THE LIBER CLUSTER II

[Machine God]

Bring it on.

[Dizzyeye01]

Crap, apologies for the silence brothers, I've been kept busy the lst couple of days and lost track of time. I'll try and get my piece written for the weekend at the latest.

[Ace Debonair]

Crap, apologies for the silence brothers, I've been kept busy the lst couple of days and lost track of time. I'll try and get my piece written for the weekend at the latest.

Consider the deadline extended in your case, brother.

May the Emperor guide your key-strokes.

 

 

 

In other news, I've been giving some thought to the two Mini-Campaigns, which at the present moment look a little like this:

 

 

Campaign 1 - Imperium vs. Xenos

 

Factions:

 

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] - 1 Company

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] - 1 Company

* [PRIMARIS CHAPTER] - 1 Company

* [PRIMARIS CHAPTER] - 1 Company

 

* [MAIN XENO ENEMY] - Numbers TBD

* [ADDITIONAL XENO ENEMY] - Numbers TBD

 

 

Campaign 2 - Imperium vs. Chaos

 

Factions:

 

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] 1 Company

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] 1 Company

(Plus support from various Imperial assets - Guard, Navy, etc)

 

 

* [CHAOS WARBAND] - roughly 100 marines

* [CHAOS WARBAND] - roughly 100 marines

 

* [RENEGADE FACTION] - roughly 100 marines

* [RENEGADE FACTION] - roughly 100 marines

 

 

As for which Chapters, Warbands and Renegades will be involved, I'm thinking I might go with a good old fashioned vote.

Who do you want to see mixing it up in these campaigns? Let me know, or, better still - make a case for your preferred factions, and convince your brother Liberites to throw their vote in with yours!

 

 

 

Oh, and for the xeno factions: As per Conn's original mandate, the Liber Cluster thread welcomes brand new xeno factions at any time.

 

I know that up to now we've had the Kabal of the Plucked Eye and Heart recently added to the Cluster, and while I'm happy to offer the chance for the Dark Kin to make their mark on the Cluster, they don't strike me as the sort of force that willingly engages in pitched battles with about 400 Space Marines.

 

So if anyone has any crazy ideas for a xeno faction that could take a starring role in the first campaign, I'd love to hear them!

 

(Disclaimer: I have no real intention of completely wiping out the xeno factions involved in the first Campaign, but I do expect them to take a bit of a kicking since they're ultimately up against 400 Space Marines + other Imperial assets - that's not to say they'll lose easily, though, if at all... )

[Kelborn]

I'll wait with my vote on which faction should participate in which campaign.

 

But I may have some Xenos ideas:

- Halo's Brutes representing the Banished of Halo Wars 2 with an Atriox character

- A plant race with a hive mind, basically like the Primals of Warcraft's Warlords of Draenor

- Speaking of which, a classic ogre race ruled by sorcerers / bit of Roman empire vibe (pretty much like the Gorian Empire)

 

Got some additional but they are all basing on other franchises. Sorry if that's an issue.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Oh c**p, the deadline was for the 25th?! I thought I had til the 1st! Can I also get an extension please?!

[Ace Debonair]

Oh c**p, the deadline was for the 25th?! I thought I had til the 1st! Can I also get an extension please?!

You may indeed have an extension - I wondered why you hadn't posted your section yet.

Mystery solved!

 

 

I'll wait with my vote on which faction should participate in which campaign.

 

But I may have some Xenos ideas:

- Halo's Brutes representing the Banished of Halo Wars 2 with an Atriox character

- A plant race with a hive mind, basically like the Primals of Warcraft's Warlords of Draenor

- Speaking of which, a classic ogre race ruled by sorcerers / bit of Roman empire vibe (pretty much like the Gorian Empire)

 

Got some additional but they are all basing on other franchises. Sorry if that's an issue.

It's not an issue, provided you can make them different enough that fan of those franchises wouldn't just immediately go "but that's just X in 40k".

 

Honestly though, my first thought on seeing your above post was "why not all three at once?"

[Nomus Sardauk]

Thanks Ace, how long do I have, just so I'm aware?

[Kelborn]

An ogre/ plant/ brute-ish race of mercenaries with a hive mind and a sorcerer ruling caste?

 

Count me intrigued! :D

[Teetengee]

sounds like smart orks, or at least, orks ruled by weirdboyz

[Kelborn]

Could be a plant based parasite, taking over its hosts (in this case big brutal guys).

 

 

huh....now this reminds me of the Flood. :O

[Ace Debonair]

Thanks Ace, how long do I have, just so I'm aware?

Let's say until the 1st of August, since that was the timescale you thought you had.

 

An ogre/ plant/ brute-ish race of mercenaries with a hive mind and a sorcerer ruling caste?

