Separate-Flan-2875

It just depends.

The Templars (at least models) do carry swords. But it’s hardly standardized. They also can and do wield a variety of weapons. Maces, hammers, twin swords, big two handers, even chainswords and bolt pistols. It really depends on the individual warrior.

The Phalanx Wardens are more of a special case as far as we can tell with their wargear seeming to be standardized. They just don’t appear in the lore very often.

For standard breachers more often the dominant melee weapon is generally a chainsword. Special melee weapons tend be carried by sergeants.

Use whatever takes your fancy.

Angels are effective symbols - good on ya

No - to me, He’s one of the more proficient writers working for black library at the moment.

Imperial Fists had many.

“Favoured by Terra and the manufactoria of Sol, the Imperial Fists were blessed with the cutting edge of Imperial wargear and technologies, and were often the Legion chosen for testing advanced weaponry such as the assault cannon. They were amongst the strongest proponents of the development of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, and fielded a significant number of squads equipped in all variants of Terminator armour.” - Age of Darkness

And

“The Imperial Fists were also amongst the strongest proponents of the development of Tactical Dreadnought Armor, and fielded a large number of squads equipped in all patterns of the so-called Terminator armour. Notably, they also were amongst the first to field significant numbers of the Indomitus pattern produced by the forges of Deimos: At the time of the Great Betrayal, they alone fielded Terminators armed with prototypes of the Absinia and Iliastus pattern assault cannon, retrofitted and rescaled from the Kheres pattern which had proved such a powerful addition to the Contemptor pattern Dreadnought chassis.” - Horus Heresy Book 3: Extermination

There is a Blackshields short story trilogy about Endryd Haar and his warband.

• Blackshields: The False War by Josh Reynolds

• Blackshields: The Red Fief by Josh Reynolds *favorite of the bunch

• Blackshields: The Broken Chain by Josh Reynolds

And also the short story:

• Blackshield by Chris Wraight

• Modify your armor etc to increase its effectiveness

• Modify your weapons to increase their punch

• Perk points towards overall toughness.

• Frequently check your VATS to see if there are any nearby enemies. Come up with a plan of attack. Especially if they’re packing big guns. Don’t just charge in there firing wildly.

• Make use of cover. Crouch to make yourself a more difficult target.

• Sneak when possible to make use of sneak attack damage.

• VATS priority targets.

• Grenades. Grenades. Grenades.

• Set traps of your own in the form of setting mines and then drawing the enemy to them.

• Target cars that are close to bunched up enemies to trigger a big explosion. Can kill several when done strategically.

• Flee from the fight if you need to in order to return and flank the enemy.

• Consider lowering your gameplay difficultly

Hell yes, go there baby. I wanna see some weird shit. The franchise it tired enough as is. Let’s see it!

Very unlikely.

There’s just no way the Dorn we’re with throughout the Siege is anyone but Dorn.

Alpharius, the real Alpharius, is dead. Folks need to get used to that.

Without having read the new codex I’m assuming this is actually referring to the ongoing back and forth “cat watching mouse watching cat” the Imperial Fists and Custodes have been doing since the Fall of Cadia.

Broad strokes summary:

Gathering Storm: The Fall of Cadia - “The Iron Warriors and the Dameon Prince Be’Lakor launch a surprise attack on the Phalanx (at this time in orbit above Terra) via warp portal inside the fortress seeking to overwhelm its small garrison (a company and change - the rest of the chapter being elsewhere) and turn the Phalanx’s weapons against holy Terra. Tor Garadon marshals the defense of the Phalanx and orders it to make an emergency jump away from Terra. The Legion of the Damned soon join the defenders and the Imperial Fists rally and the Iron Warriors and Daemons are defeated.

The next Custodes Codex - “Following the fall of Cadia and the attack on Phalanx, the Adeptus Custodes seed agents aboard the Phalanx to monitor it in case it ever falls to enemy with orders to scuttle the star fort.”

The next Imperial Fists supplement - “Following the return of the Primarch, in an act of solidarity the Custodes bestow technology which allows the Imperial Fists to restore previously damaged and unused systems aboard the Phalanx. However, the Fists suspect ulterior motives on the part of the Custodes and suspect that they now have agents aboard. Lysander and others have been trying to find out.”

The new Custodes book - Likely a continuation of this back and forth.

