=][= The Dornian Heresy Volume I =][=, Legio Imprint Issue I - Download the PDF here! Options

[SCC]

The Dornian Heresy

As a member of the moderating team here at the B&C I've had the chance to do some pretty cool things. For starters I get to work alongside some of the most knowledgeable, enthusiastic Space Marine players, writers and painters on the planet. I've also been able to help run various Arenas of Death, helped to judge various competitions and I even get to occasional tidbit of inside info on upcoming Astartes projects from GW. But the real reason I love what I do here is that I get the chance to help shape the direction of the B&C, one of the largest, and we hope best, 40K sites on the internet. It can be a daunting responsibility but it's also a great honour and an even greater pleasure and it's times like today, the launch of The Dornian Heresy Volume 1, itself Volume 1 of the Legio Imprint, that really drive that home for me.

The Bolter & Chainsword's mission statement is simple:

"The Bolter & Chainsword exists to help people learn about modelling, painting, understanding, and playing with power armoured armies in the Warhammer 40k game universe."

What you hold in your hands (or more likely, see on your monitor) is the first half of one of the most ambitious undertakings we've seen in the 40K community in a long time - a complete alternate history of the pivotal Heresy era of the Imperium and one of the best examples of the B&C ethos we've seen in just as long. Lead author Aurelius Rex and his co-conspirators, including Ferrata, Owlandmoonguy and a number of very talented artists, present to you 'The Dornian Heresy, Volume I'. Inspired by the Index Astartes articles that appeared White Dwarf in the early 2000's, a time many consider the peak of both that august publication and Space Marine fluff in general, this book gives you a chance to relive to those glory days from a new perspective.

A quote from Aurelius' own introduction will give you a taste of what's inside:

This premier issue is devoted to chronicling something a little different; a twisted alternate timeline in which Warmaster Horus was able to cast off the daemonic influences that sought to possess him, and where the Ruinous Powers were instead forced to corrupt Rogal Dorn to overthrow the Emperor. The Dornian Heresy is the tale of an alternate universe where choices, sometimes large, sometimes small, have led to the familiar primarchs and legions meeting very different fates. For instance, how different might things have turned out if Sanguinius had instead been found and raised by the mutant tribes of Baal, or if Angron's first meeting with the Emperor had been as an honourable ally against the slavers at Fedan Mhor?

The authors of each of the 10 full-length articles have done a tremendous job of producing high-quality stories that will resonate with 40K players both new and old as a plausible alternative to the Horus Heresy. Careful evaluation of the characters, strengths and flaws of the pre-Heresy Primarchs and their Legions has resulted in some amazing twists and turns to the familiar Heresy story, some you might guess, others will simply leave your jaw on the floor but still strike true with the 40K fluff aficionado. So what are you waiting for? Come join Aurelius and his brothers in ink as they create history anew with The Dornian Heresy Volume I!

And remember, this is just the first half of the story!

Legio Imprints

This book in particular, and the Legio Imprint in general, also represents yet another step forward for the B&C. For more than 10 years now the B&C has been the online place for Space Marine players to gather to talk about their armies, their ideas and other aspects of what might appear to be a rather unhealthy obsession with small plastic army men for many of us. For almost as many years we've been offering tools to help Astartes players around the world make the hobby easier, more fun and even cooler. These tools have included the Interactive Space Marine Painter (and its Chaos and Xenos counterparts), the Librarium and the Liber Astartes Guide to DIYing. We've also held competitions and community events and generally tried to be the only place a 40K player need come for information and advice on painting, playing or understanding Space Marine armies and fluff, to whit - The Ultimate Space Marine Resource Site.

Now the B&C is stepping up its efforts to give the wider 40K community a taste of the tremendous talent and amazing effort put into projects across this site. This will take the form of semi-regular e-publications created by the B&C community which will showcase the best of the B&C to the rest of the world. Note that the phrase 'the best of the B&C' will cast a wide net, we'll be looking for the best writing, painting, rules, gaming advice and more all across the board to appear in future volumes of the Imprint. Also note that when we say 'created by the B&C community' we mean that too, we'll be looking for authors, artists, painters and even members to help with the production processes of digital publications.

You'll hear more about this project in coming months but in the meantime, if you're interested in helping, or you've got a suggestion about what deserves to be part of the Legio Imprint or even an idea for a volume then please contact me, SCC, via PM.

Right now I'd particularly love to hear from anyone willing to lend us their desktop publishing or e-publishing skills and experience, the board itself provides us with a natural pool of talented 40K artists and authors but the real trick is producing high quality publications to do justice to their work. Again, please send me a PM if you think you can help.

- SCC
B&C Administrator

Download The Dornian Heresy Vol. I Here!

