The Renegade Legion

[simison]

I'll get to that soon, Raktra.

 

So, yeah, a month just flew by. Moving is done, but I had a bunch of work to catch up ("Back, you vultures!" shouts as I keep student loans at bay). Then, two weeks ago, I got slapped by a nasty surprise. For a long while, I was doing legion work, while at work. My job offered plenty of free time and a ready computer with internet access. Life was good. 

 

Then the admins took that away. Although frustrating, it is what it is. I'm not sure when I'll get back to regular posting, but I'm not giving up on the legion when it's so close to completion. (At least, rules-wise.)

 

For this post, I just wanted to indulge myself, since I'm not sure how long this amount of free time will last. I was visiting over at the Special Projects area when I read an interesting thread on alternate timeline ideas. Among the ideas was one about what if the Emperor had fallen at Gorro, and how that would affect the Imperium. For my primary canon-verse, the basic answer was simple. Alex would stay far away from the Throne, while doing everything he could to maintain Imperial Unit. (And probably keeping one eye on his maniac bro, Raktra.)

 

But then I was struck by another thought. The Corax Coup went a step further than most alt-Heresies by mixing up which Primarch landed on which planet. What would a universe that was populated solely by B&C Missing Legions look like?

 

Not sure if there are twenty legions out there, but I'm not sure we're far off...

 

The Berserkers of Uran, the Eagle Warriors, the Lion Knights, the Wardens of Light, the Void Eagles, the Storm Legion, Squig's 2nd & 11th, the Lightning Bearers, and my own Halcyon Wardens. 

 

So, ten legions, unless I'm missing *ba-dum-tsh* someone. Still, there's no rule that there must be twenty legions. Imagine these 10 thrown together for the Emperor to deal with? Pure insanity, I bet.

[Big Bad Squig]

But then I was struck by another thought. The Corax Coup went a step further than most alt-Heresies by mixing up which Primarch landed on which planet. What would a universe that was populated solely by B&C Missing Legions look like?

I'm sure it would be a depressing, horrible place that I for one would want to stay away from... so not all that different than it is now

[Skalpynock]

The amount of fratricide would be unbearable. Full-blown heresy as soon as the last is found, if not earlier. In such an universe, I'd stand by Hyaenidae's statement: "A good primarch is a primarch dead in infancy."

[simison]

I'm curious on what you're basing your opinion Skal. Icarion and Alex, while flirting with forbidden knowledge, ultimately are loyal to the Imperium and the Emperor. Raktra and Travier are definitely Renegades. Hectarion (hiding in AO's thread) seems to be loyal. 

 

Xerxes of the Lion Knights seems to be Traitor or Renegade. 

 

Gwal of the Wardens of Light seems to be an okay guy. 

 

Squig's Primarchs are split down the middle. 

 

We seem to have a balance of good/bad Primarchs so far.

 

What about your Primarchs, Skal? 

[Skalpynock]

I should perhaps do a little flash-forward to explain their falls, as it seems I haven't written anything about that, except maybe foreshadowing the death of the Second. Yucahu is loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium, but does not understand his Legion. Kozja on the other hand sees himself as the Emperor's rightful heir as head of the Astartes Project (cue forbidden experiments and descent into hubris). So he could veer either way, but mostly awry.

[Raktra]

Heh, I'm happy with this maniac Primarch moniker. Might have to work that title in somewhere.

[simison]

So, we actually have an almost even split, ironically. Only one more loyal Primarch than Traitor/Renegade. 

 

 

And yeah. Raktra is the Lost Legion version of Angron.

[Raktra]

That's a pretty good comparison come to think of it, just switch artificial rage for paranoia.

 

Sorry, threadjacking.

[simison]

Can't threadjack, when the point of the last few points were to discuss the Missing Legions as a B&C group.

[AlphariusOmegon108]

we should make a tread on that about all the versions of the missing legions, my eagle warriors and crimson lions would love to participate

[Raktra]

We'll have to shake all the numbers up. I call VIIth.

[AlphariusOmegon108]

my eagle warriors take XIII and crimson lions III, pleaaaase?

[simison]

Raktra, I finally told Grifft to fix that Empowered/Ogre Style error you mentioned last month!

[simison]

I've thought more about how to balance Alex. First, I'm nixing Voice of Reason. While I like it, it doesn't quite capture the breadth of Alex's ability to screw with the enemy's mind. I think I'll relegate that to being one of his story abilities, like how Corax could render himself invisible to the naked eye. 

 

Also, I've gotten a suggestion that Aegis, instead of modifying toughness, should cause disordered charge to anyone who charges Alex and his unit. I've thought about making it negate one attack, but that could easily be abused if he charges an enemy squad with most of the infantry reduced to no attacks. 

 

I'm not sure if that's enough tweaks to reduce Alex's price tag, but I think it's a step in the right direction.

[simison]

Alexandros Darshan VonSalim                                                      470 points

The Strategos, The Seer, Shield-Lord of the Halcyon Wardens

 

Of all of the Emperor's sons, it was Alexandros who united his world through words alone, bypassing the usual civil war before becoming its sole leader, in deed if not in title. As such, of all the Primarchs, Alexandros has sought the least bloody path on the Great Crusade, relying on his words and his powers of Divination and Telepathy to navigate and re-unite Terra's lost colonies of Humanity. Yet, when words fail or xenos stand in his way, Alexandros is every bit able to fulfill the role of conqueror and general. His lists of conquests are shorter than his brothers for glory has never been his desire. Time devoted to the path of peace slows the Wardens' conquests, and he is always the first to volunteer to aid his brothers while giving them the glory of their inevitable triumph. Not only does he seek peace among humanity, but also among his fellow Primarchs, endeavoring to befriend them and keep his 'family' happy. 

