The Voidwatcher

Unknown
Title/Honours	The Voidwatcher
Discovered (world)	Ostium
Discovered (period)	c.836.M30
Legion	Fourteenth
Heraldry/Sigil
Unique Weapon	Epilogue, an alien war-glaive
Distinguishing Traits	Extremely knowledgeable in matters of the arcane, a Gifted psyker, utterly unscrupulous and will do literally anything to achieve victory
Flaws	Almost inhumanely prideful, will sacrifice anything for his dream of godhood, a loose cannon of sorts
Role	Traitor
Fate	Officially disappeared. Pushed into a warp maelstrom by the Bloodseer.

This page details people, events, and organisations from the /tg/ Heresy, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the /tg/ Heresy Timeline and Galaxy pages for more information on the Alternate Universe.

"My first teachers claimed that pride and willfulness were errors that led to other vices. Is this not pride itself, to proclaim which qualities of a person are right and which are wrong?"

– Uriel Salazar, Confessions

The Voidwatcher was the Primarch of the Black Augurs, the Fourteenth of the Legiones Astartes. He was a sinister figure even in the shining days of the Great Crusade but his betrayal of the Imperium still came as a shock.

History

Youth

Ostium
Segmentum	Obscurus
Sector	Formerly Chydaia, Currently in the Eye of Terror
System	Formerly Lathon
Population	9 Billion at Peak, currently barren
Class	Formerly Hive Moon, Currently destroyed Husk
Gravity	0.7
Temperature	Climate Controlled or Vacuum

The young Primarch that would later be known simply as The Voidwatcher crash landed on the hive moon of Ostium. The boys pod crashed into one of the highest towers of the land, crushing a woman and her newborn in their birthing bed. The father of the aforementioned deceased was none other than the Fateseer, the High Vatis, leader of the Vates. The Vates were deeply superstitious order of sorcerers in control of Ostium. The Psykers instantly knew this child's potential, and hailed the moment as further proof of Fateseer's superiority. Fateseer accepted the child as his own, naming him the Voidwatcher, for his tendency to gaze into the stars as a babe. He would not stay a neonate for long, growing far beyond what was considered normal. He learned at an even more alarming rate, consuming all the knowledge the Vates had in short order.

He grew tired of Ostium, the dark world filled with twisting towers and broken streets. An idiotic populace ruled by ego maniacal rulers. Though Fateseer attempted to keep Voidwatcher's true nature hidden from him, the Primarch knew he wasn't the same as everyone else. He was something greater, meant for great, and this inner desire drove him to grasp firmly onto that destiny. He invented geometry for those on Ostium, calculated the circumference of his planet, created new systems of government, and secured the borders of the Vates by eliminating all dissenting realms. The Vates made him High Vatis, much to the chagrin of Fateseer. Voidwatcher said to him at one time that if he would not step down, he would be cut down. The threat coming from his own son chilled Fateseer, who relinquished his post shortly after.

The Emperor would arrive not long after, and the Voidwatcher knew this was his true calling. A man wreathed in gold at the head of beautiful army. They talked for many hours, the Emperor unsure of his son's sorcerous origin. They talked long on the nature of the Psyker, and the Warp. The Voidwatcher's pure adoration for his true father dashed away any doubts as to his loyalty, and this was only further reinforced when the Voidwatcher butchered the entirety of the Vates in one fell swoop. Including Fateseer, who he saved for last, for the audacity of taking claim over the Emperor's handiwork.

After this bloody renunion was concluded, the Voidwatcher was ready to take his side by the Emperor. It was at this time the Master of Mankind revealed the Voidwatcher was one of many Primarchs, and he had many brothers out in the stars. This filled the Voidwatcher with a deep loathing, not for his gene-sire but his siblings. He was the one true son of the Emperor, to suffer no rivals. His drive that brought him to domination on Ostium drove him once again. His urge of perfection would seem transform his Legion into monsters bent to his will. All he did was in service of the Emperor, through what he saw as correct.

Post-Heresy

After the Heresy was completed the Voidwatcher retired to his flagship and took to the stars with his legion in search of more arcane secrets to discover and use. After a few centuries of this wandering alone on the edges of civilized space or the Eye of Terror the Voidwatcher decided it was time for him to venture into the uncharted void of space in search of arcane lore. He left behind his Vates to create their own covens among the stars and compete and quarrel amongst themselves as their namesake had once done on Ostium. He did this in order to ensure constant progression and improvement amongst the remains of his legion. With this final decree he boarded the smallest combat worthy vessel he possessed and took it and it's crew into the void beyond the galactic rim. He has not been seen or heard of since.

