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Luther

2023-05-26T14:00:58Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:LutherZahariel.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Luther, with <s>[[Cypher]]</s> [[Zahariel]] in the background]]
{{Heresy}}
{{Topquote|You were my brother, <s>Anakin</s> Luther! I loved you!|<s>[[Star Wars|Obi-Wan]]</s> Lion El'Johnson}}

Luther was the best bro/father figure of the [[Primarch]] [[Lion El'Jonson]] before the events of the [[Horus Heresy]].

==Back Story==
Luther was a [[Knight]] of [[The Order]] of Caliban, an organisation dedicated to protecting the people of that world from the [[Chaos Spawn|Beasts]] that roamed its forests.

One day when riding through the glen with his merry band of men, he encountered <s>Tarzan</s> a naked wildman who had no business living alone in that environment. So they captured him and brought him back to civilisation, educated him and introduced him to their order, where they called him "[[Lion El'Jonson|Lion, Son of the Forest]]".
*Before the discovery of the Lion, Luther had just recently lost both his young wife and daughter to as of yet unknown cause, though implied to have been during childbirth. He wonders how things would have turned out if the Lion had been raised with both a mother and sister. (All you AU fanfic writers get on this now. I want to see the Lion and his sister braiding each other's hair). Maybe the Lion and his brother [[Roboute Guilliman|Roboute]] could've had something in common. More's the pity. What makes this even more somber though is that these ruminations occur to Luther in sadness during the zenith of his Caliban conspiracy tomfuckery, even piercing through his quasi-corrupted fever dream.
*In “Fallen Angels” Luther gives us a first-hand version of the discovery of the Lion. In it he describes how after a long and costly journey into the darkest and most dangerous parts of Caliban he and his fellow knights stopped near the banks of a river. As the other knights filled their water containers, a young boy appeared in their midst. The boy showed no fear but simply stared at them coldly. Luther being the only one in a position to do anything raised his gun and aimed at the boy. As the other knights screamed at Luther to kill the child the boy simply looked at Luther silently; Luther met the boy's eyes and he found that he simply could not pull the trigger and let the gun drop to the ground.
:*Given the new revelation that he had just lost his wife and daughter, his inability to kill the young Lion makes a lot more sense.
:*The Lion in his version is described as a young boy, which is odd as it appears that the Lion did not have the accelerated childhood that many of his other brothers seem to have experienced but aged in the same way as a normal human child would.
:*Out of all the Monsters of Caliban Luther desired to kill a Calibanite Lion. This is interesting because it raises the possibility that it was a Calibanite Lion that was responsible for the death of his family and drove him to venture so deep into the wild depths of Caliban where he discovered Lion El'Jonson; if true then was the Calibanite Lion killed by Jonson the one responsible?

In the end, Luther took the boy in and together the two warriors rose up the ranks of the Order and became living legends, eventually coming up with a plan to rid the whole world of the [[Chaos Spawn|beasts]] and make it safe for everyone. This took some time, and eventually the Lion got promoted to the top job of ''[[Spiritual Liege|Grand Master]]'' and Luther became his assistant. This is where the cracks had started to show, as many had thought that Luther was on track to gain the position if the Lion had not been discovered, and that Luther was one of the greatest men of his time, only to have been overshadowed by an even greater man due to circumstance.
*It turns out that Luther was indeed named Grand Master of the Order for a time, but when the Lion was nominated for the position he stepped aside. Luther claims that he felt no resentment towards the Lion, but seeing as you needed to be both nominated and then voted into the position of Grand Master by your fellow knights that’s got to sting.

After that, Luther became essentially the Lion's public relations expert. Whilst the Lion drew up plans and strategy Luther went out to gather support by wining and dining the planet's nobility.
*Given that the people of Caliban have a very knightly theme going on and that they are confirmed to have noble houses then it makes sense that there should be at least one or two Calibanite based Imperial Knight Houses hanging around somewhere on Caliban. Heck the Order itself might have had its own Imperial Knights (Come on forge world you know you want to).

At some point Luther gave his word that the Order would not trespass into the territory of the Knights of Lupus; an old and very traditional knightly order that aggressively opposed the Order and the Lion. The Order however declared war upon the Knights of Lupus due to a certain incident that saw the Knights of Lupus slaughter a small band of the Order's rangers because they were apparently too close to their lands. Leaving one left alive so that he could return to the Order with the decapitated remains of his friends.

During the final battle against the Knights of Lupus the Lion would lead a diversionary frontal attack whilst Luther was given the honour of leading the actual attack by attacking their blind spot when they were distracted. In the end Luther and the Lion ended up fighting what is essentially a very big Zombified flightless dragon (the badass Chaos version of a [http://www.beyondthepoint.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Dragon-from-Hroaar-dot-com.jpg medieval-style dragon]). The Lion killed the beast and was cheered by his fellow knights, whilst Luther ended up drenched in the creature's foul blood and feeling a bit sorry for himself.

Shortly afterwards the Emperor arrived and brought the [[Imperium]] to Caliban and told the Lion of his heritage and his destiny to lead the [[Dark Angels|First Legion]] on the [[Great Crusade]].

===Great Crusade===
The Lion took many of his Knights with him on this quest and although Luther was too old to become a [[Space Marine]] he was still augmented as much as was practical and was brought along as the second in command. Just like [[Kor Phaeron|another geriatric chucklefuck who raised a Primarch]].

This didn't last long though. Luther inwardly admitted his envy of the Lion and his Astartes brethren, and during a mission to [[Sarosh]] contemplated allowing an enemy nuclear bomb to detonate aboard the Dark Angel's flagship so he could take his rightful place in history. However, he did not follow through with this thought and successfully rescued the flagship and exposed the Saroshi plot.

Because of [[derp|(or despite)]] the Lion's knowledge [[skub|(or lack of)]] about Luther's private doubts, he sent him and [[Fallen Angels|select others]] back to Caliban in order to fortify it and train new Dark Angels for the ongoing crusade.

This is the subject of considerable nerdrage, since it was either seen as an exile for some perceived dishonour or it was part of a [[Just as Planned|greater plan]] to protect the [[Imperium]] (or Caliban) from something that the Lion knew was brewing back on his homeworld but decided not to tell his followers about, just like [[Emperor|his own father]] did with his [[Primarch|sons]]. Or maybe it was because Luther was actively plotting to kill the Lion out of nothing but sheer jealousy, and only changed his mind once he was prodded by [[Zahariel]]. So much for ambiguity. If he just took a moment to pour his heart out to his best friend and speak with him on a personal level ''like an adult'' (looking at you Emps) maybe things would have turned out for the better.

==Exile on Caliban==
Back on Caliban, Luther became heavily dependent upon the [[Librarian]] [[Zahariel]] and the [[Cypher|Lord Cypher]].

Sometime after his exile on Caliban Luther was to respond to a call for aid from the primarch of the Luna Wolves, Horus Lupercal himself. Taking his men and ships he disobeyed the orders given to him by the Lion and fought alongside the likes of Abaddon and Typhus ''(Garviel Loken when he was being interrogated by Luther remembers when Luther and Abaddon competed against each other to see who could get to the objective first).''

He would shock Typhus by revealing that he had Laughed in Abaddon’s face when he had suggested that the Luna Wolves had a greater military background to that of the Dark Angels and the Order. Typhus would then introduce Luther to Erebus who suggested the introduction of the warrior lodges to the ranks of the Dark Angels much to Luther’s amusement.

