Traitor Iron Hands - Martian Civil War

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

For a while now, I've been pondering the possibility of a faction of traitor Iron Hands being involved in the Martian Civil War - I'm planning on doing some artwork & background for said X^th Legionaries, as I'd love to combine the Medusans' techno-warrior aesthetic with some of the Dark Mechanicum's sinister imagery.

But first I'd have to justify their existance - which is why I come to you

I've created a basic framework for their background, and I was wondering whether it seems consistent with the tone & theme of the Heresy's narrative? I'm especially interested in any info you ladies & gents might have on the techmarine program on Mars, as I haven't read Cybernetica.

Anyhow:

* They're lead by an Iron Father who was 'elected' by the Legions to act as their representative in relation to the Techmarine program on Mars - obviously the X^th have deep ties to the Mechanicum, so this played a role, but the vote was also influenced by the Warmaster - the Iron Father & his Clan had served alongside the Sons for an extended period, so he could act in Horus' best interests without appearing to do so (being an Iron Hand)

* The Clan in question is one of the few within the X^th Legion to truly take the Lodge system to heart, and as Horus plans the civil war, he arranges for them to be deployed alongside more radical elements of the Mechanicum, as well as his own forces when possible

* The Iron Father is easily swayed to the Warmaster's cause in secret, having long questioned the Gorgon's censure of technology in the form of the Keys of Hel and therefore being sympathetic to those (Dark) Mechanicum elements which chafed under the restrictions placed upon their remit by the Emperor

* He uses the ideological stranglehold the Iron Fathers / Techmarines have on his Clan to ensure that when the Heresy begins, they will declare for Horus

* Rumour suggests he played a role in the orchestration of the Dropsite Massacre, providing Horus with information on the X^th Legions strategic / technological weaknesses - once the Civil War begins, he assumes leadership of his Clan with an (almost) bloodless Coup, splitting their forces between Horus' fleet (to act as a specialist division / advisory cadre) and Mars, where he ensures the eradication of the loyalist Techmarines who remain on the red planet

* Throughout the Heresy, he works with the Dark Mechanicum to produce new equipment for the traitor Legions, as well as directing a search for the Keys of Hel, which could potentially tip the balance of the war

* Those forces of his Clan which remain with him on Mars are involved with the fighting against the Imperial Fists, although they are much changed from when they arrived, having been extensively 'upgraded'

Whadd'ya think? Thanks for taking the time to read through my crazed ideas

[Varangian]

I like it.

[Olis]

For a while now, I've been pondering the possibility of a faction of traitor Iron Hands being involved in the Martian Civil War - I'm planning on doing some artwork & background for said X^th Legionaries, as I'd love to combine the Medusans' techno-warrior aesthetic with some of the Dark Mechanicum's sinister imagery.

But first I'd have to justify their existance - which is why I come to you

I've created a basic framework for their background, and I was wondering whether it seems consistent with the tone & theme of the Heresy's narrative? I'm especially interested in any info you ladies & gents might have on the techmarine program on Mars, as I haven't read Cybernetica.

Anyhow:

* They're lead by an Iron Father who was 'elected' by the Legions to act as their representative in relation to the Techmarine program on Mars - obviously the X^th have deep ties to the Mechanicum, so this played a role, but the vote was also influenced by the Warmaster - the Iron Father & his Clan had served alongside the Sons for an extended period, so he could act in Horus' best interests without appearing to do so (being an Iron Hand)

* The Clan in question is one of the few within the X^th Legion to truly take the Lodge system to heart, and as Horus plans the civil war, he arranges for them to be deployed alongside more radical elements of the Mechanicum, as well as his own forces when possible

* The Iron Father is easily swayed to the Warmaster's cause in secret, having long questioned the Gorgon's censure of technology in the form of the Keys of Hel and therefore being sympathetic to those (Dark) Mechanicum elements which chafed under the restrictions placed upon their remit by the Emperor

* He uses the ideological stranglehold the Iron Fathers / Techmarines have on his Clan to ensure that when the Heresy begins, they will declare for Horus

