Victorum Sector: Difference between revisions
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:The ''Order of the Radiant Spear'' is founded. Dedicated to Saint Castor and her | :The ''Order of the Radiant Spear'' is founded. Dedicated to Saint Castor and her creed, it serves as protection for the sector's relics, with a special focus on finding and recovering them from wherever they might be. | ||
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Revision as of 03:36, 31 December 2017
“///Catalogue item AX-82: Powerblade with extruded hilt and guard, dimensions 1.933 by .34 meters, weight 36.66 kilograms. An example of pre-Imperial weaponcraft forged by the Falx Gladocracy. Experimental tests have shown the blade to possess a propensity to ‘sing’ when put to use, like others of its kind. Tests have necessitated the replacement of two (2) archive-servitors and seven (7) menials. Should other recovered artifacts prove to be as well-preserved, I anticipate a marked downturn in the local underhive population.///”
- -Extract from inventory catalog of House Leonine Explorator detachment prior to liquidation by [CENSORED].
Located in a distant corner of the Segmentum Tempestus, along the southern edge of the galaxy, the Victorum Sector is a shining beacon of Imperial civilization and the triumph of the God-Emperor in a region widely held to be a dangerous frontier ever at risk of falling to xenos invasion and recidivism. For more than six millennia, it has been the heart of Imperial rule in the fringes of the segmentum, a vital link to several hundred distant frontiers. Beneath this display of strength, however, lurks the constant threat of ancient heresies, dark machinations and xenos invasions which threaten to undermine all its people have built.
Sector Overview
The Saint
“And their works were Cast Down from the Lightless Palaces,
And the Saint did set Her Armies upon them in their ruins.”
- -Extract from A Light Fantastic by Sector Governor Henry dé Arsene I, formerly Lord Militant General, 1st Vereth Lancers
History records that Saint Rosella Castor began her life as a loom-girl, living in one of Babylum's ancient walled city-states a millennia after the Horus Heresy. From these humble origins, she raised a faith and an army, and went on to become one of the greatest conquerors of her age.
Eons ago, Babylum had been a minor arcology colony settled by disparate interests. During the chaos of the Age of Strife, the colonists had survived only through the repressive and hypnotic control of self-appointed Archons, masters of voidships who brought vital fuel and raw resources to the failing towers. In time, the Archons set themselves up as gods, and the walls of the arcologies fell as cities of stone encrusted their roots. A small interstellar empire was founded to feed the Archon's reconstruction and rule, and the Patriarchate of Babylum emerged. The Patriarchate prospered for a time, until they met the Falx Gladocracy. Ancient starships duelled and helot-soldiers warred, but the Patriarchate, though superior starfarers, were no match for the Falxian's sorcerous knight-engines. Only the vicissitudes of the Warp, barely navigable by these petty empires who lacked navigators or sorcerers, saved them from conquest.
The coming of the Great Crusade turned the tide for a time. Though forced to renounce their titles of faith, the inherently cynical Archons retained the use of their hypno-indoctrination techniques and mass-produced rank upon rank of barely-literate auxilia to be hurled against the Gladocracy's forces. But it was only temporary, and with the carnage unleashed by the Horus Heresy, the Patriarchate was left lost, spent, and alone.
Rosella Castor's world was a battleground, caught between the degenerate remnants of the cult-kings and their armies. Their stellar empire was a long-lost memory, and reavers from across the stars had play in the wilds beyond the city walls. The weaver-girl grew up in the thrall of a false god, but doubt was ever in her heart. To ease her mind, she took to walking the cities and the abandoned arcologies at their heart, long-since plundered by the Great Crusade. Among the ruins, she Saw.
Saint Castor was able to unite her scattered people and cleanse Babylum of its enemies. Inspired by the legends of the Great Crusade, Saint Castor would embark on her own crusade of vengeance against the Falx Gladocracy, enlisting the aid of long-forgotten Imperial hold-outs, degenerate Adeptus Mechanicus refugees, and even, it is said, a lost chapter of Space Marines.
Her legendary battles with the heretek Gladocracy, corsair Eldar, and foul Orks allowed the Seventh Tempestus Crusade, then slogging its way down the Pyleus Arm, to establish an Imperial foothold in the region. With a catalogue of victories, the Saint soon assumed command of the struggling Imperial forces, and would go on to purge the enemies of Man from hundreds of worlds, creating the foundations that would one day become three great Imperial sectors. To this day, she remains the spiritual heart of this region of the Segmentum Tempestus, her native city a shrine and a tomb.
A History of the Sector
Era | Events |
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Pre-History: |
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The Dark Age of Technology: |
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The Age of Strife: |
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The Great Crusade: |
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The Horus Heresy: |
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The Forging: |
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The Reign of Blood: |
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The Plague of Unbelief: |
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Circa 800.M38: |
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Circa 380.M39: |
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Circa 500.M40: |
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738.M41-752.M41: |
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Recent History: |
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760.M41: |
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Foods of the Sector
- Juicer Fish: Native to Poseidon, the juicer fish is a lamprey-like creature which takes on the flavor of the liquids it lives in. In its native environment, it tastes of deepwater kelp-beds and a hit of promethium. Skilled chefs are able to keep them alive and perfectly seasoned in a soup of broth. Popular among the officer ranks of the Imperial Navy.
