General Discussion Secundus

[MikhalLeNoir]

The XIIth took recruits from South Frank and Spain. Kreol and Basquia

[Hesh Kadesh]

 

The VIIth drew verily heavily from Sudafrik, or whatever the bastardisation is. I haven’t got an in-universe reason for it, I just like the accent.

It also sets us a ways from simple resets of what's history now. Afrikaner Knights.

As long as theres a Silica Animus Heretek Knight called Cha'apay, who uses sonic amplifiers to pump out Die Antwoord.

 

I'll put it to the the others, and if the Drowned's new project lead is okay with it, that the Drowned could take some of the failed trainee astartes from other legions training programs and remould them? Part of the initial concept was that the Drowned learned from other legions before returning back to the Drowned's High command and enacted the lessons learned as part of a training program.

 

Thst has kinda been ignored, and I don't want to clog up with yet more Mary sue extraordinaryniss, other than to have a sleight homage to it. Perhaps that xould be a source somewhere of the Drowned's truculence with other legions as some of the senior members may have been failed aspirants cast to the wayside. Henno could have used that for his own political games early crusade post split.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Hesh Kadesh

[helterskelter]

It's a difficult concept in an of itself as failed aspirants have a habit of being dead very soon after failure, if not dead servitor material, thus a resource, so the ability to acquire them would be an extreme challenge in and of itself, rare are the ones that fail and live, the chap in the flight of the Eisenstein an exception.

Unless you can completely justify it somehow?

[Hesh Kadesh]

It always seems excessively wasteful to simply gib the failed aspirants. I gather that there's an exacting process to select astartes, and to only have the 1% of the 1% of the 1% of the 1% of the 1% ad infinitum actually become an Astartes (who given the lethality of combat and the missions they undertake, might not even survive their 1st mission) seems incredibly cool, you've then got 99.9999% who get cast off. There is a force that at the time of the Conquest of the Sol System, you're looking at maybe little more than 50,000 Total Legionaries. 50,000 from a total number of let's choose 50b as a figure for the population; 1 in a million have become an Astartes.

 

If an aspirant has gone through the training to become an Astartes, it feels so incredibly wasteful to have the proto-legionary lobotomised and turned into a combat servitor.

 

I know it was a pithy comment, but Aspirants don't have a habit of ending up dead; they are killed. There are some who just legitimately cannot use the organs and become a transhuman Space Marine, at any one of the 17 Stages of implantation prior to the Progenoid Glands, which is done over a period of 2-6 years. That said, I may have the information completely incorrect, but there are White Scars who were in line to become Sons of Horus during their training, before being reallocated; they felt shame, dishonor, and eventually even turned to stand with Horus during the Heresy, although that was more a decision of high command

 

There would be no need to have the Drowned take all failures; they could assess those who they thought were still suitable, and simply fell foul of the doctrine of their original legion.

 

That was the thoughts, anyway. 

[Skalpynock]

Oooor they could use them as semi-augmented Auxilia forces.

[simison]

Fact #1: The original Lightning Bearers were not drawn from any one region, but instead were selected for their genetic purity. They would eventually take their name in homage to the Thunder Warriors, seeing themselves as the natural successor to the unstable yet early pioneers of the Emperor's gene-enhanced warriors. 

 

Fact #2: Although inducted next, the Second Legion would never serve in the Unification Wars and was kept apart from the other Legions during development, leading to whispered rumors over their status. It would not be until 10 years into the Great Crusade would the II Legion deploy in open combat en masse.

 

Fact #3: Likewise, the Third Legion would run into troubles with its gene-seed that delayed its deployment until after several of its brother Legions made their way to the frontlines. Unlike the Second, the Third Legion would not miss the Unification Wars, bloodying itself in the Shakletian Desert. 

