Black Templar Penitent Vanguard - Inspired by Sete

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Since the announcement of the Vanguard, I've been torn. I really like the models, the sculpts are good, and even the Librarian, with a little work, can be a great looking BT HQ.

 

But what to do with them? They just don't fit in with either of our two primary styles of warfare: the orbital close assault, or the armoured fist mechanised force. Camouflage is not our style, neither is long distance sniping, (beyond one example of senior Neos purging some alien savages on a sort of test expedition.) I was disappointed by the fact I could see no real place for them in the Eternal Crusade.

 

And then Sete suggested this in the other thread:

 

After a 5 hour flight, I found a solution for the vanguard.

Taking inspiration from White Scars I will use the Vanguard as my Grey Talons Sagyar Mazan
Disgraced Marines will join the Vanguard with an oath of silence, shunned from the main chapter, not being able to use the chapter colours and always volunteers in suicide missions.

 

I must admit, I've been rather taken with this idea because I believe that it's kind of perfect for us. I knew vaguely that the medieval crusades themselves were often acts of penance for knights, or pilgrims would go on penitent pilgrimages, so it makes sense that individual Black Templars could be shunned from their fighting companies and exiled until they have undertaken penance and sought absolution.

I think it's perfect because the Vanguard style of warfare itself would be considered distasteful to a true Black Templar, who has a sense of martial honour which would make even being a dedicated sniper an act of penance. Sending them off on their own would explain many divergent practices, and them having to use guerilla tactics to compensate for the fact they have fewer numbers.

 

So how do I think it would work? Well, I have had two other ideas to build upon the theory.

 

First, I joked straight away when Sete made the post that the idea felt rather reminiscent of A Game of Thrones and the Night's Watch, but when I thought about it further, it seems more apt than I initially realised.

 

For those not aware, in Westeros, the setting for GoT, condemned men can choose execution or to commute their punishment to serving in a military order called the Night's Watch. They would then be exiled to 'The Wall' to the far north of the seven kingdoms of Westeros in order to protect all of the kingdoms from the mutual enemies who live beyond the Wall. The Watch is itself split into three disciplines. The Builders who maintain the Wall and the castles along it. The Rangers who patrol beyond the wall, reconoitring and harassing the enemies who live beyond it and the Stewards who feed and provide other forms of logistical and administrative support. Essentially, the Vanguard would act like the ranger aspect of the watch, patrolling and reconnoitring the enemies of the Chapter.

 

My second form of inspiration, and one which kind of confirms me in my chosen course, was my research into the real Penitent Orders of the middle ages: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penitent_order

 

In particular I wanted inspiration on how to represent a penitent on the miniatures themselves. While I understand Sete's idea of them 'taking the black' and purging themselves of the Chapter coiours, I just thought they might look a little too Raven Guard if they were entirely black. Fortunately, one line in the article caught my attention:

 

Character of penitents

Attire – tunic, walking-stick, cincture (belt), knapsack, sandals; symbol was often a Tau Cross after St. Anthony of the Desert.

 

 

What obviously caught my attention, was the cross aspect, what does it look like? Could it replace the Maltese Cross on penitents?

 

Well it looks like this:

 

Anyone else think it looks like the Templar Cross, minus the top arm? Or exactly halved? I do, and other versions I've found of it look even more like half a Cross. This means it would be relatively easy to model, as you could just slice a transfer in half!

Here's my view fluffwise: The Vanguard can form part of the Penitent Crusades. Each brother penitent retains their original markings, but removes the top half of their cross to form the crux commissa.

 

So how would this work in the chapter fluffwise? How would individual penitents in individual crusades reach the separate ships of the Penitent Crusades? The answer I thought would be to borrow another aspect from the Night's Watch: The Builders.

It's something the fluff hasn't really covered, but who is it that gets left to man the Chapter Keeps? There must be some initates who man the Keeps and oversee the trials of the aspirants, but why do they get left behind? Perhaps they could be the penitents of the Crusade, left behind to oversee the construction of the keeps and supervise aspirants as punishment for past sins.

 

The only aspect which doesn't fit of course is the fact that the Vanguard are solely Primaris Marines, that could perhaps be explained by the fact that although the penitent order has existed since the dawn of the chapter, with individual penitents being 'exiled' by the Chapter to man the Keeps, this tradition was 'broken' by Brother Antoine (I based the name on owner of the Cross), a disgraced Primaris marine who was determined to repent for his sins and return to the Chapter proper, disappointed to leave a chapter he had barely known. Utilising the Vanguard training he had learnt as a Grayshield, he petitioned the High Marshal to form the first Penitent Crusade. His request was granted and now Primaris Templars can petition to join the Penitent Crusades and earn the right to rejoin their brethren. (Others could perhaps do the same, but if they weren't trained in the same way as the oldmarines, they don't really have a lot to offer the Keeps, they would just be kicking their heels, walking into doorframes and moaning about headroom.)

 

So, there's my idea. A new form of heresy for you all to enjoy and comment upon, while I start taking a modelling knife to my transfers...

[Sete]

You honor me brother. Despite my reservations about the vanguard, your idea is great!

My suggestion for the shoulder would be the large pad white with the Tau cross and the other black maybe?

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Yeah, I think that might work, that way they would be 'taking the black' as it were. Also, with sniper troops, there would be tactical advantages to having the left pad black in any event, (it would be facing the enemy and so a white pad would give away a position.)

