Son of Death (30k Mortarion Quest)
- Thread starter Maugan Ra
- Start date
- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Mort; "Hey your planet sucks, want me to fix it?"
Catachan Locals: "No fuck you."
Varder
Tired Cultist
- Location
- Hell
I quite liked it, actually. It was fitting for a God of stagnation and inevitability to just torture Mortarion into submission, proving his and his legion's legendary toughness as useless as anything else.
Dmol8
The Undead Unhinged Lunatic of the Web
- Location
- Belgrade,Serbia
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Don't forget that Nurgle was only able to do that because Mortarion and the Death Guard were already stagnant enough that nothing, not even the Heresy, changed them. They didn't shift with the universe, the universe shifted around them. All that was left for Nurgle to do is find a vector. Like a heavily repressed psyker.
Is there any of the Four whose cause wouldn't be boosted by hugging?
Khorne would be pleased by hugging so tightly that the huggee's spine is cracked, the ultimate in up-close and personal violence.
Slaanesh would delight in the sensuality of the close physical contact that comes with hugs.
Nurgle would enjoy the spread of disease and plague arising from the final breach of social distancing represented by hugging.
Tzeentch has a plan to capitalise on one-way hugs, two-way hugs, distant hugs, and so on. And also a counter-plan for each of these scenarios. Because Tzeentch.
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The Phoenixian
The Glacier Witch
- Location
- My own little world
I feel like the "how does this affect the fall?" questions get even weirder when you consider that the trees can be read as either memorials or, considering Mortarion's mood right now, basically all-but-cenotaphs. They're planted by soldiers leaving for war in the event of their, potentially permanent, departure from their homeworld. That's kind of narrative beat is going to have a resonance in the warp, methinks.
Given that we half alt-falls going on though, I think it's just as important to consider the implications of what would happen if a different Chaos God was responsible for Mortarion's fall.
Some of which are more obvious but others...
A forest that becomes ever taller, ever more menacing and treacherous, with every act of glory on the battlefield. Excessively forested.
How would Tzeentch Trees work? I can imagine it playing into the hope of a soldier returning home from war but I have no idea how to picture the result.
For that matter, how in the world would Khorne Trees work? Probably a more literal harvest than Khorne is usually associated with, but again, I'm not sure how to picture the specifics without turning Khorne into a harvest god and/or the patron spirit of the lumber industry.
...Though given which trees are famous for having appropriate red colored leaves, flowers and berries, that's certainly a mental image right there: "Maple syrup for the sap god! Cherry blossoms for the skull throne!"
Somic
It's meow or never
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Whispering incessantly of the hopes and dreams of their Marines, half true half false... when the Marine dies, his soul might or might not become bound to the tree and/or turn it into a horrifying branch-tentacle eye-leaf monstrosity?
Altered
Duality | Redeemed
- Location
- Terra
The Whispering Woods, an area of such potent corruption and demonic trees that not even the locals try to go there. They attempt to beat back the forest with fire and yet these monsters still persist. The inquisition is still trying to decide whether or not to blow up the planet.
HalfTangible
Only half sane (it's less cringe)
- Location
- Valkyrie, Primus
... I just thought of something.
Bringing as many of the Death Guard as is willing to come also means taking the Death Guard away from this planet. Barbarus loses its heroes and we essentially abandon the planet without so much as a proper goodbye.
I mean we don't think of it in those terms but the people might >.>
Bringing as many of the Death Guard as is willing to come also means taking the Death Guard away from this planet. Barbarus loses its heroes and we essentially abandon the planet without so much as a proper goodbye.
I mean we don't think of it in those terms but the people might >.>
- Location
- Germany
Dunno. I certainly don't like the option, but I doubt it will happen like this. Barbarus is the Legions home planet and under our jurisdiction. I would have liked to spend more time on it, but Mortarion has always been anti-social.
Maybe giving them the Legion to strife towards will actually be a mark of pride to the Barbarusians. Or whatever they are called.
Maybe giving them the Legion to strife towards will actually be a mark of pride to the Barbarusians. Or whatever they are called.
Sir_Travelsalot
Never wakes up tired.
- Location
- At Home
Probably a 'planting trees that you know you'll never rest in the shade of' type of deal. It's an expression of hope for the future.
Always Late
Lacking in coffee, sleep, and brains
- Location
- Ohio
Considering genocides make ripples in the warp and at least one major historical act of that actually made a Daemon, The Ragged Knight, the resident Daemon to tempt Morty to Khorne could have to do with the 1994 Rawanda genocide.
An artificial in group "culling" the equally artificial out group to "cultivate" a stronger national body, Khorne's gotta be Fashy.
Modus_Tollens
SCREAMING AT THE APOCALYPSE
- Location
- ALSO SCREAMING.
We proceed to de-ork greenskin planets by transplanting the Catachan ecology onto them. To the critical acclaim of the orks until there stop being orks.
I mean... we'd never get any use from those worlds ever again, not without glassing and re-terraforming them, but at least they wouldn't be contributing to a Waaaagh! any time soon.
I'm imagining that in this continuity we are going to be handling psykers rather differently. We see it as an affliction, a dangerous burden to be treated with fear and caution because with a moment's failure it can make a monster of a man or else spark an all consuming firestorm without direction or boundary. Which is an entirely valid position to take, all things considered.
