Black Book - Insurrection (PUBLISHED)

[simison]

THE DROWNED

Numeration: XVI^th Legion Astartes

Primogenitor: Sorrowsworn Morro

Allegiance: Traitoris Perdita

Cognomen:  "Lanterns in the Darkness", or more casually "The Lanterns" became a term for many of the tendril fleets attached to the various legions prior to the finding of their Primarch.  "The Drowned" have never officially taken a name for themselves, "The Drowned", or "The Drowned Men" being adopted informally by the Legion and it's Primarch. 

Observed Strategic Tendencies: Combined Orbital Assaults and Subterranean Assaults, Marine, Submarine, Void and other 3-Dimensional Theatres, Tactical and Strategical Suffocation, Ambush Tactics, Brutal Pacifications, Decimation and Punitive Campaigns

 

Noteworthy Domains: The Styxian System, Terra (Tertiary), recurring incidents of forced drafts on conquered planets.

 

Through me you pass into the City of Woe;
Through me you pass into eternal pain;
Through me among the people lost for aye;

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd;
To rear me was the task of power divine;
Supremest wisdom and primeval love;

Before me things create were none; save things
Eternal, and eternal I endure;
All hope abandon, all ye who enter here...

- Childrens poem, found in Sorrowsworn Morro's old room in the Orphanage on Styx.

[Big Bad Squig]

In regards to the Lanterns rule, would it work if I switched it to restricting taking models with phosphex and rad weaponry? I don't think it would restrict any units being taken, but it would still achieve the same sort of effect.

[simison]

That's just it, I can't find any Legion Tactic that outright bans a particular unit or a piece of weapon. If all of the rad weaponry were limited to, say, Elite, then you could come up with a rule that restricted the elites in some way, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Also, the first rule, Adamantium Will, is that for every unit, model, or characters only?

[bluntblade]

One thought for the Final Exodus - Astartes scrambling into position might work better than scurrying

[simison]

Fixed.

[Hesh Kadesh]

That's just it, I can't find any Legion Tactic that outright bans a particular unit or a piece of weapon. If all of the rad weaponry were limited to, say, Elite, then you could come up with a rule that restricted the elites in some way, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Also, the first rule, Adamantium Will, is that for every unit, model, or characters only?

Salamanders.  It's not a Legiones Astartes rule, but included seperately.

[Sigismund229]

Alright, I've confirmed it. No Legion is barred from using any unit. There are Force Org manipulations like the Raven Guard's Flesh Over Steal, but no outright bans.

 

Squig, the Lanterns rule needs to change.

But the Crimson Lions aren't allowed to take destroyers. Do I need to change that?

[Hesh Kadesh]

"Legion Specific Restriction; Disdain of the Dark Age

Moritat Consuls and Destroyer units may not be used in a Salamanders Legion primary detachment, nor may phospex weapons be taken as an option or used by any model in a Salamanders Legion Primary Detachment".

Pg 65, Legiones Astartes; Isstvan Campaign Legions

[simison]

 

That's just it, I can't find any Legion Tactic that outright bans a particular unit or a piece of weapon. If all of the rad weaponry were limited to, say, Elite, then you could come up with a rule that restricted the elites in some way, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head.

 

Also, the first rule, Adamantium Will, is that for every unit, model, or characters only?

Salamanders.  It's not a Legiones Astartes rule, but included seperately.

 

 

Found it, it's labeled as a "Legion Specific Restriction". Is this why the Salamanders have 4 unique pieces of wargear?

 

 

Alright, I've confirmed it. No Legion is barred from using any unit. There are Force Org manipulations like the Raven Guard's Flesh Over Steal, but no outright bans.

 

Squig, the Lanterns rule needs to change.

But the Crimson Lions aren't allowed to take destroyers. Do I need to change that?

 

 

It needs to be moved outside of Legion Tactics and replaced by a different hindrance. 

[bluntblade]

Remind me, what remains to be done? Tidying up the Scions and Bears is next on the list, as far as I'm aware. My additions to the Prosecution chapter should be somewhere in the thread; there's another bit that needs tweaking (concerning Prost Wilhelm), so I'll set about that tomorrow.

[Sigismund229]

And if there's anything I can do to help I'm happy to do so.