- Noble Swordgrass: A vegetable native to Avalonus which can be found growing in nearly any condition. When stewed, the inner flesh of the swordgrass becomes gooey as protein structures break down beneath the barbed outer-skin. Can also be eaten fried. A favorite of sector nobility.
- Skipper's Choice: A mass-produced brand of wine, found on starbases across the sector. Produced from locally-sourced grapes purchased in megatonne quantities, the wine is a cheap luxury popular with lower deck crew and NCOs. The quantities consumed in its production standardize the flavor, ensuring a consistent experience no matter where you buy it.
Worlds of Victorum
- Avalonus: Sector Capital. Solar-type Hive World, with a population of 65 billion+. Ruled from the First Blade, a hive tower of unsurpassed height commissioned by the express order of Saint Castor. Its people are infamous for their dedication to chivalry.
- Babylum: Spiritual heart of the sector. Birthplace and tomb of Saint Rosella Castor, with more than 50 billion pilgrims travelling there annually. Seat of the Arch-Diocese Rosa Victorum, governing synod of the Ecclasiarchy in the region.
- Guanyu: Forge Primaris of the Adeptus Mechanicus in the sector. Renowned for the quality of power and force weapons produced there, as well as the dangerous ferocity of its plasma reactors and plasma weaponry.
- Port Rosella: Sector Headquarters of Battlefleet Victorum, based around the wreck of a Dark Age-era deep space station. Includes dedicated Mechanicus forgemoons and a minor agri-world given wholly to the production of military foodstuffs.
- Poseidon: Capital of the Poseidon Sub-Sector. Oceanic Hive World, and heart of the Poseidon Run warp route. Has extensive naval and submarine habitation, military assets, and resources.
- Durandum: Capital of Durandam Sub-Sector. Tradeworld.
- Dyastes: Location of Sector naval reserve. Hundreds of outdated interstellar starships drift here, maintained by aging servitors, decrepit tech-priests, and limited supplies produced by Ferrum Tridentus.
- Fanelia: Knight World sworn to the Imperium. Its Knights are well-known for their love of dueling and gladiatorial combat.
- Geidiheim: Capital of the Geidi Sub-Sector. Highly industrialized hiveworld, famed for the prodigious amount and variety of clothing produced there.
- Ixlamad: Imperial/Forgeworld dual government. One of the Mechanicus' Reclamatory Worlds, dedicated to the recovery and rehabilitation of war materiel.
- Lorne's Bounty: Most productive Agri-World in the sector.
- Minoa: Sub-Sector capital of the Collar of Castor. Wealthy mining world which dominates trade and distribution of agri-world production through the trailing region of the Collar.
- Moloch Tetrax and Quintox: Capital of the Moloch Sub-Sector. Twin deathworlds of the Moloch system, with rule split between the High Ketzals of both worlds. Sub-Sector Governor rules from orbital void station. Both worlds are also recruiting worlds for the Sons of the Dragon.
- Nilumanen: Oldest forgeworld in the sector. Remains the subject of rumours which speak to the heresies of xenotech research and innovation. Produces unusually stable void and gellar fields.
- Rennwyck: An airless world made entirely of glass and silica. Site of major Mechanicus research installation with strong ties to Nophocus. No known native life-forms.
- Sagisu Prime: Sub-Sector capital of the Vajra Marches. Formerly an agri-world, now fiercely overcrowded. Home to the famed Sagisu Legionnaires, the oldest Imperial Guard regiment in the sector.
- Shimmerwelt: Major mining world located in the Moloch sub-sector. Its Guard regiments have recently been shamed by accusations of cowardice in the face of the enemy.
- The Tenebrous Gate: An unusually stable realspace system at the mouth of one of the few breaches in the Cliff's of Roland. Site of a major Imperial defeat by Eldar forces, and later known to be the domain of the Flaming Fighting Fighter Corsair band.
- Valotair: Chapter world of the Sons of the Dragon chapter. Declared inviolate to all unauthorized traffic after the Reign of Blood.
- Zabaniya: Minor Hive World in the Avalonus Sub-Sector. Moderately low gravity with towering, void-piercing hives.
Military Forces of Victorum
Battlefleet Victorum is the primary arm of the Imperial military in the Victorum Sector. Owing to the immense amount of trade flowing through the Grand Trunks, as well as the slight but growing trickle of development fostered by Rogue Traders beyond the Mylas Cloud and Cliffs of Roland, it has grown to become one of the largest and most powerful battlefleets in the Segmentum. But this strength hides weakness, for at the heart of Battlefleet Victorum are shameful secrets, ancient vendettas, and the ennui of sloth that only peace can bring.
