Nova Terra Interregnum – The Alien Wars

[apologist]

Did... did you build that Dreadnought from scratch Apologist?

No, no – I had plans to do so, but then the God-Emperor made it so I found this third party one! :)

[DuskRaider]

That's amazing! I'm not big on the face but I do understand the nostalgia factor.

[Mors Vincit]

Can anyone get one

[hushrong]

I missed some awesome updates!

And that Dread! Oh I cannot wait to see you go to work on that!

[apologist]

+ Histories of the Antona Australis sector: The Hesiod Romantic Rebellion +

 

 

The Hesiod Romantic Rebellion (M36.398–408) occupies a peculiar position in sector history, as it exemplifies both the zenith and nadir of Imperial politics. Celebrated in local myth and song, the Rebellion lingers in the popular imagination, perhaps owing to the larger-than-life characters on each side, and perhaps owing to the massive structural changes in sector politics. The conflict drew the ancient houses of various subsectors against one another in a massive power struggle that left the sector's political capital on Grovsenor in the Anton Antecedent subsector.

 

Following the Scribe Wars of the 33rd Millennium (M33.199–802), governance of the sector had been relocated to Hesiod, which cemented its political dominance through being used as the base of operations for elements of the famous Astartes Chapters of the Sons of Spectra, Emperor's Hawks and White Consuls during the War of Heretics. During these centuries, Hesiod and the subsector around it swelled in importance as diginitaries, trade merchants and myriad others flocked to the area. Meanwhile, subsector Anton Antecedent lay in the doldrums, disgraced by the trouble caused during the Scribe Wars and seemingly unable to regain its lost glory. The Siculus subsector, previously a backwater, began to grow in influence thanks to its proximity to Hesiod.

 

Spin-rimwards of the Antona Australis sector. Imperial subsectors in blue. Interactive map accessible: [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+]

 

Hesiod bathed in a golden age for a number of centuries, which was crowned by the planet producing a High Lord of Terra. This state of affairs was to change during the Nova Terra Interregnum crisis that gripped the Imperium. Hesiod's government was traditionally based in the teachings of the Ecclesiarchy, and the fateful decision was made by Ecclesiarch Martial II to support Constantium (Nova Terra) rather than Terra; a decision that – while it had few concrete repercussions – officially declared every other subsector as supportive of this move. Outraged, subsector Anton Antecedent rebelled en masse. The pragmatic Imperial Commanders of Anton Antecedent had dwelled patiently and built up substantial political backing, and they led an protest against Hesiod that drove trade away and increased the strain on the Hesiod subsector's income. Even so, the wealthier and more influential subsector would almost certainly have broken the rebellion if it were not for an opportunistic Imperial Commander from Siculus called Sebastian Bachwhit. Bachwhit was an incisive and talented political agitator, and he successfully encouraged the Siculus subsector to secretly undermine Hesiod, by drawing armies away under the pretext of xenocidal campaigns and retrenchment.

 

Martial II was incensed by Bachwit's furtive actions, but the political weather had changed, and his influence on sectorial matters was shrinking. He was unable to persecute Bachwit as this would risk antagonising his friends in the Siculus subsector; and Hesiod could not stand alone against two subsectors. Frozen into an embarrassing political wilderness, that was accellerated by the defeat of Nova Terra and the re-trenchment of Anton Antecedent as a viable political entity, the centuries following saw Hesiod and the Ecclesiarchy in general shrink in influence during the Age of Apostasy. Senator Luxa Abraxon, the head of the new Grovsenor Consulate, made it plain who now wielded power by proposing a merging of the Hesiod and Siculus subsectors. As Abraxon raised her ally close Bachwit to the Consulate, it became clear that Hesiod would be the junior in the new sector.