 

Fact #4: Recruited from the Paladin Cults of North Ind, a society that placed honour above life itself, at first there seemed to be nothing remarkable about the 4th. This illusion was dispelled as, upon their first deployment, they launched a dawn assault via aerial vehicles that saw the leaders of the Pan-Pacific Empire massacred. Their mode and time of assault gave them the title of Morning Stars.

 

Fact 5: Achieving deployment earlier than many of it's brother Legions, the majority of the Fifth originated from the religiously united techno-barbarian states of Jermani. An aggressive and competitive nature aimed toward the First gave rise to bloody battles that garnered accusations of gene-seed deficiencies.

Fact 6: The Sixth Legion was recruited from Nord American tribes in order to obtain more Legionaries so that the Unification War's momentum would continue as the remaining opponents enjoyed impressive fortifications. The peculiarities of their gene-seed lead to an abnormally slow gestation period, making it difficult for the Sixth to gain in size, fighting as a support forces against the tyrant Narthan Dume's forces in Mezo-Merika. At the onset of the Great Crusade, they were forced to deploy alongside the Third Legion. 

Fact 7: Hailing from Sudafrik, the Seventh Legion's early campaigns in Gyptus and Nordafrik earned them the name of The Shepherds of Eden, adhering to a strict chivalric code that saw them cast as liberators rather than conquerors.

Fact 8: The resilient people's of the Kulatic League, located in the deep, frigid North, were early on identified as a potential source of aspirants, given their impressive endurance in the face of murderous tyrants and merciless weather. After a decades-long purge of their original religion, the Eighth displayed the ruthlessness of zealots as they rooted stubborn foes in their debut battles in the Sol System.

Fact 9: The survival of many of the Ninth's aspirants despite a strenuous gene-seed implantation increased a self-belief in their innate superiority as warriors, something inherited from their Pansylvanian culture. To their foes they presented an iron wall of discipline and coordination that shattered all before them.

Fact 10: Assembled from warriors of Nordafric and Europa (Franc in particular), the Tenth would see the end of the Unification Wars as their first battle. Whether an honour or not, the Tenth can rightfully claim that during Unification they faced a foe no other Legion did. When the biological degeneration of the Thunder Warriors forced the Emperor to euthanize the proto-genetic warriors, it would fall to the newly constituted Tenth Legion to eliminate them.

 

Fact 11: Unlike any other Legion, every member of the Eleventh was chosen to a much higher standard than the norm with many members authorised by the Emperor himself before the Legion would eventually be born beneath the gaze of The First Tempest.

 

Fact 12: One of what would become known as the 'trefoil Legions', the Twelfth would be held back after induction, separating them from their brothers. It is rumoured that they would become part of a intense experimentation phase, tied closely to their odd Pariah nature with recruits coming from South Franc, Kreol, and Basquia.

 

Fact 13: Unlike many, the present-day name of the Eagle Warriors dates back to the Unification Wars themselves, where their penchant for using rapid assaults to outmanoeuvre their foes earned them praise from as high as the Emperor himself. Like many they were recruited from peoples that had put up determined but not suicidal resistance against the armies of the Emperor, in this case the denizens of Kentral Americ's radiation tainted jungles.

 

Fact 14: Heralding from the Shakletian salt deserts of Terra, the so-called 'sightless Fourteenth' found both it's size and reputation hindered by both an unstable gene-seed that inflicted blindness on more than a few aspirants and a fondness for ambush tactics instead of the more sensational assaults their brother Legions were famed for. 

 

Fact 15: The Fifteenth Legion was one of the most audacious projects ever undertaken by the Emperor: a Legion composed entirely of the Soulless. Although successful, the cost was hideous, rendering most its aspirants from the jungles in Hy-Brasil useless corpses. Its first campaign was undertook with a force of no more than 200 Astartes, by the end of which they had earned the Cognomen of 'The Wraiths', for tactics that relied not upon open battle but terrifying the foe into surrender through extreme psychological warfare combined with their unnerving nature.