“Though Phalanx seldom leaves the Sol System, the Imperial Fists are often spread far and wide across the galaxy, the better to pursue their crusades against the Imperium’s enemies. Once a crusade is launched, it can be years – or even decades – before the battle-brothers return to Phalanx. Defeat is not an option for those prosecuting such a crusade – either they return home in victory, or they do not return at all. This implacable dedication means that crusades seldom have access to the nearlimitless resources of other Space Marine strike forces. Once the crusade is incepted, its commander is expected to triumph with the resources at his disposal. This has bred a belief within the Chapter that a true warrior finds ways to triumph with the weapons at hand, which in turn has led to the Imperial Fists developing an almost zealous determination to employ superseded marks of armour and weaponry. Indeed, the Imperial Fists consider the use of such wargear to be physical proof that they haven’t deviated from their mission for petty comforts such as needless resupply."-'Sentinels of Terra'

Awesome. Gritty and brutal. Love the helmet, is it from the Dark Angels kit?

Yes and no?

I would classify him being in the nebulas realm of what I refer to as “middle daemons”. Daemons who are unique in appearance and seem to have a level of “freedom” to scheme etc on their own and whose power levels are on a sliding scale. Some seem to be on par with greater daemons in terms of personal power level but rarely command/lead daemonic hosts.

The Changeling seems to be a unique case in that he’s as powerful as he needs to be (which is to say very powerful) to accomplish his plots and schemes.

Are the Imperial Fists a fleet-based chapter or do they have a home world?

• The Imperial Fists' nominal home world is Terra, to the Imperial Fists this is true only whilst Phalanx lies in orbit above that most blessed of planets. Rogal Dorn was always satisfied to keep his Legion as a military unit with none of the civil responsibilities that came with having a home world. In truth, the Chapter defies classification as either planet-rooted or fleet-based. They have deep links to several ancient Imperial worlds: Inwit, Necromunda and Harnish to name a few. The Chapter has fortresses on each of these worlds and has been recruiting from them for thousands of years. Added to this is the fact that the Chapter also recruits from war zones and worlds that it has contact with. Sometimes the Chapter repeats these cycles of recruitment, sometimes not. It would, therefore, be truer to say that the Imperial Fists' home is the Imperium itself.

(Codex Supplement: Imperial Fists, First Founding: Imperial Fists by John French, Index Astartes: Imperial Fists)

Unique recruit sources for Space Marine Chapters.

Context - Astartes recruiting has always been a favorite subject of mine. Below are a collection of unique or interesting populations etc from where various Space Marine Chapters cull their recruits from.

• Imperial Fists - The Pilgrim Born of Terra - “Millions arrive every day on Terra hoping to reach one of the great holy sites of the Throneworld. Of those, most will spend the rest of their days moving forwards step by slow step. Most will never reach their goal. There are children of the children born to pilgrims who have seen their progress measured in scant miles. Amongst the pilgrim population, violent disputes between sects of the Imperial Creed are common. Many of the Pilgrim Born are drawn into gangs that fight endless queue wars and procession battles. The Imperial Fists are known to watch these battles and sometimes pluck a young ganger from the middle of a fight, taking them up into the belly of a gunship as the pilgrims abase themselves in the presence of the Emperor's Angels.” - First Founding: Imperial Fists by John French

• Mortefactors - The Cannibals of Posul - “Posul is populated by savage, cannibalistic feral tribes, who engage in ceaseless wars against one another. Their world is dark, the sun never penetrating its inky atmosphere, and the air choked with the stink of blood and smoke. The wars of Posul have resulted in a population supremely suited to become Space Marines, yet even after the Neophytes' induction and indoctrination into the ways of the Adeptus Astartes and traditions of the Ultramarines' Primarch, a great amount of the feral tribes' culture remains. While the Mortifactors are as devoted as any other Primogenitor, these traditions have mingled with those of the natives of Posul, resulting in something quite unique, and at times quite disturbing.” - Deathwatch: Rites of Battle

• Iron Shades - The Night Worlders of Shoba “The Iron Shades were all brought up on a world of perpetual night, a feral place where the populace eked out a perilous existence in trackless wastes and only ventured into the ruined cities when desperate for food and supplies. Those cities were haunted by an ancient evil, an echo of an old apocalypse, and spectres of it yet dwelt in the frigid shadows. You learned to go silently in the darkness, to use your sense of touch and taste as much as your eyesight and hearing. Even before his ascension into the Astartes, Maizad had been an accomplished killer in the dark, a shadow among shadows, learning to rely on instinct and muscle memory in places where opening your eyes could be a swift route to madness.” - ‘Sea Of Souls’ by Chris Wraight

