Age of the Emporer part 2: The Horus Heresy

Last weekend I was fortunate enough to attend the AoTE event in Warhammer World, Nottingham. It was organised by the guys from Tempus Fugitives, who had put a tremendous amount of work into not only organising the event but writing a complete campaign pack complete with missions, special rules and even artwork. For anyone looking for a great campaign pack and rules system for this period of Pre-Heresy, click here!

Perhaps the most exhilarating part of the weekend was the sheer number of pre-heresy armies on display, and playing against them. My World Eaters were part of an expedition made up of Iron Warriors and Imperial Army, assaulting an agricultural world which was being held by the Imperial Fists. Essentially the story for this part of the campaign revolved around Horus attempting to stockpile foodstuffs - Initial vanguard assaults (which included a doubles game and planetstrike) resulted in massive victory for the forces of the Warmaster (I think 75% of games were won by the traitor forces in these 2 games). Much of the grain was stockpiled and sent into orbit despite the efforts of the defenders. However, with their backs against the wall and ordered to withdraw, the Imperial Fists instead fought back and managed to bring the assaulting World Eaters and Iron Warriors to a standstill. I found it quite characterful that the 12th Legion stayed on the world to try and wipe out the Imperial Fists, despite it not being strategically logical to do so! I think overall the result of my teams part of the campaign was a draw but with weighting towards the Warmaster forces for managing to secure their primary objective despite later losses.



This photo was taken during the 'Heavy Assault doubles' game, a massive 5000pt a side game which saw mine and a chap named Phil's World Eaters take on a couple of Imperial Fist players! Even though the game ended in a minor defeat for the traitor forces, it was excellent fun with some very memorable moments!

Over the next couple of days I'll follow this post with more updates, with pictures of other World Eater forces present at the event as well as individual battle reports.

The Great Crusade: Squad Painting Competition

The Pre-Heresy forum, The Great Crusade, is currently running a squad painting competition which is well worth taking a look at!

More than any other single resource I have to say the Great Crusade has been the biggest source of information and material for my force, and whats more its populated by some thoroughly helpful and friendly guys! If you're thinking of having a go at Pre-Heresy, or even just fancy having a look in the painting section or background stories, then I'd thoroughly recommend pointing your browser in its direction.

Here is my entry for the competition (featuring my commander of the force which I have yet to profile). Apologies for the poor picture quality, it was taken late at night to try and squeeze it within the deadline!

Assault Squad Gabor, led by Commander of the 591st Expedition Leonid:

Bale, Berserker Dreadnought

My first update in a while, a result of having to try and get everything painted for AoTE II which is only 9 days away! The special character 'Bale' is part of the Tempus Fugitives Warmaster campaign Pack, a wonderful set of rules which give the opportunity to come up with some characterful pre-heresy modelling!

For the time being, here are photos of Bale, with a story referenced from IA: World Eaters and the Tempus Fugitives Campaign Pack:



Bale is made from both the Loyalist and Chaos dreadnought kits. I favoured a single chain-weapon and powefist, rather than the usual two chain-weapon approach; This was partly to differentiate it from the post-heresy Khorne dreadnought, and also because personally I like to think that the dreadnought can manipulate objects with its fist, and is not forced into Edward Scissorhand-like incompetence when trying to do anything other than kill things!

I did toy with the idea of building a more recognisably 'pre-heresy' dreadnought, such as those featured within Collected Visions but I had to weigh the ability to get this model finished in a limited time frame against it. Perhaps next time, although I have to say I do love the FW World Eater Dreadnought and have wanted to get my hands on it for some time.



I attached the arm with rare earth magnets so it can be rotated, and removed if necessary. The fist also rotates, in the way that the Blood Raven's Dreadnought demonstrates in the DoW intro.




This is just a small diorama which has been added to the base. At first glance it looks fairly innocuous, but pause for a moment and consider what kind of weapon could do that much damage to a power-armoured marine? Was it simply a massive explosion (perhaps an anti-tank mine or some such like) or an exotic energy weapon? Or was it in fact something far more sinister? I leave you to decide...

Below is a short story, the Tale of Bale if you like, referenced from the IA: World Eaters article, and the Tempus Fugitives narrative of his character (with my own embellishments added):

A veteran of the Unification Wars and and Commander of the XII Legion before the coming of Angron, Bale successfully led the War Hounds for several decades at the forefront of the Great Crusade. But, it was during the attack on the final fortress of the world of Arigatta that Bale would lead his final assault.