 

+++

+ Escalation +

Matters might have continued sedately if it weren't for the sudden and suspicious death of Sector Ecclesiarch Martial II and his successors as they campaigned furiously against the proposed merger. The Hesiod Epidemic – as the crisis became known – saw seven Ecclesiarchs assassinated in as many years, which caused huge turmoil across the whole sector and brought fresh piety to many. Numerous petty wars and rebellions broke out across Antona Australis as the Siculan, Hesiod and Anton Antecedent subsector governments struggled to assert political dominance or hold on to power.

 

Under the leadership of Saint Remuel, the world of Hesiod began to gather political momentum once more. With old grudges and political fractures more apparant than ever, and the threat from xenos all but absent from the principal subsectors, the stage was set for an apocalyptic conflict. Inspired by a popular romantic myth of Hesiod as having a divinely-given right to rule the sector, the dashing Marshal Bron of Memini successfully engaged the Ambitine Fleet and forces of Magna Grecia, sparking war between the mighty armies of the Hesiod and Anton Antecedent subsectors. No love was lost between the old rivals; and many millions perished.

 

Open warfare continued for five years, until the Siculus subsector – previously neutral – entered the war. Having allowed the two more powerful subsectors to break against each other, Bachwit began his own claim for power; assassinating his lover Abraxon and declaring himself Dicator-for-Life over both the Siculus and Anton Antecedent subsectors. He had lofty support, including the Hammers of the Emperor and Stellar Steeds Chapters of the Astartes, against whose forces neither Hesiod nor Anton Antecedent had an answer.

 

Desperate, Marshal Bron blackmailed Horsa (known as the Oathbound), then-Althing (high king) of the Iron Staff League to join him. Anti-abhuman feeling was high owing to the political winds – the Age of Apostasy was drawing to a close, bringing influence back to the Ecclesiarchy and giving thoughts of 'purity' to the broader Imperium. The addition of the powerful abhuman faction to the war tipped the balance too far. Despite Horsa's determinedly defensive stance, limiting his forces to keeping supply lines open and providing reserves to the Hesiod forces, the governments of Siculus and Anton Antecedent joined forces against Hesiod, resulting in the swift defeat of their armies. Saint Remuel was martyred in M36.405, and Marshal Bron was killed by Captain Titus of the Hammers of the Emperor later the same year. Without their charismatic leadership, the Romantic Rebellion collapsed.

 

+++

 

+ Conclusion and aftermath +

Open warfare continued between Hesiod, Siculus and Anton Antecedent until M36.407, when the Diet of Bronnling was instigated by the Inquisition. Intended as a conclave of the various subsector governments to reach a political compromise; Sector Ecclesiarch Martial VI of Hesiod played a brilliant move, turning the Diet into a show trial of Althing Horsa. In one fell stroke, the three simmering Imperial subsectors found a common enemy; accusing the Iron Staff League of orchestrating the whole affair and creating the war. The Althing was found guilty of sedition against the Emperor and executed. The Hammers of the Emperor and Stellar Steeds led the combined might of the sector against the League, removing it from sector politics and allowing the three subsectors a face-saving political climbdown.

 

+ Sebastian Bachwit and Consule Shm Vin. +

At this point, Ecclesiarch Martial VI of Hesiod, Sebastian Bachwit of Siculus and Shm Vin, head of the Grovsenor Consulate were all relatively well-placed. Thankfully, Martial VI was both a deeply pious and starkly pragmatic man. Recognising that Hesiod's time in the sun had passed and that further warfare served no-one's purposes but the enemies of the Imperium, he graciously withdrew from direct involvement in sector politics – leaving Siculus and Anton Antecedent eyeing each other warily. The stand-off was short lived, as Bachwit – increasingly filled with regret over the cold-blooded murder of his lover earlier in the conflict – committed suicide in the closing days of M36.408, effectively ending the war.

 

With no political rivals, governorship of the sector defaulted to Shm Vin, whose first motion before the Consulate was to merge the subsectors Siculus and Hesiod into a new combined sector in order to combat the increasing threat of the orks of the Scallop Stars. Linked by a common foe, the two subsectors bonded through blood shed together during the resultant Eorta Crusade and the Scallop Star Purges.

[Atia]

Awesome work, as usual!

