Nova Terra Interregnum – The Alien Wars

[apologist]

Amazing thread, just went through it all in one go. I will be in the minority here but my favourite bit was catching sight of Thrugg Bullneck again. Also the little touches on the Leman Russ tanks were great.

 

Diolch – glad to bring back some good memories, and hope to have you along for the rest of the ride. If you've been caught by the muse, the Alien Wars are open to everyone – I've updated the landing page to help if you're after a bit of guidance.

 

 

 

I can't give these Orks enough 'Likes'!  I especially love the details; everyone is a rag-tag individual yet the unit looks whole, and the variation in skin tones just add the the realism.  These will be a treat to face on the table-top! 

 

Gonna give it sum dakka!

Cheers dude; and right back atcha – that geo-station isn't going to know what hit it

 

Up today on Death of a Rubricist is the first Anatomy of the Astartes article, a guestinload by Bob Hunk:

 

 

 

The OrK-47's are really starting to grow on me. They fit really well, don't distract from the models, and fit the ramshackle but functional appearance of the rest of your weapon selections. You might've mentioned it earlier, but do you think you will take on an attempt at the old Ork Power Armor models, instead of the Mega-Armor variety?

Ta. I'm pleased with how they fit in – and being able to use the front parts of the pistols from the same sprue to replace the front of the plastic shoots has gone a long way to adding some coherent variety to the force, I think.

 

Funny you should mention the orky power armour. Our gaming group (the PCRC) is heading up to an event in Bristol, and I've been mulling over what to take. I was looking over some old books to see if I could get any inspiration, and ended back up on Luggub's Drop Legion; the leader of which (in The Book of the Astronomicon) has power armour...

 

Did you have a specific model in mind? I'm always open to suggestions (enthusiasm is infectious, after all) – and particularly so for the Alien Wars

 

Edited April 10, 2018 by Apologist

[Marshal Rohr]

I’ve actually got some notes set aside from a slow burn Ullanor project with images from the 1st edition Epic and Rogue Trader era articles with exact models. Once I get to campus this morning, I will upload the specific images and post them :).

[Marshal Rohr]

Sorry, for the double post, but hopefully the content is worth it.

These six models look like they are in some kind of rudimentary power armored suits, and I'm not sure if they are meant to be Mega-Nobz equivalent or old school 1st edition power armor.

[Aqui]

Old School first edition Power Armour. Although the idea of Mega Nobz existed in Rogue Trader, as far as I can remember, there were no models. Or if there were, there wasn't a huge difference in both appearance or size. Even Thrakka was a regular sized Ork way back when.

[bluntblade]

Amazed I didn't post in here before. As ever Apologist, I love the modelling and narrative depth.

 

I'd love to see some other Thirty-not-first Millennium projects. Especially if someone did Wolves circa the Battle of the Fang. Anyway, the Angels rock as do the Orks.

[Krakendoomcool]

Everything about this. 35k is the new 30k...

 

It’s new and exciting but also with a real hit of nostalgia. That first edition feel is all over this. I guess it makes sense in the timeline too. Rogue trader being the closest releases to 35k.

 

Those space marines look like super soldiers again with the use of primaris/true scale. They were super first time round and somehow fell down the pecking order. I really like that Golden Captain. I remember that model too. That art must be influential because in my mind that art goes on to influence the models of Dante & Tycho. I’m looking forward to more from him.

 

I remember the big set of blood angel terminators so eagerly await you tackling them. They were real favourites at the time.

 

Orks are great. The smaller guns help make them look more brutish by contrast. The space marine hand over-ride on the bolter is brilliant! You know straight away what that’s all about. Orky cunning.

 

The alien wars. Great name too. It’s all there in a complete package.

[apologist]

Hey all, apologies for the delay in replying.

 

I’ve actually got some notes set aside from a slow burn Ullanor project with images from the 1st edition Epic and Rogue Trader era articles with exact models. Once I get to campus this morning, I will upload the specific images and post them .

