Warhammer (40K) Wednesday: Blood Cross Termies, Reclusiarch Stephanus Corrino, and the ETL Challenge

More Warhammer 40K this week. Over at Bolter & Chainsword, they're running the second annual E Tenebrae Lux challenge (ETL II for short).  That's Latin, gentle reader,s and means "Light from Darkness." Essentially it's a contest between Forum factions: Blood Angels, Black Templars, etc: whatever chapter has a Codex. Codex: Space Marines is subdivided into Ultramarines, Codex (Canon) Marines,  and DIY Chapters; they still count as a one group, however, since they all utilize C:SM. 

 

The challenge is simple enough. Participants vow for their faction x points worth of models to assemble and paint, to at least "tabletop ready" level. Points are determined as WYSIWYG. The participant has until 15 AUG to complete his vow. If he finishes before 15 AUG, he can vow up to 4 more times. However, if one fails to complete a subsequent vow, all previous completions DO NOT COUNT. Anyone who fails has to wear a "badge of shame" in their signature block until the end of the year. The faction that completes the most points gets bragging rights until the next challenge. Oh, and sorry, but vowing ending on 15 JUN. The main purpose of the challenge, by using point value vows, is to build up tabletop forces in blocks.

 

And here is my vow:

 

 

 

"I, Lord Kjeran, answer the call of E TENEBRAE LUX and vow to complete a Terminator Chaplain and a Terminator Squad of the Blood Cross Chapter from Codex: Space Marines of total value of 370 on or before August 15th. Success will bring eternal glory to the Blood Cross and the Liber Astartes and failure will doom me to bear the Badge of Shame until the year-end.

"(I disallowed the 5 points for the heavy flamer because no squad of 5 can have 2 heavy weapons. However, my Terminators have been hanging around since '96 or so and that's all the arms I have for rights: 3 storm bolter, 1 assault cannon, one hvy flamer--and Decius wants his flamer!)"

 

As noted, the points have to be codex legal, so I gave up the +5 for Decius's Heavy Flamer. As you can see from the picture below of the pieces waiting to be assembled, my termies are 5 mid-1990's models that have been sitting in a tackle box for almost 20 years waiting to get paint! And, by codex, only 1 heavy weapon per 5. No biggie. It's just 5 points. :) The squad leader is missing his banner pole, but that's not a deal breaker because I wouldn't use it if I had it. Banners do look awesome and add to presentation, but they make transport a hassle.

 

These models will represent my Chapter's Reclusiarch, Brother-Chaplian Stephanus Corrino in Terminator Armor and 1st Squad (Fire Team A) of 1st Company, the Death Dealers. If I complete this vow (I should) I'm going to vow either a dreadnought or a tactical squad next up. I'm a little late getting going because, since I assembled the models on Sunday, we've had thunderstorms every day here in NE Texas with humidity over 80%: not good weather to prime in.

Anyway, until next time, gentle readers.

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!

Warhammer Wednesday: The Necromancer of Drakenmoor

 

My previous post for Warhammer Wednesday dealt with some of the background (non-canon) for Darkenmoor.  One of the rumors mentioned on the WFRP 2E Refugee G+ Group was that Drakenmoor was a necromancer.  How does this necromancer tie into the story of Siegfried the Damned? There were rumors that some of Siegfried's advisers were corrupted by the taint of Chaos, indeed, that they might have been active cultists. Unfortunately, those rumors were true, and the ringleader was Anton von Bruk.

 

Young Anton before leaving home

The young scion of an up and coming merchant house, young Anton initially travelled to Altdorf to study at the university, but while on his journey thither, he was approached by a wizard who felt the spark of magic within him. Therefore, rather than follow a course of study that would have terminated in young Anton becoming a lawyer as his father wished, Anton instead became a wizard's apprentice, his father and family be damned! Even as a young man, Anton had realized that merchants, despite their wealth and standing, were held in contempt by the nobility who wielded the true power of government in the Empire. Magic was a power only the gifted could wield and it was pure in his magnificence.