I figure that every vaguely stable psyker within our space is going to end up within the same regimented brotherhood, taught a fraction of our unending endurance in the face of both temptation and pain. If a psyker is going to be alive they need to be able to hold against the worst their curse exposes them to for their sake and the sake of all others. This would be less softheartedness and more our pragmatism and lack of trust. I imagine we'd want to keep psykers as far from the line of fire as possible, rather than using them on the battlefield as some might, because moments of desperation are when they are most likely to break or else draw too deeply from their poisonous well.
Calas Typhon might actually become the head of our secret police in this rather than acting as just a general. We trust him at least. I could see Librarians existing for a very different purpose than elsewhere, a small but very well-vetted caldre killing problems in the womb rather than in the trenches. An Inquisition before there is an Inquisition ensuring that Compliance Actions don't leave that which might fester when our eyes are elsewhere. Not every Astartes needs to be right up front swinging a power weapon into a Warboss's face.
It would be hard for the Emperor to argue against someone pushing for his goals harder than he is.
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HalfTangible
Only half sane (it's less cringe)
- Location
- Valkyrie, Primus
Or you get an Octarius war situation where Da Ladz get bigger, greener and meaner, fight the Catachan ecology, *win* and become too strong to defeat by any means the Imperium has at its disposal.
Lookashiny
First and Only
- Location
- Tanith
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Using the our endurance in the face of hardship to make psykers more stable (or as stable as they can be, anyway) would be a good idea. Who knows how far it would spread, but making sure the ones around us aren't about to randomly explode into bits and summon a demon at the same time is always nice.
- Location
- Germany
As long as we influence them to be either extremely well trained, talking Gray Knight levels of mental fortitude here, or to focus on psychic disciplines that minimize the dangers of the Warp, Mortarion should be happy.
The largest issue is unsanctioned experimentations.
Looking at you Magnus...
Banning Psykers completely is just nonsense. It cripples The Thousand Sons and revokes any and all supernatural support the IOM could receive. Heck, I'd argue that this Mortarion would volunteer to fight alongside the Thousand Sons. If only to watch them and if necessary purge them.
Should Magnus be ready to accept a more cautious approach and not make deals with the eldritch horrors, then I frankly have nothing against speaking in favor of him and Psykers in general.
But we shouldn't expect Mortarion to do so from the start. Especially if Magnus stays true to his canon self and arrogantly believes himself to be supreme in all matters concerning the Warp.
The largest issue is unsanctioned experimentations.
Looking at you Magnus...
Banning Psykers completely is just nonsense. It cripples The Thousand Sons and revokes any and all supernatural support the IOM could receive. Heck, I'd argue that this Mortarion would volunteer to fight alongside the Thousand Sons. If only to watch them and if necessary purge them.
Should Magnus be ready to accept a more cautious approach and not make deals with the eldritch horrors, then I frankly have nothing against speaking in favor of him and Psykers in general.
But we shouldn't expect Mortarion to do so from the start. Especially if Magnus stays true to his canon self and arrogantly believes himself to be supreme in all matters concerning the Warp.
- Location
- United States
I think just from how we've set up Mortarion that his biggest rivalry will be with Russ. Fenris is a hell hole that the Imperium has the power to make more livable. But Leman doesn't do it. Mostly because he doesn't want his people to become "weak". Mortarion is all about improving the lives on his planet. In the future, the Wolves find an STC that would actually make their world fairly nice. But they destroy it because they think it would make them weak! Being able to live on a stable planet doesn't make you weak you Space Furries!
- Location
- Germany
Just look at the Ultramarines. Even before they got hyped up, they were the most successful and numerous Chapter, while arguably just as good as all the others.
And Macragge is not Death World material.
It boils down to math. Fenris might have "better" recruits, but fewer. Ultramar might have "worse" recruits, but an infinitely larger pool to choose from. shrug
Ultimately the Ultramarines get recruits just as good as the Space Furries by sheer dint of numbers and have a much better industry backing them. It's not like training is lacking on any Imperial World.
The only planet that consistently breeds strong recruits is Catachan. And while I'm not 100% convinced those guys aren't a subspecies of humanity forced to evolve in order to survive, I am pretry certain that their consistency is only because everyone else just dies.
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HalfTangible
Only half sane (it's less cringe)
- Location
- Valkyrie, Primus
Even if it could, they could've given the STC to help some other world, right? (Correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't read this particular story)
HalfTangible
Only half sane (it's less cringe)
- Location
- Valkyrie, Primus
I don't think Morty will ever be 100% on board with psykers and their talents. He only puts up with Typhon because the guy was one of his best friends and proved himself for years before he learned he had that kind of power.
He might end up with a "only as a last resort" sorta attitude towards it: Typhon only used it at the last possible moment when any other action would've killed him, Morty, or their compatriots. Which would still make him abhor the Librarius and psykers in general, but not to the extent that he does in canon where their mere existence is a sin.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
And even then there's still room for growth now where in the future he could see them as being more acceptable. Still something that should never be taken lightly and needs to be controlled through rigorous training and intense discipline, but something that's undeniably necessary in this galaxy. The event that changes his perspective could be an encounter with a Daemon where a Psyker's powers show to be incredibly effective towards it.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
That's a possibility, but there's also a lot of opportunities to make him even more hardline against psykers. There are lots of planets ruled by people like the Overlords, after all. It very well may harden his heart against them.
- Location
- United States
It would be interesting if he found a planet that did have its own psychic Overlords but everything about them was the opposite of Barbaros. Instead of the toxic flesh crafters, they're actually fairly nice people. Go full-on Philosopher Kings who only interfere when things either need their aid, or someone starts really huffing the Warp Crack.
Sir_Travelsalot
Never wakes up tired.
- Location
- At Home
That's just Prospero at that point, isn't it?