 

Fact 16: The Sixteenth demonstrated from its first battle an expertise in fighting in three-dimensional warfare, destroying their target through a combination of boring machines and aquatic assault. This would be reinforced by their campaign on Neptune, and would quickly establish the heavy cost they would pay for the sake of victory. 

Fact 17: The Seventeenth Legion were recruited from the Asiatic border regions of the Pan-Pacific and Ursh Empires. Caught between these two titanic forces, the recruits displayed a stoicism and devotion to tradition that served them well as Astartes. However, the Seventeenth would be unable to deploy on its own before the onset of the Great Crusade, due to gene-seed complications, leading them to deploy in conjunction with the Ninth. 

 

Fact 18: The early Eigthteenth Legion suffered from rampant internal rivalries and infighting due to a quirk in their gene-seed that left much of their old memories intact. This disunity led to huge casualties during their first true test against the Vapour Wraiths of Jupiter, earning the Emperor's ire and leading him to punish the 18th with decimation before ordering they be split into smaller support units under the command of other, more trustworthy legions. They would never again fight as a Legion until the rediscovery of their Primarch Nomus. 

 

Fact 19: The Phantoms were a Legion of superlative swordsmen that became renowned for its members' actions in single combat. Drawn from the city of Mariana within the Atlanta Wastes, they drew upon that domain's culture of assassins to slay Sud-Afrik tyrants and Urshek warlords, despite a relatively small size. 

Fact 20: The Vessorid warriors of the Zealandia wastes made for skilled but destructive recruits for the Twentieth. The divisive and cruel culture that birthed its aspirants showed clearly in its furious assaults. Criticised for cruelty and individualism, the Legion nearly collapsed from in-fighting until order was restored by Chapter Master Cassus. 

 

[i've added suggestions and made a few corrections. Any other recommendations before I start the next 20?]

[Beren]

Are these just the Unification Wars or the Conquest of the Sol system as well? Edited February 26, 2018 by Beren

[simison]

I answered Beren elsewhere, but I'll answer here too.

 

These first 20 facts were more of a chance to survey the Legiones Astartes at the start of the Great Crusade and to see if we could fill up a Unification Wars fact video. Yet, Fact 2 (the Space Wolves) immediately derailed this effort since they have no presence until a few years into the Great Crusade. 

 

So, while I'd like to focus just on the Unification Wars, I'm not sure it's possible. Expanding it to the Conquest of the Sol System might be enough, but I'd have to see the facts.

 

On a side note, did the Third Legion fight in the Shakletian Desert and lay down the foundation for the Fourteenth? The Seventh Legion is from Sudafrik, but supposedly the Nineteenth Legion was responsible for securing that region for the nascent Imperium. How do we explain that one?

 

Also, i need to add in the third 'trefoil' Legion.

[bluntblade]

Seventh Legion extended recruitment to Sudafrik. They started off in Europa, we need to add the Sudafrik detail to their fluff.

 

Third fought in the Shakletian Desert, but the Emperor resolved the matter by negotiation.

Edited February 27, 2018 by bluntblade

[Beren]

I am compiling a list of existing Sol System campaigns based on the content in our and the 40k wiki. Edited February 27, 2018 by Beren

[Skalpynock]

A Steel Guard campaign that's lost somewhere in a post is the conquest of Callisto. No idea who the enemy was.

[Beren]

Which ones were the Steel Guard?

 

Edit: Never mind, found it.

 

Neptune: Dirigiscrae, eliminated by the 16th. Previous attempt by the 12th?

 

Venus: Mehr Yasht Campaign, War witches and Lletho-Gholem armies, eliminated by 6th and 16th

 

False Moon of Sedna: Destroyed by the 1st.

 

Iapetus: Furthest moon of Saturn, formerly stronghold of the Ringers

 

Uranus: Orbiting colonies of human Azurites contaminated by warp plague and mutated into daemons, destroyed in the Screaming, 8th Legion present.

