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Blackshields: The False War Info+Cover

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Calas Typhon Veteran

Calas Typhon

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OK, got to listen to this tonight. Really enjoyed it! I was already a massive fan of the Xana Incursion fluff, so this was right up my alley. The False War is named for the display of the Ordinatus Ullator from that section in Retribution. It's basically 72 minutes of Black Shields arguing with each other and it's great. Lots of really interesting revelations and info about the Xana Incursion here! I'll list my favorites:

 

1)I've always been really curious about this, but Endryd Haar's unit entry in Retribution lists him as having a rule called "Marked by Dark Fates." It's shared by Abaddon and Khârn... HMMM. So I've wondered that Haar may have a future in the Eye of Terror, unable to reconcile with the Imperium after the Heresy. That's elaborated on a little... he's kind of an utter monster. 

 

2) It's super clear from this story that the Imperial historian who compiled the Xana Incursion section was writing a doctored history. Uncavar Noon did not arrive with Endryd Haar/"Korradon." They arrived separately, Haar as a Black Shield pursuing his own goals, and Korradon as an Imperial assassin. Why did the history get doctored? Because Haar has done some bad things, and even killed Loyalists on Terra to escape imprisonment. When "Noon" and Haar both realize they're not agents of the Warmaster and murder the Archmagos, "Noon" basically offers Haar a license to kill for the Imperium. So the unreliable narrator crops up yet again, as they re-wrote the history to make Haar sound like he was working with the Imperium the whole time. Yes, I did re-read the Xana Incursion section right after listening to this to catch the inconsistencies.

 

3) The "army of the dead" was made by Haar and was not part of Imperial plans. He was going to use it to maybe try to kill Horus or something, but finds a better use here. It implies he did some truly terrible stuff to make it. 

 

4) It's still not clear if the Dark Angels who show up here were cooperating with the Imperium at all. Mysterious!

 

5) Also from the ending it kind of seems like there will be another of these, possibly making it a short series? That would be fantastic.

 

edit: oh and before I forget, this has the sound of an Ordinatus Minoris engine firing. They're getting really good at the sound effects in these! Always love the spectrum of Mechanicum character robot voices and Space Marine vox grill distortion.

 

Is there any detail on Endryds lack of Nails? in the artwork there are small patches in his hair in the artwork which either indicate nails implanted into the skull under the skin, or removal. I would be curious to know if it is addressed.

 

  Edited by Warsmith Kroeger
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1ncarnadine Battle-Brother

1ncarnadine

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Is there any detail on Endryds lack of Nails? in the artwork there are small patches in his hair in the artwork which either indicate nails implanted into the skull under the skin, or removal. I would be curious to know if it is addressed.
 

 

 

Yep. There are "no Nails in [his] skull. [His] savagery comes from a deeper well."
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1ncarnadine Battle-Brother

1ncarnadine

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I thought Darked Fates referred to Haar being involved in the Solar War.

 

Very well could be! I'm definitely more suspicious of him having it due to the language under the rule itself, where it notes that it is "as if he has been preserved by some unseen hand." It kind of implies the eye of the Chaos Gods is on him, as it most definitely is with both Abaddon and Khârn. I also just looked it up and noticed Erebus is the 4th model with the same rule...

 

It could also just signify that Haar is incredibly lucky, incredibly strong-willed, or even that the Emperor or Malcador has a plan for him rather than the Gods. It's hard to say.

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1ncarnadine Battle-Brother

1ncarnadine

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I always thought the concept of Blackshields was completely against everything Space Marines are supposed to be. 

A concept that fluff was was completely baseless but was pushed in order for modellers to make their own chapters type thing. 

 

IIRC the Dark Brotherhood is based off a bit of fluff from Rogue Trader, so the idea of Black Shields is as old as the idea of Space Marines. 

 

edit: looked it up in my copy, it's actually a reference to a piece of art of some Space Marines holding what looks like xenos weaponry. Neat!

Edited by LetsYouDown
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HeritorA

HeritorA

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OK, got to listen to this tonight. Really enjoyed it! I was already a massive fan of the Xana Incursion fluff, so this was right up my alley. The False War is named for the display of the Ordinatus Ullator from that section in Retribution. It's basically 72 minutes of Black Shields arguing with each other and it's great. Lots of really interesting revelations and info about the Xana Incursion here! I'll list my favorites:

 

1)I've always been really curious about this, but Endryd Haar's unit entry in Retribution lists him as having a rule called "Marked by Dark Fates." It's shared by Abaddon and Khârn... HMMM. So I've wondered that Haar may have a future in the Eye of Terror, unable to reconcile with the Imperium after the Heresy. That's elaborated on a little... he's kind of an utter monster. 

