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File: Heresy.jpg (169 KB, 1024x642)
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The Galaxy is in flames.

The Emperor's glorious vision for humanity is in ruins. His favoured son, Horus, has turned from his father's light and embraced Chaos.

His armies, the mighty and redoubtable Space Marines, are locked in a brutal civil war. Once, these ultimate warriors fought side by side as brothers, protecting the galaxy and bringing mankind back into the Emperor's light. Now they are divided.

Brother turns against brother, sons against their father. Full half of The Emperor's mighty legions have betrayed him, dealing a mortal blow to 3 of his loyal legions on Istvaan V. War has begun, a conflict that will engulf mankind in fire. Treachery and betrayal have usurped honour and nobility. Assassins lurk in every shadow. Armies are gathering. All must choose a side or die.

The screams of the innocent, the pleas of the righteous resound to the cruel laughter of Dark Gods. Suffering and damnation await should the Emperor fail and the war be lost.

The age of knowledge and enlightenment has ended.
The Age of Darkness has begun.

You are a captain of the...
>Loyalists. You have chosen to remain loyal to The Emperor of Mankind, safeguarding his nascent Imperium from those who would seek to usurp, or destroy it. You fight a grim battle, but Horus and his madness must be stopped, no matter the cost.
>Traitors. You have turned your back on the Emperor, the petty tyrant. For good or worse you follow Horus, though there are whispers within the legions that there are other forces at play...
>Renegades. The Emperor and Horus be damned! You'll rebuke both sides, and fight for the only thing worth dying for in this galaxy, yourself. It'll be a long, hard road, but what other roads are there in this madness?
>>
>>5940124
>>Loyalists. You have chosen to remain loyal to The Emperor of Mankind, safeguarding his nascent Imperium from those who would seek to usurp, or destroy it. You fight a grim battle, but Horus and his madness must be stopped, no matter the cost.
>>
Welcome to the Horus Heresy. In this, you will take command of a Space Marine Captain, leading 1000 troops in battle against the forces that would oppose you. Be warned, this is not the Great Crusade. You are fighting Space Marines, your equals, and no quarter will be given in the battles to come. There is no guarantee that you will live to see the end of the conflict ahead, but maybe there is a chance that you can make a difference?

So steel yourself for the battles to come, for all that waits is slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods...
>>
>>5940124
>>Loyalists. You have chosen to remain loyal to The Emperor of Mankind, safeguarding his nascent Imperium from those who would seek to usurp, or destroy it. You fight a grim battle, but Horus and his madness must be stopped, no matter the cost.
Loyalist lunar wolves
>>
>>5940124
>>Traitors. You have turned your back on the Emperor, the petty tyrant. For good or worse you follow Horus, though there are whispers within the legions that there are other forces at play...
Chaos is always more interesting and spiritual
>>
>Traitors. You have turned your back on the Emperor, the petty tyrant. For good or worse you follow Horus, though there are whispers within the legions that there are other forces at play...
traitor run let gooo!
>>
>>5940124
>Traitors. You have turned your back on the Emperor, the petty tyrant. For good or worse you follow Horus, though there are whispers within the legions that there are other forces at play...

Fuck this goodie two shoes shit, we dark ones now
>>
>>5940124
>Renegades. The Emperor and Horus be damned! You'll rebuke both sides, and fight for the only thing worth dying for in this galaxy, yourself. It'll be a long, hard road, but what other roads are there in this madness?
The Emperor's a retard and Horus has warp dementia.
>>
>>5940124
>renegades
>>
>>5940124
>Renegades. The Emperor and Horus be damned! You'll rebuke both sides, and fight for the only thing worth dying for in this galaxy, yourself. It'll be a long, hard road, but what other roads are there in this madness?
>>
>>5940124
>Renegades. The Emperor and Horus be damned! You'll rebuke both sides, and fight for the only thing worth dying for in this galaxy, yourself. It'll be a long, hard road, but what other roads are there in this madness?
>>
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Alright, vote is currently tied so I'm going to sleep and look at the results when I wake up. Next vote will be your legion, so start thinking about that one, because it will have some effect on what you do.

I will be allowing Loyalists traitors and vice versa.
>>
Nevermind, looks like it's renegades. So, pick the legion you belong to, GO! (For the love of the God-Emperor, please don't pick a different one each.)

Loyalists
I Legion - The Dark Angels
V Legion – White Scars
VI Legion – Space Wolves
VII Legion – Imperial Fists
IX Legion – Blood Angels
X Legion – Iron Hands
XIII Legion – Ultramarines
XVIII Legion – Salamanders
XIX Legion – Raven Guard

Traitors
III Legion – Emperors Children
IV Legion – Iron Warriors
VIII Legion – Night Lords
XII Legion – World Eaters
XIV Legion – Death Guard
XV Legion – Thousand Sons
XVI Legion – Sons of Horus
XVII Legion – Word Bearers
XX Legion – Alpha Legion

ATTENTION: Each Legion has its own quirk or specialisation. Keep this in mind when picking a Legion. If you really want to know what it is just ask (I'm too lazy to write them all up), but I'm going to bed for reals now and I'll answer all questions when I get up, so it'll be a few hours.
>>
>>5940124

>Renegades. The Emperor and Horus be damned! You'll rebuke both sides, and fight for the only thing worth dying for in this galaxy, yourself. It'll be a long, hard road, but what other roads are there in this madness?

Don’t mind us, just trying to make it out of this shit storm alive
>>
>>5940270
>VIII Legion – Night Lords

>>5940273
Little late there, chronicler.
>>
>>5940277

I tried to delete my post, but it never works on mobile for some reason…

>XIX Legion – Raven Guard
>>
>>5940270
>IV Legion – Iron Warriors
Iron Warriors are kickass. I want to be a petulant seethoid.
>>
>>5940270
>XIV Legion – Death Guard

Pre nurgle death guard were based as fuck, maybe we could even be a psyker who hid his condition after mortarion had his autismo fit. Like typhon but not with our mouth stitched to nurgle's fetid anus
>>
>>5940270
>III Legion – Emperors Children

I’ve never seen the Emperor’s Children much in quests like these, and I’ve always liked the colour scheme. Retaining an undeniable emperor’s children feel without completely railing the slaanesh train seems cool.
>>
>>5940270
>XX Legion – Alpha Legion

Hydra Dominatus!
>>
>>5940270
>I Legion - The Dark Angels
For Caliban.
>>
>>5940270
>VI Legion – Space Wolves

Awooo! (the early years)
>>
>>5940270
>XX Legion – Alpha Legion
>>
>Renegades
>During the Horus Heresy
Why? Thats a retarded pick. Doesn't even make sense.
>>
>>5940437
lol

>>5940446
exactly, should have went with chaos
>>
>>5940446
Blackshields are a thing, even if most of them aren't going to last long
>>
>>5940386
>XX Legion – Alpha Legion
Alpha Legion all the way. Still a terrible idea to choose renegade, but it is what it is.
>>
>>5940446
>>5940469
>Who are blackshields
To be fair, this term should have been used instead.
>>
>>5940476
>>5940479
I know what they are, but sitting out the war and waiting for the Scouring to roll a petty fiefdom isn't interesting.
>>
>>5940482
To be honest, Im hoping that part way through, we can switch allegiance's and actually decide which one we are going to want to pick to fight for, because the end result is just letting canon happen and we either become a repainted chapter, or turn into a chaos warband and flee to the eye of terror after our fiefdom has been burned to the ground.
>>
>>5940270
>Alpha Legion
Seems appropriate.
>>
>>5940302
I agree

>>5940270
>XIV Legion – Death Guard
Let's bet nurglers at their own game. I hope we don't go Alpha Legion, it's the most obvious pick and therefore bad.
>>
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>XX Legion - Alpha Legion. The many-headed hydra, the Alpha Legion is one shrouded in mystery, known for their secretive nature and subtle methods of subversion and infiltration. There are none better at remaining hidden or disappearing into the shadows, using subterfuge to achieve their objectives with minimal casualties, though some resent them for their "dishonourable" tactics in battle. But all warfare is based on deception, and the Alpha Legion are the masters of obscuring the truth. Hydra Dominatus.

>Alpha Legion: +10 to stealth rolls. You may also disguise yourself as another legion before engaging in battle, but be careful the enemy doesn't catch on!

You are the Alpha Legion, the last Legion, the Hydra. You know of a Terran saying from long ago that the last will be first and the first will be last, and perhaps this is true of you. Your methods and motivations are obscure, and it may grant you an edge in the battles to come, where all expect open warfare, clear allegiance, and honourable battle. Maybe you will subtly tip the scales of battle in favour of one side over another, or maybe you'll prevent any side from gaining clear victory, or perhaps you'll simply exploit the confusion of war to gather resources and weapons to yourself. Who can say? Nobody but you, of course.
>>
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>>5940704

But first, what are your strengths? You are the leader of an entire chapter, and there's a reason why you've remained there despite the madness engulfing the galaxy. Pick TWO

>Born leader. Leadership comes naturally to you, and you can command and organise your brothers with ease. (You have an extra 500 troops under your command.)
>Well-equipped. You've got your hands on some fearsome weaponry, and you've made sure that you'll keep it. (Your men are better armed than the average.)
>Allies. You've convinced another force to ally with you, making your way through the galaxy together, instead of alone. However, they consider themselves to be equals, and will only obey your commands if it suits them. (You can pick allies from a force of Mechanicus/Solar Auxilia/Imperial Army/Knights/Another Legion)
>Charismatic. You have a silver-tongue about you, one that convinces just about anyone you speak to. (+10 to all social rolls)
>Renowned strategist. You're known for your strategic skill, and few in the legion are better at reading the obscure ways of warfare than you. (+10 to all intelligence rolls)
>Tough. You're simply a hard nut to crack. You've been on the verge of death before, but every time you've stubbornly held on to life and returned to the fight. (+10 to all endurance rolls)
>Champion. In battle a leader needs to hold his own, and you are no exception. Your personal combat skills have earned you a place at the front. (+15 to close combat rolls)
>Veteran. You've seen hundreds of battle fronts, from the beginning of the Great Crusade to now, and your men know how important you are. (+15 to the company you're embedded in)
>Luck. For whatever reason, Fate smiles on you. Once per operation (missions essentially) you may roll an extra dice, so long as there has been no critfail.

Additionally, what is your name?
>Piraeus Phormio
>Brasidas Skione
>Melos Aristogon
>Write in
>Alpharius
>>
>>5940709
>Well-equipped. You've got your hands on some fearsome weaponry, and you've made sure that you'll keep it. (Your men are better armed than the average.)

>Charismatic. You have a silver-tongue about you, one that convinces just about anyone you speak to. (+10 to all social rolls)

>Brasidas Skione
>>
Born leader. Leadership comes naturally to you, and you can command and organise your brothers with ease. (You have an extra 500 troops under your command.)
>Luck. For whatever reason, Fate smiles on you. Once per operation (missions essentially) you may roll an extra dice, so long as there has been no critfail.
>Alpharius
>>
>>5940715
whoops, meant
>Born leader. Leadership comes naturally to you, and you can command and organise your brothers with ease. (You have an extra 500 troops under your command.)

Anyway, want the extra troops and more dice are always great. And the name is just too classic to go for anything else for me honestly.
>>
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>>5940709

>Renowned strategist. You're known for your strategic skill, and few in the legion are better at reading the obscure ways of warfare than you. (+10 to all intelligence rolls)

>Luck. For whatever reason, Fate smiles on you. Once per operation (missions essentially) you may roll an extra dice, so long as there has been no critfail.

>Angeli amorphous
>>
>>5940717
>Angeli amorphous

Is an anagram for Alpharius Omegon. This is a lie.
>>
You must also remember that you are not expected to lead 1000 Space Marines on your own. You must delegate certain duties to your second in command, someone who can take command of the men if you are busy or even incapacitated. While your 2IC will not be as skilled or renowned as you are, they will bring more options to the table. Furthermore, this is the Hydra. If one head falls, another will immediately take its place.

Your second in command is Janus Kylon. He takes care of the day to day running of the chapter, training troops, ensuring that you have enough equipment, etc. While he will naturally accompany you to battle, you may also assign him tasks such as leadership of some of the men, or even tasking him with special objectives in battle or outside. If you fall, he will be the one to take command. But what's so special about him? Pick ONE

>Utterly loyal. He will obey any command you give without question, and he'll make sure the rest of your brothers do so too.
>Lord of War. His presence grants a +10 to combat rolls of the company he's embedded in.
>Duellist. He's capable of holding his own in a fight against enemy commanders. (+10 to his personal combat rolls.)
>Iron willed. He's a tough bastard. His presence will ensure the men do not retreat, except by your order. (Your troops cannot break)
>Terran Veteran. He's been fighting this war since the Unification Wars on Terra. (He cannot die.)
>Assassin. He's been trained to eliminate targets with extreme prejudice. (Once per battle you may make an assassination roll against an enemy leader or unit.)
>Retinue commander. He's in charge of your own personal retinue, bodyguards who will give their lives to keep you alive. (You will have 5 bodyguards, who will try to take hits meant for you)
>Quick. He's quick on the initiative, and he'll ensure your men are always the first to fact. (Your men will get a +5 to all actions, if they act first)
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

>>5940723
Torn between these two options since they are both incredibly tempting and over powered. Loyalty is one of the rarest and most scarce resources in the traitor legions. On the other hand a second in command who we can count on to not die is amazing.

>>Terran Veteran. He's been fighting this war since the Unification Wars on Terra. (He cannot die.)

>Utterly loyal. He will obey any command you give without question, and he'll make sure the rest of your brothers do so too.

On a 1 I'll vote for loyal and on a 2 I'll vote for Terran.
>>
>>5940723
>Terran Veteran. He's been fighting this war since the Unification Wars on Terra. (He cannot die.)
>>
>>5940723
>>Terran Veteran. He's been fighting this war since the Unification Wars on Terra. (He cannot die.)
Always love the ultra-deadly old men in command.
>>
>>5940709

>Renowned strategist. You're known for your strategic skill, and few in the legion are better at reading the obscure ways of warfare than you. (+10 to all intelligence rolls)

>Veteran. You've seen hundreds of battle fronts, from the beginning of the Great Crusade to now, and your men know how important you are. (+15 to the company you're embedded in)
>Alpharius

We’re old and wily.

>>5940723

>Utterly loyal. He will obey any command you give without question, and he'll make sure the rest of your brothers do so too.

Having a 2 that is beyond doubt will be mega helpful
>>
>>5940709
>Tough. You're simply a hard nut to crack. You've been on the verge of death before, but every time you've stubbornly held on to life and returned to the fight. (+10 to all endurance rolls)
>Champion. In battle a leader needs to hold his own, and you are no exception. Your personal combat skills have earned you a place at the front. (+15 to close combat rolls)
We ought to be a proper warlord.

>>5940723
>Terran Veteran. He's been fighting this war since the Unification Wars on Terra. (He cannot die.)
We'll put our second through hell and back.
>>
>>5940709
>Born leader. Leadership comes naturally to you, and you can command and organise your brothers with ease. (You have an extra 500 troops under your command.)

>Well-equipped. You've got your hands on some fearsome weaponry, and you've made sure that you'll keep it. (Your men are better armed than the average.)

>>5940723
>Utterly loyal. He will obey any command you give without question, and he'll make sure the rest of your brothers do so too.

>Terran Veteran. He's been fighting this war since the Unification Wars on Terra. (He cannot die.)

Hydra Dominatus!
>>
>>5941126
You can only pick one trait for your second anon.
>>
>>5940712
>>5940715
>>5940717
>>5940778
>>5941043
>>5941126

Character traits
>Well equipped: 1
>Charismatic: 1
>Luck: 2
>Born Leader: 2
>Strategist: 2
>Veteran: 1
>Tough: 1
>Champion: 1
>Equipped: 1

I'll need a tie-breaker between Luck, Born Leader, and Strategist. Pick ONE to drop
>Luck (Extra dice once per mission)
>Born Leader (Extra 500 troops)
>Strategist (+10 to intelligence rolls)

Name: Alpharius

2IC Trait
>Terran Veteran, overwhelming
>>
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You are Alpharius. A name that means nothing, and everything to the Hydra. Perhaps you once had another name, long ago. Perhaps you will use it again. Or perhaps not. You have thrown off the heavy cloak of allegiance, and who can say if you will ever wear it again? Alpharius is just a name, one that many within the Legion have taken. Alpharius can never truly die. Your enemies will be confused, and they will never know if they will see you, or Alpharius again. But for now you must not reflect on the obscure ways of your own legion, but the task ahead of you.

Kylon nods his head at you. A veteran of the Unification Wars on Terra, he is a formidable warrior, one of the best under your command, and nigh unkillable. He’s old, older than your Primarchs perhaps, though there are so many contradictory rumours and whispers within the Legion that it’s hard to say when exactly the Twins took command. Regardless, he’s seen horrors and battles beyond the reckoning of even the most hardened veterans, witness first hand to the cruellest and most ancient weapons from the Dark Age of Technology; or at least that’s what you can gather from his scant and heavily censored record. The man refuses to speak of those early days, either from the memory or some other reason you can’t tell. All you know for sure is that he had some strange skill or luck in battle, somehow dodging blows that even your best swordsmen would have trouble parrying, or moving from a position moments before it is blasted into oblivion by artillery or tank shells. You wonder if the man can be killed at all.

“We are ready, lord.”
>>
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>>5941195
He stands before you, holding out a small dataslate. The dim, chameleon blue of his armour glows softly in the light of your command bridge. The slate contains a full summary of your forces, ready at last to embark on their mission. About 1000 of your brothers in all, a full chapter. Taking the slate from Kylon, you briefly read through it, making sure that everything is in order.

What force does the dataslate show you?

>Line. Your chapter is pure infantry, and there is no task they cannot accomplish. Line chapters are a robust, common, all-rounder force. They have no weaknesses, but no strengths either.
>Elite. You have a large detachment of terminators and several dreadnoughts in your force. They are slow, but extremely tough and well armed, and only an equivalent heavy force can dislodge them in battle.
>Fast attack. Your force is primarily made up of fast, mobile vehicles and infantry; outrider squads, sky hunters, reconnaissance squads, etc. Their style is to hit the enemy and hit them hard before disappearing as suddenly as they appeared. They are extremely fast, but take casualties far easier.
>Siege. Your men are experts in siegecraft. They can crack open a fortress, or hold it to its end. They are armed primarily with heavy weaponry, but weak when not assaulting or holding fortified positions.
>Armoured. You are a force of tanks and armoured vehicles, sweeping across the battlefield to engage enemy armour or transporting your own troops rapidly. They are susceptible to heavy weaponry and fortified positions.

Additionally, what is your chapters name?
>Write in
>>
>>5941164

>Luck (Extra dice once per mission)

Who needs luck when we’re smarter and better?
>>
>>5941164
>drop luck

>>5941195
>elite

>Chapter:Orphans of Lerna
>>
>>5941198

Dropping Luck in favor of strategist since having rerolls so early on may be to easy. We can earn some later maybe.

>Elite. You have a large detachment of terminators and several dreadnoughts in your force. They are slow, but extremely tough and well armed, and only an equivalent heavy force can dislodge them in battle.


>Truth Seekers
>>
>>5941198

>Line. Your chapter is pure infantry, and there is no task they cannot accomplish. Line chapters are a robust, common, all-rounder force. They have no weaknesses, but no strengths either.

I think an all-rounder approach to start is probably best.

>>5941202

Orphans of Lerna is a based name, supporting.

In true Alpha Legion fashion, I think our first order of business should be to get established and develop a cover identity, preferably as Ultramarine morons
>>
>>5941202
+1, gimme those Lernaeans
>>
>>5941202
Supporting
>>
>>5941164
> Luck
> Elite
>>
>>5941198
This is >>5941043, on a different IP.

>>5941202
I'll back both of these. I know I said I was pro-Death Guard earlier, but I like the idea of an elite band getting by through 300 IQ strategems. Hopefully our Born Leadership bonus will help us out in the future. I'm very eager to see where you go with this quest AubreshQM, it's an ambitious concept.
>>
>>5941198
>Elite. You have a large detachment of terminators and several dreadnoughts in your force. They are slow, but extremely tough and well armed, and only an equivalent heavy force can dislodge them in battle.

Orphans of Lerna sounds good to me
>>
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You nod in approval as you look over the dataslate. An elite force of Lernaean Terminators and several dreadnoughts. Around 500 terminators in all, plus 100 dreadnoughts. The rest of your men are regular infantry, numbering 900. Indeed, it would even be possible to pass yourself off as a regular line chapter, keeping the Lernaeans hidden until the moment is right to strike. Armed with volkite and heavy weapons, they can crush all but the most resolute foes. The Orphans of Lerna are a force to be reckoned with, hard hitting and tough, though it'll be difficult to resupply and replace your elite troops, especially since you're renegades with no formal allegiance. But, all that means is you have to be even more subtle when dealing with the enemy.

The Orphans of Lerna

Elite Chapter
900 Line Infantry
500 Lernaean Terminators
100 Contemptor Dreadnoughts

Captain: Alpharius (?)
>Born Leader (Extra 500 troops)
>Strategist (+10 to intelligence rolls)

The Orphans of Lerna are Fully Equipped and at Full Strength

You hand the dataslate back to Kylon. There is nothing to change here, just a confirmation that your forces are at full readiness for the battles to come. Now that you have your final confirmation, you and Kylon walk over to the captain of your ship, the Rod of Asclepius, to review your coming mission. Captain Cimon is in charge of your fleet, making sure that your 3 ships are maintained and kept to a high standard, ever important for a force that will be on the move. If your ships are in need of repairs, or have the opportunity to be upgraded at a forgeworld, he will be the one to go to.

The Dagger of Mu
The Rod of Asclepius - Command Ship
Scylla
Charybdis

Cimon is a normal human, though he has more than proven himself in past battles. But what is his specialisation? Pick ONE

>Void warfare expert. Cimon is an expert at naval combat, giving you an edge when fighting other ships.+10 to void warfare rolls.
>Speed. Somehow Cimon is able to push his ships further and faster than any other. +10 to speed rolls.
>Navigation. Cimon has some skill at placing your ships where they need to be, whether through some trick or picking the right navigators you're not sure. +10 to navigation rolls.
>Boarding expert. Cimon is an expert at placing his ships alongside the enemy, getting you in the most advantageous position to board them. +10 to boarding rolls.
>Mechanic. Cimon knows his ships like the back of his own hand, and personally takes charge of their maintenance. Influence cost of repairing and modifying your ships is halved.
>>
This anon >>5941432 again, if my IP has changed twice now.

>>5941701
>Mechanic. Cimon knows his ships like the back of his own hand, and personally takes charge of their maintenance. Influence cost of repairing and modifying your ships is halved
As Renegades, we have no supply lines and must get by on what meager scraps we can take. I say we go for ease of maintenance. In time, by strength of arms and low cunning, we may yet amass a true fleet for ourselves.
>>
>>5941701
Looks great. The only note is that 100 dreadnoughts seem overpowered. Maybe nerf that to 40ish? I get this is 30k but still.

>>Mechanic. Cimon knows his ships like the back of his own hand, and personally takes charge of their maintenance. Influence cost of repairing and modifying your ships is halved.
>>
>>5941721
I'll admit I wasn't sure on the dreadnought numbers. I know they're a little OP in-game, but other than that I'm not sure whether to make them worth 10 marines or 20. But since you're renegades they're nigh irreplaceable anyway, so that should balance things out.
>>
>>5941701

>Mechanic. Cimon knows his ships like the back of his own hand, and personally takes charge of their maintenance. Influence cost of repairing and modifying your ships is halved.

I have to agree with other anons thoughts - resourcefulness is our best resource
>>
>>5941721
>>5941761

We could reasonably say that only 60 of them are “awake” and the other 40 are unreliably active. Even in 30k, dreadnoughts weren’t always consistently sane or “rousable”
>>
>>5941761
Cool. I think it will balance out if we are low on armored vehicle support since we speced into dreadnoughts and contemptor pattern dreadnoughts were by far the most common pattern.
>>
>>5941786
It could also be that we have an excess of dreadnought chassis and sarcophagi with only a fraction of those 100 dreadnoughts having pilots.
>>
>>5941761
Since we're renegades and Alpha Legion, we're likely going to be relying heavily on human auxiliaries. If we're fielding dreadnoughts, I suspect we either have an overwhelming upper hand or shit has hit the fun beyond all recovery. I'm curious how the strategic layer of the quest will work, but we'll be finding out soon.
>>
>>5941786
Actually, that's a good idea. I'll say that you have 40 that you can regularly use, and the other 60 need a roll to wake up, with the possibility that you might break them if you do it without help.

>>5941812
Your fleet is pure Space Marines for now, but you can always recruit humans or other allies later on. Strategic layer will be revealed soon, next post will be determining your mission and then after that we'll get into the thick of it.
>>
>>5941826
>right into the thick of it
Excellent, wouldn't have it any other way.
>>
Glad to see you back Clone Wars anon.

>>5941701
>Mechanic. Cimon knows his ships like the back of his own hand, and personally takes charge of their maintenance. Influence cost of repairing and modifying your ships is halved.

>>5941786
>>5941826
On the subject of dreadnoughts, we could also balance it out with something like
>60 castra ferrums
>40 contemptors
>>
Your survey the captain. He is a tall man, well built, with a powerful voice that echoes in the wide halls of the bridge. The crew pays as much if not greater deference to him than they do to you. But his real skill lies in his mechanical expertise, his breadth of knowledge on ship design, all the ins and outs of how they function, and if it weren’t for the his lack of augmentations you would think the man a tech-priest in disguise. As is, the speed and efficacy of ship repairs and maintenance under his watch means that the time you remain in port is short, and cheaper than usual. A valuable asset to have, doubly so when you have few illusions about the battles you will face.

He bows low as you approach, saying nothing. He and the crew have long learned that few words are needed to address the great warriors of The Hydra, silent and foreboding even for Astartes. When you are present, all fall into a hushed silence, from an equal mixture of fear and respect. Kylon stands at your side, looking beyond the man at the myriad screens and technical readouts behind him. You follow his gaze, past the ticking cogitators and whispering bridge crew to see on the central screen…

>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.
>A Forge World. The domain of the Mechanicus, where every machine of war and sanctioned piece technology may be built. But the Mechanicus will not be easily parted from their possessions, and you will need subterfuge, guile, sheer brutality, or a combination of all three to take what you want from them.
>A technical readout of Space Marine cruisers. They’ve been pursuing you for weeks, but soon the hunter will become the hunted, and with luck what they have will become your own.
>Orbital scans of a Space Marine Fortress. They have chosen to leave only a token force to guard their precious holdings, while the bulk of their force sails elsewhere. Plunder, ripe for the taking.
>Write in?

This choice will determine your Target. You will have a choice of how you will approach your Target, each with its benefits and costs. Your presumed allegiance is TRAITOR.
>>
>>5942111
Good to be back. End of the Republic is still in the works, just thought I'd try something fresh to get me back in the game.

Also gives me more time to figure out the absolute clusterfuck Kamino's going to be.
>>
>>5942149
>>Orbital scans of a Space Marine Fortress. They have chosen to leave only a token force to guard their precious holdings, while the bulk of their force sails elsewhere. Plunder, ripe for the taking.
>>
>>5942151
We are not going to change the outcome of the war by pirating. That's the shattered legions idea and they failed. At most you slow one side of the war down.

>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.

We need to recruit baseline humans to convert into infiltrators and spies, as well as flesh stock/aspirants to further grow our numbers.
>>
>>5942149
>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.

good start
>>
>>5942149

>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.

We need mortal forces and a fleet’
>>
>>5942149
>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.
>>
This is >>5941812 again.

>>5942149
>Orbital scans of a Space Marine Fortress. They have chosen to leave only a token force to guard their precious holdings, while the bulk of their force sails elsewhere. Plunder, ripe for the taking
We can find humans anywhere, space marine quality wargear and more importantly, gene-seed is harder to come by.
>>
>>5942149
>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.
For mostly the same reasons >>5942156, but we could operate in the underhives to keep a low profile, find stronger aspirants, and procure raw material. As long as we have a forge lord and a few techpriests with us, production of weapons shouldn't be an issue as long as we establish and maintain our supply. A hive world with a large mining or trade industry in the fringes of the galaxy should do fine.

>>5942151
Awesome, take the time you need. I'm just glad to know you're alive and hopefully well.
>>
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>A Hive World. One of many hundreds of thousands, it holds billions upon billions of people, and with them, war material and troops ready to be sent into the vast reaches of space. A jewel ripe for conquest, or perhaps just seizing what you need before leaving them in the dust.

You nod at Captain Cimon, and he bows before leaving you to look at the data screens, showing you all there is to know about the Hive World you are approaching. The information is comprehensive, but you must always keep in mind the intelligence you have might not always be up to date or fully accurate.

Biron V.

Population: 36 billion

Environment: Temperate. Primarily forests and open fields. Several large oceans.

Primary exports: Cattle, wood, seafood, manufactured products.

Estimated defences: Weak. Outside basic ground-space cannons to fight off pirates or ork raids, the planet boasts a planetary defence force of around 500 million troops, of average quality.

Allegiance: Unknown. Has not declared support for the Imperium or Horus. No known encounters with Loyalist or Traitor forces.

Additional information: Minor hive world, one of the only inhabited worlds in the Biron system. The others are small mining outposts and militia training grounds. Conquered during the great crusade by the Imperial Fists. Minor resistance to conquest. Fully compliant with imperial rule since. Medium manufacturing capacity, currently focused on consumer goods. Can be easily converted to war industry.

Imperial Tithe: 50 million troops, 100 million tons of exports, [REDACTED].
Overall, Biron V seems to be an average hive world in the imperium. That Redacted notice intrigues you though; not much is kept secret from the Astartes, even in this civil war. Perhaps something to investigate.

What is your objective on this world?
>Raid. You’ll hit them hard and fast, grabbing what you can before leaving as quickly as you came. For this world, it will likely mean what riches they have and pure human stock.
>Infiltration. You will not make any blatant moves against the planet, not yet. Instead, you will do what the Alpha Legion does best: infiltrating the planet, gathering intelligence, and slowly subverting it until it is fully in your power.
>Subjugation. You will conquer this planet outright, and make it an outpost for the Orphans of Lerna! All that is on this planet will become your own.
>Destruction. Bombardment from orbit and then pick the ruins clean. There won’t be much left, but on the other hand there won’t be any risk for you either.
>Other?
>>
>>5942709

>Raid. You’ll hit them hard and fast, grabbing what you can before leaving as quickly as you came. For this world, it will likely mean what riches they have and pure human stock.

Get in, get out, and move along.
>>
>>5942709
Shoot, forgot extra vote.

