I don't want to argue with Durin, but I will say that I think our chances of surviving the attentions of 5 exalted, led by either Lorgar, Belakor or Malice is extremely low and that's one of the better options.
I don't want to say what I think about our chances of surviving a chaos Lin.
I don't want to argue with Durin, but I will say that I think our chances of surviving the attentions of 5 exalted, led by either Lorgar, Belakor or Malice is extremely low and that's one of the better options.
I don't want to say what I think about our chances of surviving a chaos Lin.
we should probably keep in mind that chaos Lin would probably target us too as his former allys....its kind of chao's stichk to make people hate their lovers just as much as they hate their haters....although sometimes they will call it love anyway (definitely NOT looking at slanesh or nurgle over there...)
I also thought that the crit-fail situation might spawn a 6th chaos force/god (not sure what the domain would be)...my memory is not just making htat up right?
That would be almost certainly be game-ending as we would have to be the ones to find out the hard way what their strengths/weaknesses (again, because Lin would certainly target us....so even if his starting point is not in the trust he will come to us anyway)
It simply wasn't worth the risk of doing in less than a decade/a few decades what took the Aeldari Dominion and/or Old Imperium literal millennia to accomplish, or even worse than that.
It simply wasn't worth the risk of doing in less than a decade/a few decades what took the Aeldari Dominion and/or Old Imperium literal millennia to accomplish, or even worse than that.
I think that, eventually, someone else will still have to do it with the same risks and maybe worse odds. You can't defeat what you don't know, only hold it at bay.
I think that, eventually, someone else will still have to do it with the same risks and maybe worse odds. You can't defeat what you don't know, only hold it at bay.
It simply wasn't worth the risk of doing in less than a decade/a few decades what took the Aeldari Dominion and/or Old Imperium literal millennia to accomplish, or even worse than that.
Personally, I disagree, but that train has left the station long ago, and it's not really worth arguing about. I just wanted to correct overestimations of danger in that attempt, since Durin's quote I gave is all he had to say about the risks - at least, all that I am aware of.
He gave additional details about the potential kinds of explosions. Hence my personal opinion that there's incongruity between that statement and his examples, but obviously he knows better how this works than I.
Melta is something of an umbrella term, but most Melta weapons will work in one of two ways. The first method is using tremendous amounts of thermal energy to heat compressed gas well past the point of fusion, producing searing plumes of actively fusing gas. The other method uses directed...
A swift medium tank, the Diamondback is notable in that it lacks any secondary weapons, possessing only a single ordinance weight weapon. Lightly armored for a medium tank, its primary advantage is its extreme speed and ability to traverse any terrain. The Diamondback uses advanced stabilizes...
embers-in-the-dusk.fandom.com
the wiki's being weird for me and messing with the formatting, but I think I have both of them formated ok. as usual, if anyone has issues with it feel free to fix it.
Similar to the Sentinel, but significantly larger, the Goliath carries two blisters of two heavy weapons each, half of which are AA mounts. While not armored heavily enough to function as an assault walker, as it cannot carry particularly heavy weapons. It works best as part of a combined arms...
A Dark age design for a medium line tank, the Beowulf fills a similar niche to the Leman Russ. of similar durability, the Beowulf forgoes the Russ's sponsons and carries only a single hull-mounted secondary weapon, using the extra room and reduced weight to notably increase its speed. In...
A versatile assault walker, the Crabs six legs and sealed construction allow it to traverse almost any environment, from cities to mountains to the deep seas. its gripping claws allowing it to climb near shear surfaces. Most patterns are intended for either assault or transport. typically...
A derivative of the Earthshaker cannon, the Codiac is designed to fire on the move. while it is able to do this, it comes at a cost. the codiac has roughly half the rate of fire and range of traditional earthshakers, however, it is significantly more accurate. This is considered an acceptable...
A dedicated AA platform, the Echidna is as large as a Beowulf or Lemen Russ tank, making it notably larger than the traditional hydra. This allows it to carry a total of six AA mounted heavy weapons. Due to advanced stabilization, the Echidna is able to fire on the move with relatively little...
Based on the Rhino chassis, the burrow tank (formerly named the phase tank) is a dedicated ambusher. Using a phase transformation generator based on Dark age studies of the Aridian Sand Shark, it is able to sink into the ground to hide. while the phase transformation generator only works on soil...
An extremely potent tank discovered by Ryza, the Laciarn hover tanks most distinctive feature is a complex and unique plasma weapon known as the Laciarn plasma mortar. incredibly safe and stable due to advanced heating systems, the Laciarn plasma mortar is able to fire in a 360-degree arc as...
embers-in-the-dusk.fandom.com
@Durin see the above, let me know if any of them need corrections.
Similar to the Sentinel, but significantly larger, the Goliath carries two blisters of two heavy weapons each, half of which are AA mounts. While not armored heavily enough to function as an assault walker, as it cannot carry particularly heavy weapons. It works best as part of a combined arms...