Cheers for the pics – I remember those (in fact, I think I picked up a load in the Great Lead Sale). I'm not sure if I'll get to those ones specifically, but I am going to try and build an updated Luggub, who is the 'commander with bolter and power fist' in the image here.

http://www.solegends.com/citcat19891summer/05-070510-orks-00.jpg

 

As Aqui says, I think at the time is was just 'power armour', rather than mega-armour. It wasn't until 2nd edition that things started being differentiated more. Mega armour emerged in '95/'96:

http://www.solegends.com/citcat1998/1998P387-02.htm

These were designed by the Perrys, and didn't have the same appeal for me.

 

Amazed I didn't post in here before. As ever Apologist, I love the modelling and narrative depth.

I'd love to see some other Thirty-not-first Millennium projects. Especially if someone did Wolves circa the Battle of the Fang. Anyway, the Angels rock as do the Orks.

Hey Bluntblade, glad to see you here. Hope I can tempt you into dipping into the Alien Wars...

 

Everything about this. 35k is the new 30k...

It’s new and exciting but also with a real hit of nostalgia. That first edition feel is all over this. I guess it makes sense in the timeline too. Rogue trader being the closest releases to 35k.

Those space marines look like super soldiers again with the use of primaris/true scale. They were super first time round and somehow fell down the pecking order. I really like that Golden Captain. I remember that model too. That art must be influential because in my mind that art goes on to influence the models of Dante & Tycho. I’m looking forward to more from him.

I remember the big set of blood angel terminators so eagerly await you tackling them. They were real favourites at the time.

Orks are great. The smaller guns help make them look more brutish by contrast. The space marine hand over-ride on the bolter is brilliant! You know straight away what that’s all about. Orky cunning.

The alien wars. Great name too. It’s all there in a complete package.

Krakendoomcool – cheers, it's proving a really interesting timeline to explore; lots of freedom and lots of ways to make nods to things that have been written out, or to explore what might have been.

 

+++

 

Work has finished on the orks for now. I'll post up some full pictures soon, but here's a group shot:

[Son of Carnelian]

Rogue Trader was well before my time, but I still find this enourmously inspiring. I might have to try my hand at an old-school style Primaris. Keep up the good work!

[apologist]

+ Anatomy of an Empire II: The Nova Terran Imperium +

 

 

'Admiration? Certainly. We look to Ancient Terra as one might look to an aged parent. Respected; beloved – but still failing. Better for it to assume its ritual place as the seat of the Golden Throne and Him-on-Earth; and leave the burden of government to better, more vigorous souls.'

 

Extract from All Human History – Inquisitrix Barbari Kills, Ordo Xenos

 

+++

 

 

 

+ Road to Interregnum +

Those loyal to Ancient Terra portrayed the Nova Terra Interregnum as a betrayal by rebellious elements; treachery of seismic proportions. The truth, as is usually the case, was considerably more complex. 

 

The earliest days of Imperium had demonstrated that centralised Imperial Government had always been laughably impractical. The Imperium itself is built on the knowledge of a lost empire. The Age of Strife had demonstrated the ease with which intergalactic – or even intersystem – communication could be silenced. Similarly, the largest stumbling blocks to the Great Crusade's progress had not been military, but logistical. The Imperial Council; and later the Adeptus Munitorum, had struggled manfully with the challenge, but the bald fact is that galactic distances make communication all but impossible. That Ancient Terra was able to maintain tenuous links to any systems at all is impressive.

 

Astropathic communiques allow only the broadest of meanings to be transmitted; and even those for from reliably.

 

Those systems which enjoyed high traffic and relatively open interstellar communication naturally became important hubs; astropathic choirs operating as links in a chain to pass on information to more distant worlds. Beyond this, communication is reduced to the physical; relying on transmitted light signals, shuttling voidcraft or awkward nodal webs of signal servitors seeded in the void. As a result, as the Imperium expanded, Ancient Terra's role became less one of direct leadership, and instead became more symbolically valuable, with each world standing largely alone; themselves only vaguely connected to Old Terra via tenuous and largely symbolic connections to principal systems in the local Sector and Segmentum: worlds such as Kar Duniash and Constantium are excellent examples.

