Alpha Legion & Chaplains

[Clewz]

Would it fit in with the fluff with taking a chaplain for the Alpha Legion?

 

Would be good to take one as an hq option but Im struggling to justify it fluff wise in my head

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Well, the Alpha Legion is known to maintain extensive internal secrecy, whilst each Legionary is supposed to be able to act independently, and is likely pre-disposed towards inquisitiveness and seeking out tactical information.

 

So normal Chaplains? Probably not. An officer caste tasked with maintaining internal secrecy & punishing those who violate the Legion's levels of censorship? More likely.

 

If you put the right spin on it, pretty much anything can be justified for each Legion.

 

Edit: okay, I've had some more ideas on this one:

 

*They're recruited from the most intelligent aspirants

*They have no tactical / command role - however, they have the power to reprimand any member of the Legion beneath the Primarch(s) if they compromise the Legion's secrecy

*They could be called 'Redactors'

*I'd envisage them wearing helms similar to the sanginiary guard (minus the crests) - the masks are the only face their brothers will ever see

 

I'm totally using this idea for my HH designs thread - thanks for the initial motivation Clewz :P

[Xin Ceithan]

I do not see "normal" chaplains in AL either.

I'd go with IHF here and suggest some sort of Internal Security / Morale officer / Interogation specialist set up.

Or maybe an WB chaplain seconded to the Legion if you want to go for the traditional chaplain type here

[BassWave]

Well to help brainstorm, the way I was going to explain having a "chaplain" is my character is an old veteran who has been through hell, so nothing phases him anymore, hence why he's fearless.

[Slips]

Strange as it may sound, an alt name for AL chaplains could be Inquisitors - Legionnaires who are given free reign by Alpha/Omega - and only answer to them -  to go find weakness in the Legion and expunge it or to "correct" it, etc

[RedRaven]

Like the idea of an AL chaplain as a sort of secret police within a very secretive legion. 

They could also be considered as Propaganda agents, being responsible for spreading misinformation to those outside the legions structure. 

Had thought of using a Librarian with Telepathy as thats an easy fit fluff wise, never thought of using a Chaplain until now.

[Clewz]

liking the idea of some sort of legion whip or commissar instead

[Kais Klip]

Inspired by Fanatic's chaplain mask, I'm rolling with the following theory; we build on the knowledge that the primarchs move about the legion disguised when the time calls for it, as well as the assumption that the legion would be aware of this sooner or later.

 

The intra-legion mop up for this would be timed alongside the introduction of our 'chaplain' characters whose instatement is to maintain the legion Librarius Disbandment (to keep up appearances in inter-legion 'ceremonial meet-ups'/confrontations) as well as provide bodies for the primarch's clandestine passage and a method of anonymous overview of the legion (upheld by a chaplain's mandatory presence at any twin-sanctioned operational meeting, a mandate that would start to go unneeded as the twins' unity fractures).

 

Should a legionnaire come upon a chaplain, he would be able to partake in discussion with him on whatever issue troubles his mind, comforted by the assumption that he is imparted the Primarchs' wisdom (because you don't know if it's Alpharius or Shakes the Fellhanded explaining why we don't fist-bump with power fists). The same goes in battle; the legionnaries lose their fear and double their efforts knowing that perhaps Alpharius himself battles alongside them. Bragging you're the only legion that dedicates father-son time is how you keep away the PTSD operational-expendability brings.

[Xin Ceithan]

@kais

While I can see the merits, there a somethings that rub me wrong from an AL perspective:

A) The whole "i am alpharius" thing seems to have several uses:

Projecting the presence of a primarch over several / any theatre of operation

Distracting from the presence of a primarch (decoy) and securing operational anonvmity

Allowing a Primarch to be present without all the fuzz that usually seems to come with it

Empowering The common Legionary (Everyone is a potential Alpharius)

 

Putting a potential (in this case literal) face (mask) on it seems to contradict this MO

(Unless your AL wants to deliberatly spread the idea of "We are all Alpharius but some are more likely be Alpharius")

It also seems too chummy to me for a Legion that asks anyone anytime to sacrifice themselves for the Legion / the mission ;)

[Kais Klip]

Thanks Caithan, and I had similar doubts.

 

However, my proposal would hold in the spirit of the legion if we assume the 'chaplain' identity is more of a passive, day to day observation of the legion one. Alpharius and co still prowl around the legion (and I disagree with you in the fuzz; to me there's no case of this in the legion given the democratic 'speak your mind' mindset), the chaplain identity sacrifices a little in the case of anonymity while paying back greatly in the form of a more concentrated potential of identity and therefore greater morale effect. Moreover, the particular trait of the chaplains unique identity is known only to the legion, nullifying the first issues you point out.

 

Don't mistake me for disliking the anonymity habit of the legion. The primarchs still wear 'masks' in the form of line legionnaires/civilians on a case by case basis, but the frequency of removing that mask will be highest when employing the chaplain disguise, allowing the legion to assume that it is the chaplain guise A&O utilise the most, when in fact it is only the one they throw off the most. And our quota of deception is satisfied with even more deception.

[Xin Ceithan]

Actually I quite like your idea. It just does not go well with my view of the Legion.

Which is what I find quite refreshing about AL - use whatever works. May be this how it is handled across the whole Legion and not in my detachment. Or vice versa. Or possibly complety different in the next Legion / Coil.

If this your AL chaplain setup, go for it! Hydra Dominatus!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Well, here's my interpretation of the Alpha Legion's Chaplains: the Redactors

[Relict]

That render is just so full of win! :D

 

Personally, I have always envisioned the Chaplains of the Alpha Legion (if we can call them that) as demagogues. They would not be doing their intended job (which is to enforce the Edict against psykers) since the AL strikes me as a group that uses whatever means at its disposal to accomplish their objectives. The average Legionary probably would not require enforcement of secrecy (since secrecy is the soul of the AL). But I can see the none-Astartes agents they recruit and use needing that enforcement. I can see the Chaplains using a condensed and carefully redacted version of the AL philosophy to inspire their agents, alongside chemical/psychological conditioning. 

[Xin Ceithan]

Mmh, AL "chaplains" as primary intelligence "handler" for embedded operatives / cults...quite like it.

[Relict]

That is the word, handler. Thank you brother. 

 

Think of the Alpha Legion Chaplains, while on the surfaces performs all of their duties as proscribed by the Emperor's Edict, work as high-ranking intelligence officers in reality, recruiting, training, managing, and terminating (if necessary) the Legion's non-Astartes assets. Their pawns can be informers, saboteurs, or assassins. Their reach can be as intimate as the government of a planet the Legion is "interested in" or as far-reaching as Mars and Terra themselves. 

 

Shame Tom Clancy is no longer around. The Alpha Legion would have made a fine organization in one of his thrillers.