During the victory celebration the Lion managed to do what no enemy had ever done before; catch Horus by surprise. As if summoned there by the will of some vengeful god the Lion marched into the hall. Luther rose to his feet and tried to explain himself but was silenced by the Lion; Horus spoke up in Luther’s defence but was told in no uncertain terms to shut up. The Lion told Horus that if he wanted victory so badly then it should not have been at the expense of his Dark Angels and that he should instead have used his own sons. Luther then has his fleet taken from him as punishment for disobeying orders and for taking the garrisoned forces away from Caliban.

At this point, something had begun to twist inside Luther and his behaviour became erratic.

Lion El'Jonson had allowed the [[Death World]] of Caliban to become a Terran-administrated industrial world, replacing the forest with factory arcologies. Knights and peasants were replaced with workers. Though most of the planet was still heavily forested, only the areas designated for industrial use, farming and inhabitation were cleared of forest.

With the forests gone and mine shafts digging deep into the planet, bad things were waking up. Luther suspected that the Lion knew about these forces, and that he was planning on [[Exterminatus|destroying the planet]] with the Calibanite Dark Angels on it after the world fueled the imperial war machine all that it could ''(he may be becoming a bit paranoid at this point)'' Still, Luther remained loyal to Johnson until a final discovery pushed him over the brink. The then [[Cypher|Lord Cypher]], that the Lion promoted completely out of the blue over more veteran knights, was actually the only survivor of the Knights of Lupus. The very knights that had realized that as bad as the Beasts were they were seemingly keeping the whatever was buried inside of Caliban from awakening fully as their extensive library, again, that the Lion had ordered preserved out of the blue, seemed to indicate. This was the last straw that cemented the idea that Jonson knew more than he let on ''(that at least was true)'' and wanted to get rid of Caliban in Luther's unhinged mind.

Luther needs to take some of the blame here as all the stuff that went wrong happened under his stewardship. He was in charge of the planet in the Lion’s absence and although he puts all the blame on the Lion for how the planet turned out pretty much all of the decisions regarding Caliban would have had his direct permission and authorization. It may seem a bit conspiratorial but it is possible that despite being an honourable man ''(at least at the beginning)'' who would not break an oath without just cause Luther may have actually subconsciously allowed Caliban to go to hell in order to justify his future actions.

Learning from the Knights of Lupus' collection of dusty tomes about [[Chaos|rituals and incantations]], he uncovered a "plot" where Terran colonists were ''apparently'' attempting to summon a [[Daemon|creature]] called the [[Ouroboros]] onto Caliban. With Zahariel's assistance he broke up this coven and attempted to gain power over the creature for himself. After gaining access to the books from the Knights of Lupus that the Lion had hidden away, he started to dabble in the arcane arts; covering himself in runes and learning how to casts spells in the same manner as a chaos sorcerer. How advanced his studies were exactly is unknown but he was far along enough that he was able to nullify Israfael's psychic assault and resurrect Zahariel. He would even try his hand at summoning daemons, being so happy to succeed on his first time (believing he had achieved power enough to challenge even the Lion) he forgot to finish binding it to his will, allowing the daemon to leave the circle, where to Luther's surprise it took a knee and bowed to him.

Zahariel discovered that the Terran "plot" was actually false, that the Terrans were in fact attempting to banish the Ouroboros instead of summoning it, and that Luther was looking to gain power in an attempt to free Caliban from the oppression of the [[Imperium]]. Needless to say, the Dark Ones were intrigued.

===Turning Traitor===
Later, Luther captured one of [[Malcador]]'s [[Knights-Errant]]: [[Garviel Loken]], who was on Caliban to discover where the exiled Dark Angels loyalties lay, since no contact had been made from them in some time. This would prove to be a turning point, as Luther and his allies had no idea that the [[Horus Heresy]] was taking place around them and had been kept ignorant by the [[Watchers in the Dark]] and one of their Astartes allies ''(whose identity is not explicitly stated, but presumed to be [[Cypher]])'' The Knights-Errant killed a Dark Angel during their escape, which would upset the balance of ignorance that had been maintained and set the Dark Angels on the path for the Fall.

With the help of that snake in the grass '''Astelan''', Luther was able to round up all the Dark Angels on Caliban that would have opposed him and imprison them beneath Aldurukh. During the revolt Luther was able to kill a veteran Dark Angel with little more than a letter opener - Badass for a non-Astartes.

As they prepared to openly announce their secession from the Imperium a fleet led by Belath appeared suddenly above Caliban. Belath had been ordered to come and collect the newly trained Dark Angels and bring them back to the fleet in order to continue the fight against the [[Death Guard]]. Luther persuaded Belath to wait prior to departing in order to throw a grand feast to celebrate this grand occasion ''(anyone who has watched Game of Thrones probably has a good idea where this is going)''. Luther had hoped to turn Belath and his Dark Angels to his side and during the feast he gives an impassioned speech about the evils of the Imperium and how the Emperor and the Lion have abandoned them, all the while having Zahariel and his Librarians ''(now called the Mystai)'' reach into the minds of all those listening to make it easier for them to be manipulated. The plan worked almost too well for Zahariel ''(who was now under the influence of the Ouroboros)'' so he killed Belath claiming he was about to attack Luther. What happens next makes the “Red Wedding” look subtle and downplayed, much to Luther’s dismay and anger.

With the disaster of the feast behind them, Luther and Astelan claimed ownership of the Dark Angels fleet and Astelan agreed to do Luther’s dirty work since Luther needed to be seen as beyond reproach. They planned to expand their power base by “'''Liberating'''” nearby systems from the oppression of the Imperium. As they put their plan into practice they stumbled upon Calas Typhon and what remained of his fleet as they retreated from the relentless pursuit of Corswain.

Upon their reunion Luther welcomed Typhon with open arms and offered Typhon and his fleet a place to recuperate and repair their damaged starships in the Zaramund system. Unbeknownst to Luther, it was at this point that Typhon would begin his tranformation, after being confronted by a group of Nurgle worshiping pilgrims who already referred to him as '''"Great Lord Typhus"''' and beginning a sickening ritual where they started to erupt with infection. The Calibanite captain that was sent to spy on the Death Guard flew into a rage and started hacking the cultists to death and then tried to kill Typhon in front of his Grave Wardens, though at that time Typhus what completely oblivious to any change and couldn't figure out what had driven the Dark Angel to get so mad and try and kill him. During the fight although the Calibanite was able to inflict a seeming mortal wound on Typhon, the injuries the Dark Angel inflicted were only the catalyst for ''Typhon's'' final tranformation, then ''Typhus'' was able to defeat his opponent. Afterwards, asking what his own Grave Wardens had seen, they had witnessed nothing other than a Dark Angel hacking apart civilians and then trying to assassinate their Captain. To avoid further incident '''Typhus''' would then quietly leave the Zaramund system, leaving Luther completely nonplussed.

Typhus would present Luther with a weapon, a blade of horrific power, and instruction him that to complete his destiny (that would forever bind him to the ruinous powers) he would need to wield the blade to make a sacrifice. Luther would be tempted to complete the bargain by using it on Corswain when he turned up on Caliban looking for any loyal reinforcements he could bring with him on his way to Terra, but couldn't bring himself to slay such a noble son of Caliban. In a flashback to his duel with the Lion, the blade is shown driven deep into the Lion's midsection; Luther admits that although he used the blade he did "not kill" the Lion.

At some point before the Lion's return, fighting broke out on the surface between those loyal to the Lion and those loyal to Luther. “Angels of Darkness” tells us that apparently (remember this is Astelan here) agents of the Lion retook the fleet above Caliban, which resulted in the ships crashing into the planet’s surface, burning its atmosphere and turning the earth to ash with only the great shields protecting the Order's fortress-monasteries saving them from destruction.

