggests a rough outline as follows:

 

1 Wolf Lord

1 Wolf Priest

1 Rune Priest

0-1 Iron Priest

1 Wolf Guard Battle Leader

1 Wolf Guard Pack

0-2 Thunderwolf Cavalry Packs

5+ Grey Hunter Packs

3+ Blood Claw Packs and/or Skyclaw Packs

2+ Long Fang Packs

1 Wolf Scout Pack

0-3 Lone Wolves

0-3 Swiftclaw Biker Packs

0-3 Fenresian Wolf Packs

3+ Dreadnoughts and/or Venerable Dreadnoughts

 

That doesn't mean your Great Company has to exactly conform to that outline, mine certainly doesn't.

 

EDIT 2: Oh and you may want to check this article out for an overview of Space Wolves fluff: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/254833-space-wolves-a-comprehensive-history/?do=findComment&comment=3104658

 

 

If there's any confusion as to my comments below, please check the beginning portion of the Apoc Datasheets chapter; there's a section that explains things, and lists what I mention below.

 

Outside of Wolf Lord, everything below that is (x)+ according to the explanation page, I think it is number four (4) explanation sub section on the introductory page of the 6th Edition Apocalypse book.

 

Should be:

 

1 WL

1+ WP

etc...

 

My old GW store manager got into this as an area of discussion simply because the sheet itself says 1 WP; in actuality it is possible to have as many WP's as one likes in the force.  There's a minimum requirement of one (1), for all occurences of one, and the number listed is always an at least qualification.

[Valerian]

Now to tackle the "feet on the ground" issue:

 

The attitude of the Space Wolves not to use Jump Packs was added to the 3rd Edition Codex simply as a method to "tone down" the power of the codex at that time. Prior to 2000, there was never any fluff to support a reluctance to use any Imperial technology. The need to curtail the Space Wolves was justified because of the many advantages that Jervis had given them compared to the other Marine armies of that era. We had True Grit, Counterattack, Acute Senses, Venerable Dreadnought HQ options, an extremely flexible Wolf Guard pack option that acted as a Retinue for other heroes, etc., etc.

 

Here is the quote directly from Jervis Johnson, explaining why he made the change in the *new* codex at the time:

 

From US White Dwarf 244 (May 2000):

The last thing that serves to keep the Space Wolves in check is a reluctance to use some forms of modern technology. In game terms this is represented by not allowing Space Wolves Terminators to teleport into battle, and limiting the use of Jump Packs to Blood Claws packs. In both cases, the Space Wolves' reluctance to use the technology available to them is a perverse desire to fight 'properly' in the way that "Russ intended". I should point out that just because they have a reluctance to teleport or use jump packs it does not mean that they never do such things, just that they generally refuse to do so. So, if you are playing a campaign or are devising your own scenario feel free to override these special rules, but in other circumstances they must be used.

As you can see, the fluff-explanation was simply a contrivance to explain away some restrictions/constraints that "needed" to be added to reign in some of the Space Wolves' significant advantages.

 

Additionally, not once in the quote are Strike Cruisers, Thunderhawk Gunships, Land Speeders, Bikes, or any other combat vehicles or modes of transport mentioned in the fluff bit, only a reluctance to Teleport and to use Jump Packs - that's it. Even with those two distinct technologies, it remains a reluctance and not an absolute refusal.

 

 

Valerian

[arctic]

Many thanks for the detailed reply, most informative!