Avernus isn't the only place in the trust to get your PhD in swording. For most, there are safer and more convenient options. If you can get that PhD without going off-world, why travel to Avernus for it? As for our trickle of tourists, adrenaline junkies are a different brand of crazy from those going for a PhD equivalent, even one for combat.
IF I had to hazard some guesses it would be the following:
1. Different Sword Fighting Systems.
2. Stronger local competition.
3. Famous Gyms and Academies like Oakheart where one can learn devastating maneuvers.
4. And of course peak physical and mental training as you live on a death world.
Those 4 things can make a good fighter an amazing fighter. For those with the ambition they'll want there Ph.D in Sword Fighting from Avernus than say Asgard or Vanahiem despite there strong traditions.
1. What is the entrance requirement to join the Oakheart Academy?
2. What kind of fighters/swords people come out of it?
3. Would they accept a Foreigner who just really wants to learn there style?
1. a reference from a master of the style, which can be gained in a wide range of ways
2. highly skilled fighters with a focus on agility and making a blindingly fast first strike
3. as long as an existing master is willing to provide a reference yes
Adhoc vote count started by Durin on May 24, 2018 at 10:48 PM, finished with 73 posts and 10 votes.
[X] Plan Opportunistic
-[X] Counter Warboss Facesnappa's Horde by deploying elites. - Deploying a division of Helguard and a few Astartes companies should be sufficient.
--[X] Chapter Master Julius goes here
-[X] Counter Warboss Scalpchoppa's Horde by deploying Psykers and heavies - A Grandmaster Psyker leading a few choirs, a Knight Court and a dozen regiments of Fellblades should do.
--[X] Lord-Marshal Sigurd goes here
-[X] Counter Warboss Slaystampa's Horde by deploying Iron Guard Regiments - A Iron Guard army with an additional AA corps should do.
--[X] Governor-General Aelfric goes here
-[X] Counter the minor warbosses by deploying sixteen Guard Armies (out of 66) - A full Guard army should be able to defended even the upper city for an extended period of time.
--[X] General Schwarz concentrates his efforts in commanding these forces
-[X] Opportunistic - Deploy your air forces whenever there is a major opening, otherwise keep them back.
-[X] Harassment Option 1: Remain back- This will preserve your harassment forces for later actions.
-[X] Psyker Support - Your Diviners, Telepaths and Biomancers could support your ground and air forces, improving their impact and preserving their lives.
-[X] Scry and Fry- Your Diviners could work with your other psykers to locate the most dangerous foes and take them out.
Based on Durin's assessment, this dude is plausibly the FNG (or Fucking New Guy) of the Helguard.
I can practically hear the rest of the squad critiquing/complaining about them in the after action. 'Why the delay at the start, you waiting on an engraved invitation?' 'YOU THREW YOUR GUN AT THEM!? I... just, why?'...
I can practically hear the rest of the squad critiquing/complaining about them in the after action. 'Why the delay at the start, you waiting on an engraved invitation?' 'YOU THREW YOUR GUN AT THEM!? I... just, why?'...
Based on Durin's assessment, this dude is plausibly the FNG (or Fucking New Guy) of the Helguard.
I can practically hear the rest of the squad critiquing/complaining about them in the after action. 'Why the delay at the start, you waiting on an engraved invitation?' 'YOU THREW YOUR GUN AT THEM!? I... just, why?'...
I need two things...I know there was an omake at some point about the different Sword Systems in Avernus but I can't find it. Anyone know what i'm looking for?
Secondly, anyone have time for a quick proof read of my omake? Just one look please?
Based on Durin's assessment, this dude is plausibly the FNG (or Fucking New Guy) of the Helguard.
I can practically hear the rest of the squad critiquing/complaining about them in the after action. 'Why the delay at the start, you waiting on an engraved invitation?' 'YOU THREW YOUR GUN AT THEM!? I... just, why?'...
"MOTHER FUCKER WE NEEDED THAT TEN MINUTES AGO! YOUR SQUADS DEAD SERGEANT AND IS YOUR MOTHER FUCKING PROMOTION BOARD FOR THE NEXT CENTURY!"
EDIT 2:
You know what, scratch that question. This calls for some worldbuilding.
