At the end of the Great Crusade we saw the Chaos Gods claiming the legions that would descend into madness. The campaign had a pretty simple system in place to track a players overall Loyalty and their victories. This system was used to determine which of the Chaos Gods would favour which Legions. In the cases of Khorne, Nurgle and Slaanesh this went pretty smoothly. For Tzeentch though we had a tie between Salamanders and Thousand Sons. In the case of a tie it would come down to a roll off between the tied Legions and any Legion that wasn't being played.
The tl:dr at the end will give a quicker overview and say where the differences with the canon occur.
On with the final events.
The Emperor's Children were forever attempting to attain perfection. This served them well during most of the Great Crusade. It served to make them an exemplar of tactical acumen lauded by their brother Primarchs. Towards the end of the Great Crusade their attempts to attain perfection took a darker note. They would forewarn their enemies of impending attack or even, on one occasion deliberately broadcast their assault plans to the enemy, all in an attempt to attain perfection. This along with the spreading rumours of the Legion's Apothecaries attempting to perfect the Astartes form, saw the Legion fall out of the Emperor's favour.
The Emperor reveals that he is stepping down from the mantle of supreme war leader of the Imperium to pursue his Great Work. In his place a new leader will take control of the Imperial war machine, the greatest of the Primarchs and the one that stood closest to his vision of the Imperium, Robute Guilliman! Where the other Primarchs had turned on each other or devolved to their own petty ideals or squabbles, Guilliman had lead a continuous series of crushing defeats against the Xenos. To honour Guilliman's achievement the Ultramarines were renamed the Scions of Guilliman.
After the shambles of the battle of One-five-four-four the Iron Hands began to make sure that such weakness would never again seep into the core of the Iron Hands. This process began slowly but in the true fashion of the Legion it escalated very quickly. It began with a review of tactical and strategic planning, then they began utilizing the forbidden tech that the techpriests had been given access to on Mars. This was then quickly followed by them unlocking their own vaults of formerly forbidden technology. As this technoarcana flooded into the Legion so to did the plan in more and more clandestine fashion. From the outside their tactics still looked as complex as a brick to the face, each was structured so that foes would be manipulated into stumbling into the path of that brick.
Masters of psychological warfare the Night Lords kept pushing the boundaries of acceptable warfare by most standards. Towards the end of the Great Crusade they had taken to focusing heavily on cutting supply lines, stealing, destroying or befouling food, water and ammo dumps and supplies. Now were populations not just scared to their wits end but they were also falling prey to famine and disease. It seemed an almost natural next step for the Legion and allowed them to choke worlds dry or back into compliance with startlingly little resources.
The bloody rampage the White Scars were leaving across the galaxy could be seen by all. Ferociously slaughtering anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. Their own tactics of being a mobile hit and run guerrilla force began to shift. They were still the fastest force on the battlefield but now they would just plow straight into an enemy, and tear out the other side. Once clear they would simply turn back and repeat the process until they had claimed the heads of all their foes.
The Iron Hands are approached by their closest allies, Warmaster Guilliman and Fulgrim who attempt to use their close ties to Ferrus Manus to bring him into the fold of the Imperium Secundus. Infuriated that his two closest brothers would consider their father's empire to be falling into darkness Manus turned his back on the two, foreswearing his oaths of friendship and informing them that the next time they meet he will kill them.
Tl:dr
-The Emperor's Children become increasingly interested in fighting the perfect war so their compliance rates significantly lower as does their favor with the Emperor.This is one of a number of similar events.
-Guilliman is named warmaster, the Ultramarines become the Scions of Guilliman
-The Iron Hands become corrupted by Tzeentch. In the canon it is the Thousand Sons
-The Night Lords become followers of Nurgle. In canon this is the Death Guard
-The White Scars turn to Khorne. In canon this is the World Eaters
-The Emperor's Children and Scions of Guilliman try to get the Iron hands to turn to their cause but the Iron Hands stay loyal to their Emperor.
