The Liber Cluster

[Ace Debonair]

Well, well, well. Found an old CSM character from Black Crusade, before I realized I had no stomach for a game where the players play politics followed by sneaky knives in the back. He was meant to be a forsaken, but a few twists could easily turn him into a decent renegade mercenary commander with a loyalty to money and not Gods. I also have no emotional attachment to him, so if he gets his head blown off, c'est la vie.

 

Al-Rashid Ibn Khroda, the Ashen, leading his renegade mercenary battalions, The Seraki Lions.

 

I'll get to work right now.  

 

I'm already excited.

Looking forward to seeing the Seraki Lions come to life!

 

I changed up what I wrote for the Scarlet Sentinels a bit, edited out obviously incorrect information and fleshed out other aspects. I intend to add a bit about the recruitment process, nothing pertaining to the English is truly complete with mention of stiff upper lips (also the queen, but she holds no status in this realm).

 

P.S. I mean no offense by mentioning Her Royal Majesty.

 

you can swap the Queen for the Emperor. His Imperial Majesty sounds like a kickass title for the Big Man, after all.

[Olis]

It has occurred to me that some people might still acquainted with the traditional compass/directional systems in regard to the void and the galaxy:

 

As far as I'm aware the best (or the least confusing) directional system for navigating the galaxy goes thus:

 

Coreward (towards the galaxy core)

Rimward (towards the galaxy edge)

Spinward (going with the spin of the galaxy)

Trailing (going against the spin of the galaxy)

 

You can still use 'up' and 'down' to describe where something is in relation to the galactic plane too. I believe FFG uses this system and possibly Dan Abnett, as well. 

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

 

The Gene Seed of the Black Judges

Of all the mysteries surrounding the Black Judges, the most intriguing is that of their Gene Seed. Tithes have long been ignored, and with the Chapter roaming the void at will Imperial authorities have found it impossible to take the secretive Chapter to task. What few samples have been salvaged from dead Judges over the millennia suggest they descend from the line of Corax, however the variances in genetic data have led to conflicting reports ranging from the speculation of other gene-lineage to accusations of deliberately leaving dead brothers from other Chapters dressed in Black Judge colours. Of particular note is a discredited report from Inquisitor Garian Ordone, submitted in M39, claiming the genetic markers implicated the Judges as little more than heretics. The file, suppressed and hidden away, lies forgotten to all be the most resourceful of Imperial servants.

 

Black Judges almost never remove their helms, at least in the company of others, so it is difficult to substantiate the Raven Guard lineage that is suspected with visual investigation. It is also difficult to pry the information by data-mining, as all of the oldest sources regarding the Black Judges are missing significant tracts and passages. Consensus on the matter believes it is the work of the Black Judges themselves, or agencies in league with them, that has led to such important knowledge going missing. 

 

Direct confrontation on the subject is a rare and fruitless occurrence, as every Black Judge subjected to questioning refuses to speak of the Chapter and often escapes or dies in the attempt, careful to leave as little as possible for examination post-mortem. With investigation thwarted at almost every turn, little wonder then is it that the Black Judges are swathed in rumour and enigmatic speculation. This suits the Chapter fine for they are judged on what they do, not what they are.

 

 

 

I hope this doesn't fall short of any expectations, GreyCrow. Any problems with it, feel free to point them out.

[Wade Garrett]

In regards to the Black Judges, right now they seem like, well, the Carcharadons with the serial numbers filed off.

 

Terror tactics? Bad reputation with other Imperial forces? Mysterious gene seed that might be Raven Guard?

 

And come to think of it...the Black Falcons are the only confirmed Corax derived Chapter in the Cluster. So if the Judges tests are coming back Raven Guard, they wouldn't be accused of leaving dead Astartes from any random Chapter lying around in their livery, it'd be the Falcons in particular.

 

(Because they're the smallest and weakest? Because after their Chapter almost got wiped out there were lots of dead Falcons lying around to use?)

[Olis]

In regards to the Black Judges, right now they seem like, well, the Carcharadons with the serial numbers filed off.

 

Terror tactics? Bad reputation with other Imperial forces? Mysterious gene seed that might be Raven Guard?

 

Well, there's several sections of their article yet to be written, I'm sure at some point we can distance them from the Carcharadons Astra. To me, atm, they seem less Space Shark-y and more Batman-y.

 

And come to think of it...the Black Falcons are the only confirmed Corax derived Chapter in the Cluster. So if the Judges tests are coming back Raven Guard, they wouldn't be accused of leaving dead Astartes from any random Chapter lying around in their livery, it'd be the Falcons in particular.