 

Could you give us a link to the 3rd party site that does the Furibundus? Lovely model

Edited November 2, 2018 by Atia

[PowerHungryMonkey]

Apologist! Aside from an amazing couple of armies I've seen out of you, I have to give you my deepest thanks. I've only just seen the tute you did a while ago for the Truescale Terminators. This is exactly what I've been trying to figure out how to do with my own burgening truescale army and its been a bit of a stumbling block for me. While the price tag on those bad boys is rather scary I've never been one to let that faze me. At some point in my journey through my Iron Hands army I'll be sure to give this a try. Thanks again

[apologist]

Awesome work, as usual!

Could you give us a link to the 3rd party site that does the Furibundus? Lovely model

Ta – and an astrophatic missive has already winged (wung? ) its way to you.

 

Apologist! Aside from an amazing couple of armies I've seen out of you, I have to give you my deepest thanks. I've only just seen the tute you did a while ago for the Truescale Terminators. This is exactly what I've been trying to figure out how to do with my own burgening truescale army and its been a bit of a stumbling block for me. While the price tag on those bad boys is rather scary I've never been one to let that faze me. At some point in my journey through my Iron Hands army I'll be sure to give this a try. Thanks again

 

Hey PHM – welcome back to the warfront, and glad the tutorial came in handy. Thanks for the kind words: your Iron Hands are already looking awesome. Since you're switching over to non-Primaris, how about trying M35 on for size? The Alien Wars could do with more stout hearts and strong arms; and it'd be interesting to see which side, if any, the Iron Hands fall upon.

 

+++

 

...and speaking of Dreadnoughts and Terminators:

 

Back to the painting desk, Blood Angels!

 

 

 

... and what's this in the shadows?

Edited November 13, 2018 by Apologist

[Quixus]

I am not too fond of the old school land speeder and dreadnought but can you give us some close ups of the marines?

 

Also, SQUATS!!!

[apologist]

Here are the Terminators (there are details of each on the previous page):

 

The Scouts will be up soon – but in the meantime, here's the other lieutenant:

[Naryn]

Well now, if there’re astropathic transmissions floating about, might I request one as well? I’ve been flirting with the idea of dipping my toes in the M35 water for a while bow, and think I’ll channel my rebooted Mantis Warriors in that direction.

[apologist]

Just a fun little timeline – from Scout, to Battle Brother, to Veteran – and, of course, only in Death does duty end.

 

As you can see, I'm going to use unmodified Rogue Trader-era Scouts. As a nipper, I was lucky enough to receive Advanced Space Crusade for Christmas, and the aesthetic , while divisive, is definitely part of my memories of the period. Part of the fun of the M35 setting is the opportunity to include things that have been lost from both periods (M31 and M41) of the modern game.

 

As an added bonus, I'll probably be able to use the plucky puffy-sleeved scamps against Bob Hunk's awesome tyranids, which are themed around the same (real world) period.

[Shovellovin]

As you can see, I'm going to use unmodified Rogue Trader-era Scouts. 

 

All scouts must go through a mohawk (mullet optional) and earring phase to be accepted into the brotherhood of a full-fledged marine.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Shovellovin

[Pearson73]

Really like the Lieutenant, the MKIII pads work well. Terminator's are looking solid too.

[apologist]

+ Squad Mephisto WIP +

Without further ado, here are Brother El-Aster (Ambriel 1:01); Brother Mephisto (Rashin Rast 2:05); and Brother Thaddeus (Saditel 4:04, called the lost). You'll notice Thaddeus ended up with an extra little flourish to his name, in the form of an epithet. Applying your own rules to things like namings or markings can be fun; but it should always take a backseat to creativity or whimsy. After all, you're not taking a census, but enjoying yourself!

 

These were painted in much the same way as described earlier, but I've swapped the Mephiston red and Vallejo Vermillion mix fro Vallejo Flat Red. Having a single colour helps me to control things.

 

Brothers El-Aster, Mephisto and Thaddeus stumble over two fallen heroes on the plain of the Deathworld Orro.