Historical Document: Sword styles of the Imperial Trust
The worlds of the Imperial Trust have always boasted an impressive collection of combat styles, stretching back to when Asgard was first discovered by the Old Imperium. These styles have changed and evolved over the millennia as masters rise to prominence and conditions shift. This was never more true than during the second era of the Imperial Trust, when increasing population, heightening standards of training and proliferation of ideas allowed many new styles to bloom. Of these, three became pre-eminent, being developed to perfection by true paragons.
The first of these styles is known as Ferrum Judicii, or Judgment Blade in common parlance. Created by Jane 'The Inevitable' Oakheart to fight rogue psykers and the exceedingly lethal wildlife of Avernus this style focuses on speed and aggression, emphasising dodging and exploiting weaknesses. The principle concept being to kill the target before they can bring overwhelming power to bear.
The second and oldest style is Ferrum Imperium or Domination Blade. Passed down by the Thanes of Muspelheim it was Governor Surt who perfected and later popularised the Domination Blade. In polar opposition to the Judgment Blade this style is designed for extended combat, denying openings to the opponent while gradually beating them down. As many of the techniques involve pre-emptively countering attacks optimal use requires a high degree of familiarity with opponents' capabilities. This has resulted in the Domination Blade being regarded as a scholar's style.
The third style to be formalised during this period was the Ferrum Titan Obvium, the Titan Blade. Developed by Balgus of Asgard the aim of this style is to bring the user to, and allegedly beyond, the limits of the human body. Utilising massive weapons and an unbreakable will Balgus forged techniques to shatter the toughest defences and fell the largest foes. Almost as an unintended bonus this allows a skilled user to block and deflect otherwise irresistible attacks.
Found it! Apparently her style already has a name. An since this is canon i'm going to go ahead and steal copy that into mines to make sure canon lines up right. This is SV afterall and we cannot abide by disputing the canon.
It was very blink-and-you-miss-it (I only caught it because lag was making it go frame-by-frame for me), but as the trooper was turning around, the droid actually shoots the front of the gun, destroying that section. Throwing the gun was a good move and going from 'gun disabled' to 'throw disabled gun' in such a very short period of time is exactly the kind of blinding fast reflexes you'd expect from the Helguard.
Trust research outposts
There are many systems within Trust space, which contain various impressive and unique astrological phenomenon and as was customary within the age of the Imperium, the Adeptus Mechanicus has created stations to observe and comprehend these unique stellar structures.
Xarnius II-research outpost
An icy world orbiting a blue star, in the Xarnius system within subsector Colbalt, is an odd place for a Trust research out post, however a small station exists a short warp jump away from the sky system.
However, the reason that this out post exists, is for one of the stranger astrological phenomena within Trust space. During the initial surveys of the Xarnius system, it was noted that the seemingly frozen second planet was registering as boiling hot. In deed at a temperature more in tune with worlds only slightly removed from their sun.
Despite several checks to the ship's instruments, there was no malfunction detected and so probes were dispatched to the surface, and immediately started to burn from the heat.
This seeming impossibility brought more investigation until the cause was discovered. Both facts were true, Xarnius was an ice world, but it was also boiling. This was because of a combination of magnetic fields, an ultra-dense core and a thick atmosphere, which has compressed the water of the world into a solid mass. As ice is the solid form of water it appears as such to those in orbit and on non-thermal scanners. However, any scanner that deals with heat would soon learn that the world itself is burning, due to the friction and pressure.
This discovery lead to the immediate establishment of an out post featuring experts from groups like the Ordo Gravis, who hoped to study the incredible gravetic effects. The outpost is also unique as it is the only out post to have a delegation from Muspelheim, who hope to study the unique thermal properties of the world.
Ilgibar
A pulsar is an impressive sight at the best of times, however the star of the Ilgibar system, located in within Core Space, is a sight to behold even by those standards. The beam of electromagnetic that emerges from the ends of the star, refracts and bursts into great waves and bursts of colours. This is not because of some warp corruption, as was initially thought, this is because of a strange, unprecedented occurrence.