A Dark age design for a medium line tank, the Beowulf fills a similar niche to the Leman Russ. of similar durability, the Beowulf forgoes the Russ's sponsons and carries only a single hull-mounted secondary weapon, using the extra room and reduced weight to notably increase its speed. In...
A versatile assault walker, the Crabs six legs and sealed construction allow it to traverse almost any environment, from cities to mountains to the deep seas. its gripping claws allowing it to climb near shear surfaces. Most patterns are intended for either assault or transport. typically...
A derivative of the Earthshaker cannon, the Codiac is designed to fire on the move. while it is able to do this, it comes at a cost. the codiac has roughly half the rate of fire and range of traditional earthshakers, however, it is significantly more accurate. This is considered an acceptable...
A dedicated AA platform, the Echidna is as large as a Beowulf or Lemen Russ tank, making it notably larger than the traditional hydra. This allows it to carry a total of six AA mounted heavy weapons. Due to advanced stabilization, the Echidna is able to fire on the move with relatively little...
Based on the Rhino chassis, the burrow tank (formerly named the phase tank) is a dedicated ambusher. Using a phase transformation generator based on Dark age studies of the Aridian Sand Shark, it is able to sink into the ground to hide. while the phase transformation generator only works on soil...
An extremely potent tank discovered by Ryza, the Laciarn hover tanks most distinctive feature is a complex and unique plasma weapon known as the Laciarn plasma mortar. incredibly safe and stable due to advanced heating systems, the Laciarn plasma mortar is able to fire in a 360-degree arc as...
embers-in-the-dusk.fandom.com
@Durin see the above, let me know if any of them need corrections.
So! I'm probaly not even halfway through reading this quest yet and this question might be redundant and dealt with in later turns but I'll ask anyway.
The Wife has been dead for a long ass time now and apparently the daughter dies as well soon, shouldn't he at this point have remarried by now? Maybe have some other children and so on?
So! I'm probaly not even halfway through reading this quest yet and this question might be redundant and dealt with in later turns but I'll ask anyway.
The Wife has been dead for a long ass time now and apparently the daughter dies as well soon, shouldn't he at this point have remarried by now? Maybe have some other children and so on?
In character, Freya was Frederick's one true love, and he's still too heartbroken over her to marry somebody else, even after all those centuries. Out of character, we just can't.
So! I'm probaly not even halfway through reading this quest yet and this question might be redundant and dealt with in later turns but I'll ask anyway.
The Wife has been dead for a long ass time now and apparently the daughter dies as well soon, shouldn't he at this point have remarried by now? Maybe have some other children and so on?
In character, Freya was Frederick's one true love, and he's still too heartbroken over her to marry somebody else, even after all those centuries. Out of character, we just can't.
Additionally, there's just not really any need. The ties of the Nine Worlds and Imperial Trust are basically so entrenched by now that we don't need to rely on marriage alliances to cement things. More generally, with the fact that Tormod doesn't want to succeed us, and the meritocratic culture of Avernus, it's also become apparent that Rotbart producing a biological heir to basically take the throne after he dies is unnecessary, as there are alternative means of succession that are also arguably much better.
If Rotbart dies, we'll still carry on as his successor, but politically and spiritually, rather than by blood. It doesn't mean that everything we've done with him in charge is any less important, or simply going to be swept away. If we play as a non-related successor, it doesn't mean that Rotbart failed, or that we lost somehow - it just means that dynasties and bloodlines aren't as important as characters, and their actions and beliefs.
Muspelheim is one of the founding members of the Imperial Trust, and is still one of the most powerful members. Muspelheim is the most technologically advanced and best educated world in the entire Imperial Trust, and is also one of the most fortified. This is despite the world itself being a...
I just read the article on Muspelheim. When it says that their records survived the first age of strife, does that mean that they have access to all of the history that we have IRL?
I just read the article on Muspelheim. When it says that their records survived the first age of strife, does that mean that they have access to all of the history that we have IRL?
That is honestly incredible. It's very interesting to see that unlike the rest of the imperial remnants, we know the actual history of humanity and not legends/propaganda.
That is honestly incredible. It's very interesting to see that unlike the rest of the imperial remnants, we know the actual history of humanity and not legends/propaganda.
Well, there are probably a lot of things they know about human history that they don't share with us, because they know we'd scream heresy. IIRC Rotbart and Surt once had a conversation and Surt mentioned the word "science", which Rotbart just didn't understand at all, because it's a term and concept that just doesn't make sense to people from 40k.
Deep within Nurgle held territory just south of the Vortex of Despair, there is the system of Ilium that holds no habitable planets or any real resources worth exploiting. In the time of the Imperium they used the system as a dumping ground. Refuse from entire sector filling the place with both military and civilian trash, remains of a cruiser floating next to the waste of an entire hive.
When the forces of Nurgle expanded from the Vortex of Despair, an scouting fleet was sent there but the warmaster decided it was not worth the effort to clear the debris. Claiming that their master's presence was already at work, the stagnation of the Imperium evident all around.