Or, at least, that's what the Augurs believe.

In reality the Voidwatcher's ultimate plan came to a head in a dual with the Bloodseer, captain of the Haruspex and the original commander of the Black Augurs before the discovery of the Primarch. Bloodseer had long silently held the Voidwatcher in contempt for what he had done to the Legion. The brutalizing of the Bloodseer's men during the Decimation had just been the beginning, the Voidwatcher's teachings had rendered the legion a squabbling band of sorcerers and wizards. No longer were they the united fighting force Bloodseer had led at the outset of the Crusade. He had always been suspicious of the Voidwatcher, after the Heresy this suspicion only increased as the Voidwatcher began to become even more distant from his sons. The Primarch had taken to locking himself away in the deepest recesses of his libraries and laboratories, endlessly toiling on some hidden project.

The Bloodseer endeavored, finally, to find out what his gene-sire was planning. In the end, after enormous difficulty and a number of rather unlikely alliances he was able to piece together what was being planned. The Voidwatcher was cultivating his legion, twisting them with the intention of a great reaping, a harvest of souls that would completely eradicate the Black Augurs. Everything he had done was a lead up to this. The Decimation was never just to make them more potent psykers, it was to make their souls richer in the energies the Voidwatcher sought, he had incited his legion to fight amongst themselves to weed out the week. Everything the All-father had done under the pre-tense of "enlightening" his sons was a ruse, he had been fattening them and preparing them like lambs to the slaughter. The High Vate's study had led him to believe that this sorcerous holocaust would result in his ascension to godhood, and while the evidence seemed to add up to the Bloodseer he could not allow his Legion to be destroyed.

Bloodseer confronted the All-Father on board a small starship he had been using as a mobile and private laboratory. Their massive duel left all of the Bloodseer's allies dead, the grand ritual incomplete, and the Voidwatcher cast into the Warp maelstrom he had conjured to draw essence from. The Master of the Haruspex returned to his legion with the story that the Voidwatcher had simply ventured off into the dark corners of the galaxy. He could not have them believe their All-Father would betray them, it would result in civil war and the end of the legion despite his efforts. So he held the secret of what truly happened that day from his legion.

Personality

The Voidwatcher was an imperialistic individual. He very much believed in absolutes, and had little morals. This was tempered by a desire to preform good; or at least, good in the sense of Voidwatcher. This to him was reaching one's full, and total potential. He never felt satisfied with himself, and at times felt an extreme loathing for his own being. The only person who had become all that there was to be, to him, was the Emperor. His creator was the one person someone the Voidwatcher could ever 'love', seeking only his approval to all that he did.

The Voidwatcher was ruthless to all those in the way of his pursuit of perfection. He held little mercy or remorse for weakness, and held absolute disdain for those who concerned themselves with the meek. He respected only one thing and that was power. Not strength, not intelligence, but raw capacity to change reality as one saw fit. The only sibling Voidwatcher ever connected with thanks to this view of life was Shakya Vardhana.

Appearance

Tall, taller than most of his brothers but lither and more graceful than them as well. His skin is deathly pallid and criss-crossed with dark veins and arcane tattoos/brands. His face was gaunt with an aquiline nose and deep set eyes. A wry mocking smile could often be seen upon his thin pale lips. Apart from his tattoos and veins his skin was flawless and not beset by any lines or scars. His most distinguishing feature however are his eyes, blank and staring off into the distance, as if he cannot focus on anything, constantly possessing a thousand yard stare.

Wargear

In battle the Voidwatcher is truly a sight to behold. His armour, known simply as the Veil is incised with hundreds of glowing symbols and he carries innumerable texts and scrolls that often billow behind him. His armour lower half almost more of an armoured coat or robe, with long flowing faulds that extend down to touch the ground. His armour was lighter than most of his brothers, instead relying on his enchantments and psychic wards to protect him. His armour did not possess a full helmet, instead having a hood. These facts combined with his extremely fluid motion and the fact he had incense burning on him at all times rendered him almost ethereal. A figure gliding across the battlefield, wreathed in smoke and Warp energies, cutting down all in his path.

His signature weapon, an trident named Aeon Slayer, was forged by none other than Ilmari Wieland himself. A true masterpiece of both sorcery and smithing, it still counts as one of the most dangerous profane artefacts to darken the Galaxy with its existence. Essentially little more than a common power weapon, it possessed a unique quality that made its wielder nigh invincible in close combat. The Aeon Slayer existed synchronously both in the present and in the future, allowing it to wound people several seconds before actually striking them. Even the Galaxy's most skilful swordsmen couldn't hold their own against the owner of this trident, as within minutes they all succumbed to the wounds that had yet to be inflicted.

