Lambach Kropor

Lambach Kropor
Title/Honours	Master of Undeath
Discovered (world)	Miletus
Discovered (period)	850.M30
Legion	Chosen of Hecate
Great Crusade Command	Primarch, 414th Expeditionary fleet
Unique Weapon	Venus Gospel
Distinguishing Traits	Confidant and Knowledgeable, Powerful psyker.
Flaws	Overconfidence
Role	Traitor (Nurgle)
Fate	Daemon Prince of Nurgle

This page is part of the Warmasters Triumvirate, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the Warmasters Triumvirate page for more information on the Alternate Universe.

Lambach Kropor is the Primarch of the Chosen of Hecate Space Marine Legion. He was a calm and collected man. Possessing a fierce intellect and sharp wit. Raised on the peaceful planet Miletus, Kropor, unlike many of his brothers had no desire to rule over the mortal populace and strongly believed that the future of the Human race was paved on the psychic path. A vision he was led to believe was shared by his Father, the Emperor of Mankind. This illusion would be shattered at the council of Nikea and ultimately lead Lambach to the embrace of Nurgle.

History

Primarch Origin

Lambach grew up on the planet Miletus, a thriving, peaceful and technologically advanced world with a strong but fair planetary government. Because of this, unlike most of his brothers, Lambach did not grow into a military leadership role. Due to this fact despite the relative closeness of Miletus to Terra Lambach was originally skipped over by the great crusade; the Emperor being distracted on the other side of the universe chasing rumors of his other sons did not help the situation.

When he was found as a baby he was given over into public service, like all other orphans on the planet. Eventually he found himself working for the Temple of Hecate, dedicated to the teachings of the ancient goddess of death and rebirth. While the Gods themselves had long since been abolished on Miletus, their teachings were still closely followed as they laid down a decent groundwork for the society.

As Lambach aged to adulthood he began to rapidly harness his mental powers. Realizing that his own raw psychic power could be greatly amplified through diligent study and what could only be described as ritual spell casting, the Primarch's natural affinity for the warp fueled his willingness to learn all he could and devote his time to study rather than warfare. Lambach was seen as some kind of anomaly to be studied and drew a lot of attention. Many thought that perhaps they had been wrong to banish the Gods; certainly, the young man had many of the godlike traits described in the most ancient of the planet’s texts. Unknown to Lambach, his arrival had shattered what was once a firm belief that Gods did not exist and there were some who began to look into older, ancient powers. Lambach quickly mastered all the teachings of all the schools on Miletus and quickly surpassed even the most highly trained and naturally skilled warriors on the planet, with his favorite weapon being the spear. He found the weapon to have a perfect balance of offensive and defensive abilities, matching his balanced personality perfectly.

Lambach would come to place great value on the acquisition and retention of knowledge in all of its forms during his upbringing and firmly believed that the path of the psychic was the only way forward for humanity as a species. Not having to grow up in a constant struggle like most of his brothers, Lambach bore a cheerful disposition and an understanding that while war was perhaps sometimes necessary it should never be treated as a final solution; integration was far more valuable than extermination in his eyes.

Due to the discovery of Primarch Rahman Keita'mansa the Emperor soon heard news of the child anomaly on a planet not far from Terra, already under Imperial control. The Master of Mankind made great haste to meet what could only be one of his missing sons. Once the two met Kropor instantly knew this was his Father. He could not help but love him. Finally the Primarch understood his place in the universe. Father and son spent a full week on Miletus discussing at lengths the varied advantages and dangers of psychic potential in mankind. Lambach believed he and his father both shared the same vision for mankind's future. Lambach swore loyalty to his father and vowed to harness humanity's fullest potential from wherever it was to be found across the stars. He was given control of the VIIIth Legion, then named the Warp Claws, clad in dark green armor. The Warp Claws had suffered massive losses in numerous campaigns. While they were waiting for their Primarch scarcely more than a few thousand marines remained. Lambach made the decision that his legion would be reborn. He changed their name to the Chosen of Hecate, and the armor colors would change along with the name. To appease any dissent within the ranks about changes, he declared all robes and adornments should match the old armor colors. From then on Librarians within the Legion would be referred to as Warp Claws.