 

In the wake of existential threats such as the Horus Heresy and the War of the Beast, it became clear that the 'problem' of lack of direct leadership was largely irrelevant. Such is the scale of the Imperium that no orders from Terra could realistically be enacted; with paradigmatic shifts in power between the Administratum and growing Ecclesiarchy, individual Imperial Commanders found Terra less and less responsive. By the close of M33, it had become accepted that Imperial worlds all but stood alone; and that any mutual support came not from a unified Imperial oversight, but from regional protection.

 

+++

+ Death, the God-Emperor and taxes +

Of course, even this overview is misleading, suggesting a consciousness of galactic scales for individual planetary governors or Imperial Commanders. To most, their duty was simple: protection of their fief in order to supply the Tithe. Few chafed at taxation – such is the scale of planetary production that no Imperial Commander need suffer genuine deprivation; and in any case, even the ruinous tithes demanded by the Imperium were insufficient to provide surplus: most planetary tithes were, to all intents and purposes, immediately used to provide stopgaps for inevitable regional shortfalls.

 

The effect was that by the closing years of the thirty-fourth Millennium, the majority of Planetary Governors across the Imperium took a pragmatic view of themselves as overlapping autonomies; with the concept of Imperium a lofty ideal, and the Emperor as a figurehead.

 

Scene from Port Thrace, two decades after the Eve of Secession. 

 

As the long centuries ground on, and the Adeptus Ministorum gradually inveigled its way into silent conflict with an ossifying and inward-looking Adeptus Munitorum, Ancient Terra became sidelined; remaining a place of importance and pilgrimage, certainly, but not a position of temporal power. 

 

+++

+ Secession +

The potential for a region of the Imperium to secede has always been a potential risk –  indeed, rebellious governors and armed uprisings are the meat and drink of the Imperial Navy and Imperial Guard. That it lasted as a broadly stable whole for five millennia is testament to the stabilising effect of the Emperor as figurehead, and the brutal suppression of rebellion. The Nova Terra Interregnum was less a dramatic shearing away – whatever later dramatists recorded – and more a gradual recognition that Ancient Terra's gaze was simply irrelevant to many regions.

 

The Nova Terra Interregnum can be briefly summarised:

The Nova Terra Interregnum, also known as the 'Time of Twin Empires', was a troubled period in Imperial history when the Imperium of Man fractured for a time into warring factions for over nine centuries during the mid-34th through the late-35th Millennium. During this period, the Ur-Council of Nova Terra dismissed the authority of the High Lords of Terra and claimed separate rule over the Imperium's Segmentum Pacificus.

 

...and while this paints the broad strokes adequately, as with anything of galactic scale, it leaves much out; and warring histories have meant that much is muddy that may once have been known. Some regard Friar Decimus Pyne's bold move in nailing a list of revisionist demands to the gates of the Mendicant's Palace as the spark that ignited the tinder of rebellion; while others see a dustier, drier narrative. Nova Terra itself recorded the date of secession as 470.M34 – some fifteen years later – in order to commemorate the first fully physical gathering of the Ur-Council as the start of a new age; though since some elements attempted to create a new dating system stemming from this date, it is sometimes recorded as 001.1.This datum is a tiny example of the myriad conflicting philosophies and directions that gathered under Nova Terra's banner, and followed it into secession.

 

+++

+ Seed of Imperium +

This is not to say that the Nova Terran faction was necessarily disunited. What was to become the Ur-Council was made up of the hereditary heirs of empire, and their ambitions had been fostered for centuries. Wise enough to understand that their ambitions would become little more than a series of quickly-suppressed and isolated rebellions, these highly-placed individuals sought a rallying concept. It was in philosophy and religion that their long-harboured ambitions were to find root.

 

The Ecclesiarchy had moved to Ophelia VII in 200.M35 – exactly three millennia after being established s the Imperial Cult – and this momentous event had caused ripples and unrest across the Imperium, as some amongst the populace began to harbour doubts of the Adeptus Ministorum. The Ur-Council's agents tacitly supported populist movements, millennial cults and starry-eyed idealists across the Segementum Pacificus for many decades to create the fertile soil into which the new empire was to be born. The Ur-Council's power, huge as it later became, could not hope to extend its will over the populace of the Segmentum, and there is much to suggest that they did not intend to do so. By and large, their ambitions were more concerned with Temporal power – indeed, many were devoutly religious and devoted to the God-Emperor. They were also frighteningly pragmatic.