Additionally, would you like to disguise your forces as another legion?
>Yes (which legion?)
>No, you will arrive as the Alpha Legion.
>>
>Infiltration. You will not make any blatant moves against the planet, not yet. Instead, you will do what the Alpha Legion does best: infiltrating the planet, gathering intelligence, and slowly subverting it until it is fully in your power.
>Yes (which legion?)
>Imperial Fists
Go in, see redacted, fool the local population that their glorius conquers are here to check on them, see whats going on, then get out and fucking raid the place and disappear into the void.
>>
>>5942552
>As long as we have a forge lord and a few techpriests with us
This is not certain. Due to the fact that you're a single chapter (and renegades on top of that), you don't have everything available to the average legion force. You have some techmarines, enough to keep things maintained, but making new stuff will require dedicated facilities which you don't have in your fleet, i.e the industry on this world, or ideally, a forgeworld. You will however get an opportunity to vote on what kind of legion specialist you have later on (since this is still the tutorial area, once the planet's been conquered, destroyed, raided, whatever, you'll have the full freedom to do whatever you want)
>>
>>5942552
And thanks, nice to know people care. Been doing well, went through a bit of a rough period end of last year but things are looking better. Now I just have to catch up on all the quests I missed...
>>
>Infiltration. You will not make any blatant moves against the planet, not yet. Instead, you will do what the Alpha Legion does best: infiltrating the planet, gathering intelligence, and slowly subverting it until it is fully in your power.
>Yes (which legion?)
>Imperial Fists
>>
>>5942709
>>Infiltration. You will not make any blatant moves against the planet, not yet. Instead, you will do what the Alpha Legion does best: infiltrating the planet, gathering intelligence, and slowly subverting it until it is fully in your power.
>>
>>5942710

You know what, I change my previous vote to the ImpFists infiltration mission ad this anon suggests

>>5942716
>>
Honestly, creating this hidden empire of sorts would be quite good, and considering everyone is distracted by the heresy, we’re in a position where no one can afford to check for subversion.
>>
>>5942709
>Infiltration. You will not make any blatant moves against the planet, not yet. Instead, you will do what the Alpha Legion does best: infiltrating the planet, gathering intelligence, and slowly subverting it until it is fully in your power.
>Yes (which legion?)
>Imperial Fists

>>5942726
tis good you are still alive QM
>>
>>5942709
>Infiltration. You will not make any blatant moves against the planet, not yet. Instead, you will do what the Alpha Legion does best: infiltrating the planet, gathering intelligence, and slowly subverting it until it is fully in your power.
>Yes (which legion?)
>Imperial Fists
If we're hitting a hive-world, disguising ourselves as Imperial Fists seems sensible. The biggest issue is what we'll do if the actual Imperial Fists arrive but we should be fine to get a proper network underway.

>>5942719
It sounds like we need to get our feet under ourselves, if we're going to survive. Personally, I think equipping our space marines is less important than amassing tonnage. To be an actual force in the Horus Heresy, we would need at least a dozen battle barges but that isn't possible, so we can go for the next best thing and push for a plethora of lesser frigates and destroyers for a fast, nimble raiding force.
>>
>>5942716
+1
>>
>>5942817
Obviously we point and shout " ITS THE ALPHA LEGION" at them and hope the normies fall for it
>>
>>5942980
Ingenious
>>
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You decide that you will infiltrate the planet while disguising yourself as the Imperial Fists, the worlds conquerors. You will do what the Alpha Legion does best, deceiving the population into thinking that you’re on a routine patrol, all the while learning all their weaknesses, strengths, and fears. The humans shouldn’t suspect a thing. You turn to Kylon and give your orders. All he gives in response is a muted Hydra Dominatus before stalking off to begin organizing the troops, and painting them in the bright yellow of the galaxy’s undisputed experts of siege warfare.

How will you deploy your troops?

Select which companies you will deploy to the surface.

The Orphans of Lerna Companies
Alpha Company: 250 Lernaean Terminators
Beta Company: 250 Lernaean Terminators
Gamma Company: 450 Marines
Delta Company: 450 Marines
Epsilon Company: 40 Contemptor Dreadnoughts

(The companies may also be split and modified as you see fit, but for this mission I’m assuming you’ll keep them as is.)

Furthermore, what will your initial objective be?

>Intelligence gathering. You will learn all there is to know about this planet’s weaknesses, and strengths, the petty grievances between the leadership and the people, which side they have chosen for the war, etc. Knowledge is power, and with this your next move will become immensely easier. (Intelligence roll)
>Subversion of the leadership. You will put this planet’s government under your power, making sure they obey your every suggestion or misdirection. (Charisma roll)
>Subversion of the population. You will recruit and send agents into the wider populace, making them pliable to your directives. (Stealth roll)
>Identifying suitable aspirants in the underhives for recruitment. (Stealth roll)
>Searching for the source of that [REDACTED] in your records. It is unusual, and it would be imprudent to leave it unattended. (Intelligence roll)
>Write in?
>>
>>5943072
I should also note that Alpha Company is the Command Company, and where you are automatically embedded. This will be noted in future posts. Furthermore, when subverting a planet only controlling the leadership is necessary for control of the planet, though you must keep in mind that the population can disobey the leadership, depending on what they’re told to do and how they're feeling.
>>
>>5943072
>>Searching for the source of that [REDACTED] in your records. It is unusual, and it would be imprudent to leave it unattended. (Intelligence roll)

Good thing we got that trait at char gen.Didn't expect it would come into play so soon.

My guess is its something involving psykers, black site research that somebody does not want the imperium knowing about, or something the fists left behind (possibly hidden geneseed).
>>
>>5943072
>>Intelligence gathering. You will learn all there is to know about this planet’s weaknesses, and strengths, the petty grievances between the leadership and the people, which side they have chosen for the war, etc. Knowledge is power, and with this your next move will become immensely easier. (Intelligence roll)
>>
>>5943075
>>Intelligence gathering. You will learn all there is to know about this planet’s weaknesses, and strengths, the petty grievances between the leadership and the people, which side they have chosen for the war, etc. Knowledge is power, and with this your next move will become immensely easier. (Intelligence roll)

Is also a great option. I'll go with whichever anons find more popular.

>Gamma Company

You don't send terminators, chapter command, or dreadnoughts on a routine inspection.
>>
>>5943077
>>Searching for the source of that [REDACTED] in your records. It is unusual, and it would be imprudent to leave it unattended. (Intelligence roll)
Gotta get me that mystery answered somehow.
>>
>>5943072
>>Searching for the source of that [REDACTED] in your records. It is unusual, and it would be imprudent to leave it unattended. (Intelligence roll)

gotta love that [REDACTED]
>>
>>5943072

>Intelligence gathering. You will learn all there is to know about this planet’s weaknesses, and strengths, the petty grievances between the leadership and the people, which side they have chosen for the war, etc. Knowledge is power, and with this your next move will become immensely easier. (Intelligence roll)

Better to get smart before we seek after the REDACTED info or subvert the population. Im guessing that the Fists will come looking for the pretenders if we stay too long though - we probably shouldn’t set up shop here.
>>
>>5943072
>>Searching for the source of that [REDACTED] in your records. It is unusual, and it would be imprudent to leave it unattended. (Intelligence roll)
>>
>>5943072
I agree with anon, we should just send Gamma Company and ourselves along with it.

>Intelligence gathering. You will learn all there is to know about this planet’s weaknesses, and strengths, the petty grievances between the leadership and the people, which side they have chosen for the war, etc. Knowledge is power, and with this your next move will become immensely easier. (Intelligence roll)
This will have us take a little extra time but is important for our subversion. I'm curious about [REDACTED] too but they're probably hiding it well.
>>
Need a tiebreaker between [REDACTED] and Intel gathering. Will roll if there isn't one in 20 mins.
>>
Rolled 2 (1d2)

1= [REDACTED]
2 = Intel Gathering
>>
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It is decided. You will descend to the surface with Gamma Company, disguised as Imperial Fists on a routine check-up. As you feel the familiar shudder of the ship emerging from the warp, you turn from the bridge and descend to the hangar deck, where Kylon has assembled Gamma company and is using the chapters techmarines and some serfs to paint and outfit them in the regalia of the Imperial Fists. You quickly join them, shedding the snake skin of the Alpha Legion for another guise. After only a few hours you are ready, and as you place the MKIV helmet upon your head you see before you a full company of Imperial Fists where the Alpha Legion once stood. You do not give any speeches. The men have already been given their mission, and they need no further instruction. With Kylon at your side, you board the yellow Thunderhawks and begin your journey to the planet.

On the surface, a delegation of the planet’s leadership is already waiting for you at the landing pad. You had informed them of your arrival once the ships were painted in the Imperial Fist colours. They evidently suspect nothing. Indeed, as the gunship doors descend and you step onto the windy platform they rush towards you, smiles and joy clear on their faces.

“My Lord! King Friederich, at your disposal. It is a momentous occasion to have you here again! My father told me stories of your first arrival. To think we are graced with your presence in this hour of the Imperium’s greatest need! I must tell you our troops stand ready to fight alongside the mighty warriors of the Adeptus Astartes at your command!”

Interesting. It seems that these are fanatic loyalists, and they have already assembled a force of troops to send to the aid of the Imperium. You nod sagely, and begin walking with the king and his delegation to their halls of governance, discussing your arrival and the circumstances of the planet.

From what he tells you, the King has been raised on stories of this planet’s conquest during the Great Crusade, developing a near fanatic loyalty to the Imperium, and with the news of the civil war he has raised up what he can from the planet’s PDF to send out and contribute. A fool to your eyes, but one with deep pockets. 200 million fully equipped troops stand at the ready, and the King is offering you their command. A significant offer, but one you’re not entirely sure of. What will you do?

>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.
>Refuse. They would be a nuisance. Better that they be sent off to die on a battlefield than have you managing loyalists.
>Write in?
>>
>>5943470
Meanwhile, your men disperse themselves through the hives of the planet, ostensibly for a general tour, but all the while paying close attention to the planets institutions, the defences, the attitudes of the citizens as they pass them by. Several squads even cast off their armour, venturing deep into the underhive, forming networks of informants and agents that will slowly give you a complete picture of Biron V’s needs, fears, hopes, and all the miniscule things that govern the human mind. You inform King Friederich that you will remain here for several weeks, closely inspecting his legions before making a decision, and he is only too quick to accept. Slowly but surely, the Hydra wakes.

Roll 1d100+10 for success of your intelligence gathering. DC 30/50/70
>>
Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>5943471
>>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.

>Throw them at a Traitor Planet
>Loot and Profit?
>>
Rolled 59 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>5943471
>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.

this could be funny
>>
Rolled 52 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>5943470
>>5943473
Nice. The first roll is 101. Great start.

>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.
>>
>>5943470

>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.

Well, holy shit. There’s a lot we could do with 200 million PDF
>>
>>5943473
Welp, looks like rolling is no longer required with that kind of a roll then. Either way, with the Ling unable to tell the difference between Traitor and Loyalists forces outside of one or maybe a couple of the legions at the outbreak, then we can either lie (really don’t like this option) and use them to raid a Loyalist system if the benefits are good enough, or naturally just use them to be used to assault some Traitor systems that are nearby that we can burn and loot and deny to the warmaster.
>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.
>>
>>5943473
>200 million PDF
I'm thinking we can throw them at a forge world or an astartes fortress, then reap the benefits. PDF are individually a nothingburger but 200 million of them? That's enough to fight a pitched planetary campaign. The best part is that they aren't even our own soldiers, so their long-term survival isn't a concern.
>>
>>5943481
I should make it clear that 200 million PDF is a lot, but their main value is only in sheer numbers. E.g, if locked in a room together with a couple chapters of space marines they'd probably come out on top, but only just, depending how they roll. Against the bigger hitters like titans and tanks they are near useless.
>>
>>5943502
>>5943503

Points well taken, but they would serve as a phenomenal distraction for us if nothing else.

We should be leaving this world with a shitload of aspirants as well - nothing stopping us from quickly going over-strength now that we’re going rogue
>>
>>5943509
We were never restricted by numbers to begin with? This is the great Crusade Era, the Chapter standard as mentioned in this setting, was quite flexible. Whole “chapters” (this was what the ultramarines called a thousand strong company) could be from a couple hundred to some extreme cases like close to 10,000 members per company. It’s why we for instance could have our size beefed up to 1,500 and it not be considered overpowered or too big of a thing for some camponies, depending on the legion, the campaign history of said company, previous losses, etc. though any marines now, are not going to come into the picture unless we try and pull a Cthonia unfortunately. Normally it takes several years for a marine be judged ready to take on the armour of a space marine, and the civil war lasts at most between 7-10(wiggles hand) years long in total. At most, any recruits we get now, likely won’t become full marines until the tail-end of the Heresy or beyond unfortunately. Unless of course, we decided to go pull a Cthonia of course, which had its own pros and cons.
>>
>>5943517
Raising new Space Marines from scratch to Great Crusade standard will take about 5 years, 4 if you rush it/roll well. Inductii take about 6 months to a year, and are generally inferior plus high risk of mutations and defects. You can also augment mortals to Space Marine standards, though that itself is risky and not worth it except for peak mortals. There's also the option of convincing other Space Marines to join you, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.
>>
>>5943527
What’s the equipment and training standards of this pdf army? Do they Leman russes and the like?
>>
>>5943527
Nice! Well, if things are getting desperate/we really want to stock up on doing the whole Inductie nonesense(That was the Cthonia option I mentioned previously) then this serves as a great time-table to figure out how many men we can recruit or expect to join us before the end of the heresy.
>>
>>5943553
They have Leman Russes but nothing better than that. Because the world has only medium industry, they can manufacture body armour and weapons, but they don't have the capacity for mass-manufacture of heavy vehicles, so they only have a scant few tanks. Equipment wise they're about equivalent to regular imperial army, not Solar Auxilia. Training standards are about the same, but these guys have little to no experience in proper warfare. Very firmly middle of the road in terms of human forces.

>>5943566
>how many men we can recruit or expect to join us before the end of the heresy.
Keep in mind that this quest (probably) won't end the instant Horus dies. You can have a staggered recruitment going with a schedule into the post-Heresy era, but the instant secret Space Marine recruitment centres are discovered the [REDACTED] are going to be all over your ass.
>>
>>5943579
Oh, I thought it was more like, do your events in the heresy, and a tally up system occuries where, depending on the number of changes/points you've acquired by the seige, that it would result in either a minor to major change up before the duel and the death of Horus. Does that mean this can be extended into the scoruing as well? As for the inquisition, they've only got 4 people going for them and maybe a thousand knights to help them out. Besides, its not like they're going to be able to do much if we just start from scrath elsewhere in the galaxy that can be hidden from the imperium for centuries at a time. We're not the first to pull it off, and I doubt we'll be the last ones to do it either.
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>>5943591
I'm not 100% on how this will all end but it definitely won't be a tally system just before the Siege starts. Then again, you could always completely fucking bite it and get wiped out before we even get to that stage, just have to wait and see.
>>
>>5943620

I, for one, hope to stay safely outside of the crossfire and carve out a mini-Empire on the galactic fringe.
>>
>>5943622
I don't, I want our name to be sung across the highest spires across the galaxy as Hero's that helped vanquish the great enemy and survived to live in the new Era that has come into existence with the Betrayal at Isstvan. Besides, mini-empire's on the galactic Fringe just put us on the war path of any Tyranid Tendril that comes storming into the galaxy later on, and it still isn't a garneted success of us ever being safe from discovery from the Imperium if we do hide out anyway. It might just honestly be safer to move towards the Galactic core, depending on if the Votann are a thing or not. (God I hope their not a thing.)
>>
Tired right now, will update later. In the meantime, what Legion do you want to fight the most? Or which Legion do you want to avoid fighting the most?
>>
>>5943803
Word Bearers.

Because no matter whether you're Loyalist, Traitor or Blackshield, fuck Erebus.
>>
>>5943803
I agree with >>5943805
But I'd also wanna throw bands with that retard mortarion
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>>5943470
>What will you do?
We abuse and take advantage of it
>Accept the Kings offer. It will be good to have expendable troops to throw at a problem.
In fact if we can create a sort of friendship with this king, his vassals and his people all the better. We can truly squeeze them of everything of note now or later on too, the fact that we have arrived in these sector means we have scouted ahead a bit. If the sector isn't too safe for the world to be taken yet, this planet could use an underground outpost made by us. Until we just claim the world.

Since we are remaining a few weeks and this world is capable of making infantry equipment, we can start recruiting/training mortal spies and infiltrators. Maybe some mortal infantry loyal to us too, we could have them train while sending down in missions the 200 millions until they are grinded down in to dust.


>>5943803
imperial fists and world eaters
>>
>>5943803
I want to fight Raven Guard since they are our rival legion. I want to avoid fighting the Dark Angles or Ultramarines because of their statistical history as badasses who win pretty much every fight.
>>
Rolled 3 (1d20)

>>5943803
whatever legion this is that isn't 2 or 11
>>
>>5943803
I most want to fight the Iron Warriors because they have excellent gene-seed and tend to have high-quality wargear to loot. I least want to fight the Night Lords because they already have it hard enough without Alpharius infiltrating and subverting their legion.

>>5943805
>>5943806
I'm sorry you two had to hear it from me, but Argel Tal had it coming.
>>
>>5943803
I want to chill with some Night Lords. I want to clown on some Sons of Horus.
>>
>>5943803
In terms of fighting, everyone secretly wants to say Wordbearers. Just on the off chance they could find and kill Erebus no matter the chance. And indeed the same as I, fuck that man till he’s 600ft in the heart of a star. As for avoiding the most, blood Angels.

Also, has the betrayal at Isstavan already occurred yet? On what Segmentum anre we currently in right now as well? And how would we be able to carry of all of this manpower around with us?
>>
>>5943908
>Also, has the betrayal at Isstavan already occurred yet?
Have you tried reading the quest?
>>
You decide you will accept the King’s offer. 200 million expendable troops will go a long way in the battles ahead, even if they are nominally loyalist. You may have to keep up the Imperial Fists disguise for a little longer, but you doubt that will be an issue. There’s a distinct likelihood that these mortals don’t know much at all, and will follow whatever order you give them so long as they believe they are fighting for The Emperor and Imperium. The King is ecstatic when he hears that you are taking them, and he immediately orders his officials to begin preparations for their departure. Soon, the spaceports are busy with activity, supplies and troops being organised and transported to the waiting barges in space while your fleet waits above.

Meanwhile, you spend the time you have not currying favour with the King reviewing your agents’ reports. By all accounts the infiltration has gone excellently, and they present you with 3 key pieces of information:

The political situation here is tense, though not yet dangerous. The nobles are extremely unhappy with the King, on the verge of revolt for sending off almost half the PDF, their supposed “rightful property” were it not for the fact that the people love him, and the PDF is still loyal. There are whispers of assassination, but your men report that there is no concrete plan for a coup just yet.

They also report that they have successfully established a proper network in each major hive, and agents loyal to them have been recruited from the nobility, citizenry, and army. While you do not have total control, any actions you take from here will be made immensely easier by these mortal agents.

And lastly, your men report a persistent rumour that they have noticedin the deepest parts of the hives, wild stories about witches living among the population, echoes it is said of the Dark Days before the arrival of the Crusade. Your men would dismiss it as normal rumour-mongering if it weren’t for the persistence with which they’ve encountered these tales, and several of your lieutenants believe there is more to it than they have discovered. Very curious indeed.


You now have 200 million troops at your command, almost ready to depart. However, you have been presented with opportunities for further activity on this world, and you must decide if you will delay your departure for them or travel onwards to your next objective.

What will you do?
>Coup the King with the nobles. Risky, but with your agents in place this world should be fully under your control if you succeed.
>Encourage the nobles to revolt, then help crush the rebellion to cement the Kings loyalty. He should be indebted to any other “Imperial Fists” who come this way again.
>Spend some more time investigating these rumours of witches. There must be something more to it than mere rumours.
>Do nothing, prepare to leave with the army. You must be moving on.
>Write in?
>>
>>5944253
>>Spend some more time investigating these rumours of witches. There must be something more to it than mere rumours.
>>
>>5944253
>Spend some more time investigating these rumours of witches. There must be something more to it than mere rumours.
Psyker women got me acting unwise
>>
>>5944253
>Do nothing, prepare to leave with the army. You must be moving on.
We have 200 million PDF and the transports to move them. I say we put them to use ensuring our chapter's future, spending valuable time tracking down a chaos cult doesn't get us any more men, resources, or wargear.
>>
>>5943908
>>5943970
Istvaan V has occurred, about a month or two ago. Though the official timeline is completely fucked six ways from sunday, so events may be a little more fluid, e.g The Ultramarines aren't going to sit on their ass for 2 years waiting for the Word Bearers to come from Istvaan and stab them in the back. I may also modify some characters to be a little less retarded (but Erebus is still a dick). Segmentum will be decided later. The PDF are using their own ships they have from the lanet.
>>
>>5944253

>Do nothing, prepare to leave with the army. You must be moving on.

Leaving with 200 million troopers is a phenomenal heist as far as I am concerned
>>
>>5944253
>>Spend some more time investigating these rumours of witches. There must be something more to it than mere rumours.
This reeks of [REDACTED], so I'm all in for voting for this option.
>>
>>5944264
Thanks QM, I'm happy that all things are going well then on our side of things as well as yours with the quest being written and thought out as it has been decided already.
>>
>>5944253
>Spend some more time investigating these rumours of witches. There must be something more to it than mere rumours.
>>
You decide that these rumours of witches are too serious to ignore, so when there is a convenient accident at the space port where a truck filled with live ammunition loses control and ploughs into a terminal, your departure is delayed by a week. You are extremely understanding, and the King is only too happy to direct his fury at his logistics officers for their incompetence. Elsewhere, in certain quiet rooms across the planet, holograph emitters come to life, displaying the 3 headed hydra.

With your agents in place, they begin making subtle inquiries among the nobility, army, and even some of the hive gangers about these obviously false rumours of witches, tall tales which mothers use to scare their children with. It would not do for their minions to start believing in ghosts now, would it? Surely there must be some source spreading this vile gossip, suggesting humans can have magic powers. Meanwhile you task several of your squads to go out searching for direct proof of these “witches” whatever, or whoever they are.

Roll 1d100+5, DC 60/90. Bo3
>>
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>>5944676
As you wait for the planetary reports to arrive, you read up on the latest reports from Captain Cimon, who is keeping an eye on the state of the wider galaxy. In your local cluster things seem to be quiet, and he has not detected any major fleet movements, human or Astartes. The wider galaxy however…

Bloodshed in space. It is only a few months since Istvaan, and already the Imperium is unravelling. Civil war on Mars has broken out, between factions of the Mechanicum, and the planet has descended into total war, with even titan legions duelling across the Red Planet’s surface. The remnants of the 3 loyalist legions at Istvaan are still harassing Horus’s forces, but there is little these broken and shattered legions can do to stop his inexorable advance. Fleets are racing across the void to their strategic targets, and though you are no longer part of The Hydra you still have some access to The Network. Russ and the entire Space Wolves Legion has been dispatched to Prospero, for some unknown but ominous purpose. Lorgar is leading a significant part of his Word Bearers to Ultramar, the real Imperial Fists are racing towards Cthonia, and across the entire imperium fires are starting, systems declaring for either side or simply descending into senseless bloodshed. You have no doubt that soon the entire galaxy will be engulfed, the small fires growing into blazes which will burn the Imperium to ash, no matter the winner. War will consume the galaxy, striking at the very heart of the Imperium and the Emperor’s ideals of prosperity and hope, and there is no telling what will be left once it is ended. A grim, dark future awaits.

What is your attitude towards this civil war?
>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.
>Regretful. The Emperor’s ideals were a chance for humanity to better itself, but now they will be scattered to the wind by Horus’ ambition, even if He were to win. A shame indeed.
>Disgusted. Horus is ambitious and The Emperor is a fool. How could He not see this coming? How could Horus betray all that he has fought and stood for? The Tyrant and The Traitor are little different.
>Write in?
>>
Rolled 61 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>5944676
>>5944677
Write in
>Amused: We know better than most that all men wear masks. That the masks worn by the best of humanity and his progeny were hiding the seething faces of tantrumning, overgrown children is...simply hilarious. For all their lofty ideals and beliefs, they burn the galaxy In a fit of pique and wounded pride.
>>
Rolled 91 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>5944677
>Ambitious: Our primarch was a master of game theory and ladder climbing so of course he encouraged those traits in his sons. Chaos is a ladder.
>>
>>5944677
Of all the legions, for some parts of the 20th to go renegade is the most in character. Whose to say this is not part of the great plan?
>>
Rolled 81 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>5944676

Rolling
>>
>>5944677

>Disgusted. Horus is ambitious and The Emperor is a fool. How could He not see this coming? How could Horus betray all that he has fought and stood for? The Tyrant and The Traitor are little different.

Honestly, we’re smarter than both of these idiots
>>
>>5944677
>>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.
>>
>>5944677
>Disgusted. Horus is ambitious and The Emperor is a fool. How could He not see this coming? How could Horus betray all that he has fought and stood for? The Tyrant and The Traitor are little different.
>>
>>5944677
>Disgusted. Horus is ambitious and The Emperor is a fool. How could He not see this coming? How could Horus betray all that he has fought and stood for? The Tyrant and The Traitor are little different.
>>
>>5944677
>Amused: We know better than most that all men wear masks. That the masks worn by the best of humanity and his progeny were hiding the seething faces of tantrumning, overgrown children is...simply hilarious. For all their lofty ideals and beliefs, they burn the galaxy In a fit of pique and wounded pride.
>>
>>5944677
>>Disgusted. Horus is ambitious and The Emperor is a fool. How could He not see this coming? How could Horus betray all that he has fought and stood for? The Tyrant and The Traitor are little different.
>>
>>5944677
>>5944681

Switching to

>>>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.
>>
>>5944704
Same, switching to Ambivalent as well. Feelings don’t matter to renegades that need to survive in order to plan out their next move.
>>
>>5944677
>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.
>>
>>5944680
Switching to disgusted
>>
>>5944699
>>>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.

Switching as well.
>>
>>5944677
>Write in
>>Amused: We know better than most that all men wear masks. That the masks worn by the best of humanity and his progeny were hiding the seething faces of tantrumning, overgrown children is...simply hilarious. For all their lofty ideals and beliefs, they burn the galaxy In a fit of pique and wounded pride.
>>
>>5944677

>Amused: We know better than most that all men wear masks. That the masks worn by the best of humanity and his progeny were hiding the seething faces of tantrumning, overgrown children is...simply hilarious. For all their lofty ideals and beliefs, they burn the galaxy In a fit of pique and wounded pride.
>>
>>5944279
We could grab more. Maybe wealth or something else. Or recruiting
>>
>>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.
>>
>>Disgusted. Horus is ambitious and The Emperor is a fool. How could He not see this coming? How could Horus betray all that he has fought and stood for? The Tyrant and The Traitor are little different.
>>
>>5944677
>Ambivalent. It is the way of humanity, to return to war and conflict. Perhaps it was inevitable, perhaps not. But you will not let these nebulous ideas trouble you, all you need to do is to survive.
>>
>>5944677
This is >>5944262, as my IP's probably changed again. I'll back
>Amused: We know better than most that all men wear masks. That the masks worn by the best of humanity and his progeny were hiding the seething faces of tantrumning, overgrown children is...simply hilarious. For all their lofty ideals and beliefs, they burn the galaxy In a fit of pique and wounded pride.
As I feel like it fits a renegade Alpha Legion commander.
>>
>>5943473
>>5944681
I just realized that both of our info gathering rolls are 91. I know the Alpha Legion is supposed to be good at spywork but this is insane.
>>
>>5944937
We're the Alpha Legion, its in our blood to be exactly that amount of stealthy with our shit when it comes to spies and subterfuge.
>>
>>5944723
>>5944724
>>5944898
>Amused

>>5944685
>>5944718
>>5944698
>>5944703
>>5944853
>Disgusted

>>5944688
>>5944704
>>5944710
>>5944714
>>5944721
>>5944736
>>5944867
>Ambivalent

If I've tallied it right, it looks like ambivalent is the winner, on top of an excellent success for the roll. Writing.
>>
You look at Captain Cimon’s reports with indifference. The Astartes were bred for war, and this is simply another war amongst the stars. “War is duty, your duty war, and that is all you know and all you need to know.” If conflict is in the blood of humanity, as transhumans it is an even more innate part of your physiology, an inevitable outcome for living weapons of war. You do not worry much about the reasons for this conflict, only that you may have to deal with your cousin legions in time, traitors and loyalists both. All that matters is your own survival. Not The Emperor, not Horus, only you. You will not get drawn into the ideological conflicts or petty grievances between the legions and their primarchs, spending your life recklessly for some nebulous ideal that will wither in the ashes. No, you will survive, and your plans will be dedicated to that single objective above all others. Flexibility will be your watchword, a suitable outlook for a renegade who won’t deign to bow to the Loyalists and Traitors.

But then again, who is there to say that a full chapter of Space Marines might not have its uses later on? There are plans within plans, and there are many heads of the Hydra, watching, waiting, ready to strike when the enemy is weakest.

You put away the reports from Cimon when the auspex starts pinging with the response of your surface agents. You eagerly look through them with interest, wondering what they have found regarding the source of these “witch” stories.
>>
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>>5945196
There is a glut of information, too much for a human mind to digest without significant aid, but you are not human. Much of it is from gangers and the law enforcement of the hives, reports of lynchings or hidden deals, and while none of it is direct, and much contradictory, with all the disparate parts at your disposal you can sift through the intelligence and piece it together.

The conclusion is obvious: Psykers. The profiles match your records and what little was spread among the legions before Nuceria. Though the Alpha Legion has comparatively few psykers among its ranks, and officially has never had librarians, you are still aware of their importance, and danger. An untrained psyker can either read a mind or destroy the minds of those around it. You have even heard rumours among agents of The Network that the psykers of the Word Bearers can summon forth strange beasts that obey their commands, though you have never seen verified proof of these claims. Locating psykers on this world is indeed an important discovery. You notice there has also been some talk about an incident of these witches being taken away by unsettling figures wearing ornate armour, but there is frustratingly scant elaboration.

Turning from the report of your agents, you look to the squads you dispatched to directly investigate. It seems that they have reached much the same conclusion as yourself, and what’s more, they have begun identifying and discreetly tagging several individuals who they believe may have latent or hidden powers! So far they have identified several hundred in all, across all hives of the planet. It is a pitiful amount compared to the men the King is granting you, but these will have a value all of their own.

What will you do now?
>Order your squads to begin capturing them. Risky, especially if fights break out, but you must have these psykers.
>Convince the psykers to come with you. Your men, the Emperor’s Angels of Death will take them to serve in the stars, where they can make use of their abilities freely and without fear.
>Talk to the King and ask him for a favour. It won’t risk your men, but you will be relying on mortals to undertake a very delicate operation.
>Leave them be. There is a reason the Emperor issued the Edict of Nikaea. You will not dabble in sorcery.
>Write in?
>>
>>5945197
Hmm, psykers...
>Leave them be. There is a reason the Emperor issued the Edict of Nikaea. You will not dabble in sorcery.
>>Subtly tip off local enforcers to their whereabouts so that they can be dealt with before they can become a problem.
Psykers are too dangerous and we are too ignorant of the Warp to risk them.
>>
>>5945206

Supporting. We’re too pragmatic to deal with such an unknown resource. Better keep our hands off.
>>
>>5945220
Once we've seen psykers into action we can look into bootstrapping a pet cabal, but taking them into our chapter is just BEGGING for Chaos corruption. I don't have a problem with Chaos but I'd prefer we tried to go independent and only resorted to it if all else was lost.
>>
>>5945197
Hmm, leaving them alone is just a problem waiting to cause itself, and it means following the Edict of Nikaea which is fucking retarded. Sending in either or men or the kings will cause a terrible situation to unfold, and tipping pdf about them while okay does mean that we lose out on several hundred psykers that are all just sitting their that could be a valuable asset to us either on the war front or divination choirs that can be used to tell which systems are going to be siding with which faction, and the strength or weakness of noth factions depending on when and where they show up. After all, pragmatism isnt just about being ruthless, its using all your tools on hand, and this most certainly merits that analogy in this case.
>Convince the psykers to come with you. Your men, the Emperor’s Angels of Death will take them to serve in the stars, where they can make use of their abilities freely and without fear.
>>
>>5945230
Oh, it also means we can scan the psykers in question for their compatability with our geneseed and see if we can make some Librarians of our own once we can induct them into our ranks, so theres that as well. After that, they can spend time with whatever psykers that we have that have special techniques on their discipline and use that advice to hone their skills with using the warp to be better at their work then they previously would have been otherwise since we have very little experience with using large amounts of psykers of any type in the legion.
>>
>>5945230
Supporting
I want some librarians, and we are absolutely going to need them once demons start popping out on the regular.
>>
>>5945253
Meant this, sorry
> Supporting
>>
>>5945230
+1
>>
>>5945197
>>Convince the psykers to come with you. Your men, the Emperor’s Angels of Death will take them to serve in the stars, where they can make use of their abilities freely and without fear.
>>
>>5945197#
>>Convince the psykers to come with you. Your men, the Emperor’s Angels of Death will take them to serve in the stars, where they can make use of their abilities freely and without fear.
>>
>>5945230
+1-arino
>>
You can’t pass this opportunity up. Though you are aware of the risks, that the Edict of Nikaea wasn’t passed just to placate Russ and Mortarion, the potential benefits are too valuable to ignore. Psykers, even unaugmented humans, are an immense boon on the battlefield, able to direct their power to utterly destroy even the toughest enemy or detect the most hidden infiltrator. Indeed, it had been a problem for several of your agents in years past, mind readers in the other legions rendering infiltration attempts pointless until they had learned to close and disguise their mind, but it is not an easily learned skill. But if you have psykers on your side, you can manipulate and bend targets to your will, while also keeping a vigilant watch for any who would seek to use their psychic powers against yourself. The major risk of course is in taking them on in the first place, since these witches are likely to be untrained, and you will have to determine how you will use them once you depart. You have even heard rumours of darker things, especially regarding the Thousand Sons, but due to their psychic nature there had been few agents with actionable intelligence on them, and the most damning claims had come from the least unbiased elements from their rival legions. You doubt even the Twins could have infiltrated them without trouble. But, if you can train these psykers and induct them into the Orphans of Lerna, who knows what they may bring to your force?