During the 36th Millennium, Battlefleet Victorum fell under the sway of the Gareox Prerogative. Carrier vessels, including some unique to the Sector, were constructed in large numbers and proved their worth in enforcing the mandates of the Sector's rulers. Warships from Victorum were also at the forefront of the conflict, taking part in some of the first battles between the carrier fleets of Gareox and the "Big Gun" battleships of Battlefleet Bakka. Amongst the tragedies of the Age of Apostasy, the Gareox Prerogative initiated a segmentum-wide civil war unnoticed by most of the Imperium.
Many of the sector's Navy officers were slain in in the chaos, and the carrier warship designs were largely destroyed in battle or mothballed in reserve yards after Bakka emerged victorious. The teachings and tactics of these rebellious officers, however, continued to garner favor in the sector's naval ranks, remaining particularly suitable for Battlefleet Victorum's daily pirate-hunting and tithe enforcement duties. A strain of viperous resentment is kept alive within the fleet's officer corps, jealous of Bakka and its predominance in Segmentum politics.
The symbol of Battlefleet Victorum is an Aquila clutching a gold lance on a six-petaled cyan rose. Their ships are sky blue, with gold prows and chrome highlights around the weapon ports.
Battlegroups
Battlefleet Victorum is divided into several permanent battlegroups, each assigned to patrol a sub-sector. The Navy also forms composite battlegroups to wage war. The rest of the fleet operates semi-independently according to long-established patrol routes.
Battlegroup | Home Port | Ships of the Line | |
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Battlegroup Rosella: | Port Rosella | Par Excellence, Saint Castor's Light, Redeemer of Gareox | Based at the Sector Naval Headquarters of Port Rosella, Battlegroup Rosella is the zenith of Battlefleet Victorum. The best and most-favored officers are assigned to the oldest of warships here, and it is the desire of all ambitious officers to become an officer on even the escorts of this battlegroup. Rosella's remit is to patrol the starlanes of the Avalonus sub-sector, as well as act as the most potent reserve force in the sector, to turn the tide of war when needed most. |
Battlegroup Resolute: | Port Resolute | Fidelis Exactis, Minotaur, Earl Dandy | Perhaps the most important battlegroup in the Sector, Battlegroup Resolute is based at Port Resolute along the Poseidon Run. Charged to protect the sector's most important warp route and all trade along it, as well as keep a watchful eye on the sub-sector's border with the Mylas Cloud. Led by the ancient Oberon-class battleship Fidelis Exactis, Battlegroup Resolute has forged an impressive reputation of faith and loyalty to the Emperor above all. |
Battlegroup Antioch: | Port Fury | Tempest Caller, Templar's Wrath | A small garrison fleet stationed at Port Fury in the Mylas system, Battlegroup Antioch is named for the crippled battleship that forms the heart of the station. Its primary duty is to maintain the security and collect the duties of all ships traveling through the warp lanes of the Moloch sub-sector. |
Battlegroup Invictus: | Falkenrath | Omega Mortis, Terra Triumphant, Arc of Judgement, Abyssum Invocat, Fury of Sohan | Battlegroup Invictus has the unenviable task of maintaining the Imperial Navy's blockade of the Tytania Cluster. Invictus has already engaged and destroyed three rebellious warp vessels attempting to reinforce the heretics of Uraniborg, each of them cruiser-class warships commandeered by fanatical pilgrims they had once been charged with escorting. |
The Sons of the Dragon
Sons of the Dragon | ||
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Roaring green dragon head within a six-rayed gold sun. | ||
Battle Cry | "We live for Him! We die for His People!" | |
Founding | Fourth Founding | |
Successors of | Salamanders | |
Chapter Master | Gurava Lannar | |
Primarch | Vulkan | |
Homeworld | Valotair | |
Strength | 650+ Space Marines, 8 strike cruisers, 1 battle barge | |
Specialty | Siege Warfare | |
Allegiance | Imperium of Man | |
Colours | Quartered Caliban green and sunburst yellow |
The Sons of the Dragon have been bound in blood to the people of the Victorum Sector. While they have not always been faithful to the lords of the sector, the Sons have stood faithfully by the innocent, through battles and sieges down the ages.
The legends of the Sons say that they were once a crusading chapter, founded in the aftermath of a tremendous war which nearly destroyed the Imperium. For millennia they hunted the enemies of Man through the deep void, brokering strange and distant ties to a half-dozen recruiting worlds, among them Moloch Tetrax/Quintox. Some terrible tragedy brought an end to their trek through the stars, and in their moment of weakness they clasped hands with the Lords of Victorum. In exchange for a grant of lordship over the super-continental feral world of Valotair, they would bind themselves deeply into the fabric of the Victorum Sector. Through the Darkling Wars to the Reign of Blood, the Sons of the Dragon shed their blood for the defence of the sector, always in the name of the Emperor and his people. But their sacrifices grew painful, and during the poisoned reign of Goge Vandire, the Sons renounced their oaths of fealty to the unworthy rulers of the Sector, and joined the growing tide of rebellion that swept the Imperium. Deemed pure of heresy in the inquests which followed the Thorian Reformation, the Sons nevertheless placed themselves apart from the sector's masters.
