The Great Company of Mikael Skaldson

[SnakeoilSage]

THE GREAT COMPANY OF MIKAEL SKALDSON

Mikael Skaldson is called the Bard of Fenris, for it is rare when the Aett is not echoing with his booming song. As a youth, he had the unfortunate duty to serve a wild-eyed shaman and story-keeper named Horgir, and witnessed sights both bizarre and terrifying. Perhaps Mikael was blessed by the runes himself, for he survived a life huddling under benches as his master raved, screamed, and spat lightning at any sudden noises.

One day a towering stranger came to visit Horgir, testing the shaman's apprentices for mystical power. The stranger passed a strange talisman over Mikael... and paused. The stranger pressed Mikael with odd questions and the felt a strange presence probing his mind. The stranger seemed disappointed with what he learned, yet spoke with Horgir at length. When they had finished speaking, Mikael was ordered to leave with the stranger. The stranger soon identified himself as a Rune Priest of the Sky Warriors, and he had sensed something within Mikael's soul, though he could not say what that was.

Mikael's initiation was a strange experience. He faced harrowing challenges that would kill lesser men, but was so ecstatic at the opportunity and so accustomed to the prospect of sudden death by lightning that his training was a welcome respite. Always smiling, Mikael inspired his fellow aspirants with stories of great warriors to raise their spirits. His booming songs echoed off the cliffs of Asaheim, and carried his pack through the darkest moments of their training.

Inducted into the Great Company of Donnar Axefather, Mikael spent his free moments pouring over the tomes of the Space Wolves. He committed hundreds of ballads, poems and songs to memory, and could recall them on command. His battle-brothers summoned him to sing at feasts and share forgotten stories, an honorary member of the packs who sat enthralled by his tales. Content in this sense of camaraderie, Mikael never thought of his own glory and was always embarrassed when others praised his skills in battle.

But the Bard's legend was just beginning. When Donnar's forces were summoned to Gavox II, an Ork invasion turned into a three-way brawl as Dark Eldar raiders joined the fray. Cut off from his brothers and surrounded by enemies, Mikael was the only one standing between thousands of human civilians and a horde of depraved Eldar. For hours he fought, holding the line until with a song on his lips. As he fought, the humans who huddled in the shelters heard him sing and rose up to join him. Though armed with little more than rocks and pipes, the humans refused to surrender until the Eldar were driven away. Poisoned by a dozen blades, Mikael finally allowed himself to fall into a recuperative coma.

When he awoke, Mikael found himself tended by the Wolf Priests and heard the joyous roar of the Gavox citizens at word of his survival, joined by the cheers of his fellow battle-brothers. Embarrassed, Mikael managed only an awkward salute as the streets were filled with celebrations over the planet's victory.

Mikael was invited into Donnar's Wolf Guard, proving himself again and again as hero. His roaring voice spurred the planetary defenders of Droam's World to pick up their lasguns and continue the fight against hordes of mutants swarming out of the hive city's depths. On Rakata VI Mikael's bolter cut down the Ork Painboy Bonecutta before the twisted "doktor" could dissect his captured brothers. It was during the Rakata campaign that the Great Company reclaimed Runefang recovering the ancient weapon from the trophy rack of Warboss Skullchoppa.

During the Invasion of Sarkhoth, Donnar Axefather fell to the Necron's baleful gauss fire. With his last breath, the Wolf Lord pushed Runefang into Mikael's hands with a solemn nod. With a roar of fury, Mikael led the charge against the Tomb Palace of Phaeron Set'un, piercing the undying lord's necrodermis chassis with Runefang.

Brave and humble to a fault, Mikael is happiest when he can sing of the warriors of old, or inspire one of his fellows to new acts of heroism. None can laugh as long or loud as he. When he speaks, the heroes of the Imperium feel a stirring in their hearts that chases away fear and leads them to victory.

 

"Lo there do I see the my father,
Lo there do I see my brothers,
The sons of Russ.
Lo there do I see the line of my Chapter,
Back to the Beginning.
Lo, they do call to me.
They bid me take my place among them.
In the Halls of the Allfather.
Where the Brave may live.
Forever."

--Mikael Skaldson,

at the Battle of Gavox II

WOLF LORD MIKAEL SKALDSON
*One Wolf Lord in your army can be upgraded to Mikael Skaldson for 140 points.