Arigatta was a heavily fortified world with military technology that dated back to the dark ages of science, and as such Horus had committed no less than 3 legions in the form of the Luna Wolves, Ultramarines and World Eaters to bringing the world into compliance. A successful campaign had forced the withdrawal of the forces of Arigatta until only a single location remained in enemy hands in the form of a mighty citadel. Day and night the walls were bombarded by artillery and from orbit; but the walls held, and only a single narrow breach was made in it. Wasting no time Horus ordered Angron and the World Eaters into the narrow defile.

The screaming roar of the World Eaters as they charged was lost in a maelstrom of cannon fire and exotic energy weapons. Bale was one of the first to fall, recently installed neural implants ensuring that he was at the forefront of the attack, his artisan armour (a gift from a commander of the Blood Angels) no defense against the hyper-technology of the defenders. His body was rent asunder in a criss-cross of laser beams and he collapsed screaming in rage. Bellowing his name and that of their Primarch almost 3 entire companies charged the fortress, a ramp made of their own dead to reach the occupants within. When the defense of the final fortress of Arigatta finally buckled, over 200 Astartes lay dead or seriously wounded, but the toll which they exacted on the withered defenders of the fortress would go down in infamy in the history of the Legion...

Bale was still somehow alive, but was on the point of death. Unwilling to lose one of his most able commanders Angron ordered him installed within a dreadnought suit. Whether due to the expiration of his mortal coil, or the presence of the neural implants, Bale was no longer the Astartes of before. Gone was the calculating and brilliant commander of the 12th Legion, and with it replaced a being of insatiable hatred and bloodlust. Confined within an adamantium cage Bale howled at his containment, relishing the moment he would be released to crush and tear at its enemies once more.

Battle Damaged Berserker

This miniature began life as a test for modelling battle damage. Somehow it seemed appropriate that it become a Berserker - you can imagine them continuing to fight, being at the forefront of an assault as the enemy desperately blaze away! I've tried to model him in a fairly relaxed pose; The battle is over, he's got his prize and his neural implants have deactivated. Are his wounds finally catching up with him, or is it instead a moment of reflection?




I've attempted to model a mix of different types of damage: There is projectile damage, which was done by drilling a small hole and then shaving outwards from the rim with a craft knife, and I also carved some runnels to represent glancing shots or even melee damage. Finally, I added some GS to his chest plate and left knee to make it look like the armour had been hit by some kind of energy or heat weapon and melted! Iacton over at the Greatcrusade offered some great advice on painting armour damage, starting with a darker grey colour and then using lighter shades on the bottom of the hollow to make it look like its catching the light, and I've attempted to use that here.

I added a single arterial blood splatter accross his chest, perhaps from the final and killing blow on the poor unfortunate who's head he now carries in his hand! The head is from the WFB zombie sprue (which has a great selection of gormless looking heads for things like this!) with GS used for the hair.

WIP Assault troopers

I've previously posted pictures of a completed assault trooper utilising the new pre-heresy components from Maxmini, but I thought that it might be beneficial to post pictures of how they look unpainted, and with their components labelled:



Both models are comprised of Chaos Berserker torsos (with iconography removed) standard marine assault troop legs, and a mix of loyalist and traitor weaponry. Both of the shoulder pads have had studs added (see the mk5 armour tutorial), and I have greenstuffed the chainmail. I think this adds a slightly more archaic/barbaric look to the marines, which combined with the mk3 helmet and giant turbofans of the Maxmini jump pack makes their equipment to be longstanding issue of the legion since the earlier days of the Crusade, and contrasts with the more recent recruits into the legion who sport mk4 armour and a more streamlined jump pack.

The small sticks on the back of jump packs are just their for the convenience of painting!

Terminator Squad Wavranka

On the wide open, wind swept and irradiated deserts of Konos III the few terminator suits of the 591st expedition had little direct application. Originally built several centuries earlier as the 'Cobra' designation exo-suits, designed for use in high pressure atmospheres, and then later partly modified with the latest 'Cataphracti' reactive armour design, the Terminators under Sergeant Wavranka took part in few actions during the compliance of Konos III; Their one notable involvement was their teleporting within the command headquarters of the Southern Confederacy during the final assault of that campaign. Sergeant Wavranka later received some condemnation from elements of the Imperial Army and expedition for failing to leave any survivors from amongst the ruling legislature during the assault, although notably there was no official reprimand from within the Legion itself nor from Commander of the Fleet Borya.