 

If you're interested in how I work out the naming, check out the blogpost on Death of a Rubricist here. Note also the injured marines. I used these to test out the new colours – just in case. Colour theory is all very well, but nothing replaces practical experimentation.

 

+++

+ Their place in the host +

The five marines of Squad Mephisto will make up the second part of Tactical Squad 1. The other half is squad Raphael, shown below:

 

Completing this combat squad will let me play a minimum-sized Battalion in 8th edition (three five-man troop units and Captain Tycho as the HQ). It'll also leave me just five marines away from being able to replay the Battle for Armageddon scenarios in 2nd edition.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Squad Raphael is well done, as is Capt Tycho.

[apologist]

Thanks – hot on their heels, here's the first three members of Squad Mephisto:

 

 

... and two casualties:

 

[Idomeneus]

++ Chapter Castellan Chapter Astartes Entire – The 8th Founding, during which this Chapter was established, was within living memory for many of its members. Declaring for Nova Terra, the Chapter was all but wiped-out by the Halo Brethren and the Imperial Fists within the early years of the war. Their homeworld, Banish, was subsequently claimed by the Inquisition, and the Chapter exiled to the Eastern Imperium on a Penitent Crusade ++

From the Datastacks of the Rubricist Appologius Rhodius

 

Astartes Divisus

Upon Constantium’s secession from the rule of Terra, most Space Marine chapters remained aloof. Ultramar kept its borders, and continued to govern its own affairs as it had since the days of the Great Crusade. Other chapters retreated to their strongholds, or hurled themselves energetically at any local xenos in an effort to avoid conversations with other Imperial powers about their intentions. Few chapters dared to take sides, and of those only a handful were so certain in their partisan beliefs as to resort to open war among their own kind. Among these were the Imperial Fists, the Seneschals of Holy Terra herself, and the Chapter Castellan, a relatively young chapter of the line of Guilliman.

 

The Chapter Castellan were true heirs of Guilliman, innovators who always sought the best for their people. At the time of the Interregnum, their feral homeworld of Banish was being slowly introduced to technology, with the aim of creating a polished jewel of a world to rival Macragge or Iax. Their Chapter Master Baratus was sickened by the bribery, corruption and inefficiency of the High Lords, and leapt at the chance to forge a better galaxy under Constantium, bringing the dreams of Guilliman and his father the Emperor a little closer to reality. Noble aims, which might have been feasible, had Baratus not been foolish enough to send a declaration of secession to the High Lords themselves, accompanied by a stinging rebuke of the governors of Terra which promised retribution against those who had betrayed The Emperor’s ideals and exploited his people.

 

The High Lords were outraged, and immediately began to plot a punitive expedition to bring the Chapter to heel. Here they turned to two men, the charismatic, if sybaritic and inconsistent, Lord Commander Jairus Cope, and Chapter Master Aristeides of the Imperial Fists, who had been recalled to Terra the instant the Nova Terran administration asserted its independence. Left to his own devices, Cope would most likely have been content with a series of punitive raids on Castellan territory, and an extraction of a token submission. The Imperial Fists felt differently.

 

The heirs of the VII Legion were at this point an embittered brotherhood, having endured the Heresy, the wars of the Beast, and the Beheading. Their certainties had been shattered again and again, only leaving them stronger, and cold as the ice of Inwit. They had once thought that no Space Marine could ever turn against the Emperor. Horus proved them wrong, and they bled. Once the traitors had been routed from the walls of the Imperial Palace, they had undergone Guilliman’s reforms, and seen their Legion splintered. They had hoped, at least for a time, that this was an end on it, that the traitor legions were gone forever, and the codex reforms might prevent further treacheries. But the legions returned, and claimed the life of the Emperor’s Champion. More marines turned, including those of Dorn’s own line, the chapter shamed by the fall of the Fists Examplar. By the 36^th millennium, Aristeides and the Fists acknowledged one simple truth:

No Space Marine could ever be allowed to cast off the rule of the Throneworld. No matter the cause, no matter the intention. To turn one’s back on Terra was to turn on the Imperium.

