Angelus: named characters (discussion, not leaks)

[Indefragable]

The thread on Ruinstorm got me thinking...

 

What named IX Legion characters can we expect/predict/want to have rules and/or models for? And if so, what rules or abilities would they have?

 

It’s almost a given that some combination of these two will be in there:

 

Azkaellon

-leader of the Sanguinary Guard

-supposedly a master swordsman, particularly when it came to defense: few of any in the galaxy could land a blow on him

-fights with a big :cuss 2H sword and has a winged jump pack

-...tends to be overly protective of Sanguinius...that’s a good trait for a chief bodyguard, except that Sanguinius is a frickin’ PRIMARCH and prime melter of faces

-“loses” to Lucius in a 1-1 duel (he kinda threw the match to prove a point. It’s genuinely debatable)

-gets an arm blown off by Curze

-is the sole survivor of the Sanguinary Guard after SoT and becomes instrumental in keeping the BA/successors true to their genesire’s vision as they grapple with the freshly unleashed Black Rage and a resurgent Red Thirst. Reminds them of Sanguinius’s soul

-has an annoying patrician voice in audio dramas

 

Amit

-Captain of the 5th Company

-nicknamed “the Fleshtearer” for his berserker style of fighting

-is an absolute murderbeastnukebomb in melee. Regularly grapples with the big bass of other Legions

-in direct contrast to Azkaellon, he is All Offense All the Time

-seemed to favor combat blade and a fist to the face in combat (at least no particular weapon is mentioned)

-becomes first Chapter Master of a successor chapter. Take a wild guess. Bless you for picking Lamenters.

-defeats Khârn in a 1-1 duel

-has a badass voice in the audio dramas

 

Now, here are two that one has to wonder will get model/rules:

 

Raldoran

-First Captain and equerry to Sanguinius

-seems to be the most martial of all BA characters (like, actually formally commands dudes and uses tactics and strategic assets and stuff)

-depending on the fluff source, he supposedly was one of the most formidable warriors of the Legion Astartes, most often named in the same breath as Abaddon, Sigismund, and Jago Sevatarion

-unlike Amit and Azkaellon, he was adaptable and fluid, favoring “whatever worked” for a situation in both personal combat and command

-more than being a tactical genius, he supposedly knew the hearts and minds of the men under his command above al else and that helped him guide them to victory no matter what

-has shockingly little actually said or written about him in all of the HH novel series

-goes on to become the first Chapter Master of the Blood Angels after SoT

 

Herald of Sanguinius

-a badass Sanguinary Guard who’s true identity is unknown

-it’s the pre-Sanguinor, ok? Seriously if you’ve read/listened to the HH series and haven’t picked up on that, then you’re the guy that thought that the chapter Amit goes on to lead is the Lamenters.

 

...and then the reach candidates who are unlikely to get rules/models, but considering what FW has down for other lesser-known characters in other Legions, it’s not unprecedented:

 

Khitas Frome

-IX Legion Captain who led the 140th Expeditionary Fleet

-famously gets chomped by megarachnids on the planet Murder pre-Heresy

-...and most famously named the planet with his last words: “This. World. Is. Murder.”

-implied that he was an utter badass, perhaps the best of the entire IX Legion, so his death on Murder was an indication to both Sanguinius AND Horus of just how serious that threat was

-...and Horus flips the F out on III Legion’s Commander Eidolon for vaingloriously Drop podding his release force onto the planet as a result

-has a cameo in Thousand Sons at the Cohncil of Nikea where he is described (in Ahriman’s stream of consciousness) as a whip-thin pale warrior with the face and eyes of a killer

 

Kano

-has a red glowing eye, is an underworld smuggler and enforcer and his hunted by Sonya Blade and Jax. Oh wait, wrong work of fiction

-(Chief?) Librarian of the IX Legion

-does a bunch of psykery stuff

-can apparently fill in as a navigator of sorts

 

Meros

-Apothecary

-if you don’t know who this dude is, then you probably are not enough of a BA/IX Legion fan to justify buying a FW army of them

-...could have a similar effect on BA as Cyoher does for DA, going all “Red Angel” on them and making you lose control of your dudes

 

Vitus Salicar

-Captain, 16th Company

-commander of the (token) BA honor-bound force on Molech

-looks like a Hell’s Angel turned Astartes with long unkempt hair and all tatted up

-cliff dives into perilous waters that give even his Chaplain a queasy stomach as a form of meditation

-will have the coolest looking model but laughable rules, including the ability to stab himself in the face with his own power sword

-...seriously, such a cool character with promise utterly, embarrassingly wasted

[Blindhamster]

It never occured to me till i read your summary of Raldoran... but he is basically Dante, like... his positives PERFECTLY summaries Dante.

[Runefyre]

I'd suspect FW will use whatever characters they view as prominent in whatever main conflict they focus on. Don't fall into the trap that us Wolves players did...assuming that FW will give us characters we want (such as Lord Gunne and Bjorn...)

 

Personally I'd really love to see Azkaellon, his model would be beautiful. Fluff-wise all BA characters are underdeveloped, so imo FW can't go wrong with who they pick.

 

A character librarian would be cool and unique, if FW wants to create a unique character.