 

Moons of Jupiter: 16th present.

 

Jupiter: Home to the Vapour Wraiths. 18th suffered heavy casualties against due to disunity.

 

Sol System Fringes: Disharmonia purge, 8th present.

 

Pluto: KI Power, Dark Age remnant, eliminated by the 12th.

 

Luna: Selenite Gene Cults, subjugated by the 3rd.

 

Callisto (moon of Jupiter): Conquered by the 9th.

Edited February 27, 2018 by Beren

[Kelborn]

Sim?

You did mention some witches, which the Ebon Blades (pre Andezo XXth Legion) could fight against, right?

[Raktra]

I’m fine with removing the Sudafrik bit from the VIIth, I can always put the voices in my head in secret.

[bluntblade]

I'd rather thought you intended that to be what Uran accents resembled.

[Skalpynock]

Sim?

You did mention some witches, which the Ebon Blades (pre Andezo XXth Legion) could fight against, right?

There are some on Venus, who use litho-gholems.

[simison]

Sim?

You did mention some witches, which the Ebon Blades (pre Andezo XXth Legion) could fight against, right?

 

Check Reader's Notes thread. I left a note.

[Kelborn]

"...such as the lengthy persecution of the void-born Gethora Warp-Witches by the Night Lords Legion across the Vaomir Reaches in the 970s..."

 

Found it.

 

So those and the War Witches are not the same, right?

[Beren]

It would be highly unlikely. At the very least they're entirely different campaigns.

[Beren]

Final canon battle in the Sol System was a xenos planet construct on the periphery which took 8 Legions to subdue/destroy.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Final canon battle in the Sol System was a xenos planet construct on the periphery which took 8 Legions to subdue/destroy.

Apostles are on board^^

[simison]

Final canon battle in the Sol System was a xenos planet construct on the periphery which took 8 Legions to subdue/destroy.

 

Sedna? 

 

It would be highly unlikely. At the very least they're entirely different campaigns.

 

What he said. 

 

 

Which ones were the Steel Guard?

 

Edit: Never mind, found it.

 

Neptune: Dirigiscrae, eliminated by the 16th. Previous attempt by the 12th?

 

Venus: Mehr Yasht Campaign, War witches and Lletho-Gholem armies, eliminated by 6th and 16th

 

False Moon of Sedna: Destroyed by the 1st.

 

Iapetus: Furthest moon of Saturn, formerly stronghold of the Ringers

 

Uranus: Orbiting colonies of human Azurites contaminated by warp plague and mutated into daemons, destroyed in the Screaming, 8th Legion present.

 

Moons of Jupiter: 16th present.

 

Jupiter: Home to the Vapour Wraiths. 18th suffered heavy casualties against due to disunity.

 

Sol System Fringes: Disharmonia purge, 8th present.

 

Pluto: KI Power, Dark Age remnant, eliminated by the 12th.

 

Luna: Selenite Gene Cults, subjugated by the 3rd.

 

Callisto (moon of Jupiter): Conquered by the 9th.

 

That's 11 items at the very least. So, we definitely have enough material that we don't need to touch upon the first stages of the Great Crusade in this next Fact list. 

[Beren]

 

Final canon battle in the Sol System was a xenos planet construct on the periphery which took 8 Legions to subdue/destroy.

 

Sedna?

 

 

If Sedna was the last place in the Solar System to be captured in canon, and was on the very edge of the Solar System, then yes. If not it's probably something different as the actual name wasn't mentioned. This if from the pre-Vulkan Legionary blurb in Massacre. Edited March 1, 2018 by Beren

[Nomus Sardauk]

 

Final canon battle in the Sol System was a xenos planet construct on the periphery which took 8 Legions to subdue/destroy.

Apostles are on board^^

I thought it was already established the Lightning Bearers destroyed Sedna, or is it being opened up to other Legions to participate?

[Beren]

I don't know if it was Sedna.