And so the System of Ilium sat quietly for a Millennium and some. More scraps and even a space hulk made its way to the system, almost drawn there. That is until several Imperium era warships exited violently out of the warp.
---------------
Lurching suddenly as the ship dumped itself out of the warp,"GAH!" clutching her side Captain Salzar grunted. Shrapnel hit her and several of the crew from one of the cogitators that exploded during the storm.
Sent to reinforce the Industrial world of Malachor IV from an Ork Waagh. The entire fleet had been caught in a violent warp storm, what had started as an entire crusade fleet slowly was worn down to half as ships failed and Daemons invaded. The only respite from the daemons being the two waves that sent the ships rolling even more, in the colors of gold and green. Finally the warp calmed down enough that they could exit.
Gathering herself she stood up straight, "If any of you still live, report."
Agitated binary erupted from the Adept, "Captain , multiple hull breaches, the main generator is 67% operational, the crews reporting 35% casualties, and the geller generators require repairs. Similar reports across what's left of the fleet."
"Emperor…..See what you can do about the power first and then the Geller fields. It'll make the rest of the repairs go easier."
"As you wish Captain," heavy thuds fade away as the Adept trudges away.
"Now, get me a report of the area stat! We are flying blind gentlemen and that is unacceptable."
Several Days Later
After finding no immediate dangers all the captains gathered on Salzar's ship. What vessels deemed salvageable sporting emergency repairs, as crews build bork down less fortunate vessels to enable further repairs.
Salazar was named active fleet commander, being captain of the last remaining Grand Cruiser the original commander lost to the warp. Being the commander she was the first to learn of their unfortunate situation.
Taking a deep breath and gripping her chair arms tightly she braces herself for what she's about to say"Captains, we find ourselves in an unusual and perilous situation. To put it bluntly our original mission must be changed."
Immediate mutterings break up around the table, of coward and various other comments.
Holding up her hand, "One second let me explain!" clicking her remote she brings up the map display.
"After the first day I had the Adepts try and figure out where the warp spat us out. Based on the stars, we're still in Tempestus but on the other side of it Near Draska. And based on the scrapyard we're in" gesturing out the window at the remains of a frigate floating by.
"We're in the system of Ilium, but the problem gentlemen is not so much where we are it's when we are." Clicking the remote again she brings up two pictures of star clusters seemingly different as the low muttering suddenly stills. "This is a picture of the nearby stars, the last recording being in 35,467, these" she points" are those same stars in this picture."
Seeming to almost sway for a second she straightens herself, "that is the adepts calculate……….over 10,000 years of drift."
"By the emperor!!!"
"Throne…."
"How could this be?!?"
The whole room seems to go into both a furious and silent uproar.
"Captains!" The room pauses, "this situation is not an easy one we all know the warp is known for space time accidents. It appears we have dropped out of the warp far into the future."
Several faces pale as the fact strikes them and a pallor falls over the room.
"Captains…..no my brothers in arms we have been taken far from our homes and families that we know not what even survives…..but our duty does not end merely because we have leapt through time and lost all we've known! Humanity will always need the right men at the right time, and maybe they needed us but in this time and this place. I do not pretend to know the Emperor's plans, but I do not think he would lightly tear us from our time t-"
The doors slam open as Lieutenant Maddison barges in, "Lieutenant what is the mea~" he gasps "Captain you have to see this!"
Changing the interference it became a map of the system, as new contact items began filling the once empty system. "Sir it started a minute ago, first it was 3 and now it's well over 20 ships. They're all sporting imperial codes sir!"
"What is this?"
Looking at the ships and codes some came from her time, some further in the past, and some entirely different but recognizably Imperial.
"Emperor, what have we been drawn into……" in the background screaming from multiple ships can be heard as even more warp signatures continue to trickle in.
@Durin and so it begins, its about time we start this show.
Amidst the roiling darkness of a galaxy at war, the lights of civilisation still burn. As some are suffocated, their legacy nought but ash and ruin, others yet shine brighter under the guidance of the Greater Good, the inheritors of the Old Ones, and the priests and progeny of the sovereign ruler of humanity. But others beyond their reach still survive, paying for their continued existence with pain, blood, and limitless sacrifice. Amongst those cursed and blessed to live through this age of war are the gods of the Aetheric Concordat, whose power has allowed their followers to endure along with them.
The most ardent protectors of their people are the gods' Templars: elite crusaders and sentinels who dedicate their lives to their patron deities and enact their will on the field of battle. By the strength of their conviction and their dedication to battle, they deny the hordes of darkness their victory and glorify their heavenly masters. Yet still, it is a desperate struggle they fight. For all their vigour, their enemies are infinite in number and strength, forces of nature that can never be ultimately defeated; they can only ever be repulsed for a time, and often at ruinous expense. These greatest of the Concordat's mortal warriors are mighty defenders of their lords' demesnes, but only by divine providence may they continue to prevail.
*** Organisation
The holy warriors of the Concordat form warrior bands of their fellows known as Covenants, each of which has its own identity, history, and assets.
