Alternate Legion - The Scions Hospitalier

[bluntblade]

It could but how would it differ to the starships we already have?

 

The main differences would probably be Aesthetic in that they'd be made as sleek and flat as possible for less potential stress damage for when the Craft are docked under the surface or maneuvering therein.

 

So think Imperial Starship but with smoothed out surfaces Ie little-to-no protrusions like we typically see with Imperial Craft and painted a Mother of Pearl and Blood Red.

Just aesthetic, really. Thinking solely of the prow (which could also be the barrel of a big beam weapon.

[Slips]

Could work.

 

Could be the specific Pattern of the Scions Glorianna-Class Ship(s)

[bluntblade]

Could work.

 

Could be the specific Pattern of the Scions Glorianna-Class Ship(s)

My thoughts precisely :D

[bluntblade]

I remembered today that I gave the Scions a minor role alongside the Bears on Laeran. If it's cool with you, I might expand on that a little. Maybe give Daer'dd and Pionus a little moment together. Edited March 8, 2016 by bluntblade

[Slips]

Sure!

 

Feel Free! I've already written a "little" serpent hunt between the two when Daer'dd gives Pionus his Trident for the first time but more screen time - especially in a not-so-calm situation - would be welcome.

[bluntblade]

Cool. Btw:

So...uh...the AoS Presecutors have this as a bit in their kit.

 

http://www.games-workshop.com/resources/catalog/product/600x620/99120218006_SCProsicutorsStormcallJavelins05.jpg

 

...might have to buy at least one set at some point >_>

. This is basically my mental image of Pionus. What does he actually look like? Plus I'm having slight difficulties working out what the stuff on the Scions' helmets actually is.

[Slips]

Just think of our Standard gear but with all the surfaces smoothed over where possible with reinforced joint sections and all that.

 

For Legion-Specific Helmets, think of something like:

 

 

but the Visor is a Flat Black with no identifiable features and the marines face not visible.

[Slips]

For the Actual Primarch, think Curze, less spikey with no blood, Smooth Plates, 40k Grav-gun style generators on the forearms and calves and a bigger one in the middle of the back.

 

No Visible backpack power supply.

 

For the helmet, think more along the lines of:

 

 

Something cold, dehumanizing, impersonal and emotionless.

[bluntblade]

And a strange robo-bosom? So at least in terms of gear he's the opposite of Daer'dd, I suppose. Will make for a nice combo. What are his physical looks like?

 

How does he tend to carry himself in the field? Obviously Daer'dd will be as boisterous as ever.

[Slips]

Hes a scientist first so very straight, proper and clean when not in a private setting at which point light humor and a more relaxed posture is present.

 

When in the field hes all business first.

 

He has eyes that are glacier-blue and hair the dark grey of a raging storm. Though his eye color does change when subjected to extreme emotions like anger turning them the same raging storm color his hair is.

 

For his hair, its shoulder length but styled backwards.

 

No facial hair.

 

Typical Primarch Features (a slight variant of the Emperor).

 

And just so you know, his armors primary color is Mother of Pearl with Arterial Blood Red as the secondary for all the trims and stuff.

 

Dont mind the robo boobs they came with the helmets picture :p

Edited March 9, 2016 by Slipstreams

[bluntblade]

Cool. I think I know how to work with that.

[bluntblade]

So here's a survivor of the ambush. Not sure where his story's going or even whose ship he'll leave the planet it, but I've got his routine down at least.

 

+++++

 

The ruined station swarmed with predators like the mosasaura of ancient Terra. The area was full of carrion, more nourishing than anything they had consumed before. They had to prise open hard shells to get at the meat, but the great reptiles were persistent, and the jaws of the largest could break almost anything open.

 

But what they did not realise was that something hunted them. Odyssalas hit the water in a perfect dive, plunging toward a mosasaur. A Narthecium blade whipped out from behind his wrist, snipping the spinal cord at the base of the beast's skull. Then he activated two grav-thrusters as he shot towards the surface. He had to be out of the water before anything else caught the smell of blood.