In the modern Imperium, the Sons are no longer integrated into the governorship of the Victorum Sector. Their homeworld of Valotair is forbidden to Imperial starships, and no longer are their war councillors seen in the spires of Avalonus. When called to war, the Sons have proven themselves capable of integrating with Imperial Guard and Imperial Navy forces, especially when called upon to act as the decisive spearhead of a fully operation Imperial war machine. At other times, they remain cloistered within their fortress-shrines.
Beneath their armor, their skin ranges from charcoal black to slate gray. A mutation in their Occulobe has caused them to develop sensitivity to ultraviolet light, allowing them to partially sense the higher wavelengths of the light spectrum. This also causes their eyes to slowly develop a mirror-like sheen as they age, with centuries-old members having mirror-like silver eyes.
During their long millennia of crusading, the Sons developed a chapter cult known as The Way of Solar Fire. Inspired by transplanted Promethean beliefs, the Way is similarly self-sacrificing and devoted to the protection of mankind, but places more emphasis on solar rituals and the light of the Emperor as reflected through the Warp. Scattered throughout the sector are fortified temples, acting as both centres of their faith and bastions of mankind. Their homeworld of Valotair is the finest example of this combination of faith and fortification; having once been a forward operating base established by the Salamanders Legion, it retains strong Promethean and Nocturnan themes in its architecture, and served as a template for the Sons' future installations.
Their homeworld is Valotair, a massive super-earth with a single giant continent covered in volcanoes and mountain ranges. Every mountain range has a fortress, and every major volcano has a forge. While designed to act as fortresses of last resort, these hidden stockpiles of men and arms also act to promulgate The Way. Should the Inquisition or the Ecclesiarchy ever uncover this fact, unwanted and dangerous questions might be raised.
The Sons of the Dragon possess a large force of Dreadnought hulls, of various makes and patterns. Each of these hulls is uniquely built and armed according to it's occupant's designs, and no two of them are alike. They also possess a great deal of armored vehicles, primarily Rhinos, Vindicators, and Whirlwinds. The Sons possess only two Land Raiders, revered as holy relics, but where they came from none can say. Though they possessed at least four Land Raiders at their founding, all were recorded as lost in action.
Recent decades have strained the Sons of the Dragon to the limit of their resources. While not overly-depleted in numbers, their feudal obligations to the Imperium have left them vulnerable to the sudden upheavals threatening the peace of the sector. The Sixth Company was despatched with great pomp and ceremony as part of the Victorum Sector's contribution to the Lalladorium Crusade far to the galactic west. The strike cuiser Silver Fire and most of the chapter's Third Company vanished along with Vellagus X during the ill-starred Tech-Suppression. And Eldar raiders appear to have targeted the Sons' Tenth Company specifically during a fierce and bloody slave raid on Geidiheim, piercing multiple layers of planetary security to spirit them away.
Legio Evincer
“Nullus Vivere!” (None Shall Live!)
- -Legion Motto
Legio Evincer |
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Descended from the Legio Astraman, the Legio Evincer is a belligerent legion with a preference for crusades and wars of conquest, particularly against xenos life-forms. Founded to protect the nascent forgeworld of Guanyu, the Legio Evincer quickly distinguished itself by purging an Enslaver infestation upon the neighbouring world of Geidiheim with extreme prejudice, obliterating six million souls and an entire hive spire. Since that day, their name has been a byword for devastation and destruction, scouring hundreds of battlefields of all in their path, friend and foe alike.
The Levio Evincer has a preference for turbolaser and plasma weaponry, the more destructive and wide-ranging the better. Their preferred strategy is one of targeted annihilation, acting with near surgical precision to completely obliterate their chosen foe and tip battles in the Imperium's favor. This has put them at a disadvantage against the fleet, ghostly god-engines of the cowardly Eldar, who dance through their precisely calibrated fields of fire. Ever prideful, the princeps of the Legio Evincer have attempted to compensate by incorporating powerful logis-engines and geometric calculi in their auxiliary staff, though their bloody defeat at the Siege of the Tenebrous Gate proved such measures were inadequate.
The bulk of the Legion's strength is in Warhounds and Warlords, Guanyu lacking the knowledge to produce Reaver-class Titans. While some few have been recovered from the battlefield or given in tribute by grateful forgeworlds, the Legion prefers the more easily produced and maintained modern Titans. Indeed, no Titan within the Legion is more than two millennia old, something of a sore wound for a Legion that has served the Omnissiah since the founding of the sector.
Legio Delendum
“Fortis Ex Tenebrae.” (Strength from Darkness.)
- -Legion Motto
Legio Delendum |
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Believed to be the oldest Titan Legion within the sector, the Legio Delendum carries both the triumph of ancient victories and the dark infamy of their homeworld with them wherever they stride. In ages past, the Legio Delendum marched alongside the crusades of the Imperium, their Titans renowned for fighting on when all else seemed lost. That glory is long behind them; in these twilight days the Legio Delendum remains bound to the defense of the forgeworlds of the Adeptus Mechanicus, as was their purpose when they were founded in the terrible days of the Age of Strife.