===The Fall of Caliban===
When the Lion returned to Caliban after the Horus Heresy had finished, he found a world that despised him and the Imperium and a war took place which cracked the very core of the planet, leaving nothing but [[The Rock|fragments]].

According to the legend, Luther had been empowered by the Dark Gods and was now an equal for the Lion. This is where the lion is again the Emprahs mini me. The Lion could not bring himself to strike down Luther and that hesitation was monopolised by Luther who psychically struck him down, though in a final moment he realised his error and broke down in tears.

When the Dark Angels descended upon the site of the battle, they could not find the body of their Primarch, the only clue was given by the now-insane Luther, who had said that the [[Watchers in the Dark]] had taken the Lion away.

==41st Millenium==
Luther is still alive 10,000 years later, kept in a cell at the heart of [[The Rock]] known only to the [[Azrael|Supreme Grand Master]] of the Dark Angels and his predecessors. The cell can only be unlocked using the Sword of Secrets and it is the duty of the holder of that blade to coerce Luther to admit to his crimes against their Primarch and the Imperium. Luther is old, especially for a man not blessed with being a full Space Marine. He is older than the fungus growing under your grandfather's toenails. Older than the pill line at a nursing home. Older than the rancid bacon I found in the back of my refrigerator last night. As such when he is not being interrogated by the Dark Angels Supreme Grand Master, he is kept in stasis to preserve what little life he has left. In the Legacy of Caliban novel series, Azrael comments as to the strict time limit he has to question the old coot for fear he'll give up the ghost before he can finish a sentence. He also remarks as to how difficult this is thanks to Ole Luther being nuttier than an unwanted fruitcake on Christmas eve. Did I mention he is old? (they probably should let the guy sleep outside of stasis for a good 8 hours. The lack of sleep is prob what's driven the guy nuts. How many hours of sleep in 10000 years do you think they let him have?)

Suffice to say that no Supreme Grand Master has succeeded in getting Luther to repent. Though during some of his interrogations, Luther has been of great help to his erstwhile kin, leading them to recover lost fragments of lore and technology hidden within the country sized bulk that is The Rock. Examples being the recovery of the STC for the Nephilim Jet Fighter. Luther's "help" can be fickle at best as most of what he utters are the lunatic ravings and riddles of a man off his ass on ether. He is convinced that the [[Advancing the Storyline|time is nigh]] when The Lion will return to forgive him of his sins and is quite adamant about this to his jailers. A point which causes no small amount of consternation to his attending Supreme Grand Master.

Luther's personal 'The First of the Fallen' novel reveals that Luther is not really in a stasis field, but is halted in time by the Watchers in the Dark. The maddening effects of his dealings with Chaos forces have left his mind in a less than ideal state (sometimes voicing "other" voices, threats, promises, bargains or other unearthly sounds, including demonic laughter), with himself admitting, in his more lucid moments, that his words should be treated as a unreliable source, as even his memories are confused and sometimes conflict with each other. The one thing that stands out crystal clear is his observation at the gradual degradation of the Dark Angels, with each encounter with new Masters becoming harsher and more extreme (he straight up tells them that the Lion would be ashamed of them). Only Azrael has surprised Luther; Luther even suspects that it was Azrael himself who left Luther unfrozen, and with the door left wide open for him to leave; what Azrael is planning is yet to be revealed, but he has long desired to bring the hunt to an end, and get the Dark Angels back on track.

As of 8th Edition, an attack by the Fallen led by the Fallen daemon prince Marbas has allowed Luther to disappear from his cell. Azrael is naturally very concerned about what this might mean but has to keep the information to himself, considering that no-one else knew Luther was alive. Now reports are coming in that a gathering of the Fallen is massing in the Nihilus Sector, assembling in ''"numbers enough to bring the entire galaxy to heel"'' and Azrael is the only one who suspects the truth of who is leading them. It will be fun to see whether Luther is even sane enough to lead ten thousand Fallen in the first place, whether Chaos will let his marked soul walk around, and what the Lion will say to him when GeeDubs is finally ready to make his model and rules.

There is, however, a notable discrepancy in Luther's apparent break-out. According to pg. 25 of the Dark Angels' 9E Codex Supplement, Azrael found that Luther's cell had been blasted into and visibly damaged during Marbas' invasion. But in ''First of the Fallen'', Luther saw that the door had simply been left open and walked out on his own, sounds of fighting in the distance but no one waiting outside the cell. And the book ends right there, with nary a daemon-prince or hooded traitor in sight. So either Luther completely imagined his "escape", Thorpe wasn't talking to the writers at GW, or there's something else going on here. Given that Luther's final memory/prophecy (the "Tale of the Heart") was about him venturing into the foundations of Aldurukh as a child, there's a possible implication that somebody let him out... and he never left the fortress-monastery at all. We also can't neglect the possibility that Luther's escape was facilitated by the Watchers in the Dark for some reason or another. Given the revelation that they seem to operate as Luther's jailers, perhaps allowing Luther to escape around the time of the opening of [[Great Rift]] ties into some larger machinations. There's a LOT of variables and unknowns here. Fucked if we know.

Despite Azrael's suspicions of what awaits the Dark Angels in the Sommnium Stars, Luther might even now be wandering around in the deepest, darkest levels of the Rock, slowly coming closer and closer to the chamber at its very heart where Big-E's sleepiest son yet snoozes...

==Trivia==
"Luther" is probably named for the monk '''Martin Luther''' (Not Martin Luther King Jr., who was himself named after the monk), who was one of the founders of the Protestant denomination. This is very significant to the Dark Angels' themes of Forgiveness and Repentance, as Martin Luther advocated that salvation was earned through faith alone and not through penitence or confession and decried the Catholic Church as corrupt. Though well-intentioned, the Reformation resulted in the splintering of Christianity on a scale not seen since the schism between the Western Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches, and some very messy conflicts.

When applied to 40k, many of the Fallen find justification for what they do and will not repent willingly, thus making it ever more difficult to make them see the error of their ways. Likewise, the conflict between the Fallen and the Loyalists often mimics the past conflict between Catholic and Protestants (real-life being less prone to Grimdark, Catholics and Protestants don't actively kill each other these days, though there are plenty of members of either side who cheerfully despise their opposite numbers), being that both were nominally of the same faith, yet of different minds about it.

{{Marines-Characters}}
{{Template:Chaos-Marines}}

[[Category:Chaos]]
[[Category:Dark Angels]]
[[Category:Fallen Angels]]

Asmodai

2023-05-26T13:56:45Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:Asmodai.jpg|thumb|right|500px|Pretty badass though (he is simultaneously interrogating a fallen on the rock at the same time, just because he is so fucking AWESOME).]]
{{Topquote|REPENT, MOTHERFUCKER!!!!!|Asmodai, If The Emperor Had A TTS Device (Episode 20)}}
{{Topquote|INTERROGATE!? WHAT. BOOK. FALLEN. REPEEENT!|Asmodai, TTS episode 28}}
'''Asmodai''' is the [[Interrogator-Chaplain|Master of Repentance]] of the [[Dark Angels]]. He is the oldest and most experienced of the Interrogator-Chaplains, and also the most obsessed with <s>hunting down the [[Fallen Angels|Fallen]] and making them repent.</s> SHOWING HIS INTENSE BURNING LOYALTY TO THE GOD EMPEROR. He's also known for failing at least twice for every success, and causing so many problems for the Dark Angels you have to wonder why he hasn't [[blam|met his end in glorious battle]] yet.