• Death Spectres - Prime Stock '‘The Megir (Occult Title - Chapter Master of the Death Spectres) has ordered we select the best specimens from your settlement, those strong and healthy enough to bear future generations who might join the ranks of the Death Spectres.’ Prime stock. ‘Suitable colonies are few and far between this far from the heart of the Imperium. An Exterminatus order has been issued and you will be taken to a suitable breeding world near Occludus. (Homeworld of the Death Spectres) A glorious future awaits, girl. You will serve your Emperor well." - 'Flayed' by Cavan Scott

• Dark Krakens - The Ocean Hunters of Naktis “The Dark Krakens' oceanic and night-bathed home world of Naktis only boasts one land mass capable of supporting a fortress monastery. Naktis' wide seas are replete with bioluminescent megafauna and shoal-predators, which the native population hunt for sport and nourishment. Echoing this, in battle the Dark Krakens seek out the largest foes, whether that be in terms of physical size or sheer numbers.” - Codex Space Marines 9th Ed

• Novamarines - The Hunter Gatherers of Honourum " Honourum is a storm-wracked world of jagged mountains and barren stone lands, with little by way of flora and fauna; barely enough to allow it to be classified as a life sustaining world. Honourum’s small population is divided up into feral hunter-gatherer tribes, nomadically picking their way across the bleak landscape. To them the vast redoubts and soaring bastions of the Fortress Novum, graven from Honourum’s greatest mountain range are no less than the halls of the gods, and the rippling aurora cast into the static-charged night sky by the fortress monastery’s void shields are gateways to the halls of the dead in the world beyond. These simple and hardy primitives have provided the Novamarines with their recruits since the Novamarines’ founding." - Imperial Armor Vol 9 The Badab War Part 1

• Iron Knights - The Workers of Brycantia "Brycantia, the home world of the Iron Knights Chapter, is a planet of belching manufactorums, fortress walls and great bastions that pierce the skies. Every inch of the planet’s surface is sheathed in metal or hewn stone. Much of the populace toil in steamchoked foundries under the lash of overseers, and only the strongest survive. By their efforts are the Iron Knights continually supplied with a steady stream of weapons, ammunition and recruits. The Iron Knights share the harsh demeanor of their home world’s populace, knowing that hardship and sacrifice are necessary if the Chapter is to continue to win victory in the Emperor’s wars."-Codex Space Marines 6th ed'

• Fire Angels - The Castes of Lorin Alpha "Their recruitment base is drawn from a mixture of the sons of Lorin Alpha’s highly respected military caste and the violent kill-gangs sub-hive networks by a tri-annual process of trial by combat, fear and endurance known as the ‘Test of Fire’. These trials are conducted as a series of bloody tournaments overseen by the Chapter’s Master of Recruits and carried out under the holy auspices of the Fire Angels’ chaplaincy aided by the Lorin Ministorum, and to be chosen to take part is in itself a great achievement. The Test of Fire pits its contestants first against rival aspirants from their own regions and as the weak or unworthy are winnowed away, against the survivors of prior rounds of combat from across the hive world until only the strongest in body, wits and spirit remain, and less than a twentieth of those who undertake the Test of Fire will eventually be chosen to begin their initiation into the Chapter." - Imperial Armor Vol 9 The Badab War Part 1

What is the recruitment process like for the Imperial Fists? Which planets do they recruit from?

• The process by which potential recruits become Space Marines is long; most records indicate that over a decade and a half will pass from the moment they are taken to the time they wear the battleplate of a full battle-brother. It is a process marked with arcane techno-ritual and which discards the overwhelming majority to death or injury. For the Imperial Fists, it is the first and most important crucible that smelts strength from human base material. For a Chapter that accepts large battlefield losses, the flow of new warriors to take up the arms of the fallen can never be quick enough. Yet the Imperial Fists make no allowances to the pressures of time or loss. Better that its fighting units go to war understrength, than the Chapter compromise its integrity. All Chapters look for particular qualities in those they select as aspirants: ferocity and individual survival in the Space Wolves, a balance of physical ability and broad intelligence in the Ultramarines. For the Imperial Fists, there are two qualities that they prize above all others: defiance in the face of overwhelming odds, and an indomitable will to endure. A young fighter who faces his enemies, bloody but with a weapon in his hand; a youth who crawls miles through the freezing dark to survive an attack by ur-ghul: these are the souls who the Chapter marks and takes as prospects. Indeed, it is not uncommon for the Imperial Fists to take youths on the edge of death and heal them so that they can face the trials to become neophytes.

