Reposting current Deathwatch crunch notes on the Icelus Pattern Dreadnought chassis for discussion:

22 AP all round
60 Strength
40 Agility

Three Hard points for weapons: Each arm may mount one of the following weapons: Lightning claw, thunder hammer, power fist, chain fist, storm shield, combi-bolter, storm bolter.

The third hard point is a MIU-linked shoulder mounted Astartes Sniper Rifle,

Additionally the chassis incorperates utility and optical mechadendrites, Chameleoline Coating (Counts as Chameleoline Cloak, +20 to Concealment tests and shadowing. The wearer counts as one range bracket further if standing still), multiple redundant Stummers (+30 to Silent Move), Preysense Mask, Cooling Capillaries (covering joints and armor to keep them from coming up on IR sensors). Radar jamming equipment, a back full of sensor spines, a warp beacon and a concealed servo skull (incorperating a stummer and autosense links.)

Sprint, Sonar Sense

The Shoulder-mounted Astartes sniper rifle may be replaced with a grenade launcher or plasma gun, or with a meltagun, flamer or Astartes combat shotgun for close assaults. Heavy weapons may be mounted to this hard point instead but the Icelus will no longer be able to Sprint and will count as Agility 20.

I think having both the white trim and the complex etchings is fine. No reason they would be mutually exclusive.

>>13845918
Out of curiosity, how does that compare to normal dreads?

As far as tabletop stats go, would you recommend fielding Icelus Pattern Dreads as terminators?

>>13845999

Yeah, it's a small honour given to them by the chapter in humble recognition that they now considered dead. On top of the liveries of their company are painted bands of the same white as the apothecaries with whom they spend so much time. Then, as the months and years progress, they etch more and more complex patterns into their armour as their perceptions keep increasing. Eventually the patterns lose all meaning to other eyes, becoming arcane scribbles that only the other Sleepless can even view properly without magnification equipment.

It... actually fits really well.

>>13846046
From what I know, no. They're just too slow. Heavily armored man rather than lightly armored walker.
On that note, they're more like the sentinel from hell.

>>13846046
Nah we still have a few terminators to be fielded as terminators. That could get awkward.

The dreadknight in the upcoming Grey Knights book seems about right. The icelus was always described as more of a "robotic lictor" style light monstrous creature than a walker. The dreadknight may be slightly too tough and not stealthy enough, but it would definitely come close to representing at least an assault oriented Icelus if not a tactical one.

>>13846097
>>13846053
It's a little unorthodox, but they might actually work fielded as Land Speeders. Light armour, a good variety of moderately strong weapons, and the speed and skimmer rules represents their nimbleness. If it makes a difference, I'm trying to use the Blood Angels codex.

>>13846008
I don't remember Deathwatch dread stats offhand, but they have higher strength, half the agility and close to twice the armour of an Icelus dreadnought. Plus they can mount bigger weaponry.

The Icelus pattern dreadnoughts reminds me alot of the battle suits from Borderlands

>>13846141
Probably a Land Speeder loaded for bear. Slower than a conventional speeder, but more heavily armed. Only problem is a lack of melee.

>>13846141
That's... really weird... but interesting.

It almost works for the tacticals if not the assaults. I'm having trouble with the fact they can't enter combat though.

>>13846141

Actually, I'm retarded. While what I posted might work, LS's only get a single weapon and no close combat. Disregard that, I suck cocks.

What about using the rules for a Master of the Forge on a bike with a conversion beamer?

There you have mobility, a cover improving rule, a shoulder mounted snipey type weapon, a twin linked bolter and a close combat weapon of some variety.

Why don't we try to see just what we can do to a dreadnought using tabletop rules? I doubt there's much to make them faster, but we can see.

>>13846199

That might work. Actually, we could generalize that further to other bike mounted eliteish troops. Chaplain on a bike might work as a close combat model.

Current status of the 1d4chan page to me. =(

>>13846289
Seems fine now.
Also, that line break off to one side looks suspicious.

>>13846289
haha

Clearly this is the work of Khaliman's minions, jealous of our success.

Nothing this chapter does is heretical. We don't even commit tech-heresy because the Icelus is just a master-crafted version of the old heresy era dreads.

>>13846258
Sounds good. Bike HQs as a general stand in for Icelus dreadnoughts on the tabletop.

>>13846330
We claim that we fight alongside the Emperor when we dream. I'd say that's pretty heretical.

Just putting up my thoughts for a unique one.

Icelus pattern Dreadnought - 75 Points

WS5 BS5 AV Front 11 Side 11 Back 10 I5 A2(3)

Wargear: Pair of Lightning Claws, Astartes Sniper Rifle

Options: Can replace their Lightning Claws with:
Combi Melta/Plasma/flamer - Free
Storm Bolter - Free
Power Fist - 10 points
Chainfist - 15 points
Thunder Hammer - 15 points
Storm Shield (One) - 30 points

Can replace Astartes Sniper Rifle with:

Astartes Shotgun - Free
Astartes Grenade Launcher - 5 points
Meltagun - 10 points
Plasma Gun - 15 points
Heavy Bolter - 15 points
Multi-Melta - 20 points
Lascannon - 35 points

(Note that if a Heavy Bolter, Multi-Melta or Lascannon is selected the Icelus loses the Nimble special rule)

Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker)

Special Rules: Acute Senses, Stealth, Infiltrate

Nimble: Icelus pattern dreadnoughts are designed to have an almost freakish mobility. As such, they are fleet of foot and charge like a beast.

>>13846365
Okay yeah. That's pretty concieted of us. It's not really any more "heretical" than any other chapter's personal cult though. All kinds of chapters recieve visions of the Emperor or have dreams that they fought alongside the Emperor. Our boys have just convinced themselves those dreams were real because so many of their dreams turn out to have a basis in reality.

>>13846383
I love it.

We might want to consider actually giving it a light monstrous creature profile instead of armour though. Make it really be a "robotic lictor"

I'd also consider sticking Furious Charge into the Nimble rule along with maybe even a roll-two-dice-pick-the-highest Fleet.

>>13846383

That looks pretty reasonable to me.

>>13846400

Hell, BA's all get 'Nam style flahbacks of fought Horus with the Emperor on tjat ships bridge. And let's not get started on the Ultramarines.


I've always wondered though, what do people mean when they say "Marines don't worship the Emperor they see t him as a mortal man."

Um, no they don't? They call him "God-Emperor" like everyone else? Is it like, civilians see Emp like christians see Jehova, all abstractlike and Terra is pretty much Heavan and Space Marines view him like a Greek god in that he's literally in a chair, in a tangible location, and is a blood relative to them.

>>13846446
oh and stick an assault cannon in for the same price as a lascannon. Or maybe even for 40 points. I just think a shoulder mounted assault cannon would look cool as fuck on a shock and awe dread

>>13846518
Kind of. They think he was the greatest man who ever lived and thus kinda deserves the title God-Emperor but he's still about as human as they are and is conceptually their grandpa.

>>13846446

A monstrous creature might not actually be a bad idea.If we were to go with that idea, how about...

WS5 BS5 S5 T6 W4 I5 A4 Ld10 Sv3+

Wargear: As above
Options: As above
Replace Sniper Rifle with Assault Cannon for 30 points, overrides Nimble rule
Special Rules: Fearless, Acute Senses, Stealth, Infiltrate

Nimble:Yaddayaddayadda- As such, they are fleet of foot (Rolling 2 dice and picking the highest for the run distance) and charge like a beast.

Something else I just thought of

Disturbing Presence: Due to the unnatural movements of the Icelus Dreadnought, and the unnerving silence generated by its Stummer Array, any enemy unit within 6'' of the Icelus is at a -1 Ld penalty.

>>13846584
We had something similar called Quiet as the Grave. It's -1 Ld within 6", or -2 if in base contact with the model.

>>13846630

Works for me.

And now I want to see an assault Icelus tearing up a squad of numerous but low-morale enemies.

>>13846584
Nice.

I'd drop its toughness to 5 though. Maybe 5(6) at the most.

I love imagining the silence of the grave envelop screaming enemies as they turn to run. So unsettling...

I'm really liking these rules for the Icelus patterns. Any one want to make up an Apocalypse data sheet for these?

>>13846680

Hell, I'll do it. I'm in the mood.

>>13846720

Good man

>>13846680
Sure, combining SC guy's work into one post we have:

Icelus pattern Dreadnought
WS5 BS5 S5 T 5(6) W4 I5 A4 Ld10 Sv3+

Wargear: Pair of Lightning Claws, Astartes Sniper Rifle

Options: Can replace their Lightning Claws with:
Combi Melta/Plasma/flamer - Free
Storm Bolter - Free
Power Fist - 10 points
Chainfist - 15 points
Thunder Hammer - 15 points
Storm Shield (One) - 30 points

Can replace Astartes Sniper Rifle with:

Astartes Shotgun - Free
Astartes Grenade Launcher - 5 points
Meltagun - 10 points
Plasma Gun - 15 points
Heavy Bolter - 15 points
Multi-Melta - 20 points
Lascannon - 35 points
Assault Cannon - 40 points

(Note that if a Heavy Bolter, Multi-Melta, Lascannon or Assault Cannon is selected the Icelus loses the Nimble special rule)

Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker)

Special Rules: Acute Senses, Stealth, Infiltrate, And They Shall Know No Fear, Combat Tactics

Quiet as the Grave: All enemies suffer -1 Ld within 6" of the Icelus, or -2 if in base contact with the Icelus.

Nimble: Icelus pattern dreadnoughts are designed to have an almost freakish mobility. As such, they are Fleet of Foot and have Furious Charge and may roll two dice and pick the highest when running.

>>13846759
Whoops minus the Unit Type: Walker bit. That's what I get for Copypasting. SC guy can probably do it better anyway

Given that a power armor trait can give your killteam member Fear(1), is it overpowered to give Icelus dreads a Fear trait? Fear(2), maybe?

>>13846759
What would the points on this monster be? It's a lot harder to destroy than the AV11 version.

Something comparable to venerable dreadnought points? Like 165 or so?

Cheaper? Costlier? Should we playtest it and report back in a thread or two?

Also I think it almost goes without saying that it should be a Fast Attack choice. Elite works too though.

>>13846847
I have no idea about the power level but it would suit the fluff.

Fear (3) might even be borderline appropriate although that might be too much.

>>13846894

Well in the game, Fear 3 is the type of thing you get when you witness a full daemonic incursion. I don't think it should be the same just because that hunk of metal is body popping and making things really quiet.

>>13846924
Fear(2) sounds right, then. Beyond "spooky" and into "OHGODWHY." The worst kind of terror mortals can produce. Anything further is supernatural.

I like the Combat Tactics over Fearless on the Icelus. Feels more appropriate.

>>13846924
Then yeah. Fear (3) is entirely too much.

Fear (2) to set it apart from mere power armour?

>>13846943
More like "OH GOD W--"

And then you're inside the stummer field.

And then your body is torn apart without a noise.

http://www.underthecouch.net/workshop/pre-heresy-era-space-marine-dreadnought-conversion/

Here is a resource for anyone who wants to try converting an Icelus pattern. It should work with a little modification.

I had to.

Icelus Ghost Formation
125points + Models

When the patrols are just too tight, the fortifications too secure, the enemy too alert even for the formidable tactical acumen of Battlegroup Secundus, the Captain or Adjunant may press for the deployment of an Icelus Ghost Formation. Such an act is seen as one of the last resorts of the Secundus battle plan, for even a single Icelus pattern is a masterwork of stealth and experience, stalking undetected through innumerable battlefields. When formed into a Ghost Formation, one Dreadnought is determined the Command Dreadnought and fitted with sophisticated networking equipment.

This measure was deemed necessary during the Ilanthea siege. A Battlegroup Secundus Strike Force was rebuffed time and time again by the ever-alert Eldar of Craftworld Saim-hann, who were using this ancient tower as a staging point for their war against the settlers of the planet. The Ghost Formation was able to penetrate their defences through equal stealth and focused brutality, and reached the perfect location to deploy enough ordnance to level the structure.

>>13847039


Organization: Icelus Command Dreadnought and between 2 and 4 Icelus Pattern Dreadnoughts

Special Rules:

Terror Control: The Command Dreadnought has control over the Stummers of the other Dreadnoughts, and can even combine their signals at different levels to make the silence even more unconsciously terrifying than usual. If two or more of the formation are within 12'' of the Command Dreadnought, the Leadership Penalty for their “Quiet as the Grave rule is increased by 1 in both regards.

Desperate Measures: An Icelus Ghost Formation is usually only brought together under extreme circumstances, and so is equipped for the task. Pick any enemy unit at the beginning of the game. The Icelus Ghost Formation has Preferred Enemy against that unit and any unit of the same type. In addition, each Icelus Dreadnought is equipped with a Demolition Pack (S8 AP2 Large Blast).