He is NOT the Grand Master of Chapter's [[Chaplain]]s however; that position belongs to '''Sapphon''', though [[Derp|he's not as famous]] as Asmodai. NOR is Asmodai the greatest of his craft; that honour belongs to '''Molochia''', who made ten [[Fallen Angels|heretics]] repent instead of Asmodai's [[FAIL|paltry two]]. So Asmodai is pretty much only known for being one of the [[Angry Marines|angriest fuckers]] within his Chapter, his rage fueled by his self-loathing at being perhaps the worst Interrogator-Chaplain the Dark Angels have ever had.

Though '''Asmodai''' is the Master of Repentance, recently he has been assigned the role of musical artist, who is available on spotify, youtube and Deezer. This raises a question in HOW DOES A PLASTIC MODEL BECOME A MUSICAL ARTIST?????

==Biography==
{{Topquote|Better that 50 million innocents perish than one single Traitor escape retribution!|The man himself, in an official GW publication.}}
[[File:Praise his name.png|200px|thumb|left|Asmodai is always encouraging those around him. [[Kharn|What a swell guy]].]]
Starting as a no-name [[What|'''tactical''']] marine in the [[Derp|'''eighth''']] company ''(that's what the book says, but the 8th company are '''Assault''' marines)'' Asmodai was a fairly unremarkable soldier. Deployed to pacify a whole hive turned traitor, his Sergeant, recognizing that a billion cultists could eventually overpower their group, opted for a decapitation strike on the rebellion high command (though he could have recognized this before losing 2/3rds of his company). They pushed through hordes of 12 year old combatants and hastily assembled <s>[[Killa_Kan]]</s> heavy lifters with strapped on armor plating. Then Asmodai fucked up when they breached the inner command sanctum, meeting his first [[Fallen Angels|<s>Fallen</s> Unrelated Traitor]] Malvine Rhemell. He'd had experience fighting traitor marines, not those his chapter built their entire identity around fighting. Rhemell made minced meat of Asmodai's sergeant and incapacitated Asmodai, letting him live so he could reflect on the total failure of a marine he was. Man even mockingly saluted him. This defeat proved to be so traumatizing that he still gets flashbacks to this secret cause of all his [[RAGE]]. Given that there was no-one else to explain the situation to, Asmodai was taught the secrets of the chapter and was offered a position in the [[Ravenwing]] or the [[Deathwing]]. He chose neither and declared he would be a [[Chaplain]] instead, vowing that no other Fallen would ever escape him.

He captured his first Fallen in '''411.M41''', but failed to make him repent when the Fallen [[FAIL|died without confessing]], which meant right off the bat he sucked at his job. This obviously caused Asmodai to enter deeper levels of [[RAGE]] and then started going to unhealthy lengths to capture more to slake his angry streak. With renewed vigour, Asmodai caught three more Fallen over the next 25 years, but still managed to kill each of them before they could repent. Normal people would have taken this as a sign that their chosen profession was not for them, but Asmodai was no normal man. So the Inner Circle decided to give him one they'd caught earlier before Asmodai exploded with [[RAGE|pent-up frustrations]]. Asmodai broke this one in one single eighteen day session of [[Anal Circumference|physical]] and [[Rebecca Black|mental]] torture. When Asmodai emerged from that cell smoking a cigarette, he had earned his first black pearl and he '''smiled for the first time.'''

Rather than allow him to calm the fuck down, his first success only made his obsession grow and it bled into the other aspects of his life as a [[Space Marine]] so bad, he's basically become the "fun police" of the 41st millennium. The Dark Angels only realized how hard shit had hit the fan when Asmodai bombarded an [[Imperial]] [[Hive|city]] to flush out a single Fallen. [[Azrael]], who saw his PR rating plummet down, politely inquired whether this wasn't a bit much. See the quote above for Asmodai's answer.

Now, this was just too crazy, even for Dark Angels, so Azrael had his command privileges revoked and transferred him to the 10th company so he could learn humility and a bit of temperance. However, not six months later the Master of Recruits came to Azrael sobbing and begging to get that absolute madman away from him: when a bunch of recruits didn't answer his questions as enthusiastically as he liked, Asmodai ordered them all killed because he thought their [[gene-seed]] might be contaminated by '''[[What|"tardiness"]].''' And it didn't stop there. When he heard someone from the Seventh Company laughing while inside [[the Rock]], he had the entire Company sworn to silence except for hymns and communicating in battle for one standard year. He doesn't actually have the authority to do any of those things, though, at least not without Azrael's approval (which he won't get). But he just tends to [[Railroading|threaten the officer]] in charge when he [[Butthurt|doesn't get his way]], and the cowardly fucks are so scared shitless of the crazed loony that they actually obey! (Besides, a vow of silence covers speech. [[FAIL|Laughing is not speaking]].)
[[File:No fun zone.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Asmodai laying down the law.]]
Unfortunately this zeal to track down Fallen has led his chapter into some big troubles, like when he countermanded a Captain's orders and diverted a Dark Angels strike force from their position fighting Orks to investigate rumours of a "remarkable warrior". It turned out that the warrior was in fact an [[Inquisitor]] of the Ordos Xenos, and the Dark Angels unauthorised repositioning cost the allied [[Silver Skulls]] most of their army. Not only that, but the Inquisitor returned to the Silver Skulls homeworld to explain exactly what happened and demanded assistance in punishing the Dark Angels for their behaviour. Wisely ''(and partly for fear of going head-to-head with the Unforgiven)'' the Silver Skulls [[Chapter Master]] instead requested that [[Azrael]] come and explain himself personally, so Azrael had to set aside his duties for a time to go and apologise for what happened. During that time Asmodai was grounded under lock and key until the Supreme Grand Master got home to decide what to do with him. When Azrael returned to [[the Rock]] and asked if Asmodai was sorry yet, Asmodai responded that he was sorry he didn't kill the Inquisitor when he had the chance.

At some point, Asmodai was passed up for promotion to High Chaplain, despite his seniority in age and the respect/fear he has earned within his Chapter. The position instead went to the much younger and more conservative '''Sapphon''' (who is secretly not conservative at all and is tasked with the curse of being the Chapter's most radical, unorthodox member). Asmodai openly states this was a bad idea, since he sees Sapphon as weak and indulgent, making Asmodai a hypocrite as that describes himself to a T. In comparison, Sapphon ''(and most of the other Inner Circle Masters, and probably just about everyone else)'' see Asmodai as psychologically unstable and a destabilizing influence on others. This is in spite of the fact that Sapphon has had multiple black pearls on his [[Rosarius|rosarius]] (and thus multiple confessed heretics) compared to Asmodai's measly two.

[[Azrael]] has had to rein him in or cover up for some of his more excessive actions, but despite everything he keeps Asmodai around because, say what you will about his sense of humour (or lack of it), the writers like him. If there's a Fallen Angel (or even someone who might know something about a Fallen Angel) out there, he will probably track it down, and then probably kill him instead of making him repent. Give him a job (preferably the killing of some heretics) and he'll get it done, usually with too much collateral damage because he's too lazy to do things properly, and then Azrael will have to cover up for whatever major fuckups ensue.