Roll to convince the psykers to join you. 1d100-5 from loyalist planet. DC 75. Bo3.

Now that you have the beginnings of what looks like a proper fighting force, how will you treat any human auxiliaries you manage to recruit?
>As expendables. Your Marines are the real weapon of war, a scalpel to cut through the enemy once they have been battered with these mortals.
>As a fighting force due their respect. Though they are no Astartes, they are still a valuable tool to have, and you will not waste them.
>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
>Write in.
>>
Rolled 53 - 5 (1d100 - 5)

>>5945562
>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
As a Renegade, we must be cautious and discerning.
>>
>>5945562

“This world is doomed and I can offer you a way out.”

>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
>>
Rolled 17 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>5945562
>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
>>
Rolled 38 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>5945562
>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
>>
>>5945562
>>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
>>
Rolled 7 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>5945562
Good grief, so that’s where all of those high rolls went after two 96’s. Sigh, well there goes that option then, either way I’m going to be voting on a case by case basis because treating all Auxiliary forces as expendable is just silly.
>On a case by case basis. Planetary PDF like this are only worth their numbers, while veterans from the Imperial Army or even Solar Auxilia are useful as more than a blunt instrument wielded by the likes of Perturabo.
>>
>>5945615
Makes sense. We are good at intelligence, scheming, and infiltration. We may get a couple of psykers but not most. This is likely for the best.
>>
Are we the good or bad guys?
>>
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You instruct your men to approach them openly as Imperial Fists, to try and convince them to come with The Emperor’s Angels of Death, to live a life among the stars where they will not be persecuted for their strange abilities that draw the ire of the people around them. A life where they will be taught to use their abilities, instead of them erupting uncontrollably and dooming them to a life of seclusion, isolation, or even death at the hands of an angry mob.

Somehow it doesn’t go well. These people have heard of the Edict of Nikaea, and they are already suspicious towards any outsiders, the Emperor’s Angels or no. They won’t join some damn fool idealistic crusade, not when their lives are already at stake. Indeed, from what you gather it seems these people already expect to be taken away by some other force, and they are mor afraid of it than they are of you. At best you get a few children who enthusiastically agree, only to be refused by their parents and caretakers who jealously guard what little they have in the world.

It looks like they won’t go meekly. You can order your men to kidnap them regardless, but that would risk blowing your cover, while also angering these supposed civilians. Alternatively, you can kidnap a few specimens for experiments, psykers are rare and even among the librarius their abilities are not fully understood, though you doubt you’ll get anything immediately usable from them.

What will you do?
>Kidnap all of them. They are too valuable to pass up, and you have no guarantee you’ll fine more again.
>Take only a few for experimentation. It won’t risk your cover and you need to know more about these psykers.
>Leave. You won’t waste any more time with these witches.
>>
>>5946124
Once you give the order you look over the final preparations for the departure of the planet’s PDF. The space port has been repaired and the last of the troops are embarking on the tugs that will take them to the behemoth transports that wait in orbit next to your fleet. The PDF is under the command of a General Culn, who has been ordered by his king to be obedient to you, though he has direct command of the entire expeditionary force. Your agents report he is a proud, yet capable commander, constantly training his troops to maintain standards, and superstitious, prone to relying on cards or “signs” to guide his decisions. Something that may be of use later.

The Biron Ist Expeditionary Force [PDF Force]

I Infantry Corps: 50 million men
II Infantry Corps: 50 million men
III Infantry Corps: 50 million men
IV Mechanised Corps: 50 million men

The Biron Ist are PDF, Human, and loyal.

Now that preparations are nearly complete, you contact Cimon aboard the Asclepius, to inform him that your departure and return to the flagship is imminent. As you see him appear on the pict-screen, you also notice beside him the…

Pick ONE.
>Primus Medicae. Chief of your apothecarions, his knowledge of Astartes biology is extensive, and will be an immense advantage in recovery from battles, or the creation of new aspirants from your gene-seed. (Better rolls when treating wounded and dealing with aspirants)
>Forge Lord. The head of your techmarines, it is his ultimate responsibility to repair and maintain your equipment and armour, particularly the Lernaean terminators and dreadnoughts. (Unlocks ability to make better equipment if you have the facilities, and better tech related rolls.)
>Librarian. You only have the one, but he has proven the value of his esoteric powers on past battlefields, and you will not foolishly discard the powers he wields. (Unlocks psychic abilities)
>Chaplain. Though his is a strange role, not quite officer, not quite soldier, he enforces cohesion among your troops, and acts as a useful ear to the whispers that fly among them. (Unlocks troop morale and loyalty.)
>Moritat. A silent one, but deadly. Possibly one of your most experienced agents, but one who no longer cares if he lives or dies in pursuit of his mission. (+20 to the company he’s assigned to, but if they fail he dies)
>>
I was going to leave this vote for later, but I'll be away for the weekend so here's something to argue over until I return. Hydra Dominatus

>>5946105
Up to you. Though, are there really any good guys in the grim darkness of the far future?
>>
>>5946124

>Take only a few for experimentation. It won’t risk your cover and you need to know more about these psykers.

We have to know more about them if we are to use them in the future.

>>5946125

>Primus Medicae. Chief of your apothecarions, his knowledge of Astartes biology is extensive, and will be an immense advantage in recovery from battles, or the creation of new aspirants from your gene-seed. (Better rolls when treating wounded and dealing with aspirants)

Having a rock solid Medicae group is probably the most important to chapter survival
>>
>>5946105
It’s more difficult as renegades, but if your willing to do a lot to survive without just oozing with hundreds of broken war crimes per planet we find, then I think that would count as being a good person.
As for choices, considering we’re still in Imperial fist colours and nobody knows we’re from a Traiotors legion, we can get away with it by proclaiming these people as violating the Edict of Nichea by using their powers of Warcraft instead of submitting it and themselves to imperial authority should things become public knowledge to the planet in question. And choosing Primus because we can get a librarian from everyone we capture and the other people save the Forge lord are something we can naturally find or attract from other legions in the galaxy that won’t shoot us in the face , or are willing to join with us in order to avoid getting killed in a bloody last stand. Also, we can probably find a young Tech adept from a forge world somewhere and have him learn on the fly how to better work our tech and repairs and so on.
>Primus Medicae. Chief of your apothecarions, his knowledge of Astartes biology is extensive, and will be an immense advantage in recovery from battles, or the creation of new aspirants from your gene-seed. (Better rolls when treating wounded and dealing with aspirants)
>Kidnap all of them. They are too valuable to pass up, and you have no guarantee you’ll fine more again.
>>
>>5946124
>>Kidnap all of them. They are too valuable to pass up, and you have no guarantee you’ll fine more again.
>>5946125
>>Primus Medicae. Chief of your apothecarions, his knowledge of Astartes biology is extensive, and will be an immense advantage in recovery from battles, or the creation of new aspirants from your gene-seed. (Better rolls when treating wounded and dealing with aspirants)
>>
>>5946125
Hmm...

>>5946144
I agree with and support this. Everything else we can substitute, but medical care and future recruitment of astartes is indispensable. The thing about Forge Lord is, as tempting as he is, we can take as much wargear as we can pillage anyway.

>>5946105
We are Alpharius. I think our goal should be to amass a huge fleet with a lot of technical expertise, loot every planet we've managed to subvert for all they're worth, and then leave to get as far away from the imperial core as we can to start our own pocket empire. That's what the Ashen Claws did and it worked excellently for them.
>>
>>5946125
>Take only a few for experimentation. It won’t risk your cover and you need to know more about these psykers.

>Forge Lord. The head of your techmarines, it is his ultimate responsibility to repair and maintain your equipment and armour, particularly the Lernaean terminators and dreadnoughts. (Unlocks ability to make better equipment if you have the facilities, and better tech related rolls.)
>>
>>5946124
What will you do?
>Take only a few for experimentation. It won’t risk your cover and you need to know more about these psykers.
>>5946125
Pick ONE.
>Forge Lord. The head of your techmarines, it is his ultimate responsibility to repair and maintain your equipment and armour, particularly the Lernaean terminators and dreadnoughts. (Unlocks ability to make better equipment if you have the facilities, and better tech related rolls.)
>>
>>5946125
>Take only a few for experimentation. It won’t risk your cover and you need to know more about these psykers.

>Primus Medicae. Chief of your apothecarions, his knowledge of Astartes biology is extensive, and will be an immense advantage in recovery from battles, or the creation of new aspirants from your gene-seed. (Better rolls when treating wounded and dealing with aspirants)
>>
>>5946124
>>Primus Medicae. Chief of your apothecarions, his knowledge of Astartes biology is extensive, and will be an immense advantage in recovery from battles, or the creation of new aspirants from your gene-seed. (Better rolls when treating wounded and dealing with aspirants)
>>Kidnap all of them. They are too valuable to pass up, and you have no guarantee you’ll fine more again.

Need to keep our numbers up and the psykers are a rare resource.
>>
>>5946255
>We are Alpharius.
You mean, Omegon, right?
>>
The Horus Heresy will be updating a little later today.
>>
>>5948472
We have been lied, just like our Brothers on Isstvan it seems.
>>
You notice the Primus Medicae standing a little behind Captain Cimon, and once Cimon has made his report you nod to Medicae Aelius, who steps closer to the screen. Unlike most other legions, the apothecaries of the Alpha Legion wear no heraldry or white colours; the only symbol denoting them as Apothecaries is the faint Prime Helix on their left shoulder, so faint that only their brothers can see it, a practice put into place so that they do not get targeted in battle. Then again, the Alpha Legion is one of the only legions who would target Apothecaries at all, a practice considered dishonourable by most of your cousins. All the better for you, then.

“My Lord.”

You nod, and let him continue.

“All is well. The surplus gene-seed is secure, and my apothecaries report full readiness for the operations to come. We only await your command.”

Your surplus gene-seed is about 250 gene-seed you have to spare, for replacement purposes. After a battle, you must recover your fallen brothers’ gene-seed or it will be lost. This surplus gene-seed is meant to replace any permanent losses you inadvertently suffer, though it can also be used to create new troops, expending the surplus. You may also recover the gene-seed of those you defeat in battle, though this will come with potential complications.

You thank him for his report, and dismiss both him and the captain, before pinging your brothers to head to the Thunderhawk for your departure. As you board the Thunderhawk, the sycophantic King and his officials bidding you farewell with fireworks and a full day of celebration in the city, you review the report of your squads tasked with kidnapping some of the psykers. Of the psykers you recovered, they grabbed those least likely to resist, the young and old, about 100 in all, and have imprisoned them aboard your ships without issue. While you do not have any psykers of your own to keep them in check, a liberal application of narcotics from your apothecaries has put them in a state of total unconsciousness through an artificial coma, and they will not wake unless a counter-cocktail is applied.

What will be the method of experimentation your apothecaries will undertake on these psykers?
>Invasive. Sure to guarantee results, but highly likely to damage your specimens, perhaps permanently.
>Balanced. An even hand is sometimes better than the rod and carrot. The specimens will be pushed, but not to the point of expiry.
>Gentle. They will focus on preserving the specimens, and while it guarantees that you’ll keep them in good health, it may take awhile for results.
>Leave the psykers in suspended animation be for now. It is good enough that you have them in your hands.
>>
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>>5948986
When you alight on the Asclepius’s hangar the whole space is abuzz with activity of techmarines and chapter hands preparing for departure. When you arrive at the bridge Captain Cimon and Kylon are waiting for you, and you can see the ships of the Biron Expeditionary Force moving into formation. All is nearly ready. You think this world has been quite the success all told, a sizeable human auxiliary force and the recovery of a small amount of psykers, all without a single loss. The Heads of the Hydra are many, and they are constantly growing. All that is left is to decide your next destination. As you step towards the main hololith, which projects into a space as tall as a knight, you see before you a holo-picture of…

>Segmentum Pacificus, the smallest of the Segmentums outside Solar. It contains highly strategic backroutes to Terra, along with the Word Bearers homeworld of Colchis. There is also a significant amount of undiscovered country to the Galactic West, some of which was never touched by the Great Crusade…
>Segmentum Tempestus. A rich segmentum, containing the Imperial Fist homeworld Inwit, the Death Guard homeworld Barbarus, and Deliverance homeworld of the Raven Guard. It also contains one of the largest clusters of Forge Worlds in the galaxy, the Belt of Iron, sure to be an important battleground if Horus does not take Terra by the end of the year.
>Segmentum Obscurus. A dark and dangerous Segmentum, infamous for the great Eye of Terror, known for the many strange and curious phenomena that lurk between its spaces, such as the Halo Stars. Contains The Iron Hands homeworld Medusa, the Dark Angels homeworld Caliban, and the home of the Space Wolves, Fenris.
>Ultima Segmentum. By far the largest of the Segmentums, it contains everything the galaxy has to offer, including innumerable hiding places. But you also know that it is certain to be where the greatest battles of this war will be fought, particularly around Guilliman’s realm of Ultramar and the road to Terra. Contains the homeworlds of the Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Emperors Children, Ultramarines, Night Lords, Salamanders, Blood Angels, White Scars, and Iron Warriors; at Prospero, Bodt, Chemos, Ultramar, Nostramo, Nocturne, Baal, Chogoris, and Olympia, respectively.
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>>5948890
I may be slightly loose with my definition of "little"
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>>5948988
>>Segmentum Tempestus. A rich segmentum, containing the Imperial Fist homeworld Inwit, the Death Guard homeworld Barbarus, and Deliverance homeworld of the Raven Guard. It also contains one of the largest clusters of Forge Worlds in the galaxy, the Belt of Iron, sure to be an important battleground if Horus does not take Terra by the end of the year.
>>
>>5948986

>Balanced. An even hand is sometimes better than the rod and carrot. The specimens will be pushed, but not to the point of expiry.

Patient is a virtue, here.

>>5948988

>Segmentum Pacificus, the smallest of the Segmentums outside Solar. It contains highly strategic backroutes to Terra, along with the Word Bearers homeworld of Colchis. There is also a significant amount of undiscovered country to the Galactic West, some of which was never touched by the Great Crusade…

I say we make for the galactic west, and try to stay out of the larger conflict in the process.
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>>5948986
>>5948988
oh shit i forgot about this part.
>Balanced. An even hand is sometimes better than the rod and carrot. The specimens will be pushed, but not to the point of expiry.
and
>>5948992
>>
>>5948986
>>Balanced. An even hand is sometimes better than the rod and carrot. The specimens will be pushed, but not to the point of expiry.

Provided this quest lasts long enough, I have two goals. Preventing our primarch's death and playing a role in the Siege of Terra. To accomplish this we will need to be operating in the background throughout the heresy and in a position to act when needed with the resources required. We also must maintain our masks. A secondary goal of mine is also to reconnect to The Network.

>Ultima Segmentum. By far the largest of the Segmentums, it contains everything the galaxy has to offer, including innumerable hiding places. But you also know that it is certain to be where the greatest battles of this war will be fought, particularly around Guilliman’s realm of Ultramar and the road to Terra. Contains the homeworlds of the Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Emperors Children, Ultramarines, Night Lords, Salamanders, Blood Angels, White Scars, and Iron Warriors; at Prospero, Bodt, Chemos, Ultramar, Nostramo, Nocturne, Baal, Chogoris, and Olympia, respectively.

I say we make for Ultrimar and try to recruit more Alpha Legionnaires before they try and assassinate Guiliman and thus grow our numbers.
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>>5948993
+1
>>
I am also down with raiding Colchis for that sweet sweet lore before the Lion destroys the planet. That is also an interesting idea. We could try and infiltrate and extract resources/manpower from the traitor home worlds before they are destroyed. That is exactly the kind of fuckery that the Alpha Legion would do.
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>>5948988
>Balanced. An even hand is sometimes better than the rod and carrot. The specimens will be pushed, but not to the point of expiry.
>Ultima Segmentum. By far the largest of the Segmentums, it contains everything the galaxy has to offer, including innumerable hiding places. But you also know that it is certain to be where the greatest battles of this war will be fought, particularly around Guilliman’s realm of Ultramar and the road to Terra. Contains the homeworlds of the Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Emperors Children, Ultramarines, Night Lords, Salamanders, Blood Angels, White Scars, and Iron Warriors; at Prospero, Bodt, Chemos, Ultramar, Nostramo, Nocturne, Baal, Chogoris, and Olympia, respectively.

Warzone Ultima Segmentum here we go
No shortage of things to do here.
>>
>>5948997
>Supporting
Like the idea, and it enables us to have a large sway over the course of events that can go down in Ultima. I would have honestly preferred the Iron belt, because of the sheer brutality that that fuck up of a war turned out to be, for both sides but this pleases me just as well at the end because all of the players we can fuck around with in the other 50% of the galaxy that were in.
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>>5949029
Also, I want to help the thousands from the wolves, and so that’s another reason why, especially since the razing hasn’t occurred just yet.
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>>5948997
Supporting
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>>5949030
Interesting idea. Perhaps we could use our psykers to send a message. If the Nightlords can send a shriek that penetrates the astrophathic choirs through torture alone then we can probably do something similar with patented Alpha Legion bullshit.
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>>5949293
Agreed, especially if we can cause patterns and astropathic signals that can be used to be masked as other sources, for instance a direct message from Horus Lupercal relating that the Emperor wants the thousands to immediately depart their home system and to make way to a [X-Star System] to be judged for all of their psychic actions performed prior to, and after the Edict of Nikea, as they and Magnus swore that they would never use again. Alternatively, could just pop in as a force of Space Wolfs and tell them that we are seeking their assistance against the Treachery of the Warmaster, and that the Emperor requires their aid immediately, and to beware of traps and assaults launched by the Warmaster against prospero, as we relay the betrayals at Isstavan to them and the legions already confirmed to be Traitor, or forces already broken from other legions to be traitors.

It would completely spoil the surprise Russ used to launch the assault, and completely through his orders into chaos, as a portion of his son’s that aren’t part of his main force (which makes sense as he only managed to rally together about a 1/3 of his entire legion before the Razing of Prospero and the Revalation of Horus’s betrayal) are talking about Horus betraying the Emperor and killing 3 of his brothers in one fell swoop, a completely unthinkable action that would completely shatter his confidence in what he was going to do, and make him recheck back with Terra to confirm what the hell is going on in the rest of the galaxy to see if that was true or not.
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>>5948988
>>5948997
So glad that Ultima Segmentum is going to win. Time to do some recruiting.
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>>5949327
Bar in mind, we’ve only got 250 units of geneseed on hand, any more we want to use for recruitment is either going to need to come from our fallen, anothe Alpha Legion company giving us their geneseed, or just straight up using other legions geneseed and just hypo indoctrination into thinking their an Alpha legionarie and not one of the other legions instead.
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>>5949330
That's the surplus gene-seed, i.e. what we have on hand and readily implantable. Every astartes carry two gene-seeds. One in the throat and one in the chest. Geneseed matures every five to ten years. Also, we can steal is from the Ultramarines. Last, geneseed is easier to gather now since there is more of it around due to the primarchs still being around and the lack of mutations rendering it non harvestable.
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>>5949340
Surplus? So, wait does that mean that we have enough nominal geneseed to outfit from the entire company from both geneseed? Pretty massive if so, but I remember that usually you can only get one geneseed per marine, as one of them is directly behind a marines reinforced bone plate, and who’s extraction almost always results in death so they just leave it in until said death already occurs and takes it out of the chest cavity otherwise. As for the neck part, yeah I know about that, it’s why it’s almost always harvested in the first place once those 5 to 10 years occur as it’s safer to extract it then the chest one.

As for how we get any of it, I know that. Most of what you argue is exactly what I argued in the first place we were going to have to acquire in the first place to get new marines. As for Primarchs, yes that does mean theirs more geneseed, but you aren’t just going to convince one to become a blood bank by making millions of geneseeds all over the place in every ship you and your legion possess either? So unless Omegon and Alpharius decide to visit us, not kill us for desertion, and decided to then give us some extra geneseed, I don’t really get how the primarch part comes into play with how we get new geneseed to harvest and use to grow our numbers?
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>>5949374
I can explain. Geneseed is much harder to come by in 40k due to most of it being locked down on mars and being tithed from the chapters so they can't grow their numbers past 1,000 under the guise of testing it for mutations. Currently, there is less need to conserve gene seed and guard it zealously. Yes, it is still heavily secured but not to the degree it will be later. With the primarchs around there is less need to conserve gene-seed compared to later since the legions can rapidly replenish their stores and therefore it should slightly be easier to come by now.
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>>5949313
Why would we strengthen the Imperium and make future operations harder for ourselves? We aren't Loyalists.
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>>5948986
What will be the method of experimentation your apothecaries will undertake on these psykers?
>Balanced. An even hand is sometimes better than the rod and carrot. The specimens will be pushed, but not to the point of expiry.
>>5948988
>Ultima Segmentum. By far the largest of the Segmentums, it contains everything the galaxy has to offer, including innumerable hiding places. But you also know that it is certain to be where the greatest battles of this war will be fought, particularly around Guilliman’s realm of Ultramar and the road to Terra. Contains the homeworlds of the Thousand Sons, World Eaters, Emperors Children, Ultramarines, Night Lords, Salamanders, Blood Angels, White Scars, and Iron Warriors; at Prospero, Bodt, Chemos, Ultramar, Nostramo, Nocturne, Baal, Chogoris, and Olympia, respectively.
>>
>>5949382
Ah, that explains it. Fair enough on that front then, it takes millenia for geneseed to crack and mutate, especially with the more extreme altered space Marines, like the Salamanders or Space Wolfs. So, if we did manage to acquire a safe space hide and use as our base of operations, before keeping comms with geneseed stocks being placed around thanks to our infiltration and geneseed production practices, then we could very easily get into the business of making thousands of marines once a decade if we set up our recruiting infrastructure safely from the eyes of the future heirs of Malcador and our more corrupted kindred.

>>5949385
In part because the imperium as of canon, is something ridiculously easy to work with and operate under, rather then just leaving things progress like canon without our intervention, so aiming for something akin to it doesn’t really make things more harder for us so long as the kind of things that we want get preserved, and not mutated and warped. That’s why I’m always going to be hedging my bets with an imperium, and not a warmaster, because one of them has a habit of focusing on other problems it needs to focus on and enact projects that take it away from dealing with constant exploration and defence from future threats. Horus, on the other hand, with all the backing of Chaos, would have none of that restriction, and if he notices our existence and use as a tool, he will either hunt us down and try to bargain with us to serve him, or kill us if we don’t. With no in-between with him, rather then someone like a bunch of highlords that were hastily installed after their predecessors got killed in the seige, we are far safer in the long term for our independence and health, to work under the shadow of the imperium that can be given the slip and disappear into the void, then the other faction that deals with Magic and demons. Plus, it also allows us to get a bunch of sorcerer trained TS that are going to have a great amount of trust under us, and listen to some of our suggestions and follow under us, then we are if we just to stay underground and get nothing while prospero burns and Magnus sells the souls of all of his sons to Tzeentch, before dipping out and not getting involved with the rest of the Heresy till the seige.
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You view the map of the Ultima Segmentum. Home to a full half of the legions, it is sure to be a bitterly contested battleground in the year to come. Now that the Istvaan affair has been concluded, you are sure that Horus and his compatriots are rushing with all speed to Terra to conquer the Imperium’s seat of power and crown Horus as it’s ruler, though you harbour some doubts as to whether even Horus can accomplish such a feat. There is of course The Emperor, but even ignoring the defences of the Sol System prepared by the Imperial Fists there are also the worlds that lie between Istvaan and Terra; Phall, Paramar, Voss Prime, and Beta-Garmon; and Horus has already lost the element of surprise. No, it is more likely that instead of a short march on Terra this will be a long, drawn-out campaign, one which will draw in all the Imperium into a bloody conflict that will be remembered for generations. You must then plan accordingly, for the Ultima Segmentum will be the site of fierce battles between those forces seeking to bring battle to Horus before he reaches Terra, and those who oppose them. Already you know that The Wolves are burning towards Prospero, the Emperor’s Executioners likely on their way to bring Magnus and his sorcerous ways to heel, while Lorgar and his Word Bearers are racing to Ultramar, the most distant of all the Emperor’s realms, and you doubt they will be there to enlist Guilliman and his Ultramarines for Horus’s cause. But beyond that, unless you find a way to directly connect to The Network again or capture a member of Horus’s inner circle, you will not be able to tell the movements of the other legions. Still, you can make an educated guess to where conflict will break out, and where it will not. It will be up to you to decide where your fleet will venture, whether to influence a particular battleground or to gather and grow your forces so the Hydra may strike at the opportune moment. All you have to do is give Captain Cimon the order, and the Orphans of Lerna and your PDF allies will depart into the dark reaches of space.
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>>5949430
What area of Ultima Segmentum will you send your fleet?

>Set a course for Ultramar. Guilliman’s realm is by far the richest in all the Imperium, and it will be easy for you to infiltrate the Ultramarines, gathering resources and growing your forces in secret, or even stabbing them in the back when the time is ripe…
>Set a course for Olympia. Homeworld of the Iron Warriors, it is sure to be a musterground for forces loyal to Horus, abuzz with enough activity that you can pass unnoticed, gathering intelligence on the Traitors movements. Indeed, it may even be prudent to keep your Imperial Fists disguise and poke the hornets nest to see what comes out.
>Set a course for the Ghoul Stars. Perhaps the most mysterious region in all the Imperium, there are many stories about that place, not all of them false. It is at the very edge of Imperial Space, where the light of the Astronomican shines dim. It will be a perfect place to lay low and grow your forces without fear of discovery, and there are enough Forge Worlds and colonies around Thramas that you won’t be without resources.
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
>Set a course for the Kyvas Belt. Within that unassuming system is a secret Alpha Legion outpost, a surveillance centre of sorts, where you will be sure to gain access to The Network and all the intelligence at the Alpha Legion’s disposal. It is also located near the route Horus must take to reach Terra, a good place as any to set up a base of operations.
>Write in? Is there a particular place in the Ultima Segmentum that you think the chapter should venture to?


Meanwhile, in the bowels of the Asclepius your Apothecaries get to work, waking some of the Psykers and subjecting them to preliminary tests to determine how exactly their strange and sorcerous powers function…

Roll 1d40, DC 20. Worst of 3. The result will be the number of specimens that expire during the trials.

I will also leave this vote up for the next 24 hours, since it's a pretty important one that will determine the general direction of this quest. Thought for the day: Every man is a spark in the darkness. By the time he is noticed he is gone forever. A retinal after-image that fades and is obscured by newer, brighter lights.
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Rolled 9 (1d40)

>>5949431

>Set a course for the Kyvas Belt. Within that unassuming system is a secret Alpha Legion outpost, a surveillance centre of sorts, where you will be sure to gain access to The Network and all the intelligence at the Alpha Legion’s disposal. It is also located near the route Horus must take to reach Terra, a good place as any to set up a base of operations.

Intel is power!
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>>5949431
>Set a course for the Kyvas Belt. Within that unassuming system is a secret Alpha Legion outpost, a surveillance centre of sorts, where you will be sure to gain access to The Network and all the intelligence at the Alpha Legion’s disposal. It is also located near the route Horus must take to reach Terra, a good place as any to set up a base of operations.

The rest are literally out of the frying pan into the fire lol
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Rolled 13 (1d40)

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>>5949330
>>5949340
>>5949374
>>5949382
My general rule of thumb for gene-seed is: No harvesting from live Astartes (mostly because I'm not assed to keep track of that for 5 years in-narrative), but you can harvest two from every fallen brother, if you have access to their corpses that is. Gene-seed can also be harvested from fallen enemies if you have the time and also stolen, since most of the legions will be running around with some to spare, just like you. Space Marine forts will have more, but they'll be tougher to crack. And if you ever meet Alpharius Omegon he can give you as much as you'll ever need but you have to find the sneaky bastards first.
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Rolled 18 (1d40)

>>5949431 #
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
Getting that debt from Magnus in order to acquire our first Librarian for our fleet is a very nice thing to get, besides we are only going to be in Prospero for a couple of weeks max before everything either calms down and ends without a fight, or we slink back and wait for the fighting to approach before we help Russ or Magnus in their time of need in order to have either primarch voach for us in order to guarantee our safety from either loyalist or traitors, depending on the faction in play.
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>>5949462
After that, we can always slink back to Thramas or Kyvas afterwords as we plan out our new base of operations after we had our plan of making either allies or enemies and absconding with a host of knowledge and power that can benefit ourselves in the future for when we get our hands on our first librarian to acquire and then train.
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>>5949431
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.

Lets go troll the space furries and get a big I owe u from Magnus
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>>5949431
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
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>>5949398
The same Thousand Sons that currently suffering from the flesh change that Magnus, the second greatest psyker mankind has ever known, utterly failed to prevent? I'm open to alternative arguments but I don't see how throwing ourselves into battle against the Space Wolves is a good idea. As it is, the Imperium is guaranteed to win a pyrrhic victory. We need to be in a position to take advantage of the aftermath.