Deep scans with custom made equipment revealed a stable lattice of crystal within the star. Impossibly complex and almost impossible to perceive beyond the fact that it exists, the lattice refracts the light and energy given off by the pulsar in remarkable ways.
Some of these are dangerous, with sheers of red light damaging ships, others do seemingly nothing and others may have beneficial properties, though this is currently unconfirmed.
Whatever the case, the Cult of Sollex soon built a station, custom designed to deal with the light thrown forth by the star, hoping beyond hope to unravel its mysteries.
Ithlemar IIV
An unremarkable gas giant located within sub sector Dannan, Ithlemar in fact hosts one of the strangest sights within the Trust. An entire eco system, lives within the gas giant, feeding on the gases and each other, floating on the winds and currents.
When it is said that it is an eco-system this is meant. There are producers that fill a role analogous to plankton and grasses, consumers that slowly drift and dart through the clouds
and more. Most impressively are the predators, the most extraordinary being a massive entity named the Lalobans.
However, deep scans indicate that there are larger beings residing deeper within the gaseous clouds.
Due its extraordinary nature it is no surprise that Avernite biologis have come to study these creatures. While they are not as extraordinary as the wildlife of their home world (and currently seem much less dangerous) they are still beings that demand study.
Triktomar system
An odd and massive system, in a state of constant flux, Triktomar has not one, but four stars burning within it. As a result of so many of these massive bodies in such close contact with one another, it is no surprise that the system is dangerous, with gravetic anomalies, waves of heat and molten asteroids being constant foes, for any that wish to spy upon this celestial dance.
However, Magi of the Star Watchers and Ordo Gravis have done so, hoping to understand these anomalies, and with luck watch something unbelievable. One of the stars is being slowly pulled into another. It will take thousands of years, but in time the two stars will collide. What will occur when this happens is unknown, but whatever happens it is expected to be magnificent. I felt the need.
Dunno if there's any point to this, but it makes Trust space look more interesting.
Well, this is 40k, and the Necrons, C'tan, and Slann left all sorts of random Stellar Scale Bullshit all over the fucking place. I mean, the Galaxy is literally lousy with the damn things. Star Wars and Star Trek combined don't have even half the random bug fuckery of transplanet constructs as 40k. Just because we mistake them as dead rocks, random unimportant stars, or a Warp-Touched World that totally does not have a massive serpent wrapped around it's equator, does not mean they are not there. It just means we grossly misidentify them. Like Admech thinking random Necron Tombs are Dark Age of Technology store houses with a Skeleton Theme (or whatever bullshit they claim when perusing incomprehensible Xeno-Tech), or the random use of the Blackstone Fortresses (despite them being Xenos Warp tech).
The following is an omake about the Avernite Sword Systems. Enjoy
History of the Avernite Sword System
Sword Fighting in Avernus has deep roots in its culture. Heroes and celebrities aplenty throughout the planet participate in the honorable ring to prove their martial skills. Some of the first 'Masters' of Sword Fighting are credited to the Cadian Shock Troopers and their Officers, whose history was tempered constantly by war. The Cadian System of Sword Fighting (known to some as the Cadian Method) was rough and exacting, demanding upper body strength, endurance, and dedication.
The Cadian Method would live on in Avernus's Military when the Avernite Officers Academy was founded by General Kenneth Drago. However, like anything in Avernus the Method was revolutionized, and several varieties of the Cadian Method sprang up across Avernus. In Avernus alone, it is theorized that there are 1000 different varieties of the Cadian Method whose maneuvers are molded by the wildlife and opponents in that region.
But the Cadian Method would not be the undisputed law of the land forever. Chainswords began to be phased out and replaced by more efficient swords and Svartelhiem Swords. And with the phase out came new systems to accompany the vastly different swords. The one Avernites agree is the absolute greatest, however, is the Oakheart System., Developed by the Chief Arbiter herself, Jane Oakheart.
The Oakheart Sword System, or Judgment Blade as known by many, demands incredible speed, accuracy, and judgment to quickly end a fight. It became a resounding success as vile enemies like wildlife, psykers, armed cultists, and even chaos space marines fell to the System. Instead of overpowering opponents with various techniques, like many Cadian Methods demanded, the Judgment Blade demanded to go for critical strikes as quickly as possible. For example, Human opponents were usually killed or incapacitated by attacking their throat or disarming their opponent. But success for these attacks are mixed and so speed and feints are routinely applied to open the opponent's guard for the critical strikes to be executed properly.