[Slips]

Question: anyone have the google-doc link that was posted a while back for Legion Organizational Structure for us to fill out?

[MikhalLeNoir]

That I need too

[Skalpynock]

Question: anyone have the google-doc link that was posted a while back for Legion Organizational Structure for us to fill out?

Here it is: https://framacalc.org/BotL

 

[Edit] Also added slots for the Shepherds, Nightguard, and Morningstars, two columns after the Predators.

[simison]

Remind me, what remains to be done? Tidying up the Scions and Bears is next on the list, as far as I'm aware. My additions to the Prosecution chapter should be somewhere in the thread; there's another bit that needs tweaking (concerning Prost Wilhelm), so I'll set about that tomorrow.

 

The Scion general history needs a section about the Legion leading up to the Insurrection.

 

The Drowned need everything after the title page.

 

The Iron Bears and Grave Stalkers need their rules cleaned up, which I'm working with Redd and Grifft on.

 

I need Athrawes to reply to my questions so that I can get the Harbingers rolling again. 

 

The Godslayers need Legion Tactics done. 

 

If anybody can help at any of those points, please do.

 

Other than that, people can make progress on Omega phase.

[Sigismund229]

I'm happy to help with any fluff writing that needs doing.

[MikhalLeNoir]

would help on the legion tactics of the Godslayers but uhm...where is Mr.Squig?

[simison]

would help on the legion tactics of the Godslayers but uhm...where is Mr.Squig?

 

I see him briefly visiting and liking posts, but I don't remember the last time he's posted. So, I think he's aware, but I wonder if he's being buried by RL.

[Big Bad Squig]

Yeah I'm a little lacking in time at the moment but I'm sure I'll be able to find some time to make a start on legion tactics - unfortunately I missed that first time around writing the Godslayers stuff. What sort of thing should I be looking to include?

[bluntblade]

I'll finish my work on the Scions; I can probably do that this morning.

[simison]

The problem with the current Godslayer tactics is that there was a rule that banned something, which isn't what the tactics for. The tactics is meant to emphasize the entire legion's style, it's core approach to war as opposed to what units/gear it doesn't have or like. 

 

Psychic Suppressants is fine, just need to emphasize who gets Adamantium Will. Units? Characters? Independent characters?

 

I'm curious why killing the Warlord affects the Godslayers so strongly.

 

Lanterns of Humanity is a no go, which means the Godslayers need a hindrance. 

[bluntblade]

Hunters of the Depths

Under the tutelage of their Primarch and the XVIth Legion, the Scions swiftly became the Imperium's most renowned underwater combatants, and while being dispersed across several fleets meant they won fewer massive, overwhelming victories than some of their fellows, it did gain them experience in myriad theatres of war.

 

By common consensus, their finest hour is considered to be the Qarith War, which saw Pionus rally almost the entire Legion to confront the foul xenos. While the Crimson Lions and Stygian Jackals had successfully stalled the Qarith's advance, it was the Scions and The Drowned who made it possible to push the amphibious monsters back, taking the fight to them in their watery strongholds. After several years of savage combat, the two Legions spearheaded the attack on Qarith Prime itself, crushing the aliens underfoot. The Scions departed to aid the Iron Bears in the conquest of Laeran, before returning for the Qarith Triumph.

 

While many of their cousins were dismayed at the Emperor's return to Terra and the appointment of Alexandros as Warmaster, the Scions took it in their stride. Indeed, Pionus and several of his captains acclaimed Alexandros' choice from the very beginning. Over the following decades Pionus would remain a consistent ally of the Warmaster, dedicated to preserving the unity of the Crusade.

 

However, when the work of Vizenko brought the simmering conflicts over gene-augmentation to the surface, the Scions forced to take a side. After the Triumph Pionus began to put out feelers to other Legions, fearing that if their work continued they would utterly estrange the Astartes from the people they were meant to serve, and endanger his own dreams for elevating the whole of Mankind. He also privately attempted to warn Kozja, but his cautions were ignored.

 

When the trial was called, Pionus felt forced to take the stand against his brother's Legion. He managed to salvage something of the compromise he had hoped for on gene-augmentation, but at a cost. To those on the other side his actions smacked of hypocrisy, alienating The Drowned, Warbringers and a large portion of the Eagle Warriors and harming already sour relations with the Berserkers of Uran.