The Great Crusade

During the Great Crusade Lambach would often leave management of the 414^th fleet to his First Captain and friend Radcliff Kaden in order to make visits to his brothers' legions and help to install the Librarian program he, Bishop and Pacha had set up throughout the Legions. While Kropor was generally well liked by most of his brothers for his amicable disposition there were those among the brotherhood who considered Lambach to be ill-fit to lead a legion or indeed mankind at all, though in truth Lambach was more than competent he simply had no desire for such things in the long term.

Lambach had extremely close bonds with Linares of the Silver Blades, whom he began his time in the crusades fighting alongside. Raj Vokar of the Titan Marchers was the brother most in tune with Lambach's own character. Je'she of the Sentinels was respected more than any other for the Warmaster's skill in warfare and desire to make it obsolete. Pacha of the Golden Mountains as the two shared in humble beginnings and love for their people. Elsu of the Soaring Host who would greatly appreciate Lambach's acceptance of his mutations in an Imperium that saw him as an outcast and Gyhadred of the Dusk Phantoms who would share with Lambach his Legions dark secret and would gift Lambach with his favored weapon, the Venus Gospel.

Lambach's relationship with his brother Ashur of the Loxodontii was another story entirely. While on the surface the two brothers should seemingly have been the closest of friends their varying opinions of the use of Psykers within the Legions drove a wedge between them and open hostilities would often boil beneath the surface of any encounter the pair had.

Lambach's firm belief that knowledge and experience should be retained at all costs combined with the fact that the freshly renamed Chosen of Hecate legion's numbers were at an all time low meant Lambach became obsessed with preserving his sons as best he could. To this end Lambach became incredibly interested in the Dreadnought relics the Imperium had to offer. The Emperor granted his request and by the time the Chosen of Hecate had regained sufficient strength to once again stand alone as a Legion they were able to field a great deal more of the Dreadnought veterans than any other Legion. Kropor's obsession with these relics lead to his brothers jokingly bestowing on him the title Master of Undeath.

Lambach, believing that psykers were the way of the future, would time and again go out of his way to recruit promising individuals into the legion, making sure they were well trained and versed in their arts as he knew the dangers inherent in an untrained mind. Lambach and his Chosen would often be deployed against civilizations that relied heavily on the use of the warp-touched and would go to great lengths to preserve what they could of such cultures, always trying first to integrate these societies rather than simply tear them down. Several of his brothers saw this as a weakness for varying reasons and it was exactly this difference of opinions that lead to the animosity between Lambach and his brother Ashur. When the two first met Lambach was overjoyed for he had found a brother who would share in his own less warlike interests. However at the conclusion of their first joint operation Lambach made use of his legion's warp talents to try and subdue the occupants of the capital city; recognizing immediately the potential of the world's populace Lambach wished integrate them into the Imperium. Ashur himself was mortified that his brother was a psyker; he saw such things as evil witchcraft and the XIII legion would tear down and destroy the psychic where ever he was to be found. The Primarchs narrowly avoided coming to blows, but a rift was torn between the two brothers.

For Lambach the Great Crusade was a glorious time, his vision of the future for mankind was certain to come to fruition. All of this changed with the Council of Nikea. With the Emperors decree all Lambach thought he knew crumbled. For the Chosen of Hecate the golden age of the Great Crusade died that day. Originally the Chosen complied with the Emperors orders; to Lambach's sorrow he ordered all of his psykers into a specialized chapter known as the Speartip, effectively a suicide chapter that would be deployed as the first wave on any new planet the Chosen of Hecate fought on. The Primarch would have his favored sons die as heroes of the Imperium rather than force them to live the rest of their days as blind, deaf men. Gone were the days of integration; Lambach and his Chosen thrust deep into uncharted space, annihilating civilizations with the same ferocity that the Death's Heads or Iron Guard were famous for. Each member lost of the Spear Tip chipping away at Lambach's once cheerful personality, until finally with the Death of Radcliff Kaden the Primarch of the Chosen of Hecate could suffer no more unnecessary losses.