[Blindhamster]

I think, if we get 3 characters, 1 will be a BL character (Azkaellon most likely) and the other 2 will be FW ones.

[Indefragable]

@Blindhamster:

It’s almost like GW reuses ideas and archetypes or something.

 

@Runefyre:

Great point. You are right in saying that it’s basically an open book for BA

[Xenith]

Don't fall into the trap that us Wolves players did...assuming that FW will give us characters we want (such as Lord Gunne and Bjorn...)

.

Bjorn was a nobody until late/post heresy though. No need for him.

 

The only ones I see as sure things are Sanguinius and Amit. I can see possibly Azkellon or Raldoron but not both. It would be nice if they could invent a new character. Maybe a chaplain? Seeing as Corswain is a safe bet for Dark Angels, I don't know if it makes sense to have two "greatest swordsmen" tropes in the same book.

 

The Herald was a purely political role, so I don't see it getting rules.

[Lord_Caerolion]

Forge World does seem to be doing a good job of inventing new characters, to avoid the "Star Wars Problem" of having an entire galaxy's worth of characters, but it's only the same few faces we see every time. The Legions are close to, or even over, 100,000 Marines. Forge World is expanding beyond the names we see from Black Library.

 

Personally, I'm hoping for Azkaellon, maybe Amit (for our "future Successor" character, like Polux and the Red Talon guy from the Iron Hands), with maybe a Librarian/Apothecary, and another line Captain or so.

[Blindhamster]

I'd like them to do Raldoran personally, purely because I've been interested in him since he was first noted for being so badass. Because we've not seen him do anything in the heresy books so far.

[Kasper_Hawser]

Here's an idea though: don't use named characters from the novels at all. That way we won't be disappointed if the crunch doesn't match the fluff. Except for the Primarch of course.

 

From the Wolves perspective, sadly we didn't have any notable characters DURING the Great Crusade. Although Bjorn was there, he was a line animal until destiny chose him to be awesome during and after Prospero. That's why the 2 named characters Wolves got were nobodies in the Heresy novels, instead of the few characters like Jarl Ogvai of Tra, or Priest Wyrdmaker, which sadly weren't famous or did anything notable like Eidolon or Typhus.

 

That being said, Azkaelon and Raldoron are perfect for making praetor level characters, maybe even specialists (Azkaelon could be chaplain) without the need to create further characters. But I think crunch wise, with new fresh characters, they WONT be restricted by what we've seen in the fluff.

[Lord_Caerolion]

But Azkaellon isn't a Chaplain?

 

I don't mind them taking some of the characters from the BL novels, they haven't really done anyone wrong so far. It's just when you get things that look like the Iron Warriors in Angel Exterminatus, just showing the exact same characters we'd already seen instead of showing anything new, in a Legion of over 100,000 warriors.

 

Sure, it'd be awesome to see Raldoron, etc, but new faces are always needed.

[Xenith]

It's just when you get things that look like the Iron Warriors in Angel Exterminatus, just showing the exact same characters we'd already seen instead of showing anything new, in a Legion of over 100,000 warriors.

That's exclusively a Graham McNeill problem, as far as I know. ADB has specifically gone against this, and said he isn't a fan of using the same characters in HH and 40k books.

[Kasper_Hawser]

But Azkaellon isn't a Chaplain?

 

I don't mind them taking some of the characters from the BL novels, they haven't really done anyone wrong so far. It's just when you get things that look like the Iron Warriors in Angel Exterminatus, just showing the exact same characters we'd already seen instead of showing anything new, in a Legion of over 100,000 warriors.

 

Sure, it'd be awesome to see Raldoron, etc, but new faces are always needed.

 

Didn't mean Azkaelon would be a chaplain, but maybe chaplain like rules. Or the bodyguard rule like what Nokk Dedok has.

 

So yeah, I vote and hope for new faces, with a minimum of ONE known character making it to tabletop.

 

 

It's just when you get things that look like the Iron Warriors in Angel Exterminatus, just showing the exact same characters we'd already seen instead of showing anything new, in a Legion of over 100,000 warriors.

That's exclusively a Graham McNeill problem, as far as I know. ADB has specifically gone against this, and said he isn't a fan of using the same characters in HH and 40k books.

 

 

LOL, that's because ADB tends to kill them off a few books later. Poor ...... "a certain chaos mariner". Ripped my heart out at his demise. And that's saying something, that ADB can write so I can sympathize and love a chaos marine character.

Edited November 17, 2017 by Kasper_Hawser

[Blindhamster]

ADB does indeed write chaos characters as more than mustache twirlers. For this I am eternally greatful.
He also shows that the "good guys" aren't really all that good (see blood angels marines butchering the mortal slaves on a chaos ship in the night lords books)

[TheRealMcCagh]

Surely you mean when the magnanimous Blood Angels delivered the Emperor's peace to the suffering plebs aboard that filthy heretic vessel?

[Indefragable]

Azzy and Amit are almost shoe-ins, I feel because they symbolically represent the whole “angels and demons,” “saviors and slaughterers” duality that defines the BA.

 

Personally, I want to see Raldoran. He is there in the fluff going waaaaaaay back, yet he is still so undefined. And what little we do about him suggests an awesomely humble and soft spoken yet incredibly potent badass...that’s someone I really want to know more about!