Founded on the dust-shrouded world of Nilumanen, the Legio Delendum was first raised to protect the forge from the threat of the Falx Gladocracy. It was necessary for the legion to learn how to use the disruptive nature of their homeworld to their advantage. Their preferred weapons either make up for a lack of accuracy with pure firepower or are close-ranged melee weapons, the better to destroy foes blinded by gamma-ray flares, deafened by vox burners, and shocked by ravening code-djinn.
As befits so ancient a Legion, the bulk of Delendum's forces are Reaver variants. Lesser numbers of Warhounds of ancient provenance serve as pickets for Titan maniples, protected by machine-charms from the deleterious effects of the Legion's EM weaponry. The Legion's greatest god-machines, however, are a pair of Imperator Titans. One serves as an eternal guardian of Nilumanen, the forge of their birth. The other is a secret known only to a few, maintained in reserve in the vassal forge of Ixlamad. Still scarred by the wars of the sector's birth, it slumbers to this day, awaiting the call to war.
Order of the Radiant Spear
We pray that the God-Emperor, in His Mercy, will empower the faithful and bring light to the True.
We pray that He will bring down the Hand of Chastisement, by the strength of those blessed by His Sight.
- -Litany of The Emperor's Wrath, spoken upon the ascension of novitiates to the Order
Order of the Radiant Spear |
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During the 38th Millennium, dozens of Adepta Sororitas were seized by visions of a blazing spear hurled into an orb of stars. Following the call of the Emperor, these Sisters of Battle landed upon the gemworld of Pillar. Fighting now-extinct chthonic xenoforms of that world's endless chasms, the Sisters took shelter in the wreck of a long-lost fane-ship where they found ancient weapons dating to Saint Castor's Crusade, including Her holy spear. With these relics, they broke free of the chasms and returned to the surface world. Thus, the Order of the Radiant Spear was founded upon that broken world, dedicated to the memory of Saint Rosella Castor.
The Order of the Radiant Spear holds as its primary purpose the tracking and recovery of relics, whose veracity is ensured by the associated Order of His Limitless Sight. Saint Castor was a vocal proponent of the creed of Imperial Redemption, holding that all the galaxy had once felt the footfall of man and that the greatest devotion one could perform for the Emperor was the recovery of lost elements of humankind, whether they were people, places, or relics. Thus the Sisters of the Radiant Spear attach themselves to far-flung Rogue Trader fleets, Crusades venturing into the outer dark, and Inquisitorial extraction missions, following the Saint's creed to recover all that was once mankind's.
Since its founding, the Order has embraced an active interpretation of the Adepta Sororitas' remit. They protect and utilize sacred relics on the field of battle, bearing them to inspire common soldiers or unleashing their divine power upon the heretic and traitor. In keeping with Saint Castor's teachings, they have a disproportionate number of Seraphim and Dominions, to bear overwhelming firepower where necessary to turn the tide of battle.
The holiest relic of the order is Spear of St. Castor, a double-bladed power spear with an unbreakable adamantine shaft emblazoned with the symbols of the Imperial Cult. Legends say the Spear grants the faithful the power to blind machine-senses, reveal the weakness of any armor, and turn the spell of any sorcerer.
Imperial Guard Regiments
“Stand true, you dogs of the Emperor! Steady that line!” *BLAM*
- -Commissar Ranmothe encouraging the 2nd Company, 4th Heavy Dragoons, at the Battle of Heresy Field
Regiment Name | Symbol | Details | Overview |
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Avalonian Crusaders
Nickname: “The Crusaders”, “Saint’s Own” (9th Crusader Lancers), “Steelheads (327th Crusader Infantry) |
7 gold spears fanned behind a gold orb with the High Gothic letter "A" stamped on it, the regiment number in gold below, on a white field, with battle honours in red |
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Hailing from the Sector Capital, the Crusaders are a powerful army of zealous troopers with a tremendous wealth of combat experience and a long regimental history. Typically heavily-armoured, and armed with a great deal of melee combat experience thanks to Avalonus' unique planetary culture, the Crusaders are often used as linebreakers in great battles. The Crusaders favor Melta and Lascannon heavy weapons, and are well-equipped by the forges of Hive Gergenir. |
Sagisu Legionnaires
Nickname: “Back-Breakers”, “Hive-Pounders” (18th Legionnaire Artillery), “Big Shotz” (33rd Abhuman Legionnaires) |
A skull wearing a gold helmet with red plume over a black saltire on red field, “Sagisu” scroll below the helmet with the regiment number in gold below |
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One of the oldest Guard regiments in the Sector, the Sagisu Legionnaires have marched beneath the banner of the Imperium since the days of the Great Crusade. Hailing from the overcrowded hiveworld of Sagisu, the Legionnaires have a roll of honor as long as the Avalonian Crusaders, and never fail to remind others of the history borne by their regiment. Their glory has been bought in blood, for millions of Legionnaires have been sacrificed in grinding wars of attrition, but so long as Sagisu births men it shall feed the wars of the Imperium. |