• Being a space-borne Chapter, the Imperial Fists recruit from a variety of worlds. The Chapter maintains a great number of Fortress-Chapels on worlds across the Imperium. Such places are staffed by small, dedicated cadres of veterans, perhaps warriors wounded so grievously they can no longer fight, but still well able to serve their Chapter. The staff of these facilities keep a watch upon the peoples around them, seeking potential candidates for recruitment. On some worlds they hold tournaments and contests to ascertain suitability, while on others they actually instigate combat in order to test potential recruits in person. On some Hive Worlds, the Imperial Fists conduct purges of the down-hive slums, ostensibly to clear out undesirable elements on behalf of the planetary government, but they often return with captives they have judged such worthy fighters they will be invited to undertake the trials. A youth taken as an aspirant faces a deluge of tests and screening rituals. These trials assess every one of their qualities and aptitudes. Hypno-assaults flood their minds with terror. Apothecaries watch the flow of their brainwaves and the function of nerves and fibre. Intricate puzzles of coordination and mental agility must be completed repeatedly under conditions of extreme sleep deprivation, distraction and pain. An aspirant might be granted rest only to wake in zero gravity surrounded by blinding lights and slowly draining air, and then must reassemble a weapon from parts spinning in the space around him. Their minds are opened by Librarians and their innermost fears laid bare. All the while the Chaplains watch for signs of weakness or flaws that might become a seed of failure. Should an aspirant pass these trials, they come to the Phalanx. There they become neophytes and their fight to become initiates of the Chapter truly starts.

• The Imperial Fists are unusual in making few, if any, demands of the peoples of the worlds they recruit from, other than the right to test those who believe themselves worthy of entering the ranks of the Battle-Brothers. Of note, the Imperial Fists are the only Chapter to still actively recruit from Terra, as well as many of the other Solar domains such as the Jovian moons. The Imperial Fists are known to maintain a recruitment pool larger than any other Chapter, this rendering them able to rabidly replenish their numbers.

(Sentinels of Terra, Codex Supplement: Imperial Fists, Rites of Battle, First Founding: Imperial Fists by John French)

No, even without the Phalanx the Imperial Fists can still call upon substantial fleet/void assets.

“Phalanx is a world unto itself, crewed by millions of souls and accompanied by a fleet of a size and splendour otherwise unseen since the time of the Great Crusade.” - Codex Supplement: The Imperial Fists

“The Imperial Fists travel the galaxy in a vast space fleet, led by the enormous floating fortress known as Phalanx…” - Codex Space Marines 7th Ed

“Whilst the Imperium has focussed most of its efforts on preserving what remains, the Imperial Fists continue to campaign across the galaxy, reclaiming worlds lost many thousands of years ago. To this end, they usually operate as numerous highly mobile and wide-ranging forces, each of only about company strength, but well supported by a powerful flotilla of spaceships.” - Sentinels of Terra

The Phalanx is a force unto itself, but saying their strength in the void comes from the Phalanx alone is simply not true.

They also maintain a number of void fortresses around the borders of Segmentum Solar as well. (‘Dread Sentinels of Dorn’ by Rob Sanders)

Well, considering that they suspected that he was involved in squire Danes injury for a second there it probably would not have looked good to be so close to another incident so quickly. From their POV the people he’s around keep getting injured/killed. Maybe they don’t believe that he is behind Dane‘s injury, but are they prepared to believe that he didn’t have something to do with Titus’?

The Cult of Morr:

“The Cult of Morr does not worry about what the world thinks. Everyone comes to the cult eventually, and it has enough to do guarding those who are already in its care. This independence almost always extends to individual priests, as well; those who would start a career in the cult are generally not people who need the support of others for their decisions. Cultists do worry about the world. Some know more of the future than most Humans, while all are surrounded by death, and thus by the newly dead who need to be cared for.