Each Covenant typically numbers in the thousands to tens of thousands of dedicated fighters*, though some of the most powerful go above into the next order of magnitude. Those Covenants that only have a member count in the hundreds are a minority but are not uncommon. These smaller Covenants may be young and recently founded, but they may instead be limited by a lack of funds, a small pool of potential recruits, or a simple desire to not expand beyond a certain limit. * In most cases supplemented by a support staff and other non-combatants.
Covenants may be funded by a larger religious order, a government or private organisations, or donations from the faithful, or they may draw from their own assets and holdings or from those of their members.
The title held by the leader of a Covenant is Grand Master, though it's common for some variation of the title to be used instead.
*** Universal Unit Types
While the Templars often field military formations unique to their own Covenant, it's just as common for them to deploy units that are very similar or identical in function to those deployed by many other Templar Covenants.
Prosecutors
Prosecutors are the backbone of many of the Templar orders, trained to carry out spearhead operations on fortified enemy positions and hold locations of critical strategic importance to the last man. They go into battle equipped with Templar battleplate, wield lumex rifles, and a selection of special weapons such as missile launchers, flamers, and sniper rifles, giving them great flexibility on the battlefield.
Battleplate is the standard issue armour worn by the majority of Templars. It's similar in form and function to Imperial carapace armour and tau combat armour, being unpowered suits of plate armour worn on the body to protect the wearer. The helmets feature communications systems, night visors, and rebreathers. The lattermost of those features is especially useful on daemon worlds of Nurgle and Slaanesh, where toxin- or drug-laced air is a common concern.
Lumex weapons use hard-light technology to fire projectiles made of petrified photons. The light bullets are extremely energy dense, giving them stopping power that can even match pulse weaponry, though the utter lack of focus of their explosions also gives them the same mediocre armour-piercing ability. Perhaps their greatest advantage is that it's supremely convenient to supply ammunition for them, as they require nothing more than ordinary lasgun charge packs to keep them going.
Lumex rifle: The lumex rifle is a two-handed firearm easily operable by a single human-approximate creature, equivalent to the mainstay infantry weapons of other factions such as impaler carbines and lasguns. They have automatic, semi-automatic, and burst fire capabilities.
Lumex carbine: The lumex rifle is a more compact variant of the lumex rifle, capable of a rapid rate of fire though without the same range. Lumex carbines are ideal for use in close quarters environments and for rapid assaults.
Lumex pistol: The lumex pistol is the sidearm variant of the lumex rifle and is commonly used by the Templars of the Aetheric Concordat. They fire shots just as powerful as their larger siblings and are occasionally used in conjunction with shields to create an effective mix of offence and defence.
Peltasts
Peltasts are many a Covenant's assault core. Their cirrus sabatons grant them impressive mobility, letting them quickly close with the enemy and lay ruin to them with devastating close range weaponry, then rapidly exploit their breakthrough or fall back to strike again later. Because of their focus on mobility and the limits of their sabatons, they eschew heavy weaponry in favour of lighter armaments. Lumex carbines, lumex pistols, hard-light shields, fusion guns, and void-edge swords are their weapons of choice.
Cirrus sabatons are boots with anti-gravity projectors on the soles that allow their wearers to hover above the ground. While they don't allow for true flight, they let infantry move very quickly even over rough terrain and increase the height at which a fall might be survivable. Naturally, they can also be switched off so that their wearers only hover when they want to. Cirrus sabatons have an all too often unforgiving weight limit, prohibiting their wearers from bearing heavy weaponry, much less full power armour.
The lumex shield is a small, buckler-like device attached to the user's forearm that projects a protective shield of hard-light, providing similar protection to a storm shield. While cheaper to make and much lighter than a storm shield, the lumex shield isn't as reliable, as powerful hits can shatter the lumex construct and leave the shield's wielder vulnerable to further attack.
Void-edge swords are simple weapons with Warp-sharpened blades. Their impossibly sharp edges can cut through even daemon-forged armour. These blades can be forged by the trained mind of a psyker or the skilled hands of those rare artisans with warptech tools, or else through piecing together naturally void-honed materials such as the volcanic glass of warp-tainted worlds. Runes of binding line the flats of the blades to ensure the ethereal nature that lends these swords their penetrative potency never dissipates.
Battle Clerics
Also known as Templar Clerics, Battle Clerics are the most common of the Concordat Templar elites, comprised of the Covenants' most veteran warriors. Battle Clerics wear power armour andlevy weapons of greater lethality than their less experienced brethren, weapons that are equally adept at separating souls from their bodies as they are banishing daemons back into the Warp.
Battle Clerics engage the enemy with larger and more powerful but also more advanced versions of the Prosecutors' lumex rifles. They not only hit harder, they also incorporate ion gun shields to give their wielders extra protection in firefights. Instead of ordinary frag grenades, they hurl aethyric charges that can destroy hardier enemies than their mundane equivalents. For close range combat, they can blast enemies away with cindershock shotguns or lay into them with lumex shields and aether weapons. At their leisure, they may instead take down enemies from afar with accurate, punishing fire from their long-ranged atomlock toradars.