 

2) It's super clear from this story that the Imperial historian who compiled the Xana Incursion section was writing a doctored history. Uncavar Noon did not arrive with Endryd Haar/"Korradon." They arrived separately, Haar as a Black Shield pursuing his own goals, and Korradon as an Imperial assassin. Why did the history get doctored? Because Haar has done some bad things, and even killed Loyalists on Terra to escape imprisonment. When "Noon" and Haar both realize they're not agents of the Warmaster and murder the Archmagos, "Noon" basically offers Haar a license to kill for the Imperium. So the unreliable narrator crops up yet again, as they re-wrote the history to make Haar sound like he was working with the Imperium the whole time. Yes, I did re-read the Xana Incursion section right after listening to this to catch the inconsistencies.

 

3) The "army of the dead" was made by Haar and was not part of Imperial plans. He was going to use it to maybe try to kill Horus or something, but finds a better use here. It implies he did some truly terrible stuff to make it. 

 

4) It's still not clear if the Dark Angels who show up here were cooperating with the Imperium at all. Mysterious!

 

5) Also from the ending it kind of seems like there will be another of these, possibly making it a short series? That would be fantastic.

 

edit: oh and before I forget, this has the sound of an Ordinatus Minoris engine firing. They're getting really good at the sound effects in these! Always love the spectrum of Mechanicum character robot voices and Space Marine vox grill distortion.

 

Is there any detail on Endryds lack of Nails? in the artwork there are small patches in his hair in the artwork which either indicate nails implanted into the skull under the skin, or removal. I would be curious to know if it is addressed.

 

 

 

yeap, the Red Fief as DC said - in 2018.

 

Essentially a Blackshield does abandon much of what makes an Astartes, for good or ill.

 

There's a lot of audio stuff I'm hoping to see in prose now. Soul-Severed, Binary Succession, now this.

 

That's a fourth HH audio in a raw after Soul-Severed, Binary Succession, Dark Compliance -  which is beyond amazing in quality of production. We need more. I do now think that it would be amazing - to tie in all the secondary plots in that kind of audio.

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Jareddm Veteran

Jareddm

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I always thought the concept of Blackshields was completely against everything Space Marines are supposed to be. 

A concept that fluff was was completely baseless but was pushed in order for modellers to make their own chapters type thing. 

Remember that the Blackshield concept was originally developed by John French for the Deathwatch RPG and was only given its origins in the Heresy retroactively.  While 30k and 40k Blackshields may be different in function, the idea of a Astartes of unknown origin remains the same.

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HeritorA

HeritorA

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I always thought the concept of Blackshields was completely against everything Space Marines are supposed to be. 

A concept that fluff was was completely baseless but was pushed in order for modellers to make their own chapters type thing. 

Remember that the Blackshield concept was originally developed by John French for the Deathwatch RPG and was only given its origins in the Heresy retroactively.  While 30k and 40k Blackshields may be different in function, the idea of a Astartes of unknown origin remains the same.

 

But in general it does work and have a really solid reason now to exist. SM fully disappointed with both sides but not going full 'daemon loving' is a very good concept. Hope it will be resolved the right way before the end.

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Calas Typhon Veteran

Calas Typhon

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Just got through it.

 

I was already a fan of Endryd but this has just pushed my fondness to new levels. 

 

The audio piece for me is probably the best release of the year in all honesty, the production value has gone up massively. The actual plot was great, the backgrounds and obvious tampering of Endryd from what I see is a great start to a fresh piece during the heresy. The conflict within the group was great too. 

 

Holy hell, I just realised. He is a bloody bastardised thunder warrior mixed with Angrons geneseed... The size, the obvious references of being hunted on Terra, the Lightning quote, the deep violent aggression which was apart of him.

 

Its either a mix, or he is an actual TW. Before he kills the subordinate, there was a reference to the Warmaster having a greater purpose whereas Endryd did not, for a reason that was cut off, along with the subordinates head. 

 

Edited by Warsmith Kroeger
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HeritorA

HeritorA

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Quick question for those who got to listen to the audiobook;is the heraldry and colour scheme of Endryd Haar and his Blackshield band elaborated upon and if so, how?

 

It is not

 

Sadly - cause it is indeed an interesting hint mentioned where by Josh.

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Ascanius Battle-Brother

Ascanius

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also really loved the priest's accent - came across like a 'sarf london' or 'cockney' geezer

 

I was listening to the Imperial Truth podcast's interview with Gav Thorpe on the way to work this morning, and he mentioned an interesting point that the cockney/working-class accents an actor gave to the Raven Guard for one of his early audio dramas didn't match what he'd had in mind - but it made sense to him, since many of them had been prisoners on Kiavahr, and informed how he wrote them going forward.

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