Shimmerwelt Heavy Dragoons
Nickname: “The Steady and True”, “Wobblies” (disparaging), “Glory Bees” (1st Heavy Dragoon) |
Flame-wreathed red stallion running on sky-blue field, regiment number underneath in red |
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The Shimmerwelt Heavy Dragoons are newly-founded regiments, raised to feed the voracious appetite of the sector’s wars and crusades. The 4th Heavy Dragoons were recently destroyed during the Battle of Heresy Field on Uraniborg, after breaking in the face of the enemy's zealot engines. The Dragoons hail from a glacial mining world and are well-versed in tunnel fighting and putting down labour rebellions, with a preference for mounting Flamers on their Chimeras and Sentinels. |
Poseidon Sea Guard
Nickname: “Seaguards”, “The Blues”, “Seadogs” (2nd Sea Guard), “Sea Dragons” (11th Sea Guard) |
Crossed gold tridents on a white shield over a navy blue field, regiment number between the tridents in blue, with the symbolic seabird of the regiment's home hive crowning the shield holding a "Poseidon" scroll in its beak |
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A rare example of a regiment specialized for oceanic warfare, the Poseidon Sea Guard are often sent out of the sector to serve in distant crusades. Just as unusually, the Sea Guard regiments return to their homeworld periodically for resupply and reinforcement, ensuring a constant churn of experienced veterans who supply new recruits with much-needed experience. Heavy Bolters, Rocket Launchers, and Mortars provide man-portable heavy firepower when the Sea Guard operate beyond the range of naval ordnance. |
Ixlamad Armoured
Nickname: “Revenant Engines” (1st Armoured), “Ironsides” (3rd Armoured), “Twice Lucky” (14th Armoured) |
Three red cogwheels bend sinister on a gray field, regiment number in the upper left in High Gothic, lower right in Techna-Lingua |
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Raised from the wreck-strewn world of Ixlamad, the Ixlamad Armoured is equipped only with vehicles and weapons salvaged by the great pit-cities of their homeworld. Each regiment is a highly eclectic mix of vehicles built in uncounted forges scattered across the Segmentum, returned to duty by the devotion and skill of the Reclamator Magi. Many of their troops are augmented by the Mechanicus, and treat their war machines with as much devotion as any enginseer. |
Ganth Eagle Warriors
Nickname: "Screaming Loonies” (1st Regiment), “Headbangers” (2nd Regiment), “Bleeding Maniacs” (3rd Regiment), “Screechers” (disparaging) |
The Aquila clutching thunderbolts and arrows, on a bright green field, “Ganth” in thick font above, regiment number in Low Gothic below |
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Though little regarded by the rest of the sector, Ganth produces some of the fiercest warriors ever to fight beneath the banner of the Imperium. With an unshakeable faith in the Emperor, these brightly-colored warriors charge into battle like berserkers, wielding chainaxes and Flamers with all the zeal of a Redemptionist crusade. |
Krydae Void Cataphracts
Nickname: “Silent Death” |
Yellow roaring lionshead on a black circle on white bullseye on gray, “Krydae” scroll above circle, “Cataphracts” scroll below circle |
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Most void regiments are raised as Imperial Navy armsmen, but the Krydae Void Cataphracts are a rare exception. Their home system, the Krydae Field, is a maelstrom of broken worlds and trapped starlight, orbiting a black hole. Preferentially deployed in void assault operations, the Void Cataphracts have broken orbital fortresses, trapped xenos raiders, and taken heretic starships. Their favored special weapons are grenade launchers and meltas, useful within the confines of a void boarding action. |
Rana-Tophe Stalkers
Nickname: “Scalpers” (disparaging), “Impalers” (2nd Stalkers), “Vengeful Reapers” (3rd Stalkers) |
Crossed axes on yellow field with dark green flaunches, “Rana-Tophe” and regiment number on a black bar below |
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One of many feral regiments raised within the sector, the Rana-Tophe Stalkers achieved particular infamy for their actions during the Harrowing of Apostate Charles. Roving bands of heretical zealots would be found scalped and spiked among the canyons of Pillar, the victims of Stalker scouting forces protecting the flanks of the Imperial forces. Since then, their brutality and bloodlust have become a byword for unseemly excess within the Guard, their success in the name of the Emperor their only shield from rebuke. Each Stalker is skilled with throwing axe, as is the practice of their homeworld, and these axes often fetch a high price after battle for each is lovingly endowed with devotional scenes and prayers to the Emperor. |
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Power Groups
The Inquisition
The Fidelis Ordos of the Conclave Victorum is a shadow of its former self. Its unity is broken, its power has been spent, and fear more than loyalty keeps the sector's lords in line. The shadow of Qatasoum's War looms large over the Inquisition, where billions died for the cause of purity, honor, and faith. Some consider it a cost well-spent, others a mad folly. Regardless, the Conclave was undoubtedly weakened, with nearly a third of its members vanished, slain, or lost. In their place, heresy flourishes, and the sector's Acolytes are busier than ever.