Aethyric Charges are constructed of standard fragmentation grenades but with an explosive mix blessed by the touch of an Anointed or a daeva. These warp-touched explosives detonate with greater ferocity and can even pierce the flak armour of the Astra Militarum, something that very few patterns of frag grenades are capable of.
Aether Weapons are technologically simplistic melee weapons that are heavily infused with aether energy. Some are created by taking an ordinary weapon and conducting a mystic ritual on it or having a daeva reconstruct it from within, while some samples are crafted of highly warp-charged materials. Regardless of how they were made, they are famously mighty weapons worthy of Templar Clerics.
Atomlock toradars are sniper rifles that utilise contained micro-fission explosions to fire hypervelocity rounds that give them astonishing range and power.
The cindershock shotgun is largely the same as an ordinary pump action scattergun, utilising nearly the exact same methods of operation as those simple but redoubtable weapons, though with one major exception. The interior of its barrel is coated with a psycho-charged alloy that infuses the inferno shot with aether energy as it travels down the barrel and ignites. The results are gruesome, as those it doesn't mercifully annihilate in the initial blast are consumed by esurient flames shortly thereafter, and the psi-attunement of the fire ensures that even armour is no guarantee against its might.
The technology to build cindershock shotguns is truthfully remarkably simple, and even relatively primitive civilisations can construct them, but the psychic materials required to make them are anything but simple to acquire. The materials that both provide the right effect and can reliably endure the forces exerted on them are very rarely naturally found and are painstakingly difficult to artificially produce, requiring highly advanced warp technology to make it. It's at the upper edge of the Concordat's ability to make, which is why these uncomplicated weapons are limited only to the elites of the Concordat's elites.
Executioners
Executioners are elite power-armoured Templars proficient in the use of massive two-handed power swords known as Guillotine Greatswords, each constructed from parts of weapons that have slain the gods' enemies. Templar Executioners are trained to operate in groups of two to three, compensating for the unwieldiness of their weapons by attacking in intervening sequences, giving the enemy no gaps to exploit and respite from their cleaving strikes. The purpose of the Executioners is to seek out the champions of their gods' enemies and end their existence, a task they perform with aplomb.
Silver Wolf Assassin
Amongst all the gods, the assassins of the Silver Wolves were the least affected by the death of their god, and had continued on as they always had after her demise. In fact, with the contacts they've made with so many polities across the galaxy, they're in a far better position than they have ever been before. In the present day, they operate with the full sanction of numerous deities. Dwelling in the shadows, they stalk the cities and space ports of the gods' realms to hunt those who've fallen to Chaos corruption. They work with the Templars on the battlefield as allies, infiltrating the enemy's holdfasts and dispatching their marks with clinical efficiency (and often a fair amount of creativity). Silver Wolf Assassins eschew heavy armour, preferring flexible mesh or light flakweave for protection in order to maintain their stealth and mobility.
Auracle
The prayers of the faithful ring through the Empyrean, and whilst the natives of that realm hear them clearly, mortals as a rule are utterly deaf to them. The Auracles of the Aetheric Concordat are one of the exceptions, invoking prayers that resonate with that greater collective to manifest a number of supernatural effects.
There are few who can become Auracles, as the only ones selected for the training are unconscious psykers, as they have a connection to the Warp but cannot directly draw upon it. Auracle trainees are cybernetically augmented with warp antennae attuned through divine ritual to a particular god, letting them hear the prayers directed to them echoing throughout the Realm of Souls. Initially they'll hear naught but nauseating static, but through concentration and training, they'll eventually be able to pick out the sound of their spiritual brethren's prayers - barely at first, but more loudly and clearly over time.* Eventually, they'll reach a point where the antennae are no longer needed and they'll be surgically removed**, but their ability will be retained*** and will still be able to grow it. Afterwards, the second stage of their training will begin. * At the same time, the trainees are also taught how to tamp down on this growing ability of theirs. This is a vital skill, as eventually the noise will otherwise grow too great and the flood of emotion and thought will result in insomnia, brain damage, insanity, and catastrophic brain haemorrhages. (Not necessarily in that order.)
** In environments less controlled than the Auracles' training auditoriums, the antennae can become psychic vulnerabilities.
*** Removal results in temporary partial deafness, but the Auracle-in-training will regain their lost ability within a matter of days.
Once the Auracle trainees have mastered their ability to hear the sound of prayer as it truly exists, they must learn to speak it. They receive tutelage in both the written and spoken forms of the language of the daevas themselves, a lexicon of incredibly dense mystical potential. They are also taught a flexible prayer system, one that relies not on rote memorisation but on context and spontaneous composition. By listening to the thoughts and prayers of their fellow worshippers, they may compose a prayer calibrated to them so precisely and with such sharp intent that their words breach the empyric veil and reshape reality to a form the gods may find more pleasing.* * While safer than manifesting psychic powers in the traditional way, Auracle powers aren't as strong as those of true psykers who've had the same length of training and material support.