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Events. Show all posts
Monday, June 9, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Notable events of the Great Crusade (part 2)
During the Great Crusade there was a set of rules that helped track a Legions loyalty to the Emperor. Thus if a Legion fought in a fashion the Emperor approved of, or towards the Emperors goals they became more loyal. This included fighting of evil Xenos hordes and being heroically outnumbered. Whilst those that used more unorthodox tactics or were more inclined to follow thier own goals had their loyalty drop. This included political and actual infighting (represented by games) or going into a fight with a ridiculous amount of resources.
This system is why some Legions, despite having events that negatively affected their loyalty still came out as very loyal. The White Scars are a perfect example. Their loyalty shot all over the place until right at the end of the campaign they managed to drag themselves through as loyal.
The tl:dr at the end will give a quicker overview and say where the differences with the canon occur. Back to the Events of the Great Crusade:
Ever indulgent to the heights of brutal carnage and bloodshed the World Eaters were reknown for their ferocity and the devastation their attacks caused. During the Great Crusade the came to enjoy their slaughter more than they previously had. The World Eaters began to take prisoner their stronger opponents, dragging them back to arenas on their mighty warships. Where once they would wreak their bloody toll as quickly as possible, they have taken to what on the surface would appear to be a greater tactical acumen. Outflanking their foes, dividing held positions and raids; all uncharacteristic of the Legion. Taking a closer look at the legionnaires it is noticeable that they are building up their anticipation for the final strike, where they glorify in the horror of the slaughter they inflict.
Willing to do whatever was needed to bring worlds to heel before the might of the Imperium the Space Wolves found themselves falling out of favour. Whilst the likes of World Eaters or White Scars would slaughter any living thing within arms reach the infrastructure of a world was largely left intact. Not so for the Space Wolves. Their willingness to use incredible collateral damage as a weapon often meant more time was spent rebuilding the shattered worlds left in their wake, than even a lengthy campaign would have cost from any other Legion.
During the Great Crusade it became known to progressively more Legions that the Blood Angels harbored some secret. Eventually it was revealed that the IXth had a flaw in their geneseed, that caused them to loose all self control and enter a dark rage and thirst for blood. The Blood Angels no longer able to contain this secret, were commanded to purge the Legion of all signs of genetaint and to cease all recruitment immediately. Knowing that this would mean certain death for the IXth Sanguinius refused the order. The Emperor's response was swift, the Blood Angels would hence forth be removed from active duty, any action counter manning this would see Imperial retribution.
Despite or possibly because of the events on Chogoris the White Scars continue to grow in favour with the Emperor. Whilst this seems to temper their combat doctrine slightly from the total slaughter that had recently become their new favoured way of war it caused a select few Legions to really focus together. Calling themselves the True Legions the White Scars, Alpha Legion, Salamanders and Dark Angels saw themselves as being above their brother Legions, an inevitable sign of the trouble that was soon to occur.
After being given some crucial intelligence by Robute Guilliman the White Scars learn that the Raven Guard have been repeatedly attacking isolated White Scars forces and disrupting their communications networks. The Raven Guard are suspected of instigating the rebellion on Chogoris as well. The Emperor, furious that one of his Primarchs would take the liberty to censure another Legion, let alone the highly favoured White Scars, declared the Raven Guard to be enemies of the Imperium and gave the White Scars the honour of ridding the Imperium of such a clearly treacherous enemy as the XIXth.
Tl:dr
(summary with some added details)
-The World Eaters are the first Legion to start the path to following a Chaos God, in their case Slaanesh. In the cannon they obviously turned to Khorne.
-Like the Thousand Sons the Space Wolves have lost favour with the Emperor and or the other Primarchs
-The Blood Angels are ordered to purge their legion of tainted geneseed, Sanguinius refuses and his Legion is stood down, on threat of being attacked by Imperial forces. This is broadly analogous to the Word Bearer's being rebuked by the Emperor in the canon.
- The White Scars once again prove the firmness of their loyalty. This causes the most loyal Legions to band together.