Asmodai is the chapter's rabid attack dog, but his zeal and commitment prove to be infectious to those that follow him into battle and the inner circle are very wary that he may end up pushing the lower ranks in a less-than-desirable direction which is why the level-headed Sapphon was given the top job instead; they realize that if Asmodai was ever to gain a position of higher rank then it could only mean trouble for the chapter. HOWEVER, what this really means is that Asmodai is a case of [[That Guy]] to the extreme: bad at his job, takes his rage out on the accused (not even convicted) marines, attacks others who ARE doing their jobs well out of his inferiority complex, willingly loses battles and men that take decades to replace because of his obsession with the job he's bad at and then he sucks up as hard as he can to make sure that nobody higher up sees fit to replace this walking sack of dereliction of duty. If Robot G-man is anything like his "meritocracy first" speeches proclaim, his first action will be to march right up to this company and punt Asmodai right to the nearest chaos stronghold, if only so he can do Abaddon a favor and make him look like Creed by comparison.

The Inner Circle are very much aware that Asmodai is a mad man straining at the leash but his zealous hatred is usually pointed towards the enemies of the Imperium (whenever it doesn't have to go through the Imperium itself), so they simply need to point in the general direction of the enemy and shout '''"Asmodai I can see one over there!"''' and then smile in satisfaction as the enemy promptly empty their collective bowels as Asmodai turns his violent attention their way.

Asmodai himself is very much aware that he is mad, during “The legacy of Caliban trilogy” a city-sized Daemon tried to get inside his head and attempted to corrupt him. Asmodai’s inner thoughts can be summed up as '''“Am I Mad?... WHO FUCKING CARES, TIME TO KILL ME SOME TRAITORS!”''' and using the power of [[rage]] he banishes the Daemon from his mind and then charges into an army of poor lesser Daemons and butchers everything that he can get his hands on.

It is interesting that despite his long service and obsession he has only able to make TWO Fallen repent and apparently [https://youtu.be/M56aycpd9kA?t=19m55s killed many more by "accident"], implying that he's really just a sadistic asshole. While it is true that to make a Fallen truly repent is a daunting task to start with (even Molochai, the best one at that particular job, got only 10 successful repentences total) it doesn't excuse Asmodai's paltry two successes to umptheen failures ratio seeing as how he's literally their oldest chaplain, and the fact that he's twice as likely to kill Fallen by accident than to make them repent. Why the Dark Angels keep giving Fallen to quite possibly the worst Interrogator-Chaplain to ever hold the title (their main goal is to get them to repent, killing them does not do that) is purely because of author bias.

Incidentally his preferred tool of interrogation is a torture weapon called "the Blades of Reason", maybe he chose it out of a sense of irony.

Speaking of irony, Asmodai is named after a daemon king of lust in Christian mythology, so while WH40K Asmodai is busy fun-policing the galaxy, daemon Asmodai is conversely busy living it up [[Slaanesh|Slaaneshi]]-style. Interestingly the name itself comes from Avestan "Aeshma Daeva" meaning [[Skarbrand|"wrath demon"]], which is quite an accurate description for this raging retard.

==Tabletop==
[[File: Asmodai-would_like_a_word.jpg|500px|right|thumb|YOU! YES YOU! STAND STILL LADDIE!]]

DID SOMEONE JUST SAY MURDER ANYONE VIOLENTLY?

Asmodai made a semi-welcome return to the tabletops in the 6th Edition codex with new rules and a new model. Sadly the DA's 7th Edition codex didn't make him any more useful, or viable. His page is actually right across from the generic Interrogator Chaplain, making it very easy to see how useless he is in comparison.

He is a WS6 interrogator chaplain with no upgrades, except for his trademark "Blades of Reason", which is a no-frills close combat weapon with the '''Instant Death''' rule (kind of makes you wonder why he keeps failing at torture)... he also scores +D3 victory points if he slays the enemy warlord in a challenge. Despite his WS boost and instant death capability, he will likely find this difficult (to say the least) to achieve.

Being an Interrogator Chaplain he causes ''Fear'' which doesn't help him so much, since his WS is high enough that he hits most of those things susceptible to Fear on 3+ anyway and dropping those things from 4+ odds to 5+ odds when they hit back is not something to be jumping for joy over.
Neither is an instant death weapon that has no bonuses to-wound nor any AP value; if you get REALLY lucky you might insta-gib a monstrous creature by rolling a 6 to-wound and it failing its save, but you're still probably better with the more reliable Crozius against those anyway, while you were always insta-gibbing humans/tau/eldar with anyway...

Unfortunately, like the Dark Angels themselves, you are much better served taking a tooled up nameless Interrogator Chaplain in your force and ditching Asmodai, which is rather fitting considering his fluff. Taking someone good at their job is often better than taking someone who is zealously terrible at it.

===8th edition===
He got leaked early, and first impressions are... looking a little better, but not enough to fix the fundamental problem with him: you're still better off taking a normal Interrogator-Chaplain. His Blades of Reason are still S-user AP-nil, but under the new Damage characteristics they deal D6 damage compared to his Crozius's damage of 2, and with most models in the game having more wounds this isn't a risk worth taking. He's still an Interrogator Chaplain statwise (that is, under their new statblock, so he has 5 wounds and an impressive WS 2+) so he also has "all Dark Angels within 6 inches re-roll failed to-hit in melee" and "all enemies within 6 inches have -1 Ld", plus his own personal ""all Dark Angels within 6 inches have +1 attack". The problem is, he's expensive, 130 (After Price Drop) points (or Power Rating 8) to a normal Interrogator's 90 (Power Rating 7) and doesn't have the option to buy a power fist.

'''2nd Opinion:''' Take him, a Deathwing Ancient with TH+SS, and as many [[Deathwing Knights|deathwing knights]] as you can fit. There's nothing in the rules or indexes stating +1A buffs do not stack, so Asmodai and the ancient (while powerful choices in their own right) turn deathwing knights into something that would make Slaanesh blush. Hitting 4 times (sergeant 5 times) on 3's, rerolling failed hits, S8, -2 AP (-3 for Sergeant) 3 damage each (2 for Sergeant but the wounds carry to different models). Charge these avatars of death into TEQ and watch your opponent cry.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Dark Angels]]

Gabriel Seth

2023-05-26T13:54:50Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:Gabriel_Seth.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Gabriel Seth of the Flesh Tearers. Testicle-kicking extraordinaire.]]
{{Topquote|1=[[James Swallow|Swallow's]] take on Seth is a guy who understands exactly what he is and will play his given role to the hilt, and damn the pitfalls. He consistently strikes a balance between acting like a complete dick and yet somehow hitting the precise level of dick that he gets you steamed while also garnering exactly the attention he needs to get his point across. It's like he's attained a zen level of dick [[Eldrad|other dicks]] could only hope to emulate.|2=[http://castellankurze.tumblr.com/post/79885067338/ivorytowerblr-misterruse-we-are-disorder Someone exactly getting what Gabriel Seth is all about].}}

{{Topquote|1=[[Awesome|I have fought the reaper himself. I have slain Warp-spawned beasts and xenos demigods. I will not fall to a drug-fuelled '''puppet'''.]]|2=Gabriel Seth, upon being trapped in a cell with an [[Eversor]]}}

'''Gabriel Seth''' is the [[Chapter Master]] of the [[Flesh Tearers]] Chapter of the [[Space Marines]] and a ruthless though pragmatic man.

==Father of the Flesh Tearers==
When Seth became the Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers in 815.M41 he immediately was told bad news by his Chapter's Sanguinary High Priest. The regular attrition on the forces of the Flesh Tearers combined with the degree the Chapter lost its members to the [[Black Rage]] meant the Chapter could no longer recruit enough new Marines to keep replacing losses: the Flesh Tearers were going extinct. Seth [[Rage|did not take well to this]], but he vowed that if the Flesh Tearers were to burn up they were not going to smolder out, oh no. If the galaxy was to lose the Flesh Tearers it would do so in a massive conflagration fueled by the bodies of heretics and aliens, mutants and daemons with the massive roll of honor of the Flesh Tearers as the capstone to the grave. And so started the epoch of Gabriel Seth and the Flesh Tearers (which is an excellent band name by the way).