These miniatures are comprised of both loyalist and chaos terminators, although for the most part most of the chaos iconography has been removed - I did however leave a little bit on to represent both the more 'barbaric' look of some of the terminators in Collected Visions and perhaps to create the slight allusion that these marines are not quite so squeaky clean as they might once have been.

The shoulder pads are resin casts from a website called Wookiehole* with some extra studs added, and the storm bolters of the marines have been modified to a magazine fed rather than belt fed weapon, (along with a single barrel) to differentiate them from later weapon developments. The sergeant, perhaps due to his position, wields a prototype storm bolter.

The chainmail is greenstuff, and I've added a slight amount of weapon damage to represent the few shots which hit home during the assault in the campaign named above! Finally, the helmets are shaved down berserker helms, which are markedly similar to the 'Cobra' pattern helmets found on some of the early Rogue Trader-era terminator miniature seen below:



This is not only a reference to the Rogue Trader influence running through Collected Visions, but also helps mark the suits as being a direct descendant of the exo-armour suits from which terminator armour was originally derived.

*Sadly Wookiehole doesn't seem to be offering it services at the time of writing, although this could be something to do with its owner being in the process of opening a new Bricks and Mortar store in Aldershot, UK (Click here to be taken to that website). They are a great addition for pre-heresy modellers however, and hopefully they will become available again at some point in the future!
++EDIT++ I've just heard that the website above will be stocking the above parts at the end of August, so great news!

How to represent Pre-Heresy World Eaters within the Warhammer 40,000 game system?

For anyone thinking of creating a force of Pre-Heresy World Eaters, and wanting to go beyond a modelling project and assemble them on the tabletop, this has to be one of the most important questions. It's certainly an issue which appears frequently within the forum community, and was one that I spent a great deal of time deliberating over! So, I thought I would share some of my experiences here, and offer the best advice I can in order to choose an appropriate codex or set of rules.

First of all, perhaps the most important issue concerns what exactly constitutes 'Pre-Heresy', as this is a carte blanche term which can cover a great period of time that saw many changes within the Legion. Are you setting your force as the one which took part in the Great Crusade, and helped create the Imperium as we know it, or the blood-maddened psychopaths of Angron who took part in the assault of the Emporer's Palace? Do you want to represent the 'War Hounds' as a newly created regiment, or perhaps something in between? The character of the Legion varies widely over the 200 years + which constitutes this period, and so perhaps the most apt method is to categorise the World Eaters into the various stages and mark its transformation through the ages.

The information for the summary below is taken from the IA: World Eaters, the Horus Heresy book series (various) and the Horus Heresy Collected Visions books.

Early-Mid Great Crusade
Which Codex? Codex: Space Marines
Prior to the discovery of their Primarch Angron (which did not happen until much later in the Great Crusade) the World Eaters (or War Hounds as they were then known) were a Legion much like any other. Although they had a bias towards assault, they were still comprised of Astartes who filled other roles within the legion, such as tactical and support troops. From the evidence we have of the Legion at this time, Codex: Space Marines will allow you to field the legion from this era with some accuracy. It is possible to represent the assault-orientation of the Legion through use of veteran assault units (Vanguard) and motorised units, and even special characters using the 'counts as' rules. I would also recommend this rule set for unification-era and very early Crusade War Hound forces.