 

(Because they're the smallest and weakest? Because after their Chapter almost got wiped out there were lots of dead Falcons lying around to use?)

 

It's possible. Do note that I never said that they actually were of Raven Guard lineage - I've worded it as such that it is the strongest theory going for Liber authorites with scant else to back up the supposition. I could add a sentence or two to make the 'theory' even less creditable, if it is necessary.

[Wade Garrett]

Well...urrgh!

 

What I'm trying to articulate (poorly, in a somewhat passive aggressive manner) is that I would like to see what makes the Black Judges the Black Judges.

 

You mentioned Batman...what that makes me think of is a Chapter that experienced a great tragedy in its past, one that is swathed in mystery and deliberately seeks to strike fear into enemy and ally alike (this they've got), one that has a far more resources than a bunch of fleet based vigilantes should be able to draw on (mysterious connection to the Ordo Hereticus goes here. Bonus points if the Inquisitor Lord of the Hereticus in this cluster hails from Albion), and one that has a line they absolutely will not cross (Bruce's no kill policy won't fly here, but maybe something to do with their practice of always leaving survivors? The Black Judges will not conduct Exterminatus no matter what?).

 

That, or the "Black Judges" don't even exist, they're a fake Chapter the Lords Inviolate disguise themselves as when they need to commit necessary atrocities or strike against another Liber Cluster Chapter without sullying their own reputation. :p

[Olis]

You mentioned Batman...what that makes me think of is a Chapter that experienced a great tragedy in its past, one that is swathed in mystery and deliberately seeks to strike fear into enemy and ally alike (this they've got), one that has a far more resources than a bunch of fleet based vigilantes should be able to draw on (mysterious connection to the Ordo Hereticus goes here. Bonus points if the Inquisitor Lord of the Hereticus in this cluster hails from Albion), and one that has a line they absolutely will not cross (Bruce's no kill policy won't fly here, but maybe something to do with their practice of always leaving survivors? The Black Judges will not conduct Exterminatus no matter what?).

 

Those ideas are definitely worth keeping in mind for the next sections to be revealed, I think. Maybe the line they will not cross has something to do with 'committing no evil' - however just what the Judges deem evil is open to interpretation. Perhaps they won't work with those they deem heretics?

[Wade Garrett]

Well, that raises the question "Who's a heretic?"

 

And that can tell us a lot about a Chapter. For instance, to a purity obsessed Red Scorpion, the Black Dragons, Flesh Tearers, and Space Wolves would all be borderline mutants, and then a Black Templar happens by and calls HIM a heretic for fighting alongside Librarians.

 

Do the Black Judges despise the Ecclesiarchy for shrouding the Imperial Truth with pagan superstition and by extension hate the Sons of Calderon and Conflagrators? Are they sickened by those who consort with the witch, like the All Seers and the Aetheric Swords?

 

Or do they revere the Codex Astartes as holy writ and save their deepest ire for those like the Blackjaw Kindred, who prove themselves heirs to Rogal Dorn's traitorous legacy by refuting to accept its guidance?

[Sanguine_Knight]

Just got back from real life and have seen some cool ideas goin on. So I have the All Seers... Interesting. I have read up on them and will be putting something up today. Keep it up Liberites!

[Wade Garrett]

And now, for something different:

 

THE HAMMERS OF OLYMPIA

 

"The death of one is murder. The death of billions is just war."

 

-Warsmith Dragunovich

 

This former IV Legion Great Company can trace its legacy back to the bitter days of the Great Crusade, but it is a history of equal measures pride and shame.

 

From ice covered worlds locked in perpetual night to hellish deserts that sapped the strength of even transhuman warriors, the members of the 33rd fought with a fatalistic determination, marching stoically forward with a resolve that impressed even the sons of Mortarion.

 

In an unprecedented event, First Captain Typhon of the XIV commended the 33rd for their actions alongside his Company in the methane glaciers of Skordalfin, awarding them the right to wear the scythe of the Grave Warden elite alongside their own company heraldry.

 

Any jealousy this might have aroused in a Legion notoriously starved of such honors was offset by the 33rd's other reputation:

 

One of being led by the most incompetent, glory hungry, or simply unlucky Warsmiths to ever stand in iron clad.

 

Time and time again, only the unflinching stuborness and spilled blood of its common troopers and rankers salvaged victory from the disasters engineered by their leaders, with at least four of its Warmsmiths being executed by the Primarch for dereliction of duty.

 

This state of affairs continued well into the Heresy, the Scouring, and the Legion wars within the Eye of Terror, as the officers pursued daemonhood, vengeance, and a thousand other personal desires while expecting their troops to endure in silence, as they always had.

