Warhammer (40K) Wednesday: The Blood Cross Chapter

EDIT: The wonderful pictures were created using Bolter and Chainsword's Space Marine Painter: www.bolterandchainsword.com/smp.php 

Our thanks to them for developing it.


Well, I am not yet ready to reveal the damned hamlet of Totentanz in the Desolation of Drakenmoor, so I will chat briefly about my DIY Space Marine chapter, the Blood Cross.

The Blood Cross was founded in the 37th Millenium just after the time of troubles dubbed "the Reign of Blood" by historians. Designed as a standing force to bolster the remote but tactically important Massilia Sector that was bordered by a small orcish "empire," the chapter established its Fortress-Monastery of Mediggo on the medieval desert world of Salusa Secundus. (Side note: The Order of the Blood Lily, one of the many Adepta Sororitas orders, was granted a convent, Stella Maris, in the planet's southern hemisphere for their aid in putting down the Jacurutu Rebellion. While they remain separate, the chapter and order assist each other in recruitment efforts and maintain a cordial, if reserved, relationship.)

A Sister of the Order of the Blood Lily.

The population of Salusa Secundus is divided between nomadic tribes of herdsmen and city-dwellers who live in urban centers carved from the basaltic rock of the hillocks and ridges that jut forth from the caramel-colored sands of the desert. There are some shallow seas on the surface of the planet, but they account for less than 8% of the planet's surface. The polar ice caps are also smaller than the norm for most habitable planets. Most of the world's oxygen is produced from various volcanic activities and the presence of a photosynthetic sand-plankton on the world's surface. Recruits are drawn from both the nomads and the city dwellers. The nomads provide a ferocious fighting spirit and the city-dwellers provider a certain academic mindset to the order's recruitment base. Both peoples revere the Emperor of Mankind as "the Father who came from the Sun to bring Light to all Mankind."

In general, the Blood Cross remains a loose hold on the people of Salusa Secundus allowing the populace to handle their own affairs as long as no alien or heretical taint takes root. A couple of millenia past, however, a chaos cult was able to subvert a group of tribesmen who managed to take a fortress city near the equator. The taint of Chaos was destroyed by a joint operation between the Chapter and the Order, and Jacururtu is a name still used to frighten young children on Salusa Secundus.

A Brother of the Blood Cross armed for battle.

The Blood Cross geneseed is that of Rogal Dorn. When the High Lords of Terra called for a new chapter to form, two space marines stepped forward to answer the call for a cadre. The two had served together in the Deathwatch. One was Sulla Corrino, a brother of the Crimson Fists, who went on to become the still-revered first Chapter Master. The other was a Black Templar/Deathwatch Chaplain by the name of Kjeran who is still present in the chapter as a Dreadnought. The two chapters followed the lead of their two sons by assisting the fledgling chapter with a training cadre and equipment drawn from both.

The heraldic colors of gules and sable obviously derive from the two chapters. Vehicles, dreadnoughts, and veteran armor retains much in the way of Templar iconography yet still maintains the utilitarian nature of the Crimson Fists. Interestingly, the chapter adheres to the Codex Astartes in most matters having only a few idiosyncrasies. For example, the 1st Company is comprised of the Veterans who use the mighty Terminator armor. However, all tactical sergeants must have served previously in 1st Company. Thus, all squad leaders are highly experienced and are occasionally seen wearing Terminator armor in the field (note: yes, this changes from edition to edition; some editions permit it, others don't). Brother veterans officially have a scarlet tabard, but generally eschew its use in the field, the helmet's red stripe of rank and red cross on the right pauldron (denoting Terminator honors) being sufficient symbols of status.

Brother captains and higher ranks are differentiated by the use of gold helmets and gold imperial eagles on their torso armor. Note also that the Chapter retains the Mark VI Corvus helmet in all models of armor. Among 1st company veterans, there are actually full suits of the Corvus design still in use.

As far as beliefs, like the Crimson Fists, the Blood Cross despises aliens in general and orcs in particular. They have taken this belief to such an extreme that causal use of cybernetics is almost seen as heresy. Replacement due to injury is acceptable, but not otherwise. In fact, the Blood Cross fields no servitors because that is seen as one of the severest of abominations.

The Blood Cross reveres the Emperor as the Suffering Servant of Mankind. He ascended his throne willingly and still shields Mankind from Chaos through millenia of agonizing suffering. One Blood Cross ritual is that of the Embrace of the Cross. The Battle Brother is tied into a pain slab and hoisted up to suffer in agony for up to three days, proving his resilience and willingness to suffer for the survival of Mankind.

And that, gentle readers, is a brief summary of my chapter. Enjoy!