The Auracles trained by the Templar Covenants receive instruction in both combat and oratory to supplement their Auracle training. Auracles buttress the minds and bodies of their brothers and sisters in arms with their abilities and extol them them to greater acts of courage and violence; it matters not if the warriors cannot consciously comprehend the meaning of their words, for their hearts do and that is enough.
Magister
Magisters are the arcane specialists of the Aetheric Concordat. They are potent psykers and agents of the gods who dedicate their lives to studying the mysteries of the Warp and channelling its power. Each Magister is armed with the divine tongue, by written word and bellowed incantation shackling the tempestuous ether-energy they channel through their souls to the will of the gods. Whether in some realms these magisters would be distrusted and hated for their existence, amidst the Concordat Templars they are respected, for their knowledge and their duties were handed down to them by the gods and daevas themselves.
Magisters are artificers, ritualists, researchers, and more, but their most prolific roles are found on the battlefield. With their psychic abilities, Magisters smite the enemies of the gods with blazing bolts of energy and protect against the machinations of enemy witchcraft. They are terrifying enemies for their foes to face, but their allies have reason to maintain caution as well. Magisters trained for war have incredible concentration, but the vagaries of war will test them to their limits, and it takes only a single stutter, the tiniest unintentional pause, but one wrong word for the warp energy they channel to break free from its linguistic cage and call down the wrath of the Empyrean.
Anointed
The Anointed are shining models of faith and martial prowess, heroes invested with a measure of their god's own power, either through a direct blessing or by being lent power by some daeva of lesser providence housed within their body. This infusion of divine essence reinforces their bodies and souls, multiplying their physical strength and protecting their minds against sorcerous influence. The sight of an Anointed fortifies the wills of their brethren, and their long experience on the battlefield makes them able leaders of men.
Grand Master
Grand Masters are the leaders of their Covenants. Each is a veteran of over a century of war and is a paragon of martial aptitude and spirituality, charged by the gods to bring glory to their name and destroy all who oppose them. Chosen from the Anointed of a Covenant to lead the holy warriors of the Condordat, the Grand Masters are suffused with so much holy energy that to a psyker's withsight they shine as radiant with the power of the divine as the very daevas of the Aetheric Concordat, and can call down the miraculous powers of the gods themselves. Indeed, the favour they've earned from their gods commands great respect even from daevas, and under the leadership of the Grand Masters, mortal and immortal fight as a united whole against the forces of destruction.
Atronach
The Greater Daemons of Chaos pose a critical risk to the Aetheric Concordat. Apocalyptic is their presence and legion are their numbers, yet the daevas who can match them strength for strength number only a precious few. When the mortal slaves of the Archenemy summon them to battle, doom and slaughter follow in their wake. Through study of their bounteous occult theoretica and arcane secrets torn from the ruins of fallen Librariums and dead alien civilisations, the Concordat would develop an answer to those arch-agents of Chaos: Atronachs - mighty constructs of psychic energy that, while short-lived, can challenge and defeat Greater Daemons.
The creation of an Atronach is a long and costly affair. To begin with, a large chunk of solid stone must be acquired from a daemon world and brought to a temple of the gods. There, the stone will be ritually purified by a priesthood using the divine power of the gods, expunging the evil within it. Afterwards, it will be carved into the shape of a flat, bare slab, approximately the size of the Atronach it will contain. It's at this point that the true work begins. A Magister, a skilled and powerful one (and typically nearing the end of their lifespan), must sacrifice their life to become the Atronach's heart. They will take a hundred-faced jewel and engrave a vampiric sigil onto each side, pouring a fraction of their very soul into the jewel each time until their animus has entirely left their body, whereupon it will reside dormant in the crystal. Once the mortal task is done, other artisans will embed the jewel into the slab and begin the years-long process of drawing the Atronach's body by carving an intricate array of symbols, images, and daevic script into the slab before pouring molten psi-conductive crystal into the grooves. Each working is its own unique work of art, and so no two Atronachs will be exactly the same.
When the time comes for the power of an Atronach to be unleashed, Concordat Magisters will conduct a ritual to create the Atronach. They pool their powers together into the Atronach slab, a process that could take anywhere between minutes to days depending on the power of the Magisters. The crystalline matrix will glow brighter and brighter as it imbibes on the torrent of energy, and the same runes that devoured the sacrificial psyker will drink its own fill as well. Once the slab has absorbed enough of the Magisters' power, the one within will awaken and shatter their prison from within. With the imprisoned Magister's freedom and the sharp kick of also-freed energy from within, the final pieces are assembled and the Atronach steps forth from the slab, ready to wage war in the name of the gods.