- Lord Inquisitor Shandolh Qatasoum: The master of the Victorum Conclave. A passionate Amalathian, he truly believes that the turning point has passed and the Inquisition can only grow stronger now that it has been purged.
- Lord Inquisitor Roboute Thorne: Leader of the Ordo Malleus, and a man of strong Thorian leanings. He is famous beyond the Inquisition for his prose fiction.
- Inquisitor Hestia Merriwyn: Ordo Hereticus cabal leader, charged with the suppression of the Uraniborg rebels and the ending of Cardinal Astra Liaus Walmark. Even as she works towards his end, she has listened to his words and compiled a surprisingly weighty body of evidence against Fabricator Ottomachinus VII of Ranatophe. Her work will only be complete when judgement has been dispensed on all those who would threaten the unity of the Imperium.
- Inquisitor Zi Shang: A ranking member of the Ordo Xenos, obsessed with Dark Eldar menace. In recent years he has fallen to the fringes of the Conclave, for he seeks out abhumans and mutants as those most likely to attract the eye of discerning slavehunters and thus most at risk.
Battlefleet Victorum is the Imperium's shield, its first line of defense against the threats emerging from the darkness between stars. The influence of its high officers spans the sector, from feudal worlds where kings give up their children to the Navy's most menial positions to gilded hive cities where Navigator Houses vie for contracts and postings.
- Lord-Admiral Tyborius Leo-Khan: The scion of a storied military dynasty from Hive Verethkyn, Lord-Admiral Leo-Khan is the master of Battlefleet Victorum.
- Rear Admiral Elena Domino: One of the prestigious Dominos of Battlefleet Victorum, and one of the few female officers in the sector's high command. An ambitious woman seeking skilled subordinates. Leapt at the chance to command the Mylas squadron, seeing the Ork threat as her ticket to higher rank.
- The Noble Chancers: An ancient fraternal order, formed sometime during the Saint's Crusades by the surviving officers of a great void battle. Made up of command-level officers of Battlefleet Victorum, it functions as part-social club, part-warrior lodge where status and rank are set aside. Members of the order often help one another in minor matters, such as conquering a woman or securing a prized case of wine. The order's symbol is a dice with two stars upon its face.
The Imperial Guard
The Imperial Guard has built thousands of fortresses and sacrificed trillions of men in the wars to hold the Victorum Sector. Alongside the Departmento Munitorum, the Schola Progenium, and the other human armed forces of the Imperium, they have sunk their teeth deep into the marrow of the sector's worlds, and will continue to tithe their youth for as long as the Imperium stands.
- Lord Militant Bors Ownevere: Lord of the Astra Militarum and Supreme Commander of the Victorum Sector, Lord Militant Ownevere is the latest in a long line of Avalonian nobles to rise to the leadership of the Imperial Guard.
- Brigadier General Rogal Johnsson: Commander of the 10,000-strong XXIVth Praetorian Guard, and chosen instrument of Sector High Command to lead the Mylas Garrison. A veteran of ork wars in the Segmentum Solar, General Johnsson no longer underestimates the ork threat. If there is anyone who understands the dangers of a full-throated WAAAGH, it is him.
Sector Lords
- Sector Governess Rosella Khassom-Ownevere: Rosella Khassom-Ownevere is the supreme authority of the Emperor within the sector. Through ties of blood and marriage, the storied bloodlines of House Khassom and Ownevere have held the Throne Perilous of Avalonus for more than 800 years, and Sector Governess Rosella is a typical example of her bloodline: stubborn, closed to new ideas, and utterly unwilling to accept that she is wrong.
- Chapter Master Gurava Lannar: The chapter master of the Sons of the Dragon and Lord of Valotair, Gurava Lannar has faithfully served the Emperor for two centuries. During the latter days of the Inquisition War, Chapter Master Lannar led his chapter to crush several battling Inquisitors.
- Arch-Cardinal Rogal Tranth Gellorn: Most High Prelate of the Emperor and Primus Inter Pares of the Arch-Diocese Rosa Victora, Arch-Cardinal Gellorn is the master of the Ecclesiarchy in the sector. Functionally, that means he must settle the disputes between the various factions of the Victorumite Ecclesiarchy, a task frought with peril as lingering elements of the "Temple Tendency" wax stronger.
The Adeptus Mechanicus
The power and majesty of the Adeptus Mechanicus spans this region of space like a shroud over a corpse. Drawn by rumors of archaic technological might, the Lords of Mars have ever sought to plunder the sector of its ancient secrets. Much remains to be fought after, both miracles and madness of such advanced technology that it might be deemed sorcery. Frustrating the tech-priests in their quest for knowledge are the ever-vigilant eyes of the Inquisition, the grasping claws of the greed-driven Rogue Traders, and their own puritanical reactionaries.
- The Homeodidatic Congress: A sector-spanning body of archmagi drawn from the forgeworlds, Explorator fleets, and void stations scattered through the region. While they do make the occasional decree, the primary duties of the Congress are enforcing Mechanicus theological law, approving promotions, and judging the purity of recovered knowledge or new designs. Representation in the Congress is based on seniority, results, and knowledge of theotechnical minutae.