>>13847026
JAWESOME

But yeah as you say it'll need a wee bit of modification to work, since the Icelus is stripped down and lightweight, even for a pre-heresy mark of Dreadnought.

>>13847039
>>13847047
Very cool. I've always liked the bit of fluff about Icelus dreadnoughts being used for infiltration/sabatoge/black-ops work. Nice to see it being expanded on.

Once we work out a points value, we can toss this and >>13846759 into a .pdf with some concept art and proliferate it across the net.

If I get up the gumption, I had another idea for a story element involving an Icelus dread attack.
It would involve a thunderstorm, seeing the flash, and counting the seconds until the peal of thunder.

Except the thunder never comes.

>>13847173

That is absolutely terrifying.

>>13847173
The mental image makes me shudder. I say go for it!

Fuck that stummer field is creepy...

Brother Istran lay in his sarcophogus, his ruined body twitching feebly as he strained to feel something, anything outside the damnable blackness they condemned him to. It had taken a tank of the Traitor Legion to keep him down in the end, pulverising his body under its iron treads and splitting his armour, his second skin, the greastest symbol of the Imperium, like so much glass. But he had been recovered. Denied the final rest of death. Given the honour of serving Chapter and Emperor through the ages as an Icelus Dreadnought.

He knew that should bring comfort for him, but right now he didn't care. His senses irritated him in this pathetic silence of his sarcophogus. It wasn't silence at all, but torturous levels of noise. The shallow wheezing of his own shallow breathing, the slow flow of liquids in and out of various tubes in his system, the sound of his brothers outside, preparing for war, even in this soundproof box of steel he could hear it all. For this was not true silence. This was not what he lived for.

Then he felt it. The slow rushing of power through his metal body. His senses expanded beyond that of his crippled form, into the body, the limbs, the weaponry of the Ichelus shell he had so long ago bonded with. Noise returned, deafening and intolerable, making him want to claw himself in torment. Before him stood a techmarine, wiping his pallid brow and gazing at Istran.

"Honoured brother Istran, the time has come once again for you to serve your chapter as you have in times past. We prepare for war even now." He spoke reverently, bowing his head as he spoke. His voice spidered around the room, causing Istran to weakly scowl within the sarcophogus.

"With haste then, Techmarine." Soon, the true silence would fall again. The silence he lived for. The only silence which mattered.

Why are we making the Icelus a MC here?

It's no more an MC than a Killa Kan is, and Killa Kans still use Vehicle Armouring last I checked.

>>13847420

Because Iceluses more resemble a Terminator than a Dreadnought, and has the same sort of thing going (In my mind) as a Dark Eldar Talos/Cronos. Nothing is finalized, though.

>>13847332
Holy shit this chapter keeps inspiring such badass writefaggotry.

This raises a good point actually. The really aware marines, and especially the Sleepless, would fucking love the quiet of the stummers since they would have one less sense completely overwhelming them. It would make battle a respite for them, calm in the silence almost... relaxing.

That is fucking terrifying.

>>13847420
Killa kans don't behave or move like lictors though.

Also making it a monstrous creature means that it's still technically vulnerable to small arms fire like lasguns as I think a really lightweight underarmoured dread should be (although yes it is still very hard to kill).

>>13847478
Was gonna say. Especially since complete silence, or as close as we can experience, is really goddamned unsettling.
Would dreadnoughts, before being returned to stasis, be trained in meditation and focusing techniques to help lessen the strain of just sitting in that dark box?

>>13847521

Perhaps. As I writefagged there, I think some of the Icelus would get, if not ADDICTED to the silence, used to it...So that even the slightest sound is jarring and exasperating for them.

>Because we can't stop until the entire Chapter has some kind of psychosis.

>>13847459

They're still based on Dreadnought marks, and aren't power-assisted movement like Terminator Power-Armor, but rather serve as artificial bodies for crippled marines, right?

Making them MC's with toughness and the like just doesn't make sense to me. They're piloted mechs still, even if there smaller. Again like the Killa-Kan example.

Not trying to rain on anyones parade or anything.

>>13847511

Well, movement doesn't really make something not an MC. An Icelus' threshold for agile movement is still supposed to be a matter of pure mechanics, not really skill on the part of the pilot?

>>13847557
Should be "doesn't really make something an MC"

>>13847521
Yeah I could see that. The chapter has been described as "very bro" so they definitely communicate a lot and are borderline reasonable marines with their huge focus on science and technology and living on a hive world among their citizenry and everything. Not to even speak of how much they venerate their dreadnought brothers.

They would do everything in their power to make the dreadnoughts rests even the tiniest bit less unpleasant and they've probably been refining their techniques for centuries.

I wasn't aware of the concept of the Icelus pattern Dread. Looks great.

Also, is it stated wether they're just dreaming or if they're actally really fighting in the warp during their slepp?

>>13847579
In this metalayer between warp and materium, but the Dreamers do actually combat daemons, yes.

+++++DESIGNATION: SVX41/66/DVII-12-Z++++++

Data fragments from the personal log of Battle-Brother Chiron of the Fire Angels, seconded to the Deathwatch during [REDACTED]

1. ...the first few weeks onboard the ship were trying. Even though I was among my brethren Astartes, I struggled with the unfamiliar rites and ceremonies, habits and routines of the others. I realized that I had taken many of the idiosyncrasies of my home Chapter for granted, assuming our customs and ways of thinking to be shared among all other chapters. How wrong I was!

It was clear to me on the day of my arrival. When I reported to my assigned lodging, a sole Marine was there to greet me. Brother-Captain Veracian of the Emperor's Nightmares. I had never heard of his chapter, but he had knowledge of mine, which he displayed by discussing the finer points of the Badab campaign. I was impressed to find that he knew of these ancient events, but my astonishment quickly grew when he pointed to my bolt pistol, noting that it was first put to use in the Badab war.

>>13847609

"It saw action on Cygnax," he mused, "and it was given to you by your mentor, a veteran assault marine of note." I asked him how he could have guessed this, and he replied: "A trifle. The manufacturing date is stamped on the trigger guard. The muzzle and grip, while excellently tended, carry signs of viral corrosion, characteristic of the metal-eating virii from the Astral Claws' heretical arsenal. There is a purity seal attached to the magazine, praising a Captain Madua for his heroic efforts in the taking of Enchis IV, where the Fire Angels participated in a celebrated jump troop assault alongside a unit of Seraphim from the Order of the Fiery Thorn. Customarily, the purity seal is removed when the weapon is passed along to another Marine, but you recieved both weapon and blessing. Your Captain wanted you to aspire to greater victories, and to gain the benefit of holy protection." "How did you manage to notice all this?" I asked him. Brother-Captain Veracian informed me of his chapter's characteristic: a mutation in the Catalepsian Node that interfered with deep sleep and led to heightened attention. "I was also blessed with another property that made me useful for my chapter," the Captain added. "From birth, I have possessed eidetic memory. I do not forget anything that I have observed or learned. This is why I am in the Deathwatch - to commit to memory all manner of xenos so that my Chapter can learn the ways of fighting them all. Now if you'll excuse me," he looked at me with bloodshot, unblinking eyes, "I must attend to my daily meditation. Thank you for providing me with an interesting diversion."

As he left the living quarters I attended to my belongings, still stunned and confused...

.>>13847609
>>13847615

I love it. More interaction between Nightmares and other chapters would be fantastic to delve into.

>>13847557
Nono the counterargument is great it helps us refine the idea as we defend it even if we don't agree.

The way I see it here are my two arguments for why it should be an MC:

First, the intense perceptions of Nightmare marines, combined with the overwhelming number of optical mechadendrites, sensor spines, sonar and god knows what else on the icelus, make the marine within acutely aware of its new body, over the years forming a bond with it that borders on precognition, knowing exactly how much stress each nut and bolt, each wire and fuse, can take. He IS the suit. He understands its inner workings perhaps even better than his broken flesh.

Secondly the icelus lacks tank levels of armour. Wounds represent specific vital components being damaged and again it allows the icelus to be potentially wounded by a guardsman, something I think they are lightweight and unarmoured enough to have happen.

That's where I'm coming from at least.

>>13847649
Agreed. Badass.
That said, even though the stories will focus on the Nightmare in question by default, let's not let them be the One Good Chapter who has nothing to learn and everything to teach others. Deathwatch is a shared marine experience, and seeing Nightmares take understanding from their brothers' advice will be good to see. They should impress and bewilder as much as they're impressed and bewildered.

>>13847679
I see them as having intermediate armor. Certainly more than a marine, but less than (most) vehicles. Otherwise, if you have him mix it up with a squad, he'll be dead the turn after.

>>13847679

A further point of making it a monsterous creature is that you wouldn't be able to use grenades and melta-bombs against it. I think this makes sense, as it's agile enough to avoid such clumsy application of explosives.

>>13847609
>>13847615
Totally fucking badass.

>>13847681
Yes I concur. The Deathwatch is a tricky place for us as our OCD like commenting on minute details and the subtle tells of our sparring partners would often be misinterpreted as condescention. Remember that they're somewhat unapproachable and intimidating, not because they're unkind or even overly harsh, but because even their brother marines find their conversations off-putting. That's why we have intimidation and interrogation as dirt cheap chapter skills. No one wants to talk about the way their power armour's paint chippings clearly show that they were recently in combat on a world with transplanted terran pine trees, they want to tell you of the glory they earned on that world slaughtering orks! But the Nightmare just wont shut up about those damn pine trees...

>>13847679

I can't really imagine them being less armoured than say, a landspeeder. Even 10s in Vehicles would be better than trying to shoehorn them as MC's when that just doesn't seem an apt fit given what we know of their construction.

I suppose my argument is that there's nothing about them that actually makes them an MC. They aren't alien or incomprehensible in function, nor are they grown, and they don't emulate life in any way. It's literally just a vehicle being piloted, and we know their direct basis. If we're doing it just to make them resistant to certain types of damage or whatnot, I figured there were better ways to mesh the fluff and the crunch.

>>13847753
I hadn't even considered that. Good point.
>>13847717
At T5(6) marines would be wounding it on a 6 in combat. I think it'll stick around for a little while. Monsters like Captain Lysander would still be able to bash it apart in a turn by instant killing it, which is as it should be.

>>13847779

It'd be interesting to se a marine seconded to the Deathwatch who was slowly turning sleepless. And horrifying. That said, how would the inclusion of an Icelus Dreadnought in the Deathwatch screw with things as well as help them? You couldn't physically communicate with him on the battlefield.

>>13847842

WS5 BS5 S5 AV Front 11 Side 11 Back 10 I5 A2(3)

My original template. Discuss.

>>13847779
The lead team-member held up a hand, halting the march.
"Brother Duham," he said softly.
"HERE." Boomed the dreadnought.
"I am going to walk over to brother Martei, request to examine his bolter. The two of us will proceed to argue. He will then strike me as if in anger and we will commence to fight. During that time, turn your frame thirty-six degrees left and aim your weapon twenty-two degrees up, firing for the treeline on the ridge."
"BROTHER..."
"Trust him, Duham," Martei, a Space Wolf, grinned. "A band of Pathfinders have been shadowing us for the last ten minutes."
The Nightmare turned and looked at his brother. "Is everyone prepared?"
"What do you mean, my scope is off?!" roared Martei by way of affirmation, beginning the ruse.
As the Squad Leader approached, his voice never wavered. "Then, engage."

>>13847842
and in that I think we disagree over how the icelus operates.

You see it as a piloted vehicle.

I see it as a new body that the interred brother cannot help but bond with further than his own body. He is, whether he likes it or not, painfully aware of every minute piece of data from the sensor feeds. He IS that body. Not only is he that body, he IS the area around that body, his complete situational awareness extends for several meters in every direction, his expanded consciousness almost... fusing with his surroundings. He doesn't feel disembodied so much as possessed with an entirely new and ever changing body: the combination of the suit he controls and the environment in which it acts.

In that way I think it kind of is a living being.

>>13847609
>>13847615

It's a chapter of Sherlock Holmeses! Do they do cocaine? I now the Sleepless (is that what they're called?) are given drugs to calm them, but what about the rest of the chapter.

Someone in that condition would relish the chance to just let their mind fade away for a awhile, to forget, to relax.

If spess wulves have an ale additive that weakens their anti-poison organ, it would stand to reason that at least one other one does.

On an unrelated note, the not sleeping thing is kinda getting into Blood Raven territory, do you think we should distance the two?

As much as I like the monstrous creature idea, if you can tag a speeder with a meltabomb, you can probably nail an Icelus. I'd say give them comparable armor to a light vehicle.