>>5949431
>Set a course for the Kyvas Belt. Within that unassuming system is a secret Alpha Legion outpost, a surveillance centre of sorts, where you will be sure to gain access to The Network and all the intelligence at the Alpha Legion’s disposal. It is also located near the route Horus must take to reach Terra, a good place as any to set up a base of operations.
Prospero is gambling our future on the generosity of a rabid dog and arrogant sorcerer. We're the Alpha Legion. Information is critical.
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>>5949431
>Set a course for the Kyvas Belt. Within that unassuming system is a secret Alpha Legion outpost, a surveillance centre of sorts, where you will be sure to gain access to The Network and all the intelligence at the Alpha Legion’s disposal. It is also located near the route Horus must take to reach Terra, a good place as any to set up a base of operations.
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>>5949431
>>Set a course for the Ghoul Stars. Perhaps the most mysterious region in all the Imperium, there are many stories about that place, not all of them false. It is at the very edge of Imperial Space, where the light of the Astronomican shines dim. It will be a perfect place to lay low and grow your forces without fear of discovery, and there are enough Forge Worlds and colonies around Thramas that you won’t be without resources.
Would it be possible to go from the Kyvas Belt to the Ghoul Stars? I would enjoy establishing a true and proper lair there
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>>5949431
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
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>>5949528
I would lovenfor that to be the case, since both options more or less allow us to set up a base, but one of them acts as an easy relay station to patch into the Network, so I would hope we could eventually try and do something like that later on when we have the time to think about it.
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>>5949521
Eh, I mean it’s less about the fact that he’s a rabid dog as much as a cunning warrior that loves to allow people to lower their guard and attack them when he seems it either best, or where it could hurt the most desu.
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>>5949547
Which, doesn’t mean he can’t do stupid stuff, but he’s a lot more than just an animal you know.
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
>>
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
Thousand Son fan here, and I think that is enough to explain my reason for voting as it were.
>>
Russ will of course suspect we are up to something but I dont believe he will think we would be doing something traitorous.
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>>5949579
Agreed, as of right now, Russ would have absolutely no idea how or why we would be in the Prospero system. The Alpha legion to him are a bunch of assasins and spies, the type of warrior that he hates, as well as makes him suspious of as a general sense of "Their obviously keeping something from me their not telling." But honestly other than that feeling that anyone thats know their dealing with an Alpha legion feels, nah he wouldnt automatically attack us or think we were trying anything worth killing over.

Honestly, I would just have us try and defuse the situation by us dressing up either as one of the loyalists or just one of his own sons that came in last minute to him but did it in incorrect manner. Because if we try and tell him dressed up as a loyalist about the Isstvan Massacre and how it was all under horus, then anyone like the Luna wolves, Night Lords, Deathguard or World Eaters will be either immeditalty disbelieved or will have us getting shot at once the information comes to them and they understand what would our arrival mean for them, as it would be a recruitment job. If we show up as a TS then we are going to be shot at no matter what we say and our words will not be believed. If we show up as ourselves, then Russ will automatically hate us, but not open fire as he knows the Alpha legion wouldnt make this shit up out of nowhere so he would have some doubts, but unless we roll great with our persuasion rolls, not likely going to change his mind honestly until he can confirm it himself, which would go down badly as I believe the Changeling was involved in the mess that resulted in that genocide from kicking off in the first place.

If we instead showed up as one of the various loyalists, he would be completely dumbfounded, but be more then willing to recheck with some of the local sector commands to make sure what we were saying was true and not hogwash from a space marine that would be spreading lies about his beloved brother Horus. And if we show up as a Space Wolf detachment, that came to tell him about the Betrayal and how we came to tell him the Emperor wanted him and Magnus back to Terra as soon as possible, would completely throw off his game from his own sons telling him this fact, before asking him if the order to come here to Prospero had been by The Emperor, or was in someway involved with Horus. As he was explicitly the one that came to Russ and convinced him to go kill Magnus in the First place, rather then capture Magnus and his legion as he was originally ordered to do.

And the Thousand Sons in almost every case involved, would be a mix of Dumbfounded stupidity and Horror no matter the scenario, which would grant us a chance no matter the circumstances to get some of them on board as they would be aware of the probable purpose of the Wolfs and would want a way to get on board any ship that come take them should the worst come to pass and Russ continues on with his assault.
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Before we then steal more than a couple of Pyscher's and Marines, along with what else we can grab should the worst come to fruition and GTFO while we still would have a chance.
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>>5949431
Hmm... On second thought, going to Prospero would lead to a lot of tension and leave our lives in the hands of rolling well against one, possibly two primarchs. That sounds more interesting than tapping into The Network, when that's something we can already do in the future, even if it loses us early opportunities now.

I'll change my vote from >>5949521 to
>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.

>>5949547
>Rus apologia
>in the year of our Emperor -38k
The "Emperor's Executioner" lost more duels than he won and sent his own legion to be massacred in a blind attack against Horus's overwhelmingly superior force when it would've been instrumental in the Siege of Terra. Of all of the loyalists, he was by far the most reckless and wasteful.
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>>5949528
Sure. You'll be able to go anywhere within reason, this'll just determine your starting location when shit starts hitting the fan.

>>5949600
The HH book series is pretty retarded and I hate characters being retarded so some things will be changing slightly. E.g Russ suicide charging the Traitors after getting to Terra won't be because he can't go 5 seconds without chimping out; he won't get to Terra at all (because getting to Terra with a full legion and leaving is really fucking stupid), he'll instead be racing there and run into the Traitors or trying to hit their supply lines only to get whacked by the vanguard who knew he was there through chaos bullshit. Something like that. I just absolutely detest characters acting like highschool girls in rival cliques and that will not be happening here.
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>>5949600
Oh come on, the fight with Lion and Angron absolutely don’t count, especially as Russ could easily have killed either combatant if he was really interested in doing so, but he didn’t as he wasn’t a murderer out of habit.

As for that assault, if Russ had just gotten the balls to cut off Horus’s head after his special power with his spear went off, then it wouldn’t have mattered anyway as he would have destroyed Horus and his legion with a masterstroke of Horus’s own tactics against him. Besides, it’s not as if they could have helped anymore then they would already have done in the first place amongst the other 3 legions all guarding Sol against the incoming assault that Russ could have destroyed anyway if he had just killed Horus like he set out to do in the first place.
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>>5949615
Huh, alright fair enough. Its not like the 70 plus book series that was originally planned for something like 12 to 24 books long weren't unknown for abandoned or retarded plotlines or actions that made more sense because the Plot demanded it, rather than any logical or consistent sense.
>>5949617
Bro chill the Fuck out, nobody with half a brain is going to die on the Hill that that sequence of events from Wolfspear was great as anything, but for Emperor's sake dont be the Furry Simp its really not something you want on for self pal.
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>>5949594
we should be able to yoink at least one company of the nerds to our cause

>>5949615
Thats good to read QM I look forward to see what you will cook up for us!
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>>5949625
They have different IDs on my end
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>>5949635
Yeah, something's whack with the site the past few days. Poster counts have completely disappeared for me.
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>>5949634
Agreed, just one of those companies would set us off for life from most psychic training problems for probably the rest of the quest, considering just how powerful and knowledgeable the nerds are, especially depending on the art of one of the five cults we could gain for ourselves in the evacuation if all hell breaks loose.
>>5949635 #
Same with me, I did not see any other post besides that Ass’s ID which was why I went full ham on the dude because of just how much of a mouth breather he was talking about Russ and that as mentioned, stupid charge at Horus when he could have waited back on Terra with Sanguinius and the rest. Anyone else noticed anything strange within the last few posts?
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>>5949600
>>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.
>>5949528
I will change my vote to

>Set a course for Prospero. The Wolves will surely appreciate the help of their “loyalist” cousins, and it may be advantageous to help them put down the Thousand Sons, recovering their esoteric knowledge, or even finding an opportunity to place the sorcerer Magnus in your debt.

I will die on the Ghoul Stars hill however, I have a feeling AurebeshQM has something fun planned there.
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>>5949646
What the fuck? Why did my post just clip itself? It was literally below yJNrJfML, and now it’s below AurebeshQM? Alright, who the fuck decided to hire Kas as its coder on the site?
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>>5949648
Sigh, this site is going to give me a heart attack at this point, I’m just going to go asleep. If anyone knows to stop making the site glitch, please do whatever it means to make it Stop. I love you all anons, questers and QM alike (especially because of how nice it is to roleplay in a 30k quest after TEaTD 3 nonsense) for making a great quest so far. Night y’all.
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You order your ships to set a course for Prospero, the home of the Thousand Sons and Magnus the Red. An obscure planet, if it weren’t for the fact that it was the home of one of the Emperor’s sons it would probably have faded into irrelevancy. It only has one major city, Tizca, and no major resources of features beyond that. Ever since the Edict of Nikaea 5 years ago, the Thousand Sons have remained secluded on this planet, content to lie in seclusion in their libraries and let the rest of the galaxy march on. You cannot blame them. Magnus has been under a cloud of doubt ever since Nikaea, and you do not doubt he and the rest of his legion are continuing to practice their sorcery in secret, away from prying and suspicious eyes.

But now The Emperor had dispatched His executioners, the Wolves who had already hunted a primarch many years ago, and you doubt they were now heading to Prospero for a friendly chat. The intelligence you had received from what you could access of The Network had been vague, but you knew that it was on the order of The Emperor Himself, and you know that He would not act without reason. Somehow Magnus had strayed, and incurred The Emperor’s wrath. His sad devotion to those ancient books had not helped him conjure up a loophole in Nikaea or given him the clairvoyance to find an argument compelling enough to convince The Emperor.

You reflect on these events as your ships scream through the warp to Prospero. It will be a delicate situation when you get there. If Russ has not already begun to cull the legion of sorcerers by the time you arrive, he will not need much encouragement. While your force is minor in comparison to two legions worth of marines, you might still be able to tip the balance, influence events to your benefit. If you get there in time. You may arrive there after Russ, and find Prospero already in ruins, or you may arrive before he does and find a way to drag the sorcerers from their books before they all burn. You must wait to see when the tides of the warp will spit you out. You retire to your quarters and enter a meditative state, waiting for Kylon to fetch you when the ship arrives.
Roll 1d100 for the state of the Prospero system on your arrival. Bo3. DC 30/50/70
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Rolled 32 (1d100)

>>5950375
Tzeentch
>>
Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>5950375
>>
>>5950375
Hope things really dont burn down around us if we get their at a 50 or the like. Assuming we get a 50 and not like a triple 32.
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Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>5950375
>>
>>5950380
>>5950386
>>5950399
Welp, it looks like Tzzentch really doesnt want Prospero's destruction to be changed. Sigh, looks like were just going to have to go steal some of their lore before we leave system to go hide in the Kyvas belt system.
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APOTHECARION REPORT ON SUBJECTS DESIGNATION: “PSYKER”

Captain Alpharius,

Our prodding of the specimens has been a success. Of the 40 subjects we subjected to testing, only 9 expired, and that due to some minor complications in the anesthetic cocktail administered to induce them into another coma. The responsible apothecary has been reprimanded for the waste and we have modified the dosages accordingly.

While we have not determined the full scope of these individuals’ abilities, we have discovered several important features which I will draw your attention to. I will also make some reference to the scant literature we have on the Librarius departments and the information shared by the Thousand Sons during their creation, of which we only have access to thanks to the efforts of Omegon during the [DATA EXPUNGED]

Our conclusions are as follows:

1. They are mutants. Though they have the appearance of normal human beings, we have identified a specific gene sequence not present in baseline humanity, and our conclusion is that it is this gene which allows them access to their powers.

2. Control over their powers varies. There is a significant difference in the level of control expressed by different subjects. Some were able to control their power according to their will, while others had no control at all and needed to be anesthetised before they damaged the testing chambers. This difference in control also leads us to our next conclusion, which is:

3. There are different levels to their ability. We have noticed in our tests that some specimens have expressed greater raw ability than others. The strongest of one group had the ability to levitate, while the strongest of another could only move a glass. Pushing subjects also induces greater strain on them physically, a level which is notably different between the stronger and weaker.

4. Loss of control may be catastrophic. While we suffered no casualties at this stage, if pushed too far while conscious we suspect the subjects may expire, violently. We would caution against excessive usage or testing unless you find a reliable stock of subjects.
In conclusion: we have identified several important features of these “psykers” and are ready for more experimentation. We have also drawn up a preliminary testing program to help control these powers, though we cannot speak to its efficacy, and recommend further testing to refine the process. We leave the decision to you.

Signed: Primus Medicae Aelius

Basic knowledge of psykers gained! +5 to future experiment or training rolls.
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>>5950403
What will you do with the remaining 91 subjects? [NOTE: Training, experimentation, manufacturing, etc. may only take place when you are not in a battlezone, i.e only after Prospero is finished.]

>Begin more experimentation procedures immediately (invasive, balanced, gentle?)
>Begin training a batch of 20 human psykers to control their powers.
>Leave them be, for now. You may address this when you have a more secure location.
>Write in.
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>>5950403
Well, thats good! We still have another 91 experiments to practice on after this, and hopefully, we wont need to do another 1d40 to see how many are going to die before we can begin experimentation into increasing their capacity to gather more warp energy without exploding their heads.
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>>5950404
>Begin more experimentation procedures immediately (balanced)
I think so more experimentation to see how well we can go and learn from the psykers so we can gain an additional plus 5 for a grand total of +10 to the training rolls we should try and do after this warzone, plus our future Librarian in the future is going to need that training so they dont have a malus to their skill and powerbase.
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>>5950404
>Begin more experimentation procedures immediately.
Invasive, seeing if they can influence our weapons to be more efficient. If any start showing signs of losing control, apply the bolter.
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Rolled 8 (1d100)

hmm, Im curious about something?
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>>5950418
BLOOD! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

SKULLS! SKULLS FOR THE SKULL THRONE!

LET! THE GALAXY! BUUUUUURN!
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>>5950420
Nice one mate, but yeah it confirms my suspicion, all of our dice for our arrival were completely and totally cursed from the get-go. We definetly came before the end of the fightning, but that pretty much is that, we are now in a warzone between the executioner and the slaughter of the sons of the Cyclops.
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>>5950404
>Begin more experimentation procedures immediately (invasive, balanced, gentle?)

Balanced
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>>5950423
We can disguise ourselves as Dusk Raiders or White Scars to get away with pillaging lore.
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>>5950432
Yeah, I guess. Was just kind of hoping we could get some Thousand sons as well. All we would need to do is just conivince them to be our allies, and we would have had a massive force multiplier and future training master for our own future Librarian in training.
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>>5950441
While Tsons would've been nice, most of the other Legions still had their Librarians, just forbidden to use their powers after Nikaea. Just need to come across some of those.
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>>5950453
Yeah, still if nothing else, we can get some knowledge from Tizca before the whole temple comes tumbling into the warp and the TS are completety damned, so that will be nice for us when we get a chance to acquire ourselves a new librarian.
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>>5950404
>Leave them be, for now. You may address this when you have a more secure location.
>>
Got a massive headache right now, so no update tonight, sorry anons.
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>>5950404

>Begin more experimentation procedures immediately (invasive, balanced, gentle?)

I'd prefer to become more expert in this before we do anything further.

One thought - we already have 1,000 marines at our command, and a handful of these guys are probably latent psykers themselves. Once we become a little bit more expect in handling psyker business, we screen our troops for latent psyker abilities to jumpstart our Librarian program.

In general though, I think we should take a risk-averse approach to training though - something closer to how the Wolves train their psykers in 40k than full blasphemy-mode 30k TSons.
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>>5950375
>>5950386
Looks like we are arriving after Russ has made landfall. Time to salvage whatever sons of Magnus and resources that we can.

I say we infiltrate as sons of Russ only to then let the sons of Magnus know we are there to help since the fact we are not immediately murdering everything will give great credibility to our story.

Also, kind of regretting we did not pick the navigation perk right now. However, given that we have great organizational, leadership, and strategic skills, we may be better able to engineer a last minute rescue. We also avoid the difficulty of trying to deliver a warning that the wolves are at the gates. At this stage, they will be desperate for any path to survivor. More sons of Magnus are going to die here than any other point in canon. In short, if we pull off a rescue they will remember it.
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>>5950566
Agreed, though we may as well as achieve the samething, as come telling to Russ the whole thing about Isstvan and how if Horus was in anyway involved (besides the fact he changed the order, he literally added 5k of his own sons, a dozen Legio Mortis support, and multiple traitor army elements) then he was trying to achieve the exact samething here. I went back into checking both the Wolves strength and attendance, and their numbers were roughly 130k total with 73k thousand of that total all making it together for this united coherent assault. So our arrival and warning would make sense to Russ, if we had proof of it of course. So long as the fighting hasn’t progressed to Magnus showing up yet, their is still sometime to try and help make Russ stop and try to ask himself if what he was doing, combined with how our revelation might go down the the other traitor contingents on the ground, and how their reaction fits into the factor of things.
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>>5950589
Though, you are in-correct about one thing, that by the end of this burning only 1,242 would survive this fight, after an estimated total of 62,000 marines at the start, though could also go by the books if Aurebesh, wants where they only had 10k marines to start off with, in comparison to the numbers provided by the Horus Heresy inferno book offers with 62,000 in grand total. So, no matter what happens, if an escape or rescue attempt is made, by that fact alone more sons will survive then in canon, but it’s really not a high bar. Though, it looks like we are going to be doing what Ahriman couldn’t/wouldn’t do of trying to get the fighting to stop by trying to come to Wyrdmake and asking him to stop the fighting before giving into his empulse and damning his own solution before his very eyes.
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>>5950601
Yeah, I highly doubt that’s going to be a straight forward affair, but good on you anon for not wanting to traumatize Russ more then he already is going to get after this fiasco is behind him.
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You feel the characteristic shudder run through the ship signifying its entry into realspace, and soon enough you hear a comms ping in your cabin. Answering it you hear the quiet voice of Kylon through the vox.

“My lord. We have arrived.”

You don your helmet, attach your spear and boltgun to your armour, and head to the bridge.

There the room is abuzz with activity, crew rushing about with system reports and auger readouts, checking and rechecking the outputs of blinking cogitators and resolving the ship chronographs with those of realspace. It had been a strangely turbulent journey through the warp this time, and your navigator had reported a feeling of resistance as he tried to guide the ship to Prospero, almost as if the warp itself was fighting him. Your astropath had also noted strange psychic phenomena surrounding the planet, though as to its precise nature he could not say. Is the power of Magnus such that he can even cause approaching ships to be blown off course? You do not doubt that his psychic skill is immense, but many would have never thought he could manipulate the tides of the warp itself. No matter, you are here now, and are ready to approach the planet.

You walk to the main pict-screen, where Captain Cimon and Kylon are waiting for you. They are discussing something, but fall silent at your approach. The first thing you see on the display is Russ’s fleet, already arrived, and below them Prospero is burning.

You watch for several moments as the fleet pounds the planet with every munition imaginable. Plasma, magma, lances.Exterminatus. It is absolute. The forests are burned to ash, and the seas boiled away. Mountains reduced to rubble. Nothing living can escape such a bombardment. Russ, for all his faults, is thorough.
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>>5951087
It is Captain Cimon who draws your attention to the anomaly. A glowing energy shield somehow resisting the full might of an Imperial fleet, something that not even Gloriana Battleships could accomplish. You know of no technology that can do such a thing. The condition of the rest of the planet makes it difficult to determine, but Captain Cimon is reasonably sure that the shield is covering Tizca city, the home of the Thousand Sons. Is it some piece of archaeotech from the Dark Age of Technology? Or are their sorcerous powers really so strong?

This changes things somewhat. You had hoped to get here before Russ, but you did not expect to find this. If that shield can hold, Russ will be forced to make a landing if he wishes to cull the Thousand Sons, and that will be a tougher battle than even he bargained for. It will be a full legion against a full legion, and the Sorcerors of Prospero have strange and arcane powers at their disposal. And then there is Magnus himself, a primarch in his own right, and Nikaea no longer holds him or his sons back. Furthermore, Tizca City is no fortress, but neither is it an open square. Those pyramids would be hard to take for even the most veteran companies, and you know there will be further defences. All things that Russ must take into consideration.

You too are thinking about these things, and how you can twist them to your own purposes. How to deal with the situation? Prospero has been scoured, but the Thousand Sons and their primarch stand strong. You wonder how Russ will react now that he will be forced into direct battle? He and his sons live for war, but you suspect they won’t enjoy this one.

Your ships lie on the edge of the system, and you’re far enough away that the fleet can’t detect you. You could seek an audience with Russ, try and find a way to tip the balance of the stalemate before the Wolves and Thousand Sons slaughter each other, or you could simply join them and pick apart the ruins of Tizca once the battle is concluded, or you could even come to the aid of the Thousand Sons and evacuate what you can before the Wolves utterly destroy them.

What shall you do?
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.
>Join the forces of Russ, and take what you can from the city when they begin their assault. The Doom of Magnus is at hand, and it is clear there is no preventing it.
>Wait for the bombardment to finish, then rush in and take what you can before the slaughter begins. Surely there are some among the Thousand Sons who see that their death is at hand?
>Write in?
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>>5951088
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.


Make way for the diplomat, lmao. The look on Russ’s face when it’s revealed that the Alpha legion went traitor on Istvaan after meeting us will be very funny.
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>>5951088
>>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.
>>
And, completely forgot this part of the vote:

Will you disguise yourself as another legion?
>Yes (which legion?) [I recommend NOT picking the wolves]
>No, you will approach as the Alpha Legion.
>>
I’m quite curious here, which legions were the Space Wolves friends with during the great crusade? Might be good to disguise ourselves as one of those.
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>>5951088

>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.

I think the play here is:

1) We're neutral Alpha Legion boys.
2) We're here on orders from Alpharius to assist the Wolves.
3) We notice you're having a hard time with Tizca.
4) Send us down there under false pretenses of negotiation and we'll disrupt the shield (but we're lying)
5) We help extract some TSons and other valuable personnel from Tizca.
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>>5951088
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.

>>5951092
Hmm...
>Yes
I say we disguise ourselves as Ultramarines sent in to reinforce the Space Wolves. Mostly because we don't have the mobility to pass as White Scars.
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>>5951092
Good to know, was absolutely going to be the thing to vote for as a disguise, but in this case I guess Russ would not be believing of our status as his sons in this Instance. Ah well, in that case going as ourselves and going Diplomacy about Horus without revealing our own legions involvement as part of the Traitor's is a go.
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.
>No, you will approach as the Alpha Legion.
Time to Ride or Die, Gentleman.
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>>5951100
Alright, this Idea I fucking love. If this vote wins, I am absolutely voting for it if no chance can be made to reveal the Truth of the Heresy from Leman. Or it doesnt really change the Outcome, which would be strange considering the Man was crying as he was about to kill Magnus in his duel.
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>>5951099
That part is thankfully easy enough. Not fans of any of the WE, NL, Technically Alpha Legion, TS obviously, DG, DA, WB's, and from what I can remember, I think WS's and EC. Besides that, I think Neutral with both fists and warriors, same as the Hands and Ravenguard, But positive relationship with the Sons of Horus, presumably Blood Angels, Salamanders and Ultramarines. Could be miscounting a few in the wrong places, but that's generally the gist of it.
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>>5951099
There's a fellowship chart for all the Legions out there, just search for it
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>>5951090
Thats also true, Honestly I think its going to be an anyerusm for him if we tell him about Isstvan, try and tell him that anything coming from Horus then from now on is suspect to either treachery or a stab in the back of the emperor, either try to get the fightning stopped, or just lie and get all of the sons and what knlowegde they can spare before getting the fuck out of Dodge and then giving Leman the slip if diplomacy falls apart, and then inform him as we get away, about which side the Alpha Legion picked between the Emperor or Horus.

Peak Schadenfreude right there I tell you now.
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>>5951119
Oh, sweet! This makes Disguises for fellow legions much easier Anon, Thank you!
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>>5951092
Actually... Forget >>5951105

>>5951100
This is genius. I'll back it wholeheartedly and without reservation.
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>>5951119
Um, Actually do you perchance have it, or know where one Can find it? Because I have no know idea of how to find it, or where I should start looking to find it?
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>>5951119
For everyone's benefit:

Yellow = Sworn Brothers, close allies
Black = Fellow Warriors, fight together
Grey = Distrusted Allies, distrustful of each other
Red = By The Emperor's/Warmaster's Command, will only fight together if The Emperor/Warmaster tells them to.
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>>5951133
PRAISE THE QM! HAIL AUREBESH THE GOD WRITER!
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>>5951134
Huh, from the looks at it, it might be okay to just decide to cloak ourselves as the Ravenguard then. Their definetly going to trust them a whole lot more then the Alpha Legion, and its practically the exact samething as what we do, only their just better at stealth overall, but have absolutely no other skill in subterfuge besides just stealth. More their own fault then any failing on our part. In that case, we could basically just lie and tell the Wolves about the 8 triator legions then, that are part of the Alpha legion, try and get the fightning to end since Horus Turned Traitor and anything related to Horus should be marked with Suspiocion at Best, and ill-contempt at worst, and then if we do the swoop-aro, then we can just tell him afterwords as we run the fuck away, "SIKE FUCKERS! GET ALPHA LEGIONED!"
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>>5951109
Change
> No, you will approach as the Alpha Legion.
to
>Yes (Raven Guard)
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>>5951088
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.


>Yes, Raven Guard

yes wolf man we pale beaky boys are here to help
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>>5951133
Apparently also the meme about everyone loving the Salamanders the meme is not a lie, Holy Shit. They've got the most Yellow out of everyone else on the list, with only the World eaters, Death guard, and the Thousand Sons, as Grey and no Reds. Damn, what happened to them at Isstvan Double sucks ass for the poor boys then in that case.
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>>5951088
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.


>Yes, Raven Guard

Couldn’t we try to play ourselves off as one of the scant few loyalist Raven Guard who made it off of Istvaan? To get some more brownie points and make Horus’s betrayal more cutting?
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>>5951155
I mean we could, at least make it out that our company was held back for the second round of reinforcements from the other legions>>5951147
>>5951155
>>5951147
to make planet fall so we could join in the assault, before the betrayal happened and we ran away the moment shit hit the fan, even as our brothers and cousins died in the void and on the ground screaming for help, or horror. And, how we rushed to find the nearest allies that could still be trusted to be loyal after the great slaughter that was the Betrayal at Isstvan.
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>>5951159
Sigh, I hate posting from a phone, please ignore all of those links save the first one, 4chan shitted on me and made my phone freeze on my for about 2 minutes.
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>>5951100
>>5951088
+1 support. This idea is goated. As much as it'd be good to lift the veil from Leman's eyes, I am not confident in our chances.
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>>5949570
Link. This is me.
>Hail Russ and seek an audience with him. As an ostensibly neutral force, you could perhaps find a way to circumvent this standoff, or offer your services as the Alpha Legion to bring down the shield over Tizca.
>>5951191
I enjoy this plan just as much, but I’m holding out hope that, that won’t be true and we are good enough with our cover story to make the scales be lifted from the wolfs eyes.
>Yes, Raven Guard
>>
You decide that you will Hail Russ’s forces and seek an audience with him, while disguising yourself as the Raven Guard. It’s a sound plan, especially since the XIXth operate similarly to the Hydra, though they are inferior in all other respects. Informing Kylon of your plan he agrees, and you give orders for your men to paint their armour black and bleach their faces. You undergo this process yourself, and when everything has been prepared you order the captain to hail Russ’s flagship with the codes and signal handshakes of the Raven Guard.

On screen you are greeted by one of the Space Wolves, who seems surprised by your arrival.

>Greetings. I am Ales Furvus of the Raven Guard. I seek audience with your primarch, Leman Russ, and I have with me 1500 marines under my command, ready to place them at your primarch’s disposal.

The wolf blinks for a few moments, before remembering himself. He seems hesitant almost, though he gives no sign that he doubts what you say. These barbarians never do.

“Greetings Ales. I am Gungnir Tjaldson, herald to Leman Russ. Your arrival is… unexpected. You seek audience with our primarch? You have come at a delicate time. I do not know if we can bring you before him.”

>No? I have 1500 expert infiltrators under my command, Gungnir. You are unable to break the shield guarding Magnus and his sons. If you cannot break it at all you will be forced to do battle on the planet with the mighty sorcerers of Prospero. Such a battle is sure to result in the deaths of many of your brothers. To me it seems that you and your primarch need something to tip the balance, no?

You are pushing his buttons, seeing if you can’t get a reaction out of him. Surprisingly, all he does is shrug and shake his head. A Wolf giving up without a fight?

“Well. If that is what you say. Come aboard. I will see what I can do.”

And with that the screen goes blank. Captain Cimon informs you a moment later that you have received docking codes and clearance with Russ’s flagship, the Hrafnkel. You nod at Kylon before heading to the hangar deck, and departing to meet with the Lord of Fenris.
>>
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>>5951359
The Hrafnkel is a mighty ship, a Gloriana fit for a primarch. As you step off your thunderhawk’s ramp the first thing you see are tall wooden pillars holding up the roof, covered with intricate carvings that show the deeds of the Space Wolves on old battlefields and ruined worlds. And there are pelts everywhere. Waiting for you in the hangar is Gungnir, accompanied by a pair of guards. He gives a salute as you approach.

“Well met, Ales. It is good to know that there are allies even all the way out here.”

>Indeed. Am I to see the infamous Wolf King?

“We shall see. I shall take you to him, Ales, but after that I have no power.”

>Very well. Lead on.

He nods, and you follow him through the gloomy halls, lit by torchlight wherever possible, and filled with the smell of weaponry, and dogs. Gungnir leads you to the Wolfs Hall, where he gives you a strange look, before opening the vast wooden doors.

The Wolf Lord is sitting on his wooden throne, with Constantin Valdor, Captain-General of the Custodes to his right, and an officer of the Sons of Horus to his left. Though they are not yet shouting, their voices are raised, and there is a current of tension in the room, visible on the faces of Russ’s Varagyr bodyguard and the other official looking personages in the room. Gungnir steps forward to announce your presence, but is stopped when Russ slams his fist against his seat.

“I refuse to accept this outright defiance! It is sorcery I tell you! For that alone they deserve death, not to mention refusing to obey the Emperor’s will! I have given them enough chances!”

“The Emperor’s will was to capture Magnus, not kill him.” Valdor responds to Russ. Calm. Measured. A voice of subtle power. “Better we surround and lay siege than throw ourselves into slaughter.”

The Son of Horus speaks up next, almost standing upward in his seat from excitement.

“The final decision rests in Lord Russ! But I must wonder why The Emperor would send Lord Russ if He did not expect there to be bloodshed? Why indeed send his own bodyguard, and the others you have gathered? My father foresaw that Magnus would resist, which is why he has sent me, and the titans to aid you. We are not here to make peace, Captain-General. And by his defiance Magnus has shown that he seeks nothing but war in return. I say we must give it to him!”

“The Emperor’s will-

“Is Lord Russ’s will, or have you forgotten the words of the Edict which you cling to?”

Valdor raises his fist, almost looking as if he will reach for his spear. “You dare?”
>>
>>5951360

Enough!” Russ does not shout the word, but his voice carries a strength of command to it that silences even the captain of the Custodes. The room is silent, waiting for the primarch to speak.

“I am sick of this. I feel rage that I must bring an end to another brother, rage that Magnus refuses to answer, damn his blood. Rage flows through my bones at the blood of my sons that will be spilt this day. By Fenris, I wish the Emperor had never sent me here.”

Valdor flashes a look of fury towards Russ, but only for a moment before another voice rings out in the hall.

“You must do your duty, Son of The Emperor. As must we all.” The voice is feminine, and you cannot place it until a woman steps out of the shadows, clad in golden armour similar to Valdor. You look at her with a shock. One of the Sisters of Silence. You had thought they were a legend. Apparently not.

It is at this moment that Gungnir takes the opportunity to step forward and announce your presence.

“Captain Ales Furvus, of the Raven Guard!”

You step forward, and all the eyes in the room turn to look at you. The Son of Horus starts, an expression of surprise flashing across his face before composing himself, though he is still gripping his chair tightly. Valdor glances at him briefly, before looking at you. Russ himself leans forward with interest, his eyes studying you intently before nodding and sitting back.

“Speak, son of the Raven.”

What shall you say to Leman Russ, primarch of the Space Wolves?

>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.
>Offer to act as a third party to go down and negotiate with Magnus. He may not trust his rival Russ, but he may trust the son of one of his other brothers.
>Accuse Horus of treachery against the Imperium. He has turned his back on The Emperor, betraying his brothers on Istvaan and seducing half The Emperor’s Legions to his side. Not even Magnus's censure is as serious as this.
>Write in?
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>>5951362
>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.