- Terfrateris Fabricatum: The ruling body of Guanyu, the principal forgeworld of the Adeptus Mechanicus. A trio of Fabricators Frateris selected by the Homeostatic Congress to rule Guanyu, elevated from the ranks of its high forgemasters. The current trio are Fabricator Chou-Li of the Yang Jing Plasma Foundry, Fabricator Luc Gusco of the Machina Lumin Armorium, and Fabricator Aleph Rho-Thorum of Decima-Prima Munitions Manufactorum Complex.
- The Hierarchy of Variances: The governing body of the forgeworld of Nilumanen, made up of six hundred representatives of Nilumanen's constitutent forges and vassal worlds. It is infamous for its embrace of factionalism, using constant debate among thousands of factions within the Hierarchy to drive proper policy.
Rogue Traders
For such a wealthy and ancient sector, Victorum is still home to hundreds of Rogue Trader holdings. Bordered on two sides by ancient, shrouded frontiers, it continues to draw the adventurous and greedy. To be a Rogue Trader in such a sector is to be a snake in a pit of vipers, for ancient ambitions, petrified jealousies, and unending hunger have made it their nest for millenia.
- Marwyn Ragsbeck: It is said that one-fiftieth of every Throne spent in the Victorum Sector is paid into the coffers of Marwyn Ragsbeck. The head of the famed Ragsbeck Dynasty is a ruthless tycoon with no qualms of crushing any who oppose him. He also has a reputation as a profiteer for the weak, ruthlessly undercutting his competitors and offering ever more ways for the lowly Imperial citizen to glimpse a better life; that prices rise even higher after his price wars is rarely commented on. The Ragsbeck's primary holdings are voidbound, and from the great void station Ellard's Glory Marwyn Ragsbeck holds the beating heart of the Victorum Sector in his aged hands.
- Filionaire dé Arsene: A beautiful scion of the dé Arsene dynasty, Filionaire has gained a reputation as a rescuer of investments with the smile of an angel and the bloodless heart of a carcharadon. She has used her allowance to purchase faded conglomerates, impoverished colonies, and other such weaklings, and turned them into healthy concerns with growing profit margins that attract far richer buyers. That the companies shed laborers in droves or the manufactories empty of ancient fabrication engines is of no concern to her.
- Laird Sangral: Once seneschal to his elder brother, Laird Sangral ascended to the leadership of his famed dynasty when Gros Pajan VII died, and the Sangral household with it. With their ancestral manor destroyed and their throneworld a charred cinder, Laird abandoned the growing chaos of Gros Pajan and vanished with the core of the Sangral fleet beyond the Cliffs of Roland. While the Sangral's holdings in the Victorum Sector have coasted on their inertia, word has trickled back into the sector that Laird Sangral has taken to extracting tolls of weapons, supplies, and men from ships trying to return to the sector through the Gros Pajan Warp Corridor. Invariably, the ships targeted are those of Rogue Traders warring on Gros Pajan.
Villains and Rogues
- Da Mekboss Bork Rad-Eye: Arising from the impenetrable and unknown reaches of the Mylas Cloud, Bork Rad-Eye is a Deffskullz Big Mek with a plan. A plan to wage WAAAGH across the wide open stars of the Victorum Sector. With the great Orkenstone under his control, Rad-Eye will unite the warring Freebooter clans of the Mylas Cloud and consume the stars in endless war.
- Archon Ilsierex, The Star-Eyes: Archon of the Kabal of Splintered Lies. Outcast from Comorragh, he leads a band of renegades, rogues, and disgraced Dark Eldar. Driven by revenge, addiction, and a lust for fame, Star-Eyes has exploited the weakness of the Victorum Sector to perform daring raids, becoming a minor celebrity among the plebs of Khurkhannag.
- Cardinal Astra Laius Walmark: A faithful man of the Emperor, Laius Walmark spent a hundred years climbing to his present position. In his next hundred years, he saw faith eroded by heresy, politics undermined by greed, and unity splintered by a hidden hand. A new god was rising among the worlds of the Tytania Cluster, one with heart of iron and a mind of gears. When the Cardinal Astra had gathered his evidence, he revealed the hand of treachery amongst the Imperium's own. Now war threatens to consume the Durandum sub-sector, a War of Faith against those who have stood as brothers to the Imperium of Man for ten millenia. For this, the Cardinal Astra must die.
Background
Originally created with the intention of running a game of Dark Heresy, the Victorum Sector has expanded and contracted in various iterations. The current version is intended to be a mostly blank slate for anyone wanting to use it or take things from it, but also steps back from the extremes of prior iterations (Ork WAAAGH consuming the sector in war) to enable a fairly straightforward and comfy quest to be run.
External Links
- Dark Heresy
- Rogue Trader
- Deathwatch
- Black Crusade
- Only War
- Tiji Sector - The original inspiration.
- Generators
- WH40k RPG map assets, for making your own sectors.
- Lexicanum - Everything you always wanted to know about 40k (but were afraid to ask)