IT Black Maw Warband

[Carrack]

Black Maw Warband

 

The core of the Black Maw Warband is the remnants of three Sons of Horus companies currently lead by the Chaos Lord, Carrack. The Black Maw was quick to swear allegiance to the Warmaster as he formed the dreaded Black Legion. 10 millennia of wars both inside the Eye of Terror, and in the Imperium of Man have left few of the original members alive, but a combination of traditional recruitment and the practice of accepting Astartes from other legions, or renegade chapters have kept the strength of the Black Maw roughly the same. The veteran core have kept the traditions and customs of the Black Maw alive.

 

Geneseed: predominately Sons of Horus, with scatterings from other legions and chapters alike.

 

Colors and markings: Black with brass trim armor, typically with one pauldron left black, although individuals may show the Eye of Horus in gold or yellow instead.

 

Base of operations: currently Hell's Holdfast, formerly known as Frederic III, in the Siliquastrum sub-sector. The main port city, and seat of Lord Carrack's power, is the city of Howler's Charn. The Black Maw still holds sway over the Daemon World of Vaaska in the Eye of Terror, and maintains trade relations with the Dark Mechanicus world of Xana II.

 

Fleet: the Black Maw Flagship is the Retaliator class grand cruiser Bitter Revenge. The Blood Eye is an Astartes Strike Cruiser, 2 other cruisers and a vast assortment of renegade pirate ships and escorts complete the fleet of the Black Maw.

 

Key personnel: Lord Carrack, the Slayer of Multitudes, Doom of Kasr Woolten, Lord Carrack assumed command of the Black Maw after the previous commander, Lord Huma, ascended into Daemon Princedom and left the running of the warband to, "the fittest", and focused solely on the esoteric nature of his newfound daemonhood. Lord Carrack currently bears the mark and favor of Khorne, but is more devoted to personal power and the command of the Black Maw, than loosing himself on the Eightfold Path.

 

Lythane the Black, Keeper of the Liber Apocal, holds the title of Equerry to Lord Carrack. In truth, which is known to all, Lythane is a plant from the Warmaster to ensure the Black Maw's loyalty to the Black Legion.

 

Dark Apostle Lavam: Lavam sees to the spiritual needs of the Black Maw, as well as upholds the rituals and traditions of the Warband. He also is responsible for enforcing the true faith upon conquered worlds and propagating cults on enemy planets. He has established an academy at Howler's Charn for the purpose of training cult magos.

 

Current activities: The conquest of the Siliquastrum Sub-Sector.

 

This began 40 years ago with the invasion and conquest of Frederic III, now called Hell's Holdfast. The Black Maw was able to hold the world against the initial counter invasion by defeating the Battlefleet Siliquastrum at the Battle of Fewood. This allowed Lord Carrack to fortify Hell's Holdfast, and establish it as a major pirate port, which with a sub-sector Battlefleet in shambles, further destabilized the sub-sector. Frequent raiding and the propagation of chaos cults added to the bleak outlook for the Imperium in this sub-sector, until a powerful Black Templar Crusade under the command of Marshall Clarence took up the plight of Siliquastrum.

 

Four years ago, the Black Maw embarked on a raid that culminated with an attack on the sub-sector seat, the Red Hive of Siliquastrum. The Black Templars were able to chase the Black Maw out of the system, but not before they inserted a strike team into the lower levels of the Red Hive. This strike team was able to secure a text sacred to the Word Bearers Legion and planted a techno-sorcerous bomb in the bowels of the Red Hive. When the bomb detonated, it destroyed the entire hive and the sub-sector leadership with it.

 

Meanwhile, Lord Carrack had gathered a massive army of mutants, cultist, and renegades at Hell's Holdfast in preparation for the next phase of his campaign. Before the next phase could begin, however, Marshall Clarence and the remnants of Battlefleet Siliquastrum, along with dozens of Imperial Guard Regiments, began a meticulous investment of the Hell's Holdfast system. Slowly clearing through the system defenses, the crusade was able to establish a beachhead on the North Pole of the world. Unfortunately for the Imperials, this was a trap. Lord Carrack had deliberately weakened the system defenses in order to channel the Imperials into making planet fall near an orbital lance array at the North Pole. This lance array was trapped with a bound daemon inside it's power core. Once the ground forces were deployed, the lance array went into critical overload and wiped out the ground forces of the Imperial Crusade. The Crusade did damage the Black Maw in an unforeseen way, the six month approach to the world that the Imperial Fleet carefully took, forced the Black Maw to provision their large renegade army much longer than initially anticipated. Starvation and disease subsequently wrecked havoc on the world and it is unknown if Hell's Holdfast will ever recover.

 

With the Black Templar threat neutralized, the sub-sector command in shambles trying to rebuild, and the whole sub-sector destabilized, the Black Maw launched the final stage of their invasion. Utilizing their own elite forces, their massive renegade army, and Word Bearer mercenaries eager to have access to the sacred text uncovered in the Red Hive, the Black Maw has begun conquering the sub-sector one planet at a time, meeting little resistance.

