IF with a Roman vibe?

[Indefragable]

Hail sons of Dorn,

 

 

 

This is a subjective question, but, in general, what's the consensus on how "Roman" the IF are in 41k (not 30k)?

 

For example, when you look at say the SM Commander kit, would an IF Captain/Vet Sgt/etc... go more with the Tarzan groin-cloth thingy, or the leather straps Roman-Centurion-looking thingy?  Those are the technical terms for those items of apparel, btw.

 

https://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Space-Marine-Commander-2015

 

Just curious.

 

Thanks!

 

-Indy

[Pork Chop Express]

Indefragable,

 

I'm really glad you asked this question. I've been debating that in my head for a while now, just with Crimson Fists.

 

I really like those Roman bits myself, especially the helmet crests. I have one of those old limited captains that has a crest and storm bolter that I want to make a CF, but I'm just not sure if they would sport that crest.

 

That said, Pedro Kantor certainly rocks the "leather strap Roman-Centurion-looking thingys".

 

Certainly the early Greeks sported similar aesthetics, hence the Minotaurs chapter aesthetic.

[Armfelt]

I see Imperial Fists and Crimson Fists as generally roman inspired, in contrast for example Black Templars and Dark Angels that got more of a knightly theme.

[M@verik115]

The entire 30K line is more roman inspired. 
In 40K the imperial fists take more inspiration from the holy roman empire than the roman empire itself, but both are doable.

[Armfelt]

The simile with HRE was something new for me. Can you please give som examples (it's not critizism, I am just curious)? :-)

 

As for the roman part I just know that they often like to wear pteruges instead of tabards like the Black Templars. And stuff like the battle honour "Roma". They are fond of large shields and so on.

[M@verik115]

You will find that in 40K each faction has an aesthetic that is inspired by something in history. 
Ultramarines: Ancient Rome and Greece
Black Templars: Knights of St John and Teutonic Knights
Blood Angels: Renaissance Italy and Medieval Italy
Space Wolves: Vikings
Dark Angels: Medieval French and Spanish secret orders (With Native American bits if you go far back in fluff).
Imperial Fists: Holy Roman Empire
Thousand Sons: Ancient Egypt
And so forth

Now onto the Holy Roman Empire, their colours are yellow and black, they made a great use of gold and filigree, their armour was medieval knight inspired with aesthetic touches to tie it into the ancient Roman period, sound familiar? ;) 
 

[Armfelt]

Now onto the Holy Roman Empire, their colours are yellow and black, they made a great use of gold and filigree, their armour was medieval knight inspired with aesthetic touches to tie it into the ancient Roman period

 

Fair enough, I can see a connection there as well. ;)

 

As a sidenote, when you mentioned the native american bits of the old DA-fluff. I thought I should mention that some Imperial Fist models with bare heads could have gang tattos, since they recruit from eg. Necromunda. The scumnick Biff Tundrish had for example his teeth filed sharp and had a large spider tatto covering his face.

 

So even if the most imperial fists are depicted as stern 60s action heroes, some of them can be a little more "space wolves-rough", if someone wants variation. :)

[M@verik115]

That is true. Remember its the main aesthetic they chose when giving the group a character, but nothing says you cannot go your own way. 
Not every imperial fist is a hard headed and humourless marine. Some do make funny jokes :P 

[Slips]

Gang tattoos you say?

 

 

The Consus Drift Compliance (ca. 800.M30) -

 

The Consus Drift was a belt of stellar debris which lay in the dark between stars close to the Sol System. Stranded far away from the warmth of suns or the life sustaining cycles of planets, it was nonetheless home to billions of humans who had been stranded there for millennia, caught in the Warp tides, whirpools and flats of dead calm. The Mirror Race was such a pattern, and voidships caught in it were flung through its turbulence to emerge in the Consus Drift. Those who had been stranded in this region of space had managed to build a civilisation grown from lost souls -- vast strings of asteroid cities lay across the Consus Drift, connected together by tunnels made from the metal entrails of shipwrecks. Willow limbed, black eyed and pale skinned, the people of the sprawling archipelago were divided into warring Drift Clans, who continuously fought one another for salvage, territory and resources. The Imperium discovered the Consus Drift by accident, when the 3rd Expeditionary Fleet, under the command of the Imperial Fists, was caught in the Mirror Race and thrown into that region. As the fleet rolled in the void, damaged and confused, the Drift Clans attacked.

 

Though severely outmatched, this was not totally true, for the archipelago of void cities mounted weapons scavenged over thousands of solar years. More significantly, the Drift Clans were schooled and blooded in the brutal arts of void warfare. The first assault waves hit the most damaged vessels and battles swarmed through the Imperial warships even as they tried to return fire, but even as the Drift Clans made progress, they met the first of the Imperial Fists and the battle changed. The Imperial Fists counterattacked, driving the Driftborn from their ships, and then continued their assault by launching gunships, boarding torpedoes and breaching pods into the void cities. Battering their way into the heart of each city, the Imperial Fists stopped only when their hands held the controls of the cities' life support systems. Across every Vox channel and speaker, the commander of the Imperial Fists gave the people of the Consus Drift an ultimatum: Imperial Compliance or extermination. The Clan Warriors immediately surrendered.

 

The 3rd Expeditionary Fleet left after repairs were made, but not before the Imperial Fists had taken the youngest and strongest male warriors of each of the Drift Clans. Of those who survived initiation into the VII Legion, all were inducted into a single unit; the 356th Company. Over the next century, the 356th Company's reputation for excellence in out-hull void warfare and starship assaults was without peer, and the clustered star heraldry and tradition of elaborate full body tattoos amongst their warriors still speaks to the traditions of the ancient clans of the Consus Drift.

[Armfelt]

 

Gang tattoos you say?

 

 

-"-

 

Nice fluff to know, thanks! :)

[Honda]

I think you can go pretty Roman if you want to.

 

When I was doing research for my Primaris IF, after I settled on a scheme, I ran across an honorific for the Fists called "Roma". There isn't much more about it, but I do think it gives you some leeway in that direction.

 

I ended up naming my Primaris IF the Seventh Legion, Roma Division.