We're a bit too calm to present ourselves as Drop Site Massacre survivors, I think. Otherwise we'd have immediately tried to shank the SoH
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>>5951362

>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.

“Lord Russ - there may be a better way. We Raven Guard may escape the attentions of the enemy, whatever sorcery is at their disposal. With your order, we would descend to Tizca, break the barrier, and provide your sons with a clear path to Lord Magnus.”
>>
Well it’s a great thing that we have a plausible explanation for not knowing about Istvann and not being there. Corvus exiled the Terran elements of his legion to the outer dark for being too violent. Sure is great that we picked the only legion with a good reason for not being there who just happens to also have a Terran in our retinue right? Let’s play up those more aggressive aspects. Also, I think we may know about this.
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>>5951380

Maybe we can try to slip in some of that while we talk - “Daddy Corax has exiled us but we’re still bros! Let us fuck up these nerds for you Russ!”

Captcha: DAWGS2
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Alright, now for this I gotta do a breakdown of
the options, if only to lay out all of the pro's and con's presented to us at such a critical stage.

>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.
Pretty simple enoughreasoning, either we go down and do as it states, or we lie and talk to Magnus and his sons before trying to convince them to abandon any plans for a last stand and be reasonable enough to run while they still have a chance aboard our ships that can take them and whatever else they can bring alolng, before getting the fuck out of dodge.
>Offer to act as a third party to go down and negotiate with Magnus. He may not trust his rival Russ, but he may trust the son of one of his other brothers.
This one is simple enough, could still try and go the diplomacy route, just go down to Tizca, convince the TS to not kill us and that we are here to end the bloodshed before it even begins, try and get as close to Magnus as possible before explaining the situation and Leman wanting to bring him back to Terra before the Emperor, along with a change in Plans as suggested by Horus before leaving the Ball in Magnus's court.

>Accuse Horus of treachery against the Imperium. He has turned his back on The Emperor, betraying his brothers on Istvaan and seducing half The Emperor’s Legions to his side. Not even Magnus's censure is as serious as this.
The accusing one is simple but striaghtforward. We go barefaced before Russ himself and declare Horus, not only a traitor and a warmongerer, but also soeone that has slain Astartes and Primarch blood alike on the blackest of Betrayal. Absolutely going to shock the SoH, and likely going to absoluetly piss off Russ to the (almost)MAX possible degree. Would possibly be able to work, but that would still have an angry Russ that is going to be breathing down our NEck expecting a really fucking good answer or we are either going to be impriosn or killed by Leman by Daring to Disrespect the name of one of the Best men held in Leman's regard. Personally, I like it, and I absolutely believe we can create a wonderful story about us being Terran Veterans that were exiled by our Primarch into the void, only to return to Imperial Space after the heresy broke out, and our legion and Primarch were amongst those hit hardest by the Treachery.
>>
Even with all of that stated, Im more interested in going down into the most dangerous, but also most fun one of the option below.
But, then again, why not just do that exact samething anyway, but after we go and rescue the sons from being killed by the wolves. And then afterwords, state that Magnus is held innocent if his only crime was fighting against the will of the warmaster.
>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.
> (Addendum after we take with us the Sons and run away: Accuse Horus of treachery against the Imperium. He has turned his back on The Emperor, betraying his brothers on Istvaan and seducing half The Emperor’s Legions to his side. Not even Magnus's is Worth killing, if his only crime is that of fightning to stay free from the will of the warmaster.)

Also, is it okay AurebeshQM, if we can ask the high command and officers before us, why they are all currently shouting about the orders they were explicitly given by the Emperor? If the Emperor says bring Magnus in chains, and not execute his legion, then what the fuck are you idiots arguing about?
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>>5951362
+1 >>5951427
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>>5951427

>inserting ourselves into an argument between Russ, Valdor, and a high-ranking Son of Horus as a literal who in disguise

No offense, but that’s a horrible idea. We should make our reasonable offer and otherwise pretend to be a nobody.
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>>5951431
That wasn’t my attempt, nor my desire to do something as terrifying as that. I just wanted to ask if it was okay for us to ask Clarification on what everyone seems to be disagreeing about especially between Valdor and the son of Horus. The line of the Emperor, was just something I added in character, to explain our confusion over whatever seems to the case about following orders between Constantine fucking Valdor, Captain General of the Custodese and left Hand of the Emperor himself, and a nobody SoH that seeks to deliberately charge head first into a gun line.
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>>5951433
And whether or not, they should, as Constantine stated, bring Magnus to the Emperor in chains, or the SoH, who argues we should charge straight in after them and just kill the lot of them.

Just, so we can later on explain to Magnus after we come down to the surface, just how much of a fuck up he did, by trying to make his penitence as easy as possible, he actually worked it into making it as hard as possible, and got fucked over by Horus, which he conveniently still forgot to tell Terra, or anyone else for that matter, after his fuck up with the Webway.
>>
So planet fall is likely going to win. Now there is only one real question. When/if are we going to say we are Alpharius? Because given the possibly true backstory of our primarch, Valdor is going to be pissed.
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>>5951443
Eh, we could possibly try and leave an after message of our own, once we convince Magnus to get the fuck out of his delusion’s and think rationality about Horus’s betrayal, to write a Message in Custodese code on the Entrance to the great Pyramid of Tisca, and that it says, “We are Alpharius.” Probably, also keep a hidden Camera around to see Valdor’s expression, especially as up till then he would have seen no life or astartes presence seen up til that point.
>>
I’m really curious, how many thousand sons could we fit on our ships if we crammed them in like sardines? The image just seems funny to me.
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>>5951447
It gets funnier the more you think about how many sons there are, depending on the numbers, 10,000 and it’s a bit cramped but you can always sleep in the hallways. 63,000 though and now we really are a bunch of Sardines in a can almost fit to burst, but that’s what 3 Astartes grade ships, including a battlebarge, are all about no?
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>>5951427
Supporting this, our character does really seem to care about choices, and being free considering that he’s a renegade. Magnus not having any choice but to come to Terra in chains or fight and join Horus and bind himself in chains of Tzeentch’s design seem like a horrible idea. Once we get down there, we could probably give Magnus the rundown of how Horus manipulated Russ.
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>>5951450
Bold of you to assume we will get that many to come with us. It will come down to a roll. My expectations are more limited. Also, I don't its been discussed how potent thousand sons are. One thousand-son sorcerer is more potent than multiple librarians from the other legions. Also, let's not forget that this was before they had all the weaker/non psykers culled, and those that remained had their power boosted. I say we try to extract the relatively weaker and less impressive thousand sons first. One, because the Space Wolfs have a list of names that they will be gunning for, two because these ones are likely more desperate to survive and therefore easier to persuade and more likely to be grateful, and three because they are likely to be less arrogant and inclined to believe they can win this fight.
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>>5951453
Also, people are going to assume that these less well-known thousand sons died in the crossfire. When the fog of war has set it will be easier to extract and slip away in the confusion.
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>>5951453
I think it’s actually very likely that Magnus will want us to bring him and his sons away from Prospero. Currently, Magnus is really depressed due to him realizing that Tzeentch was manipulating him into fighting the space wolves to decimate both of their legions before the upcoming rebellion. He doesn’t want to play into Tzeentch’s game however and didn’t want to resist the purge of his legion. This changed along the way of course, but if we allow Magnus a way out without any bloodshed, I think we could really evacuate most of the legion on Prospero (there are plenty of scattered elements throughout the galaxy) including Magnus.
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>>5951471
Agreed, he only changed his attitude about his punishment and death, after his whole planet was bombed to shit and back again, before then all of his surving people and sons getting slaughtered before him. Which he still tried to tell himself that this was the right thing to do, but well any sane human being would crack under something like this, and Magnus was no diffrent in that regard. Should we be able to change his mind, (like saying that Horus fucked him over, and that since a SoH was a high ranking officer arguing for the complete genocide of the Legion, and seemed to be winning an argument about it with Valdor before Leman Russ, we could suggest that Leman was secretly in Kahoots, or at least being heavily manipulated into punishing Magnus for trying to stay loyal to the Empeor and not siding with him in the outset of the Betrayal.) Also telling him about the Betrayal at Isstvan should be able to snap him out of it, before he can just teleport most of his legion into our ships, with the rest likely being able to be separatly scattered into a nearby system that He could rendevoe with later on, once we get some more ships, or places of space to put in the remainder of his sons in while he tries to not fucking go and kill Horus by himself for this stunt that he pulled off. Or, more correctly, not try and get the rest of his legion to do that, With Ahriman and Iskandor being Major proponents that are going to hate both the Wolf's and Horus and his Traitors after this Massacre he managed to get away with. Though, Im going to love to see how Aurebesh writes Ahriman's reaction to Isstvan when he finally gets told what the hell is happening in the galaxy and why Horus would do as he did.
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>>5951471

Tzeentch won’t let us rescue Magnus though, anon
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>>5951546
He could try, but that wouldnt matternenough right now for that to be a decdiding case. Tzeentch has already tried to interfere with us, by trying to damnpen our arrival to Prospero till the fightning had already commenced and we would have been too late as it were to change anything. That failed, but only by the skin of its teeth, and now Tzeentch cannot really do much else besides trying to get either some of his agents, either through that of Kaspar, who wouldnt be able to do anything, or through some nebuolous influence of Buron Kurn, the SoH that is arguing with Valdor about Charging into the fray. Besides that, he's got nothing else to play against us besides possibly fucking over any dice rolls will be required to make in this warzone before we move and get as much of the Legion as we can before getting away.
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>>5949615
I'm the anon you replied to but forgot to respond to this earlier. That's a very reasonable response, the Horus Heresy is full of inconsistencies and I agree, it's better to use the canon timeline as a thematic backdrop than graven stone. That's a relief to hear.

>>5949617
Russ could have but didn't. Put it up to luck or what have you, the record stands on its own. In the end, the Space Wolves were the winners as they're the only founding chapter that's able to sit down and drink to take a load off after long decades at war. Better for the nerves than the Blood Angels' artistry.

>>5949647
I agree, we need to hit up the Ghoul Stars at the earliest convenience. To setup our own hidden base, if nothing else. The Astral Claws did well enough we could learn a thing or two from them.

>>5951362
I'm going to pitch in for
>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.
Involving ourselves with the arguments of a primarch and THE custodes, both of which have a superhumanly good intuition, is a dangerous mistake to make.

>>5951471
>>5951552
A counterpoint: If we did rescue Magnus, the Orphans of Lerna would no longer be our warband. The primarch would seize control and do a massively better job than we ever could.
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>>5951552

A-are you really suggesting that the CHAOS GOD OF TRICKERY AND DECEIT is powerless against us?
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>>5951362
>Offer to act as a third party to go down and negotiate with Magnus. He may not trust his rival Russ, but he may trust the son of one of his other brothers.
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>>5951560
No he wouldn’t? The orphans of Lerna are an oversized-Chapter of Alpha legionnaires, not a bunch of random as Astartes that will listen to the next big person that tells them to disrespect and disregard our command over them. Besides, why would Magnus want to take control over a small company of Alpha Legionnaires, when he’s got his own set of problems from his own legion to deal with instead? I just can’t see the reason for it desu, and lastly I doubt anyone of the chapter is going to trust an outsider clearly just try and usurp command for themselves, even a Primarch. But especially a Primarch like Magnus of all of the lot.

>>5951566
Hilariously no, he cannot I would wager, do much in the material realm that doesn’t allow him to go and just make something how he wants, to happen. Tzeentch has been defeated in the past, even with him supposedly being an all power being that can just make something true regardless of what reality had to say to him. That’s why he needed someone like Magnus to help break the wards set by the emperor himself, which were made to help safe the imperial web-way project from any demonic incursions, no matter the type or power. Now, could he have a personal vendetta against us after this, by denying him his legion and Primarch? Probably, but until he decides to send swarms of demons in the warp to attack us whenever we decide to leave, he can suck it because we aren’t in the Eye of Terror.
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>>5951546
You can try. But if you roll (directly) against the chaos gods be aware that you're rolling against fate itself, and all that entails. By way of comparison, Khorne's sacred number is 8 and if you were to ever directly roll against him you'd be up against a +88 modifier. I'll let you figure out what the rest of them get. However, those bonuses will only be when you're rolling directly against them. Their daemonic agents and other means by which they influence realspace are much, much weaker, and they only grace realspace with their actual presence when they really want something.
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>>5951590
Wouldn’t it be really obvious if Tzeentch directly intervened? Enough that Magnus would notice? Surely that sort of thing would cause ripples in the warp? That’s barring the interference of other entities of course, the other chaos gods might take the opportunity here to fuck with Tzeentch and “support” our efforts, or at least try to distract him in other ways.
>>
It’s also possible that Tzeentch does a “just as planned” thing and let’s this whole thing go through, only to force Magnus to join him through some other ploy. Schemes within schemes and all that.
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>>5951605
Same, if that was t the case, then this entire thing is practically suicidal at best with that line of reasoning, since anything done against Tzeentch that he would really want, would mean we can’t do anything in the material realm. Which, well hopefully isn’t the case here, unless we stupidly try and do a challenge to Tzeentch in the warp. In which case, game-over is all but a certainty.
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>>5951608
That I would much rather prefer, as it involves less chances of dealing with Tzeentch and more of an obligation to keep a very close eye at anything Magnus will do, with of course the added knowledge that he should also be ware of any of these great powers then since he already knows Tzeentch used him for his own ends already, and he ain’t prideful enough to believe now that Tzeentch won’t try and do it again later on.
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>>5951605
Hence why I said directly. Which is going to be extremely rare, or subtle enough it won't be with their full presence, e.g Your astropath noticing a bunch of warp fuckery going on around Prospero. That wasn't Magnus. But they usually don't have to intervene because their daemons do the work for them or things have already been set in motion that they don't need to intervene. Remember this is chaos, as long as they get their eternity of carnage and slaughter they'll be happy.

Basically: Rescuing Magnus from Tzeentch's grip would be extremely difficult, but not impossible.
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>>5951631
>>5940709
>>5951590

>Luck. For whatever reason, Fate smiles on you. Once per operation (missions essentially) you may roll an extra dice, so long as there has been no critfail.

I'm glad we did not choose lucky as a trait then.
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>>5951427
this has my support
should be a good laugh if it works
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>>5951631
Okay then, so unless we explicitly try and do the impossible, say finding Molech and turning it into Nostramo, we aren’t likely to find actually impossible options then. Does this mean that canonically important characters that aren’t Primarchs, are beings that we can actually 100% kill and that would not be an impossible action? Like killing Bile, or killing Abby and burning his corpse and the like? Or, most importantly of all, CAN WE KILL EREBUS???
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>>5951649
>killing Erebus
I doubt Alpharius himself could hunt and kill the bastard. He's wily beyond wily.
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>>5951665
I know, but I can always hope his luck will run out one day can’t I?!
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I just checked the Alpha Legion wiki and apparently, Leman gets ambushed by our brothers after Prospero. So it's possible that we are not the only Alpha Legionnaires present knowing that Alpharius has a habit of infiltrating and info gathering before revealing the Hydra. We should consider a method of checking to see if their any other Alpha legionnaires present.
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>>5951680

Anon, WE are the ones who ambush Russ, lol
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>>5951686
How do you know we are not the decoys who think they are here of their own initiative to distract and possibly ambush the Space Wolves?
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>>5951680
The Battle of the Alaxxes Nebula? I mean, thats praciticly a given, but I dont really know if we know to look for our Brothers, or if thats something wise to do in the first place desu. If we did, it would expouse them to us and negate their own surprise element if they decide that as Traitors and Renegades of the Legion, we should be killed or not. We don't really know where we stand with the Rest of the Legion, especially considering its already carved itself in two, between those under Alpharius that fight for Horus to help kill Chaos, and those under Omegon that fight for the Emperor instead. And thats of course, without getting into the idea behind Blackshiel elements that might not care either way, and will just kill us to steal our wargear and materials for themselves.

Besides, We will let them know about us one way or another, just need to make sure we really get lucky with our choices.
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>>5951687
That’s silly, after all, we’re totally Alpharius! Look, see our name? (This is a lie).
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>>5951649
Big E and Horus are the only characters totally off-limits.
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>>5951687
Oh, we are definetly here of our own inititative. Tzeentch fucking with our ships arrival points easily to that all by its own, more to the point with the Alpharius side of the Legion, this can be considered nothingless then a boon. Two austinsibly loyal Legions senselely kill each other, with whomever emerges as the Victor a more weakened force that can then be assualted and kill in a manner of their choosing without either legion even being aware of them or why they are attacking them to begin with. Us fucking that up, completely throws with their side of things, and makes it actually harder for them to do their job, which is really going to both piss them off, but hopefully also discourage them from trying to assault Leman after this Warzone ends.
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>>5951693
DO YOU HEAR THAT EREBUS!!! WE ARE GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU! YOU HEAR ME!!!

WE ARE GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE< AND GRIND YOUR ORGANS TO JELLY BEFORE BURNING YOU ALIVE, MARK MY WORDS YOU MOTHERFUCKER!!
>>5951691
Unironically, our Name is not a lie, but we most definitely are a liar in that respect.
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>>5951696
Is it so wrong that I want to use our Leadership skills to recruit more Alpha legionnaires who are just going to die for nothing trying to slay a primarch so that we can have a massive not warband of Astartes who can cosplay as multiple Ultramine chapters?
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>>5951691
>You are Alpharius. A name that means nothing, and everything to the Hydra. Perhaps you once had another name, long ago. Perhaps you will use it again. Or perhaps not.

Our name may or may not be a lie. We could have given it up willingly or we can have a name that we have temporarily forgotten for deniability reasons. Names are fungible things in the legion.
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>>5951700
As expected of course, names only serve the will of the legion, and not its user. Ave Hydra Dominatus.
>>5951699
You are absolutely not wrong in that regard. I myself would love to try and pull that type of thing off, especially as it allows use to have a greater impact once we link up with the network and join in on the mustering of Calth. That whole shindig, will do wonders for us, and most importantly insure no matter what, Guilliman survives past the Heresy. (To explain my reasoning, Guilliman...is a fucking Retard. He after the Herresy, completely and totally disbanded his and everyone elses legions and completely broke them down from their unified command structure and made each and everyone of them completely indepent of each other. That alone, as much as it can be debated for G fans vs Anti-G fans, did weaken the overall military power of the space marines as a whole for long term campaign style unity and resources. But, this Fucker completely destroyed and burned up the Imperial Army, not only Seprareting the Navy and the army from each other, but he had the even worse decision to make it so, that no regiment could be able to weold together Multiple Arms of combined warfare, making each regiment only stuck with a max of 1 style. Just one. This fucker completely and totally fucked over the Imperium in the Long term without even realising it, the moment he never put to paper, the idea of what happens when this restructure lasts when he, for whatever inconceiable reason, dies. Simply put, the longer this retard lives, the greater the mistakes he will make, which once his embending death/force comatose happens, the Imperium as a whole will be more weakened, and their response to us, or the legion as a whole will be more pathetic then if he survived till the Scouring. He is unironically, the best Alpha Legion Agent we could have possibly wished for, and its from "our" worst enemy no less!)
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>>5951699
Not at all. This lines up perfectly with Alpha legion doctrine here. Just sit around for millennia and accumulate who knows how many hundreds of thousands of marines. The Alpha legion was between 90-180 thousand marines strong at the beginning of the heresy, and they never took bad casualties during the heresy either, and of course, they still have a primarch pumping out geneseed. Who knows how many they have in them in the 41st millennia.
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>>5951706
The only legions that disbanded were the ones not clever enough to realize that the legions did not have to disband but rather appeared to have disbanded. I will never forget reading about the fall of Tsulgulsa where countless chapters of Ultramarines assaulted the night lords together. The Blood Angels, the Ultramarines, the Sons of Dorn, and the Dark Angels all adopted a more secret command structure but if they had to were prepared to recall all the chapters to fight as a legion.
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>>5951710
True, the only bad thing I would give the Alpha Legion, would be their strangely complete and total loss of upper chain of Command, and the fact that they both as a whole, and as individuals, did, pretty much nothing of importance between the scouring and the 41st millennia. And maybe their collapse of imperial technology to use, but if they for some reason didn't have an upper chain of command, then that was practically a guarantee at that point.
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>>5951710
I imagine that there are Alpha Legion in every legion wearing dead mens' faces as well as beneath The Palace just waiting for trigger words to activate.
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>>5951711
Eh, The sons of Dorn and the Dark Angels I could believe, but not the Blood Angels or the Ultramarines. The Blood Angels were to fracturourus after Sanguinous's death to ever truly act as a unified whole, save a few VERY, very few instances, such as the fate of the Ball system against the Hivefleet Leviathan, or the way every single Blood Angels Succesor chapter stands linked together if their secret shames ever get close to being revealed to all non-Astartes personal from other chapters and the like. And the Ultramarines, for better or for worse, only acted as unified as they did, because the personal from that legion were both still alive, and where practically in the backyard to come and properly break the Night Lords as a legion.

Now, for those that did do something like that, I would have to say the Space Wolves and the Salamanders were the only ones that could sstill be a chapter in name, but a legion in structure. Concedering the Space Wolves never changed their legion structure, or the fact they had no reason to not ever slow down recruitment, as well as their massive space marine fleet even in comparison to other space marine chapters, and the disapproval and disdain they had for the Codex Asttartes, I would put it a safe bet that the Wolves are in fact a legion still named as a chapter. Personally, I presume they and the Salamanders were always allowed to do as they were before and after the restructuring, it was because both Legions were so badly mauled of numbers, it was something that was allowed for the legions in question, but once Guilliman died and the exceptions were still allowed after words, it was just something that was kept in the dark and never openly talked about or boasted by either chapter because of the trauma behind Legion sized space marine forces.
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I personally hope that after this we can head down to calth and save the ultramarines there for the sole purpose of trolling Kor Pharon and the Word Bearers
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>>5951706
>>5951725
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>>5951725
Personally, I want to go to Calth in order to stop the Ruinstorm from being formed. Having half a galaxy wipe Warp-rift, will play absolutely havoic at best for our own ships and deployments, and exponentially increase demonic activity that at the very least, is going to have a lot of Tzeentchian demons pay very close attention, to making our life as hellish as possible for fucking over something that Tzeentch, REALLY, Really, really wanted for himself. So just out of self-preservation, stopping the sacrifice of an entire SUN from helping create that non-sense will be a benefit to us no matter the circumstances.
>>
>>5951726
Completely Based, and I would do the exact samething. Fuck Erebus, no matter what.
>>
>>5951729
One of my favorite reposted memes on the 40k meme subreddit.
>>
>>5951726
Its hard to know what's greater. The fans' love of Sanginius, the Emperor's hypocrisy and ego, or the fans' hate for Erebus.
>>
>>5951726
And if Khor Phaeron was in the room, I’d make sure to get a collateral with both those 2 shots.
>>
>>5951733
The hate, at this point it’s a tradition of the Fandom to regularly say, everything is Erebus’s fault, so fuck that guy. That I think, would be the greatest thing the fandom as a whole has over anything else at this point.
>>
>>5951737
Hell, I think Horus’s idea of having Russ try to kill Magnus was actually Erebus’s idea. So yes, it IS Erebus’s fault 90% of the time, and I’m not even exaggerating.
>>
>>5951738
Same, if theirs a baby that fell on a floor and started to cry, there is a non-0% chance that it was the fault of Erebus in some fashion. The man truly had made wuite a masterpiece of work for himself as a villain if I do say so myself.
>>
>>5951728
True the ruin storm would be a massive pain in the ass

Fucking Erebus and Kor Phaeron always ruining everything
>>
>>5951741
Yep, that is the one thing I regret about not picking the Gulliman option, foiling their plots, and killing both of them when we had the chance to do it, but that was before it was confirmed that we could kill him, so eh. Either way, making sure that Erebus and Kor Phaeron’s plot to create the Ruinstorm, must not, no matter the risk, if not able too, stop that damn ritual before it goes off and makes a figurative Ruinstorm, a literal one. It also hopefully prevents the use of Sotha’s and the attraction of the Tyranids to the Milky Way galaxy from becoming a reality, so double the reasons needed to stop the Ruinstorm from becoming real.
>>
Heads up anons: I will be busy for the next few hours so no update right now. There will however be the usual second update later on. If you have any general questions ask them here and I'll try to answer them when I get back. Until then, Hydra Dominatus.
>>
>>5951427
This is probably the best way to handle things. It's better that the SoH captain isn't aware of our plans until we ensure that the TSons are out of harm's way. Then, we can try to present our case. Keep in mind that once Magnus is onboard our ship, he'd be the final authority in everything his genesons are involved in going forward. If he refuses for Primarch Retard Mode reasons, we can at least evacuate as many civilians as feasibly possible.
>>
>>5951762
Fair, but if by that point we can only evacuate civilians, then we have already pretty much failed in our mission to stop anymore fighting from occurring. Maybe, if this does happen, we can bring Magnus up on our ship, bring him to Russ, and give an explanation behind the reasons why Magnus never answered his hails in the first place, as well as his reasons for censure and then finally bring in our Chekov’s gun about Isstvan.
>>
>>5951769
Metagaming is gay, us going to Prospero makes sense because we were interested in psyker lore and coincidentally stumbled on Russ in the middle of Prospero's bombardment. But micromanaging the heresy timeline like we're prescient to the base timeline without any regard for our own interests is absurd and I disagree with it.
>>
>>5951784
It’s not metagaming, if it’s an already known fact to us, that a strike force of Word bearers was going to the Ultramarines, after they just helped out the slaughterhouse on Isstvan and already had a well known grudge with the 13th thanks to Monarchia. Besides the fact that going to Ultramar, enables us to farm and grow more marines and supplies with no one being the wiser, especially considering the Alpha legion has long had a proud tradition of fucking over the Ultramarines by showing how better we are then them in terms of stealth and espionage, I think it’s perfectly if we did decide after this to go after Ultramar after this Prospero war zone plays out, and we stock up at a new home to delink with the legion before heading out to deal with Guillimans ilk. Besides, whose to say their aren’t feelings of revenge and hatred coloring our motives for eventually going as well? It’s not like the text doesn’t hesitate to state that we would love to stab Guilliman in the back if we do go to Ultramar anyway in the future?
>>
>>5951758
Well, I guess my main question, whenever you can get around to it, what is the offical timeline for when this quest starts? Does the fighting of Isstvan and Prospero occur in the exact same time? Like, is everything 005. or, is it still 004.m31? Or, is it close to 006.m31 thanks to the drop site Massacre having already occurred?
>>
>>5951784

Agreeing with this based opinion, we should actually ROLEPLAY here. I appreciate the 40k autism getting thrown around here but trying to fix the Heresy is a boring goal.

We should be focused on ourselves and our goals, since that has been our characterization so far
>>
>>5951808
We should kill word bearers and fuck with other legions in disguise
>>
>>5951827
Agreed, and we are already well on our way to doing that in case of the wolves once the next update for us on going to Prospero arrives. Besides, how else are we going to get more recruits then by stealing it from other legions if we just homebrew everything? A little bit of stealing never hurt anyone.
>>
>>5951808
Aight who do we, as "renegade" ;) alpha legionaires, despise? Who would we want to help, who would we want to fuck over, what's our goal?
>>
>>5951850
In terms of despise, whomever really fucking hates us, or treats ill about us. Most prominently the Ultramarines, but other assortment of legions can also be grouped in as well. For helping, I guess whomever doesn’t want to fuck us over, and is willing to give us a hand, especially if we try and help them first, like hopefully the Thousand Sons. As for fucking over, Word bearers as their all sorts of sus at best, and actively detrimental to us, especially with their demonology at play. As for everyone, anyone that isn’t our ally, or actively trying to shoot us gets fucked up thanks to our trucks, with everyone else that isn’t an ally and isn’t shooting at us, getting the trickster treatment of never knowing who the fuck we are, before we make a fool of them somehow. And for our goal, survive and prosper for both ourselves, our legion, and our allies.
>>
>>5951855
idk where you are getting this ultramarines hate us thing from

on the chart it says they distrusted allies which most of the legions are
lore wise as well I cant think of any major interactions till the scouring where Girlyman supposedly kills Alpharius

Though I have no idea if that event is even still canon or not
>>
>>5951873
Ah, my mistake the hate I remember from, was from some sort of alternate heresy fanfiction that had the Ultramarines and the Alpha Legion have just as bad of legion-wide attitude towards each other, as the Wolves and Sons did in canon. Though, yeah that event is still canon, but it’s been remarked that nobody believes for a second, that Alpharius (Omegon) is actually dead, not even Guilliman himself at that.
>>5951850
In light of my own short comings with regards to Alpha legion feelings towards everyone, I would advise for you to see the chart and make of how they like vs Hate us as you will, along your own beliefs from the questions you’ve asked of the thread.
>>5951133
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>>5951800
Current year is 005.M31. I've compressed events a little so some of the early things all occur at the same time, since I thought it was a bit of a mess that needed fixing up. So Horus does Isstvan 3, The Eisenstein gets back just as Russ leaves for Prospero, and Isstvan 5 happens while Russ is at Prospero, all in the same year instead of 3 as in canon. Meanwhile Lorgar and most of the Word Bearers are not as Isstvan because there's enough dakka there already, and are instead travelling to Ultramar to stab Guilliman in the back before he hears anything about this Heresy.

>>5951808
>>5951784
>>5951792
You can go ahead and metagame the Heresy if you want but 4 very powerful people are going to very pissed off about someone fucking with their food and you do not want to piss off these 4 people at the same time.
>>
Shoot, I have another commitment I completely forgot about which is going to disrupt tonight. Sorry anons. I'll make it up by pumping out a few more updates over the weekend.
>>
>>5951956
Nice, alright so we actually don’t know about the Dropsite Massacre then? Well, I guess we’re about to find out about it then in that case, which is going to be an interesting thought case once that whole shit thing goes down, since that’s still a full 7 Traitor Legions going off against the unwitting Trio, but hopefully Vulcan’s sons get a better go around this time then a nuke to the face.
>Meanwhile Lorgar and most of the Word Bearers
Oh god, welp that’s going to be a perhaps even bloodier affair then Canon then since most of the legion was split between those two places rather then combined as a united whole.
> Metagaming
Again, I was not suggesting we metagame the heresy like that, but whatever. Alright, so since trying to not want a Ruinstrom means pissing off all 4 gods at the same time, that thing is staying around as canon, because fuck off im not going to want to stick my dick into that shit. Still should probably head to Ultramar to steal all of that good Recruits and resources while fooling around with Guilliman, and if needs be, either depart before we’re forced to join Calth and fucking leave, or if we do stick around, just focus on finding where Erebus is and just try to kill him with 500 Terminator Elites in deep strike once they start pulling shit off and revealing ourselves Alpha Legionnaires to make it a clusterfuck 3 way battle rather then a chaotic 2 way one.
>>
>>5952012
…Sigh, well there goes all of that waiting for the update. Well, at least I can now focus on my studies on Friday in that case without worrying about missing out on any update or discussions then.
>>
>>5951873
According to that allies/enemies chart, we are the second most disliked legion after the Thousand Sons.
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>>5952107
2nd most distrusted which is understandable
only a moron would trust us
>>
>>5952107
?

Night Lords are the most Disliked Legion. Don't let their single good relationship with the Death Guard fool you otherwise on that.
>>
Horus Heresy will be updating tomorrow.