 

He hauled the carcass onto a platform that was just above water, and set to work. He had dissected his first few kills, noting vulnerabilities. Now he turned his surgical tools to butchering the creature. Good meat, supplemented with nutri-packs he scavenged from the dead. There were easier pickings available, but he balked at feeding on his fallen brothers, or even the corpses of the enemy. I am a Captain of the Scions Hospitaller. I will not be reduced to a savage.

 

So for the last 41 days he had preyed on the creatures of the deep, setting containers to catch rainwater. That was easy enough. The difficult part was wrestling with his isolation, as he gazed up at the stars or out over the seas of Omnium. He knew nothing of what was happening out there, save that rebellion had consumed at least one Astartes legion. How many Scions lived? Had other Legions turned against the Imperium? He did his best to put these thoughts aside, sinking into the routine of maintaining his gear and ensuring he could get clean water.

 

In time, however, he would have more immediate problems. The scavengers’ food supply would only last so long. Eventually they would withdraw into the depths, and he would have to follow. Even the most careful rationing wouldn't sustain him forever.

 

Then he heard something, separate from the noise of the sea and the ruined structure. He pulled a flare from his belt while his other hand went to Ladon. Whatever happened next, his life was about to change again.

Edited March 29, 2016 by bluntblade

[bluntblade]

The Deusurga Evacuation

 

One of the XIX Legion's most celebrated actions was not really a battle. It took place on the world of Deusurga, a Forge World lost to religious madness. In their lunacy, the rulers of the world bound their consciousnesses together, hoping to create the Omnissiah of the Machine Cult. This fervour infected the common people, and they slaved themselves to their “god”.

 

Unsurprisingly they did not take well to the arrival of others, and the Expeditionary Fleet that first made contact with them soon found itself mired in battle with the “Heretechs” of Deusurga. As they fielded all the normal weapons of the Mechanicus, it promised to be a brutal invasion and requests were immediately made for reinforcement from the Adeptus Astartes. The Scions Hospitalier were first to answer and devastated several armies of Skitarii within hours of their arrival.

 

Recognising the Scions’ overwhelming strength, the Heretech order opted for mass suicide, believing that their “god” would arise from the destruction to rule over all machines. In keeping with their bizarre creed, they had rigged up a series of warheads between the planet's tectonic plates to destabilise the entire surface. Salvaged data comms demonstrate that they believed this would spell the doom of the Imperium, as every device would be turned against their owners. Naturally this proved to be nonsense, but the Imperial force was sent into a desperate evacuation.

 

Disaster was averted, however, by Pionus Santor. Analysing the situation in seconds, he began issuing orders before any mortal officers could fully comprehend the situation. Every transport the combined fleets over Deusurga possessed was scrambled. Some of the most remarkable episodes involve Stormbirds brought down to hover just above the ground and being loaded with people and material whilst on the move.

 

The Primarch had meticulously determined which assets to prioritise for extraction. There was insufficient time to rescue every unit and no time was wasted on the uncooperative. While all of the Scions were rescued except for six squads, several platoons of Army troops were lost along with every abhuman and penal regiment committed to the surface, as well as large amounts of weaponry and vehicles. Nonetheless the operation was hailed as a masterful undertaking, and earned the Scions acclaim from officers and common soldiers alike.

 

The planet itself, with its crust ravaged by the Heretechs’ mass suicide, was deemed unsuitable for the usual colonisation process. The Mechanicus, despite retrieving some precious Standard Template Constructs, disdained the idea of rebuilding a Heretech Forge World. Instead, Deusurga became a world of penal colonies, where the condemned toiled to feed the Great Crusade’s appetite for munitions.