 

Three companies joined Cope’s Reunification Fleet, the 7^th, 8^th and 9^th; this was considered ample to open the hostilities, while Aristides petitioned other chapters for support. Their orders were simple: crack open the defensive lines of the Chapter Castellan, and mete out a lesson in blood.

 

Lieutenant Commander Flavius Perkûnas of the Imperial Fists 7th company, Adherbal IV, Banish Campaign.

 

 

 

So, yeah, I've been doing some stuff on the Death of a Rubricist Facebook group recently, expanding the line in Apologist's background text about the  punishment of the Chapter Castellan. This was partly inspired by the new 500 stores celebration model, which I decided to convert, and then paint in IF yellow. It's been a while since I've put anything on B&C, but Apologist asked me to put up Perkûnas here, and, being a sucker for flattery, I could not help but comply . Hope you like him!

 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Great job on LCDR Perkûnas!

[Pearson73]

Wow, very nice job on, Perkûnas, he looks every inch the grim, grizzled commander with the cold mindset you described.

[apologist]

Gorgeous stuff, Idomeneus – and in addition to a cracking (and very striking) model, it's really wonderful to see the little seeds of the background blossom into such evocative writing. Thanks again; and hope to see some more from you :)

 

+++

[apologist]

+ A descent into madness +

As with all projects, some continue to grow on you. When I first started out, the Blood Angels were essentially an excuse to paint a pile of Primaris I had from the Dark Imperium box; with relatively simple conversion work. As I've carried on, it's got more and more involved.

 

Last night I bit the bullet and decided to try to emulate the second Devastator combat squad much more closely than I had in the first:

 

The inspiration.

 

...and the resulting figure. He differs from his earlier squadmates in having a properly-sculpted torso (rather than just trimmed down), reshaped kneepads, and his boltrifle has been replaced with a more fitting boltgun (thanks for the boltguns, PCRC squadmates – I'm not sure whether to thank or curse you for indulging my obsessions!).

 

A comparison showing the other Mark VI marines in the force (second from left, and far right).

 

This inconsistency could easily annoy you. I'm certainly wavering on whether to scrap/rebuild the existing Devastators with this more developed approach (hell, whether to replace the boltguns across the army), or not. Currently, I'm erring on the side of slightly revising the Devastators, but not a wholesale rebuild. The reasons for this are twofold:

 

Firstly, the mantra 'never let the perfect get in the way of the good'. I'd rather have completed models that I can later supplement than continually cannibalise perfectly serviceable figures – it's demoralising to be breaking up finished figures. Secondly, I'm rather warming to the 'blending' effect across the army that this creates. In the same way that I've added a few Mark IV parts here and there to the otherwise Mk VII Tacticals, having some 'full' Mark VIs along with some hybrid ones helps to soften the complete disjunct in model styles the original army had.

 

+++

 

+ Fire support, now! +

Of course, Devastators are mainly known for their heavy weapon wielding soldiers, not their boltgun-armed squadmates. Since I had the time, I also built the second missile launcher marine for the squad last night.

 

 

A small part of me finds it slightly galling to spend ages sculpting detail that you then hide (the arm across the chest detail, in this example); but sometimes just you knowing it's there makes it worthwhile! This shot also shows the difference in size between the Rogue Trader-era power pack (left, in beige), and the more modern ones. The Primaris ones are larger again.

[Markus_]

Great looking mkVI marines!

[apologist]

Cheers - what are your thoughts on the boltguns vs boltrifles?

[STC Logisengine]

This looks really good. I kinda like the look better with the boltguns, I always thought the boltrifles (with the exception of the stalker variant once you put a stock and silencer on it) look a bit too bulky, I mean there has to be so damn much empty space in those guns since they are solid munitions weapons and not energy based.

While here the boltgun gets a proper size vs. the marine as the carbine-type weapon it's supposed to be. :)