Whatever shot could not kill right away was to help open a new avenue right after or later in the fight. For example, attacking the areas where the lungs would be in hopes of tiring an opponent out quicker or slashing kneecaps to destabilize someone's form.
Despite the Oakheart Sword System's success and popularity, others found it difficult to obtain the speed and accuracy needed to make the system viable for their daily lives. To this day, applications to be sponsored by a Master can number in the thousands as Avernites attempt to reach the top of the Sword Fighting ecosystem.
In summary, while the Cadian Method remains the most prevalent and easily learned Sword Fighting System it is almost universally agreed to be inferior to the Judgement Blade that few can truly learn or Master. Some rare fighters who have learned the Judgement Blade still use the Cadian Method and have been known to mix both to become less predictable in fights.
===END===
Special thanks to @PoptartProdigy for proofreading and bringing the greatness of Poptarts.
Tell us the truth @Durin , is there a (Non-Cavern based) Sword Fighting Ecosystem on Avernus? Because this is the one place where an entire ecology could exist of sword-based lifeforms without going Anime.
Tell us the truth @Durin , is there a (Non-Cavern based) Sword Fighting Ecosystem on Avernus? Because this is the one place where an entire ecology could exist of sword-based lifeforms without going Anime.
1) Was wondering would an order of assasins actually add much to our ability to assasinate people? I know we have the last hunters but am assuming that psyker powers would give them more versatility in some areas.
2) How much more safer our psykers using their powers compared to other human polities ways of doing things?
3) Do our avernite psykers exchange new psyker techniques to ones in other branches in Midgard automatically?
You used "Sword Fighting Ecosystem" as a... (Metaphor? Allegory? Synonym?) non-literal term. My first thought, on the other hand, considered it being literal, and went from there. This is Avernus. It is 122.9% a thing in the Caverns. But I want to know if it's a thing on the surface as well.
1) Was wondering would an order of assasins actually add much to our ability to assasinate people? I know we have the last hunters but am assuming that psyker powers would give them more versatility in some areas.
That's probably not a good idea. You know how the Imperium intentionally handicapped itself to prevent any one faction from taking power and screwing over everyone? Same thing here. An order of psychic assassins would cause crazy amounts of damage if they ever went rogue, above what any of the other psychic orders could do. Better to not have them, even though they'd be very useful.
That's probably not a good idea. You know how the Imperium intentionally handicapped itself to prevent any one faction from taking power and screwing over everyone? Same thing here. An order of psychic assassins would cause crazy amounts of damage if they ever went rogue, above what any of the other psychic orders could do. Better to not have them, even though they'd be very useful.
You do realise that the same applies to the Last Hunters...and the Inquisition (who likely train their own psycic assassins)...and apparently even Sepet, who as I recall requires the combined skills of Ridcully and Rotbart to be eliminated without massive damage.
I dunno if we need an order of psycic assassins, but this seems like an odd reason to say no.
Psyker Assasins btw sounds cool but remember that we can only create so many Orders before the bureaucracy gets all fugly. I beleive durin said something like that previously somewhere.
You do realise that the same applies to the Last Hunters...and the Inquisition...and apparently even Sepet, who as I recall requires the combined skills of Ridcully and Rotbart to be eliminated without massive damage.
I dunno if we need an order of psycic assassins, but this seems like an odd reason to say no.
We can handle those threats relatively easily. The Last Hunters can be found through diviners and telepaths. The Inquisition has Grey Knights to ensure the organisation's purity, ensuring at worst that the Inquisition only partially goes rogue. Sepet is one mortal guy. He will die eventually.
How exactly do we exterminate an entire order of psychic assassins before they can cripple the Trust? Ridcully is going to die. It'll take two thousand years, but after that, there'll be no organisation or person who could reliably locate enough members of the order in time to avoid utter catastrophe.
emoticon. His question to Durin also seems genuine. He's telling the truth Wombat...which means my omake is not clear enough.
