Fellblades in the 40k universe?

[Demoulius]

Hey all,

 

Im potentially looking to get myself a Fellblade in the future. Before I do though id like to know a few things about them lorewise.

 

Lets start with the biggest question. I only got acces to the lexicanum website as I dont got the books, but are these machines still in use in the 40k universe? The only thing that I can find about them is that they are rare, which doesent tell me alot.

 

Operational use, under what circumstance would these machines be used? Since the legions are now chapters, they cant really do the big pushes that they could in the past. The use for such a machine is therefor kind of a mystery to me.

 

Dont get me wrong, im very keen to get one as...you know...who doesent like a big tank? :D

 

Im just unsure what lorewise their purpose is.

[Iron Father Ferrum]

Technically speaking, modern day Astartes Chapters shouldn't have any super-heavy tanks.  As part of the dismantling of the Legions pushed by Guilliman, all of their super-heavies were taken away as part of his grand scheme to ensure that there would never be another single-point-of-failure rebellion that threatened the entirety of the Imperium (also why their true warships, like the Gloriana-class battleships, were taken).

 

In practice, however, it is likely that some of the 2nd Foundings kept a hold of some of their Crusade-era legacy equipment as a "in case of emergency, break open glass" deal.  Certainly the Chapters initially opposed to the breaking of the Legions, like the Imperial Fists, probably still have a Fellblade or a Mastodon shoved away in the dark corner of their fortress-monastery somewhere.  I for one plan to get a Fellblade for my Iron Hands eventually; my Clan Company's going to have kept it hidden in their land behemoth until they needed it for the defense of Medusa during the 13th Black Crusade.

[ixzion]

Technically speaking, modern day Astartes Chapters shouldn't have any super-heavy tanks.  As part of the dismantling of the Legions pushed by Guilliman, all of their super-heavies were taken away as part of his grand scheme to ensure that there would never be another single-point-of-failure rebellion that threatened the entirety of the Imperium (also why their true warships, like the Gloriana-class battleships, were taken).

 

In practice, however, it is likely that some of the 2nd Foundings kept a hold of some of their Crusade-era legacy equipment as a "in case of emergency, break open glass" deal.  Certainly the Chapters initially opposed to the breaking of the Legions, like the Imperial Fists, probably still have a Fellblade or a Mastodon shoved away in the dark corner of their fortress-monastery somewhere.  I for one plan to get a Fellblade for my Iron Hands eventually; my Clan Company's going to have kept it hidden in their land behemoth until they needed it for the defense of Medusa during the 13th Black Crusade.

This is really interesting and is not something I had considered as a consequence of Guilliman breaking up the legions. I hope no one feels like I am hijacking this thread, but if these war machines and battleships were "taken away", where were they then taken? Do they still exist in huge holding vaults somewhere or where they dismantled? If it's the former I think I need to create a campaign where the forces of chaos tries to claim the machines for themselves...  

Edited October 15, 2017 by ixzion

[Demoulius]

AFAIK the chapters dident lose any equipment other then space born vessels that werent strike cruisers or battleships. Do you have a source that says that they lost their astartes pattern super heavies? (for lack of a better term)

[Iron Father Ferrum]

So as I know, there isn't a single source that backs that up, but it pans out when you consider the changes implemented by the Codex.  The purpose of the change was to prevent a single charismatic commander, Primarch or Space Marine or otherwise, from becoming a substantial threat to the Imperium again.  The Army was split into the Navy and the Guard so that no Guard commander could control the Navy and no Navy commander could control the Guard.  The changes to the Legions were also to eliminate the threat that a single Space Marine force could pose.  The 1,000-man limit to keep a single Chapter from ever threatening more than a small area of space.  No warships specialized for void combat so that the Navy will always a qualitative advantage against them.  No super-heavy tanks so that the Guard, which is allowed to have super-heavies, will always have a qualitative advantage against them.

[Frater Cornelius]

That chapter is also coming to a close. With the return of Guilliman the Astartes are getting plenty new toys and shuffling around of organisational structure. Cramming out a Fellblade right now seems most appropriate.

[Ishagu]

Some chapters have access to Fellblades and Falchions, and not just the first founding ones.

 

With the escalating danger to the Imperium in the current setting, it's easy to imagine that chapters who are lucky enough to possess super heavies will be using them against the myriad threats.

Edited October 16, 2017 by Ishagu

[the jeske]

That is not how bureaucracy works. Soviet Russia had very good portable anti tank guns when barbarossa started, yet all of them were marked as glass instruments[on the basis of them being secret and required for the next years invasion], the boxs with them were never opened.

So if a door has a "don't open on order of G-man" sticker on it, they wouldn't be open.

[Robbienw]

There was plenty of fluff on this in the Imperial Armour - warmachines of the adeptus astartes book.

 

They are rare, but some chapters have them and use them. Particularly 1st and 2nd founding chapters, but not limited to them.

 

Some have been locked away since the scouring in stasis vaults, but have been unleashed for the first time in millennia due to the worsening situation for the Imperium in the closing years of the 41st millennium.

 

There is an example fellblade in the book called Mori Drakka of the Charnel Guard chapter, last seen in use in the 38th millennium.

[Closet Skeleton]

40k rules for heresy era tech are there to be permissive, not to make fluff sense.

 

Could a relic vehicle show up in a battle? Sure. Should it? Probably not.

 

Lorewise relic vehicles don't have a purpose, they're just there to be cool and sell to a wider market than heresy players.

[shandwen]

A good deal of the specifics on the draw back on astartes armament was wrote when much of these tanks didn't exist, or we something almost unheard of. The most recent FW books have rather bucked the older lore, and provided an answer to where all these monster equipment was held and by whom.

Basically you can do whatever you want.

[Rik Lightstar]

I suspect it meant that they couldn't commission any new super heavy vehicles, but they didn't have existing ones taken away.

 

For 40k fluff, as to why they'd be in a game:

 

a) they're very powerful and are a perfect tool for a lot of jobs.

 

b) a super heavy tank has to get to where it is needed and would likely have an escort.

 

c) these vehicles will be notorious/infamous to the enemies of a Chapter, damaging or destroying one would have a huge impact.

 

I think that most people could muddle these points together to justify a super heavy astartes vehicle in a 2000 point game.

 

Rik

[Kingleir]

Blurbs From the IA fluff:

 

Others may have been placed in stasis having been damaged beyond repair, the Techmarines hoping that some future generation might be able to tend the wounded machine.

 

Weapons locked away generations ago are increasingly being unleashed upon the numerous foes of mankind. Fellblade a that have not seen action since the primarchs led their legions in person now fight once more.

 

 

It is only ever at the direct behest and concordance of the Chapter Master and the Master of the Forge that a fellblade is deployed, and only in the direst of circumstances, and in almost all cases, heavy damage is all but irreparable and the loss of a fellblade a tragedy for the entire chapter.

 

 

Now with guilliman and Cawl, this is the perfect time to play a fellblade. stc's should exist somewhere in Cawl's 10000 y.o. databanks. And, I'm sure a primarch would know the ins and outs of repairing their vehicles, even if they would never have to use that information.

 

And on the technical specifications, a report dated 1433010.M40, "Less than 100 examples known to have been constructed in last 500 years"

Which means they are still making them and it is very much possible a chapter could earn one with great enough deeds.

Edited October 17, 2017 by Kingleir