 

Count me intrigued!

Something sounds strangely familiar about this...

 

sounds like smart orks, or at least, orks ruled by weirdboyz

Darn it, it does sound like Orks.

Maybe if we swap the 'plant' part for something else?

Ogres + Sorcerers is a pretty good core concept, we just need something to flavour it.

[Olis]

Maybe if we swap the 'plant' part for something else?

Ogres + Sorcerers is a pretty good core concept, we just need something to flavour it.

 

Alright, here's some food for thought: If we swap plants for something else, then what big, ogre-y things are out there that we could take inspiration from? Most big animals that I can think of (Elephants, Rhinos, Giant Sloths, Megalodons, certain large dinosaurs...) tend to have pretty big tusks/horns/claws/teeth/etc (delete as applicable). So maybe these big ogre-y alien sorcerers have bone-like exo-skeletons and/or weapons. Maybe they're relatively 'normal' except for the bloody giant set of gnashers on them. Maybe they have super-impressive horns. 

 

Just, you know, steer away from obvious Tyranid undertones. :wink:

[Teetengee]

Is there a reason they can't be orks? The idea of orks with a very different social structure seems interesting enough.

Though, some sort of sentient rock like species might work well.

[Ace Debonair]

Is there a reason they can't be orks? The idea of orks with a very different social structure seems interesting enough.

 

It's not a good reason, but there is a reason - my backup plan in case nobody submitted any xenos was going to be an ork clan with basically a different social structure.

 

But yes, we don't strictly need a brand new breed of xeno for the Campaign. A faction of orks unique to the Cluster would be fine.

 

 

But on the subject of crazy xeno creatures, I was going to suggest crustaceans in place of the plant stuff for our new xenos, because giant crab-man-monsters led by giant crab-man-monster-sorcerers is all kinds of crazy and awesome.

[Nomus Sardauk]

 

Thanks Ace, how long do I have, just so I'm aware?

Let's say until the 1st of August, since that was the timescale you thought you had.

Excellent, that should be more than enough time for me. :)

 

But on the subject of crazy xeno creatures, I was going to suggest crustaceans in place of the plant stuff for our new xenos, because giant crab-man-monsters led by giant crab-man-monster-sorcerers is all kinds of crazy and awesome.

Heh, the mention of Sealife-based Sorceror Xenos reminds me of the Illithids, more commonly know as Mind Flayers from Dungeons & Dragons, although they're Cthulhu-like Squid-headed Psionics rather than Crab Sorcerers, perhaps we could use them as a source of inspiration? They've got some fascinating lore behind them;

http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Mind_flayer

[Ace Debonair]

...Hmmm.

 

Having a horde of merciless Crab Ogres subservient to a caste of Crab Ogre Cleric-Sorcerers, who in turn are subservient to/actively worship a slightly schizophrenic hive mind made up of thousands of generations of dead Crab Ogre Cleric-Sorcerers would be pretty metal.

[Kelborn]

...Hmmm.

 

Having a horde of merciless Crab Ogres subservient to a caste of Crab Ogre Cleric-Sorcerers, who in turn are subservient to/actively worship a slightly schizophrenic hive mind made up of thousands of generations of dead Crab Ogre Cleric-Sorcerers would be pretty metal.

This sounds so weird, I love it! :D

[Ace Debonair]

Yeah, it's pretty neat as concepts go.

 

I've given Sanguinius Reborn the extended deadline of the 1st of August to get his Writing Challenge submission in, so let's see if we can settle on the basics for our new xeno menace by then.

 

We'll need a name for this new species, and maybe a few other details about how they typically fight - I can wing everything else for the purpose of the Campaign, and we can flesh them out more later on.

[Teetengee]

Did we want to go anywhere with the Caecus subplot?

Because it would be a good origin place for eldritch horrors. I definitely was drawing from mind flayers with that stuff. (Also, looking at some of the conspiracy theories regarding a. tyranids running from, not to and b. tyranids as a genetically engineered weapon produced by or partially controlled by one of the missing C'tans.) I purposely left it pretty vague though.

And on the topic of nids, the liber cluster is directly in the path of the central nid thrust, so there should be an enormous tyranid presence coming at some point. Plus, won't it be fun when all those hiding out in the dark are forced into the cluster due to the oncoming deluge of tyranid assaults....

[Beren]

Can't comment much now, bit I'm in favour of the Crab Ogre/Sorceror Xenos

[WG101]

 

Crap, apologies for the silence brothers, I've been kept busy the lst couple of days and lost track of time. I'll try and get my piece written for the weekend at the latest.

Consider the deadline extended in your case, brother.

May the Emperor guide your key-strokes.