Brotherwar

For Lambach and the Chosen of Hecate, the Brotherwar would start much earlier than for the others.

The Chosen of Hecate played no part in the Ullanor campaign that saw the naming of the three warmasters, though it is assumed Lambach's support would have been for his long time friend and mentor Je'she (though after feeling slighted by Je'she at Nikea perhaps this may not have been the case). The Chosen, singularly among the Legions, sent no envoys to the Imperial palace when they received word of the Emperor's injury and interment into the Golden Throne.

After the death of so many of his sons and finally his favored son and best friend Radcliff Kaden, Lambach snapped. The Primarch had not been idle while his legion ground itself down on the fringes of the galaxy; Lambach had gathered all the knowledge and wisdom he had been able to gather over the course of the crusade. He had learned much of what the Emperor was trying to hide from his sons and indeed the entire Imperium. He now understood about the greater creatures that lived beyond the veil-- or so he thought...

Distraught at the loss of his closest son, Lambach invoked a spell he had learned during his studies of the ancient texts, a spell from the forbidden lore of the Goddess Hecate herself. A spell of rebirth. This spell made use of vile magics and had been locked away in ancient times for a very good reason. The bodies of Kaden and his men would indeed rise again, to Lambach’s rejoicing, but this joy was short-lived. Kaden and his men were mindless husks of their former selves that immediately attacked their former brothers. They clawed at their armour and tried to bite their flesh. Lambach realized that with the power of his absolute will he could control the awful abominations he had created and that he could calm them and direct their actions.

This was not the only repercussion of the hex that Lambach had wrought. It sent a shriek through the warp. Many ancient beings turned their attentions towards the Master of Undeath. Back on Terra Malcador also took note, and realised that Kropor had made a horrible transgression. Malcador informed Warmaster Je’She, a close friend of Lambach. Je’she, though new to power could not let such a huge oversight of his father's last decree go unpunished. So it was with a heavy heart he sent summons to Linares of the Silver Blades and Raj Vokar of the Titan Marchers, two of Lambach’s closest brothers and friends. They were to track down Lambach Kropor, disable his Legion and bring him back to Terra.

The three Legions met on Lambach's home world of Miletus. Lambach was pleased to see his two closest brothers, though Linares and Raj could barely recognize him as the man they once knew. Kropor was convinced that he would be able to convince his two brothers to join his crusade and demand of the Emperor answers to why they were betrayed. After all Linares had always been Lambach's main supporter of the Librarian cause and the Chosen of Hecate had greatly guided and aided the Silver Blades Librarian program. Raj, Lambach knew also had his doubts to the direction the Imperium was taking and had questions of his own.

However it was not to be. Lambach's brothers both proved more loyal to the Imperium than to Lambach; while the Master of Undeath was shocked by this outcome he was also prepared for it. A trap was sprung on the superior numbers of the loyal Primarchs, Lambach's newfound undead servants causing devastation to their ranks. Lambach entered a duel with Linares while the rat-like creature that was now Radcliff Kaden engaged Raj.