Seth knew that his men were all but frothing [[berserker]]s who slaughter anything and everything they run into on the battlefield, be they friend or foe. As such many [[Imperial Guard]], [[Adepta Sororitas]] and even [[Space Wolves]] commanders dislike fighting alongside the Flesh Tearers: they were rather likely to turn on their allies and civilians alike (perhaps as some kind of proto-[[Khornate Knights]]?) and [[RIP AND TEAR]] through them. The Chapter Master decided to aim the [[Rage|zeal]] towards enemies with less non-targets around: diving head-first into dangerous situations in enemy territories and passing distress calls along to other Chapters who do not butcher entire planets.

Thus far Seth's plan is working: those who were out for the Flesh Tearers' blood at first are now praising them, though (of course) some skeptics remain. It is human nature to like and respect people who recognize their flaws and tackle those flaws head-on. Sure, people may still be sore about the team-killing, but they also respect that the Flesh Tearers are trying to prevent it from being a problem even though it puts them in positions where they often take heavy casualties. That they (it seems to outsiders) are choosing to risk death than endanger fellow Imperials garners true respect. To be fair, if their issue had persisted for ten thousand years, they’d have been purged. It’s either a largely recent thing (the extremes) or an on-and-off occurrence that periodically comes along.

==Son of [[Sanguinius]]==
[[File:Oh my Emperor....jpeg|300px|thumb|left|The master of the Flesh Tearers looks like Jason Statham/Hitman: Agent 47]]
The Flesh Tearers are a [[Second Founding]] of the [[Blood Angels]] and as such hold the Chapter as first amongst peers. When the Blood Angels called for a conclave of the successor chapters. Seth was at first reluctant to answer, but he quickly figured out he could gain from the situation. When he met with the others as the conclave (and a nearly lethal duel between two [[Brother-Sergeant]]s of the Blood Angels and Flesh Tearers) [[Dante]] revealed that after a big internal conflict (not as big as the [[Blood Ravens]] civil war, but damn close) the Blood Angels had lost many of their men. So Dante had decided on two things: to accelerate the Blood Angel recruitment process and that all of the successors were to pay a tithe of Space Marines to their progenitor. Seth told Dante where he could stick it, then went even beyond that by suggesting Dante did the reverse: disband the Blood Angels and distribute their Marines and wargear between the Second Founding Chapters.

Before Dante could relieve Seth [[Angry Marines|of most of his primary and redundant organs]] a subordinate of the Blood Angels High Sanguinary Priest, Caecus, claimed to have found a solution: he had managed to artificially age a recruit into a fully-able Marine in a matter of weeks. Dante was not amused, but Seth was eager to see if the Priest's claim was true, with the future of his own Chapter in mind. Unfortunately the recruit (called a Bloodchild) was as flawed as the last time the aging techniques were used by [[Corax]], and the Bloodchild succumbed to the [[Black Rage]] in the middle of a combat trial and had to be put down. This infuriated Dante and ordered the research on the Bloodchild destroyed.

Seth took the chance to approach Dante and made a bold offer: to disband the Blood Angels entirely and make them all Flesh Tearers (an offer that's [[troll|retroactively hilarious]] when it's revealed in a novel that decades ago Dante passed down a verdict for the Flesh Tearers to be disbanded and absorbed into the various Blood Angels chapters). Dante told Seth to go fuck himself, but then the alarms went off.

Caecus had, following a bout of desperation and an offer by one Magos Serpens, made a terrible mistake: added blood from the Red Grail to the mix of the Bloodchild's prototypes, which spawned a horde of monstrosities called the Bloodfiends. With a nice [[troll]]face Serpens then revealed himself as [[Fabius Bile]] and the Bloodfiends broke loose. They tried to defile the tomb of Sanguinius, but with the help of Gabriel Seth and the other Second Founding Chapters the Bloodfiends were destroyed.

Seth himself held the Priest Gate with Dante (postmortem analysis by Sanguinary High Priest Corbulo revealed that one in five of the Bloodfiends killed at the Priest Gate died of injuries resulting from a shattered pelvic bone), and Dante finally let out his frustrations, saying that Seth thrived on disorder. Seth put on a huge trollface and admitted as much, saying that he was essentially Dante's watchman: while the Flesh Tearers were the Great Angel's battle savagery, the Blood Angels represented all of Sanguinius and had to be held to a higher standard. Dante also proved that there was no bad blood (no pun intended) between two Chapter Masters when he rescued Seth from a Bloodfiend, calling him "brother" instead of the normal "cousin". Bile escaped with some of the blood of Sanguinius and became a target of the Blood Angels from that day on.

With the Blood Angels more, well, bloodied than ever, Dante repeated his request but added that it was nothing more than that: a request. Seth was the first to step up and repeated the final line of the Flesh Tearers Invocation Initiate to prove his point: if you messed with any of the Sons of Sanguinius, you messed with all of them, and pledged some of his men to the Blood Angels.

As of the current state of the Imperium, someone high up somewhere apparently wants Seth dead. The Chapter Master was lured to an old battlefield to make a vigil for his fallen brothers, but was trapped in an armourglass remembrance chamber with an [[Eversor Assassin]] courtesy of a traitor ''(not [[Chaos|that kind]])'' Sergeant from his own chapter, who presented an Inquisitorial rosette and the alleged fact that Seth was leading the chapter to ruin as his justification. In other words, someone doesn’t like that Gabriel has basically solved the Flesh Tearer’s problem by simply making sure friendlies aren’t nearby.

After being stabbed through the chest and in the forehead, Seth narrowly managed to defeat the Assassin, pointedly [[Rip and Tear|NOT killing it]] (and a good thing too, as the resulting explosion likely would've killed him too) by smashing the Eversor to a bloody pulp and severing one of its arms with its own weapon. Seth then dragged its still living heap of a body back to his ship, where he locked the dying Eversor in a room with his former sergeant as a just punishment for the betrayal, letting the explosion cripple the traitor before finishing him off with his own hands.

==The Devastation of Baal==

Gabriel was one of those who heeded Dante's call to all Chapters of the Blood to defend the Blood Angels home world from the incoming tendril of [[Hive Fleet Leviathan]]. In a move that surprised Seth himself, Dante called him friend, and privately loaned the Flesh Tearers a priceless treasure -- the Reliquary of Amit, the only work of craftsmanship done by the Chapter's first Chapter Master. In it was held the last remaining feather of the Primarch, preserved for all time.

The Flesh Tearers were assigned the defence of Baal Primus. When Seth found out that the renegade [[Knights of Blood]] had ''also'' decided to defend the area, he had to try long and hard not to pick a fight with his erstwhile "cousins", specifically the Knights of Blood Chapter Master Sentor Jool. After a slight detour and a history lesson, Seth decided to leave the Knights of Blood alone, but left an implied threat that it would ''not'' be a good idea for the two Chapters to meet on the field of battle.

The arrival of the [[Tyranids]] made any confrontation between chapters moot, and Seth threw himself into the defense with gusto, tempering the strong urge to [[Rip and Tear]] with actual tactical thought. The defence wore on, and the Chapter casualties mounted, and Seth would not expend his forces needlessly. This surprisingly strategic turn of thought enraged the Chapter's last remaining Reclusiarch, Appollus, who thought it would be better to lead the remaining Flesh Tearers into the horde and die in a blaze of glory, rather lose marine after marine in an inglorious defence far from Baal.