>>13847954
>know

d'oh, fixed

>>13847954

The Sleepless certainly do. In the last thread I brought up an idea for an Apothecary Special Character who can stop a unit of sleepless from raging by injecting them with heavy depressants. Ld test stops their rage, but they have to take a dangerous terrain test to represent people getting turned temporarily braindead by the concoction.

>>13847615

2. ...it was the custom of Captain Veracian to gather the members of his Kill-team during the morning meal and inquire of each of us, in turn, about the dreams we had during the previous night. This revealed to me some interesting information about my brethren: Brother-Sergeant Leonidas of the Minotaurs, for instance, had a recurring dream of standing on the precipice of a huge fiery chasm into which he struggled to keep himself from leaping, whereas Brother Arkan of the Salamanders mostly dreamt of the lush forests of distant planet Luria that had captured his imagination during his time as a Scout. As for Brother Salchiel of the Dark Angels, his answer was always the same when he was asked to tell of his dreams: "I do not dream, Brother-Captain."

As for the Captain himself, whenever he did sleep (which he did irregularly, sometimes going for weeks without rest), he spent a long time meditating on his dreams and pondering their contents. "Dreams are a gift from the Emperor", he liked to say, "and such gifts should be recieved with gratitude and studied with care." In his dreams, he often fought Xenos and heretics, reliving battles he had fought in long ago or experiencing wars unrecognized, perhaps fated to occur in the future. He recorded every dream in a catalogue he kept on his personal datapad, meticulously sorted by date, topic and nature. At one time, I witnessed him enter the dining hall with a great smile on his usually scowling, pale face; when I asked him what had occured to cause his seeming happiness he replied "in my dreams today, I saw a great light. A light that could only be glimpsed from the corner of my eye, that burned the eyes if I turned to look at it. A light that shone with great mercy and love, with great joy and hope. One day, Brother..." His eyes were looking into the distance. "One day I may be granted the privilege of gazing into that light. One day..." He seemed forlorn then...

>>13848005

Ah, Dark Angels, you so crazy.

>>13848005
>I do not dream, Brother-Captain
Bullshit. I bet you dream of homosex with Wolf Wolves, you tosser. That's why you're in the Deathwatch.

>>13848058

No one wants to hear about his shower scene, anyway.

>>13848098
>>13848094

homomind

>>13848058
You know who does dream? The Fallen. ARE YOU A FALLEN, BROTHER-CAPTAIN VERACIAN? WHY DO YOU HATE THE EMPEROR?

>>13847954
They love distractions of most any sort. Especially new ones.

The Sleepless, in particular are known for perfecting amazing slight of hand tricks. It's kind of an honourable challenge among the chapter to try to distract the not-too far gone Sleepless as well as each other by trying to sneak a magic trick of sorts past their brothers. The Sleepless can usually discern exactly what was done though.

>>13848151
That would make for a fun Deathwatch scene. Some of his fellow squadmates take up the challenge, and eventually get one past the Nightmare who taught them. They bring back the practice to their chapters, and it sees some use as a means of improving perception and logical thinking.

>>13848151

Magic tricks and a love of diversions?

I believe we need to keep a close eye on these "Nightmare" fellows; interrogate one, perhaps.

Bring me the hot tea and comfy pillows!

>>13847975
But then it wont be vulnerable to lasguns anymore...

Meh. I don't care about the crunch too much so I wont fight it. I just think calling them monstrous creatures subtly encourages players to think of them as nimble robotic lictors instead of as lumbering tanks.

Honestly I'd even consider reducing their Toughness and/or Wounds.

But just going back to being a vehicle is fine too.

OH BUT one thing to consider is that if it goes back to being a vehicle it will lose ATSKNF and more importantly Combat Tactics. I think Combat Tactics are really fluffy, really appropriate and just absolutely need to be there. Can we fit that or maybe Hit and Run into the rules if we revert to a light vehicle?

>>13848207
That's a really good point. It's much easier to model the concept with infantry rules, even if the dreadnought itself is closer to a vehicle.

What if we say "fuck it" and just stat it from the ground up, and then find points to match? No use of precedent before we tally its value, just what it is.

>>13848237
The compiled rules in >>13846759 feel really good to me. I have no idea what we would do for the points value though.

One thing I am struggling with is the Toughness value. I want it to be high-ish but I want the thing to still be vulnerable to instant death from a lascannon or crack missile hitting a VERY important componant. I think I have a solution though.

Change the Toughness to 4(6). Infantry can hurt it, which is important, but they also have a very hard time hurting it, which is also important. Lascannons can take it right down IF they can get through its improved cover save. Also I say give it "Combat Tactics" mechanically as well as Hit and Run just so that it can still leap around in combat even if fielded alongside some other custom Special Character of the chapter to get the Chapter Tactic.

>>13848309

If it's a lone model how would Combat Tactics even come into play?

>>13848309

Icelus pattern Dreadnought - 115 Points
>I believe the points should stay roughly consistent with the vanilla Dreadnought, considering it has numerous advantages and also numerous weaknesses compared to the original design.
WS5 BS5 S5 T 4(6) W4 I5 A4 Ld10 Sv3+

Wargear: Pair of Lightning Claws, Astartes Sniper Rifle

Options: Can replace their Lightning Claws with:
Combi Melta/Plasma/flamer - Free
Storm Bolter - Free
Power Fist - 10 points
Chainfist - 15 points
Thunder Hammer - 15 points
Storm Shield (One) - 30 points

Can replace Astartes Sniper Rifle with:

Astartes Shotgun - Free
Astartes Grenade Launcher - 5 points
Meltagun - 10 points
Plasma Gun - 15 points
Heavy Bolter - 15 points
Multi-Melta - 20 points
Lascannon - 35 points
Assault Cannon - 40 points

(Note that if a Heavy Bolter, Multi-Melta, Lascannon or Assault Cannon is selected the Icelus loses the Nimble special rule)

Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker)

Special Rules: Acute Senses, Stealth, Infiltrate, And They Shall Know No Fear, Combat Tactics, Hit & Run

Quiet as the Grave: All enemies suffer -1 Ld within 6" of the Icelus, or -2 if in base contact with the Icelus.

Nimble: Icelus pattern dreadnoughts are designed to have an almost freakish mobility. As such, they are Fleet of Foot and have Furious Charge and may roll two dice and pick the highest when running.

>>13848330
Engage, disengage, fall back, maybe let another squad open up on it.

Dance with the thing. Maybe force the squad (or what's left) to charge after you in the hopes of tying you up, and in so doing drag them away from their guns. Maybe pull them in closer to yours. Or just get far enough away that they can't pincushion the dread as soon as he finishes off the first squad.

>>13848309

Icelus Pattern Dreadnought
WS5 BS5 S5 T 4(6) W4 I5 A4 Ld10 Sv3+

Unit Type: Monstrous Creature

Wargear: Pair of Lightning Claws, Astartes Sniper Rifle, Frag Grenades

Options:
Can replace either Lightning Claw with:
Combi Melta/Plasma/flamer - Free
Storm Bolter - Free
Power Fist - 10 points
Chainfist - 15 points
Thunder Hammer - 15 points
Storm Shield (One) - 30 points

Can replace Astartes Sniper Rifle with:
Astartes Shotgun - Free
Astartes Grenade Launcher - 5 points
Meltagun - 10 points
Plasma Gun - 15 points
Heavy Bolter - 15 points
Multi-Melta or Missile Launcher - 20 points
Lascannon or Plasma Cannon - 35 points
Assault Cannon - 40 points

(Note that if a Heavy Bolter, Missile Launcher, Plasma Cannon, Multi-Melta, Lascannon or Assault Cannon is selected the Icelus loses the Nimble and Infiltrate special rules)

Special Rules:
Acute Senses, Stealth, Move Through Cover, Infiltrate, And They Shall Know No Fear, Combat Tactics, Hit And Run, Quiet As The Grave, Nimble

Quiet as the Grave: All enemies suffer -1 Ld within 6" of the Icelus, or -2 if in base contact with the Icelus.

Nimble: Icelus pattern dreadnoughts are designed to have an almost freakish mobility. As such, they have the Furious Charge and Fleet of Foot Universal Special Rules and may roll two dice and pick the highest when running.

>>13848351

And I did exactly what the guy who copied this did. Forgot to change Vehicle (Walker) to Monstrous Creature.

I've gotta head out to college soon. Such is the fate of the Sleepless. For now, I leave you with this.

>>13848441

Some bad formatting there. Fix'd.

>>13848467
May you find the rest you so richly deserve soon, brother.

And may I say that this further spurs my desire to put together a full codex for these guys?

>>13848472

Good, I'm glad it's doing that. I'm the same, I'm up for making a fandex.

I'll think about it today and report back with any ideas I have. Over and out.

>>13848467
Sweet.

>>13848400
So how many points for this thing?

115? More? Less?

As SC says it does have significant advantages AND disadvantages to a normal dreadnought. It does have the WS and BS of a Venerable Dreadnought though, as well as access to an invulnerable save and improved cover save. On the other hand, not much firepower unless you want to give up infiltrating and running fast and even then still not much firepower.

>>13848480
Sleep well, res/tg/uardian

We shall gaurd you while you sleep.

I swear to God, I'm impoverished to high hell, but someday I will get into 40k just to make an arm of the Emperor's Nightmare.

>>13848400
>>13848500
Quickly, to the playtest-cave!

>>13848467
You know what this makes me want to do? I'm going to type it in caps lock because I'm so excited:

PLAY A DEATHWATCH GAME USING AN ALL DREADNOUGHT PARTY

My body is ready.

>>13848645
I call dibs on an Icelus.

>>13848645
>>13848681
Dibs on Ironclad.

3. ...the Thunderhawk's remaining engines whined under the strain of keeping the machine airborne. As tongues of fire licked the transport bay, Captain Veracian was screaming orders, preparing the team to jump. I would go first; my jump pack allowed me to drop out at comparatively higher altitude. The others would wait until the last moment, leaping out of the craft when it was close to the ground. I kicked off the edge of the drop-off ramp and felt the acid rain hammer my armor. Careful applications of thrust let me descend easily, and I took the time to carefully scan the canopies of the trees below me, but no trace of the heavy weapon that brought down our gunship so suddenly could be found. As the burning Thunderhawk plummeted to the ground, I made my way towards the site of the crash. I gave silent thanks to the Emperor when I confirmed that everyone had made it out without damage or injury. The Captain assembled us quickly. "They'll send a party over to investigate the wreckage. Everyone set your armor to silent running. Arkan, Ferius, Salchiel - set up on that ridge, face north. Rest of you, on me." The Devastator, Techmarine and Apothecary nodded in recognition and set off into the darkness. I followed Leonidas and Captain Veracian deeper into the woods, the rain a solid curtain in the air. The helmet adjusted to the gloom of the forest, infrared and light-amplification systems creating an artificial brightness in my field of vision. It didn't take long to find the scouting party, their heat signatures a bright red against the darkness. Captain Veracian gestured us to halt; we would ambush the armored men. Even though they were equipped with night-vision and auspex, with our armor powered down we would be invisible to them. I crouched behind a great fallen tree while Brother-Sergeant Leonidas kneeled behind a stump to my right. Between us, Brother-Captain Veracian simply dropped to the ground, quickly covering himself with moss and leaves.

>>13848906

The enemy was close now. 18 men in carapace armour, with the curved serpentine mark of the local heresy, a vile Genestealer cult that had taken over the entire planet. They were Imperial Guard, trained veteran stormtroopers, experienced jungle fighters. Even though they were no match for an Astartes, we still had to be cautious and keep the other forces in the area ignorant of our presence, at least until we managed to get to the rendezvous point where Inquisitor Lord Barthelmius was waiting. A vox-transmission from the Captain roused me from my thoughts. "Let them pass, then take out the 2 on the flanks. I'll take the others." "All the others, Brother-Captain?" "Yes." The men had passed us now. I synchronized with Leonidas and powered up the servos in my arms, stabilizing my silenced bolt pistol, aiming steadily for the head of one of the traitors. On a silent count of 3, we fired and the two flanking men went down. At once, the Captain sprung into motion.

He was a blur of movement, difficult even for my suit's auto-senses to track. A knife in each hand, Captain Veracian slit the throats of the two troopers closest to him while rising from his ambush position. The soldiers dropped to the ground, and one man turned to look at them, but Veracian was already by his side, knives piercing the weak sides of the man's armor, one in the heart, one through the spleen, the left hand quickly rising to mute the traitor's scream. The Captain made no noise as he moved; he simply seemed to appear by the side of each trooper, eliminating them one by one in fluid, graceful movements. Less than two minutes had passed, and he had killed 16 men in quick succession. Wiping off the blood from his knives, he sheathed them and motioned us to rally on him. We moved out in the cover of night. There was much work to be done before the morning dawned; the wretched lair of the Patriarch was somewhere in this jungle, and we were tasked with the work of culling the beast...