In their long history of friendly duels Lambach had never once bested Linares, who was considered by most others to have been the best swordsman among the brotherhood, but this time was different. For the first time Lambach fought his brother with his full psychic potential unleashed and for the first time Linares gave ground to Kropor's onslaught. Lambach could perhaps have come away from this battle victorious but still he was sure that he could convince his brothers to join their forces with his own. Instead of striking Linares down when he had the chance, Lambach stopped and again offered Linares the chance to accompany him. This was all the time Linares needed and the Lord of Ale battered Lambach to the ground and pummeled him into submission, while Raj finished off the Kaden monster. At the same time Taarush Amin 1st Captain of the Titan Marchers located and disruptd the Chosen sorcerers who were maintaining the ritual spell which were animating the battlefield's dead, while Shipmaster Tijo Nosebi and Captain Parthenios, who had opposed Lambach's plan, led the other Chosen of Hecate who had disagreed with the Primarchs plan form the planet to seek shelter with Lord Gyahdred and the Dusk Phantoms.

As Linare's blade descended time seemed to stand still. Lambach rose from the ground. He could see everything. His brother still straddled his body, blade poised to pin him to the dias. Lambach felt the presence of two divine beings: The Weaver of Fate, eager to enlist a Psychic champion of Lambach’s renown, offered the Primarch phenomenal cosmic powers while Father Nurgle offered the Lord of Undeath true mastery of his titular abilities and eternal life for his men.

Linares blade stabbed down into Lambach’s chest, pinning the Master of Miletus to the floor. Linares leaned in close and was surprised to see a smile on his lips. Lambach let out a shrill shriek and suddenly burst into a swarm of plague ridden rats which swarmed over the Lord of Ale. Raj rushed to his brother’s aid and, with the help of flamer, the vermin were swiftly vanquished. Lambach was nowhere to be seen. Chosen of Hecate transports were taking off and being harried by the surviving Silver Blades and Titan Marchers. Lambach was gone. The Chosen had fled. Reports from the captains of the 54th fleet reported what seemed to be clouds of flies swarming their ships, preventing them from taking real action against the Chosen of Hecate fleet. There were no traces of Lambach to be found. The next time either Raj or Linares would see their brother would be at the side of Marduk Engur, Warmaster of Chaos.

Lambach and the Chosen were branded traitors against the Throne, and unsure of exactly what to do next, Lambach once again decided to place faith in a brother he shared a bond with, Elsu Eyanosa of the Soaring Host. Lambach led his battered fleet to the remote system that Elsu called home. Unknown to Lambach his mutant brother had already thrown in his lot in with Chaos several years beforehand. Lambach had been one of the very few brothers Elsu had a strong bond with; nearly every other Primarch, save Marduk, treated Elsu and his legion as an abomination. For four years Lambach and his Chosen licked their wounds on Thashunke. With Elsu's help Lambach came to terms with his new existence, learning exactly how to harness his new found power. Eventually Warmaster Marduk would arrive on Thashunke. Marduk would tell the brothers of his plan of recruiting several more legions, overthrowing the other Warmasters and putting an end to the Emperor. Both Lambach and Elsu saw they had no other option than to join Marduk's cause. While Marduk and Elsu would head to the planet of New Hope to set Marduk's master plan into motion Lambach assured Marduk that he would be able to convert Gyahdred and the Dusk Phantoms. After all, joining with Marduk's cause would free Dusk Phantoms of their closely guarded secret. Failing that, Lambach would disable the Phantoms and remove the threat they would pose as a Legion.

Gyahdred hosted Lambach on the Moon of Grethor. The two Primarchs met and talked at length, Lambach telling Gyahdred all that had happened and then offering the Dusk Phantoms a place at Marduks side. The Phantom Lord could not deny the offer was anything but tempting; joining with Lambach now would mean no more need to hide the shame of his Legion's dark secret. In the end, Gyahdred would refuse Lambach's offer and again Lambach would be stunned that another of his close brothers could turn him down, but he had promised Marduk that the Dusk Phantoms would be removed from play. Unknown to the Master of the Chosen, his very own former Ship Master Tijo Nosebi had fled with a small complement of his own sons from Miletus. They had sought shelter with the Dusk Phantoms and had carried word of Lambach's betrayal of the Silver Blades and Titan Marchers. As Lambach sought to close his trap Gyahdred's fleet made use of the knowledge Tijo had provided them and struck at the Chosen Fleet's most critical and vulnerable locations; strike teams had been prepared for the betrayal and were dispatched to shut down the Chosen sorcerers as swiftly as possible at the onset of battle. Lambach himself found his own psychic talents repressed in his duel with Gyahdred due to a technological dampener of the Phantom Lords own devising. Though the Dusk Phantoms were savagely bloodied, the Chosen of Hecate fleet was deemed crippled beyond serviceable use. Not knowing how Nurgle's curse affected the Chosen and figuring they had no time to completely wipe out what little remained of the Chosen fleet the Dusk Phantoms would rush from the system to carry news of Marduk's plan for betrayal, though Gyahdred's warnings would mostly fall on deaf ears. From this great loss the Chosen fleet would not fully recover until the Siege of Terra.