Edited May 5, 2016 by bluntblade

[bluntblade]

Introduction:

 

THE SCIONS HOSPITALIER

Numeration: XIX^th Legion Astartes

Primogenitor: Pionus Santor

Allegiance: Fidelitas Totalis

Cognomen: Stygian Phantoms (pre-Primarch Name), The Deliverers (Attributed, source: mortal armies of the Imperium witnessing post-Primarch strategic tendencies).

Observed Strategic Tendencies: High Profile Assassinations, Exfiltration Operations, Hostile Environment Operations (with a specialization in Ocean Floor ops), Starship Surface Operations

Noteworthy Domains: Terra (recruiting rights within the Pan Pacific Plains and Mariana), Iona (Legion Homeworld), the Irritum Mare system within the Segmentum Tempestus, Forgemoon Obscura (in orbit over Iona), Tithe Rights to any Imperial Ocean Worlds.

Once known as the Stygian Phantoms, the Scions Hospitalier, much like their Primarch Pionus Santor were not ones to seek glory for its own sake. Coupled with their tendency to aid other Legions in a Supporting role rather than taking the lead, they were quick to make friends among legions and slow to lose Astartes to the attrition of war making their numbers swell in a relatively short time when one considers the ease at which the Legion inducted new members into its ranks.

 

With a vastly expanded Apothecarion compared to other legions, the Scions were at the forefront of Astartes Medical Research often sending out Apothecary detachments to fellow Legions to further their cause. In the dark days to come, the data gathered by their Seconded Apothecary detachments to the other Legions would provide invaluable information to the Loyalist Remnants in their fight against the Insurrectionists.

"The Galaxy may be vast and our enemies innumerable but, our spirit is insurmountable and our will indefatigable! Through the guidance of the Emperor and by our hands shall all of Mankind be united!"

 

 

-Pionus Santor, addressing his Legion prior to their first departure since their reunion in orbit above Iona.

And my fluff:

 

The Phantoms

 

Initially drawn from the Atlanta Wastes around the fortress city of Mariana, the XIXth Legion developed a reputation as superlative warriors, even by the standards of the Legiones Astartes. While many of their peers relied on unit cohesion and discipline, the XIXth drew on the culture of the assassins who had prowled the rooftops and alleys of Mariana, turning their skills to use in open combat as well as stealth as they were eclipsed by other Legions in clandestine methods. The result was a highly individualistic style and a virtuoso emphasis on skill with the warrior's chosen weapon.

 

Naming themselves the Stygian Phantoms, the XIXth won dazzling victories and earned renown for dazzling feats of arms. In particular, their battles against the Eldar saw them heralded as some of the finest swordsmen in the Imperium, and they gained a reputation for grandiose, complex strategies.

 

However, they also met with criticism from some quarters where they were perceived as glory hounds, unwilling to work alongside other Legions and adapt to their methods. At the same time, their culture of individual prowess resulted in several near disasters when disciplined opponents exploited their loose formations and convoluted strategies, and they saw a greater attrition rate among neophytes than most Legions.

 

Legion Master Antonidas worked hard to curb some of these excesses and yoke them back to the economical ways of the old Mariannan assassins, but met stubborn resistance from many of his captains. Consequently, the Phantoms remained one of the smallest Legions for decades.

 

Child of the Sea

 

Unlike most of his brothers, Pionus Santor’s pod did not come to rest on land. Instead he was set afloat on the seas that covered Iona, save for a single continent. By chance, the pod entered the atmosphere within sit of this landmass, and was spotted by a scientist named Archimados Santor, stargazing with his daughter Inna.

 

Iona had begun as a scientific outpost, and as the Age of Strife loomed its inhabitants had turned all their knowledge towards keeping their civilisation intact. They succeeded in this, but they knew little comfort duing their lives. Conflict was kept in check largely by the danger of violence damaging the undersea structures so many people lived in, rather than the people's contentment.

 

Expeditions were occasionally mounted to the abyssal trenches, where some facilities were known to have sunk. However, almost all who ventured into those depths were devoured by the creatures that lived there, and those facilities found were often buried by tectonic activity or ruined beyond use by water pressure. As the settlements' resources were gradually denuded, these voyages became steadily more infrequent.