Wargear:
* Runic armor
* Belt of Russ
* Runefang
* Storm bolter
* Frag and krak grenades

Special Rules:
* And They Shall Know No Fear
* Acute Senses
* Counter-attack
* Saga of Majesty
* Independent Character

Warlord: If Mikael Skaldson is your warlord, he has the Champion of Humanity Warlord trait from Codex: Space Marines.

Bard of Fenris: Mikael's fearless oratory can ignite the spark of greatness in his followers. In an army that includes Mikael Skaldson, select a single non-unique, non-vehicle model. That model gains +1 Leadership for the duration of the battle. Models with a Leadership value of 10, or that lack a Leadership characteristic, cannot benefit from this.

 

We Draw the Line Here: Once per battle, when Mikael Skaldson prepares a successful Counter-attack, he and any unit he has joined count as charging that turn for the purposes of determining combat bonuses (such as from the Furious Charge or a Blood Claws' Berserk Charge rule).

Wyrdfang: The Wyrdfang is one of a set of twelve rune blades forged at an unknown point in the Space Wolves' history. Each weapon contains a fragment of its origins written on its blade, and Wyrdfang proclaims itself the "eldest brother" of the twelve, containing the eye-teeth of Ohthere Wyrdmake, a Rune Priest who fought alongside Leman Russ during the Burning of Prospero.
Wyrdfang is a power lance with the following stats:
Range --; Strength +1/user; AP 2/3; Melee, Preferred Enemy: Chaos, Fleshbane, Two-handed

 

Horn of Gavox: This curled black war-horn, shaped from the hull of a Dark Eldar raider, was bequeathed to Mikael Skaldson by the grateful populace of Gavox II. Its deep, resonating sound stirs his Great Company to acts of furious heroism.

In an army that includes Mikael Skaldson, one Wolf Guard may take the Horn of Gavox for 30 points. The Horn acts as a Wolf Standard. Once per battle, at the start of the controlling player's Shooting phase, the Horn-bearer can use the Horn of Gavox in lieu of shooting to bestow +1 Weapon Skill, +1 Initiative and the Fleet rule on himself and his unit. This bonus lasts until the start of your next turn.

Armory Additions

 

Lesser Wyrdfang: The eleven "brothers" of the spear wielded by Mikael Skaldson come in a variety of rune-etched blades. Though lost for uncounted centuries, the Wyrdfangs call to one another, drawn to reunite by the psychically charged fangs embedded in their blades. Lesser Wyrdfangs are power swords with the Preferred Enemy: Chaos special rule. Wolf Lords may purchase a Lesser Wyrdfang for 20 points.

 

New Rune Priest Psychic Powers

Fangs of the Sun Wolf
The Rune Priest blesses the weapons of his allies, imbuing them with the unerring accuracy of the Sun Wolf.
Blessing, Warp Charge 1
The Rune Priest targets a single friendly unit within 12", granting it the Skyfire rule until the start of your next turn.

Storm's Fury
Gathering the storm clouds, the Rune Priest surrounds flying enemies with inky fog, deafening thunder and sensor-scrambling static electricity.
Malediction, Warp Charge 1
The Rune Priest targets a single Flying Creature or Flying Vehicle unit within 72".  That unit must make an Initiative check or become Blind. Models without an Initiative value are Blinded on a 4+.

Thundergod's Wrath
Summoning the power of the storm, the Rune Priest calls down a chain of psychically-charged lightning bolts that rip through armor, detonate ammunition magazines, overload electronics and scorch organic nerve bundles.
Focused Witchfire; Warp Charge 1
Range 72"; Strength 7; AP 2; Heavy D3, Skyfire, Lance
 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The fluff is well-written, but there's a canon conflict. All 12 of the Space Wolves' Wolf Lords are named in the 5th edition Codex, so when was/is Mikael Skaldson a Wolf Lord? Before 999M41, meaning one of the Wolf Lords named in the Codex, is Skaldson's successor? After 999M41, meaning Skaldson is one of the Wolf Lords' successor?

 

Also, it's best to distance 'Warhammer Fantasy Battle' and 'Warhammer 40,000'. Rename the Runefang, or people will accuse you of lacking imagination. Maybe "Wyrd Fang," the blade which delivers men to their wyrd (fate)?

[SnakeoilSage]

The fluff is well-written, but there's a canon conflict. All 12 of the Space Wolves' Wolf Lords are named in the 5th edition Codex, so when was/is Mikael Skaldson a Wolf Lord? Before 999M41, meaning one of the Wolf Lords named in the Codex, is Skaldson's successor? After 999M41, meaning Skaldson is one of the Wolf Lords' successor?