>>13848906
>>13848909
Fuck. Yes.

And I had another thought worth pursuing, albeit a minor one.

With the Chapter's tendency for month long sleeps, would the Nightmare second two marines at a time to the Deathwatch, operating on nearly-opposite sleep/wake schedules?

It would be interesting, but unlikely, to have them commit one Dawn and one Dusk specialist marine when doing so, given that the demands of an assault mission versus a covert one would not be subject to the whims of the mens' sleep patterns. No telling if the Dawn will be asleep when an attack is needed, or if the Dusk will be when an infiltration specialist is required.

>>13848940

Veracian writefag here, I was going to address his sleep/wake schedule thing by mentioning that he had an additional function in his power armor that monitors his stress hormone level and other vitals in order to give a rough prediction of when he would be most likely to succumb to sleep. That would allow him to plan accordingly. In some instances Veracian simply hands over authority to his second-in-command in advance and stays behind on the ship.

>>13848952
Excellent. Glad you've thought this through.

>>13848952
That works pretty well. I'm sure the Nightmares take an organization like the Deathwatch pretty seriously and only volunteer some of their most capable, stable and independantly minded marines. They could easily monitor themselves (especially since I would imagine the chapter is somewhat sought after by the Deathwatch for its well versed apothecary recruits)

The idea of sending two marines at once to operate in shifts probably also happens from time to time though. The captain who replaces Veracian when slumbers probably isn't also a Nightmare simply because of rank but I could totally see two battle brothers operating like that.

Looking forward to more of the saga of Captain Veracian.

All right.
This is a complete mess. I haven't slept. The banner's too wide. I drew it on a soft surface, freehand instead of with a ruler. I used a dull pencil. Hell, I don't even have my scanner hooked up, so I used a webcam. But I had to get this down before I forgot it.
A hypothetical proposal for the Emperor's Nightmare Fifth Company banner.
The details, as I envisioned them, in no particular order.
1: A golden owl perched atop the banner.
2: WATCHER - SLEEPER - DREAMER, symbolizing the body of the Emperor's ranks. On the left side, a Watcher, clear lines of fatigue beneath his open eye. On the right, a Sleeper, eyes closed to the Materium, and yet still armed to protect Man in his sleep. A Dreamer above, his eyes closed but a third eye radiant upon his forehead. And above, a stylized sunburst, and IMPERATOR. Watcher, Sleeper, and Dreamer, and the Emperor over all. The tips of their blades just meet, but never rise higher than, the sunbeam.
3: Golden cord at the top corners of the banner, not unlike the edges of a flying carpet, a subtle callout to 1,001 Arabian nights.
4: A stylized five in the center, with the helm of an astartes in the midst.

I humbly beg for a more experienced gothic-style artist with more time, tools, and talent to remake this to their fitting. I was also thinking perhaps the Watcher would hold a sword, and the Sleeper a bolter.
Please, res/tg/uardians, tell me what you think. If I can, I will produce a cleaner, more precise version when I have time.

>>13849170
Impressive. I really like the ideas you listed, too.
(Why 5th company in particular, though ?)

>>13849282
I was going to go with sixth, actually, since I don't recall a sixth being noteworthy in most fluff, but then I decided that the rest of the thing was vaguely symmetrical, it would probably look best if the numeral on it was as well. If it's redrawn, the artist can feel free to make it the company of their choice.

Updated the Battlegroups section on the wiki a bit. Feel free to expand.

Given the writefaggotry, drawfaggotry and tabletop rules found in this thread, it should be archived like the others...

>>13849338
Just added a note about the five suits of Terminator armor assigned to Secundus, and that it's generally kept together for an emergency unit instead of assigned to the Secundus marines, given the nature of their operations.

>>13849170

Consider the Latin translations for more "High Gothic" feel:

Watcher: Vigilo
Sleeper: Quiesco
Dreamer: Somnio

>>13849483
Hot. It will be done. As for archival, I'm on it. It'll be up shortly.
I also noticed that each and every Emperor's Nightmare thread was widely approved, but each had 2 down-votes. Just two.
Hmmm.

>>13849510

Agents of Khaliman, no doubt.

>>13849518
It is done. Move on!

That is to say, thread 6 archived. Keep up the fantastic work, gentlemen.

>>13849375
Hasn't it already been? I just assumed they were all getting set up for it soon after they were created

>>13849531
Nope, only just archived now. Which makes sense. The thread needs to stand on its own merits before we archive just for archive's sake.
So far we're six for six, passing the 'original content' and 'good discussion' requirements for archival. And if we keep up as we have I don't see us not continuing.
That said, we don't want to saturate sup/tg/. Maybe we should petition to have them all blocked together or something.

>>13849541
And on that note, no sooner is it up than one of the two downvoters strikes.
I'd like it if they could make their objections known, but regardless of that, if we want to keep the threads available and archived, we need everyone who voted up the first threads to come in and vote up the rest. I don't know about you but I don't think this thread deserves to be taken down.

In the meantime, I'll add the archive link for this thread to the wiki.

>>13849170

> I watch - I sleep - I dream
vigilo - dormio - somnio

> Watcher - Sleeper - Dreamer
servator - dormitator - somnitator

>>13849541
Yeah. There's so much material left to explore.

What of the hive city civilians? Their daily lives, opinions on the chapter and so on?

The Inquisition leading a covert mission to capture a Sleepless Icelus dreadnought and its subsequent escape a day later followed by a prolonged one dreadnought war against the remote facility it was transported to for experimentation...

What of the STC modifications for the Icelus Dreadnought? It was said that the Master of the Forge and senior techmarines do not have the time to master-craft a chassis for other chapters but also that they freely distribute the blueprints for master-crafting the STC.

Is there anything else to the Hive world or is it just a barren ash waste with one hive, one chapter keep and a road between them? A few other smaller hives of course, but besides that? Any ash waste nomads?

What are the gangs in the underhive like?

What is the spire nobility like?

We can do so much to flesh out the human population of Icelus.

I would love to see a full codex for the Nightmares -- might get me to actually build a tabletop army.

Two questions:

1. Would anybody be interested in helping make a shiny print-ready PDF codex (with fluff, artwork, etc)?

2. Once chapter iconography is more clearly-defined, would anyone be interested in resin shoulder-pads?

>>13849609
1: I don't have much skill at PDF design, but I am an experienced writer and would be happy to perform editing.
2: I would love shoulder-pads to use for these--but I don't have an army. Maybe someday.

>>13849609
Yes totally. I would love to turn all this hard work into a full colour pdf.

A couple of questions about dreadnoughts in tabletop... would Icelus-pattern dreadnoughts be fielded as a fast attack option? And what about rules for the dreadnoughts that tend the Waking Dead?

>>13849641
Almost assuredly on the Icelus.
As for the apothecary-dreads, we've yet to stat them. Most likely give them apothecary features on a standard dread, and maybe an irremovable CCW that has a Poison effect.
On a separate note I didn't want to put in its own post, I realized I derped. We've got one downvoter, not two. Hopefully it stays that way. I also hope there's no real reason for it other than traitors gonna trait.

>>13849641
Yeah Icelus Dreadnoughts just scream Fast Attack.

I could see them being taken as both Fast Attack and Elites though. Plus I imagine that people who want to field them will want to field lots just to maximize the awesome factor.

Actually why not make them a 1-3 Fast Attack choice? Deploying independantly of course.

http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Category:Emperor%27s_Nightmare

Added a category on the wiki.

> http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Icelus_Pattern_Dreadnought
did we decide on rules for Icelus dreads? MC or vehicle?

>>13849854
Most likely still up for debate. Feel free to put any/all statblocks on the page with the note that we're still hammering things out.
Given the interest in making a proper codex, we'll have them down in time.

>>13849865
I have to go teach a class. Might put the statblocks up later if I have time.

>>13849877
Train the initiates well, brother; they are the lifesblood of the Chapter.

>>13849854
Nothing is set in stone but monstrous creature was settled on "because it encourages the player to think of the dreadnought as a robotic lictor rather than a lumbering walker"

The stats as they are now are here: >>13848400 We were thinking around 115 points base. Maybe a little more but it requires playtesting.

And here for Deathwatch: >>13845918

>>13849877
I'll toss 'em up then. No worries.

Had another thought--I'm a bit too frazzled to go through and do it now, but I suggest we put together a miscellaneous story page, for small snippets that aren't full stories, but are worth preserving on the wiki.
In addition, I'm trying to think up more chapter standards. I know one should have a great hourglass as its primary symbol.

Have we addressed vehicular combat? I mean a predator with an advanced machine spirit was mentioned in case a pilot went under. What else? I imagine the advanced attention to detail would allow for precise whirlwind artillery strikes?
Are we going to have an armored cavalry at all or...?

>>13849915
It is done. Rules as they stand ready for playtesting.

I tweaked the deathwatch version's Agility up by 5. Not enough to give them a new bonus but enough to really accentuate their agility. I know you can't entirely compare Deathwatch and Tabletop rules and that Inititive 5 isn't the same thing as Agility 50 but I felt it should be a bit higher anyway. We can decrease it again later or even increase it, but I think that's a good place to start playtesting it out from.

>>13849922
Agreed. Anyone who wants to set this page up so that people can comb back through all the threads and add good snippets of posts to it would be welcomed.

>>13849597
While we are talking about humans, I'd like to hear a bit more about the Psykana psykers helping the Emperor's Nightmare. I tried to write about them, but I just have no skill at all. Anyone want to give it a try ?

>>13849609
Yes to both ! I'll do my best to help with codex, and shoulderpads to convert minis would be too awesome.

>>13850093
Yeah the humans are still really underdeveloped.

We need to work out more about the psykana

So what are the major gangs in the underhive? C'mon. We've gotta flesh out the gangs.

And I really wanna hear some thoughts on the ash waste nomads. Pic related. It's a nomad's truck.

All right, my fellow astartes, I must brave the roads to the scholastica UConnum. I fear I may have joined the grim ranks of our brother Sleepless; pray for me. I will rejoin you ... anon.

Tweaked and formatted the Icelus entry a bit more.

I just had an interesting idea. Why don't we use the dreadnought design from the Space Crusade game as the standard Icelus chassis?

Obviously it would need to be tweaked a little if we are to give it a ccw of some kind, and no real dread has 4 weapons; but it is very different from a normal dread AND already has a model.

It would be a good chance to build rules from the ground up.

What do you think?

>>13850906
It's okay, but it really doesn't have that 40k feel to it. That may or may not be a good thing.
Personally I like the pre-heresy mark; it's consistent, relatively easily modeled, and fluffwise wouldn't get the Chapter the enmity of the Mechanicus for tech-heresy.

>>13850923

To be fair, the one on the left IS the chaos version...

>>13850923
>Yeah I see the Nightmares as having very advanced forces and logistics and high technology but still embracing traditions and the scientific orthodoxy of the Mechanicus.

Picture if you will ancient, obsessive-compulsive Techmarines in the onset of their Sleeplessness turning to their art as a distraction for their senses: Sequestering themselves in the forges for years Master-Crafting the ever living fuck out of every last rivet, nut, bolt, fuse and spark plug of an otherwise flawlessly orthodox pre-heresy armour mark.

Adding on the dozens of sensor quills, mechadendrites, stummers, coolant systems, sonar, additional autosenses, pict-captures and active camo plating required for stealth ops. Fitting them to the chassis with the correct prayers and rotes in perfect harmony with the tennants of Holy Mars.

Each part is carefully crafted and calibrated by hand over the course of years. An ever evolving piece of a larger puzzle. Every component etched with a blessing: a small fractal glyph or a tiny blessing or ward. In time, over the course of many long seasons, and the work of several of the chapters preeminent techmarines, an Icelus Dreadnought is manufactured.

Who gets to pilot them is another matter entirely...

>>13851144
Derp.
>Yeah I see the Nightmares as having very advanced FORGES and logistics and high technology but still embracing traditions and the scientific orthodoxy of the Mechanicus.

Icelus vs. Thunderwolves vs. Ork Biker Warboss/nobs

Roughly equal points and assuming the icelus is still 115 points before any upgrades

FINAL DESTINATION

>>13851144
I know it's completely unrealistic, but the image of OCD Techmarines get to me.

'You can't put Brother-Captain Andros in there!"

"He's a great Warrior of our chapter who has suffered grievous wounds enough to justify this? Why do you argue?"