During this time Lambach Kropor would track down his brother Ashur, who was being held captive and collared by his own Legion in a state of mindless slumber, his once powerful body now mutated almost beyond recognition. Using his sorcery Lambach would wake Ashur and free his shackled mind, returning to his brother a modicum of his free will. Ashur of Banipal who had once both loved and despised Lambach with equal measure was now convinced that Lambach had been visited and blessed by the Babylonian gods and swore to join Lambach in Marduk's crusade.

At the siege of Terra Lambach's warpcraft and his Chosen of Hecate legionaries would prove instrumental to the Chaos invasion of the Throne World. Most notably taking control of Eternity Wall Spaceport, capturing and releasing his brother Raj Vokar. Every defender that fell in service to the throne would rise up at the command of the Master of Undeath.

Ultimately and somewhat ironically it would be the death of Raj that would cost the Chaos forces their victory on Terra. Once Deshain Kane of the Gunslingers had executed the Titan Lord, both Linares and Lambach flew into a rage and made to attack the newly formed Daemon Prince of Khorne. Realizing that neither stood a chance against Kane individually the two brothers fell into their old fighting habits. Seeing their masters fight against each other both the Chosen of Hecate and the Gunslingers also began to fight among themselves, effectively halting the Chaos push into the palace while the loyalists were able to reap a bloody harvest. Seeing his chance at victory fading Marduk Engur was forced to make one last desperate push for the Throne.

Linares and Lambach were able to banish Kane after a hard-won fight. Linares was then set to put an end to Kropor but Lambach pointed out that if Linares wasted time fighting him then none would be capable of standing before Marduk and the Emperor would be slain. Linares vowed that next time their paths crossed there would be a reckoning before departing. Lambach and the Chosen of Hecate would then withdraw from the Siege, taking the Body of Raj Vokar with him.

Fate & Legacy

Lambach did not ascend to the rank of Daemon Prince until well after the siege of Terra. His resistance to his own fate was a massively contributing factor in his slow transformation. Though by MK41 there is little left of the man that Lambach once was.

His physical body is now little more than a skeleton seemingly held together by warp magics. He sees with green wraith fire burning in the sockets where once his stone grey eyes would have been. The self assured smirk he was famous for now replaced by the rictus grin of a skull. Lank, ghostly white hair drapes his skeletal face, hanging to about shoulder length. An enormous crater, caused by the pistol of his Daemonic brother Deshain Kane, hollows out Lambach's chest allowing a view of his withered innards.

His once brightly polished battle plate, now dulled with time, hangs loosely about his form, cracked and cratered in countless places through decades of neglect. Lambach’s vibrant green, hooded cape, known during the Crusade as the Hide of the Nemean Lion, is now little more than a long and tattered robe, filthy with grave moss and the dusts of time.

The sickly green mist that permeates the corrupted version of Miletus follows in Lambach's wake whenever he decides to leave the world, wilting vegetation with its very presence. The lord of Undeath’s footfalls leave ghostly, green, burning footprints with each stride.

Amazingly Venus Gospel, Lambach's polearm, remains looking as if it were almost brand new, completely untouched by time or corruption. Though where once when activated it shone with the bright golden light of Lambach's power, now the same light is the pearlescent dark green of warp lightning.