 

In hindsight, the shocking thing is not that an inter-Company Civil War broke out, but that it took so long for the iron bonds of loyalty to snap.

 

In their current incarnation, the Hammers are led by Warsmith Dragunovich, a relative youngblood in Chaos Marine terms, who rumor claims was being trained for Chaplaincy before the Iron Warriors withdrew to the Eye of Terror and dispensed with such nonsense.

 

What it known is that under his leadership the warband has prospered like never before, forging an alliance with the Black Legion and carving a bloody path through Imperials and fellow renegades alike.

[Wade Garrett]

And on the off chance all that was too subtle....

 

"Eagles of Glory! WE...WILL...BURY YOU!"

 

Edit:

In combat, the Hammers have shown a marked disdain for void warfare and employment of orbital assets.

 

If an objective can be leveled with such weapons, then it was obviously not worth being fought over to begin with. And if there are resources, industry, or slaves to obtain that prevent bombardment, then matters will have to be settled by infantry fighting and dying in the mud and dust anyway, and so void assets become supefluous.

 

This has led them to be remarkably cavalier about their ships, with many battle brothers seeing them as little more than glorifed pack mules to get the warband from one battle to another.

 

Unusually for an Iron Warriors derived warband, the Hammers maintain a sizeable and respected contingent of sorcerers in their ranks, but the Gaiakratos are no mumbling soothsayers or pleading daemon callers.

 

Rather, they employ their powers to call up storms, trigger earthquakes, and in general manipulate the land to turn every battle the Hammers fight into the grinding slog of attrition in broken terrain the warband has been excelling at for ten thousand years.

[Sanguine_Knight]

OK Here we go...

 

The All Seers are very insular in nature and do not tithe their geneseed. This is a sticking point with both the Inquisition and The Mechanicum. The All Seers care nothing for the opinions of others and keep their secrets closely guarded. Even though the Astartes Chapters of the Liber Cluster are said to all be from loyalist stock that has not gone through any tampering like many of the other ill fated 21st founding Chapters, it is suspected in some circles that origins of The All Seers are dubious in nature. Whatever the truth is The All Seers are not saying. To this end, a certain Hereticus Inquisitor by the name of Javier DuMonde has made it his mission to discover their true nature. It is his belief that The All Seers have turned from face of The Emperor and are now on a road to damnation. So far all of his attempts to learn the truth have come to nothing or have been thwarted by the Chapter. What he does know is that they seem to be on a quest to find something. 

 

Being a Chapter that is led by their Librarium, The All Seers draw suspicion from many of the other Astartes Chapters in the Liber Cluster. This is not lost on the Chapter but it is of little importance. They view their role in The Liber Cluster as one of utmost importance. The Chapter's Librarians all possess the power of precognition and it is this ability that is used to guide its actions. Upon coming to the Liber Cluster, Chief Librarian Galron "The Mystic" became struck with a vision. After locking himself in his quarters for three days he emerged with the direction the Chapter was to take. his visions told him of a priceless relic and an ancient alien evil that lay dormant on the Western fringe of The Cluster. Since then several other members of the Librarium have had similar visions sometimes even in the midst of battle. These premonitions are taken very seriously and have caused The All Seers to on occassion withdraw from an engagement or refuse participation. This has caused them to draw the ire of many. 

Working closely with Librarium, the Chaplains are ever vigilant to have their finger on the pulse of the Chapter. Some Battle Brothers have a hard time coming to grips with what many see as an oftentimes deriliction of duty. It is at these times that the Chaplains will counsel the Marines by assuring them that the All Seers have a duty to The Emperor that takes precedence above all and that duty is to find the meaning of the Librarium's prognostications and to locate the Relic. Because to do so will mean the salvation of the entire Liber Cluster.

 

Well that's it for now, but I have some ideas for Combat Doctrine and Chapter Traditions that I will post later after I gert them fleshed out. 

[Captain Nameless]

And now for some Tempestus Scions.

The Viemarr Eagles

 

The Viemarr Eagles are among the most highly trained non-Astartes soldiers in the cluster, even for Tempestus Scions. In fact, their training regimen has been described by one Inquisitor as “Are they purposely trying to kill the recruits? I’ve seen Astartes induction trials less dangerous than this.” Each soldier is armed with unwavering discipline, a devotion to the Imperium borders on fanaticism, and an arrogance that almost seems to be encouraged as a virtue.

After rescuing a Mechanicus explorator vessel from ork raiders and gaining the respect of the Lord of the Saneslau myrmidons. They now receive their equipment directly from Saneslau forge itself. Each weapon, vehicle, and any other piece of equipment a masterpiece of Mechanicus engineering. However, due to the rather complex and in many cases handcrafted nature of the tech, it can be somewhat temperamental. This leads to an increased number of engiseers among the Viemarr Eagles, which has led some to believe that the Saneslau Mechanicus cannot bear to truly give these treasures away and so deliberately made the equipment temperamental to have an excuse to stick around.