-The Raven Guard are cast out of the Imperium for daring to censure the White Scars. The White Scars are then sent to destroy the wayward Legion. This is the equivalent to the events involving the Thousand Sons and Space Wolves in the cannon.
This system is why some Legions, despite having events that negatively affected their loyalty still came out as very loyal. The White Scars are a perfect example. Their loyalty shot all over the place until right at the end of the campaign they managed to drag themselves through as loyal.
The tl:dr at the end will give a quicker overview and say where the differences with the canon occur. Back to the Events of the Great Crusade:
Ever indulgent to the heights of brutal carnage and bloodshed the World Eaters were reknown for their ferocity and the devastation their attacks caused. During the Great Crusade the came to enjoy their slaughter more than they previously had. The World Eaters began to take prisoner their stronger opponents, dragging them back to arenas on their mighty warships. Where once they would wreak their bloody toll as quickly as possible, they have taken to what on the surface would appear to be a greater tactical acumen. Outflanking their foes, dividing held positions and raids; all uncharacteristic of the Legion. Taking a closer look at the legionnaires it is noticeable that they are building up their anticipation for the final strike, where they glorify in the horror of the slaughter they inflict.
Willing to do whatever was needed to bring worlds to heel before the might of the Imperium the Space Wolves found themselves falling out of favour. Whilst the likes of World Eaters or White Scars would slaughter any living thing within arms reach the infrastructure of a world was largely left intact. Not so for the Space Wolves. Their willingness to use incredible collateral damage as a weapon often meant more time was spent rebuilding the shattered worlds left in their wake, than even a lengthy campaign would have cost from any other Legion.
During the Great Crusade it became known to progressively more Legions that the Blood Angels harbored some secret. Eventually it was revealed that the IXth had a flaw in their geneseed, that caused them to loose all self control and enter a dark rage and thirst for blood. The Blood Angels no longer able to contain this secret, were commanded to purge the Legion of all signs of genetaint and to cease all recruitment immediately. Knowing that this would mean certain death for the IXth Sanguinius refused the order. The Emperor's response was swift, the Blood Angels would hence forth be removed from active duty, any action counter manning this would see Imperial retribution.
Despite or possibly because of the events on Chogoris the White Scars continue to grow in favour with the Emperor. Whilst this seems to temper their combat doctrine slightly from the total slaughter that had recently become their new favoured way of war it caused a select few Legions to really focus together. Calling themselves the True Legions the White Scars, Alpha Legion, Salamanders and Dark Angels saw themselves as being above their brother Legions, an inevitable sign of the trouble that was soon to occur.
After being given some crucial intelligence by Robute Guilliman the White Scars learn that the Raven Guard have been repeatedly attacking isolated White Scars forces and disrupting their communications networks. The Raven Guard are suspected of instigating the rebellion on Chogoris as well. The Emperor, furious that one of his Primarchs would take the liberty to censure another Legion, let alone the highly favoured White Scars, declared the Raven Guard to be enemies of the Imperium and gave the White Scars the honour of ridding the Imperium of such a clearly treacherous enemy as the XIXth.
Tl:dr
(summary with some added details)
-The World Eaters are the first Legion to start the path to following a Chaos God, in their case Slaanesh. In the cannon they obviously turned to Khorne.
-Like the Thousand Sons the Space Wolves have lost favour with the Emperor and or the other Primarchs
-The Blood Angels are ordered to purge their legion of tainted geneseed, Sanguinius refuses and his Legion is stood down, on threat of being attacked by Imperial forces. This is broadly analogous to the Word Bearer's being rebuked by the Emperor in the canon.
- The White Scars once again prove the firmness of their loyalty. This causes the most loyal Legions to band together.
-The Raven Guard are cast out of the Imperium for daring to censure the White Scars. The White Scars are then sent to destroy the wayward Legion. This is the equivalent to the events involving the Thousand Sons and Space Wolves in the cannon.