 

Also, it's best to distance 'Warhammer Fantasy Battle' and 'Warhammer 40,000'. Rename the Runefang, or people will accuse you of lacking imagination. Maybe "Wyrd Fang," the blade which delivers men to their wyrd (fate)?

 

Handling Space Wolves canon is difficult because it kind of contradicts itself. You can't make Space Wolves successor chapters of your own, only Geat Companies, yet all of the Great Companies are taken by characters in the 5th Edition codex. One can't make a new Wolf Lord without stepping on one of their toes, and the Brick Wall that is 999.M41 effectively makes any attempt at placing characters in 000.M42 impossible. There's just no way to fix it so everyone is happy, so I'm going with what makes me happy and ignoring the Wolf Lords that aren't given models.

 

Rungfang was deliberate, as there are twelve in the Fantasy WH and I mention twelve in the hands of the Space Wolves. It's not a problem to change it, I just thought it was funny.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Space Wolves originally had at least 25 Great Companies, based on the statement the Wolfbrothers (also spelled "Wolf Brothers") received half of everything the Space Wolves Legion had, in Chris Wraight's novel 'Battle of the Fang'. Then there's the 13th Great Company, which was thought lost during the Scouring of Prospero. There's also the Exorcists, an otherwise Codex-adherent Space Marines Chapter with 12 Companies. Twelve is NOT a number with special significance to the Space Wolves.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Reconsidering the weapon's name, maybe "Wyrdmaker" is a better choice- named in honor of Ohthere Wyrdmake, a Rune Priest who died during the Scouring of Prospero.

[SnakeoilSage]

The Space Wolves originally had at least 25 Great Companies, based on the statement the Wolfbrothers (also spelled "Wolf Brothers") received half of everything the Space Wolves Legion had, in Chris Wraight's novel 'Battle of the Fang'. Then there's the 13th Great Company, which was thought lost during the Scouring of Prospero. There's also the Exorcists, an otherwise Codex-adherent Space Marines Chapter with 12 Companies. Twelve is NOT a number with special significance to the Space Wolves.

 If that's so then there could be more than twelve, and therefore I didn't break any canon in the first place.

 

 

Reconsidering the weapon's name, maybe "Wyrdmaker" is a better choice- named in honor of Ohthere Wyrdmake, a Rune Priest who died during the Scouring of Prospero.

That would make an interesting tie-in.

[Valerian]

The Space Wolves originally had at least 25 Great Companies, based on the statement the Wolfbrothers (also spelled "Wolf Brothers") received half of everything the Space Wolves Legion had, in Chris Wraight's novel 'Battle of the Fang'. 

 

In my humble opinion, that isn't a valid deduction.  Just because the Space Wolves Legion did go through the Second Founding process, to create both the Space Wolves Chapter and Wolf Brothers Chapter doesn't mean that the Legion necessarily had double the amount of Great Companies.  It is more likely that each of the Great Companies simply had more men.  This theory is supported in multiple White Dwarf articles on the Space Wolves over the years.  For example, WD283 article on the 13th Company places its strength at about 1,000, or a contemporary Chapter's size (discounting for any attrition over the years).  WD244 places the Space Wolves Legion strength at about 10,000, and provides some details on the formation of the 13th Company (which was basically a dumping grounds for all of the Wolves that reacted to strongly to the Curse of the Wulfen).

 

All of the available background material supports 12 original Great Companies in the Legion, and the creation of a 13th to host all of the Wolfbitten Marines.  During the Heresy and later Scouring, we lose the 13th to the Eye of Terror, get some significant attrition to the Legion in combat, and then split was remaining roughly in half to man the two Chapters that resulted from the Second Founding.  Wolf Brothers are "ill-fated" and are lost to history at some point, and no other attempts are made to found a successor Chapter on Space Wolves gene seed.

 

v/r

 

Valerian

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I'd like to know WHEN WD283 was published, and for which edition of the game. 'Warhammer 40,000' received multiple retcons over the years, and it's reasonable to ask whether the fluff actually supports (present tense) or supported (past tense) the notion the Space Wolves Legion had the same number of Great Companies as the later Chapter.

[Valerian]

WD283 was published in August 2003.  Although the game's background has indeed gone through some major and minor retcons over the years, to my knowledge there has not been such a background change to this aspect of the fluff in either Studio or Black Library material.  If you can provide a source that says that, then of course I'll have to change my position.

 

Best,

 

V