Nineswords Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I've always liked the idea of an Alpha Legion force that is essentially a 40k version of the Alpha Legion presented in Dan Abnett's Legion. A highly secretive, special ops looking force with a secret and ambitious agenda. I'm currently working on covering all aspects of the fluff/background stuff to work towards a Liber Astartes article. http://i.imgur.com/e9aqc.jpg Any C&C welcome! NS ____________ Epsilon Omega is a fleet based Alpha Legion cell operating throughout the Eastern Fringes. In recent decades Epsilon Omega has turned to more radical means of assuring humanity's – not the Imperium's – dominance in the galaxy by slowly infiltrating the technocracy of the Tau Empire in the Galactic East. Through the use of human operatives willingly accepted into the ranks of the Tau, the Alpha Legionnaires of Epsilon Omega are able to acquire and modify their accelerated technology, working towards overthrowing the Tau Empire from within and establishing a secular human hegemony, free from xenos influence, the religious ignorance idolatry of the Imperium and zealous dogma of the Eye. HQ Primus Counts as Huron Blackheart The Alpha Legion warlord known as Primus is an enduring mythical figure, the figurehead of so many atrocities in the Imperium throughout the entire galaxy. Those even aware of Primus' existence say he is a captain from the Horus Heresy, undergoing periodic stasis cycles to mitigate the ageing process in real space. Others claim that Primus is simply yet another moniker for Alpharius, the Twentieth Legion Primarch, waging the long war in the Eastern Fringes. In fact, Primus is simply a combat designation. The original Legionnaire with the moniker Primus was a Epistolary Librarian of the XX Legion who encoded his meme-bank during the Great Scouring as means to preserve Legion doctrine as outlined by the twin Primarchs. Through the centuries, the meme-bank has been implanted into Alpha Legionnaires possessing the only highest intelligence and potential for command, thus being able to draw on (and add to) ten millennia of Alpha Legion combat doctrine, as the meme-bank is constantly updated by the current Primus. Known only to Legion Command, several copies of the meme-bank exist across secret caches across the galaxy, as a fail safe should the Primus be captured or killed with no means to retrieve the meme-bank implant wafers. As such, each meme-bank possesses different meme-genealogies from the same root. Like all memories, the meme-bank is constantly in flux, diminishing some abilities such as psychic talent (as many Primus candidates were non-psykers) whilst retaining particularly pertinent combat or ideological memories to be interpreted and acted upon to further the Alpha Legion's remit. The Primus may nominate any member of the Alpha Legion, long in advance to ascend to Primus status when the need arises, if captured in combat, or if the current Primus' mental state deteriorates under the cognitive strain of ten millennia of memory. ____ Project MN Gamma Due to extensive losses and unstable recruitment cycles through ten millennia of warfare, Epsilon Omega has developed Project MN Gamma, an ongoing accelerated recruitment programme where captured Imperial Astartes are subjected to a meme-wipe, followed a regime of psycho-hypnotic indoctrination order to transform them into combat ready Alpha Legionnaires without the long years of necessary training. After their psychological reorientation, tacit knowledge and trained muscle memory allows these altered Astartes to function admirably in combat, complete with false memories implanted by Legion Command to ensure their total loyalty. These marines are then retrained in new squad formations to fine-tune cohesion and increase the cognitive intelligence required to function as Alpha Legionnaires. The tacit knowledge and skill sets acquired from MN Gamma usefully provides the Alpha Legionnaires of Epsilon Omega with a diversity of fighting styles and combat philosophy, engendering a tremendously adaptable and resilient fighting force. Due to the high risks and unknown quantities involved with performing a successful meme-wipe, many Imperial Astartes reject the psycho-hypnotic conditioning, whether through ideological resistance, faith or simple physiological failure. The instability of the meme-altering process on the subject's mind transforms these Astartes into psychopathic killing machines, with only their instinctive combat skills intact. Known to the Imperial forces as 'cranks', the Alpha Legion have found a use for these unfortunates, supplying them with plundered armour and weapons (often with traces of the warrior's original chapter designation), heightening their combat awareness through a cocktail of psycho-inducing drugs as they race into combat, operating as Epsilon Omega's shock troops. Berzerkers, and Raptors with the MoK appropriately fit the bill, appropriately here. A Hellbrute known as 'Meshuggenaut' represents a particularly crazed individual who has failed the MN Gamma Process. Other troop choices will include two squads of CSM's representing the mainstay of the Alpha Legion force, and possibly a chosen squad. I'll also be specifying a counts as allied contigent from the main Tau Empire Codex, representing non-Imperial humans of the Tau Empire who act as operatives for the Alpha Legion to acquire technology and destabilise the Tau from within. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ifrit446 Posted October 19, 2012 Share Posted October 19, 2012 I'm digging the fluff, brother. You definitely recreate part of our Legion and make it your own which is awesome and definitely better than the norm out there nowadays B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nineswords Posted October 19, 2012 Author Share Posted October 19, 2012 Cheers! I'm sure other AL players will get a kick out of it, and the Tau storyline seemed entirely maniacal and strangely appropriate. Plenty of fluff here for your reading pleasure: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...howtopic=252453 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nineswords Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 Added a Photoshop mockup with a few images from various sources to spec my Tau influenced modified Alpha Legion armour. As you can see, the essence of the Astartes profile looks the same, but with substantial modifications. I'll think of some cool fluff to go with it. Next step: Simplify some of the details, and start modelling in 3D so I can get a true scale 3D printed conversion kit... http://i.imgur.com/e9aqc.jpg MKIX 'Lernaen' Pattern Armour Epsilon Omega has expended considerable resources into developing replacement armour for its Legionnaires. This experimental suit incorporates significant modifications based on recovered reversed engineered Tau battle-suit technology acquired through Epsilon Omega's extensive network. Whilst the distinctive Astartes profile is retained, a number of 'scale plates' have been incorporated into the armour to facilitate easier replacement parts, along with several air intake modifications to prevent overheating. Early combat tests have indicated the armour is not as robust as the Imperial Astartes MKVIII 'Errant' armour's integrated systems and reinforcements, but this is offset against the ease of repair and acquisition of replacement parts, making the MKIX a formidable innovation in Astartes armour technology. ___ Returning once more to the arming bay he visited several hours before, Theo was confronted by a large grey sheet draped over the imposing form of a suit of battleplate. An arming servitor had reactivated as the legionnaire approached via a proximity sensor, which also alerted Theo’s armourer, Ahmin, who was nearby. Glancing back at the grey sheet, the marine's curiosity began to get the better of him. ‘Go on, master Theo,’ beamed Ahmin and gesticulated towards the battleplate as he approached the legionnaire. Theo pinched the fabric and let it fall away, revealing the power armour beneath it. He whistled. The battleplate before him looked nothing at all like the battered suit he had returned to the Omicron in. Gone was the bronze veneer and the imperial iconography of the Stymphalids’ disguise, replaced by a rich purple-indigo, trimmed with gunmetal and accents of silver. However, what caught the legionnaire’s eye was a number of modifications. ‘Primus had the magos deliver the parts shortly after you left,’ informed the armourer. ‘You are one of the first to try the experimental scale plate,’ he continued, pointing at various points on the suit. ‘Modified greaves with reinforced plating on the cuisse. The external power systems are now protected by an additional layer of scale plating that continues down to the plackard. The vambrace also has a slight reinforcement, as does the helmet.’ The dim green of the armour’s powered down internal systems snaked its way around the armour, officially named 'Lernaen Pattern' by Legion Command, or a Mark Nine according to Adeptus Mechanicus designation. Theo smiled at the irony of the statement: the Imperials would of course be insensible with rage at the very idea of advances in armour technology without the explicit approval from Mars, not least from the source of its creators, and that some of the technology was xenos in nature. Turning his eye towards the cosmetic alterations, Theo noted the stylised serpentine heraldry of the Epsilon Omega; a figure of eight intersected by a vertical line, from which stemmed three branches ending in a stylised serpent's head. Legion Command normally were largely pragmatic when it came to battleplate, reserving markings and iconongraphy for the purposes of disguise, compiled from the Omicron’s extensive database. However, it would appear with the new plate, Alpha Legion wished to make a statement. As a whole, the experimental suit was still distinctively Astartes, albeit one that took on the slightest appearance of a lizard, or the hydra of ancient Terra, even. The psychological impact of Magos Bakun’s tinkering were not lost on Legion Command. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Priest Ridcully Posted October 20, 2012 Share Posted October 20, 2012 It looks good, but possibly a bit "Iron man" ish? Possibly use more stylestic details from the tau range? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nineswords Posted October 20, 2012 Author Share Posted October 20, 2012 It looks good, but possibly a bit "Iron man" ish? Possibly use more stylestic details from the tau range? Not far off, Warmachine actually - but I'll be making some changes in the 3D model when I get round to it, probably a bit more Tau elements and probably less complex than the mockup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sanctimonius Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Loving it, and the Alpha Legion are pragmatic enough that one or more cells must have considered the use of xenos tech, especially considering they were so willing to work with xenos in the past... I look forward to seeing this pan out, and can't wait to see some models <_< Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Payce Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 It looks good, but possibly a bit "Iron man" ish? Possibly use more stylestic details from the tau range? However is that even remotely a bad thing? :D Looking forward to following this thread closer, love the concept, both visual and setting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevak Dal Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Interesting, but how exactly will you go about making that armor variant for 40+ models? I forsee a whole lot of filing, grinding, cutting and green stuff molding in your future, and I imagine after about 5 guys, you'll probably leave it at 5 guys unless you can come up with a way of mass production that's cheap, easy and safe without a whole lot of extensive extra money needed to make them. Then you have the problem with Boltguns/Pistols and weapons for them. Do you make your won variations of those as well? How would you keep them within that new hotness scheme? Again you'd run into production problems, you can kitbash some elements, but replication becomes an issue. If you already have the stuff to make molds and all that noise, then gravy, but as it is, I don't see you being able to accomplish much beyond digital constructs in a practical sense. I'd very much like to see you succeed, with a method that's easily repeatable so that I could do it with what I got available to me. I'm seeing elements of the COG Gears, as well as SPARTAN II-IVs. Interesting I say again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nineswords Posted October 21, 2012 Author Share Posted October 21, 2012 3D Printing, mainly. I'll keep some bits like the backpacks, helmets and hands, but everything else will be 3D printed, based on a variant design of the Photoshop mockup above, which will be simplified and scaled appropriately to 30mm in a 3D model (yes, making them slightly larger). Probably weapons too, I'll come up with my own variant. No time at the moment, it will be at least a month until I get some tests back in, but that's where I'm going with it. Edit: Depending on the complexity, I may try a cast using Liquid Blu Stuff and a Greenstuff/BluStuff hybrid, once I have the 3D printed models in my possession. It will certainly save on time and costs considerably. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freakiq Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Why do all modern-looking power armour have tit-canisters? Do you really need easy access to a warrior's nipples? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nineswords Posted October 22, 2012 Author Share Posted October 22, 2012 Why do all modern-looking power armour have tit-canisters? Do you really need easy access to a warrior's nipples? :D Actually I'm not a huge fan of those. I'll be making sure to get rid of those when I model it in 3D and replacing it with another detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rune Priest Ridcully Posted October 22, 2012 Share Posted October 22, 2012 Why do all modern-looking power armour have tit-canisters? Do you really need easy access to a warrior's nipples? :P According to the Blood angels, yes, you really do need easy access to nipples at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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