Sunday, May 25, 2014
Notable events of the Great Crusade (part 1)
For the first year of the campaign I made a series of events to cover some of the important milestones for the Legions in the canon. The Great Crusade saw us fighting to see who had the honour of becoming Warmaster (won by Steelesamurai's Ultramarines), as such there was initially no Dark Imperium and the Emperor was the great and terrible being we all know and love.
To keep things interesting the events that turned Legions to the chaos gods did not meant that they had to turn against the Emperor. I did this because in the canon the Emperor does not seem to have really taken the threat of Chaos that seriously prior to the Heresy and no one noticed 4 Legions starting to fall to chaos.
The tl:dr at the end will give a quicker overview and say where the differences with the canon occur. On to the events:
Shortly after the Aplha Legion was reunited with their Primarch the Alpha Legion were approached by a xenos council known only as the Cabal. Nothing is known about what occurred in this meeting although rumours abound. This left the question in the air about where the Alpha Legion's loyalties may lie. Ever a secretive and unorthodox Legion the Alpha Legion gave a full account of their activities over the course of the Remembrancer Project, information they had previously suppressed. Their combat record suitably impressed the Emperor, who gave greater favour to the Alpha Legion.
The White Scars found themselves under a considerable amount of scrutiny, especially from the Raven Guard. Whilst their actions were proving ever more brutal and erratic their effectiveness could not be denied, and they found themselves bordering on censure for their actions and being a favourite of the Emperor.
The Dark Angels and Salamanders fought alongside each other for a considerable length of time forming one of the tightest bonds of brotherhood between any two Legions. The two Legions proving time and again they were both willing to give up everything for their brother Legion and the Imperium they fought for. The Lion and the Drake became one of the most popular and best chronicled accounts of any of the Legions during the Great Crusade and gave the two Legions their nicknames of the Paladins of the Imperium.
The Thousand Sons have their methods and combat doctrine called into question, along with the continuous efforts of Magnus to lobby support from his brother Primarchs, sees the Legion fall from the Emperoro's favour and begins the process that will result in the Council of Nikaea.
In one of the most notable, bloody and brief campaigns in the Great Crusade referred to as the Scourge and the Wrack demonstrated what would occur when the Death Guard and Night Lords are capable of when working together. The two Legions developed a sombre camaraderie that rivaled the Dark Angels and Salamanders.
The White Scars hear that their home world of Chogoris has thrown off the rule of the Imperium and betrayed its oaths to the Emperor and the White Scars Legion. The Whites Scars take a considerable amount of time to react and it is later assumed that this is due to the actions of the Raven Guard. Once the White Scars do react they show brutality and savagery beyond that of any other Legion. In a week of untold carnage they reduced the population of Chogoris down to a mere 0.1% of its number the week before, tens of millions slaughtered. Those that were "lucky" enough to escape the slaughter were reduced to breeding stock to provide the Legion with the recruits needed to continue.
Tl:dr
(summary with some added details)
-The Alpha Legion follow the Emperor (instead of the Warmaster as in canon) after meeting the Cabal.
-The Alpha Legion's loyalty to the Imperium is called into question and they prove beyond any doubts that they are utterly loyal to the Emperor. In the canon this event represented Horus assuming, wrongly, that the White Scars would join him.
-The White Scars loyalty to the Emperor is unshakeable. There were several of these events that represented those Legions that were steadfast in their loyalty to the Emperor in the canon such as the Imperial Fists or Iron Hands.
-Vulkan and Lion el'Johnson become the ultimate brothers in arms each perfectly complimenting the other. In the canon this represented the bond between the Emperor's Children and Iron Hands
- The Dark Angels prove their loyalty to the Imperium and its ideals are beyond question. This is the equivalent of when the Iron Hands were tempted by the Emperor's Children to join Horus.
-The Thousand Sons fall out of imperial favour. There are several events that represent certain Legions being the least popular or left with unsavoury missions in canon such as the Night Lords and Iron Warriors.
-Night Haunter and Mortarion become the greatest (and most terrible) of comrades in arms.