Outside of combat the Voidwatcher would usually wear a full black robe.

A fan's Attempt at Rules

	PTS	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Sv
The Voidwatcher:	500	6	6	6	5	4	5	5	10	3+/3++

Unit type: Infantry, Independent Character.

Wargear: Blackened Plate, Staff, Warpfire Aura.

Special Rules: Adamantium Will, Arcane Studies, Bulky, Crusader, Eternal Warrior, Fear, Fearless, Fleet, Independent Character, Quiet Corruption, Slow and Purposeful, Sublime Arrogance, Warp Step, Sight Beyond Sight, Call of the Void.

Blackened Plate: An ornate suit of black-runed power armor. The Voidwatcher never bothered upgrading to artificer or terminator armor, trusting in his sorcerous might for defense.

Staff: Perhaps this staff has a name, but if so, The Voidwatcher has never shared it. This weapon is a simple unadorned rod, so black as to look more like a hole in the air or a shadow than a three dimensional object. What it was made from, none save the Voidwatcher know, but every strike warps reality, compromising armor and twisting flesh. The weapon strikes with the following profile: S:U, AP-, Fleshbane, Warp (for every hit taken from the Voidwatcher, a model subtracts 1 from its armor save for the remainder of the game. Has no affect on AV).

Warpfire Aura: In combat, The Voidwatcher's armor was covered with a Subtle flame, appearing to most as an inconspicuous flicker. Upon being struck, however, the flame surges outward with great force, dissipating the force of a strike in a grand detonation before sinking into silence once more. The watcher has a 3++ invulnerable save. Additionally, for each hit against the Voidwatcher in melee he does D6 S2 AP- hits against the attacking unit.

Arcane Studies: His many years of studying sorcery and the lore of the warp gave the Voidwatcher an expansive, if shallow, knowledge of the arcane. The Voidwatcher is a ML4 psyker. Yeah, I went there. He can roll on any psychic discipline in the Warhammer 40,000 rulebook in addition to the Tzeench, Slaanesh, and Nurgle disciplines. Yes, I'm really doing this. But here's the catch: the Voidwatcher may never gain psychic focus on any discipline, and may not roll for more than 2 powers on any one discipline. Additionally, witchfires do not count towards the number of powers he's cast that turn.

Quiet Corruption: No many would ever be so foolish as to call a primarch weak, but the Voidwatcher... He was not his brothers' equal in physical matters. When his brothers had been smithing and warring, the Voidwatcher had been studying. When his brothers had been pushing their godly forms to the limit, the Voidwatcher channeled the energies of the universe, and those energies changed the careful biological tailoring the Emperor gave his son. The Voidwatcher loses 1 point of toughness and 1 wound from the basic primarch profile (already included in his profile), along with the It Will Not Die special rule.

Sublime Arrogance: The Voidwatcher was unrivaled in his arrogance. He was a Sorcerer Lord, second in all the galaxy to only his father. Why should he walk among mortal men, or rush about on the field of battle like a mortal? The voidwatcher may never join a unit or be joined by other characters. Additionally, he may never share a transport with any other unit, and gains the slow and purposeful special rule. Additionally, he will only ever fail any leadership based test on a double 6 (does not affect psychic perils).

Warp Step: The Voidwatcher gains the Deep Strike USR, and does not scatter.

I do so love making the traitor primarchs Fun!*. The Voidwatcher is a glass cannon of the best sort, a ML5 sorcerer that can toss out as many spells as he has warp charges for, especially if you use a lot of witchfires a la Ahriman, and an allied detachment of daemons with some pink horror batteries for him to drain can give him a truly silly amount of psychic dakka. But on the other hand, he won't join your boys, won't share a ride, and is actually really fragile, even considering that 3++. He's also the worst duelist primarch bar none, and he'll need to use psychic powers to keep up in melee, though his staff is worthy of consideration. Though most enemies who know anything about him won't dare charging him with a primarch, because he'll ruin their armor. His warpfire hits won't do jack shit to a primarch, and barely scratch a marine's armor, but it'll cause GEQs and minor daemons to spontaneously combust (each attack will have a 33% chance of killing them, and 2 or 3 attacks on the charge). Use him right, and he can be a towering pillar or psychic rape. Use him wrong and he'll die like a bitch to a single Fury of the Legion from a tac squad.