"His wounds aren't symmetrical! He lost an arm, kidney, and his lungs have been ruined? Well, remove the other kidney and arm, hook them up to prosthetic any maybe we'll talk. I spent over three decades working on this Icelus Pattern. You see that rivet? Took me six months to get it just right. You need something better than Brother-Captain Andros."

what about their bike forces? (or rather, what about when their tactical marines deploy on bikes, how many do they have in the armoury and when and where do they use them?)

>>13849597
I like to think that the Nightmares try to keep their sleep problems a secret amongst the general populace, you know, to keep up the sentiment that the Space Marines are superior in all aspects, but after 2000 years, some aspects of them have been known.

I think someone mentioned that caffeine was probably considered a social gaffe amongst citizens as that would be taken as being ungrateful of the ordinary man's ability to sleep. Because the Nighmare have an Indirect Rule, which I think would be enough to keep a sense of mysticism among the hives, but enough familiarity so that they don't feel too out of touch. A balance between the Ultramarines and Space Wolves I guess.

That said, I can totally see a thriving Black Market of stimulants because people see the drugs as a way to get close to the inhuman perception the Nightmares have. Like a kid trying candy cigarettes because they see their parents smoke. Imitation as a from of flattery.

It was decided that Purple and Yellow are reserved only for the top noble houses and the planetary governor. As a result, I think the gangs, who would be very respectful of the Astartes, would sort of mirror that, in the fact that the top gang gives its members a bandanna or a swatch of cloth of purple and yellow as a mark of pride. Of course, Emperor save them if they lose their colors.

More than anything, I think the Nightmares values of cunning and perception would leak down to the general population from the tales of failed aspirants. So the Hive World's works and exports would all be very detailed stuff while amongst the general population, magic tricks and the like are well appreciated forms of entertainment, especially in the lower hives, where they edge of films to occupy the same space as say... card games.

>>13851567
Nobles tend to be the same no matter where you go, some are good to the lower class, some are total dicks, because, and let's be honest, Space Marines can be brutal dicks. They're kind of defined by that even as 'bro' as they can be. We've established that flowers and life in general was a great thing of value, so a way for nobles to gauge wealth would be to see how full gardens are. It'd be to the point where it'd be like the old days of the Dutch Tulip Bubble, where a single bulb is worth the year's wages of a skilled worker.

>>13851567
>>13851574

I love it.

However the idea of trying to keep their sleep problems a secret would definitely frame the escape of a rampaging Sleepless dreadnought in an extremely negative light. That betrayal of trust would be something that a whole generation would have to recover from. Perhaps after that the secret was out and they worked hard in the coming centuries to bond with the civilian populace, turning it into the closely knit interactive relationship they have now.

Love the Black Market and the gang nobles' colours imitating the noble nobles ones, along with the gangs having a very violent and merciless take on having pride in your colours.

No failed aspirants return from the chapter keep. They will remain their for the rest of their lives as serfs. When that flower was crushed, so ended their lives among their people. Those stories wouldn't be hard to come by though. They could come from any of the man hive administratum who interact with the Nightmares on a weekly or even daily basis.

I love magic tricks and card games being the primary form of entertainment in the lower hives.

Lush gardens as a status symbol for the nobles are also great.

Given the technology of the primary hive and of the planet Icelus in general, I figure some of the smugglers, gangers and nomads who run narcotics between the lesser hives can afford to have some pretty badass upgraded shit themselves. Pic related.

>>13851767
I really like the idea of card games because it's a classic past time of criminals, gambling and such, and here, cheating is expected of you. The Space Marines here love cheating, so you should love it too. If you get caught, that's just a sign you're not good enough to be here and deserve to get the shit beat of you until you learn to better hide your cards.

>>13851825
Hahahaha

That's great. They have such an odd outlook on life, this strange little chapter and their strange little world. There's a sort of honour in trying to cheat or perform some trick they can't percieve or outwit. The challenge strengthens the mind or else beatings will focus it.

I also see the use of stimulant drugs and intense virtual reality projections being a popular and highly addictive --though not socially acceptable-- pasttime across all levels of the culture.

Okay. I have been to Games Workshop, and I have returned with a unit of Tactical Marines a friend gave me. I shall be painting them up in Battlegroup Primus colours, and with some luck I'll be able to upload some pictures.

>>13852077
Hell yes.

>>13852077
Awesome!

There's 4 companies with 13 tactical squads each to choose from, are you thinking of making a specific unit from the Dawn and giving them their codex markings?

What kind of equipment?

Look forward to seeing pics

>>13852155

The squad has a Missile Launcher and a Plasma Gun. Not my choice, just how my benefactor rolls. Because I'm not actually a marine player I've got no transfers on me, but I'll see what I can do marking-wise. As someone who can't make a squad without naming everything forever, you can bet there'll be some kind of identity.

I've also been thinking about mechanics for the Sleepless. Mostly, same as the Death Company, but +1 Initiative and a little more expensive. If we wanted to be adventurous, however, we could exploit the fact that the Sleepless sometimes attack their own. Something like the Grotesque mechanic of "If they don't have an IC with 'em, roll a D6. On a 1, they go full retard and everything in 2D6'' take 2D6 S5 hits".

>>13852993
Excluding other Sleepless. They somehow can tell themselves apart.

>>13853362

Naturally. However, because this would be quite constraining, perhaps a Sleepless Special Character could relieve this special rule like Astroth removes the Death Company limit.

>>13853362
On the subject of the Sleepless being able to tell each other apart most of the time, perhaps there is a subtle sign language that the Sleepless learn once they have been awake long enough to percieve it.

This is why the Sleepless are so often silent in each other's company.

Because of this sign language the sleepers are more accustomed to telling one another apart and their delusions will be less likely to write over the identity of a brother Sleepless, though their other delusions can fuel eachother.

They can communicate large amounts of information to eachother very quickly. In a way it is like their own binary chatter, but just as with every other part of the Sleepless' lives, the better they get at speaking it, the less sense they make when doing so.

just kinda off the top of my head. Needs refining.

>>13854164

The beginnings of a great idea. Maybe after being awake too long, they lose the ability to communicate with the Sleepers, or have to train their minds to be able to recognize the Sleepers' less personal and refined way of speaking. Kinda like how if one leaves their home country for many years and comes back; they'd have to adjust to different dialects or languages, differences in body language, etc.

>>13854471

I like this a lot. It adds to the alienation of becoming Sleepless. Not only do they lose their ability to reason in a normal human fashion, they lose their ability to communicate as well.

Is there any particular reason why they can't be Devastators? I know we rolled for a restriction, but unless its like Black Templar's "NO SYKERS" rule, that seems kind of arbitrary?

Do we have an excuse made up for this? Like, how being narcoleptic is somehow detrimental to being a Heavy Weapons Guy?

>>13855233

How about this: if the Chapter relies solely on Devastators to take down heavier targets, what happens when the squad members start to fall asleep? Suddenly that Armored Company just got a lot harder to deal with.

In addition, I don't think Devastators fit the feel of the army. Primus seems to be more of a fast, heavy hitting assault group, and Secondus are the stealthy stab-you-in-the-night guys. Night Owls are vets/terminators/dreadnoughts, so they wouldn't fit there either. There's no use for devastators. Dreadnoughts get heavy support duties.

>>13855233
Shock and Awe means the Nightmares rely on Orbital Bombardments to go fuck everything up. With that, the Primus are used as a Rapid Assault Group meant to decapitate the Heads of armies while they're reeling from the barrage. They don't have time to fuck around with tank hunting and such, while Secundus is nearly pure stealth, with no real use for Heavy Weaponry.

"The Dreamlandds: The layer between the Materium and the Warp. The landscape changes and shifts constantly. One moment it's a sandy, sunny beach with clear skies and gentle waves crashing against the shore, then in the next it becomes a dark, hazy swamp filled with man-eating flora, then a city, then a countryside, and countless more locations. Various daemons lurk here, taking thousands of different shapes to confound a dreamer and lure them closer to the Warp, where their souls will be devoured.

The Emperor's Nightmare Chapter have waged war here for nearly two thousand years, fighting the daemon in all it's forms to protect the spirits of humanity in their most vulnerable place. The Chapter's Dreamers, those few marines with psychic potential, battle in this bizarre land while their brethren who remain awake, the Watchers, guard their sleeping forms from the enemies in the Materium. Though the daemons in the Dreamlands are strong, the Dreamers of the Emperor's Nightmare have honed their skills in the waking world, and fight them with deadly skill developed over periods of sleeplessness, during which their training becomes an outlet to fight the madness of insomnia."

A little bit of writefaggotry about the Dreamlands. Thoughts?

>>13855397
Exactly. They just... don't have much need for devastators in their tactics. On those specific occasions that they actually require that much non-mobile firepower, their standard mark rifleman dreadnoughts are already uniquely suited to the task.

Otherwise just bombard the site from orbit and then drop pod two companies worth of Primus Tactical Squads and some Dreadnoughts in at key locations to network and combine arms with each other to take on, isolate and destroy any targets. Send ten thunder hammer terminators and an Icelus assault dreadnought to destroy the enemy command bunker. The only heavy weapons would be the codex's proscribed one per tactical squad. (plus those mounted on vehicles brought on by thunderhawk)

Individual heavy weapons in Secundus tactical squads are likewise the only way heavy weapons are brought to the field in the Dusk. Tactical marines far behind enemy lines must be able to adapt to a wide variety of threats. Their squads are almost uniformly equipped with stalker pattern bolters, a melta gun and a missile launcher as standard. The Emperor's Nightmares prize rote, repetition and redundancy greatly.

>>13855233

I think the reason is that by having all of the marines be tactical marines, it gives a flexibility in case the specialized marines fall asleep. If the assault squads end up undermanned, for instance, you just strap a jump pack on a tactical marine who's already had some training in that field.

>>13855604

I like this. I don't know if you're familiar with it, but it sort of reminds me of the Daedric Prince Vaermina's realm in The Elder Scrolls. It's described as a constantly shifting nightmare, where you'll be on a desolate moor one moment, then a buried coffin the next, and trapped on top of an enormous tower the next. That, combined with Lovecraft's Dreamlands, is sort of how I imagine our Dreamlands.

Given two thousand years of time, have the Nightmare produced some semi-permanent fortifications in their borderwatch? I like the idea of a shadow of their fortress monastery--all different, of course, should a demon try to scope it out--but still a rendition of home in the dream. As long as several people are asleep and focusing on it it holds form.
Several August Dreamwalkers in Iron could spend a good deal of their time 'supporting' it. It's a powerful symbol of their mastery over dream, but still not "summoning combi-powerchain-thunder-lightning-clawhammerfists and punching Tzeentch in the dick with them."

>>13856232

I like this idea. And the last bit made me chuckle.

>>13856232

If we go this direction, I imagine that it will be under siege frequently, if not constantly.

>>13856470
"Welcome back, brother! The battlements have need of you."

>>13856486
This actually makes a good deal of sense, and gives the Dreamers that are not 'on assignment' something to do when the Sleep takes them. I do assume that their might be a few different Dreamholds - Icelus would likely be a Fortress of the Dream. The Halls of the Sleepers, the Wake, and the August Dreamers in Iron all, usually, in one place? Only a mighty Agent of Change would dare attack - and even then, it would be a hard pressed battle.

Anyway, two other questions: Do most Chapters only have a single recruiting world? Just wondering if we should expand our attention to the other planets in the sector, to see who's neighbor's to the Dreamers
And do Machine Spirits Dream? I know this may be tech heresy, but considering the Psychic Might this chapter wields, Dreaming Iron might be something really cool. And not just the cute idea of a Predator snoring.

Writefaggotry incoming. Possibly inspired by my own lack of sleep.

Brother-Captain Calarian's world flared as he impacted the reinforced ceramite wall under the sorcerous barrage. He could still hear the heretic chuckling softly as he walked leisurely towards him – he could hear so many things now. Each drop of rain in the pounding storm, the individual cracks forming in the stone with each blast echoing around the two warriors. So many things. His senses were sharpening, overcompensating – the world coming into sharper focus even as his mind slowly, relentlessly cracked. Calarian's time was near, be it at the hands of the enemy or by his own actions.

>>13855233
I thought it was because they're so twitchy, too. Rather then the stealthy movements, or coordinated chaos of Dawn and Dusk, suddenly twitch and BULLETS then everyone glares at Brother Esupent and wonders why he has that gun.

>>13856824

The flashing lights in his eyes resolved into a tiny glow on the horizon, through a slight break in the storm. Calarian allowed himself a small smile as he whispered the order for his brothers to retreat over the vox-link. They had lingered long enough, and he would remain to ensure their final objective would be completed. The sounds of battle faded as the warriors of Battlegroup Secundus, the Dusk, disengaged. He could imagine them melting away from the enemy under cover of sniper fire, leaving them scattered and unprepared for what was to come. It was a small comfort as the sorcerer loomed over him, before driving the end of his staff deep into the fallen Nightmare's chest.