 

Archimados was one of the leading scientists seeking a way to avert this glacial collapse, and in an unusual display of superstition took the infant primarch as a good omen of sorts. Aside from anything else, Pionus was a new element that must surely change the equation in some way. Just how much he would do so, no one imagined.

 

The child's rapid growth and incredible stature were a source of fear as well as awe, but mostly he was treated with clinical, scientific curiosity. As a result the young primarch regarded himself with a distressing sense of confusion, fortunately eased by his adoptive family. Nonetheless, as his understanding outstripped that of Iona's leading scientists, he worked to understand his unique gifts, and began to put these lessons to use.

 

The high gravity of Iona had resulted in its people developing dense bones and a higher muscle mass than baseline humans. These adaptations also meant that they were well-equipped to receive the improvements that Pionus devised to help them and improve their lives. These were initially based on enhancing their senses and physical strength. However, as Pionus began more esoteric work on replicating his pulmonary and cardiovascular gifts, he ran up against the limits of Iona's technology. Seeking a solution, he turned to the submerged facilities in the abysses.

 

To deal with the monsters that stood in his way, Pionus set his intellect to arming himself and the other would-be explorers. This extended beyond their weapons and armour to include understanding the creatures; Pionus began by hunting smaller beasts, dissecting his kills to glean information on how they might be brought down with relative ease. Throughout this undertaking he was supported by Archimados and Inna, who doggedly accompanied Pionus on these hunts despite his initial objections.

 

Thus armed, he led his expeditions into the depths and, in a remarkable turn of events, located several lost bases and retrieved STCs and lost devices. With these he was able to advance his campaign to grant Iona's people greater vitality and abilities, and for the first time in centuries the undersea settlements began to expand. This process gathered pace over the years, and when the Halcyon Wardens drew near, their leaders perceived a world prospering under a primarch's direction.

 

On meeting with Alexandros, Pionus felt true kinship with another being for the first time, and to his own surprise he struggled to restrain his emotions. After enquiring diligently about the Imperium he requested a meeting with his father, at which he subsequently swore allegiance and pledged himself to the Great Crusade.

 

In keeping with this, Iona became both a recruitment world and a hub of research into how the Astartes might make war more effectively. The one pristine base Pionus had located in the depths, which had become his personal laboratorium, grew into an artificer armatorium. Over the years it played a small but significant role in the development of technologies such as Terminator armour, as well as the Scions’ signature wave blades.

 

Adaptation

 

The great dangers of underwater combat, in which a single blow could spell death, had left Pionus with a relentless urge to avoid any unnecessary injuries or losses. Consequently he was troubled by what he saw as the wasteful practices of the Stygian Phantoms, but also wary of forcing change on them. Seeking political advice from Alexandros, he built up support among the officers of the Legion, identifying aspects of their culture and methods which could provide a foundation for his vision. Fortunately in Antonidas he found an indispensable ally, and quickly gained an understanding of the men he was to command.

 

Pionus took the Phantoms’ emphasis on personal excellence and turned it to his own purposes, aiming to create a Legion that would serve mankind more effectively. Instead of prioritising elaborate, dramatic kills, the XIXth began to prize clean victories.

 

At the same time, Pionus encouraged a more compassionate attitude toward the common man, reserving particular praise for the Legion's apothecaries. Traditionally viewed with some disdain by their comrades, Pionus cast their expertise in a new light; always seeking ways to understand and bring down an enemy as well as to support their brothers, they were potentially the most lethal men in the Legion.

 

These changing attitudes were borne out both by a surge of Astartes seeking to learn the apothecary's methods and more cohesive unit tactics during the XIXth’s battles. Some within the Legion resisted the changes, and continued to perform remarkable feats of arms, but were increasingly overshadowed by the “new” XIX Legion. As both Ionan and Terran recruits embraced their Primarch's ways, the old guard shrank in numbers but eventually found a niche within a new order, forming the nucleus for the close-combat “Phantom Squads”.