 

Between these two traits, the Lord of the Wardens is not as acclaimed as his brothers. Yet, those with wisdom realize that his influence is far greater than what it appears. Of all the Primarchs, Alexandros has the trust and loyalty of over half of them. The planets and cultures he has liberated have been noted as the most loyal to the Imperium. It is these two facts that make Alexandros one of the most dangerous  Primarchs. For if he ever should turn his back on the Imperium, the havoc he would unleash would be terrible.

                                    WS     BS     S      T     W      I      A     LD     Sv

Alexandros                 7         5       6      6      5      6      5     10      2+

 

Unit Composition

• 1 (Unique)

Unit Type

• Infantry (Character)

 

Wargear

• The Auspice Armor
• The Aegis
• Xiphos
• Ultimatum
• Frag grenades
• Melta Bombs

Special Rules

• Primarch (Independent Character, Eternal Warrior, Fear, Adamantium Will, Fleet, Fearless, It Will Not Die, Master of the Legion)
• Sire of the Halcyon Wardens
• Psyker Level 4
• Foresight
• Voice of Reason
• Psyker Duelist
• Bulky

Special Rules

 

Sire of the Halcyon Wardens

Whether protecting an Imperium world from attack or exterminating a hostile xeno race, the Lord of the Wardens always directs the battle with special attention to minimizing his casualties, be they Space Marine, Imperial Army, or Mechanicum. As such, he places himself in the most dangerous zone of the battlefield leading his Myrmidon to protect his lines. All units in both primary and allied detachments may use Alexandros' leadership value in lieu of their own for morale and pinning test if Alexandros is in play. Additionally, Alexandros is able to watch over the units closest to them and forewarn them of danger, granting a 6+ Invulnerable save or a +1 to an existing Invulnerable save that can't improve beyond a 3+ save to all units within 12 inches of Alexandros.

 

Myrmidon may be taken as Troop choices for a Halcyon Wardens primary detachment with Alexandros as Warlord.

 

Foresight

Before the enemy commander knows that there will be a battle, the Seer already knows where and when it will be. As such, Alexandros may choose two Warlord traits from the Strategic table.

 

Psyker Duelist

With his mastery over Divination, Alexandros has perfected a technique for gazing into the near future even as he is in the middle of war's maelstrom. Alexandros always has the Precognition power.

 

Armor of Auspice

Upon completing his instruction on Terra, the Emperor himself presented this unique armor to Alexandros. Utilizing lost technology from an earlier age, this artificer armor provides powerful protection, while enhancing Darshan's control over his powers and defend his soldiers from foul warpcraft. This armor provides a 2+ armor save, adds +1 to Perils of the Warp chart, and may roll for Deny the Witch for any unit targeted within 24 inches of him.

 

The Aegis

With mirroring convictions to protect humanity, Alexandros and Vulkan would prove to be fast friends and learned a great deal from each other. After their first campaign together, Vulkan wished to create a gift for his brother. Instead of accepting, Alexandros asked that Vulkan guide him in creating his own gift. Vulkan assented and the Aegis was the result. The shield combined a power shield and grav generator to protect its owner from harm. The Aegis provides a 4+ Invulnerable Save and every enemy model in close combats attacks by 1, to a minimum of 1. Due to its size, Alexandros may never claim an additional attack from being armed with two close combat weapons.

 

Xiphos

Based on ancient Grekian designs, Xiphos is a perfectly balanced sword with edges and a point sharpened to a monomolecular level. This weapon was a repayment from Ferrus Manus to Alexandros after the latter arrived as reinforcements during the Parviaten Liberation campaign. It's maneuverability combined with Alexandros skill has ended many opponents with one surgical attack. 

 

                   Range      S          AP                        Type

Xiphos            -         User        2          Melee, Force, Surgical Strike*

 

*On to wound rolls of 6, Alexandros wounds regardless of Toughness. Invulnerable saves are allowed.

 

Ultimatum

Although the Aegis was supposed to be Vulkan's gift to himself, the master smith still found the time to create his own gift for his close brother before they parted. This plasma blaster contains an expertly balanced power system, preventing any kind of overheating and does not have the Gets Hot! special rule.

 

Note – Alexandros may only roll from the Divination and/or Telepathy disciplines.

 

 

~~~

 

I'm on the verge of creating Warmaster Alex's profile, and wanted to update his current one with all of the new debuffs. I'm considering two more debuffs: one, remove melta bombs and force him to be at a disadvantage against vehicles. Two, removing the Myrmidon as troops ability. But, I'm curious, if I go through with both of these, should he still be 470 points or should he be cheaper? 

[Hesh Kadesh]

If you remove Meltabombs, I'd give him Rending. I think he is pretty spot on. He doesn't have anything particularly flashy about him, and is just a good solid all rounder. Divination and Telepathy are powerful, but he is rolling, rather than selecting powers.

[simison]

The War of Divination

 

Part 1: Tempest

 

Finally, we come to the most forbidden of truths: the erasure of a legion. Alas, of all the events concerning the Halcyon Wardens, this is where the account of history suffers the most. For all of the information gleaned over the final days of the Halcyon Wardens are found from the few articles of the forces around them. The only possible source for a reliable, firsthand account died with the destruction of Alexandros' fleet beyond the Webway. All we have are a few shattered records that came at great cost to find from the last system Alexandros made war in the name of the Emperor.

 

The Final Compliance

What is known is that Alexandros had reconvened a large majority of his legion into the 35th Expeditionary Fleet. His intent was recorded as desiring for disparate Legion elements to re-connect with their parent culture and for Alexandros to conduct reviews to understand the current state of his legion. The Primarch's current assignment was Compliance of System N7-M88 and once the last of the Wardens had joined with the fleet, the entire armada slipped into the Warp. They never reached the target system.