Alternate Legion - The Scions Hospitalier

[bluntblade]

Mix in some District 9. I was going to go down the eelish Silverfin route, but that'd be too close to the Laer.

[bluntblade]

Tech-fluff. Having perused the PFD, I figured the Scions should probably have a gear box like the Grave Stalkers.

 

Following the reunion with their primarch, the Scions Hospitalier continued their gene-father’s diligent acquisition of archeotech. Fostering close ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus, they were often granted the first chance to study the Standard Template Constructs recovered in their campaigns before handing them over. The result is an array of weapons and armour unique to the XIXth Legion.

 

Wave blades have been an integral part of the Scions’ arsenal since the reunion, having been designed by the primarch on Iona for underwater use. Using a hyper-dense ore found only in the depths:-$:-* Iona, they rely on inbuilt micro-grav impulsers to function effectively. As a result of the added weight, they offer a more powerful swing than typical power weapons, and had served the Scions well against armoured foes such as the Malacos. Though rare, a few have been forged for warriors in other Legions as a mark of friendship, and the Scions treat any Astartes who bears one with immense respect as a result.

 

The rest of the Scions’ wargear is tailored largely to their focus on underwater campaigns; perhaps best known are the Phaeton-pattern Stormeagles used for aquatic deployments. This specialisation is mirrored in the Mechanicus detachments seconded to the XIXth, which have undergone extensive modifications to support the Scions beneath the waves. The Legion's artificers also developed a pattern of jump pack that can function both in the void and underwater, as well as sophisticated sonar emitters and infrared receptors that allow a legionary to “see” his surroundings in dark or murky conditions.

 

The legionaries themselves are immediately recognisable in their distinctive, streamlined armour, optimised for battle in the crushing depths of the ocean. At present they use the Cyma sub-pattern of Mk IV and the Cetus variant of Terminator armour. These suits are kept fully sealed in the field, the Scions disdaining the carefree practice of going into battle without making full use of the protection available to them.

Edited May 25, 2016 by bluntblade

[bluntblade]

Oh no. Has it been Hospitalier all this time?

 

Today I wull mostly be correcting typos

Edited May 5, 2016 by bluntblade

[Slips]

Yes it has hahahaha

[bluntblade]

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQq1MJEoS6JglcgS4wM-rwKTE4fsB5E2B0tYdxeZ1R7G1L0m9F-jRD12Bnz-Q

[simison]

Yes it has hahahaha

 

Ah crap, I've been doing that too. So glad the Scions aren't on the PDF yet.

[Slips]

:0 im aghast brothers! Aghast and waaay more amused than I should be about this haahha

[bluntblade]

Lucky I didn't have work today. (I think they're all fixed now). Also, I realise I never posted that tech blurb on here before sending it to Grifft. Same goes for the info Slips devised for Odyssalas. So, here we go:

 

Following the reunion with their primarch, the Scions Hospitalier continued their gene-father’s diligent acquisition of archeotech. Fostering close ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus, they were often granted the first chance to study the Standard Template Constructs recovered in their campaigns before handing them over. The result is an array of weapons and armour unique to the XIXth Legion.

 

Wave blades have been an integral part of the Scions’ arsenal since the reunion, having been designed by the primarch on Iona. Using of a hyper-dense ore found only in Iona, they rely on inbuilt micro-grav impulsers to function effectively. As a result of the added weight, they offer a more powerful swing than typical power weapons, and have served the Scions well against armoured foes such as the Malacos. Though rare, a few have been forged for warriors in other Legions as a mark of friendship, and the Scions treat any Astartes who bears one with immense respect.

 

The rest of the Scions’ wargear is tailored largely to their focus on underwater campaigns; perhaps best known are the Phaeton-pattern Stormeagles used for aquatic deployments. This specialisation is mirrored in the Mechanicus detachments seconded to the XIXth, which have undergone extensive modifications to support the Scions beneath the waves. The Legion's artificers also developed a pattern of jump pack that can function both in the void and underwater, as well as sophisticated sonar emitters and infrared detectors that allow a legionary to “see” his surroundings in dark or murky conditions.

 

The legionaries themselves are immediately recognisable in their streamlined armour, optimised for battle in the crushing depths of the ocean. At present they use the Cyma sub-pattern of Mk IV and the Cetus variant of Terminator armour. These suits are kept fully sealed in the field, the Scions disdaining the carefree practice of going into battle without making full use of the protection available to them.