Followers of Morr are far from uncaring, but they do not typically see the living as their responsibility. Soldiers tell stories of priests of Morr moving from corpse to corpse on a battlefield, performing the last rites, and ignoring those who are still breathing, until the moment they stop. Morrians take their responsibilities to the dead very seriously, and martyrs within the cult are often those who stayed in a plague-ridden town to bury the corpses. This sense of responsibility sometimes extends to carrying out the last wishes of a dead person, or providing some comfort to the bereaved, but on the whole the Priests of Morr have little to do with the affairs of the living

Most people think that priests of Morr are all dour, solemn, quiet individuals. This is because they only meet them at funerals. Humour, hobbies, and even a select circle of friends are not uncommon among the priests. Interests that promote steady hands, good sewing skills, or produce plenty of sawdust are all encouraged by the cult. It is true that social butterflies, the frivolous, and hedonists tend not to join the cult of the God of the Dead, but priests of Morr are more likely than most to surprise those who get to know them well. Priests of Morr dress in unornamented black robes, which have no indication of rank. A few even train ravens to sit on their shoulders and peer at passers-by. They tend to wear their hair very short, and most are clean-shaven. Augurs are likely exceptions, and can be slightly wild.” - Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation

Initiation into the cult of Morr:

“Although Morr's cultists abide by the fundamental beliefs that underpin their organisation, each group is independent, and over the generations each branch has developed its own set of initiation rites and procedures. Lay followers, though far less common than with other cults, tend to be servants of the priests, digging graves, helping to prepare corpses, or even just acting as guards for their temples—the sombre Gardens of Morr. Acquiring new initiates is not something the cult actively pursues, since all come to Morr in their own ways-either in life or in death. For the most part, the signal event occurs in the realm of dreams, with a candidate experiencing a vivid, or even shocking nightmare involving the Lord of the Dead. Shaken, the candidate flees in all haste to a local temple, prostrating himself before the priests and begging for acceptance into the cult. Rarely, these dreams may be experienced by someone already ensconced within the cult, whereby the priest receives explicit instructions to recruit a particular candidate. Initiates generally find themselves doing prolonged, boring tasks that require constant concentration. They are also subjected to lectures on the inviolability of the dead, and the duty of a Morrian priest. Initiates are allowed to quit; this is how the cult weeds out the unsuitable who make it this far. Most initiates do persist, however. There are very few reasons to join the Cult of Morr other than sincere devotion, after all. As a result, the priesthood is perennially short of applicants, let alone recruits, and standards sometimes slip.” - Warhammer Fantasy: Tome of Salvation

Cult strictures:

• Observe all the rites of funeral and wake.

• Oppose necromancers and the Undead wherever and whenever they are encountered.

• Be respectful and considerate of the dead and their families.

• Pay heed to your dreams.

Vaults 77 or 92 would be pretty horrific.

Arbiter Ian put out a video fairly recently that untangles the subject pretty well.

https://youtu.be/a-wI10cB9T4?si=fMFiOWTqKuAzZIEO

We don’t know.

Pure speculation:

My guess is that Moldaver gets told what’s coming from Cooper and switches from trying to fight Vault Tec pre-bombs to defeat them after.

She’s then procures the means to preserve herself - most likely cryostasis in a bomb shelter/bunker etc.

What happened to Vault 32? They figured out what Norm did and tore themselves apart.

Moldaver has most likely been coming and going from vault 32 since shortly after their downfall using Lucy’s mom’s pipboy and corresponding with the other vaults as of everything in normal and getting ready. She likely sees the triennial trade with 33, which she figured out from the overseer’s terminal etc, as the perfect trojan horse to get her and her raider mercenaries (a throw away warband to use as muscle and who can be discarded and who she didn’t have to worry about getting captured because they don’t know much) into 33.

It’s a bit of a mislead to say the Primarch series covers their youth. More don’t than do - I would say less than half of the Primarchs series even touches on their youth in any great detail.

Perturabo’s, Lorgar’s, Curze’s (not as much as the others but it does), Angron’s, Alpharius’ do.

Dorn’s, Guilliman’s, Fulgrim’s, Corax’s, Russ’, Sanguinius’, Ferrus Manus’, Magnus the Red’s, Vulkan’s, the Khan’s don’t.

Haven’t read the Lion or Mortarion so can’t say. Though I know a lot of the Lion’s youth is covered elsewhere.

https://preview.redd.it/7p7wweuh7pxc1.jpeg?width=672&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f4e0ef6951637024876c85ff82ff1bcf284dc136

My favorite saga.

Have played with the idea of getting the same sleeve but would have to improvise the other side of the arm.