Black Book - Insurrection (PUBLISHED)

[simison]

A New War

 

Of the fifty-seven ships composing the 18^th Expeditionary Fleet that entered the Madrigal system, only nine would escape, mostly escorts and light cruisers. Of these nine, an additional three would not survive the treacherous Warp travel to Terra. Although a dozens ships were outright destroyed in the Madrigal Purge, the majority of the 18^th warships were either captured or defected to the Harbingers, including seven battleships. Since the battle occurred in the Madrigal system, most of the damaged new additions to the Harbinger fleet were towed to the Akira shipyards within a single day. In a few months, the Akira shipyards had successfully restored these ships to full operating condition. 

[simison]

In regard to their former defenders, the original 8,700 Halcyon Wardens were reduced to a scant few hundred survivors when the ships limped into the Sol system. Although 7,000 Legionaries might not mean much to a Legion well over 240,000, the true cost was in the composition of these casualties. Most of them were dedicated members of the Order of the Shield and irreplaceable veterans of the Great Crusade. In a new war where defense would rise to such priority for the Imperium, these losses were acutely felt. The Order of the Shield in particular suffered from the lost of centuries-worth of experience and skill at a time when they would be capable of coordinated defense and imparting their much-needed wisdom to their lessers. The death of Pyrrhicles was an especially symbolic blow to the Order who had only ever known his leadership, and a deep personal wound to the Warmaster himself who had been close friends to the Delian warrior since before the Emperor had found him.

 

Unlike many of the other ambushes to occur on the Day of Revelation, a large minority of these casualties were the result of capture and defection. Many of these new prisoners of war would be escorted into temporary holding facilities on Madrigal. Their eventual fates would be diverse as a few would successfully see the Imperium again through exchanges, while most would suffer a far darker fate. Most infamous of these Wardens would be the third who followed Malis into the Stormlord's treachery. From this initial base, they would form their own allied force to the Traitors, eschewing their former Legion name to become the Hammers of Malis. 

 

For the price of turning on their closest cousins, the Harbingers suffered a loss of 17,000 Legionaries, most of the casualties incurred at the end of the battle when the last defending Halcyon Wardens reaped the highest cost. This casualty count paled in comparison to the deaths of the Rakurai, which were well over 40,000. In terms of ships, the Madrigal Purge enforced only a light penalty of fourty-four, most of which were the lighter frigates and destroyers. The Nimbus would be the heaviest Harbinger vessel to suffer destruction, whereas most Harbinger battleships and heavy cruisers received only light damage. The Harbinger's prized fleet was well-prepared to begin the next phase of the Insurrection. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by simison

[bluntblade]

Do the Heresy books ever go into such exact detail? Not even rounding to the nearest ten doesn't seem quite right to me for a conflict of this scale.

[ShadowSwordmaster]

I don't think so.

[simison]

I'll double check when I can see my PDFs.

[simison]

[After reviewing three battles from books 1, 3, & 7, I agree. In fact, FW only rarely uses hard numbers and it seems to be a more recent trend as opposed to the earlier books.]

 

Despite an overwhelming tactical victory, Icarion knew from the moment Pyrrhicles' rejection that the battle would be nothing more than a strategic disaster. Icarion had lost his best chance to persuade his beloved brother, Alexandros, to join his rebellion. The Halcyon Wardens, the second-most numerous Legion would remain loyal to the Emperor. Although Icarion would attempt several more diplomatic efforts to persuade both Alexandros and the remaining Loyalist Primarchs, it was clear that Icarion no longer hoped for a lightning victory in a war lasting a few months.

 

Instead of a rapid invasion aimed straight at Terra, Icarion ordered the Legions under his banner to regroup at the Maelstrom Zone. To break the defences of the Sol System would require time, preparation and the strength of an empire. To that end, Icarion would build a new power centered on Madrigal. The Harbingers first orders were to secure the neighboring systems for the Stormlord. With the Loyalist Legions shattered and scattered before the Day of Revelation, a temporary window existed for the Traitors to act without impunity as they sought to lay claim to territory, to resources and to raw military power. Terra's fate was not saved by the actions of the 18^th, merely delayed.

 

Icarion would give one last order to conclude the Madrigal Purge before turning his full attention to galactic conquest. Every fallen Halcyon Warden's body was recovered, that could be recovered, from the Madrigalan void. Icarion then ordered the creation of a large marble tomb on Madrigal itself and honoured these fallen warriors with his sons. For though they were now enemies, Icarion held nothing but respect for these warriors, who he felt were tragically misguided serving the will of a tyrant. Upon the marble tomb, each Legionary's name was etched into the stone. Written above the tomb's entrance in golden filigree, it was written, "Here lies brave men, killed by loyalty."

Edited January 22, 2018 by simison

[simison]

[blunt, my recommended edits for the Kataii Ambush.]

 

Rangda is located above Mexicatii in the Galactic North-west as opposed to the Ghoul Stars in the North-east.

 

"...of their [P]rimarch in orbit..."

 

"...of the [T]raitor [L]egions that had..."

 

"...elements of ub-cohort [Q]uintus and [T]ertius were fighting..." (When a unit designation is given in full [level and numeral], you capitalize it.)