 

Lex Bigal's Inquisitor Theodora

 

Whispers of the fabled 'Imperial Truth' had long circulated amongst the aristocracy of mankind; with many amongst the Munitorum –  particularly those most at loggerheads with the Ecclesiarchy – regarding it as a secular 'holy grail'; a demonstration of the Emperor's Will that – while the details were unknown – would doubtless loosen the ascendant strength of the Ministorum. Strong adherents amongst the Inquisition had ensured that those searchers after truth were protected; though those foolish enough to promulgate it or openly introduce the concept to the populace at large were reluctantly removed. The Truth, after all, was little more than a legend; with any evidence for it long-buried in the ever-increasing annals of history. Even as Munitorum forces sought it, they created more bureaucracy to hide the signal in the noise. Such is the irony of the Nova Terran Imperium.

 

 

+++

[SpecialIssue]

Excellent work. It really hits home on a fact that I think has been recently de-emphasized - any efforts at centralized command in the Imperium is a lie, due to the massive scale of its holdings and intransigent travel/communications. 

 

I would also suggest the irony of the Ecclesiarchy also being great proponents (and opponents of the Administratum) in the search for the legendary 'Imperial Truth' - as I wouldn't think either side really knows what they are searching for.

[apologist]

Excellent work. It really hits home on a fact that I think has been recently de-emphasized - any efforts at centralized command in the Imperium is a lie, due to the massive scale of its holdings and intransigent travel/communications. 

 

I would also suggest the irony of the Ecclesiarchy also being great proponents (and opponents of the Administratum) in the search for the legendary 'Imperial Truth' - as I wouldn't think either side really knows what they are searching for.

 

Just so – I deliberately wanted to keep the concept of the Nova Terra Imperium as open as possible, so I plumped for a rather vague and (likely) unfindable 'holy grail' to unite the various discontented factions. I want players and hobbyists who join in to have as much freedom as possible – whether that's with the Secessionists or the Old Terrans; and that means neither side being 'the goodies'.

 

It's the various shades of grey that appeal to me – and I suspect a lot of enthusiasts – about 40k, so I wanted to simply open up what's already there.

[MagicMan]

Love the thread, and the Orks.

 

 

As a guy who has converted alot of boyz to make them unique, I can really see the effort you've put into these guys.

Really worth it imo. I'm not insane enough to attempt it on a playable army with 100+ boyz, but bravo man they look really great.

[hushrong]

The orks are phenomenal! I also love that fluff but the terrain from the Port Thrace picture is awesome!

[Shovellovin]

Love your most recent update. The idea of the Imperial Truth being a myth in 40K is very interesting. I don't know if you've read Dark Imperium; it has an interesting interaction between Guilliman and a member of the Ecclesiarchy in which they touch upon how the Imperial Truth is a foreign concept, unknow in the contemporary Imperium. Knowledge of the past is a dangerous thing in 40K.

[Dragonlover]

You should totally build the guy off the front of the 2nd Ed box set with the yellow power fist and bionic eye, I bet he'd look really sweet with new bits.

 

Dragonlover

[apologist]

The orks are phenomenal! I also love that fluff but the terrain from the Port Thrace picture is awesome!

Cheers – and you can thank the chaps at Warhammer World for the terrain :)

 

Love your most recent update. The idea of the Imperial Truth being a myth in 40K is very interesting. I don't know if you've read Dark Imperium; it has an interesting interaction between Guilliman and a member of the Ecclesiarchy in which they touch upon how the Imperial Truth is a foreign concept, unknow in the contemporary Imperium. Knowledge of the past is a dangerous thing in 40K.

I hadn't, but the concept makes sense. Perhaps the events of M35 sees the embers being thoroughly stamped out?

 

You should totally build the guy off the front of the 2nd Ed box set with the yellow power fist and bionic eye, I bet he'd look really sweet with new bits.

Now you're talking! :)

 

Love the thread, and the Orks.

As a guy who has converted alot of boyz to make them unique, I can really see the effort you've put into these guys.