 

Pionus applied his analytical skills to finding ways in which his sons could support and learn from their fellow Legions. Sometimes these efforts met with hostility from his brothers, but others responded with gratitude and respect, especially for the Astartes lives that the men of the XIXth worked diligently to save. This gave rise to a new name for the Legion: the Scions Hospitalier.

Edited June 7, 2016 by bluntblade

[simison]

Only one question so far, why is the Scions considered Fidelitas Totalis? 

[Slips]

As fried as my brain has been recently coupled with how long I was sitting on that bit wanting to expand upon it more but never got around to it, that's something I'm going to have to expand upon.

[bluntblade]

Pionus seems to have a similar worldview to Corvus in my mind, and as such he's confident that the Emperor embodies the virtues he's always strived to live up to.

[simison]

The Raven Guard are Totalis?

[bluntblade]

Err, I'll check. What would you say is more suitable for the Scions, though?

 

Edit: Ravens are Constantus. Which would seem fair for the Scions, I think.

Edited March 31, 2016 by bluntblade

[simison]

To answer your question, I'm not sure. The two standard loyalists levels are Constantus and Totalis. So, I'm trying to maintain a balance between the two since Totalis should emphasize the legion's commitment to the Imperium.

 

I think the Scions can make an argument for Totalis, which is why I asked. I wanted to hear either yours or Slip's reasons for the higher rating. 

 

Out of the 7 loyalists legions, the Halcyon Wardens are guaranteed to get it. I made the call to upgrade the Iron Bears to it, which leaves the Scions, Fire Keepers, Crimson Lions, Dune Serpents, and the Void Eagles. And then the Wardens of Light occupy a unique rule.

 

Of the canon loyalists: Ultramarines (Constantus), Imperial Fists (Totalis), Raven Guard (Constantus), Iron Hands (Constantus), Salamanders (Totalis), Blood Angels (Totalis, as it should be!), White Scars (Scindere), Space Wolves (Sine Recursu), and Dark Angels (Tenebrae).

 

So, three Totalis ranks were handed out out of 9. Thus, I think it's fine if we hand out three ourselves. I see the Wardens of Light earning the Tenebrae (it means 'darkness' right?) ending given their mixed role in the Insurrection, like the Dark Angels. 

 

I'm not sure what Scindere and Sine Recursu mean. Sig, a little help?

 

Regardless, if the Scions want the Totalis rating, then, as they say in business, sell it to me.

Edited March 31, 2016 by simison

[MikhalLeNoir]

Hah! I like the irony.

[bluntblade]

Scindere means splintered- you'll never guess what happens in Scars... Sine Recursu is without reservations- hence the Wolves' role as executioners.

[simison]

Scindere means splintered- you'll never guess what happens in Scars... Sine Recursu is without reservations- hence the Wolves' role as executioners.

 

I have read Scars which is why I'm surprised by that title. I thought that event was only known to the White Scars themselves. I didn't think it made it into public awareness. 

 

Honestly, I thought Sine Recursu fit the Crimson Lions, but, now knowing what it means, perhaps it should be reserved for the Void Eagles, given Yucahu's all-demanding practicality. Or maybe Azus. Who is supposed to be our executioners in BotL?

[Big Bad Squig]

Azus should get either Scindere or Tenebrae, but I don't think they fit as executioners.  The Eagles might be interesting.

[bluntblade]

I have read Scars which is why I'm surprised by that title. I thought that event was only known to the White Scars themselves. I didn't think it made it into public awareness. 

 

Honestly, I thought Sine Recursu fit the Crimson Lions, but, now knowing what it means, perhaps it should be reserved for the Void Eagles, given Yucahu's all-demanding practicality. Or maybe Azus. Who is supposed to be our executioners in BotL?

Good point.

 

I think it fits Yucahu best.