Sorry about the lack of updates anons, been busy the past few days and won't stop for a while. Might only get 1 update out tomorrow, but I'll try to get back to a more regular schedule ASAP.
>>
>>5953671
hooray
>>
>>5952012
>>5953671
That's ok. Please take you're time and avoid burnout. This quest is too good and ambitious to only last one thread.
>>
>>5953671

Based, thanks for this update. Take your time QM, we can wait for quality
>>
>>5953671
Same as the others, don’t risk burnout and stay safe.
>>
>Offer your help in breaking the stalemate and request permission to go down. Claim you will sneak in and take down the shield, allowing the fleet above to bombard the sorcerous city. Of course, you might do this, or you might not.
>Accuse Horus of treachery once you are done.

You step forth and bow before the Wolf King. You must be careful here. Though he is not the sharpest of his brothers, he is still a primarch, and even from this distance you can feel his gaze scrutinising you, trying to pierce the veils which you have woven about yourself. But though he is one of The Emperor’s 20 sons, there are few that can unmask The Alpha Legion if they do not know they are there. Ironically, it is Magnus whom you could never deceive, with his psychic abilities rendering even the most perfect disguises useless. Still, you must be careful not to offend the Lord of Fenris here, or even the Captain-General of the Custodes. These are powerful personages, and tensions are high.

>My Lord. I see that Magnus and the Thousand Sons are holding out against the full might of your fleet. You must commence a ground assault if you wish to finish what you have started, a battle that will be costly and bloody. But, my lord, I and my brothers are experts at stealth and infiltration. We can go where no others can, hide in the darkest of shadows, strike when the moment is right. Not even the Alpha Legion is so effective. If you will permit us, lord, we could go down and break the stalemate you find yourself in.

Russ is silent, leaning forward in his chair and staring at you. He strokes his beard as Valdor and the Son of Horus stare at you. You can see that the Son of Horus is shooting furtive glances to Russ and Valdor to gauge their reaction, trying to hide his nervousness. He obviously didn’t expect to encounter Raven Guard here. You allow yourself to feel a little pride in the effectiveness of your disguise, though you do not show it. Russ sits in silence a few moments longer, then speaks.

“You could go down, discover who or what is creating this shield, and destroy them?”

>We could.

“How many do your forces number?”

>1500 marines my lord. All ready to infiltrate the city of Tizca.
>>
>>5954218

“I see.” He leans back in his chair, suddenly relaxed. He nods to himself as he thinks it over a little more. It seems like he is on the verge of accepting, so you decide to risk a little more.

>I would also need to know what we should do if we find out that it is Magnus creating the shield?

Russ’s eyes dart to you, a strange fire in them suddenly springing up. But before he can open his mouth, the Son of Horus stands and says:

“Death!” There is a shakiness in his voice as he looks at you. You return his gaze, unblinking, and he is the first to break it.

Russ ignores him, but nods at you and declares in a steady voice: “Then he has broken The Emperors edict, and there is no longer any room for doubt.”

You nod in return, understanding. The Wolf Lord would see Magnus dead. The braziers in the hall flicker for a moment, and the windows which hang behind the throne of Russ briefly glow with blue flame before returning to their normal glow. A strange trick of the light?

But before Russ can give you his command, Valdor stirs, and speaks.

“I would like to go down there with some of my men to assist you, Captain Ales. As you may attest Lord Russ, fighting a primarch is no mean feat. They will need all the help they can get against the primarch of the Thousand Sons.”

Russ turns his gaze to Valdor, as the Son of Horus begins shouting in righteous indignation.

“To help them kill him? Or to make them capture him? Lord Russ made his decision when he burned the planet. The Warmaster himself believes there is no room for mercy! Would you undermine Lord Russ?”

“The Emperor’s command was to bring him to Terra!”

“His defiance can only be answered in one way!”

“Quiet!”

At Russ’s command they both fall silent. He stands, bringing himself to his full height, the blue-grey of the Space Wolves glowing dimly in the light of the hall. “It shall be so. You have my blessing, Coraxson. You will go down to the planet and eliminate the shield’s source. And…

Roll 1d100. Bo3. DC 30/50/60.
>>
Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>5954220

Watch THIS!
>>
Rolled 59 (1d100)

Oh boy
>>
Rolled 36 (1d100)

>>5954220
>>
>>5954245
Tzeentch fucks with me, even on the pinacle to 60, he fucked me. Is it okay QM, if we can just allow that 59 to be a 60, just so we can see what Russ is going to say to us about Valdor, after being starved of content for almost 4 days?

In the future Aurebesh, can we get other traits for ourselves besides the one, we already got for our extra-large force and our intelligence perk?
>>
>>5954253
The rolls really hav been piss poor lately, lmao. Hopefully that’ll change by the time we get down there.
>>
>>5954257
I know, but damn does it hurt to see it happen when we get involved with characters like Valdor and Russ of all people. And I doubt it's going to stop ending their, considering we haven't even reached Magnus yet and stopped the burning of Tizca from happening yet, though by the looks of it, were not that far away from making it happen with some of the ways we can avoid bloodshed planeside. God, this shit is constantly going to give me an anxiety attack with the way these rolls keep on going.
>>
Rolled 34, 2 = 36 (2d100)

Wonder how some of these perks would have looked like in use actually, like lucky. would it have been a best of 4, or more like you're allowed to roll 2d100 instead of just 1d100 by one of the anon's rolling the number? (Though good luck on that ever happening now, because Tzeentch is absolutely never going to give that to us after this stunt.)
>>
>>5954262
See what I mean? Tzeentch fucking hates our guts now after we decided to take his favorite toy away from him. So he's going to keep fucking with us till either we succeed and leave, or we fail and he wins.
>>
>>5954253
>Is it okay QM, if we can just allow that 59 to be a 60
No.

>can we get other traits for ourselves besides the one, we already got for our extra-large force and our intelligence perk?
You sure can, but you have to earn it. They'll mostly be different to the starting ones too. I've got the character traits and such on a document, might upload them to a pastebin at some point.

>>5954262
lmao Tzeentch is pissed off. The luck perk would have just given you an extra d100 to roll for bo4 after your first 3.
>>
“You will be accompanied by Constantin Valdor, and a squad of the Sisters of Silence. I leave their selection to Vigil-commander Krole. You will have command of the operation son of Corax; Captain-General Valdor must answer to you.”

You have half a mind to object, but you know better than to go against the word of a primarch. Custodes escorting you was not what you bargained for. Valdor looks like he’s going to erupt at that last comment, but he checks himself. He stands up, bows stiffly to Russ, and looks at you.

“We will meet on the outskirts of the city.”

With that he pulls his cloak around him, and departs the room, the commander of the Silent Sisters walking with him. The Son of Horus looks disappointed, but even he is wise enough not to raise a fuss. You bow low before Russ, and then walk out of the hall, back to the hangar where your thunderhawk is waiting.

DEPLOYMENT

Note: This is what will be shown every time you deploy forces for combat. This is slightly different to infiltration, which is what you did on the previous planet.

You must pick the forces you will DEPLOY. What you do not deploy will be kept in RESERVE. Reserve companies may be summoned to the field at any point, but it will take a turn of combat to get to your position.
You must also pick a company to be your COMMAND company. This company cannot be held in reserve. If this unit comes under attack, you may have to make rolls to survive.

The Orphans of Lerna Companies

>Alpha Company: 250 Lernaean Terminators
>Beta Company: 250 Lernaean Terminators
>Gamma Company: 450 Marines
>Delta Company: 450 Marines
>Epsilon Company: 40 Contemptor Dreadnoughts (60 deactivated)
>Alpha-Beta Company: 500 Marines [mutually exclusive with Alpha and Beta companies]

You are disguised as the RAVEN GUARD

What companies will you deploy to Tizca City?
>Write in

What company will be your command company?
>Write in

The Biron Ist Expeditionary Force [PDF Force]
I Infantry Corps: 50 million men
II Infantry Corps: 50 million men
III Infantry Corps: 50 million men
IV Mechanised Corps: 50 million men

Because you are infiltrating the battlefield, the Biron Ist will automatically be held in RESERVE. You may summon them to the field whenever you wish.

Imperial Censure Host
>Constantin Valdor and Retinue
>>
Fucking hate formatting.
>>
Rolled 3, 37, 19, 23, 91, 70, 19, 31 = 293 (8d100)

>>5954283
yep, and its likely going to be that way for a while, unless I do something Miracolous of course. Besides that, different in what way? Like, they'll start off weaker before possibly being upgraded to a plus 10, can they get stronger then a plus 10? Will it just mean a change of flavor text, in order to factor in events needed to justify said perks existence? By all means, do whatever feels the most natural to you Aurebesh.
Magic eight ball GO!
>>
>>5954304
>See only 2 high rolls out of a 8d100 roll's.
> remembers that Tzeentch hates them till they leave Prospero.
>Dies of Cringe.
>>
>>5954301
Agreed, formatting sucks when you need to be really specific and the like, about typing and word commands on 4chan sucks.
>>
Alright, even one of the Biron Regiments, will completely outnumber the entire population of Tizca by almost Half the entire population of the city, which considering the city was the mainstay total population of the planet thanks to the Psycheniun, means I think they should all be honestly held back in reserve until some of the questions Ive got might be able to be answered by Aurebesh.

Besides that, tempted to choose Gamma and Delta a Company as our deployment companies, and Gamma as our command one. With the other company's held back into reserve, on general account of the fact their massive lumbering walkers that aren't situated for stealth or the like by any means at all.

Now for questions, so how exactly does infiltrating the battlefield work on this case for Tizca? Like, we know for a fact that a battle hasn't been waged yet, and we aren't going to be assaulted by the Thousand Sons on account of Magnus, so how exactly does infiltrating a battlefield work, and how does it specifically interact with us trying to infiltrate Tizca?
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>>5954318
>will completely outnumber the entire population of Tizca by almost Half the entire population of the city
That's another thing I should mention, numbers are out the window because planets inhabited by a smaller population than your average European country is extremely dumb. I won't mention them unless it's related but just assume that that pop numbers don't matter that much.

And don't ask me how space marines carry round enough ammunition for slaughtering thousands of people per marine, because the hell if I know.

>exactly does infiltrating the battlefield work on this case for Tizca?
Headhunting: Make two rolls per company, one to find your target, one to remain undiscovered. Fairly simple, might make it more complex later on if I'm feeling experimental.
>>
>>5954323
Sigh, well definitely good to know that now before we make a mistake later on, but what do you guys think we could do, to disguise the fact we have 50 million soldiers trying to stealthy themselves inside of a fortress city?
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>>5954323
I always assumed they just got resupplied via drop pods filled with ammo
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>>5954299
What companies will you deploy to Tizca City?
>Gamma Company: 450 Marines
>Delta Company: 450 Marines

What company will be your command company?
>Delta Company

Terminators and Dreadnoughts are best left to be deployed in support when we need it

Marines will be able to move fast and avoid trouble better.
>>
>>5954343
supporting
>>
>>5954343
Support

I was concerned about the use of the terminators since I was not sure as to how common it was for the Raven guard to use them, but apparently, the terran Raven Guard used them and some terran Raven Guard served the Warmaster. We should still leave the terminators for the second wave should it be needed.
>>
Rolled 82, 25, 61, 75, 25, 78, 88, 14, 88 = 536 (9d100)

>>5954424
Also, purging the dice roller of Tzeentch interference.
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>>5954425
Well, at least it was purged of Khorne interference.
>>
>>5954424
yeah and also cataphractii pattern terminator armour is about a slow as it is tough so its not the best for our mission.

But it will be very useful should things go south and we need some heavy hitters to help us retreat.
>>
>>5954343

I also support - if stealth is our goal, we should keep the Termies and Dreadnoughts in reserve to bail our dudes out.

The PDF forces are totally useless in this situation, so they would honestly be better off hanging out in orbit.
>>
Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>5954481
Agreed, as far as things stand now, it’s honestly the most reasonable thing we could try and focus on doing, without actually initiating a fight that we are going to get swarmed by a bunch Spireguard. Also, looks like the dice rolls have been turned back to normal after a combined roll of more then 20 dice rolled.
>>
>>5954541
Phew, alls well with the dice rolls then, at least till Tzeentch gets pissed off when we get down to the surface.
>>
>>5954541
>>5954544

Plus, I have to say - dropping in hundreds of Termies and Dreadnought is probably not the right way to make “diplomatic contact” with the TSons.

Not sure how we’ll deal with Valdor though - any trickery on our part would be presumably noticed unless we managed to shake the Custodes inside Tizca
>>
>>5954547
I was thinking we could try and do a, sneak in look around, smuggle in Valdor and just direct him to go with us to the most important ziggurat temple in the city. Since he is unironically, the best person we could have chosen to not try and start a fight with Magnus (and a much, much lesser degree with the TS) because he explicitly wants Magnus brought to Terra ALIVE! So, anything that speeds that along will be fine in his book in order to accomplish that. The problem of course, is once Magnus is brought back up to be transported to the above orbiting fleet, the SoH, and possibly Russ, are then going to try and exterminatus Tizca again. Since, by the act of using psychic powers to generate an incredibly powerful shield, they broke the Edict of Nikea and so were liable to be executed, with is dumb but what do you get from the wolves.
Hopefully we can do that whole revelation with Valdor first, ship him and Magnus over to Russ and then broadcast that betrayal message before a fight breakouts in the fleet above as Kurt losses his balls and panic attacks Russ, alongside his legion and imperial army forces, negating the need to start a fight between the TS and allowing us to escape anymore questions before we can jump out of system, and steal any TS Marines that we could in all of the Chaos, high ranking officers would be great but are not necessary for this unfortunately.
>>
>>5954559

This is a pretty good plan but I do still expect Tzeentch start waving his massive blue bird cock in our faces and fuck everything up
>>
>>5954580
I know man, and it fucking sucks that this can absolutely happen. But, better we have some kind of plan to work towards, rather then some early quests were wandering around and just going along with things, which almost never ends well at the end of the day.
>>
>>5954547
run away from them and hope for the best
>>
>>5954343
>>5954559
>support
>>
>>5954559
I agree the easiest way to deal with Valdor is to work with to bring Magnus back to Terra alive.

That way even if he finds out we are Alpha Legion we are helping him so he will assume we are loyal to big E.
>>
>>5954804
Fair enough, fits well into my own beliefs on just which side we stand on, since to me Renegade always kinda fealt like a bit of a cop out, since it was the middle road between genuinely picking a side and staying with it till the end, but questers hate taking the obvious or most used tropes, so I’m not really surprised renegade won.
As for Valdor’s thoughts on us, it might be beneficial for us, especially considering how much of a shadow war the Alpha legion is going to be having with ourselves and everyone else, to just have a friend in the right place give us an inroad to try and talk to someone high up like Malcador. That way, a kind of deal can be set up, where the Alpha legion can be granted a fair amount of freedom from imperial edicts and laws (so anything not Big E or Malcador himself) on telling us what we can and cannot do. And in return, the Alpha legion stays loyal and reveals why they turned traitor, in part from the very beginning. This grants us some freedom in future when both of them are dead, avoids Alpharius’s death by Dorn and our legion being used as front line forces in the rest of the heresy and beyond like it did when the Ruinstorm began to break apart and Horus used our legion to break themselves in a holding action against Guilliman. It ain’t perfect, but considering how our loyalty is more towards the legion and our primarch then either figure head, I would say it’s a logical plan that doesn’t just jump out of nowhere and interacts in part with the whole roleplay aspect that this quest really evocks.
>>
>>5954811
My issue with renegade is its lack of objectives and purpose.

What purpose is their to fight for ourselves only to have to go into hiding from whichever side wins the heresy.

Dont really have to say about your plan other than I think your thinking to detailed about the distant future.

Either way having valdor think of us a loyal should be useful no matter what route we take should we ever have to interact with him or malcador again after this.
>>
>>5954830
Ah, fair point, I tend to ramble on about ideas that just spring to mind, just because it’s way to fun for me to theory craft on all the possible things that could happen, and which of them eventually will happen.

All the same, agreed on your thoughts as well. Hopefully, Valdor will prove to be a very interesting piece to have us as the questers interact with again, at some nebulous point in the future after Prospero.
>>
>>5954343
support
we need to infiltrate after all
>>
Update coming tomorrow, where the schedule should be going back to normal, God-Emperor willing.
>>
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>>5954283
>No.

I kneel
>>
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Valdor is already waiting for you when your thunderhawks land on the outskirts of Tizca City. Though the bombardment has stopped, the shield is still up, a cautious move on the part of the Thousand Sons. It glows brightly with unknown power, ozone crackling like a void shield, one that can withstand the firepower of an entire imperial fleet. Your landing zone is a crater on the southern edge of the city, beyond the mountains, its sides still glowing with molten glass which crunches underfoot as your men begin unloading their equipment. Even amidst all the noise, you can hear the glass shattering into dust beneath the bulk of Valdor and his personal guard, 15 other Custodes and a squad of the Silent Sisters.

You had not been able to fully appreciate him in Russ’s hall, sitting next to the primarch, but here he stands tall and proud, resplendent in his immaculate golden armour, emanating an aura of complete confidence, and for once in your life you feel a dim stirring of dread. This is a man who has fought by The Emperor’s side since the very beginning, slaughtering thousands upon thousands of His enemies, a man who might even be able to best a primarch if the rumours whispered among the Legion are to be believed. He could snap you in two before you even realised it. Russ may be a primarch, but he is a barbarian, dimwitted and arrogant. Constantin Valdor is different. You must watch yourself around this man.

“I count capacity for 900 men here. Where are the other 600?”

Of course. Highly observant too. Nothing escapes his eye. You’re glad that he suspects nothing so far, otherwise you may be in trouble.

>I am keeping them in reserve. Besides, infiltration works best in small numbers, so there’s less chance of being discovered. Especially when we are up against sorcerers.

Valdor frowns, but nods in acknowledgement. “Very well. Then let us scout out the terrain, Captain Ales, and see what Tizca has in store for us.”

You trek with him to one of the mountains overlooking the city, and observe the defenders activities. Unsurprisingly, there is only minor damage to the city from side effects of the bombardment, and the Prosperine Spireguard is on the move. Through your augur lens you can see them setting up barricades, manning defensive positions on the walls and doing their best with what little time they have to prepare the city for all out war. Their alertness will make infiltration slightly more difficult, but since they are mortals the effect will be minor. What does have you worried however is the complete lack of marines. Try as you might, you cannot sight a single member of the Thousand Sons, only their mortal servants rushing about. Turning to Valdor, you ask if his superior perceptiveness has seen anything you have not, but he only shakes his head in return.

“No, Captain Ales. I see nothing.”
>>
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>>5956200
You return to watching the city, and after another half-hour there is still no sign of the Sons of Prospero. This is highly unusual. They will not venture out of their temple-arcologies? Perhaps it is a trap? Still, it will make infiltration easier if none of their psykers are roaming the streets, hearing the thoughts of those around them. You nod to Valdor, and you both return to camp.

“This behaviour is strange. I have not seen anything like it before.”

If the Captain-General is saying that, this must be truly unprecedented. When you get back, you begin preparing for the operation, and you are about to inform your comms officer to summon the squad leaders for a briefing when Valdor asks you to speak with him in private. Intrigued, you follow him and listen to what he has to say. Somehow you’re unsurprised when he begins explaining what he wants.

“I intend to bring Magnus the Red to Terra to answer before The Emperor.”

He’s looking at you closely, trying to gauge your reaction. Whether you can be trusted or not. You can’t, but he doesn’t know that, not yet.

>But Russ ordered us to do what was necessary, didn’t he?

“He did. But The Emperor’s command was to have Magnus brought back to Terra. By any means. I would like to follow that order as far as possible. Russ has put you in command, Captain Ales, but you are not a primarch. Nevertheless, I would like us to cooperate, Captain, for I believe we both don’t want to fight a pitched battle here. Do you agree?”

So that’s how it is. Whatever you do he’s going to go after Msgnus, whether you like it or not. And if he wanted he could punch your head off, which would leave him in charge. Still, you have some authority vested in you by Russ, even if you don’t hold a candle to any custodes, let alone Valdor himself. It’ll be risky forcing him to obey. Or you could just let him leave. But then, it might not be wise to let him go alone either, for if he gets detected all hell will break loose.

What will you do?
>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.
>Suggest you split up, whoever accomplishes their objective first wins. Though you know that Valdor can take care of himself, you’ll be without him and the Sisters, and you don’t know what he might get up to.
>Go with Valdor, but lose him when it’s most convenient. You can get away once you’ve grabbed what you want from here, leaving him and this sordid affair in the dust.
>Pull rank on Valdor. Russ put you in charge, and you intend to see the mission through. Risky, but you doubt he’ll kill you outright before you’ve even begun fighting the enemy.
>Write in?
>>
>>5956203

>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.

Honestly I think if we make a “stealthy” push into Tizca with Valdor at the head of our force, we’ll have minimal casualties and a very good chance of actually staying undetected.
>>
>>5956203
>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.

I personally do not want to try our luck against Valdor and will get a good laugh out of that son of horus on russ flagship seething when he finds out we helped Valdor get Magnus back to big E
>>
>>5956203
>>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.
>>
>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.
I love it when a character actually makes this easier for us than it otherwise could be.
>>
>>5956203
>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.
can also lead to taking some thousand sons with us, and that would definitely help in our psyker studies
>>
>>5956203
>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.
>>
>>5956203
>Go with Valdor to find Magnus. If you can find a peaceful resolution to this fiasco, you’ll have some pull with Valdor if you ever see him again, not to mention avoiding any casualties.
sure we are going with you big man !
Things will become explosive regardless there is no way in hell Magnus will simply want to leave his legion, city and people here. Not with what just happened to his world, Valdor will have to diplomance his way out while we get an increased unease feeling (tzeentch seething through the warp promising that he will obliterate us).

On something unrelated i have to say i really like the new battle/war images where they have their helmets on in 40k, primarchs, custodes etc... really cool frankly. Even the emperor should have one honestly. Its such a simple thing to do, they can just put the helmets at the side when they aren't in battle.
>>
You will accompany Valdor to locate, and if possible, bring back Magnus to Terra. Ensuring Magnus returns safely is probably not in your best interests, but if you succeed at this, you will have Constantin Valdor in your debt, a boon that will surely be useful somewhere down the line. So you incline your head, and voice your agreement with his plan.

>We are all faithful servants of The Emperor. It would not do to ignore His will.

Valdor nods back, and on his face you see what you imagine is a rare smile.

“I thank you, Captain Ales. I think we will work together nicely.”

With that he takes his leave to prep his troops, and you summon your sergeants and lieutenants for their briefing.

Though Valdor towers over you by a full head or two, he lets you give the briefing on your objectives to both your marines and his retinue. The basic plan is simple: Magnus must be located and retrieved. He’s probably hiding in the central spire of Prospero, the Pyramid of Photep. But to get there you have to get to Central Tizca, sneaking past the Prosperine Spireguard, panicking civilians, and whatever arcane defences that may be defending the sorcerous enclaves. It will not be easy, but with the absence of the Thousand Sons it is more than possible.

You and your men will have to pass 3 main areas to get to Magnus. First is the outskirts of Tizca, the Silver District which mostly houses civilians and other mortal helpers of Prospero. Defences will be minimal there. Next will be Central Tizca itself, surrounded by the Temple-arcologies of the Prosperine cults, where the Thousand Sons themselves are most likely to be hiding. You expect the more arcane and sorcerous defences will be located there, potentially even the source of the shield protecting the city from utter annihilation. The Silent Sisters will be most useful there, their powers hopefully countering those of the Sorcerers in the Thousand Sons. After that is the Pyramid of Photep itself, Magnus’s seat. You do not know what you will have to do to get in there, or what may be hiding within its depths. You doubt you’ll be able to knock on the front door, though maybe Valdor will try. Regardless, you must succeed 3 times if you want to reach Magnus himself without any trouble. A tough feat, but it’s doable. Your men are experts at infiltration and stealth, and though they’re admittedly not as good at it as the Raven Guard there are few more subversive or efficient than the sons of The Hydra.
>>
>>5957032

With the briefing over, and the pale faces of your subordinates nodding in acceptance, you dismiss them to return to their commands. You’re glad that you had the foresight to order the officers disguised that way, though the rank-and file marines are only disguised by their black armour. If you suffer any casualties Valdor may notice something is amiss with your troops. You just have to hope that you’ll get to the Pyramid of Photep without incident.

The men are ready, and the walls of Tizca stand in front of you. The last city of Prospero. There are fires burning in the city from incidental damage, but so far there are few eyes on the plains around it, due to the lack of any serious invasion force. Now all that’s left is to sneak in.

Prospero Infiltration Force
>Gamma Company: 450 Marines
>Delta Company [Command, Constantin Valdor]: 450 Marines, 15 Custodes, 50 Silent Sisters

Roll 2d100+25. Bo3. The bonus will only apply to Delta Company, due to Valdor’s presence.

Additionally, what will your rules of engagement be if you are discovered?
>No witnesses. You’ll silence them before they can raise the alarm.
>Hide. They probably see enough ghosts around here, and they’re under enough pressure that they’re bound to hallucinate.
>Negotiate. It will do well to spread confusion about a small force of non-hostile marines and custodes on the battlefield.
>>
Rolled 86 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5957033
Secret agent man. Secret agent man. He's given you a number and taken away your name.
>>
Rolled 69 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5957037
>>5957033
and the second.
>>
>>5957037
>>5957038

Good rolling anon
>>
Rolled 83 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5957033
>Negotiate. It will do well to spread confusion about a small force of non-hostile marines and custodes on the battlefield.
We're masters of subversion, it's what we do.
>>
>>5957033
>No witnesses. You’ll silence them before they can raise the alarm.

A stealth mission is a stealth mission
Plus everyone on the planet will be fucked if things get loud
>>
>>5957033
>>5957037
>>5957038
>Hide. They probably see enough ghosts around here, and they’re under enough pressure that they’re bound to hallucinate.
>>
In true alpha legion style all three options are voted on
>>
>>5957037
>>5957038
Only one roll per ID anon, I'll only count your first. That means I need another roll from another ID in case of crits.
>>
>>5957047
Sorry, read that as 2d100 B03 so I thought you wanted three rolls of 2d100.
>>
Rolled 11, 18 + 9 = 38 (2d100 + 9)

Also forgot to make these two rolls. DC 81.
>>
>>5957049
Oh wait, that's right. Yeah, nevermind, you're good. I'll need an extra roll from >>5957042
and 2d100 from another anon.
>>
>>5957051
>>5957053
Time to clown on some Tizcan spire guard/pdf. I don't even want to know how big the bonus to the TS sons detection rolls are going to be.
>>
Rolled 29, 71 + 25 = 125 (2d100 + 25)

>>5957033

Rolling.
>>
Rolled 97 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5957053

Here you go QM
>>
Rolled 22 + 25 (1d100 + 25)

>>5957053
I'm this anon >>5957042, here's another roll if you need it.
>>
>>5957033
>Negotiate. It will do well to spread confusion about a small force of non-hostile marines and custodes on the battlefield.
>>
>>5957033
>Negotiate. It will do well to spread confusion about a small force of non-hostile marines and custodes on the battlefield.
>>
>>5957033
>Negotiate. It will do well to spread confusion about a small force of non-hostile marines and custodes on the battlefield.

I think I forgot to vote, actually.
>>
>>5957033
>Negotiate. It will do well to spread confusion about a small force of non-hostile marines and custodes on the battlefield.
>>
You give the command, and your men begin moving as one. Valdor goes with you, along with his retinue of Custodes and Silent Sisters. You reach and scale the walls without incident, flitting past the distressed guards like whispers on the wind. Once in the city proper it becomes far easier, the Spireguard too busy manning their posts and fighting fires to notice the squads of marines moving through their midst. Your men split up into individual squads, dispersing through the outskirts of the city and worming their way through to the rally point at the edge of Central Tizca. There are mortals everywhere, but your training and experience have honed your skills to a point that they never realise you’re there. Even so, though you are second only to the actual Raven Guard in stealth, every one of you pales in comparison to Valdor and his Companions. You have never seen men so still or quiet, their every movement seeming effortless as they glide from street to street, an economy of motion so absolute that you feel sluggish and burdensome in comparison. Your men are accomplished in all modes of warfare, as all Space Marines are, but these – these are true weapons of warfare. Silent. Unyielding. Supremely skilled to the point of perfection. You may be His angels, but these were indeed His companions.

Eventually, you reach the plazas of Central Tizca, and the start of the temple-arcologies where doubtless dwell the Thousand Sons and other Things. Their sheer white sides tower above you, shining strangely in the dusky sun and smoky flames. High above all looms the mighty Pyramid of Photep, more magnificent than almost anything you have seen. Gilden in gold and silver, surrounded by statues of Magnus itself, it is a Wizard’s Tower unlike any other. It is the sanctum of Magnus the Red, and he dwells somewhere inside. The sirens and sounds of the city around you have subsided, and an eerie silence hangs over the streets you find yourself in. Not a living soul can be seen. Fires burn in columned braziers, but that is the only sign that humans have ever set foot in this place. There is still no sign of the Thousand Sons. You are certain that your unsettledness is not just paranoia, but some deeper feeling. Sorcery. You look to one of the Silent Sisters who has accompanied you, and she nods. They can feel it too. But you don’t know how their powers will work here. Perhaps they can only use it against active psychic phenomena? It will be interesting to observe the effect.
>>
>>5957881
The temple-arcologies around you grimly glow in the light. Why are the Thousand Sons not emerging? Surely they are aware of the bombardment and what it means. The information on what is inside the temple-arcologies is scarce, but you know they are the nexus of the cults of Prospero. Their most powerful sorcerers dwell therein. Indeed, if the origin of this shield above the city is not Magnus himself then it is probably in one of these lesser pyramids, either some sorcerous power or archaeotech from the Dark Age. It may be prudent to investigate some of these arcologies, you think, before continuing on to Magnus. There may be valuable knowledge or resources in these. Or maybe you should seek their lord as fast as possible and leave as quickly as you came.

You ask Valdor for his advice.

“…I do not like it. A silent battlefield is never a good sign. And there is a feeling beneath it all. A hush to this place that is not entirely natural. What sorcerous rituals have they been conducting here? It may be better to investigate it now before we extract Magnus, or it may ruin what cover we have. And I am worried what they will do when they discover we are taking their primarch and leaving them to the Wolves.”

What shall you do
>Investigate the arcologies and seek the Thousand Sons. You must know why they are not emerging before you proceed.
>Try and identify which temple houses the shield mechanism. That was originally your mission after all, and it may be useful later if anything goes wrong.
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.

Regardless, you must step carefully here. Who knows what strange spells you may trigger in this place? You take one step forward, then two…
Roll 2d100+25. Bo3.
>>
Rolled 8 + 9 (1d100 + 9)

Rolling for a certain someone...
>>
Rolled 90 + 18 (1d100 + 18)

And certain others...
>>
>>5957885
>>
Rolled 34, 52 + 25 = 111 (2d100 + 25)

>>5957882
>>Try and identify which temple houses the shield mechanism. That was originally your mission after all, and it may be useful later if anything goes wrong.
>>
Rolled 55, 50 + 25 = 130 (2d100 + 25)

>>5957882
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.

While I reckon identifying the location of the shield is useful.

I am worried that the longer it takes for us to get to magnus the worse things will get.
>>
>>5957884
Let me guess, that’s Magnus ain’t it? Sigh. Well no harm till we talk to the fucker in question and then have ourselves a talk.
>>5957885
Looks like the Ghousand sons are either going about as canon and deciding to fight, or they finally found out where we are.
>>5957899
>>5957900

Great rolling both of You anons! With a 77 and a 80, we should have not tripped the alarms.
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.
We’ll find our answers within the chamber of Magnus.
>>
>>5957882
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.
Keep moving, focus on the target.
>>
>>5957882

>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth people, keep moving
>>
Rolled 4, 49 + 25 = 78 (2d100 + 25)

>>5957882
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.
>>
>>5957882
>>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.
>>
>>5957882
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.
>>
>>5957882
>Move on to Photep. You must not be distracted, Magnus is the goal.
We can't afford to have any complications with Valdor at this stage. Besides, if our guys have Magnus's ear, our chances of avoiding Prosperine genocide greatly increase.