File Name: Legio Imprints: The Dornian Heresy, Volume I
File Submitter: Kurgan the Lurker
File Submitted: 6 May 2010
File Category: B&C Resources

From Aurelius Rex (Legio Imprint Lead Editor):

The Bolter and Chainsword are proud to announce the release of the first issue of their downloadable electronic magazine, the Legio Imprint. The Legio Imprint aims to showcase the best of the articles and features to be found on the Bolter and Chainsword, as well as including original content created especially for the publication.

This premier issue has been devoted to chronicling something a little different; a twisted alternate timeline in which Warmaster Horus was able to cast off the daemonic influences that sought to possess him, and where the Ruinous Powers were instead forced to corrupt Rogal Dorn to overthrow the Emperor. The Dornian Heresy is the tale of an alternate universe where choices, sometimes large, sometimes small, have led to the familiar primarchs and legions meeting very different fates. For instance, how different might things have turned out if Sanguinius had instead been found and raised by the mutant tribes of Baal, or if Angron’s first meeting with the Emperor had been as an honourable ally against the slavers at Fedan Mhor? All this and more is in the first issue of the Legio Imprint.

Featuring original artwork from a host of talents and a front cover by Aerion the Faithful, the Legio Imprint presents the stories of nine of the legions, including previously unseen Index Astartes articles for the Khornate Space Wolves, the soul-bound psychic warriors of the Thousand Sons and the plague-infected Blood Angels.

The first issue of the Legio Imprint is available to download free from the Bolter and Chainsword now.

Click here to download this file

[Brother Argos]

Can I just say what a spectacular result Aurelius Rex and his team have achieved. I know just how hard it is to publish anything and maintain this degree quality throughout. I am proud that the B&C has once again been involved in producing a such quality publication.

Well done Aurelius and I hope the rest of you all enjoy a view of an alternate heresy ... something that might have happened if the winds of chaos had blown a little differently.

[The Red Worm]

Skimming through this all I can say is "Wow." It is going to take a while to digest all of this stuff.

Should I be looking for a Watcher/Monitor character at the end telling me this is an answer to "What if"?

[shatter]

It made me smile. Well done, guys.

[DarkKnightCuron]

This is absolutely awesome. I immediately want to make a conversion of those Ultramarines now!

Excellent artwork across the board! Superb writing, the entire thing! Job very well done, dudes!

[WarInHeaven]

i have to admit, i had my doubtes when you guys started this, but you guys did a hell of a job!
i'm curiusly waiting to see my own first-founding chapters join the fun

[Aquilanus]

Like The Red Worm, I've only had a cursory glance at this, but it looks and feels just like an official codex/WD article!

Well done to all those involved!

[Rossco]

Just another example of why the B&C is the greatest forum of any kind, really well done to everyone who was involved in this.

[The Normish]

The next step is recognition form Games Workshop!
Congratulations and a huge "Well Done" to everyone who worked on this project!

[Max Power]

Great job, guys. I'm blown away.

[Natanael]

Totally awesome! I've read trough the basic fluff and Index Astartes for the World Eaters, and skimmed trough the rest, and all I can say is: totally awesome!

- Natanael

[JamesI]

I think my favorite is the Ultramarines one. So well written.

[tomambrosio]

Haven't gotten a chance to look at it in depth, but it looks great! Thanks for the mention.

I will be (hopefully) posting some pictures of my Skyrar Raiders in the near future.

[The 2nd Founding]

Very good - I was a bit unsure at first but after reading through am glad to be proven worng. Like the sounds of the tritor Space Wolves and the deamon like Blood Angels. I think I will be creating a few squads of each of these over the coming months.

[Warchild001]

Bravo gentlemen! First class material. The members of the B&C forum are top notch. The Ultramarines story rocks!

[Wayward]

Impressive work, congratulations!
I took the liberty to link the pdf into a spanish based forum for the english readers over there that may not be aware of this fabulous work.

[Battle-Brother M...]

At a glance, wow - looking forward to reading it in detail. Well done guys, amazing job.

[Brother-Captain ...]

Wow. Just Wow.

[Brother Saturnus]

Great work! Hope to see a lot more in future. Very interesting alternative history!

[Ju'kosian]

Brilliant.. !!
very impressive work

[noodlenerd]

just started reading into it, and I have to say it: WELL DONE.

I actually want to make a small nurgle blood angel force now, as a contrast to my "real" BA.

[RagingGriffon]

Amazing work guys!

I just had to grumble because I had an idea of Tzeentchian warband led by a fallen Raven Guard I was sketching out in my notebook last week.

Great job, though!

[Brother Ulkesh]

Well done to everyone involved. You should be very proud.

[Scathainn]

That was amazing. You guys truly outdid yourselves. There's just so much thought and detail, I can't imagine the effort it took.

By the way, the new wargear looks ace!

[Ace Debonair]

By The Emperor - that's a heck of a story.

The sheer awesome coolness of the loyal Thousand Sons is not easily conveyed in words.

Kudos to all involved in this epic work!