Calarian spat up blood, fighting off the pain. His thoughts, quickening by the second, flashed back to before the deployment – to his death. Shortly before the operation was to begin, Calarian was approached by his company's Apothecary. He had already known why; he had been keeping count of when last he had truly been able to sleep, and it had been a long time. Experienced as he was, Calarian knew the signs of a Brother joining the Sleepless, and he was prepared. He had already decided that this mission would be his last, before his reason was lost.

>>13856833

As was customary for those Marines forever unable to sleep, funeral rites were held, as Calarian's name was added to the ranks of the honored dead. He had attended, taking the one final chance at rest, his blindfold allowing him some measure of solace. At the height of the service, as per the ritual, he had stood alongside the Chaplain and cut the delicate weave of his Dreamcatcher. Emperor help him, he could still feel the slight resistance as the blade severed the cords he had woven a century ago. Officially, it was his last act as a member of the Emperor's Nightmare – just as recruits leave their humanity behind, so do the Sleepless leave their dreams. Their brotherhood. Calarian had boarded the Thunderhawk immediately afterward, to undertake his last task as a Captain, one he did not plan on returning from.

A jolt of pain brought Calarian back to the moment as the Thousand Sons sorcerer pressed an armored foot into his cracked breastplate. He was sneering, Calarian could tell, even behind the blasphemous mask.

“Well, now...is this all you are capable of, dog? To struggle and die, doomed to die alone and tormented?”

>>13856783
It depends. I know the Space Wolves recruit solely from Fenris, while other chapters, like the Bloody Magpies, have a series of Feral worlds they rely on.

>>13856847

Calarian laughed. Quietly at first, but gaining in what volume was possible with his shattered body. Meeting the heretic's gaze, he responded, “Tormented? I welcome this last rest. You, though...you will surely be tortured by your lord for your failures. Isn't that how it goes for you deluded madmen?”

The sorcerer angrily ground his foot further in, audibly snapping reinforced bones. “You know nothing. You speak as if you have not already lost, and underestimate my abilities. I will be rewarded well for this.”

Calarian merely laughed again, and, struggling to move, raised his hand to the sky.

The sorcerer felt the heat before he could even look. He whirled to see what Calarian indicated, and saw the shining meteors falling to the surface, the lances of fire piercing the storm, and the morning light burning through it all.

“Dawn comes, traitor. Dawn comes.”

How often do they recruit, and how long does the recruiting last?

Do the kids just have a day to find a flower and bring it back, or perhaps a week. How rare is the flower. It's expensive, I know, but how rare is it?

>>13856783
It varies by chapter. Many chapters recruit from multiple worlds though. I think we're mostly set for aspirants though. If we do any recruitment off world we would have one or two other chapter keeps at most. The hive population produces exactly the kind of aspirant we want so we tend not to look much further.\

This raises an important question though:

WHERE exactly is Icelus? Are we in the Segmentum Solar? The Eastern Fringe? What is our "neighbourhood" like?

"Machine spirits" are divided into three types in the Adeptus Mechanicus: The first are religious nonsense. Basically the platonic soul of any given piece of technology. The second are flowery but ultimately understood metaphors for computational power, electrical currents, radio waves, and other similarly higher functions of technology. Third are hard wired servitor brains and other similar cyb-organic intelligences. Often networked together.

Despite all the neurosurgury and hypnoindoctrination a servitor goes through, I think some would probably be capable of some very basic dreams. You could never completely take that away.

Dreaming Iron. I like it.
Maybe they're like mechanical dogs. Simple, yet loyal.

>>13857068
>>13857137
Maybe Servitors are wavering and insubstantial, most of the person they were stripped out, but their subconscious image of themselves remaining? Walking awkwardly, like it's struggling to remember how, flickering at the edges as it wanders the dream fortress.
Other things might have idealized versions of themselves.

>>13857137
Thank you, brother. You give my dreams your blessing. I see the Dreaming Iron as maybe a truth, maybe a lesson or maybe something else. A term for all the great technological Relics? The carde of sevitors that are locked into a sleep cycle that tend to the 'Dream Fortress'. Ideas brothers are the Birth of Dreams, after all.

And a suggestion for Venerable Gavroche. I can see that as the Icelus Pattern Dreadnoughts may make this status of the Venerable Stealthnought as less then impressive. Perhaps this Venerable Dreadnought has adopted the Icelus Pattern attributes upon a classic Venerable Dreadnought frame.

The Sleep is coming.

After so many years, August Dreamwalker in Iron Chatan is well aware of what is happening to him.

The Sleep is coming.

His very existence is one of endless pain, and endless service, which he gives selflessly. Even as tortured lungs scream in agony, he tends to his Brothers. Even as phantom pains assail his mind, he cares only for the Sleepless. But all this matters not.

The Sleep is coming.

He enters his chamber and there to greet him are two members of the Scholastica Psykana, Psykers Lukas and Brianna. Their gaunt and shriveled frames do not bother them nor does his imposing presence, heightened by his Dreadnoughted frame. Pistons roar and steel frames groan under his command as he takes his place and waits. The blinded psykers next to him finally give a pause as Chatan’s great mind spreads out, until they recognize his comforting mind and resume.

Chatan waits, and he is not disappointed.

The Sleep has come.

>>13857933
Eyes that were shut snap open to a room of stone, and in front of his is his lone symbol of vanity. A mirror, and in front of it is a boy dressed in rags, with black hair streaming down his shoulders, and sharp green eyes that glitter dangerously. But this frame is unsuited for what is coming.

A moment later, and where there was once a boy is a giant of a man. Clad in ceramite, Librarian Chatan relishes in his freedom. This is a true gift of the Emperor. Strong arms pump through the air, unfettered by the chains of hardpoints. Legs scream of their joy as a single step flexes muscles he hasn’t been able to feel in months.

And now comes the time for battle. His force rod thunders against the rock of the fortress as he makes his way through many corridors, passing by the dreams of jittery servitors, too unsure of their freedom. All around Chatan are the powers of the psykers in the materium, fueling the Dream and serving as the foundations of the Chapter.

He steps out onto the Battlements, taking in the slight greetings of his fellow sleepers, and readies his Bolter. It is a weapon he has disassembled and reassembled thousands of times. Every rivet is as much a part of him, even if he has not held it with his own hands in a Century. But here, in the dream, a memory as strong as that is as solid as anything.

>>13857939
There is no time to appreciate the mercurial beauty of the Dreamlands however. As always, Chaos is on the march. He sings Litanies of Praise and readies his aim. It is time for battle.

Seconds pass. Hours. Days, months, years. Time has no meaning here. Time will never have meaning here. Dreams are eternal things, fueled by man. There is no place for something so structured as time.

Fellow Brothers leave, other enter. That is the only way to mark any form of passage.

But after countless rounds litter the ground, and hordes of Daemons have fallen back snarling, it is finally Librarian Chatan’s turn to wake. And he closes his eyes once more, and opens them to a digitized simulation of the world.

Machinery forces his lungs to pump air. Nutrients are fed directly to his body. Thin fingers grasp weakly at wires, each sanctified by the Omnisiah’s blessings.

August Dreamwalker in Iron Chatan leaves the chamber, knowing the Dreamhold is in good hands. But still, he cannot wait for his next sleep.

The Dream is forever.

And Sleep is always coming.

>>13857433
Venerable Gavroche actually wears the very first Icelus pattern suit IIRC. He's been a member of Secundus possibly since the founding of the chapter. When he eventually fell in battle he was placed inside a dreadnought sarcophagus. In time he learned how to move quietly with this body too and his prowess in the theatre of war prompted the senior techmarines to look into building a more graceful chassis for such a warrior as Gavroche. So he was given the first suit of Icelus Armour, becoming the forward recon scout and point-man for all of Secundus.

These days he'll scope out a battlefield ahead of time, burrow hulled down into the ground with his chainfist, take of his weather protective tarp and extend his mechadendrites and sensor quills watching for enemy movement and relaying battlefied data to the Astartes Grid. All the while searching for a shot with his MIU sniper rifle and co-axiel grenade launcher.

So we actually have the foundation of a pretty decent setting here. How on earth has no one started a Deathwatch game with these guys yet?

Or that EVERYONE IS A DREADNOUGHT TANKRED ENDURES FINAL DESTINATION game?

Or a Dark Heresy game where you live in the underhive?

For that matter I'm surprised there aren't quest threads already...

>>13857933
>>13857939
>>13857955
Any thoughts on this guys? I think I went a little too vague, because I didn't want to crowd up posts.

>>13858118
Aw, because I have this lovely mental image of him in a classic Dreadnought that does as well as a Icelus pattern due to his years of skill and such. Sounds like a nice Hero Unit.

>>13858319
Well he did do that for a few hundred years at least, inspiring the creation of the new mark.

We could actually do him as one of those "Career" Special Characters.

Have him first as a Secundus Tactical marine

Then clad within a mighty dreadnought that he has somehow been stealthy enough to infiltrate acting as the point man for Secundus company

And finally in an Icelus dreadnought. A free agent and one man guerrilla army that opperates entirely independantly of the main battle plan.

>>13858300
It was great. I love the August Dreamwalkers having their bodies made whole again, if only for a time.
>>13858410
This works too.

And I know that if I find an open DW game, I'm playing a Nightmare.

>>13858300
I like it.

I'm a big fan of the marines spending a few moments of weakness as the human children they once were before asserting control over the dream in what manner they can and armouring themselves with their modern self-image.

Also if we keep this tone we can have lots of fucking cool dream shit without straying down the "and then hey imagined twenty million bombs into existance and kicked Tzeentch in the dick" road.

The August Dreamwalkers in Iron would have a fair amount of power and lucidity though. I could see a favourite trick of theirs being the construction of Escher painting-like recursing doorways that lead back into each other. The mind games they play with Tzeentchian daemons would make for some epic sagas.


So what kinds of daemon lurk in dreams?

>>13858410
Alternatively his is the only sarcophagus that the techmarines actually change between chassis from mission to mission.

Remember how there's that note that all but two dreadnought chasis are in use?

Maybe one of those is an Venerable Dreadnought and the other an Ironclad.

When Gavroche isn't tooling around in an Icelus he kicks back oldschool in one of them, somehow managing to move it almost as unnaturally silently as the Icelus itself, but without the aid of stummers.

>>13858620
Tzeentch's cabal most likely.

And it's easy to reason out why they can't just summon Titan Legions or such. It has to be something the Librarians are intimately familiar with. Their Bolters, their armor? They've spent decades memorizing every single part of their weapons, to the point it's an extension of their body. That's why it's so easy to summon them, and we can handwave ammo issues as the Librarians calling them out in their 'Perfect' form. One that will never want for shells and bolts.

MFW my dread doodle has now become a main point of reference.

I should really draw the monster of a Nightmare Tech-marine I rolled in Deathwatch today.

So what would the dreaming look like in a place like 40k?

I'll tell you.

It would look like this:

http://gnosis.art.pl/iluminatornia/sztuka_o_inspiracji/zdzislaw_beksinski/zdzislaw_beksinski.htm

Six pages of Zdzislaw Beksinski. Some of you may be familiar with him already. He is fucking creepy and some of his art may actually give people nightmares. You have been warned.

>>13858919

>>13858960

>>13858973

>>13859008

>>13858919


Can it be populated by any Keith Thomson art? :3

http://www.keiththompsonart.com/gallery.html

>>13859028

...

Yes.

Yes it can.

>>13859028
And I always thought normal 40k was populated by Keith Thompson art.

On a related note, has it been stated whether or not Dreamers die for real if they are killed in dream combat?

>>13859185
They die for real, otherwise it wouldn't be as dangerous as general dealings with the Warp are. Even if the Dreamscape isn't the Warp, it's damn close.

Yeah, this is who I played as. I'm thinking about the Nightmares Techmarine sections, particularly on any individual livery they could display

>>13859816
Awesome.
Speaking of Livery, I "drew" >>13849170.
Would anyone care to take a crack at it? I think the concept's sound enough.

>>13851767
What if wearing the colors was used as an indicator of your worthiness as an aspirant for the inevitable recruitment teams.

>>13850045
http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Fragmented_Dreams
Done.

>>13860207
Your diligence and dedication is noted, marine. The Emperor smiles.

Is it just me, or did we not get much done today?

>>13860565
Not as much, yeah.
Understandable. We've got a lot of fluff to dive into yet, but we've got the basics pretty well down. It'll keep up.

>>13860577

I hope it keeps up. I think this is the first serious Chapter /tg/ has ever made, and, to be honest, it's a lot more interesting than most of the Chapters GW comes up with.