 

-----

 

Second Captain Metis Odyssalas

 

Raised on Iona, Odyssalas committed himself wholeheartedly to Pionus’ vision for the Legion. Although trained as an Apothecary, he was encouraged by Antonidas to take on command roles, and steadily rose to become one of the Scions’ foremost captains. Odyssalas displays some of his Terran mentor's influence in his fluid combat style, wielding a rare glaive known as Ladon. His tactics are often unorthodox but highly effective, and he has participated in several collaborative campaigns with other Legions.

 

Odyssals 185ptsWs: 6 Bs:5 S:4 T:4 I:5 W:3 A:3 Ld:10 Sv: 2+

 

Wargear:

• Ladon
• Artificer Armor
• Iona-Pattern Narthecium Array
• Iron Halo
• Volkite Charger
• Frag & Krak Grenades

Special Rules:

• Legiones Astartes: Nightguard / Scions Hospitalier
• Stubborn
• Void-Hardened
• Furious Charge
• Master of the Legion

Ladon: Range: Melee, S: +2/+3, Ap 3/2, Versatile*, Rending (5+), Master-Crafted, Two-Handed

• Versatile: Unless declared at the start of the Assault Subphase, Ladon uses the first set of numbers on its profile when fighting in close combat. Should the player declare that he is using the second set of numbers, the weapon gains the Unwieldy Special Rule.

Edited May 27, 2016 by bluntblade
Formatting for Odyssalas.

[bluntblade]

A thought on the Praevians- how does their system of control over the robots work?

[Slips]

Cortex Controllers and Cortex Designators. Theres no real fluff explanation for them other than they more or less give direct commands to the Automata that overrides their Programmed Behavior.

[bluntblade]

Cool. Does that make the Praevians Techmarines in essence? I'm thinking anyone with those gizmos should be tight with the Mechanicus. Maybe one Forge World in particular, given their specialist detachments.

[Slips]

They kinda are but aren't.

 

They're Marines who've shown a Techmarine Inclination but much more focussed towards Automata Made by the Mechanicum. They haven't gotten much fluff exposition so its anyones guess as to how they obtain the rank and position of Praevian.

 

But, that said, they're in charge of a Legion's Battle-Automata though a Forge Lord may take a Cortex Controller Too So there are definite parallels.

[bluntblade]

I suggest the two groups come from the same place, and simply follow different paths.

[Slips]

That works.

[Doctor Perils]

Well if you follow Narik Dreygur's path, it sounds more like the Cortex Controller was implanted directly into his skull after a near death experience.

 

Of course, he's an Iron Warrior, so he was basically a Techmarine anyway :P

[bluntblade]

I'm gonna work a praevian into one of the quiet pieces, and maybe the Laeran piece as well.

 

I really want an illustration of a Scion (like Athrawes has of a Lightning Bearers legionary) so I can properly picture their look. Did you have a look in mind of the Phantoms, Slips?

[Slips]

Think:

http://i.imgur.com/MKz6PrQ.jpg

 

But with Jump Packs, Smoothed Scion Armor colored Black Pearl with a deep Amethyst for Trims, a Hooked, Barbed and all around Nasty looking Net that can envelop an entire Space Marine Attached to one Forearm and a Short Dual-Pronged Power Lance that borders on being a Bident with a Serated Blade.

 

Think of their Lancea's (wargear name) as a Weapon one would use when hunting giant fleshy prey which means its easy for it to stab into a body but due to its shape a horrendously damaging and painful process to remove it.

 

For inspiration on general look of the actual weapons, I shamelessly nabbed them from DEldar:

http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/381283154472-0-1/s-l1000.jpg

But obviously Astartes Sized and equipped with Power Field Generators.

Edited May 25, 2016 by Slipstreams

[bluntblade]

Yeah, but I wanna, y'know, see them in all their finery.

 

I'm keen to see how Ladon ends up looking.

[Slips]

Well of I had the cash for a comission I would but I dont :p

 

Ladon I envision being closer to a Guan Dao/Naginata.

[bluntblade]

I know, just yearning. It'll be a cool pay off when we have got the dollar.

 

Yeah, I'm with you on that.