Really worth it imo. I'm not insane enough to attempt it on a playable army with 100+ boyz, but bravo man they look really great.

Ta very much – I really love converting stuff, so it was a pleasure. Plus, who doesn't love orks? Madmen, that's who :D

[hushrong]

You lucky, lucky souls and your ability to go to WHW.

 

Looking forward to more updates!

[apologist]

You lucky, lucky souls and your ability to go to WHW.

 

Looking forward to more updates!

Wait no longer; and learn of the Nova Terran Imperium...

 

+++

 

 

+ Anatomy of Empire II: The Nova Terran Imperium + + Principal domains of Nova Terra +

 

 

+ Segmentum Pacficus +

After decades of discontent with the machinations of the Adeptus Munitorum and Ministorum, the majority of the systems in this Segmentum declared for Nova Terra over the course of some thirty years. 

• Constantium/Nova Terra  The seat of the Ur-Council; Constantium has long been known as Nova Terra owing to its influence across the galaxy. The term became official during the Declaration of Secession. It is a large, beautiful and well-connected world, massively well-defended both politically and militarily. The system enjoys protection from attack by peculiarities in the nearby warp that prevent the rapid approach of voidcraft.
• Chalcedon  Seat of the Patriarch of the Reformed Ophelian Church, Chalcedon became a major Shrineworld and site of pilgrimage during this period. Previously dotted with palaces, the Mendicant Order saw these fall into carefully-organised ruin.
• Galatat  A primary Forge World, Galatat was tacitly endorsed and supported by Mars, who sought to brace and bridge both rival Imperial forces without favour. 
• Port Thrace  As the naval forces of the Nova Terran Imperium strengthened and increased in number, the civilised world of Port Thrace was pressed into service to lessen the load on the ancient naval seat of Hydraphur.
• Barbaras  Seat both of the Nova Terran Army's High Command, and of the Ancient and Proper Inquisitorial Palace.
• Trimundi  A bustling hiveworld on the contested border of the Segmentum, Trimundi was brought near to ruin several times during the later period of open warfare.

Galatian Armoured and Super-heavy Armoured Companies for the Nova Terran Army.

 

+ Segmentum Obscurus +

• Khios  On the borders of the Laanah Rifts, this world churns out sturdy and reliable Regiments for the Nova Terrans.
• Avignor  Stronghold and Forgeworld of Archmagos Veneratos Zion.
• Jin Gi  One of the many fiercely independent frontier worlds that joined the Nova Terran Imperium after the Secession; seeing the Nova Terrans, rightly or wrongly, as more malleable to compromise than that of Ancient Terra.

 

+ Ultima Segmentum +

• Formund  Nova Terran stronghold; site of the iconoclastic Truth movement.
• Vacuna  Fortress world and birthplace of Hos Chu.
• Tellaria  Infamous as the principal proponent of the Xenos Accords, which aimed to non-humans inducted into the Army of the Nova Terrans.
• Ymir League  Many amongst the abhumans of the coreworlds had ties to Nova Terran interests, or felt oathbound to throw in their lot with the secessionists. The Ymir League was the most famous of the large Leagues to declare.
• Dargon  A minor squat stronghold, Dargon was to have a terrible fate.

Throngsman of the Ymir League

 

 

+ Segmentum Tempestus +

• Salvation-Gamma  The shrineworld of Salvation-Gamma is seen by many Old Imperials as the southernmost reach of the Nova Terra Ur-Council; a bastion of faith in a faithless empire.

 

+ Segmentum Solar +

• Sarmatia   Home of the Lesser Imperial Synopticon.
• Moirae  Forge World; seat of the Moirae Schismatics.

 

+++

 

+ Forces loyal to Nova Terra +

 

+ Nova Terran Army +

The Nova Terran Army, usually shortened to the NTA, was the pride of the Ur-Council. An elite force somewhat equivalent to the Tempestus Scions or Naval Armsmen, it formed a corps of highly motivated and well-equipped professional soldiery able to respond quickly to threats or uprisings. Circumventing the ancient split of Navy and Guard, the Nova Terran Army remained officially separated from Naval forces by becoming the militant wing of the Munitorum; which accounts for their unusual naming practices.