* Rumour suggests he played a role in the orchestration of the Dropsite Massacre, providing Horus with information on the X^th Legions strategic / technological weaknesses - once the Civil War begins, he assumes leadership of his Clan with an (almost) bloodless Coup, splitting their forces between Horus' fleet (to act as a specialist division / advisory cadre) and Mars, where he ensures the eradication of the loyalist Techmarines who remain on the red planet

* Throughout the Heresy, he works with the Dark Mechanicum to produce new equipment for the traitor Legions, as well as directing a search for the Keys of Hel, which could potentially tip the balance of the war

* Those forces of his Clan which remain with him on Mars are involved with the fighting against the Imperial Fists, although they are much changed from when they arrived, having been extensively 'upgraded'

Whadd'ya think? Thanks for taking the time to read through my crazed ideas

Having read Cybernetica, I did have brief twinge of reservation before I realised that your Iron Hands would be under the Warmaster's banner. As it stands, I can't recall anything that directly contradicts what you've written. It's all good so far, I believe.

[Atia]

Awesome!

 

I love the idea of traitor IH's ... need to do a IH with SoH insignia ZM force one day for myself .... :P

[Black Cohort]

I think your idea could work

[Shaolin_Monkey]

I've started a Traitor IH force too, but I just went with "corrupted/influenced by some Dark Mech Magos" and hadn't fleshed it out more than that so to speak.

This all looks great though and will be watching with great interest as it unfolds. Keep it up!

[Memento Of Prospero]

You can have him with an Autek Mor ish personality, but without the loyalty to the throne. He embraced the machine, Ferrus did not and his flesh made him weak and Isstvan proved that irrational thinking is not the way forward for the legion. Thus, those who fully embrace the machine (dark mechanicum) known the way.

 

If any of what I just said makes sense. I am a little tired.

[Soldier of Dorn]

I suppose you've seen EdT's Dark Mechanicum warband? When I saw this topic I immediately thought of this guy:

 

 

 

 

 

[Pict Capture DR/351-19Z-002] Iron Father Imit Basarab, X Legion.

In these lines of thought, the Martian traitors were supported by the influential figure of Imit Basarab, an Iron Father seconded to the Phobos Quaestium who surviving records suggest acted as the Fabricator General’s informal advisor in these matters. Why the advice of Basarab, a Terran who had not served with his legion for almost a century prior to the Great Betrayal, was prioritised over that of the official X Legion Nuncio to Mars (Kal Jotun, who perished in the Utopia conflagration), remains a mystery. However, his contention that the Iron Tenth could be swayed away from the Emperor was compelling enough for Kelbor Hal to take action.

It was clear that Iron Father Basarab should be a part of any mission to the X Legion. However, to lead the mission the Fabricator General chose one of his protégés; Archmagos Kothar wa-Khasis, whose rapid rise through the Martian Priesthood had recently been confirmed with his assignment to Ganymede in order to oversee the Mechanicum’s prestigious warp core experimentation programme.

 

 

 

Anyways, I look forward to whatever you come up with. I've always thought Traitor Iron Hands were awesome, and so far your ideas seem much better (and detailed) than my old concept was.

[Xin Ceithan]

There are too few IH traitors around IMO and when I Look to your other works, I can't wait to see what you will come up with in this direction.

Your fluff seems quite fluffy already.

 

Although IH should not be "fluffy", now that I think about it....we need a better word for this...

[Vulkan He'Dan]

I can only imagine there were traitors in all the legions, they were so vast that it's must be almost impossible for 100% of them to be loyal. I think the traitor Iron Hands sounds awesome and you've come up with very solid and fitting fluff to accompany them. I look forward to seeing how they turn out

[ElectricPaladin]

Sounds legit. Get painting!

[Machine God]

Looking good(?) IronhandsFanatic!

 

Very, very Naughty!

 

All hail The Machine Spirit! The Machine Spirit is your Friend!

[Luna707]

*gasp* heresy!

 

Very cool idea though!

[Iron Hands Fanatic]

Thanks everyone, it's nice to see that you all think they fit within the setting

For a while now, I've been pondering the possibility of a faction of traitor Iron Hands being involved in the Martian Civil War - I'm planning on doing some artwork & background for said X^th Legionaries, as I'd love to combine the Medusans' techno-warrior aesthetic with some of the Dark Mechanicum's sinister imagery.