I'm half way through a story about the Nightmares. I'll post it up tomorrow if I can get it done.

>>13860207
I'll go through the threads to find "fragmented dreams" (nice name btw), but that may take a while...

Sleepless - 60 Points

WS BS S T W I A Ld Sv
5 4 4 4 1 5 2 7 3+

Unit Composition: 3 Sleepless

Wargear: Power Armour, Bolt Pistol, Chainsword, Frag and Krak grenades

Options: Add up to twenty-seven Sleepless: +20 Points/model
Any Sleepless can replace their bolt pistol and/or chainsword for:
A Power Weapon: 15 Points/model
A Power Fist: 25 Points/model
A Thunder Hammer: +30 Points/model

For every five models in the squad, one Sleepless can replace his bolt pistol with a Plasma Pistol for +15 Points/model
The entire squad can have Jump Packs: +15pts/model

Dedicated Transport: If the squad does not have Jump Packs, it can select any dedicated transport we decide to let the damn chapter have in the future.

Special Rules: Rage, Fearless, Feel No Pain, Furious Charge

Faltering Reality: The Sleepless are so crazed that they can barely distinguish friend from foe. If there is no Independant Character within the unit it must take an Ld test each movement phase. If this is failed the squad must move as fast as they can towards the nearest unit (Friend or Foe), fire at it (Even if after the movement phase there is a closer unit) and, if possible, assault this unit. If the unit is friendly it attacks back as usual, but do not fight in the enemy's turn and if the Sleepless pass their test the next turn, combat immediately ceases. If a double 6 is ever rolled for this leadership test, the Sleepless go absolutely beserk. Every unit (Friend or Foe, excluding other Sleepless) within 2D6'' takes 2D6 S5 hits. Vehicles are hit on their side armour. After this, remove the unit from play.

Just putting up the ideas I had over yesterday. Thoughts would be appreciated.

Scout Squad - 75pts

WS3 BS3 S3 T4 W1 I4 A1 Ld8 Sv 4+

Unit Composition: 4 Scouts, 1 Scout Sergeant

Unit Type: Infantry

Wargear: Scout armour, Shotgun, Bolt Pistol, Frag and Krak grenades.

Options: Add up to five Scouts: +13pts/model

Any model can replace his shotgun with a Boltgun, Combat Blade or Sniper Rifle: Free
One Scout can replace his shotgun with a Heavy Bolter or Missile Launcher: +10pts

The Scout Sergeant can replace his Shotgun and/or Bolt Pistol with:
A Combi-melta/flamer/plasma: +10pts
A Plasma Pistol or a Power Weapon: +15pts
A Power Fist: +25pts

The Scout Sergeant can take:
Melta Bombs: +5pts
A Locator Beacon: +25pts

The entire squad can:
Take camo cloaks: +3pts/model
Upgrade to Battlegroup Secundus Operatives: +9pts/model

Battlegroup Secundus Operatives wear Power Armour, and have +1 WS and BS.

Special Rules: And They Shall Know No Fear, Combat Squads, Move Through Cover, Scouts

This stuff just keeps getting better and better! You rock on /tg/.

To be honest, I think we're drifting a bit far from the roots of the chapter. Assault dreads are fine, as are Sleepless, but do we really want Holmes Marines and blood angels with beter taste in colours?

Maybe the super-perception is a bad thing, a sign that the Marine is slipping into his geneseed's curse...

>>13864662

As far as I know, increased perception IS a bad thing, it's a sign you're becoming sleepless.

>>13864683
It's more an effect of the bad thing : the longer you stay awake, the sharper your perception is, but you're likely becoming a Sleepless.
Then insane.
And then you die. If you're lucky.

Please, no goddamn stormravens for these guys.>>13864662

>>13865336

While it's a frickin' SWEET model, I have to agree. The Stormraven definitely doesn't belong with the Nightmares. And let's not have a Sanguinary Guard analogue or such either. Sleepless I get, but nothing else.

>>13864662
>To be honest, I think we're drifting a bit far from the roots of the chapter. Assault dreads are fine, as are Sleepless, but do we really want Holmes Marines and blood angels with beter taste in colours?

Yes.

Well... no.

But yes. Holmes marines anway, for a little bit. But in a really alienating way. Like... Nightmares are Holmes marines like that scene in the new movie where Holmes makes Watson's wife cry and leave because he doesn't know when to stop.

Also the perceptions only REALLY kick into overdrive when you're falling into Sleeplessness.

>Maybe the super-perception is a bad thing, a sign that the Marine is slipping into his geneseed's curse...

Exactly so. The marines in general have heightened perceptions, even for an Astartes, but it's still nothing to really write home about.

The general idea is that as soon as a nightmare wakes up they start becoming subtly more and more aware day by day. If they're lucky they can go to sleep again before they start being aware of absolutely everything and their brain starts to hurt. If they're very unlucky they will never sleep again and the constant awareness of everything going on around them will drive them mad,, their brains forcing delusions and dreamlike states into their waking mind in an effort to cope.

In that way they're nothing like Blood Angels, whose Death Company are frothing, bestial lunatics. The Sleepless are, in many ways more intelligent than their brothers, but are forcebly disconnected from reality by their lack of sleep.

>>13866407
cont:
I agree that we should steer clear of making an analog for every unit in the Blood Angels codex though. You wanna counts-as this army in a legal way? Awesome, but you can make a couple sacrifices for theme. We don't need a Sanguinary Guard analog. If you really want to use them and declare they are Primus marines outfitted like that for a mission that's cool, but we do not have a dedicated "Dream Guard" unit in the Nightmares that uses their rules or anything like that.

>>13865482
I have to disagree slightly. I think it's a terrible model and I think it does make some sense for Battlegroup Primus to use it. in rapid deployment (although they have been established to almost exclusively use drop pods and thunderhawk deployments of support vehicles.)

That doesn't mean we should actually fluff the raven into the chapter though, just that if someone wants to use one... no biggie.

It's the stuff like Sanguinary Guard and Sanguinor that shouldn't have direct "this is how we explained this unit being included too" style fluff. We can use the BA codex pretty well as a counts-as, but as with any themed list there are some units you don't actively take because they're not in-theme.

So are we all tuckered out on Nightmares? The thread has really slowed down.

Lets switch gears for a bit. We've fleshed out the superhuman gods of war pretty well, now lets expand on the hive worlders.

I imagine them having a pretty intense counterculture in the lower hives that still remembers the generational tragedy of the Sleepless dreadnought breaking out into the hive. There'd be a whole youth movement still stirring unrest before being beat down by the Arbites and there'd probably be a really BIG class division in terms of opinion on the Astartes too.

Consider: nobles can afford dozens of bulbs and can rig the games by hiring mercenaries and god knows what else, while those from the underhive have to save half their lives to get one bulb for their child. Nobles of the Administratum are the ones most likely to see or interact with the marines. The Administratum downplays any dissenting opinions because they want to look like they're doing a great job (even if they are doing a great job, it's just part of the job to do this kind of thing)

Furthermore, every three or so years all the underhivers really know the Astartes for is giving GUNS to all the gangs that terrorize and extort them, causing violence to amplify and it does not abate until months after the challenges are long over.

There would be many among the populace who genuinely hated the marines, and the Nightmares would only dimly be aware and thus probably not care because they would not be told directly.

>>13867655
The Nightmare does send a crew to monitor the trials and make it difficult for everyone. Not in the same ways, but the trials are always unfair, just equally unfair for everyone. That said, it's doubtful that the civilians know that.
As for arming the gangs... They may be distant, but they're not stupid, and after two thousand years they surely would have a recruit or ten bring word about the post-event violence in former years. Arming the gangs might be done chiefly on conditions of only harming each other, but crossfire happens, and gang members still have families. Easy to still keep the bitterness.

>>13867655
For the recruitment, I'd imagine say... a kilometer around the gates out, Arbites heavily patrol the place to make sure Mercenaries and such don't interfere too much. Outside of that realm, the Nightmares still have command, and when they see things going too wrong, they could use their influence to shut them out or screw them over. Paths are subtly changed to lead them into the opposite directions than the Aspirants, power outages shut down doors and lock them away, etc...

And about the nobles, I don't think it'd be as big a problem as you may think. If they try busting out a speeder to rush their way through, the Nightmares cause traffic jams. If they're obvious enough to carry dozens of bulbs, the underhivers get a few of their own to physically block the way, or subtly pickpocket a few for their own use and such.

>>13868452
It doesn't pay to bring too many spare bulbs, as one humiliated aspirant learned in 296.M40 when he was dogpiled and the case his father had slipped him was stolen, giving 27 of his rivals several of the precious flowers each less than twelve minutes into the challenge. Since then no one has made such a fatal error and any reserve flowers are usually stashed in the underhive or at an oasis in the ash wastes weeks in advance in the hopes that no one else will find them.

Considering that only royalty and nobility is allowed to wear the heraldic colours, that's probably exactly why the underhive gangs flaunt doing the same.ro

lego dreadnought demands more writefaggotry!

With a groan of effort, Somnus pulled himself out of the sand. Clear blue skies were above him, and he could feel the twin suns of the planet warming his skin. Cool water rushed over his bare feet, and he felt the tug of the water as it receeded. Turning away from the water, he began to walk into the jungle further inland. His limbs felt heavy and week, as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep. As he walked, the sand seemed to grow warmer until they burned his feet.

Wait... he thought. Something's not right.

He looked down at his feet. Pale, far more so than he remembered. He wriggled his toes, which he noticed were also much larger than he remembered. They were too large, especially for a twelve year old boy from the lower hives. It was almost as if....

Ah, that was it. The memories came rushing back now. The trials, the Nightmares, the years of training, and now this new world opened up to him. He looked up from his feet and back into the dense foliage of the "forest". A blue armored figure stood there. Its hand reached out, as if beckoning him closer. Somnus realized his legs were moving and reasserted his control of his "body".

>>13870957
The ol' girl's got a bit more life in her, bump for the Emperor!
And to ask, has anyone done a pre-Heresy lego dread? If Y, and there are instructions on how, I'm making one and then converting it to an Icelus.

>>13872392

"Where am I?" He asked, looking up to the sky. Clouds had formed - dark, angry things - as if made from some kind of noxious gas. Shocked, he took a step back, stepping on a sharp rock behind him. He felt his foot bleed for a second, before his enhanced body sealed the wound. An icy wind blew from behind him, and he shivered. What had happened to the suns? The ground shook, and Somnus nearly fell. A crack appeared in the ground, from which hot air began to rise. Recognizing the crack for what it was, he rolled out of the way just as magma began to ooze forth. Thunder boomed overhead, causing him to jump in surprise. When he landed, he slipped and fell backwards into the mud. He sank deeper and began to flail as he was submerged into the water. He swam up and gasped for air as he clambered onto a rock. Breathing heavily he cried out again. "WHERE AM I?"

Lightning flashed overhead and rain began to fall. Soaked, confused, and quickly becoming irritated with his situation, Somnus rose. This bizarre world, with its ever-shifting landscape and climate, would not conquer him, for he was an Astarte. He knew no fear.

>>13872412

"Brother Somnus."

Somnus, now encased in his suit of power armor, turned to the source of the sound. A hooded figure, similarly armoured and wearing grey robes, held out his hand. Somnus reached out and took ahold of the figure's hand. The mysterious Astarte hauled him off the rock and onto a stone platform etched with arcane symbols. He felt an aura of calmness emanating from the figure, despite the chaos of this land.

"My brother," the figure said, removing his hood, "you are safe now." Somnus looked at the figure's pale, weathered face. His gaze met the bloodshot eyes of the figure, and at last Somnus realized the identity of his saviour.

"Brother-Librarian Khyenpa." Somnus said, nodding his head in greeting. "Well met."

"Aye," the psyker responded. "Welcome to the Dreamlands."

>>13872426
Badass.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the dreamland aspect of the fluff, but you do several things here that I noticed and appreciated.

First of all I loved how the marine was portrayed starting from that position of vulnerability. I think that, or rather each individual marine's version of that, should be pretty standard for coming into the consensus dream.

You also did a good job of displaying the lethality of this bleak, weird landscape. It's not constantly full of daemons trying to murder you like the warp proper but it is still an unpleasant place to be consciously aware in and there ARE daemons around, just not as many.

And a good job on the librarian shepard.for the dreaming flock. I imagine him having to do something like that for each marine.

The Librarian is charged to assemble the squad into communal dream. He travels to them one by one, clears their minds of self doubt and helps them up onto an arcane stone platform, a warded safehaven hovering over the desolate landscape.