SciFi Monday: Dune, the Movies

The novel Dune by the late Frank Herbert has been an obsession with me for over three decades now. I first discovered it in my local library with the above cover. That was in 1981 at the age of 11. Since then, I have read Dune faithfully at least once a year. So, I have read it a minimum of 31 times and probably closer to 45-50. This is "The" SciFi novel. What i find truly amazing is that even after reading it for so long, every time I read it, I can find something new, some layer or nuance that I have not seen or considered before. And I am not alone in that.

 

With such a large following, public media treatment of it was inevitable. The Avalon Hill board game is tremendous fun. There were several different computer games over the years. There was an attempt at a tabletop RPG by Last Unicorn Games that fell flat when WotC acquired LUG in a vain attempt to seize the Star Trek RPG license for themselves (they had Star Wars at the time as well). Both Paramount and the Herbert Estate utilized a "safety clause" in their licensing agreements to deny WotC the transfer of license. Incidentally, if you can somehow find a copy of Dune: Chronicles of the Imperium RPG--Ahoy, me mateys! ;) Ahem.--do so. Of course, the number of limited print copies go for upwards of $250 last I checked. It was, of course, inevitable that Dune receive a film treatment.

 

And here is where fans split as often seems to be inevitable. I sometimes wonder if all fans are really Southern Baptists they fracture so often. There was the 1984 theatrical release realized by David Lynch and then there are two miniseries, Dune and Children of Dune released in miniseries format by the SciFi Network (2000 and 2003). I refuse to take sides. Both treatments have areas in them that match my mental image of the Dune Universe. I so wish I could mix and match!

 

I will say this about the fan-boys, though, before I delve into the two: it disturbs me when they say that the theatrical movie is completely horrible and has nothing to do with the universe as encapsulated in the novel. I invoke the magic word POPPYCOCK! Frank Herbert worked with David Lynch closely on the production of the 1984 film and, as he said at the time in an interview, of course it does not match the book precisely. In a visual medium, the metaphors one must use are different than the ones used in prose.

 

I could, of course, write an entire book on the two, but I shall suffice by examining one of the prime characters in the universe: the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

 

Dune (1984), Kenneth McMillan

In the 1984 film, the Baron is portrayed by Kenneth McMillan as an obese man with some really nasty sores that one assumes are venereal in nature. He has a penchant for lovely young boys that he likes to kill and is enamored of his nephew Feyd-Rautha (portrayed by Sting). There is the addition of the heart plugs, definitely a departure from the novels. The baron himself is, to not mince words,bat-shit crazy. He's completely obsessed with power and its acquisition and is completely over the top in almost every aspect of his nature. How does this mesh with the novels?

 

First, his appearance. The baron in the novels is obesely overweight, probably even more than portrayed in the film. Both use an anti-gravity harness to move; the movie baron does it for fun and image; the novel baron has to have the repulsors to move. So, mark this one down to trying to stay within the limits of human physiology. As for the sores, while not mentioned in the novel, it is mentioned that the baron "sampled many pleasures in his youth" and is most assuredly a hedonist. Showing him with these disgusting sores is a simple way to portray it and to shows us that his vices know no limits. same with the "snuff" scene. The novel baron is infatuated with Feyd and conceives an elaborate plot to have him reclaim Dune as the Messiah of the Freman and he even sets his sight on the imperial throne as well.

 

Now on to the heart of the matter. The heart plugs. Major addition. However, remember what Frank Herbert said about the visual medium needing a different set of metaphors? As Plinkett points out in his excellent Episode I review, the opening scene in Star Wars: A New Hope tells the audience everything about the political situation between the Empire and the rebels visually. That's what the heartplug is. It's a visual symbol of the power that House Harkonnen holds over its members....even the baron. One's life can literally end with a simple tug. No one is immune. Looking at the soldiers and Feyd and Rabban's costumes, one can assume that active soldiers have theirs covered. As for the baron not covering his, that's a symbol of his hubris, his overwhelming pride. No one can touch him; he's not afraid at all. Overall, this baron is more psychotic than evil.

 

 

Frank Herbert's Dune (2000), Ian McNiece

Bring in Ian McNiece from the 2000 and 2003 treatments. I would say that this baron follows the book closer. still obese (but not more morbidly so) and still a "floating fat man." The forehead rub/gesture he uses is documented in the novels and used appropriately in the Children of Dune miniseries. He's more suave and silky, a nice, yet still ruthless, evil. His voice is oily and calming not the harsh, frantic bark of McMillan's baron. this baron does not use a sledgehammer to show his evil; he's more smooth than that.

 

Of the two, I have to lean slightly toward McNiece's portrayal. I enjoy the heck out of both but Ian is far more subtle. And, in the real world, isn't that how evil usually is?