[Slips]

However, the unsharpened part I imagine being stylized into rolling waves.

 

...Cuz Wave Blade.

[bluntblade]

Yes. Oh yes.

 

Have you had any thoughts about the young officers forced to step up during the ambush? (Planet's name escapes me). We have a Captain Epinondas from an exemplary battle who we could have our Drowned reaver hunt down and murder.

 

Which leads me to another question - would the Scions have equivalents to Legates or Chapter Masters, or informal levels of seniority among captains a la the Luna Wolves? I can see both approaches having their merits for the Scions, and as the Legion grows they might simply become necessary.

Edited May 26, 2016 by bluntblade

[Slips]

For the Character, Epinondas could work well enough as a type of Hunter vs Hunter confrontation.

 

On the Junior Officer front, aside still keeping him a Vigilator or something similar, haven't had much time to think about it. :P

 

I think it would be more of an Imperial Fists Approach:

 

The Legion was organized to support its crusade posture. The Imperial Fists maintained a fleet of 1,500 warships, a force quantitatively and qualitatively superior to any other legion. The Legion command and control structure featured theater marshals in charge of all forces taking part in their area of responsibility, fleet masters, and siege masters. Ad hoc commands of castellan and seneschals controlled formations called crusades or households, respectively -- each comprised of two battalions. Infantry unit configuration tended towards the two extremes of assault loadouts or long-range heavy weapons.

Edited May 26, 2016 by Slipstreams

[bluntblade]

Legion Organisation

 

The XIXth make a virtue of flexibility, and consequently maintain a relatively sparse command structure. They eschew large standing bodies such as Clans and Chapters, with battalions being drawn up for each campaign and command given to the captain best suited to the task at hand.

 

While an informal seniority of experience and achievement exists, the 1st through to 10th Captains - known as the Déka within the Legion - represent the highest echelons of the Legion, and typically take charge of large expeditions which the Primarch cannot lead personally. These include First Captain Antonidas and Fifth Captain Mytikas, who lead the Phantom and Depthstrider elites respectively. Along with Inna Santor, the Legion’s venerable Dreadnoughts, the Master of the Apothecarion and other specialist officers, these captains form the Synedrion which advises Pionus.

 

Pionus himself is unusual among his brothers for not maintaining a formalised bodyguard. Instead he takes a detachment of Phantom Assault Marines or Depthstrider Terminators, depending on the circumstances of a battle. This approach extends to the forces he gathers for his own campaigns; four of the Déka served under him during the War for Laeran, with the rest leading battalions elsewhere.

 

With their preference for flexibility and mobile units, Assault, Tactical or Seeker Squads make up the majority of the Legion's companies. Breachers generally serve to defend vessels against boarding actions and secure objectives during assaults, while Terminators are used to spearhead assaults against fortified objectives. Individual squads of Depthstriders and Phantoms are dispersed throughout the Legion as necessity dictates, only assembled in full to meet the direst threats. Indeed, the Depthstriders have only fought on four occasions as a single unit, the most recent being the final assault on Qarith Prime.

 

Given their close relationship with the Legio Cybernetica, the Scions' Techmarines also include Praevians, who control the war machines that serve with the Legion. As such, Chief Praevian Elihayus holds a post among the Scions’ Triumvirate of Forge Lords.

 

The Scions therefore exist as a constantly shifting collection of fleets. While they lack the camaraderie nurtured by systems such as the Clans of the Crimson Lions, this has fashioned them into one of the most adaptable forces in the Imperium.

Edited June 8, 2016 by bluntblade

[bluntblade]

Slips and I have been working on Fourth Captain Mytakis, who leads the Depthstriders. He's going to be quite a shooty Terminator, packing a waveblade sword (a makhaira slashing sword, having looked into the Ancient Greek options for choppy weapons). For a ranged weapon we're debating suitable, shoulder-mounted options, and Slips came up with this as a wrist-mounted gun:

 

Volkite Storm Array; ie Two Volkite Caliver Strapped Together. Caliver to match the other Depthstriders.

 

• Range 30" S6 Ap5 Heavy 2, Deflagrate Twin-Linked

Also, I've got the Scions' nickname for their Primarch- Heúrēkos. Anyone want to guess where I got it?

Edited May 27, 2016 by bluntblade