 

Anton progressed well in his studies and was a fledgling wizard when the call to colonize Drakenmoor went out. Seeing the chance for power and glory, he quickly made his way into Siegfried's inner circle. When they entered the wastes, the subtle, corrupting influence of Chaos slowly wormed its way into his psyche. The one master that all men fear is death; if Anton could control death, ah, then he would have the ultimate power. Working with an unscrupulous physician and a grave robber, Anton began performing secret experiments of his own on the corpses of the dead. By the time the final Chaotic assault on the castle came, Bernhardt was attuned to the plane of death and had fallen deep into the depths of insanity. Since Siegfried and his incompent noble friends could not save Drakenmoor, Anton declared himself the Master of the Wastes. Calling forth the corpses of both humans and goblin-kind, Anton created even more havoc in the fight to save "his" kingdom. This happened at almost exactly the same moment that Siegfried accepted the bonds of Malal.

 

It is said that the necromancer, even now haunts the blasted land of Drakenmoor, sometimes at the castle and at other times near the bodies of the newly slain. It is even possible that he is the one that keeps the degenerate inhabitants of the hamlet of Totentanz alive for his own warped ends and projects. It is also unexplained how Anton came by his necromantic knowledge without a mentor. It is possible that he was merely a gifted, if unstable, prodigy, or perhaps his mind was tounched by the Corruptor, Nurgle. It is also unknown if he truly survives to this present day. If so, he must be a Liche or an extremely persistent ghost. No one knows for sure.

Warhammer Wednesday: The Desolation of Drakenmoor

From my Hogshead poster map of the Old World (1998)

The above picture from my poster map of the Old World shows the intriguingly named "Desolation of Drakenmoor." Checking last week on the WFRP 2E Refugee group indicates that there is no real canon information on it, other than the idea that Drakenmoor was a necromancer. Perfect; that gives me something to work with, doesn't it?

 

Drakenmoor was a bold experiment of a coalition of nobles who wanted room to expand. Primarily third and fourth sons who would not inherit any true position of power or authority in their families, they received tactic imperial approval (but no tangible support) for their plan to establish a new Margravate, Drakenmoor, on the eastern side of the World's Edge Mountains. This was around the year 2350 soon after the reign of Magnus the Pious. The Imperial thought was that Drakenmoor might serve as a forward base should Chaos encroach from the East. And, if a few troublesome "extra sons" were occupied, so much the better for the peace of the Empire.

 

Unfortunately, this was not the case. After the initial settlement of the area and the investiture of the first Margraf, Siegfried von Lubek, it was rapidly apparent that the scheme was doomed to failure. One of the principal features of a feudal state are peasants and even free holders to work the land and provide an essential support structure. Convincing peasants to move to a far frontier was an impossible task; most of the ones who did emigrate were shiftless and lazy or freeing from legal action of one type or another. The "Castle of Drakenmoor" was never more than a motte and bailey  keep with insufficient logistical support to survive long; there was only so long that noble families in the Empire would continue sending support to their wayward sons. The Margraf's own advisers quarrelled amongst themselves and there were rumours that some were secretly active Chaos worshippers.

 

And then there was Chaos. Living outside the protective boundaries of the Empire and lacking ecclesiastical support in any measure, the area was ripe for infiltration, even if the rumours about the Margraf's councillors were false. And it did happen. Goblin and orc raiders were constantly probing, raising tensions. The infighting and corruption spread, and the entire citizenry turned on itself. The Margraf appealed to the Imperial gods but his cries went unheard and unanswered until, toward the end, a small quiet voice offered him vengeance. Suffice to say that when was said and done, Drakenmoor Castle was a smoking ruin. The first (and last) Margraf, Siegfried the Damned is said to still wanders the area, a servant of the renegade Chaos lord Malal.

 

Siegfried the Damned

Please note that at this time, these are merely notes and ideas in my head to become more fleshed out later. Enjoy!