Faced between a quick if glorious end for his Chapter, and a slow one, Seth proverbially said to himself, "Screw this!" -- if the Flesh Tearers were to die out anyway, it would be doing something important. He decided to withdraw his forces to Baal, but not before dragging the Knights of Blood with him. He fought his way to where the renegades were holding out, deep in the Tyranid horde, and "convinced" Sentor Jool and his men to follow him back.

Then the Fall of Cadia happened.

The Great Rift opened, and (coupled with the failure of a ritual on Baal by [[Mephiston]] and his coven of librarians from many Chapters of the Blood [[Irony|aimed at preventing the following outcome]]) the skein of reality grew thin. Seeing its chance, [[Ka'bandha]], the Angel's Bane, manifested in orbit around Baal Primus, and fell like a Warp-spawned meteor upon the moon.

==The aftermath of the Battle of Baal==
With the arrival of the Khornate forces, Sentor Jool and the remaining Knights of Blood stayed to keep the daemons on the soon to be dead moon while Gabriel tried to find refuge outside of the satellite, both to preserve whatever was left of his chapter and to preserve Amit's relic. While he was doing this, the influence of Khorne's on his red thirst was almost unbearable, and only due to the influence of Sanguinius' feather did he manage to stay lucid and sober. He was one of the first Marines to receive the news of the forces of the [[Indomitus Crusade]] coming to [[Baal]] to help at the last possible minute (which it wasn't, time had been deformed around Baal due to the [[Great Rift]]'s birth, and while it had been only a couple of days on Baal, decades had passed outside of it).

Seth appears as one of the few Chapter Master survivors. While Dante and him, discuss the future of the sons of Sanguinius, Seth confesses that he thinks Guilliman's Primaris Marines are going to be the end of the original astartes, saying that [[Roboute Guilliman|Guilliman]] is acting against the Emperor's design:

:''"You'' ([[Dante]]) ''are too noble to understand. [[Grimdark|That is not salvation, that is replacement]]. [[Primaris Marines|These new warriors]] will bear the colours of [[Flesh Tearers]], but without Sanguinius’ fury they will be Flesh Tearers in name only. All my time as Chapter Master I have waged war on our rage, to wrestle it into submission and use its strength to slay our foes. We are fury! From the time of [[Nassir Amit|Amit]], the savage lord, to this day, we have carried the white heat of Sanguinius’ anger in us. That was our gift and our burden. [[Red Thirst|The flaw]] is what makes us what we are. We are nothing without the struggle against it. He would make us all [[Ultramarines]] in red armour.''"''

With that, he leaves, lamenting the future of his chapter. Suffice to say, he is one of the more public characters that despise the idea of the Primaris Marines, and if something ever goes wrong with them, he may be one of the first to start a public campaign against them, despite the Primarch's wishes. [[Nassir Amit|Sounds weirdly familiar...]]. In the above quote, he forgets the Chapters are expected to teach the Primaris to be one of them and regardless they receive the means to make their own Primaris so those at least will be raised completely within the Chapter. He also places far too much emphasis on the flaws’ influence and forgets that any Son of Sanguinius is defined by far more than his flaws.

However, recent lore has confirmed that Sanguinius-born Primaris marines are also susceptible to the Red Thirst and Black Rage but the Todd news they can actually overcome it on there own which makes Seth happy. So Seth either has to come to terms that the Primaris marines are just as flawed as the original Sons of Sanguinius and consider them true battle brothers, or he's going to keep railing on them like that [[Thorek Ironbrow|old coot down the street who hates these young whipper-snappers and their confangled techi-nology]].

On a different note, Guilliman has stated that he utterly trusts Seth to do the best thing for the imperium, even citing Seth's similarity to Amit.

==Brawler on the Battlefield==
[[File:99800101050 GabrielSethNEW 01.jpg|300px|right|thumb|LET ME SEE YOUR WAR FACE!]]
{{Topquote|...indeed he himself is prone to rage-soaked savagery as any of his brethren.|Blood Angels Codex}}

Gabriel Seth foregoes the traditional [[Power weapon|Power Weapon]] of his fellow Chapter Masters in favor of the Blood Reaver: an [[Chain_Weapon#Eviscerator|Eviscerator]] that in [[crunch]] terms doubles his strength to a total of 8 and gives a somewhat lacking AP-2, which funnily enough means that in 8th Edition he deals more damage than ever. It always deals 3 damage, and all rolls to hit of 6+ automatically inflict another hit (that as previously noted is always a kick to the balls). And while Seth has WS 2+ (with rerolls) and 4 attacks, well-armored foes might prove a problem. But if he manages to wound them all but the toughest targets die immediately. This also means that he's surprisingly effective against light vehicles, especially when backed by a properly-geared squad. Do not forget that he also has a Bolt Pistol and Frag/Krag grenades, which can really help out in a bind. He also has the Lord of Slaughter ability; if a squad finishes its consolidation within 6" of him it can immediately fight a second (but not a third) time, meaning that if Seth's unit does not immediately wipe out its opponent it has a second shot at doing so. And at 135 points (7 Power) he is a rather good purchase as long as you also have a dedicated assault unit for him to join ([[Veteran Squad|Company Veterans and Vanguard Veterans without Jump Packs]] come to mind) and a matching transport.

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Space Marines Chapter Masters]]
[[Category:Blood Angels]]

Hyperion

2023-05-26T13:49:53Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:Hyperion.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Started from the bottom, etc...]]
'''Hyperion''' is an all round cool dude and possibly one of the sanest [[psykers]] in the 40k setting. He is also a [[Grey Knight|Grey Knight Librarian]]. Known for breaking [[Angron]]'s blade, trolling one of the [[Imperium]]'s most respected chapter masters ([[Anal Circumference|though karma would later pay him a visit for that]]), chilling with two [[Inquisitor]]s and joining a legendary brotherhood of demi-gods (not necessarily in that order). Not to be confused with the Borderlands 2 corporation. Or the Imperial knight house (or, you know, the Greek primordial god of the sun and light). Oh, and he's famous for getting beaten up by [[Logan Grimnar]].

==History==
=== Lowly Beginnings ===
Born Zael Effernetti, a low hiver on Eustis Majoris. Addicted to flect, a psychoactive drug, Zael did whatever he could to score his next hit. It was by chance that Inquisitor [[Ravenor]] and his followers were on the planet at the same time, investigating the flect trade as part of a larger conspiracy. They came across Zael and roped him into being used as a means to infiltrate the local flect trade. It was at this time Zael's latent psychic powers began to be seen. Somehow the regular round-ups of pskyers had missed him. Ravenor, unlike many Inquisitors, did not [[Blam!]] him without a second thought, but instead took him under his wing, hoping to use his talents for his own means. He had discovered Zael was a mirror psyker, able to passively pick up messages and then resend them - just the kind of talent an Inquisitor could appreciate. Given his latent psychic power, Zael was sent off to join the Grey Knights after Ravenor was declared renegade, which worked out okay for him. After going through the many trials a Grey Knight initiate must face, he was given the name Hyperion. The Grey Knights rediagnosed his powers as a form of psychic parasitism - apparently a defensive reflex for an untrained psyker. After being unlocked and trained by the Grey Knight's, he gained competence in a broad swathe of skills, preferring pyrokinesis and telekinesis in battle.