As a being of pure energy, an Atronach might be called an artificial daeva (or daemon), and with a body of coruscating soulfire it looks the part. In truth however, a more accurate description is that it's a sentient manifestation of psychic power, a psychic construct given will and a measure of intelligence by its artisans. An Atronach has incredible power, regulated by the consciousness dwelling within, but exists only for as long as the soul at its core can continue performing the fatiguing task of stabilising the raging storm of its existence. It typically takes hours to days before an Atronach's heart exhausts themselves and returns to the gods, after which the Atronach will dissolve into the realm of aether energy its essence was spun from.
Excalibre
On the world of Pobreo, a regiment of the Imperial Guard once fought the forces of the Sekhewa Dynasty for reasons that have long been lost to time. The battle ground on for years, necron immortality and the bottomless reserves of the Imperium of Man proving a sound match for one another. Tiring of the war, the High Lords sanctioned the use of multiple vortex deathstrike missiles to open a hole in the enemy lines and effect a decisive breakthrough. Had they made this decision even a week earlier all might have gone well, but fate would be unkind to them. The Sekhewa Dynasty had also grown tired of the war, and would deploy nothing less than an Æonic Orb to end the battle. A Primaris Psyker attached to the Astra Militarum found out about the weapon with his psychic abilities and warned the Guard commander of the impending threat. In desperation, the commander would sound the order to fire every deathstrike missile in his command at the Æonic Orb before it could fire, at the same time as the necrons were preparing to activate their superweapon. It was unclear exactly what happened afterwards, only that both armies were utterly destroyed, followed by the Inquisition quarantining the world off.
After the fall of the Imperium, Concordat Templars would land on the planet to investigate the battlefield. There they would have to battle ghosts that could only be destroyed by weapons infused with holy energy or the power of the Warp, but would also recover fragments of an extraordinary golden metal. This golden metal would be used to forge Excalibre, an atomlock toradar of such magnificent power that it once banished the Daemon Prince Kalghast with a single shot.
*** Gatta's Templars
Prophet of Gatta
The Prophets of Gatta are religious figures who spread the word of Gatta and preach of a prophecy that she will return stronger than she has ever been. The Prophets are agreed on that, but vary wildly in the specifics. Some believe that she will come back to life only if she gains enough worship, others that it's just a matter of time, others that she was never even killed and that gods cannot die, and so on. Regardless of the specifics of their beliefs, they are diligent in their duties proving the righteousness on the field of battle, winning converts through their stirring oratory and inspiring displays of gunmanship.
Akimbo Sage
An Akimbo Sage is a member of an exclusive sect of Gatta worshippers who pursue the ideal of absolute combat effectiveness. Akimbo Sages are expert marksmen and extremely efficient killers, capable of clearing a room of Chaos militia without adopting cover before any one of them can land a shot. They're trained in the use of many weapons but are specialised in the art of dual-wielding pistols and go into battle with their artisan-crafted Gakata Autopistols. Gakata Autopistols are marvels of the gunsmith's craft, utterly reliable hand cannons that fire extremely powerful, high calibre rounds at an impressive rate of fire. Their sturdy kinestum barrel shrouds not only make it possible to handle the otherwise wrist-shattering recoil, they also reduce the impact of parried attacks, making Akimbo Sages deadly in melee as well as in ranged combat. In the hands of the most skilled Akimbo Sages, it becomes impossible for a daemon or psyker to distinguish between a Gakata Autopistol and its wielder's lethal intent.
*** Zaghâsh's Templars
Pyromassacrists
Pyromassacrists are the grim harvesters of Zaghâsh, pressing themselves where the battleline is thickest with the enemy's chaff to banish them from the mortal plane. With gouts of flame and sweeping blows from their Decimation Axes, Pyromassacrists reap a deadly toll on the hordes of destruction, breaking the enemy's backbone and stripping their evil masterminds of their shields of flesh. Mobs of ork boyz, swarms of plague zombies, and even packs of lesser daemons have shattered in the face of these Battle Clerics of the Death King.
Decimation Axes are refined, two-handed axes with built-in Golachab Flamers fuelled by the anger and determination of their wielders. The flames are linked to the blades of these axes, and so if their wielders desire they can wreath the axeheads in sheathes of fire. Decimation Axes strike with enough force to cleave through multiple opponents in a single swing, which when combined with their flamers makes them highly effective at fighting masses of weak enemies, but their ability to strike down stronger foes is not to be underestimated.
Diablocidus
Diablocidus is the epitome of the cindershock shotgun, firing solid pellets of bound warpfire in a pentagrammatic spread pattern to shatter daemoniforms and banish their mangled bodies screaming back into the Warp.
*** Faust's Templars
Bismuth Guard
The Bismuth Guard are the personal guardians of Syhio, one of the Great Daevas of Faust. Uniquely among her brethren, Syhio spends most of her time in realspace, where a permanent honour guard of mortal warriors becomes both viable and wise. To be selected to join the Bismuth Guard is a high honour, but it's also a sombre recognition of a tragic event. Members of the Bismuth Guard are chosen from the mightiest of Syhio's cult, but only from those who've lost all their closest friends in battle. To join the Bismuth Guard is in part an escape for that warrior, to fill the void in their heart through companionship with those who've suffered similar loss. They will never forget the fall of their comrades though, and had they multiple lives to give, they would surrender every one before allowing their charge to suffer even a single wound.