Also, I think we should avoid using the name 'Tau Cross' it would get pretty confusing with the other 40k meaning of Tau!

[Medjugorje]

I got the same idea with my old Devastor squads... I gave them the Dark Angel cloaks after codex SM 6th edition allowed us that.

 

I never finished that project because of the lack of playing devastors.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Welp, there goes my resolve not to get Vanguard.

 

Being that I was fan of marines before Templar (In fact I went on hiatus for the better part of 2 decades just as the Templar started to become their own) I had already developed a like for things not normally endorsed by the Templar aesthetic or way of war... including scouts with sniper rifles. I thus had instant heretical liking to the eliminators, but dismissed the idea of ever incorporating them (I was thinking perhaps I could make crimson fists out of them or even a chapter specifcially geared towards these tactics like raptors) but this idea just oozes character.

 

The Night's watch allergory is pretty apt, and my mind is also brought to LotR's Dunedain rangers, the group Aragorn belongs to. A sort of noble group in exile (or perhaps dishonoured is more apt if we bring it back to context of Templars...)

 

I'm impressed by the thought put into this, brother Adelard, and I will probably work out something similiar.

[Marshal Vespasian]

I like this idea as a fluffy way to take this kind of marines.

It also reminds me of dishonored clanners in battletech. I am excited to see what you come up with.

 

On the other hand I have to honestly say, that there is some colourful schemes for the chapters primaris that I actually like and might want to employ. For me it really is a question of how many models of the vanguard primaris I will like and wether I will want to use them or not.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Thanks,

 

I can see that. We've only really seen two so far, so the make or break is the rest of the box.

[bolvar]

If it works for you, go for it

[Marshal Rohr]

It might be cooler to user Crimson Fists as the vanguard contingent for Templars.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Why?

[Marshal Rohr]

It just doesn't really fit the Templars and goes into a lot of lore generation that breaks norms.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Yeah, that's why I would rather think outside the box, than just continue to pigeonhole the fluff.

[Marshal Rohr]

That's fine, but it stretches the limits. Like if your Chaplain was Grimaldus' boss.

 

Edit: Also, this isn't outside the box. Someone used a similar justification for Scout Snipers in 2014.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

I mean, most of our real organisational fluff is getting on for 15 years old, and really fails to deal with a LOT of units which have been added over the years. Centurions, Hunters/Stalkers, Primaris (mostly), the flyers etc.

 

This is both why I think a codex is needed to really flesh out these fluff aspects, but will simultaneously piss off a lot of people who will dislike whatever explanations GW gives, because they won't fit into a mould which is 15 years old and predates the changes.

Well, the Master of Sanctity would outrank Grimaldus, but I don't get your example, unless you're referring to choosing a generic chaplain as a warlord in game? (Which is more because using the named characters as Warlords is pointless as their specific trait sucks.)

[Marshal Rohr]

The Black Templars have always had an ad-hoc organization that has no relationship to what weapons individual knights carry into battle. Black Templars do not have devastator squads, they have squads of knights who carry heavy weapons. They do not have Centurion squads, they have squads that wear Centurion armor, the way sword brethren wear power armor or terminator armor.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

I'm sorry, I don't follow your argument there.

[Sete]

Unfortunately rule wise it does not work that way.

So what adelard is doing is basically Knights with an oath of penitence.

[Marshal Rohr]

:cuss the rules. Use your brains.

[Sete]

:cuss the rules. Use your brains.

Mate just like I said, Knights with an oath of penitence. If it works for him. You kinda sending mixed messages there.

[Marshal Rohr]

The argument is that the Black Templars are specifically said to be ad-hoc organizationally, even in the most recent fluff. Just because the Codex is neatly divided up into unit types is not how the Templars fight. For instance, those Emperor Spears everyone is in love with? They have an ad hoc organization too.  

[Sword Brother Adelard]

Oh, I see, kinda.

 

I don't fully agree. For instance the fluff used to separate the Assault Squads into specific squads because of their style of fighting and removed neophytes because of the risk. (Imagine of they hadn't though, jump pack Neos...)

So would centurions be crusaders too, or separate like Assault squads. What about devastator centurions?

Are Hunters and Stalkers akin to Whirlwinds? Or are they ok?

 

We just don't know these things, because it has never really been looked at. So, do we treat the fluff as static circa 2004, or, do we modify it?

 

It's kind of like that original meaning theory on the US Constitution, versus it modifying.

[Marshal Rohr]

Knights with an Oath of Penitence who deploy in light armor is fine, if he wants to do that. It just stretches the limit.

[Sword Brother Adelard]

How? Where is the limit? If the chapter is completely ad-hoc, why is that the limit?

 

If anything my idea specifically deals with the lore, and the real world inspirations which underpin it.

[Marshal Reinhard]

Knights with an Oath of Penitence who deploy in light armor is fine, if he wants to do that. It just stretches the limit.

 

In YOUR opinion.

[Marshal Rohr]

It pushes the limit because of the 'penitent knight' doesn't need to be the reason Templars use snipers or ranger formations. They could simply just use them. Its using the reivers as 'terror troops' that don't fit since all Templars are terror troops. I don't think Templars would use snipers or long range reconnaissance because they've got orbital surveillance equipment which will do the job as well if not better. Scouts and the new Vanguard would be used well in advance of a marine strike force, which is why I don't see surveillance fitting very well, but if he wants a ranger unit that operates ahead of crusades, sure. That idea is pretty established in for other chapters, no reason Templars couldn't adopt it.