But first I'd have to justify their existance - which is why I come to you

I've created a basic framework for their background, and I was wondering whether it seems consistent with the tone & theme of the Heresy's narrative? I'm especially interested in any info you ladies & gents might have on the techmarine program on Mars, as I haven't read Cybernetica.

Anyhow:

* They're lead by an Iron Father who was 'elected' by the Legions to act as their representative in relation to the Techmarine program on Mars - obviously the X^th have deep ties to the Mechanicum, so this played a role, but the vote was also influenced by the Warmaster - the Iron Father & his Clan had served alongside the Sons for an extended period, so he could act in Horus' best interests without appearing to do so (being an Iron Hand)

* The Clan in question is one of the few within the X^th Legion to truly take the Lodge system to heart, and as Horus plans the civil war, he arranges for them to be deployed alongside more radical elements of the Mechanicum, as well as his own forces when possible

* The Iron Father is easily swayed to the Warmaster's cause in secret, having long questioned the Gorgon's censure of technology in the form of the Keys of Hel and therefore being sympathetic to those (Dark) Mechanicum elements which chafed under the restrictions placed upon their remit by the Emperor

* He uses the ideological stranglehold the Iron Fathers / Techmarines have on his Clan to ensure that when the Heresy begins, they will declare for Horus

* Rumour suggests he played a role in the orchestration of the Dropsite Massacre, providing Horus with information on the X^th Legions strategic / technological weaknesses - once the Civil War begins, he assumes leadership of his Clan with an (almost) bloodless Coup, splitting their forces between Horus' fleet (to act as a specialist division / advisory cadre) and Mars, where he ensures the eradication of the loyalist Techmarines who remain on the red planet

* Throughout the Heresy, he works with the Dark Mechanicum to produce new equipment for the traitor Legions, as well as directing a search for the Keys of Hel, which could potentially tip the balance of the war

* Those forces of his Clan which remain with him on Mars are involved with the fighting against the Imperial Fists, although they are much changed from when they arrived, having been extensively 'upgraded'

Whadd'ya think? Thanks for taking the time to read through my crazed ideas

Having read Cybernetica, I did have brief twinge of reservation before I realised that your Iron Hands would be under the Warmaster's banner. As it stands, I can't recall anything that directly contradicts what you've written. It's all good so far, I believe.

Thanks Olis, I don's suppose there's any mention of traitors amongst the Techmarine initiates in Cybernetica?

Awesome!

I love the idea of traitor IH's ... need to do a IH with SoH insignia ZM force one day for myself ....

Dooooo it

I've started a Traitor IH force too, but I just went with "corrupted/influenced by some Dark Mech Magos" and hadn't fleshed it out more than that so to speak.
This all looks great though and will be watching with great interest as it unfolds. Keep it up!

Yeah the Dark Mechanicum seem to have some great synergy with the Iron Hands, especially considering their varying psychological reactions to Ferrus' death - I really hope future FW books flesh out the post-Isstvan Legion's relationship with the Mechanicum more - they have a unique duality as the perfect allies or perfect enemies for the Mechanicum - sharing many beliefs and expertise, but also having been specifically tasked during the Crusade with engaging the most technologically advanced of the Imperium's foes

You can have him with an Autek Mor ish personality, but without the loyalty to the throne. He embraced the machine, Ferrus did not and his flesh made him weak and Isstvan proved that irrational thinking is not the way forward for the legion. Thus, those who fully embrace the machine (dark mechanicum) known the way.

If any of what I just said makes sense. I am a little tired.

Haha, perfect sense - funnily enough, I'm gonna try and make the Iron Father have a personality somewhat at odds to Autek's, to try and add some diversity to the range of personalities within the Legion - he'll be more prone to politicking than is common within the Iron Hands, as befits a Legionary within a more ambassadorial role

I suppose you've seen EdT's Dark Mechanicum warband? When I saw this topic I immediately thought of this guy:

[Pict Capture DR/351-19Z-002] Iron Father Imit Basarab, X Legion.