 

Separated from the Guard, the Nova Terran Army were showered with support, equipment and materiel by the Nova Terran Munitorum. As a result, many Divisios were able to resurrect the pre-Crusade use of the Rhino as transport, in addition to a limited number of Predator cavalry tanks.

 

7th Division NVA; wearing desert fatigues for combat on Ryll

 

Most of the Army's members were ex-guard or PDF volunteers and religiously motivated, favouring the hardline doctrines of the Reformed Ophelian Church, which emphasised self-reliance and clear thinking. The Army was as effective a propaganda tool as a military force; becoming a by-word for reliability. Looting – then commonplace amongst Guard regiments – was heavily punished, and the solider encouraged to be 'Clene in thort, werde and dede.' 

 

Initially intended as a meritocratic organisation where proficiency, rather than social standing, determined rank and progress, the Nova Terran Army inevitably failed to fully realise this ideal. However, the zeitgeist of Nova Terra did mean that a number of low-born volunteers achieved high acclaim. 

 

The Nova Terran Army earned a number of derogatory names from their Ancient Imperial counterparts. The  'Neevees', 'Firstfalls' and 'Rotten Army' being amongst the more publishable.

 

+ Notable Divisions +

• 1st Division 'Proficients' – a double strength division, the Proficients held the line at Ghaud and scattered the Eldar of Shi-Rei.
• 5th Division – The first to fight the forces of the Ancient Imperium, captured members had their hands removed ritually before being returned. In response, the regiment adopted a practise of tattooing their hands to show camaraderie with their fellows and contempt for their enemy.
• 17th Division 'Coldcurs' – The most decorated armoured divison of the Nova Terran Army, this Divisio boasted an entire company of Predator-pattern battle tanks, fresh from the forges of Galatat.
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+ Nova Terran Guard +

While the NVA was intended as a long-term replacement for the PDF and Imperial Guard, logistics meant that they were only ever a figurehead force, numbering barely 500,000 across the entire corps. The bulk of existing Imperial structure remained, meaning that the extant Guard regiments and PDF of nearly quarter of a million worlds remained active.

 

+ Notable Regiments +

 

Free-soldiers of the Hydraphur 707th

• Chirosian Cavalry – In truth, a group of small, rival bodyguard forces conglomerated into a single regiment, the Chirosian Cavalry were part of the laity of the world. They fought bravely against Eldar pirate forces on a number of theatres, becoming something of a specialist anti-Eldar force.
• Verghast 41st Armour – Led the Nine-Hundred Mile march against the ork gargants of Charadon. 
• Hydraphur 707th – The Primary port for the Segmentum's forces, the world also produced a number of highly-motivated Imperial Guard regiments in support of the submerged Cities of Int on Prama XI, against Hrud assaults.
• 2nd Alban Rifles – Suffered catastrophic damage during campaigns against the K'thark homeworlds and were subsequently cycled out in favour of a regiment of jungle warfare specialists.
• Barbaran Hammers – Decked out in ritual armour and subject to limited genhancement, the Hammers were the Honour Guard for the Ur-Council. 
• Tekarn Iron Fists – Supplementing their training with an unusual form of unarmed combat, the Iron Fists were surprisingly effective during urban warfare against the orks of the Braccian Theatre.
• Guizho Armoured – Notable for their distinctive headwear and layered raingear; essential for this agri-world's cycle of torrential rains and blistering sunshine.
• Jakart Light Rifles – An entirely infantry force, the Light Rifles proved highly effective against the Kroot invasion of Cessida.
• Adobe 1st PDF – Suffered notable recruitment issues; requiring the Commissars to begin the draft no less than three times to ensure a sufficient quality was produced.
• Vega Rams – An abhuman regiment ceded from the Ymir League
• Praximundi Honoured – One of the many Feral World regiments drafted following a successful series of religious Missions.
• Los Grabia 888th – The forcibly conscripted hivegangs that made up the 888th were noted to be amongst the most obedient forces from this world; rumours of loboindoctrination are rife.
• Jangtze Siao – Heavy infantry, notable for their Dark Age polearm/lasrifle weapons.
• Sinopian 94th –
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+ Frateris Constantium +

The principal military force of the Nova Terran branch of the Adeptus Ministorum, the Frateris Constantium formed a mirror to the Nova Terran Army. Both were precociously well armed and equipped by their Adeptus backers, but where the NTA attracted the more puritanical, the Frateris Templar were swelled by those who sought ritual and reliability in a world of swiftly-changing fortunes.