 

In the aftermath of their hollow victory the Scions dispersed again into several fleets and proceeded as before. They served with distinction on several collaborative campaigns, included one celebrated war with the Lightning Bearers against the slaver-lords of the Ngyverug. They were closest of all, however, to the Iron Bears and Halcyon Wardens, and when Icarion turned against the Emperor he knew that Pionus would never side with him. The Scions were marked for death.

[Chief Captain Redd]

Edit: never mind my brain broke.

[bluntblade]

Edit: never mind my brain broke.

Good party, then? :P

[bluntblade]

Exemplary battle with the Ghost Walkers? Nah, that was with the Berserkers.

The Conquest of Punicia

 

In 922 M30 two battalions of the Scions Hospitalier were called to aid a campaign against the Punicia system. Having received the request from an Army fleet, the Scions were perturbed to find the Berserkers of Uran present. However, having not yet fought beside the "new" VIIth Legion, Pionus resolved to give them the benefit of the doubt. A small but powerful stellar empire, the Punicians resisted Compliance with a system of fortifications and mechanised armies. These armies were the first target identified by Raktra, and Pionus devised a strategy to cripple them.

 

The Scions initially fought for a month alongside the Imperial Army, capturing lightly defended, mountainous territory on which to base themselves. This drew the enemy out, and for two days the Imperials engaged them, gradually falling back through the valleys. To their credit the Punicians advanced cautiously, but unbeknownst to them a second Astartes force had been lying in wait. Emerging miles behind enemy lines, squads of Berserkers hit HQs and communication facilities.

 

Crippled, the Punician regiments faltered, and were suddenly attacked by the Scions and Army. Although their opponents fought fiercely and resisted for some hours, the Imperials managed to capture the lion's share of the opposing Army. Pionus now intended to take the fortresses incrementally, using the fair treatment of his prisoners as a bargaining chip. With the VIIth Legion harrying their exposed units, he reasoned, Punician morale would collapse as their fate became clear.

 

However, having only served alongside the Berserkers' previous incarnation, the Scions did not understand their cousins’ attitude towards non-Compliant worlds, and Raktra responded to his brother's gradual approach with the same disgust he had shown the Shepherds of Eden.

 

Instead, as the Scions began their attacks on outlying fortresses, the Berserkers converged well behind the Punician lines and laid waste to a regional capital. Army officers were puzzled by the strange lights on the horizon, but Pionus and his lieutenants immediately recognised the signs of phosphex and nuclear weapons, and raced to the city, leaving a few companies to secure the gains they had made.

 

In the ensuing standoff in the ruined city, Captain Epinondas almost came to blows with Dominator Guarrig. Both were restrained and the Primarchs managed to remain more or less civil, but the two sides could not reach agreement. Pionus argued that excessive, even cruel violence would prevent an orderly Compliance. Moreover the Destroyers’ weapons had tainted the very earth on which the city had stood, leaving it uninhabitable.

 

Raktra however, castigated his brother for, as he saw it, prioritising enemy lives over the proper goals of the Crusade. The Punicians should be punished for their defiance, whereas Pionus’ strategy would be perceived as showing weakness. Any man who considered rebellion would have the remains of the fortress to remind him of the consequences. He would not be disuaded from launching similar assaults on other cities until the Punicians submitted.

 

Troubled by this development but unwilling to deviate from his own course, Pionus set out to end the conflict as quickly as he could. To achieve this he hatched an audacious scheme and, without informing Raktra, led a strike on the planetary capital. It was a brutal battle that claimed over a thousand Scions’ lives, but after a day's fighting the Legion had control of the city. Taking control of the media apparatus, Pionus swallowed his disgust and broadcast images of the Berserkers’ atrocity, promising that more would follow if the planet failed to surrender. To show that he was appalled by their actions would harm the Legions in the enemy's eyes.

 

After a few desultory battles the defenders’ morale gave out, and they submitted to Compliance. Raktra and his Legion moved on while the Scions remained, doing their best to heal the damage and ease the planet's integration. However, irreparable damage had been done to relations between the two Legions and they never cooperated on a large scale again. Indeed, when the Shepherds of Eden broke away from the VIIth, Pionus was one of the foremost advocates for their rehabilitation as an independent force.