What appears to be a ghostly, agonized face floats around his head; while others hear nothing Lambach himself will constantly prattle to it and chide it for interrupting his speeches. None know the origin of this “ghost”, Lambach believes it to be the sentience of his brother Raj while most of his closest advisers are certain it is merely a creation of Lambach’s own psychic energy that in his madness he has created to keep himself company.

After Warmaster Marduk's defeat at the siege of Terra Lambach Kropor retreated much like the other Legions, into the Eye of Terror with his fleet as well as the corpse of Raj Vokar. The Master of Undeath retired to his own world in the Eye and immediately set to turning it into a twisted version of his once beloved Miletus.

A sickly, green mist blankets the streets and grave moss and decay clings to what would once have been considered beautiful architecture. Lambach spends his time in the large temple he has had constructed, dedicated to Hecate which Lambach now knows was just an ancient incarnation of Nurgle itself, misconstrued by time. He is forever seeking the answer to the question that plagues him still: how to resurrect his dead brother. The corpse of Raj is kept in an eternal ward of stasis conjured by Lambach’s sorcery in order to prevent its decay. Lambach has grown increasingly insane with the frustration of this endeavor and while his constant experiments may yield success on regular humans they seemingly have no effect on Raj himself.

The Primarch of the VIII^th Legion rarely leaves his work but when he does it is to chase some rumor or snifter of knowledge pertaining to his impossible task that he feels he cannot trust his underlings with.

Rules

Lambach Kropor (Crusade Era) Tabletop:

Points 450 WS7 BS5 S6 T6 W6 I6 A5 Ld10 Sv2+/4++

Wargear: Venus Gospel, Drumroll, Hide of the Nemean Lion, Silver of Judas, Artificer Armour, Frag and Krak grenades.

Venus Gospel: Venus Gospel is a Polearm of immense power. It is an AP1 Force Blade. Used single handed he can gain a bonus attack from Drumroll. Used two handed Lambach adds +2 strength but loses the bonus attack. It also has a Heavy Flamer built into the haft that can be fired in combination with Drumroll.

Drumroll: Drumroll is a Pistol with the following stats, S5, AP4, Assault 3. Can be fired in combination with Venus Gospel.

Hide of the Nemean Lion: A relic from his homeworld the Hide confers to Lambach a 4+ Invulnerable save, in addition Lambach gains the Furious Charge special rule.

Silver of Judas: A small pouch containing 30 pieces of silver rumoured to be the same silver gifted to Judas for betraying Jesus according to Christian mythology, when activated it allows Lambach to exist in a time flux, existing physically a millisecond behind his actions, confusing his enemies. Malcador would love to get his hands on this artifact. Lambach can sacrifice the use of one of his Psyker Powers each turn in return for gaining the advantage of this item. When active it increases his invulnerable save by 1 until his next turn.

Special Rules: Primarch, Master of the Legion, Master of Mind and Body, Learned Scholar, Sire of the Chosen.

Master of Mind and Body: Lambach is a Mastery Level 3 Psyker who knows the Endurance and Shockwave psychic powers. Additionally at the beginning of each game turn he may choose to have either the Iron Arm or Warp Speed psychic power.

Learned Scholar: Lambach has made studying the psychic gifts into an art form, few know more than the Master of the Chosen of Hecate about their application and neutralization. Lambach may re-roll one failed psychic test and one failed Deny the Witch roll each turn.

Sire of the Chosen: If Lambach is your Warlord he allows Dreadnaughts to be taken in Fast Attack and Heavy Support slots but limits units of Devastators and Assault Marines to 0-1. Phalanx squads may also be taken as Troops. Chosen of Hecate units may force an opponent to reroll the wound dice when hit by template weapons while Lambach is active. If doing so all dice must be rerolled, not just the successful wounds. You must accept the second result.