 

[+appendnote+: A number of ancient texts indicate that the organisation of the Frateris Constantium was the direct inspiration for the later Frateris Templar, under the infamous Eccleisarchs of later Millennia – +authorident: Unfortunus Veck+ +] 

 

 

+ Notable Militant Orders +

• Order of the Emperor's Arm – The militant branch of a emergent cult declared non-heretical by the Nova Terran Ministorum, the Order of the Emperor's Arm was vastly wealthy, and was able to equip the men and women under its command with power armour and boltguns as standard.
• Ancient Order of the Free Thinkers – Dedicated to the concept of the Imperial Truth, the Free Thinkers were amongst the most hidebound and ritualistic of the Militant Orders; launching several religious wars against regions within the sector. 
• Order of the Chalice – Established by order of the Nova Terran Ministorum, the Order of the Chalice was famous for its policing of the Nova Terran Army, much to the NTA and Munitorum's opprobium.
• Order of Disgust – Decked in lustrous green plate, the Ordo Fastidium were instrumental in launching counter-campaigns against a number of xeno invasions. So-named for their fanatical hatred of non-humans and abhumans.
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+ Tempestus Scions (Nova Terran) +

Being doctrinally separated from the Imperial military, small forces of the Tempestus Scions declared for Nova Terra; regarding it as the Emperor's true vision. Regiments in the region adopted the silver flashes on their uniform to mark them as part of the younger Imperium. However, their loyalty remained to the Scions above all; and there are a number of recorded instances when opposing Scion forces retired rather than engage their comrades.

 

 

+ Neomechanicus forces +

Identifying as the 'United Neomechanicus forces of Segmentum Pacificus', the Adeptus Mechanicus remained politically aloof from the split in the Imperium; regarding its role as simply to supply equipment and materiel to the Imperium's fighting forces, as laid out in the Treaty of Olympus Mons (The Treaty of Mars) five thousand years previously. That they were not supplying arms to both sides of a tense codl war was of little practical interest.

 

Avignan Balisterai

 

This belies the Adeptus Mechanicus' political insights and nous, and in practise, the highest echelons of the Mechanicus were split between those keen to exploit the rift, and those who sought to close it – the broad schools of the Mechascendants and the Concilatori. [see Anatomy of Empire VII and IX, later in this datascreed.] As a result, only those forces explicitly ceded to the Ur-Council are considered below.

• Legio Caudax  – Defenders of Avignor
• Avignan Skitarii – Twelve full regiments were assigned in support of Caudax.
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+++

+ Principal Astartes domains and forces of Segmentum Pacificus +

 

Silver Star 

 

As across the rest of the Imperium, the Astartes of this Segmentum were deliberately reticent to intervene in Imperial politics, and so the following are not to be considered sympathetic to the Nova Terran Cause except explicitly stated. Where active, they ignored pickets and borders established by the rival Imperial forces. Mostly, but not always, they were allowed to pass as non-combatants.