-The White Scars butcher the people of their homeworld after they rebel. In canon this was the Iron Warriors attack on their homeworld of Olympia.
To keep things interesting the events that turned Legions to the chaos gods did not meant that they had to turn against the Emperor. I did this because in the canon the Emperor does not seem to have really taken the threat of Chaos that seriously prior to the Heresy and no one noticed 4 Legions starting to fall to chaos.
The tl:dr at the end will give a quicker overview and say where the differences with the canon occur. On to the events:
Shortly after the Aplha Legion was reunited with their Primarch the Alpha Legion were approached by a xenos council known only as the Cabal. Nothing is known about what occurred in this meeting although rumours abound. This left the question in the air about where the Alpha Legion's loyalties may lie. Ever a secretive and unorthodox Legion the Alpha Legion gave a full account of their activities over the course of the Remembrancer Project, information they had previously suppressed. Their combat record suitably impressed the Emperor, who gave greater favour to the Alpha Legion.
The White Scars found themselves under a considerable amount of scrutiny, especially from the Raven Guard. Whilst their actions were proving ever more brutal and erratic their effectiveness could not be denied, and they found themselves bordering on censure for their actions and being a favourite of the Emperor.
The Dark Angels and Salamanders fought alongside each other for a considerable length of time forming one of the tightest bonds of brotherhood between any two Legions. The two Legions proving time and again they were both willing to give up everything for their brother Legion and the Imperium they fought for. The Lion and the Drake became one of the most popular and best chronicled accounts of any of the Legions during the Great Crusade and gave the two Legions their nicknames of the Paladins of the Imperium.
The Thousand Sons have their methods and combat doctrine called into question, along with the continuous efforts of Magnus to lobby support from his brother Primarchs, sees the Legion fall from the Emperoro's favour and begins the process that will result in the Council of Nikaea.
In one of the most notable, bloody and brief campaigns in the Great Crusade referred to as the Scourge and the Wrack demonstrated what would occur when the Death Guard and Night Lords are capable of when working together. The two Legions developed a sombre camaraderie that rivaled the Dark Angels and Salamanders.
The White Scars hear that their home world of Chogoris has thrown off the rule of the Imperium and betrayed its oaths to the Emperor and the White Scars Legion. The Whites Scars take a considerable amount of time to react and it is later assumed that this is due to the actions of the Raven Guard. Once the White Scars do react they show brutality and savagery beyond that of any other Legion. In a week of untold carnage they reduced the population of Chogoris down to a mere 0.1% of its number the week before, tens of millions slaughtered. Those that were "lucky" enough to escape the slaughter were reduced to breeding stock to provide the Legion with the recruits needed to continue.
Tl:dr
(summary with some added details)
-The Alpha Legion follow the Emperor (instead of the Warmaster as in canon) after meeting the Cabal.
-The Alpha Legion's loyalty to the Imperium is called into question and they prove beyond any doubts that they are utterly loyal to the Emperor. In the canon this event represented Horus assuming, wrongly, that the White Scars would join him.
-The White Scars loyalty to the Emperor is unshakeable. There were several of these events that represented those Legions that were steadfast in their loyalty to the Emperor in the canon such as the Imperial Fists or Iron Hands.
-Vulkan and Lion el'Johnson become the ultimate brothers in arms each perfectly complimenting the other. In the canon this represented the bond between the Emperor's Children and Iron Hands
- The Dark Angels prove their loyalty to the Imperium and its ideals are beyond question. This is the equivalent of when the Iron Hands were tempted by the Emperor's Children to join Horus.
-The Thousand Sons fall out of imperial favour. There are several events that represent certain Legions being the least popular or left with unsavoury missions in canon such as the Night Lords and Iron Warriors.
-Night Haunter and Mortarion become the greatest (and most terrible) of comrades in arms.
-The White Scars butcher the people of their homeworld after they rebel. In canon this was the Iron Warriors attack on their homeworld of Olympia.
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