Late Great Crusade
Which Codex? Codex: Blood Angels
This period is characterised by the discovery of Angron and the changes he began to bring to the Legion once he was instated as Primarch. As such, although the Legion still had a role for generic marine units, there was more and more emphasis put into close assault units. The Blood Angels codex is ideal for this for several reasons: It allows you to represent the notorious World Eaters Berserkers, marines who had neural implants added (counts as BA Death Company), while still using standard marine units. It also allows a large amount of assault troops (which are a 'troops' choice in Codex: BA, unlike in Codex: Space Marines), and some hideously powerful characters (such as Dante, Lemartes and Corbulo) which will boost the assault power of your units still further. Obviously, these characters should not represented as their Blood Angel namesakes, but simply use the 'counts as' rules for special characters as I have here for World Eater Captain Sevruk (who is 'counts as' Lemartes). If you are a player who enjoys creating narrative and fleshing out your force, this will also give you a great chance to flex your imagination!
This is my personal favourite period, and one which I would recommend, as it allows you to not only field a distinct pre-heresy force with the character of the World Eaters, but also one which is differentiated from the post-heresy Khorne legion.
Alternatives? Codex: Chaos Space Marines or Codex: Space Marines
The World Eater Legion was not in one place during the Great Crusade and was spread throughout the galaxy as part of various expeditions. You might decide that a Company or Chapter of Marines of this era were separated from the Primarch at this time, or perhaps had a Terran commander who was not enamoured with the use of neural implants, and so the Astartes there still resemble the Legion of old albeit with more contemporary equipment. Remember that Angron had to 'iron out the flaws' in the Legion at Istvaan in the same way as the other traitor Primarchs, which indicates a certain level of resistance to the direction the Legion is taking. Similarly, there might also be components of the Crusade that take on Angron's new initiatives wholeheartedly, committing all of their marines to the psycho-surgery; in this case, Codex: Chaos Space Marines would be more appropriate.
Another Alternative! (Many thanks to Raptor1313 for pointing this out) Codex: Black Templars
There are several character traits of the Black Templars which would suit a post-Angron World Eater force perfectly. First of all, the Righteous Zeal special rule represents the WE wanting to get to grips with the foe shooting them and similarly being fearless might be characteristic of the legion. However, its the Black Templar 'vow' system which can give a great semblance of the World Eaters in combat - specifically, Accept any challenge, which forces units to charge if able to, and then gives them the 'preferred enemy' special rule (now very powerful in 5th edition). Even Suffer not the unclean to live might be useful in that it could represent relatively slower but more savage attacks.
Some of the special characters could also be converted into WE special characters with only a bit of imagination. Finally, I think the only other point to consider is that not everything fits - the BT neophyte/initiate system for example, but as always its up to the prudence of the collector to use their own initiative as to what is viable!

During the Heresy
Which Codex? Codex: Chaos Space Marines
We are told by the IA: World Eaters that eventually nearly every marine within the Legion had the neural implants fitted, turning them into raging lunatics on the field of battles. As such, a themed Khorne Berserker army would seem ideal to represent this. This has the added bonus of characters such as Kharn (who was surely as formidable in his pre-heresy guise) being usable.
Alternatives? Codex: Blood Angels, Codex: Black Templars
One of the main difficulties with the Chaos Marine Codex is its lack of wargear and vehicles when compared to the loyalist Marine Codices. A themed army list from Codex: BA will allow you these choice while maintaining the assault-orientated theme of the army. Looking at the rumours for the new Codex for Flesh Tearer Chapter Master Seth, apparently he will give the entire army the Furious Charge and Rage special rules! If you like spending time moving your miniatures, he might well be a good option!

What other Options are there?
Creating an army which matches the background narrative
There are alot of 'do's and 'dont's' when creating a pre-heresy army, such as knowing which vehicles which were not in use, and which extra ones are. The list is far too comprehensive to print here, I would recommend looking at this section of the Great Crusade forum to obtain more information. Much depends on how accurate you want to be - certainly, its possible to attain frightening levels of banality if you are prepared to spend many man hours studying the source materials!

House Rules
For those lucky enough to have a close-knit gaming group which tolerates the use of house rules then really the only limit is time, money and imagination! There are troop types and vehicles represented in various pre-heresy sources which are not present in any codex, and so would require the creation of special rules to run them. Perhaps you want a squad of jetbikes, a support squad of marines all armed with flamers and with jump packs, or even special character rules for someone like Dreagher or even Angron?! Making house rules for these characters is an ideal way to create a more characterful and accurate pre-heresy force.

For some examples of using house rules, please check out the following:

Bell of Lost Souls: Age of Heresy V2.5 -
Excellent mini-dex, is slightly out of date now but offers special character and specific pre-heresy weapon rules. Also includes an apocalypse formation as well as themed campaign battles to try out.

Tempus Fugitives Campaign Pack -
Extremely detailed house rules for the Tempus Fugitives own campaign weekend! Have rules for both Crusade and Heresy era World Eaters, as well as a plethora of rules for special units such as new vehicles and units! The professional looking PDF document is well worth a download, although you will need to register with the site first.

A Final Note
Although the suggestions I have posted thus far might seem quite set in their ways, one of the beauties of Pre-Heresy modelling and collecting is that it is far less rigid in its outlook than its 40k counterpart! Despite the recent influx of material on the events of the Crusade and Heresy, much is still unknown and we have been left a rather large void for our imaginations to fill. So, if you like the idea of frothing berserkers during the Crusade, or a force of stalwart tactical marines assaulting the walls of the Emporer's Palace then go ahead and make it! The above is only my own supposition and interpretation of events, and after all the Heresy happened over 10,000 years ago so who is to say what exactly is the truth? :)

The most important thing is having a force you are happy to spend time making, and are then proud of when it can finally take its place on the tabletop!