• Iron Knights Chapter Astartes Entire – Studiedly neutral; the Iron Knights cut off contact entirely, and launched a dual xenocidal campaign against the Eldar Craftworlds of Yme-Loc and Kaelor.
• White Consuls Chapter Astartes Entire – The twin Chapter Masters of the White Consuls determined to restrict their forces to purely defensive warfare during this period; protecting shipping lanes for supply shuttles within the Segementum. This brought the Chapter into conflict with both Terran and Nova Terran forces.
• Crimson Fists Company-strength Strike Force
• Void Revenants Chapter Astartes Entire– Still rebuilding after the events of the Mag Karan Assaults, the remnants of the Void Revenants played a limited role in the Alien Wars. 
• Night Reapers Chapter Astartes Entire – For the early part of the Interregnum, the Night Reapers were engaged in executing simultaneous xenocidal campaigns against the hellgrammite species and ork pirates within the Laanath Rifts, a border region on the North-west of Segmentum Pacificus. The withdrawing forces were attacked by Terran forces assaulting the Shrineworld of Salvation-Gamma, and the Chapter subsequently declared for Nova Terra.
• Silver Guard Chapter Astartes Entire – notable for their actions in the Janii Theatre War, and the prosecution of the first ork empire of Kalverna.
• Dark Sons Chapter Astartes Entire – Their homeworld sat on the northern fringes of the Segmentum, and was instrumental in defending Khios against punitive forces of the Greater Imperium.
• Silver Star Chapter Astartes Entire – [REDACTED]
• 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.
• Red Templars Company-strength Strike Force – Initially declaring for Ancient Terra, a change of leadership saw the Red Templars execute a shift in allegiance, leaving them open to declarations of heresy from the Terran Inquisition. This prompted the Second War of Trimundi.
• [sPOOL UNFINISHED]

[+SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT+]

[+SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT+]

[+SCRAPSHUNTERRORABORT+]

+++

 

 

+ Do you have a force you'd like added, or do you fancy having a go at painting a member of these forces (because let's face it, the blog would look a lot nicer with some pictures to illustrate)? Post 'em up! +

Edited April 26, 2018 by Apologist

[Torbenos]

Read through this all and it's excellent, ended up spending some hours on the blog too. Very inspiring work, and you are a lucky man to have such an engaged club community around you! Been inspiring me to try my hand at some Warhammer 40.000 conversion work for the first time. Also very intresting to see something set in a different era in the universe, I had never heard of the twin empire conflict before this.

[Dragonlover]

Well, I *wasn't* inspired to add stuff, but now I've got a few cogs turning. Might use this as a repository for any Inquisimunda ideas that don't fit my own projects.

 

Dragonlover

[hushrong]

So you show off a sweet astartes only to withhold his chapters information? This is madness!

[Soulhunter1995]

I echo Hushrong on this one :) We demand information on that sweet badass Silver Star!  

[Skalpynock]

So you show off a sweet astartes only to withhold his chapters information? This is madness!

This image is from an ooold unification-era thread where Apologist tried to estblish the XI Legion

[apologist]

Read through this all and it's excellent, ended up spending some hours on the blog too. Very inspiring work, and you are a lucky man to have such an engaged club community around you! Been inspiring me to try my hand at some Warhammer 40.000 conversion work for the first time. Also very intresting to see something set in a different era in the universe, I had never heard of the twin empire conflict before this.

Lovely to hear. Thanks for the kind words, and glad to have given you a bit of inspiration for conversions – would love to see!

 

Well, I *wasn't* inspired to add stuff, but now I've got a few cogs turning. Might use this as a repository for any Inquisimunda ideas that don't fit my own projects.

Excellent! The Inquisition during the Nova Terra Interregnum is something that I'd love to see tackled. Doubtless there're factions on both sides (and more!) of the Nova Terra/Ancient Terra split.

 

So you show off a sweet astartes only to withhold his chapters information? This is madness!

Well, I [REDACATED]

 

I echo Hushrong on this one We demand information on that sweet badass Silver Star!

[REDACATED]. [REDACATED] [REDACATED] – [REDACATED]! [REDACATED] [REDACATED].

 

 

So you show off a sweet astartes only to withhold his chapters information? This is madness!

This image is from an ooold unification-era thread where Apologist tried to estblish the XI Legion

 

[REDACATED]

[apologist]

... and on with the show. I've written up a new mission that we'll be trying out tonight; The Battle for Geostation Erpes.

 

Using the classic belligerents of Crimson Fists against the forces of Luggub's Drop Legion, this is a reskin of Rogue Trader's Battle for the Farm; and in that spirit, you should feel free to swap out either force. The Alien Wars is mainly focussed on Marines vs Aliens of various stripes, but the Nova Terra Interregnum setting makes Imperial on Imperial entirely possible, , if you prefer. (The various xenos species tend to hate each other as much as they do humans, too!)

 

Intended very much for friendly gaming; I'd love to hear how you get on with it. I've added some variant options if you want to try a more balanced/competitive game.