 

"...of the Kataii [A]mbush, not in..." (Capitalize both words since it's a proper title/noun.)

 

"While the fighting had been fierce, few Legionaries could stand against these elite warriors and against the wrath of a Primarch, none." (What's with the 'none' at the end?)

 

"...using the [Dragon]’s momentum to..."

 

"...of their [L]egion's few Dreadnoughts..."

 

"... Yoxer Bellows: only to..." (Is this supposed to be a semi-colon?)

 

"...by the [W]arp, their vessels..."

 

[i'll finish my review later, just need to go through 'Death's Tally'.]

[bluntblade]

Sorted

[simison]

[Finishing my review.]

 

"... into the [W]arp, the time..."

 

~~~

 

Complete. I really like the psychological commentary at the end.

[bluntblade]

Sorted

[simison]

I've submitted both campaign battles to Grifft. That leaves the Battle of Untara left, which is being taken care of Sig. Until the draft is posted or Sig asks for help, I'm going to be reviewing Legion rules. Starting with the Harbingers.

[simison]

So, Grifft pointed out something that I'm now kicking myself for. We started talking about the campaign rules when Grifft pointed out that the HW won't have any rules for the Madrigal Purge. His suggestion is that we use BFG rules and battles instead of the main game.

 

I am unsure about this, since some of the most important fights take place in boarding actions. This begs the question, how do we handle this incredible oversight on my part?

[MikhalLeNoir]

Hoe about some preview rules for the HW Inside the campaign?

[simison]

Hoe about some preview rules for the HW Inside the campaign?

 

Is that okay? I'm worried that might come off as less than professional.

[Beren]

How so? Forge world had some inside Retribution.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Only other solution coming to my mind would be to introduce the hw insurrection. Having a bfg scenario is not bad but we create foremost an horus heresy equivalent.

 

Just use the standard rules for marines introduced in the heresy books and add maybe one special char and a shield rule for the boarding action. Or soemthing to describe the hw warfare style without giving too much away. And didn't fw greate protorules for the blood and dark angels as well?

 

 

BEREN!!!! You ninja'ed me!!!

Edited January 31, 2018 by MikhalLeNoir

[bluntblade]

The Retribution approach sounds sensible. We can include Pyrrhicles for rules too (I think that's allowed).

[simison]

At bare minimum, we would need the LA rules, Pyrrhicles, and the Athenoi. Is that too much?

[bluntblade]

I'm gonna have to go back through my stories and change Myrmidons to Athenoi at some point.

 

I think you can get away with that much.

[MikhalLeNoir]

Don't think it is too much. Just the rules so you can play. No fluff etc

[Grifftofer]

Alternatively we give them completely stand-in rules that are close to, but not quite the Halcyon Wardens' rules. Something like they have Stubborn (approximates their not being destroyed by Sweeping Advance), 'Athenoi' are WS 5 Cataphractii Terminators with Storm Shields (Not their full stuff, but gives a base idea) and Pyrrhicles is a Praetor in Cataphractii Armour with [insert Wargear here].

 

This way we spend a paragraph giving people a feel for the Legion without having to delve into the pages that would be required to do them justice. Its also something we can do at the beginning of the Madrigal section of the campaign and conveniently matches fairly well with FW's own solution to Legions without rules (pick Furious Charge/Stubborn).

[simison]

Alternatively we give them completely stand-in rules that are close to, but not quite the Halcyon Wardens' rules. Something like they have Stubborn (approximates their not being destroyed by Sweeping Advance), 'Athenoi' are WS 5 Cataphractii Terminators with Storm Shields (Not their full stuff, but gives a base idea) and Pyrrhicles is a Praetor in Cataphractii Armour with [insert Wargear here].

 

This way we spend a paragraph giving people a feel for the Legion without having to delve into the pages that would be required to do them justice. Its also something we can do at the beginning of the Madrigal section of the campaign and conveniently matches fairly well with FW's own solution to Legions without rules (pick Furious Charge/Stubborn).

 

Well, that's a second solution. Is this because of a potential time crunch?

[Grifftofer]

Partly, but also because putting int the actual rules feels much like adding half of a 7th Legion to an already very busy book. Going with 'close enough' rules also feels like something FW would do as they have to work under more exacting word counts and deadlines than we do. I mean, it has its downsides: we don't get to see the two titular Legions actually face off properly in battle, but that can have it's benefits too. It means we have something to look forwards to further down the line.

[bluntblade]

Like the titbits of AL, RG and IW on Isstvan I guess

[simison]

Partly, but also because putting int the actual rules feels much like adding half of a 7th Legion to an already very busy book. Going with 'close enough' rules also feels like something FW would do as they have to work under more exacting word counts and deadlines than we do. I mean, it has its downsides: we don't get to see the two titular Legions actually face off properly in battle, but that can have it's benefits too. It means we have something to look forwards to further down the line.

 

That's true, and when the HW have their rules for real, we can retroactively fix this. 

 

The last question is Pyrrhicles. I had intended to replace him with Malis, rule-wise. Should we just go with the 'close enough' even though he'll never get a proper ruleset?