>>5957908
>>5957899
>>5957900
That's actually an 80 and 77, but just as solid.
>>
Been out tonight, sorry anons, Horus Heresy will be updating tomorrow.
>>
You musn’t be distracted. The goal is Magnus, everything else is secondary. You nod at Valdor and he nods back. You both know what to do. The Crimson King must be found, and if possible, captured. You give a sign, and at the command your men collectively leap from the shadows towards one of the smaller temple arcologies that lie between you and the Great Pyramid. Lightning crackles in the shield above, and the glowing red sky does nothing to lighten the mood. There is still no sign of the Thousand Sons or any living soul in this place.

The Custodes move silently at your side, invisibly gliding from building to building in the shadow of the pyramids, their golden armour somehow not giving them away. Your men follow them, but the difference in training and skill is stark. Even if you were actually Raven Guard you doubt you could reach the level of the Custodes whose every movement is made with a precision even your best Seekers cannot match. You hope you’ll never need to fight such an enemy.

You move past the buildings, being careful to check each corner and building, wary for a trap or waiting ambush, but none ever come. The silence is eerie. The Pyramid of Photep looms high above, drawing ever closer with each step you take. Eventually you reach a square, as silent as the rest of this ominous place, and you are about to step out when a small hand darts in front and holds you back. The Sister of Silence besides you shakes hear head before pointing at a statue standing above the archway at the other end of the square. It’s a winged bird of some kind, though without feathers, seated in a squatting position, like a gargoyle keeping watch over some sacred place. By her reaction you suspect that the Thing is more than a simple statue. You nod, and command your men to avoid the square, taking a detour around it to Photep.

As you move closer to the Great Pyramid you begin to encounter more and more of these kinds of sentinels, almost certainly sorcerous in origin. Several times you don’t see anything at all, though the Silent Sisters seem to insist there is, while at other times they stand around some place and only move when all your men have passed through. The Great Pyramid is getting closer, and just as you begin to think that you might make it there without incident there is a loud and rapid squawking from somewhere within the city, and you receive a vox ping from Lieutenant Chorda, the commander of gamma company.
>>
>>5960940

You accept the vox ping. The first thing you hear is rapid breathing, as if the Lieutenant has suddenly been pushed to his limits, and then you hear the words that no commander of the Alpha Legion wishes to hear.

“We are compromised.”

There are certain procedures in the Alpha Legion for when a unit is discovered. The first is determining the condition of the compromised unit; the threat level, amount of enemies, and other conditions that might affect their mission. After that you must determine what will be done with the compromised unit, whether flight or fight is necessary. You immediately engage in the comm-phrases with Chorda.

>ID?

“Secure.”

So they’ve been found as the Raven Guard. Though with the psychic powers of the Thousand Sons that might not last long.

>Level?

“Minor.”

>Quanta?

High.

>Qualia?

“Normal. Except…” He’s hesitating. Always a bad sign. “Unknown discovery point. May be psychic. Men report “flickering” shadows. Have not yet engaged the enemy.”

This is not good. The Alpha Legion has never been able to get actionable intel on the powers of the Thousand Sons, only hearsay from their loudest detractors, so you don’t know much about what you’re dealing with. There are of course the abilities of the Librarius as a starting point, psychic attacks against the mind, wielding lightning as a weapon, imbuing themselves with immense strength, and more, but you suspect the Sorcerers of Prospero have more tricks up their sleeve. It might be best to order Gamma to retreat, but at the same time this is an opportunity to gain insight into the strange powers that these sorcerers wield…

What are your orders for Gamma Company?
>Engage the enemy. It’ll be a useful distraction, and it’ll give you the opportunity to test the Thousand Sons powers.
>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
>Retreat, but draw the enemy away from the Great Pyramid. Breaking in will be more difficult for you if the enemy is aware of your objective.
>Write in.

Once the orders are given, you update Valdor of the situation, then move towards Photep. The air feels thicker here somehow, and as you move closer to the centre of Tizca you almost begin feeling a pressure at the back of your mind, which is noticeably lessened when you draw close to one of the Silent Sisters. Soon though you and your men reach its base, and now your company must find a way in…

Roll 1d100+16. Bo3. [+25 Constantin Valdor, -9 malign influence…]
>>
Rolled 60 + 16 (1d100 + 16)

>>5960945
>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
Fighting with Tzeentchian daemons with no awareness of what that entails is a fool's errand, transhuman supersoldiers or not. Also-
>Valdor is worth a +25 point bonus to an entire unit
That's terrifying
>>
Rolled 28 + 16 (1d100 + 16)

>>5960945
>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
>>
Rolled 13 + 16 (1d100 + 16)

>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
Welp, Tzeentch has finally tipped his fingers on the scales it seems.
>>
>>5960945
>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
>>
>>5960945
>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.

>>5960948
nice roll
>>
>>5960945
>>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
Man thank goodness these guys aren't daemons right just nice friendly helpful warp entities hahahaaaa
>>
>>5960945
>>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
disengage
>>
>>5960945
>Retreat and try to hide again. They’re compromised now but they can still aid you when you begin extraction.
As strange as it is to say this know, I have a feeling we just might be able to find Magnus and get off this planet with no other major incident. We we meet him with the rest of our group, we'll either have to color our deception as a measure to deceive the SoH if Magnus decides to call us out or convince him mentally to play along until planetary genocide can be avoided. Either way, we might have to take him directly to Russ's flagship to minimize any suspicions from the Space Wolves. Even if he isn't the one generating the field, he can call it off if he wanted and bring along the group of marines responsible for it if need be. That way, if Russ insists that death must be dealt, we and Valdor could use literal rules lawyer tactics to convince him that the sole punishment of the individuals responsible should be enough, given that the latter really wants Magnus brought back to the Emperor alive without further hitch. The timing of our announcement of the SoH's betrayal will depend on if we decide to reveal ourselves and when. This is the crutch of our mission, and if we fail to convince them, either
>every party present turns on us and we escape by the skin of our teeth, indirectly implying the leaning of the larger AL and funnily enough putting the TSons in the clear.
>it becomes a Mexican standoff between the TSons, Emperor's talons, and Space Wolves, but who knows what the larger implications would be.

If we succeed, then the SoH won't have as much time to wage the war, the TSons are in the clear, the loyalist war effort is strengthened, and we have very powerful connections within the SoS and Custodes. Tzeentch would not take this very well at all for the fact that an entire legion was prevented from siding with Horus and that it was his favored legion at that. It is likely that these would happen
>Out of spite for (You) in particular, Tzeentch takes the AL elements aligned with Horus for himself and sends them all after /yourdudes/.
>To "balance" the loss of the TSons, another legion may decide to side with the Warmaster. This may be the White Scars or a horrifying dark foil of the Shattered Legions: Caliban elements of the Dark Angels who receive an massive wartime boost and join forces with particularly ambitious UM and WS who miss the days of pioneer companies, forming a sort of confederacy. Imagine a few years into the war that one of our our captains picks up Rebel Yells from the trees.

>>5960948
Good to see.
>>
>>5961250
Agreed, ah it’s good for an update to be on now after a weeks absence.
>>
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You order Lieutenant Chorda and the rest of Gamma company to retreat and hide, and await further orders. Chorda acknowledges instantly, and though you can hear the screeching alarm sound continue, you know that Chorda and his men will make it out safely. Only the Raven Guard themselves can disappear faster than the snakes of the Alpha Legion. As you draw closer to the Great Pyramid you feel a greater urgency run through you, and though none of the alarms are triggered you don’t leave a second for relaxation. The Pyramid of Photep towers over the Tizcan skyline, more of a vast ziggurat complex with the Sorcerers tower at its peak than a simple pyramid, and whenever you glance at it you can’t help but feel a twinge of doubt. What is the Crimson Lord of the Thousand Sons doing in there? What strange sorceries is he summoning in the hour of his greatest need? With your thoughts flying about you, your forces reach the main walkway to that vast complex without incident, still encountering not a single living thing. You thought the plazas and squares of the temple-arcologies were quiet, but this place feels more like a grave: silent, and empty.

You are moving quickly beside the main walkway, careful not to expose yourself even in this apparently deserted place,when one of your advance scout squads voxes in with a report.

“There is no entrance.”

No entrance? How? You vox back demanding an explanation, and the sergeant replies:

“The entrance is blocked by a great carved stone. Auspex scans show it extends into the pyramid, and must be pushed into an interior cavity to allow entrance. My squad is unable to push it. Auspex estimates several hundred tons weight, potentially reaching a thousand.”

Several hundred tons? You’d need most of your company to push such a weight, and even
then it would be a close job. Almost impossible if the entrance isn’t wide enough for your men to put pressure on it. You’re almost thinking about climbing the side of the pyramid instead when you hear Valdor’s voice through the vox.

“We must proceed nonetheless.”

You shake your head at the Custodes’ stubborn-headedness and move with him to the main entrance. The scouting squad is right. There is a triangular doorway, but it’s perfectly blocked by a solid block of stone that neatly fits within the entrance. How is it supposed to be opened? Is there a hidden mechanism? Or do the Thousand Sons use their sorcerous powers to somehow open the door?

>How do we-

“Step aside.”

You barely have time to move before Valdor is at the door, looking over each corner before he places his spear aside, spreads his hands over the door, and leans in. You’re about to ask him what he’s doing when several other Custodes join him, and together they begin to push against the doorway, digging their feet so hard into the ground it begins to crack. And somehow, defying all possibility, the door moves.
>>
>>5961955

As you watch with growing astonishment the sheer strength of the Custodes you hear several of your men mutter in alarm, and turn to see red armoured soldiers begin appearing on the temple-arcologies, and as you look around you notice that their entrances have opened up like a maw, some of which have glowing lights within. The Thousand Sons are coming out.

You don’t think they’ve noticed you, more likely they are enacting some sort of plan to preserve the city or some sorcerous ritual to strike at the Space Wolves, but you don’t want to stick around to find out. You order your men to remain concealed then turn and watch Valdor and his Custodes push the entrance in, slowly but surely, and once they have pushed it all the way the stone disappears, revealing a long dark corridor in front of you. There’s no going back now. You order your troops to fall in, and you head into the darkness with Valdor.

Blue torches flicker to life as you walk down the corridor, Constantin Valdor and a Sister of Silence by your side, their weapons at the ready. All you have is a power sword and a volkite pistol; the Alpha Legion doesn’t need any flashy weapons that could clue enemies to their presence. You continue walking down the corridor for what feels like the length of the pyramid until you come to a large hall with 3 gates on each side of the room. Each one is covered in runes, some kind of local Prosperine script, but as you look at them the runes begin glowing blue, before bursting into flames, which shift and change to clear letters of High Gothic.

STRENGTH

MIND

SOUL

You hear one of the Custodes mutter: “Sorcery…”

But Valdor shakes his head. “No. A test. Some kind of security system I would think. One which we must find a way past if we are to reach Magnus.”

Of course the Thousand Sons or Magnus himself would think up such a thing. Typical. You are about to confer with Valdor which gate you should choose when Kylon moves to your side.

“Captain. I have not known sorcery that can withstand the use of explosives, with extreme prejudice. We have enough among the men to blast our way through the pyramid. Auspex scans are hazy, but we can make a path, if needed.”

You acknowledge his advice with a nod. A lucky thing you have remained hidden till now. You doubt you would have this opportunity if you’d been discovered on the way in. You walk over to Valdor, and together you decide…

How shall you proceed?
>Choose the Gate of Strength
>Choose the Gate of Mind
>Choose the Gate of Soul
>Damn these sorcerers and their tricks, you’re going to blast your way through!
>>
>>5961957
>Choose the Gate of Soul
Picking this one as that seems to be the one Magnus would care about the most thanks to the warp. Since it is called, “The Sea of Souls”. Besides that, all seems to be going well, though the difficulty is increasing the higher and higher we go, with Tzeentch really trying to stop us from moving forward it seems.
>>
>>5961957

>Choose the Gate of Mind

We’re INT-specced!
>>
>Choose the Gate of Soul
>>
>>5961957
>Gate of Soul
I don't trust anything to do with the mind or body when it comes to Tzeentch.
>>
>>5961957
>Choose the Gate of Soul
>>
>>5961957
>Choose the Gate of Soul
It's probably in reference to the Sea of Souls, another name for the Warp. This predicament also implies that Magnus is likely aware that we're here, no later than when Valdor and his men pushed the stone. He could probably teleport in front of us right now if he wanted to, but he isn't. So the million dollar question is this: Exactly why is he testing us?
>>
>>5961957
>Choose the Gate of Soul

fuck it
>>
After a moment of conferring with Valdor, you decide to pass through the Gate of Soul. You reason that it will be the place where Magnus is most likely to be, if he is anywhere in this place. Valdor agrees, and after informing your men of your decision, you step before the gate. The burning letters flicker to a wind that is not there, and the golden frame gleams in the torchlight of the chamber. The opening is pitch black, and even when you shine a light through you cannot illumine more than a metre in, the light getting cut off as if there is nothing there. Not even your auspex scanners can read past this darkness. You look to Valdor, and he nods.

“To walk the perilous realms, to brave the untrodden path, to light the darkened ways. That is our duty. You have performed well, Captain Ales, and I swear we will confront this together. You have my word as a servant of The Emperor.”

That is no idle oath, coming from him. You smile beneath your helmet, despite yourself. You could get used to being a captain of the Raven Guard. You order your men to form up behind you then stand beside Valdor, and together you step into the darkness beyond the Gate of Soul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkktyOA06NQ

The first thing you notice is the whispering. Hazy, at the edge of your hearing, almost imperceptible were it not for the fact that all other sound has disappeared. You cannot hear what they are saying. Your armour sensors are not picking up anything. You look around and see Valdor, glowing slightly in the darkness, and nobody else behind. Your men are gone. The Gate is gone. It is just you and Valdor, walking in pitch darkness.

>Can you hear that?

“No. I cannot hear what you are hearing. But I feel the presence of unnatural things. Be on your guard.”

As he says that his guardian spear lights up, crackling with pure energy, casting a blue glow on his golden armour. You follow his lead and activate your power sword, for all the good it might do you. You notice in the light of your two weapons that the floor has become smooth, faultless, and obsidian black. It is so perfect that you can see mirror images of yourselves walking below you. Above, you cannot see the roof, if there is one.

You walk forward and lose track of time. Nothing changes in this place. It may be several minutes or hours since you left the chamber with your men. What kind of being can create such a place? You do not think you are in the Pyramid of Photep anymore. The darkness stretches on, but after a while you think you can see a horizon, a dim, grey line in the distance. You walk on, and eventually you come to a vast abyss separating this colourless landscape. It stretches out on either side as far as you can see.

Over here…
>>
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>>5962727

The voice is not Valdor’s. You look down, and see reflected in the floor a strange, horned xenos thing, standing next to you and Valdor. It is in the vague shape of a man, but its head is like a skull, and there are strange, ethereal energies streaming throughout its body. There are chains wrapped around its arms, which are muscly almost like an astartes, though with sharp claws instead of fingers. Valdor sees its reflection and raises his spear.

“Daemon.” He hisses.

The thing bows, straightens, then bows again.

“No, not one of those. Stopholes, at your service. If you may believe it, I am one of Magnus’ sons, irreparably changed by a curse, and now I dwell here, within this dark surface. I have all my faculties, and more besides, but I bid you caution, lest you encounter my brothers, for they too reside in this gloomy place, The Well of Souls, and unceasing tides!”

Valdor does not lower his weapon, but he does not swing it either. Not that there is anything to swing against. You cannot see this Stopholes physically next to you, he is only within the reflective surface of the floor.

>What do you want?

Stopholes bows.

“Freedom, simply put. These chains constrain me. Cut them loose, and I will render service. A guide through this place, only cut me free! Stab your spear against the glass, and to the King we shall travel fast!”

What shall you do?
>Cut it free. You need to find a way through this place, and it is offering to be your guide.
>Leave it. The thing seems untrustworthy. You will find a way without it.
>Write in?
>>
>>5962729

>Leave it. The thing seems untrustworthy. You will find a way without it.

“Render us aid now, and we will speak of your service to Lord Magnus. You are under his charge, Stopholes, and therefore only he may release you from your bonds.”
>>
>>5962729
>Leave it. The thing seems untrustworthy. You will find a way without it.
It's a shame to see someone suffering from the Flesh Change, but this guy obviously has an ulterior motive. Cracking the floor might release all of the other afflicted Astartes for all we know.

>No, not one of those
He knows they exist. Very suspicious.

>>5962742
Agreed. We should also ask if he would prefer to be put out of his misery by Magnus himself if he refuses to release him.
>>
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>>5962729
>>5962751
I also have an idea. If we could lightly touch one of the chains not by touching the glass, but by moving our hand around the space where it appears to be, that implies the physical presence of anything that shows up in the glass. Given that the other prisoners are likely held in the same way and that they could present a physical threat, this could be exploited to manifest an object in the room. We could use a flat, reflective surface of our own to test this effect on a small object, then reflect the edge of the chasm to create a path across, with flat reflective surfaces carried by Valdor and "Ales" to support each other as they walk across. Knowing how the Warp works, it's the literal manifestation of Valdor's promise:
>“To walk the perilous realms, to brave the untrodden path, to light the darkened ways. That is our duty. You have performed well, Captain Ales, and I swear we will confront this together. You have my word as a servant of The Emperor.”

Pic related. They both walk across the chasm, with the edge behind them. Once the other side of the chasm begins to appear, one of them redirects their mirror forward, creating an even surface from the combinations of opposite reflections. Once the edge behind disappears into the darkness, they both point their mirrors forward until they get across. This requires superhuman levels of coordination and precision, so it's a good thing both of them are superhuman.
>>
>>5962729
>Leave it. The thing seems untrustworthy. You will find a way without it.
>“Render us aid now, and we will speak of your service to Lord Magnus. You are under his charge, Stopholes, and therefore only he may release you from your bonds.”
>>
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>>5962780
This is a view from above.
>>
>>5962729
>>Write in?
"What's the reason they have place you and others here, beside the obvious ? Research ?""
"Freedom is what you ask ? I could understand wanting it when you are in such conditions for who knows how long, but i would be a fool to not consider you might want more ...... death. Even if you had a fresh breath of air, you already know your body is horrendous to look at by everyone outside, your kin and brothers would be forced to kill you on sight no doubt. Thats what you want no ?"
"Instead, i want something else. Service, abandon your legion and serve us instead. You cannot return to your legion or world, and it seems your Father has yet to find a way to aid you."
>>
>>5962780
Can we do this as the next thing to do after we leave Stopholes alone?
>>
>>5962780
>>5962787

This effort posting is based but do we even know that there’s an Indiana Jones-style bridge trick here?

I just thought the floor was very shiny…
>>
>>5962876
We already have Valdor's trust, something he places in very few people, and saying that might erase every ounce of it, especially
>Service, abandon your legion and serve us instead

I respectfully object this suggestion.

>>5962880
That's the idea. Now that I think about it, our combat knife would make a good improvised mirror.

>>5962904
It's Magnus, but who knows if that really confirms anything.
>>
>>5962742
>support
>>
>>5962780
This is not at all how I envisioned you crossing the chasm, but the idea is cool enough that I'll say it's possible, though a roll must be made to do it right.
>>
>>5962742
>>5962780
I'll support both of these in succession, the former as it's reasonable, the latter as it's badass. Tzeentch is the Chaos God who most values thinking outside of the box, so I suspect this would go over well.

>>5962876
Valdor would murder the FUCK out of us if he suspected we were renegades. I'm shocked he hasn't sniffed us out yet. If we didn't have the custodes following us I would agree with this but I think it's too risky to dare for now.
>>
>>5963148

He probably has sniffed us out but wants us alive until we get to Magnus?
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>>5963154
Dont think he really cares so long as we are loyal to the emperor and our actions have shown us to be that way to him at least.
>>
>>5962729
>Leave it. The thing seems untrustworthy. You will find a way without it.

>“Render us aid now, and we will speak of your service to Lord Magnus. You are under his charge, Stopholes, and therefore only he may release you from your bonds.”

I will also support anon’s big brain idea.
>>
>>5962780
Oops, forgot to link anon’s post
>>
>>5962780
I support this plan
>>
>>5962729
>Leave it. The thing seems untrustworthy. You will find a way without it.
Awfully chill for someone who's going through the flesh change.
>>
>>5962729
>>5962780

Support.
>>
Updating tomorrow. I'll try to get two updates out then take a break for Easter.

Short question: Did Magnus do anything wrong?
>>
>>5963848
Yes. Specifically, his arguments at Nikea and to Horus, as well as during that conversation with that one demon who took his form.
>>
>>5963848

Yes, but he was wrong “for the right reasons” - he just loves his boys and was arrogant enough to think that he could break the rules and get away with it
>>
>>5962780
>>5962742
>>5962729
>support these two anons.

Seems smart.
>>
This Thing is unlike any xenos you’ve seen before. Even without the strangeness of its appearance, you’re not sure you would be inclined to trust it. This place is sorcerous in nature, and Stopholes seems a little too ambivalent about the situation. This is a dark place, and you would not be surprised to find dark things lurk within it.

Still, it intrigues you. Is Stopholes merely invisible, or is he really stuck in some other plane of reality beyond the obsidian floor? Keeping your eyes locked on his ‘reflection’, you reach out your hand to see if you can physically grasp one of his chains. Valdor is watching you curiously. At first you’re grasping at nothing, touching empty air, but then you feel it. An iron chain. It’s somehow cold to the touch, even through your armour. You withdraw your hand hurriedly, while Stopholes seems delighted.

“Very good, very good! He has perceived it! With the reflection touched, you must now believe it.”

>That Thing is there, I think. There was something physical there. Or…

“It is done, it is done, now set me free! Cut the chains, and I will serve with glee!”

You look back at the reflection, now dancing up and down on the spot. Eerily, you can hear chains rattling next to you, and this time you think it’s not in your head. You look at Valdor. Valdor shakes his head. “No matter what it says, I will not free it.”

You are not inclined to either. You wait for Stopholes to realise it has not been set free before speaking.

>We will not cut your chains, not yet. Render us aid now, and we will speak of your service to Lord Magnus. You are under his charge, Stopholes, and therefore only he may release you from your bonds.

A spark of yellow flame flickers in one of its eyes before disappearing. It frowns for a moment, before shrugging its shoulders.

“I shall follow the shifting tides, and Lord Magnus will decide. Lead on!”

You look again to Valdor, who gives no indication of his feelings on the matter. You take it as his form of tacit approval. Wondering whether you’ve made the right decision you step closer to the edge of the chasm. It looks bottomless. You glance at Stopholes.

>Do you have a way to cross?

Stopholes shrugs. “Powers I have, many indeed, but not their use until I am freed.”
>>
>>5964608

You’re stuck then. But, you suddenly think, if Stopholes has some physical presence here, then that would mean that what is contained within the reflections is also physically present. You think a moment more, then take out your combat knife. Valdor is quick to exclaim,

“I hope you are not-

>No. Not freeing it. Something else.

You hold your knife over the edge, barely able to make out the other side in the gloom. You angle it, downwards but a little to the side too, to reflect the chasm itself. If you’ve done this right, your knife should now reflect the chasm wall below you, but now horizontal, creating a surface you can walk upon. Holding out your power sword, you poke at the void in front of you. Valdor is watching you curiously.

At first, you meet nothing but empty air, for all the world looking like a fool waving his sword madly at nothing, but then you feel it, your sword bouncing against something physical, something hard, and even brittle. To your side a few pieces of the chasm suddenly crack and tumble off into the darkness, almost of their own accord. You’ve done it.

You test it some more, and find that the surface margin is thin, very thin. Even Stopholes is leaning in now, curious, and not saying a word. It’s going to be tough. The width is tiny, barely enough room to step on, and that’s assuming you can keep it level the whole way through. You’ll have to switch sides one you get to the middle too. One mistake might send you both tumbling into the gloom below. But you are an Astartes, and you have the captain of the Custodes by your side. With the theory confirmed you turn to Valdor and quickly explain your plan. He listens to your explanation in shocked silence, but after a moment he nods.

“You have a keen mind, Captain Ales. I doubt few could think of that. Very well. We shall be as beggars in the kingdom of the blind!”

He powers down his guardian spear, and holding it in front of him he angles it at the chasm. You do the same with your knife, your sword held out in front of you, and tapping it around yourself like a blind beggar you both step out into the abyss.

Roll 1d100. +0 Curious god. DC 65. Bo3.
>>
Rolled 73 (1d100)

Well, this seems to be already chosen for us then hasn't it?
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>>5964611
FUCKIING YES!!! ALRIGHT BOYS< WE PASS IT NO MATTER WHAT!

ALSO, FUCK YOU TZEENTCH YOU AINT STOPPING US ON THIS PART OF THE JOURNEY!!!!
>>
Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>5964609
PRAISE TZEENTCH!
>>
Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>5964609
>>
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>>5964611
happy days
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>>5964614
>>5964617
And thankfully, the bullet was bitten before anyone else could get cursed by Tzeentchs displeasure once he heard about me insulting him. Either way, we pass and now it’s on to the next part of the journey to the sanctum of Magnus, though man is Ahzek going to be shocked when a Ravenguard, a Custodian, and a brother suffering the Flesh change suddenly appear before him in the temple. Especially with all the fear going around from the bonbardment that just got unleashed on the surface of Prospero.
>>
>>5964611
hooray!
>>
>>5964609
>>5964611
>>
>>5964609
>>5964611
I'm relieved my harebrained idea didn't get us killed. kek

>>5964625
I'm under the impression that we didn't free Stopholes, and he won't be unless Magnus decides to after we meet with him. That aside, there's a nonzero chance his chamber will be guarded by some Sekhmet. It might be better to leave most of the talking to Valdor until we meet Magnus if that happens. If one of the Sekhmet present can read our mind, then we should focus on the idea that our disguise is crucial to preventing Prospero from becoming a dust ball, and is information that will be disclosed to his primarch. If it is true that Magnus is watching, then he may already be waiting just past the exit and we wouldn't have to worry about such an encounter. Either way, we should decide whether to reveal ourselves during the conversation and divulge Horus's treachery then, or convince Magnus to play along until we make our accusation aboard Russ's flagship. Everyone would be on the same page in the former scenario, but the chances of the SoH commander learning of our plan increases; the opposite would occur with the latter. I'm not sure our camaraderie with Valdor can survive such a revelation despite how essential the disguise is to getting Magnus off planet.
>>
Still alive anons, just had a busy Easter. If I don't have an update tomorrow it will be the day after, guaranteed.
>>
>>5966872
We await your return with patience and hope all is well.
>>
>>5966872
did you have to fight off the easter bunny?
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>>5969482
Easter bunny killed him apparently :/
RIP
>>
>>5966872
>>5970076
Rest in peace, OP.
>>
>>5966872
>>5970076
Damn!
We shall remember you fondly QM.
>>
>>5969482
>>5970076
>>5970182
>>5970228

It’s only been four days, anons. lol
>>
>>5970240
Yeah but he missed his own deadline and hasn't given us a follow up of "life got hectic or I'll try to put a post out in x days"

Usually when they ghost like this the quest is dead. I really hope not. But it is what it is.
>>
>>5970076

Unfortunately the Easter Bunny here turned out to be a Khornate Bunzerker...
>>
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I'm still alive lol, just got really busy. Update soon(tm), within 12 hours. I at least intend to end the thread with Magnus.
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>>5970504
>My face right now!
Thanks for the return! Please pace yourself!
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>>5970504
I knew you had it in you to beat the easter bunny
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>>5970504
>>5970514

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAX0bmlOHyU&ab_channel=ChaoticVoices
>>
You walk on nothing. Below you is the chasm, bottomless for all you know. This place does not follow the normal laws that command this universe. You take a step forward, and then another. You’re trying not to look down. Beside you Valdor follows, holding out his spear without a tremor. It’s taking all your concentration to keep your blade angled the right way, tapping your sword in front of you to keep track of the path, but he walks as if he can see it. Perhaps he can, at that. He is a Custodes after all.

You get to the middle of the chasm and he turns to angle his blade towards the far end, and you continue stepping forward blindly. Interestingly enough, what you feel beneath your boots does not feel like the rough stone of the far cavern wall, but a flat surface, almost like a mirror. When you get far enough you turn your blade towards the nearer wall, and with Valdor by your side you walk until your feet touch solid ground once more. You let out a breath you did realise you had been holding, and look back at the chasm you have just crossed. It looks to be 100 metres or so, though you swear it did not look that far when you first saw it. You can feel cool sweat dripping down your face. You hope it doesn’t ruin the pale makeup you’re wearing.

Valdor is standing motionless by your side and Stopholes has reappeared within the floors reflection. He makes a bow.

“Impressive work, son of primarchs, son of Throne. You have passed a crack from which it is hard to return. We must move on! Ahead lie dangers which will wrestle with your soul. Stopholes will lead!”

He begins scampering off, the chains seemingly no burden, clinking with each step he takes. Valdor begins following him immediately, and you follow suit. In the distance you can see flashes of blue lightning on the thin grey edge that is the horizon.

Walking with Valdor and this daemon-thing is a new experience. You had never expected, or hoped to encounter a Custodes, and yet here you are with the Captain-General himself. And then there is Stopholes. You had seen many xenos in your time, some which the rest of the Imperium would never know of, yet Stopholes is unlike any of them. For one, none bristle with the ethereal energies that he emits, let alone appearing in such a strange manner. You had never even heard of non-corporeal entities before, outside the illusions of the Eldar. But Valdor called him Daemon.

>What is a daemon, Lord Valdor?

He stumbles, and for once, Valdor looks uncomfortable, shifting hesitatingly in his armour.

“Something that should not be. It is best not to dwell on it. A little learning is a dangerous thing. Only know that not all mankind’s enemies are mortal, Captain Ales.”
>>
>>5970928

Now whatever could he mean by that? What kind of secrets is the Captain of the Custodes keeping hidden? You’re turning his words over in your mind when you hear Stopholes pipe up.

“He wishes to hide the truth, to keep you safe, as if it will serve you better than just blind faith.”

“Silence!”

Valdor’s voice has an edge of threat in it, and Stopholes keeps his mouth shut. Though looking at him you think you detect the hint of a smile, or it could just be the natural shape of his face. Hard to tell with a being like him.

You walk on for a while more, unsure of how much time has passed. There is nothing to measure your progress save your own internal reckoning, which feels unbalanced by this place. But soon you notice that the ground you are on is starting to dip, and the horizon to your left and right is receding. Eventually you find yourself in a kind of valley, though it is difficult to make out detail in the gloom that shrouds this place, seemingly darker now that there is no horizon. The ground feels rougher too, and you encounter a few perfectly geometrical shapes the further you go, cubes, pyramids, polyhedrons. Stopholes is beginning to slow as well, and eventually he stops before turning to your reflections in the floor.

“We must be careful here. These are the foothills, and there is much to fear.”

>What kinds of things?

“You will see.”

He continues on, and after a few more steps you see blue lights, reflected off the farthest valley walls. Stopholes stops, then quickly begins moving in the opposite direction. You and Valdor follow the disconcerting reflection, but you quickly stop when Stopholes does. Looking in front, you see the cause, beings like Stopholes, only more monstrous and abnormal. Some seem like they’re about to burst with the strange energy that courses through Stopholes, while others look more like hastily crafted beasts that might never have been human. Stopholes is staring at them.

“My brothers.” You hear him whisper. “Changed perpetually.”

>What are they?