After being selected to join the Bismuth Guard, an initiate must go through a gruelling training regime to reach the same standards as their future brethren. Not only must they match them in martial prowess, but in their ability to speak the daevic language and in their knowledge of the occult; they will be the hand of the most magically adept of the Quetzals, and their duty will inevitably include fending off the esoteric threat of the daemonic. When an initiate has completed their training, they alongside their fellow initiates will be taken to the Aetatl, Syhio's flagship, where they'll undergo their induction ritual, headed by Syhio herself.
The Aetatl is festooned with a vast array of powerful wards devised by the goddess Qhaysh herself. While the wards greatly reduce the range at which hostiles can teleport onto the ship, their true purpose is to prevent the Neverborn from entering the vessel, or weakening them if they manage regardless. These wards are strengthened by mass prayer of the ship's crew members, and become nigh unbreakable if Syhio herself is in the ship. These wards are critically important, because Syhio uses the Aetatl to enter the warp with its gellar field generator offline in order to conduct rituals that require great psychic power or precision. One of these rituals is the one to turn Bismuth Guard initiates into full members. The induction ritual involves three parts. Firstly, the initiates will have their skin slowly and methodically replaced with living metal, giving them a measure of the same durability as Syhio herself. The second part of the ritual involves stretching and shaping the living metal on the initiates' backs, growing the hardy metal wings that allow the Bismuth Guard to protect the Great Daeva even in the air.* Finally, the faith, love, pain, and hatred of the initiates that manifest freely in the Warp are sorcerously bound into aether glaives, whose long, radiant blades can pierce the hearts of the greatest of monstrous adversaries. At last, the new Bismuth Guards will step forth and swear their oaths to Syhio, ready to safeguard her life and destroy her foes. * This step is naturally skipped if the initiate in question already has wings or some other form of flight.
*** Dominion's Templars
The Knight of Winter's Wrath
To endure terrible suffering and emerge greater than you were before, to cast down false idols and tear asunder the weak without mercy, this is the essence of Dominion of the Longest Night, and her Templars embody it utterly. In mind and purpose, they are the purest of all the Templars, the keenest blades in the arsenal of the gods. But while their will is mighty and their resolve unyielding, their bodies are as weak and frail as that of all mortals. This was exemplified in the war between the Chaos Space Marine warband known as the Lashes of Chaos and the Hail Knights Covenant on the planet Bidriri. The Hail Knights Covenant were exemplars, warriors who had reached the peak of their species' strength and skill at arms, but against the superhuman might of the Heretic Astartes, they were as children fighting full grown men, and were slain or captured to a man.
One of the survivors was a man called Brekred. As he lay flayed and impaled on one of his Covenant's sacred banners in their own dining hall, watching the Astartes conquerors feast on the flesh of his brothers and sisters, he prayed. He did not pray for deliverence from his agony, nor the safety of his people, nor even vengeance against the Ruinous Powers for their sins. Brekred prayed to the Dominion to make him into what he once was, what her enemies had broken despite his unfailing and mammoth will: her weapon. And this prayer was granted. In a moment, his body transformed from that of a broken man into a conduit of the Snow Goddess's ire, the Knight of Winter's Wrath. With this new weapon, Dominion avenged the slight made against her, slaying each and every member of the Lashes of Chaos on Bidriri.
On that night, Brekred ceased to exist, and then when the Lashes of Chaos were slain so did the Knight, but even so the most devoted, selfless, and spiritually pure of the Templars of Dominion may still call down its power. Through a ritual that sunders the flesh and tests their piety to its utmost limit, the Templar may use the Hail Knights' banner to cast away their humanity and transform themselves into a new Knight of Winter's Wrath. Their self, their will, their thoughts, their very soul are converted into the holy energy of Dominion herself, filling their corpus with unimaginable strength and power. This creature, this thing, is no mortal of course, but neither is it a daeva, nor can it be described as a mere construct of psychic energy. The Knight of Winter's Wrath is a Miracle clad in flesh, a divine force of judgement with no capacity for restraint or mercy. It will slaughter all those who oppose the Queen of Winter until its essence is spent or there is no one left demanding death.
***
Ran out of steam after a bit, so there aren't as many god-specific paladins as I'd initially planned to do. Still, being able to use the words 'Excalibre' and 'Diablocidus' was satisfying.
Niflheim is one of the founding members of the Imperial Trust, and despite trying to avoid to much attention is one of the most powerful worlds in the Imperial Trust. Niflheim is a world populated entirely by minor Blanks (somehow), and is one of the most technologically advanced world in the...
Vanaheim is one of the founding members of the Imperial Trust, and is still arguably its most powerful member. While Vanaheim itself is a rather beautiful civilised world, it is surrounded by an orbital ring which includes the majority of the Imperial Trust's shipyards, the industry to support...
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