In these lines of thought, the Martian traitors were supported by the influential figure of Imit Basarab, an Iron Father seconded to the Phobos Quaestium who surviving records suggest acted as the Fabricator General’s informal advisor in these matters. Why the advice of Basarab, a Terran who had not served with his legion for almost a century prior to the Great Betrayal, was prioritised over that of the official X Legion Nuncio to Mars (Kal Jotun, who perished in the Utopia conflagration), remains a mystery. However, his contention that the Iron Tenth could be swayed away from the Emperor was compelling enough for Kelbor Hal to take action.

It was clear that Iron Father Basarab should be a part of any mission to the X Legion. However, to lead the mission the Fabricator General chose one of his protégés; Archmagos Kothar wa-Khasis, whose rapid rise through the Martian Priesthood had recently been confirmed with his assignment to Ganymede in order to oversee the Mechanicum’s prestigious warp core experimentation programme.

Anyways, I look forward to whatever you come up with. I've always thought Traitor Iron Hands were awesome, and so far your ideas seem much better (and detailed) than my old concept was.

Sweet, that stuff is all super cool - funny how close EdT's stuff is to my background - to be honest the popularity of traitor Iron Hands doesn't surprise me, I've always insisted that the the X^th Legion is by far the nastiest among the Loyalists, and that really comes to the fore during the Heresy, with them conducting warfare in a manner that even the Traitors would balk at. Iron Hands on the Warmaster's side just fits their callous nature perfectly.

There are too few IH traitors around IMO and when I Look to your other works, I can't wait to see what you will come up with in this direction.
Your fluff seems quite fluffy already.

Although IH should not be "fluffy", now that I think about it....we need a better word for this...

Traitors, Renegades - I wouldn't be surprised to see some IHs appear in a later FW book in a similar role to the Ashen Claws in Retribution - just obliterating everything, regardless of allegiance

I can only imagine there were traitors in all the legions, they were so vast that it's must be almost impossible for 100% of them to be loyal. I think the traitor Iron Hands sounds awesome and you've come up with very solid and fitting fluff to accompany them. I look forward to seeing how they turn out

Yeah I'm pretty sure it's been stated that all Legions had Loyalist & Traitor elements of varying size - as well as the various unaligned Blackshield factions

Sounds legit. Get painting!

Well, I am planning on delving into the murky world of miniatures some time in the near-ish future, but that'll be for my Loyalist IH Clan - these Legionaries will be purely artwork & fluff

*gasp* heresy!

Very cool idea though!

Well, they will of course suffer grievous losses during the Siege of Terra at the hands of Loyalist X^th Legion Seeker-killer Cohorts - we do not suffer Traitors to live

[Olis]

If you plan on reading Cybernetica, don't read the spoiler.

 

Thanks Olis, I don's suppose there's any mention of traitors amongst the Techmarine initiates in Cybernetica? 

 

I don't recall any specific mentions of traitor techmarines outside of the main scope of the story...

although a named Techmarine does end up fighting for the Warmaster.

 

[Atia]

Atia, on 25 Feb 2016 - 01:20 AM, said:

Awesome!

I love the idea of traitor IH's ... need to do a IH with SoH insignia ZM force one day for myself ....

Dooooo it

Hidden Content

It's already on my to do list :P

Although I probably won't be able to do them before next year lol .... need to do Calth, Inquisition and 30k Orks before them >_<

[RandomMarine]

Well just about everything about clan morragul is much in the realm of the traitors except that they so far only really target traitors.

 

Autek mor is the honey badger of 30k

He gives no :cusss and will :cuss you up when you least expect it

[Dantioch]

This sounds awesome dude. Loved the idea of traitor Iron Hands when I first read Conquest, looking forward to seeing what you do with it!

[DuskRaider]

I'd say instead of aligning Traitor IH (especially on Mars) with the Warmaster, I'd give them close ties to Fabricator General Kelbor-Hal. This would make them more or less defacto loyal to Horus, but could also perhaps make them closer to Black Shields, as they'd show loyalty to Mars but not necessarily to the Warmaster. IT would give them an interesting dynamic as well.