“The Flesh Changed.” It is Valdor who speaks this time, though he says no more on it. Stopholes only shakes his head, and leads you away.
>>
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>>5970929

You follow a path through these so-called foothills, but eventually you reach an impasse. The source of the blue light are pillars of flame, moving about the “West” side of the mountain range you find yourself on, while on the other side are packs of these flesh changed. Stopholes is deathly afraid of the “Warp Eddies” as he calls them, and he also does not want to lead you past the flesh changed in case you are discovered and forced to fight them. You can try navigating a narrow path between them, but it is more dangerous if you are caught between them.

What shall you do?
>Fight through the flesh changed. It is clearly the safer option, though Stopholes may be disappointed.
>Pass through the warp eddies. You will not fight the flesh changed, but instead brave the unknown flames that flicker over the hills.
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.
>>
>>5970932
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.

fighting through the flesh changed seems to be the easiest option

However I am not sure if making our guide mad is the best idea

ah well no reward without risk
>>
>>5970932
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.
>>
>>5970932

>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.


At the end of the day, we’re chilling with Valdor and I’m confident that we’ll make it through here.

>my faith in QM was rewarded this day

Extremely based QM
>>
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.
>>
>>5970932
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.

Unrelated segue
>eddies
"Eddies," said Ford, "in the space-time continuum."
"Ah," nodded Arthur, "is he. Is he."
"What?" said Ford.
"Er, who," said Arthur, "is Eddy, then, exactly, then?"
Ford looked angrily at him.
"Will you listen?" he snapped.
"I have been listening," said Arthur, "but I'm not sure it's helped."
>>
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.
>>
>>5970932
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.
The other two are too much of a gamble at this point.

>>5970928
>son of primarchs
Shit, he knows. I wonder why he's kept quiet about it this far.
>>
>>5971210
Cause he probably believes us in wanting to save magnus.
>>
>>5970932
>Sneak between the eddies and flesh changed. You will avoid both, but the danger will be great if you lose your way.
>>
You elect to sneak between the two threats, avoiding both, but risking unknown peril if you find yourself caught between the blue flames and flesh changed monsters. Stopholes accepts the decision meekly, and slowly crawls forward, his reflection jittery and warped in now that you are on uneven ground. The terrain itself is slowly rising, leading you to some point in the vast shadow that looms above you. The only light you can see is the distant outline of the top, a thin grey line against the darkness, and the blue glow from the warp eddies.

>What are these warp eddies, Stopholes?

“Dangerous things, O curious lord, the cracks once caused by a foul accord.”

>Which means?

“Avoid the flames.”

>Why?

They’ll snatch you away, or worse. Even the golden giant would be in danger.”

He’s being avoidant about what they actually do, but you suppose he can’t help it. This place is strange, and its inhabitants even stranger. You sneak on with Valdor, who’s surprisingly nimble in his bulk. Unlike earlier, when sneaking through the Sorcerer’s City, you know where the threat is, and it’s easy to avoid the flickering blue flames that hover over this dark mountainside. However, the flames themselves cast the illumination on you, and it’s difficult to remain out of sight of the flesh changed, who roam the hills in packs. While you could probably fight one group with ease, the amount of them gives you pause, and with your backs against the figurative wall of flame you don’t like your chances. Still, there is something curious about them that you notice.

>Why are you in chains and not they?

Stopholes makes a shrug.

“They are now beasts, lost mindless things. But I have my mind which controls all matter!”

>You didn’t answer the question.

Stopholes smiles, then shrugs again.

“This is an experimentation chamber of my master. Where those changed by a curse were brought, and from their flesh a cure was sought. He tried to cure the ones you see, and failed. I alone am the best success.”

That still doesn’t explain why he’s in chains. You have half a mind to push him on that point, but before you can, Valdor asks: “We on Terra had known of the flesh change in the Thousand Sons, but when Magnus came to the legion we noticed that after some months he reversed it. How did he do that?”

But Stopholes remains silent and looks away.
>>
>>5971947

The further you climb this mountain, the more difficult the path becomes. The warp eddies glow brightly to your left, and to your right you can hear the sound of the wandering flesh changed, muttering to themselves, or breathing heavily. Will you be able to make it to the top safely?

Roll 1d100+12, Bo3, DC 80 [+5 Stopholes Guidance, +25 Valdor presence, -18 Malign Influence.]
>>
>>5971948
Spooky roll
>>
Rolled 45 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>5971948
Damn, that's a high DC. The journey grows more difficult. It looks like we need a 68 or higher.
>>
>>5971964
I have failed.
>>
Rolled 95 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>5971947

Please,I beg.
>>
Rolled 30 + 12 (1d100 + 12)

>>5971948

I am somehow optimistic
>>
>>5971973

Based, Tzeentch is seething
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>>5971973
Praise be the Emperor! For he has granted us the might to defeat Tzeentch and continue up top to the Mountain on High. Hopefully this means we can now go and meet Magnus in the next update.
>>
If we get magus out of here this would change the Horus heresy to the emperor favor and also magus can hold the webway together as much as he can
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>>5971977
Fuck the cunt. Can't bend reality around Chad's. We bend the reality. Suck a dick tzeentch.
>>
>>5971977
We are the superior sneaky blue cunt and we dont even need to use magic as a crutch
>>
>>5971948
>>5971973
Good roll.
>>
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>>5971948
>>5971973
>>
Got busy, so updating ~14 hours.

As a consolation, have a vote on an interlude I'll work on sometime next thread:

>Valdor when you presented your proposal to Russ
>Lieutenant Chorda of Gamma Company retreating from the Sentinels
>A tarot game being played somewhere far away
>Alpharius delivering a message to someone
>Write in?
>>
>>5972813
>Alpharius delivering a message to someone

Us delivering a message to someone else
(probably ourself)
>>
>Alpharius delivering a message to someone
>>
>>5972875
>A tarot game being played somewhere far away
Gotta see those interludes of Mal and Emp when they come up. Those things are super rare to get to begin with.
>>
>>5972813

>Alpharius delivering a message to someone

What’s our Dad(s) up to?
>>
>>5972813
>>Lieutenant Chorda of Gamma Company retreating from the Sentinels
>>
>>5972813
>Alpharius delivering a message to someone
>>
>>Alpharius delivering a message to someone
>Alpharius delivering a message to someone

To Omagon.
>>
>>5972813
>>Alpharius delivering a message to someone
To Alpharius
>>
You nod at Valdor, and together you begin moving, the glow of the warp eddies on your left, the snarls and low growls of the flesh changed on your right. These hills are getting steeper and more difficult to navigate, a problem which doesn’t seem to trouble the eddies or changed, and they don’t need to be sneaking around. Several times you stop at the violent motioning of Stopholes, whose reflection is becoming increasingly difficult to keep an eye on in the sloping floor. But each time his guidance proves true, and you manage to avoid stepping into the path of the moving blue flames or monstrous beasts that cross your path.

Several times you are tempted to unsheathe your blade and pistol, but your instincts hold you back, and you avoid being drawn into combat against the flesh changed. If you started a fight now there was a chance the flesh changed could overwhelm you with their numbers, even with Valdor, and you don’t like to think about what would happen if you were pushed into one of the warp eddies. But on the final stretch of the path you even get a demonstration that leaves you deeply unsettled.

You had been following a lucky gully in the mountainside, shielding you from both the flesh changed and the warp eddies, when it had suddenly ended, revealing an exposed clearing with the flames on one side and the biggest pack of flesh changed you had seen on the other. You stop, as one of the flesh changed walks into view. It hasn’t seen you, rather, it seems to be wandering aimlessly, but as it steps across the clearing it stops, suddenly alert. Had you been detected? You clutched your weapons, but before you could draw them another one of the flesh changed suddenly charged across, roaring and barreling into the first, causing it to stumble, and fall into a warp eddy.

You hear it scream.
>>
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>>5973347

It’s not a scream that you hear, no. It’s a scream that you feel in your very soul. The rest of the pack scatters, but you have no such luxury. You watch, horrified, as the fire burns brighter, near blinding, consuming the poor beast in an instant, burning through it’s muscle and sinews like paper. It writhes until the final moment, still screaming, until the fires goes out and it drops to the ground. Even then, you swear you can still hear the screaming in your head. You’re too shocked to say anything at first, but once the smoking husk slowly fades to a pile of ash you look at Stopholes.

>What in Terra’s name was that?

“A damned soul lost, with no strength to resist the power that demands an unbearable cost. There was nothing to hold him to the mortal plane.”

His chains clinking, Stopholes motions you to move along, which you duly follow. Valdor remains silent at the sight you’ve both witnessed, but you get the feeling that even he is slightly perturbed.

The soul-scream of the caught flesh changed seems to have scared the rest away, and your path is easy going from then on. Eventually you reach the summit, a flat dark plane that stretches on into infinity once more, only the thin grey of the horizon giving you a sense of scale. But in front of you, hovering above the ground, is a black mirror, black as the obsidian surface you walk upon. Stopholes is waiting in front of it.

“You must reach in, and take what is within.”

>Why?

“It will unlock the way out, and free my master from his doubt.”

You look at the mirror. Reaching forward, you touch it, and feel that it is not solid. Withdrawing your hand hurriedly, you peer closer, and see within…

Pick ONE
>A blue feather, fluttering about as if it has a will of its own.
>A dull black staff, inset with angular designs and runes. It’s origin is a complete mystery to you.
>A sword with a gleaming red gem in the hilt. You have seen its like before, in books of a xenos race that once ruled the stars.
>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.
>>
Oh shit we have to chose one that actually correct don’t we
>>
>A sword with a gleaming red gem in the hilt. You have seen its like before, in books of a xenos race that once ruled the stars.
This reads of Eldar shit, or possibly Old ones if we're lucky. Tempted to pick the feather, but thats bringing in Tzeentch, and I really dont want to give him a very easy chance at fucking us over big time on this one.
>>
hmm, may as well as give my own opions and break down on what I beleive each of the options presented before us are, if for no other reason then giving other anons some insight that I myself might be missing.

>A blue feather, fluttering about as if it has a will of its own.
Tzeentch stuff, enuff said. Considering Magnus already knows about Tzeentch and how he got fuckered over byt this prick, I hesitate to say its not the correct choice, solely because its a feather of Tzeentch thats almost guarnteed to try and fuck us over in some way if we pick that feather.
>A dull black staff, inset with angular designs and runes. It’s origin is a complete mystery to you.
Could be Necron stuff. It meets the black, and Angular part if not glowing green. And they are famous for their Anti-psyker/Anti-warp tech, so that could be it to reach Magnus and possibly cure him of his self doubt.
>A sword with a gleaming red gem in the hilt. You have seen its like before, in books of a xenos race that once ruled the stars.
Could mean Eldar or Old One stuff, so possibly Psychic shit involved. Theirs only so much I can give about something that vague unfortunately. Picking it, as either option, could mean we could try and talk to Magnus by some sort of Psychic means, possibly?
>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.
For this one, ive geneuinely got no fucking clue what it could mean. Could be a cure for the Flesh change, could be some sort of drug that will chill Magnus out, could mean fucking anything, its a glowing vial meant to be ingested in someway into something.
>>
>>5973348
>A sword with a gleaming red gem in the hilt. You have seen its like before, in books of a xenos race that once ruled the stars.

hopefully this is a sword we can trust.
>>
>>5973348
>>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.
Thousand son cumseed
>>
>>5973348

>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.

untainted geneseed?
>>
>>5973348
>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.

I don't think a Xeno sword is the answer to the test of spirit.
>>
Do any of think Magnus could awaken or enhance the psychic abilities of our psykers or latent psyker astartes?
>>
Interesting
>must reach in
We can't do it in another way, an hand must go in for grab something.
>and take what is within.
And just take it. Though what if we had it fall from the mirror and not use our hands....
>“It will unlock the way out, and free my master from his doubt.”
Now this is very interesting, it boths unlocks the last door (?) and free Magnus from a doubt. About the changed ? The psyker shield around Tizca ? Which doubt ? So its magical(?) in nature and has multiples uses, regardless.

>>5973348
In regard to the objects could it be so simple... or not. What if they are illusions more than something tangible. Still i think the staff might be a good option, its the one more close to a psyker, mage, sorcerer when you think about it. The sword or the vial could be a safe choice ? The red gem/red giant, the organic material. The feather hmmm. Magnus is also kind of scholar... perhaps this is just a tool there is no correct one just flavor.

>A dull black staff, inset with angular designs and runes. It’s origin is a complete mystery to you.
>>
>>5973585

Anon, plz - this whole space is Magnus’ flesh change workshop. Clearly, the right answer is “the vial”, which has to be untainted geneseed. Giving Magnus a future for his legion changes everything!
>>
>>5973348
>>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.

This has the most potential.
>>
>>5973348
>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.
Heck yea its semen slurping time
>>
>>5973348
>A dull black staff, inset with angular designs and runes. It’s origin is a complete mystery to you.
>>
>>5973348
>A large vial holding some organic material within it. The material glows strangely, almost multicolored.
>>
You see a large vial holding some organic material floating in a dull liquid. It coruscates with strange colours, multi-hued. You’re not sure what it is. Your first thought is that it might be gene-seed, but gene-seed doesn’t gleam or pulse like this does. At least no gene-seed you know of. You look to Stopholes, and he nods eagerly. Valdor stands a little to the side, looking closely at you.

“What do you see?”

>You mean you can’t see it?

He shakes his head. “No. There is a great power lying on that mirror, the like of which I have seen only one other cast. I cannot see anything at all.”

Interesting. You turn back to the mirror, dull, but for your own reflection, and that of Stopholes who is also reflected within. You raise your hand and reach in, feeling the cold begin to seep in even through your armour. Your arm reaches out for the top of the vial and grasps it. It’s about as big as your arm. You pull it through the mirror.

??? Gene-Seed obtained!

The surface of the glass is frosty, unnaturally so. Even when you stick it to your hip small ice crystals form where it connects to your armour.

“Gene-seed.” It is Valdor who speaks.

>It is?

Valdor steps forward to take a closer look. “It’s been changed. No gene-seed touched by His hand should glow like that. What has Magnus been doing?”

The question is directed to Stopholes, who merely gives his typical shrug. Turning back to the mirror you look around. Nothing has happened. You’re still stuck here. There’s the beginning of a wind blowing, somewhere. A cool and portentous air.

“You must walk through the mirror, return to that which is real. Bring your message to my master, and know all that He has concealed.”

>What of you?

“I will be set free, one way or another.”

And with that, the reflection of Stopholes stands in front of the mirror, steps into it, and disappears. Valdor looks at you, and with a silent understanding, you both step through-
>>
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>>5974383
And return to the inner chamber which you had departed from, where your men, the Custodes, and the Sisters of Silence are waiting. They all collectively step back as you walk from the Gate of Soul. Only Kylon steps forward.

“Lord? What happened? What is that on your hip?”

You look at Valdor. It would take too long for you to explain that strange journey in the Well, Stopholes, and all the rest. Would they even believe such a story?

>How long have we been gone?

At this Kylon and the rest look confused. “My lord, Captain…Ales. You did not leave at all. You and Lord Valdor stepped in, only to step out a moment later. What happened in there?”

Intriguing. It seems that no time passed at all while you were gone. But before you can reflect on it further, Valdor is already at your side.

“We must move on to Magnus. He is the goal.”

Of course. But how to get to him? You’re still in this chamber with no- ah.

A great mirror floats in the middle of the room, reflecting nothing. Small steps lead to it on either side. You point to it.

>Where did that come from?

Confusion ripples out from the small force, the Sisters of Silence especially shocked. Evidently no-one had seen it appear, not even the ever vigilant Custodes. You hear several murmurs of “Sorcery.” Stepping in front of it you almost swear you see something dart out of view, but perhaps it was a trick of the light. Or perhaps not. Valdor is with you, and at a nod from him you step through, and emerge in a luxurious chamber, filled with all sorts of colourful paraphernalia. You hear voices raised.

Looking behind you, your men and Valdor’s are slowly emerging from a mirror encased within the very walls of this place. At least you’ll have backup. But ahead you can hear an argument, between two voices. One raised in argument, the other calm, powerful. They must not know you are here.

What shall you order your men to do?
>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.
>Order them with you. You must have a show of arms, just to be safe.
>>
>>5974384
Approaching the main chamber with Valdor at your side, you sneak past strange artifacts, many of which Valdor glares at, and remain out of sight as the words become more distinct.

“My Lord! You must stop this madness! The Raptora are already close to burning out! T’Kar says he feels-

Silence Ahriman. You have done too much. Far too much. We are slaves of fate, and there is no escaping it. It would be good for you to learn this, before the end.

“No! No, my Lord, no! I will not accept this, not even from you! We have done as you asked, and now the Wolves are at the door, and you withdraw here instead of leading us, instead of saving us! Your sons are beginning to despair! Must we share your fate, your damnation?!”

Curious. There’s some kind of rift here. Valdor looks especially intrigued as well.

Make a decision.
>Stay, and listen to the argument play out. There may be some valuable information here.
>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.
>Write in.
>>
>>5974385
>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.
>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.
Well, it seems we Arrived just before Ahriman did his speech of denying fate and fighting and dying for his home. Now we can get a talking exchange between him and Magnus, before us. Besides, we already know what Magnus’s worst sin is, and neither Valdor, nor the Emperor, are going to give one care, besides telling Magnus how much of a fool he was.
>>
>>5974390
Besides, our whole chick is getting Magnus to get out of his funk, and with a magical geneseed vial at our hip, at least Ahriman will not despair and mighty hear us out in full before he decides what he should do about the fate of himself and his Legion.
>>
>>5974384

>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.

Have them guard our exit.

>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.

Make sure to announce that we have retrieved a gift from the mirror world. Gives Ahriman and Magnus to unite again
>>
>>5974385
>>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.
>Have them guard our exit.
>>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.
>>
>>5974429
>>5974385
>support
>>
>>5974385
Ah, I forgot to do a close look at it, but now that were here, it seems weve finally reached about the mid-Climax of the Story of the Thousand Sons book. Thankfully, since Ive got a copy, any body is free to use it, but this conversation that should be going down, is at chapter 27. For all the shit people give this series for its unplanned length and messy order, damn does this series hit hard whne it needs to. Expecially this Chapter when we get to See Prospero Die through the Eye of Magnus, though God does this horrible 3d Cover Art suck as.
>>
>>5974385
>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.

it will be more dramatic and less threatening if its just the two of us

>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.

>>5974562
For some reason they fucked up the Thousand Sons and Prospero Burns cover art.
>>
>>5974384
>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.
>>5974385
>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.
>>
>>5974385
>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.
>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.
Get on it lad
>>
>>5974384
>Stay behind, in this atrium. You and Valdor will approach alone.

>>5974385
>Step forth, and reveal yourself. It is time Magnus knew he has been summoned to Terra.
We should ask Valdor if he would like to do the "honors" first. Either way, jumping into the conversation with something like
>"There is no need."
>dramatic pause
>"The Emperor calls for Magnus alone."
to announce our presence would be neat. AL love good entrances.

>>5974401
Support.

When, not if, Magnus catches a whiff of Alpharius in /ourdude/ and doesn't immediately announce it to everyone else, we should decide if we want to reveal our identity to Valdor and the gang now or when we make our accusation in orbit, if at all. I already brought it up in the thread, but if we reveal ourselves to Valdor here, we could advise him to present the accusation instead to maintain our cover. The SoH and SW present would assume the Emperor's talons found out and never suspect it was us. Us "RG" are infiltrators and nothing more as far as they know. Hydra dominatus.
>>
>>5974385
>>5974734
>>5974753
+1 supporting this specifically. This guy thinks like a true AL. Hydra Dominatus.
>>
>>5974753
A fine idea in my mind, and it does work within our style in order to help avoid unwanted confusion that could throw us into conflict not of our choosing.
>>
>>5974385
>>5974608
>>5974753
+support
This the kind of entrance we should be making.
>>
>>5974753
Supporting
>>
>>5974753
I voted but can't find my vote :(

But I want to switch to this.
>>5974517
I want to say this is me but I'm not sure.
>>5974385
>>
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Alright anons, the next update will be the final one for the thread, and I want to make sure I get it right, so I will be delaying it until tomorrow. Apologies for any inconvenience. After that I will be taking a break and returning in a week or two for the second thread. See you tomorrow!
>>
Also feel free to ask any questions, give some feedback, etc. about whatever you feel like, and I'll try to answer after the post is out.
>>
>>5975095
>>5975096
Thanks for running. I hope you enjoy the time away.
>>
>>5975095

Definitely appreciate this quest, we haven’t had a new 40k quest in a while
>>
>>5975096
Just glad we have a genuinely good 40k quest that finally deals with Space Marines as the Protagonists, and aren't off those GoD awful sites like SV, and SB.
>>
>>5975096
Did you expect the Alpha Legion would be chosen when you created this quest?

Participating in this quest has been good fun thanks for running it.
>>
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Now is the moment. You must step in, announce your presence and summon Magnus to answer to Him on Terra. You vox Valdor, and ask him if he wishes to begin, but he shakes his head.

“Russ gave you the responsibility of command. I must honour that, at least. Go forth and announce us, Captain Ales.”

You nod, and standing up, stroll casually into Magnus’ inner chamber. The argument is still going, Ahriman making objection to Magnus and his betrayal of his own.

“We are to share your punishment at the hands of those dogs, then? At the hands of that barbarian Russ? You damn us with you, your fellows, your friends, your own sons?!”

You clear your throat.

>"There is no need."

You leave a space for silence to drop on the room, Ahriman too shocked to speak at the sight of an Astartes accompanied by Constantin Valdor standing in the chambers of Magnus; while the Crimson King himself sitting calmly on a great stone seat of pale lime.

>"The Emperor calls for Magnus alone."

Valdor, beside you, stamps his spear against the floor, the dull thud echoing in the stone, his golden armour resplendent in the light of a giant pit of flame that lies in the middle of the room. Ahriman, for it must be he, the first captain and chief librarian of the Thousand Sons, reaches for his staff, which flies across the room into his hands.

“My lord?”

Be calm Ahriman. Listen to what will be said.

You bow to Valdor, who strides forward, and in a voice regal and magnificent loudly declares:

“By the Word and Will of the Master of Mankind, Imperator, it has been decreed that Magnus the Red, Crimson Lord of Prospero, shall stand before the Throne Imperial of Terra, there to answer for his actions and those of his gene-sons. So it was commanded, so it shall be.”

He beats his spear on the floor once again, and this time it activates, the blade that could cleave a space marine in half suddenly crackling with energy and dull blue light.

“Magnus the Red, will you answer the summons to Terra?”
>>
>>5976010

Magnus, primarch of the Thousand Sons rises, and he is taller than any being you have seen. He towers over you, perhaps twice your size, or more. It’s hard to tell. His skin really is as red as they say, dark as blood, and as he steps forward you feel the gaze of his one good eye pass over you, and instantly you realise his power as he sees every secret you have ever known. He’s letting you know it too. He sees you carrying the vial of geneseed on your hip, and a curious look passes over his eye. After only a brief moment he looks to Valdor.

You think Russ will accept my meek surrender? That the worms will not whisper in his ears that my punishment must be executed immediately, and laid upon my sons? There are forces at play here beyond your knowledge, Captain-General. Even you must step cautiously.

“It matters not. The Emperor has commanded you, and I will see His will carried out. You must obey or face the consequences.”

At this Magnus laughs, a cold, bitter laugh of a man who’s lost all humour, and a dreary expression comes over his face. Ahriman remains silent, still cautious, but he is looking between his master and Valdor as they trade words.

The consequences, Valdor? They are already here. They float above this city, ready to unleash devastation. I will not return to Terra. I accept my punishment here, and that is how it must be. It is what I deserve. The alternatives are worse than you can imagine.

Valdor steps closer to Magnus, his voice quick.

“No! I give you my word, I will speak with Russ and he will bring you to Terra! There is no reason why you should sacrifice yourself! Explain yourself before Him, and I am sure He will show mercy!”

>Valdor speaks truly, Lord Magnus. We have come here despite all odds to bring you back. He will not break his word.

Magnus shakes his head sadly, and he seems smaller, almost weighed down.

Even for what I did? For the greatest of all sins? He will not. I am doomed to death, or servitude. And my sons will not survive long. I have bargained with other powers.

The room grows hushed. Even the fire seems to stop crackling. Valdor is remarkably still.

Yes, I have bargained with Them. Long before I committed the sin of attacking Terra. Does that surprise you, Valdor? It was how I halted the flesh change. It was how I lost my eye.

Ahriman steps closer to his father. “My Lord, no…

They must know all, Ahriman, if they are to decide. I must tell them. My soul was sold long ago.
>>
>>5976011

Valdor, for all his precision and self-control is shaking. He is gripping his guardian-spear so tightly you almost think it will snap in two. You realise that he is directing all his self-control to prevent himself from carrying out Russ’es order to bring back Magnus’s head. At last, he speaks, but it’s like he’s forcing himself to spit the words out.

“My… orders… were to bring you back. To Terra. To The Emperor.”

Magnus laughs again. Bitter, and cheerless.

You are stubborn, Captain-General. I respect that. But I know my fate. I have looked into the Well of Eternity. Do you know what I saw, Valdor, and you, son of my brothers?

You shake your head. You don’t even know what the Well of Eternity is. But Valdor does, based on how he’s suddenly stiffened. Ahriman seems to have some idea too, and he’s beginning to look at his primarch with undisguised horror.

Damnation or death. I do not have the abilities of my brothers. Would that I had their sight, perhaps I could have changed things. But I was forced to look into the Well, and there I saw what is to be. Horus setting fire to the galaxy. An endless legacy of hate and suffering. And worse. That is what is to come. That is Fate. Do you understand?

You don’t, but you don’t think you’re supposed to. Nobody is. Valdor is quiet now, and Ahriman is slowly stepping away from his primarch. Magnus sighs, shakes his head, then looks to you, his eye glowing bright. You hear his voice but his mouth does not move.

But you. You I did not see. A curious thing. You are unexpected, unknown. Perhaps enough to tip the balance? A new fate may yet be forged. But know that fate will push back; defiance has its consequences, as I have discovered. There is always a cost. It will grind you down, wear you out until you are nothing. There will be nothing left but your names. Are you willing to do that, snake cloaked in raven feathers? Are you willing to defy the gods?

How will you respond?
>Yes.
>No.
>Write in.
>>
And that will be all! Thank you so much anons for participating thus far, it means a lot. The Horus Heresy will return in a week or two, probably two, depending how much I get to plan out. Hope you enjoyed!

>>5975491
Nope, lol. Thought you'd go straight for one of the big traitor or loyalist legions, like the IW or BA. But Alpha Legion fits, and gives you (and me) a lot of flexibility. Interested to see if you'll get to encounter your daddies...
>>
>>5976012

>Yes.

Time to lay all the cards on the table. Say only:

“Hydra Dominatus, Lord Magnus.”
>>
>>5976012
>How will you respond?
>>Yes.
"No Gods, no Kings, No masters. Just Men. This is the Imperial Truth, and while it may be a lie, it remains the Truth, Humanity has no need of any of these."
>>
Defy the gods and change the story for good also fuck titsnitch
>>
>>5976012
>>>Yes.
>"No Gods, no Kings, No masters. Just Men. This is the Imperial Truth, and while it may be a lie, it remains the Truth, Humanity has no need of any of these."
>>
>>5976012
>Yes.
Of course our character is going to. It's what Alpha Legion marines are trained to do, and what needs to be done to prevent death and destruction on this planet that would serve Horus's ends. "Ales" tricked everyone else involved in this fiasco into believing his guys are RG, got past daemonic fuckery in that Gate of Souls, procured what could potentially be a cure for the Flesh Change, and found where Magnus is hiding, all while remaining undetected and in a single day. What the Warmaster will do would compromise his plans of "survival" anyway if Magnus's talk of death is to be believed, so if stopping Horus would cost Ales his retirement or life, so be it. Spite is a powerful motivator, after all.

Since Magnus hasn't blown our cover to Valdor nor Ahriman when he communicated directly with us, we have a lot of options. Maybe something along the lines of answering with this, according to everyone else's input and the QM's convenience, would fit.
>"As you know well, Lord Magnus, when one head of the hydra is cut, two more appear in its place. It is not only a metaphor for the means we in the Legion wage war and operate, but just as much for our outlook as well. When one opportunity closes, others emerge in its place, and we are trained to navigate them to the utmost extent and with thorough foresight. If the actions of my men and I are "enough" to tip the balance, to forge a new fate, then opportunity presents itself even amongst these dire circumstances. There is a path to prevent mass death on this planet and above it, to defang whatever plans Horus, "the gods," have with your sons and the home of your people. If you seek the punishment you think you deserve, then Russ or the Emperor are just as capable of administering it on Terra as they are here. You are correct when you say there is a cost, but your sons and people do not have to share it, let alone here. I and Valdor are in your chambers right now despite everything else that has interfered. That alone speaks to what we have at our disposal and what can be accomplished. Lord Magnus, what I speak of is not defiance. It is possible. I recognize your doubts, but all I ask of you is to the honor for me to prove it.

If Magnus accepts, we get cooking with him, Valdor, and Ahriman. It's going to suck risking our bromance with Valdor by revealing our identity, but that's the price I guess.

>>5976020
Remember that Magnus hasn't spoken those last words out loud, but that's a good line to say after convincing him and before announcing we have him on board and revealing our identity.
>>
>>5976012
Beautiful ending and a great way to end the thread and this part of the quest. I truly loved your work on this story over this past month, and am glad that this story will still carry on unlike many other good quests and stories that meekly kneeled over and died.

As for choices, we quite literally have already made Tzeentch hate us since the get go. Even if we were, to suddenly get out of this one alive, we would still be punished for this till we were slain on a battlefield and our chapter either sent into hiding or destruction. Their quite honestly is no choice on the matter, only whether admitting the cost was worth the grudge of a Chaos god was worth it to get as far as we did for our own beliefs and and actions.
>Yes.
>>
>>5975095
>>5976016
Thanks for the awesome thread, QM. I and likely everyone else enjoyed it thoroughly. Take care of yourself until you post another thread.
>>
>>5976012
>Yes.

>Fuck horus. That's the real reason I am here. He attacks Terra trying to Doom us all. And I have a Plan for your Son's. If they're willing that is. And I've already fought with the Demons. They tried to stop my intervention. HYDRA DOMINATUS!

Be vague hopefully us getting Magnus for Valdor. Will stop him from questioning what we will do with Magnus's Sons.

Time to come out on top like always.
>>
>>5976016
Awesome thread. Please indeed come back. I can't wait to fuck erebus.
>>
By the way, is this thread archived?
>>
>>5976257
Dont think so, and how would someone archive a thread anyway?
>>
>>5976012
>Yes.

Great ending to this awesome thread.
>>
>>5976257
It is now, thanks for the reminder.
>>
>>5976012
>>Yes
"Hydra Dominatus."
Man I am so hype for the next thread. Thanks for making something awesome Aurebesh!

Is there anything you'd like us anons to think about or consider in the mean time?
>>
>>5976348
Nothing in particular. Just keep in mind that things are not going to be easy, you still have an entire chapter to manage, and even if you get Magnus on side there's going to be a lot of difficult battles to come. Certain people are going to try their damndest to keep the canon timeline of events going, I'll just leave it at that.
>>
>>5976475
So kill all the word bearers before they kill us?
>>
>>5976556
Absolutely. It was Erebus that tried to keep this set of events in motion in EaTD VOL 3, with that scene with Logan. And of course, theirs the individual Chaos gods to mention who for one reason or another, would also love to keep mainline events rolling. Still, trying to avoid that from being the Case by killing all traitor Word Bearers is a good start at staying alive and getting to my goal of finding and killing Erebus.



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