 

 

 

In other news, I've been giving some thought to the two Mini-Campaigns, which at the present moment look a little like this:

 

 

Campaign 1 - Imperium vs. Xenos

 

Factions:

 

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] - 1 Company

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] - 1 Company

* [PRIMARIS CHAPTER] - 1 Company

* [PRIMARIS CHAPTER] - 1 Company

 

* [MAIN XENO ENEMY] - Numbers TBD

* [ADDITIONAL XENO ENEMY] - Numbers TBD

 

 

Campaign 2 - Imperium vs. Chaos

 

Factions:

 

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] 1 Company

* [OLD GUARD LIBERITE CHAPTER] 1 Company

(Plus support from various Imperial assets - Guard, Navy, etc)

 

 

* [CHAOS WARBAND] - roughly 100 marines

* [CHAOS WARBAND] - roughly 100 marines

 

* [RENEGADE FACTION] - roughly 100 marines

* [RENEGADE FACTION] - roughly 100 marines

 

 

As for which Chapters, Warbands and Renegades will be involved, I'm thinking I might go with a good old fashioned vote.

Who do you want to see mixing it up in these campaigns? Let me know, or, better still - make a case for your preferred factions, and convince your brother Liberites to throw their vote in with yours!

 

 

 

Oh, and for the xeno factions: As per Conn's original mandate, the Liber Cluster thread welcomes brand new xeno factions at any time.

 

I know that up to now we've had the Kabal of the Plucked Eye and Heart recently added to the Cluster, and while I'm happy to offer the chance for the Dark Kin to make their mark on the Cluster, they don't strike me as the sort of force that willingly engages in pitched battles with about 400 Space Marines.

 

So if anyone has any crazy ideas for a xeno faction that could take a starring role in the first campaign, I'd love to hear them!

 

(Disclaimer: I have no real intention of completely wiping out the xeno factions involved in the first Campaign, but I do expect them to take a bit of a kicking since they're ultimately up against 400 Space Marines + other Imperial assets - that's not to say they'll lose easily, though, if at all... )

 

thats some extensive campaigns can't wait to see what happens

[Ace Debonair]

Did we want to go anywhere with the Caecus subplot?

 

Because it would be a good origin place for eldritch horrors. I definitely was drawing from mind flayers with that stuff. (Also, looking at some of the conspiracy theories regarding a. tyranids running from, not to and b. tyranids as a genetically engineered weapon produced by or partially controlled by one of the missing C'tans.) I purposely left it pretty vague though.

 

And on the topic of nids, the liber cluster is directly in the path of the central nid thrust, so there should be an enormous tyranid presence coming at some point. Plus, won't it be fun when all those hiding out in the dark are forced into the cluster due to the oncoming deluge of tyranid assaults....

I hadn't given the 'eldritch horror' angle much thought, truthfully.

 

On the other hand, I'm all in favour of continuing old subplots, sooooo maybe we can tie the new xenos (or at least some of them) to the mysterious world of Caecus.

[RedDragon]

A question from the uninitiated - Is it too late to get involved with this?

[Teetengee]

A question from the uninitiated - Is it too late to get involved with this?

Nope, jump on in.

[Nomus Sardauk]

O-kay! Sorry for the wait brothers, here's my take on the Primaris Angels Exultant's Combat Doctrine, please peruse it to your satisfaction and feel free to share your thoughts with me! I admit fleshing out a Primaris-only force using only their current range was challenging, but I hope I did a decent job. :)

 

Combat Doctrine

 

Inheritors to a name now cursed across the length and breadth of the Liber Cluster, the young Primaris Marines of the Angels Exultant fight with the cold fury and relentless zeal of men who know all too well they have few friends and everything to prove.

 

Unlike their predecessors the modern Angels Exultant's combat doctrine eschews the rush to close combat that their namesake obsessed over, instead favouring overwhelming firepower paired with extreme mobility through the use of jump-packs, gunships and transports. As such the Chapter boasts a much larger than average compliment of Inceptors, Overlord Gunships and Repulsor transports than others, allowing the Angels to rain death upon the foe from afar while using their agility to elude reprisal.

 

Only once the foe is sufficiently worn down or broken outright by this constant barrage do the Angels descend upon their prey. Aggressor Squads will deploy into the enemy's midst via Teleporter as Redemptor-pattern Dreadnoughts hammer down from orbit in their Drop Pods, meanwhile Reiver Squads will appear on the foe's flanks, having moved into position under cover of the previous firestorm or dropping in via Grav-chutes, and begin their bloody work with combat knifes and bolt autopistols. As all this unfolds the main force will dismount from their transports, be it Tank or Gunship, and pour fire onto whatever enemy holdouts remain, collapsing the last bastions of resistance before their unyielding wrath.

Edited July 30, 2018 by SanguiniusReborn