Then, if he is deployed near the chapter keep in the waking world, the librarian's mind carries the group over to the psychic manifestation of the building that the August Dreamwalkers in Iron constantly maintain. From there small squads of dreamers, each accompanied by at least one librarian, astrally project themselves as far as they can imagine. Some librarians have even mastered the technique of gazing back across the veil, spying on enemies through their dreams and through dreams of them. Space and time have no meaning in even this pale shadow realm of the warp and with training a librarian can project his consciousness to almost any location.

August Brother Gavo, formerly the attached codicier for Battlegroup Primus 2nd Company before his crushing defeat at the hands of an Obliterator Lord, has even trained his mind to manifest a ghostly psychic construct of his formidable baroque tomb. He has not been roused from his slumber in eight hundred and sixteen years but each day the shadowy wisps of his mind stalk effortlessly about the chapter keep like a poltergeist, supervising the training of scouts and even accompanying the Battlegroups to war.

They were rioting again

The underhive scum had always been aggressive, such you would expect in any Hive World within the Imperium's staggering reach. Orphans and gangers, not content with the place the Emperor had given them, rose up like a howling wave of malcontents and nihilists against the society which kept them pinned at the bottom physically and socially. Usually the local Adeptus Arbites was content to let them ruin themselves in the Underhive, or let a PDF-led crackdown disperse the crowds. But when these riots threaten to spill over into the Middle Hive, where they threaten to slow down productivity and threaten the planet's Tithe. That is when the Arbitrators stepped in.

"YOU DID THIS TO U-" The ganger's jaw gave way as Arbitrator Kendell's shock maul cracked into it, sending the rioter to the ground with a wail. Stepping over his squirming form, Kendell stepped back towards his fellows. The Arbites crackdown had been merciless, a carpet of comatose and worse scum flowed from their checkpoint. Still more came, growling obscenities and brandishing various weapons. The ruby beam of a las bolt spat out from the crowd, burning a small hole in the supression shield of the man to Kendall's left before the offending underhiver's head burst. Evidently the snipers were doing the job well.

>>13872896
With screams the rioters hit the shield line, trying desperately to overwhelm the Arbitrators through sheer force of numbers. Kendall grunted as he strained to hold back a hairless brute brandishing an iron bar, trying not to inhale their stench too deeply. The line buckled...and buckled...And stopped. There was a silence for a few seconds, and then the Arbitrators pushed forward, Shock mauls lashing out. So the screams began anew.

Even amidst the violence, Kendall heard gasps from behind the checkpoint, and during a lull in the fight, when the bloodied rioters withdrew to gather their wits, he glanced back. What he saw took his breath away. A veritable giant, clad in the distinctive purple and gold of the Hive's royalty. His skull-faced mask swept over the battle, his massive armored arms folded across his chest.

"-aplain Vard of the Emperor's Nightmare. I hope you understand our trials are due to begin within hours, and if the Arbites cannot quell this unrest soon, we shall be forced to take action...personally." That sent a chill down Kendall's spine as he returned his full attention to the battle. The vaunted Angels who watched over this world would be an impressive sight to be sure...One he wasn't sure he ever wanted to see."

"Change of plan, men." The Proctor's voice hissed through his helmet's micro bead. "We're going into the Underhive, anyone who resists gets put down. Let's get to it."

>>13872903
>>13872896

Is there more? I like where this is going.

>>13873033

Oh. I just saw the timestamp. Nevermind me. Still, this is pretty good.

>>13872896
>>13872903
woot

This is a whole new area to explore.

>>13872903

"Stay in contact, we don't want them sneaking past us."

Even before arriving on Icelus Kendall was acutely aware of the dank, decaying features of the Imperium's underhives, but these barren cesspits of anarchy and violence never ceased to depress him. The Arbitrators had been forced to split up, the twisting passages of the labyrinthine structure mocking any attempt at order. Fighting the rioting underhivers in a defensible checkpoint was all very well, but this was their home. Kendall and the four Arbitrators accompanying him had been ambushed six times already, gangers and mutants striking out of murderholes and setting up crude killing fields with rusty las weaponry held together with tape and hope. Each attempt had been foiled, each attacker brained by shock mauls until they stopped breathing. This was a hellish way to fight, but the order had been given...And Kendall prided himself on following orders.

"Here we go again." One of his accomplices stated, edging forward along the corridor. The passage opened up into a truly cavernous room, lit only by a single stuttering floodlight centred upon an impromptu stage upon which a tall, lanky man was pacing, clutching a rusty flamer. In the darkness it took Kendall a few moments to realize the other occupants of the room should scare him a lot more. A vast crowd of degenerates, mutants and other assorted scum, crammed into the room like the angry mob of daemons. Kendall had never been very good at judging, but it looked as though there were hundreds of them.

>>13873276


"-ping you down, making your lives a living hell, simply because you do not subscribe to their vision of the perfect man!" The man on the stage was well-spoken, with a genuine fire in his voice. The mob was hanging onto his every word, a rapt silence accompanying his impassioned oratory. The man himself didn't look much like an Underhiver, his clothing far too fine for a life in the hellish depths of Icelus' cities. Upon his long jacket he wore a strange insignia, that of a three-headed serpent, most likely the badge of his personal gang. At that moment he stopped dead, gripping his weapon and backing away a little. It took Kendall a few seconds to realise the preacher was looking straight at him.

"THERE! THE LACKEYS OF YOUR OPRESSORS HAVE COME TO PUT YOU DOWN! KILL THEM ALL!" He screamed, and Kendall felt dread trickling through him as, as one, the crowd turned to face them.

"...RUN!"

>>13873277
Shit just got real.

>held together with tape and hope
Nice line.

This sure explains why there are so many daemons hanging around in the dreaming of the planet for the Nightmares to kill.

+>>13873277

"What!? How many!?!" Kendall's lungs were on fire as him and his fellows ran for their lives, leaping and dodging through the passageways which only hours prior they had been carefully picking through. Behind him, the horde of Underhivers were keeping pace with terrifying ease. Their screams, bellows of rage and mocking jeers echoed through the corridors, making it hard even to think.

"I-it looked like hundreds, sir!" The Arbitrator wheezed, urging his strained body forward once more. Already two of his group had fallen, their bodies unable to carry them further. Kendall didn't even want to think about their fate.

"The task force is already dispersed throughout the hive, you'll just have t-" There was a rush of breath and the sound of movement in his micro-bead, then an entirely new voice filled his helmet.

"Arbitrator Kendall, this is Sergeant Kharus of the Emperor's Nightmares. You have one way of surviving this, and that is to do exactly what I say. Do you understand?" Even in these dire straights, the thought of being adressed by a Space Marine sent a thrill down Kendall's spine.

"Y-yes, My Lord." He breathed, bolting up a flight of stairs with a sharp pant. He had dropped his supression shield a while back, the thing was far too cumbersome for a chase like this.

>>13873423
"You will soon reach a fork in the path, the way you came in. To the right lies your checkpoint. You have to take the left passage." This made Kendall gasp, and he could tell the other Arbitrators were similarly shocked.

"B-back into the hive!? But we can't get out th-"

"I just told you that your only way to survive this was to follow my instructions. If what you're saying is correct and you take the right path and unleash many enemies into the Middle Hive, I'll kill you myself. Now take the left!" Just as Kharus had said, the fork was just ahead. To the left, the light of the Middle Hive blossomed out, promising hope and comfort.

"...Very well, My Lord." Taking a resigned breath, Kendall and his arbitrators took the left corridor, once again plunging into the darkness of the Underhive.

"The Emperor Protects, Arbitrator. Have some faith."

>>13872880
I was still young when I first saw August Gavo -- or at least that thing he wants us to see. I was not even a full neophyte then and had never so much as left my home planet. The marks were still sore from the first of many surgeries to come. It was during my squad's morning bolter drills inside the chapter keep that the foul beast struck: A vile agent of Kaliman, here -- I later learned to great sorrow -- to provide a distraction as our chapter master's mind was stolen from him.

But what terrible distraction it was. Half a dozen of my brothers were dead before I had time to turn and let off a shot. Our captain bravely charged the thing, calling for us to retreat and sound the alarm, but the daemon stabbed through his carapace armour and punctured both his hearts in a single fluid motion, tossing his body aside with disdain.

It was then that the ammunition in the nearby crates started going off. One or two bolt shells at first, then massive explosions as whole stockpiles detonated. Split seconds after this massive release of energy the most curious thing I have ever witnessed in my long years occurred: all the fire... all the light and force... moved.

Shifting with a will of its own to coalesce in the centre of the room, the fires traced the ever-flickering outlines of a dreadnought's hulking form. It was as beautiful as it was terrible. Though I am a space marine, on that day, I knew fear.

I have been to visit August Gavo's body in the dreamers' reclusium only once since then. It is far less unnerving. Tepidly, I placed my hand against the metal of his body, expecting it to twist and burn, but it is cold and unmoving to my touch. Gavo dreams.

>>13873428

CLIFFHANGERS

CLIFFHANGERS EVERYWHERE

>>13873428


The tunnels leading down to what used to be the main blocks of the Underhive were even more poorly maintained than what Kendall had already witnessed, what used to be finely wrought pillars and statues depicting Imperial saints strewn amongst the sordid rubble littering this forsaken place. Kendall's vision was going grey, his body screaming against this hellish race towards certain doom. Behind him the horde of degenerates and outcasts had fallen behind ever so slightly, doubtless some of the more lucid individuals choosing to ascend into the Middle Hvie to their deaths. The great majority, spurred onwards by dark passion and blood thirst, had pursued the Arbitrators back into the Underhive. When they had taken the left turn a hungry cheer had gone up amongst the Underhive Scum, who no-doubt thought they had taken the wrong turn in their panic.

"Keep going, you have nearly reached your salvation." The calm voice of Sergeant Kharus intoned over the Micro-bead. Admittedly Kendall was finding it hard to believe this, as he and his men, who were growing more beaten by the second, plunged back into their enemy's home.

"M-my Lord, we can't go on much longer! Our bodies-"

>>13873647

"If your bodies are failing then shield them with your faith. What you are doing now is of the utmost importance, failure now will mean far more than simply the loss of your lifes.Now press on!" Chastened, Kendell focussed his entire being into the torturous sprint forther into the hive. He couldn't feel a thing, he couldn't think straight, and as he burst into a large enclosure similar to the one he had found these accursed traitors in, he could have sworn his exhaustion had claimed his hearing too.

"..." Staggering down a large, delapidated flight of stairs, Kendall made to run further but a raised step he didn't see collided against his boot. Knocked sprawling into the middle of the room, Kendall despaired. Forcing himself up, he unclipped his shock maul from his belt and turned. The mob had yet to break into the enclosure yet, but one thing he knew was that he could go no further.

"On me, men. We'll die here like true servants of the Emperor." He commanded...Or, that is what he meant to say, but no words came out whatsoever. In fact, an eerie silence saturated the entire room, causing even Kendall's exhausted mind to pick up a little.

"..." The rabble had entered the enclosure, and Kendall prepared to sell his life as dearly as possible. By his side the two remaining Arbitrators formed up beside him, shock mauls crackling mutely to life. The mob vomited forth silently, each one glaring at the three Arbitrators with a terrifying bloodgreed which almost caused Kendall to take a step back. Almost. Descending the stairs, they paused for a moment at the sight of the moving statues....Moving statues?

>>13873650


"-MORSE, NO RETREAT!" In an instant the room was alive with movemnt. Kendall's jaw dropped as, seemingly from nowhere, dark-armoured giants rose and strode forth, their rifles roaring as they spat explosive death into the rebels.

"Excellently done, Arbitrators. Now, are you ready to visit your revenge upon these degenerates?" This time Kharus' voice came not from the micro-bead, but to Kendall's right. The space marine wore power armour of the darkest purple, just like the others, and in his hands a gleaming Power Sword and a large pistol were grasped. Recovering his wits, Kendall nodded sternly to the giant who stood beside him.

"I am ready when you are, My Lord." This caused Kharus to grin and nod, turning his attention to the horde of maniacs before them. Breaking into a run, the Arbitrators by his side, the Sergeant roared a great wordless cry of defiance. Taking up this cry, his shock maul clasped in two hands, Kendall went to meet his tormentors.

"FOR THE EMPEROR AND FOR ICELUS!"

>>13873558
>>13872880
>the shadowy wisps of his mind stalk effortlessly about the chapter keep like a poltergeist

Gh-gh-gh-gh-GHOSTNOUGHT!!!

>>13873803

Now I'm imagining a bunch of Space Marines doing a hall of doors scene, thanks.

>>13873803

Why.

Well thanks to this thread I'm about a quarter of the way through converting up an icelus dreadnought. Will post shitty pics at some point.

>>13876026

Cannot WAIT to see.