 In battle, they raise the highly mobile warfare that is the hallmark of the Scions to an artform. And although their strategies are over planned, to the point of being rigid and frequently relying on too many variables that are beyond their control, their tactics allow them to fight their battles with frightening efficacy. During the initial campaign against the Leebair eldar, The Viemarr Eagles'performance was noted by an uncanny ability tov always inflict 50% greater casualties upon the enemy, no matter what conditions. Win, loss, outnumbered, poor visibility, indefensible positions. It did not matter. Always.

 

 

 

 

on a different subject, I know that Teetengee liked my Mechanicum characters, but what do the rest of you think.

Edit: Is this better?

[Tiberius Cato]

And on the off chance all that was too subtle....

 

"Eagles of Glory! WE...WILL...BURY YOU!"

"We shall know no fear, the Emperor protects. By our glorious primarch Dorn, your heresy will be your downfall. We will capture your leader and bring you back in an iron cage, and cleanse you with the infliction of pain and suffering."

 

The Eagles stand ready. All foes, xenos and heretic alike, will be purged from the cluster.

[Wade Garrett]

And although their strategies are over planned, to the point of being rigid and frequently relying on too many variables that are beyond their control, they fight their battles with frightening efficacy. Always inflicting 50% greater casualties* upon the enemy, no matter what conditions. Win, loss, outnumbered, poor visibility, indefensible positions. It does not matter. Always.

 

* (note: “casualties” in this instance are measured in estimated combat effectiveness. It would be ludicrous to assume that mortals, however high in fighting ability, would be capable of inflicting a 50% greater number of casualties upon such enemies as traitor Astartes.)

 

Everything else is fine, but the bit I've quoted above needs to be heavily edited or cut out completely.

 

Overly rigid strategies that are nontheless perfectly efficient and always inflict 50% greater casualties on the enemy no matter what the conditions?

 

In my opinion, that needs to go.

[Tiberius Cato]

That is quite interesting Brother CN. I don't know enough about the scions to give the best advice, but here's my take on it.

 

I agree with Brother Wade Garret, the 50 percent great casualties no matter what is a bit too much. No matter what their plans are it could happen that they are blindsided by enemy forces, taking heavy losses right off the bat, and forced to retreat to avoid extermination.

 

Ofcourse, there is nothing wrong with overplanning. The way I see it, they plan their course of action a certain way and if the situation is not what they planned for they alter their plan slightly to accomodate.

 

That's my two cents, do with it as you will brother. :)

[Teetengee]

I agree with wade (unless of course the 50% number is made more clearly into propaganda.)

 

TYPO PURGE

[Captain Nameless]

Yeah, it does seem like a bit much. But in World War II, the German officer corps actually did manage 50% greater casualties no matter the circumstances. This and the Germans' overly complex plan going into World War I were my main inspirations for them. But, I would be okay with changing it.

 

Edit:Also, Rigid stratagies, Not tactics.

[Teetengee]

Maintaining those numbers over the course of a single war would probably be fine, but not over their entire existence.

[Tiberius Cato]

In addition to what Brother Teetengee said,for me even if the ratio is off combat effectiveness 50 percent would be to much in some cases. Especially against traitor astartes, they are still mere men fighting demigods. The like of which could easily decimate the regular regiments of the Imperial guard with ease.

[Wade Garrett]

Yeah, it does seem like a bit much. But in World War II, the German officer corps actually did manage 50% greater casualties no matter the circumstances.

 

[Citation Needed]

[Captain Nameless]

Okay then, I shall change it. What are we calling the eldar in the cluster?

 

Wade Garret I will look that up for you.

[Tiberius Cato]

The craftworld Li-behr? haha

[Conn Eremon]

Craftworld Leebair

 

Edit: Damn it, ArcticPaladin!

[Tiberius Cato]

If we were real cowboy Americans, I would've have won the high noon showdown :P

 

Edit: didn't capitalise American, patriotism be shamed. :l

[Wade Garrett]

Okay then, I shall change it. What are we calling the eldar in the cluster?

 

Wade Garret I will look that up for you.

I wa thinking in particular of the Falaise pocket, where the Germans took double the casualties of the Allied forces breaking out of Normandy thanks to the Idiot-In-Charge ordering repeated hopeless counter attacks.

 

When you are outnumbered, have lost air superiority, and high command is well and truly off its meds, well...this happens.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falaise_pocket