 

Black Maw and the Black Legion:

 

Sons of Black

 

The Sons of Horus companies that would form the Black Maw Warband was struggling in the days and years after the failed siege of Terra. Hounded into the Eye by the vengeful loyalist the fate of the warband seemed doomed. The internecine wars between the surviving legions were whittling away their strength. Sons of the failed Warmaster took the brunt of the other legions anger for the defeat at Terra, and casualties were not easily replaced. Finding a safe place to anchor their fleet much less actually dock and refit the increasingly battle scarred vessels was a difficult task within the hells of the Eye of Terror. Worse the pressures from their enemies were fracturing the warband. More so as officers and men of the Black Maw found favor with different gods. To make matters worse, these proud warriors could survive defeats well enough, but when victory meant little more than another day of survival their fighting spirit began to wain, and a malaise came over the warband that would not be lifted without a meaningful victory.

 

Then Abaddon came to the Black Maw. He came at the head of a largest fleet that the Black Maw had encountered since they retreated to the eye. He came with the largest army of former Sons of Horus that the Black Maw had seen as well. He also had a motley assortment of ships and legionnaires from the other traitor legions as well, nay not motley, both vessels and Astartes were all uniformly black. The new Warmaster hailed every member of the Black Maw.

 

He could of asked for their allegiance. They would have given it to him, each and every one of them. But Abaddon doesn't ask when he can demand, and so he did. Each member from Legionnaire to Lord took a knee before the new Warmaster and pledged to follow him till the end of days and make the galaxy burn in their wake.

 

Of Vassalage and Autonomy

 

Currently the Black Maw Warband exist as a vassal to the Warmaster. They are required to answer his calls for crusade, provide a rotating portion of their forces to serve at his behest, pay tribute at agreed rates, and never act against the interest of the Despoiler, or the Black Legion at large. In return, the Black Maw fleet and Astartes are given the protection of the Black Legion Colors. Any assault on the Warband is an assault on the Legion, something not done lightly within the Eye of Terror. The Black Maw may also call port in any Black Legion domain and trade or procure services, such as those of the Dark Mechanicus loyal to the Legion.

 

Outside of these feudal obligations, the Black Maw is free to operate as it sees fit. To this end they are currently carving out a domain in the Siliquastrum Sub-Sector, with one objective, that they stress to Abaddon, of drawing away the defenders of the Cadian Gate. To ensure the continual loyalty of the Black Maw to the Warmaster, as well as that the proper amount of tribute is paid, Lythane the Black was installed as equerry to Lord Carrack by Abaddon himself. Likewise, the forces of the Black Maw that serve at the side of Abaddon, are hostages of a sort, that keep the Black Maw from straying from the Legion.

[Draakur]

Seems you've gone for more of a briefing/timeline than a deep warband profile, and in my opinion that's no bad thing. You're not particularly verbose here, pretty efficient with your descriptions, and that makes for an interesting change to the norm. The potential for power struggles and treachery in Chaos warbands is always fun, hope you follow that angle with Lythane a bit more :)

 

I liked it and am looking forward to more :)

[Lysimachus]

Very nice work. It can be difficult to make an interesting article when you're filling out details on a small part of a larger 'official' force, can feel like you're just rehashing material from the IA of the main Legion, but you seem to have avoided that well.

 

Things to expand? Maybe preferred tactics, or what are their long term goals or beliefs? What makes them different from the BL as a whole, are there any areas where they clash (or have literally clashed)?

[Carrack]

Seems you've gone for more of a briefing/timeline than a deep warband profile, and in my opinion that's no bad thing. You're not particularly verbose here, pretty efficient with your descriptions, and that makes for an interesting change to the norm. The potential for power struggles and treachery in Chaos warbands is always fun, hope you follow that angle with Lythane a bit more :)

 

I liked it and am liking forward to more :)

Thanks, I definately want to get into the treachery angle soon. Lythane will make a natural player in that aspect, so to will Lavam, then there is always aspiring champions as well.

[Carrack]

Very nice work. It can be difficult to make an interesting article when you're filling out details on a small part of a larger 'official' force, can feel like you're just rehashing material from the IA of the main Legion, but you seem to have avoided that well.

 

Things to expand? Maybe preferred tactics, or what are their long term goals or beliefs? What makes them different from the BL as a whole, are there any areas where they clash (or have literally clashed)?

Preferred tactics are in the works. I haven't really thought much about the conflict between the Warband and the greater legion, that is an interesting topic that will need some thought. Thanks for the feedback.

[Carrack]

Edited: added Black Maw and the Black Legion.

[Banelord]

 Nice :D You have a nice foundation so far. I would like to see more about their beliefs, traditions and how they think, might help separate them from the Black legion, what do they think of Horus? Do they still worship his as a hero or god? Or did he fail horribly?   Are they just after revenge? Or what want their own empire?