=== First War of Armageddon and the Trolling of Angron ===
Barely had Hyperion had time to warm his suit of new Terminator armour when he and a Grey Knights force assisting an [[Ordo Malleus]] investigation discovered that a massive invasion of the important world [[Armageddon]] was underway by the traitor Primarch [[Angron]], lord of the [[World Eaters]] [[Chaos Space Marine]]s. Responding to an urgent plea for assistance from [[Logan Grimnar]], [[Chapter Master]] of the [[Space Wolves]], the Grey Knights assembled a force of 109 warriors from wherever they could, travelled to Armageddon and teleported right into the midst of the Chaotic host and directly attacked Angron and his [[Bloodthirster]] bodyguards (this was actually a demand of Logan, in order to spare the population of the Hive Cities that hadn't been tainted by Chaos from seeing the Grey Knights and having to be subject to subsequent purging).

What followed was a battle that alone could make fan boys weep and be worthy of a [[Games Workshop]] Summer campaign. Hyperion's squad battled Angron and was made into chow by the traitor and his giant Black Blade. Hyperion, showing what a true hero can do, stood over a wounded battle brother trying to protect him. Using all his power to strike at the fallen Primarch, Hyperion shattered the dark sword of the daemon prince and instantly earned near limitless respect points for his act. Let's remind the reader that he was barely out of training at the time and facing a foe even the other Primarchs would struggle against.

Now while some people might call bullshit on such a feat, it should be noted that Angron was already being savaged by other Grey Knights at this time and artillery strikes were raining down on him. Additionally, Hyperion was noted to be an exceptionally strong psyker (he was only about a year into service and was already outpacing his squad's Justicar in some respects). Hyperion didn't actually ''defeat'' the Primarch in any measurable capacity, though breaking his sword allowed Captain Taremar Aurelian to banish Angron to the Warp in return for his own life. Channeling all that energy <s>knocked him unconscious</s> literally cracked his skull and fried parts of his brain, [[Awesome|but that didn't stop him from searching for his missing brothers after waking up hours later, before finally collapsing into a coma after coming back aboard his ship]]. He ended up having to get [[Iron Hands|half his face replaced with metal after it]].

For this act, the Space Wolves gave him the cool title of 'Bladebreaker', which is known to make [[Sisters of Battle]] swoon in his presence, and is probably the only reason why [[Logan Grimnar]] refrained from killing him like he had with the Inquisitors and other Grey Knights, and instead [[troll|merely kicked his ass]].

Interestingly, on returning to Titan after the [[Armageddon#The_Months_of_Shame|Months of Shame]], Hyperion reflected that he agreed with neither side of the conflict totally, seeing both sides as having flawed arguments. He tended to fall in more with the Inquisition's pragmatic approach over the Wolves' idealism but he saw how heavy-handed the Inquisition's response had been. This instantly makes him quite likable because, while he may follow orders like a soldier, he is shown to have his own opinions and to realize when his superiors are being dicks, thus proving he has the greatest trait forgotten about in the 40k setting: that he can think. Thus he is one of only four Grey Knights that [[/tg/]] considers notably awesome. The other 3 are [[Arvann Stern|Brother-Captain Stern]], [[Castellan Crowe]], and, of course, [[Justicar Alaric]]. [[Anval Thawn|Thawn]] is still up for debate; we need more evidence. Then again, considering how few characters in the chapter have received any meaningful fluff, that's not too bad a number.

=== A higher calling ===
Eventually Hyperion was promoted to the Chapter's Librarius and soon began training to be a member of the Prognosticars. Enjoying a lengthy career, by the end of the 41st millennium, he was beginning to train new brothers to be Prognosticars. His BFF is his former battle brother from his old squad, who is now a Grey Knight [[Techmarine]].

And it was by then he began sensing the galaxy was sliding into Chaos and that shit was going to get fucked up.....

=A Fan's Attempt At Rules=
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Prognosticar Hyperion:''' || 165 || 5 || 2+ || 2+ || 4 || 4 || 5 || 3 || 9 || 2+/5++/3++/6+++
|}

;Equipment
:Terminator Armour, Storm Bolter, Frag Grenades, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades, Personal Teleporter, Bladebreaker, Mindshield.
;Rules
:And They Shall Know No Fear, Daemon Hunters, Rites of Banishment, Teleport Strike.
;On Grey Wings of Doom
:If Hyperion is included in your army, his detachment may take interceptors as troops.
;Psyker
:This model can cast 2 and deny 2 psychic powers; he knows Smite and 2 powers from the Sanctic discipline.
;Mental Strain
:Hyperion's actions on Armageddon have taken their toll. Hyperion suffers Perils of the Warp on any double on the Psychic Test.
;Prognosticar
:Hyperion is part of the Prognosticar order; his devotion is solely to seeing into the myriad possibilities of the future. If an enemy unit is set up on the battlefield as reinforcements within 12" of Hyperion, all friendly GREY KNIGHTS units within 6" of Hyperion can immediately Shoot that unit as if it were the Shooting phase or Fight that unit as if it were the Fight phase.
;Relic Of Titan - Bladebreaker
:Bladebreaker is a Relic Master Crafted Nemesis Warding Stave: Melee S+2 AP-1 D2, +2 to invuln saves in the Fight phase. Each time this model succeeds on an invuln save in the Fight phase, the unit that inflicted the save suffers a mortal wound after all of their attacks have been resolved.
;Relic of Titan - Mindshield
:Mindshield is a Relic Psychic Hood. You can add 1 to Deny the Witch tests you take for this model against enemy PSYKERS within 12". In addition, every time this model suffers a wound, roll a die; on a 6, the damage is ignored.
;Warlord Trait
:First to the Fray

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Grey Knights]]

Darnath Lysander

2023-05-26T13:49:07Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:Lysanderart.jpg|450px|thumb|Lysander, proving that "Vanilla" is not bad.]]

{{Topquote|My kind were created to feel no fear, but we understand it. We were all once men who felt fear as does anyone else, and we must know it because it is a weapon we wield.|[[Awesome|The man himself]]}}

'''Darnath Lysander''' is the [[Brother-Captain|First Captain]] of the [[Imperial Fists]] [[Space Marine Chapter]]. He's a pretty cool dude. He wears yellow and [[Meme|doesn't afraid of anything]]. Really quite the fun guy to be around. [[Rape|Apparently the rapetrain comes in yellow now]].

== Backstory ==
Lysander has what might be one of the manliest back-stories of all time. His backstory begins as a kid of only 13. After surviving a Waaagh! and a heresy, he was recruited on Holy Terra because a captain thought he was the second coming of Dorn. He murdered what we can only assume were scores of chaos. He also boarded and captured the Eldar vessel named the Blood of Khaine. It is generally accepted that the Blood of Khaine had the Avatar of Khaine onboard, so we can only assume that Lysander tore it apart with his bare hands. Unfortunately, other factions began powergaming, trying to stop Lysander and company from doing the incredibly cheesy tactic of Drop-pods and Teleport homers, so the cultists used Warp dickery to mishap a squad of Terminators into a mountainside. As his Captain lay dying, he saw it fit to bestow Lysander with the Fist of Dorn, the coolest looking Thunder Hammer that ever was. Lysander then killed all of the stupid chaos cultists (with said hammer), then got promoted to Captain.

For years, Lysander terrorized the galaxy with the Fist of Dorn, deep striking himself and other Terminators into other enemy squads and shoving fist-hammer up anus and similar hole alike, just like how you play him tabletop. He later happened upon an Alpha Legion base, and tore them to shreds. All of them. Years later, as he was chilling with some Terminators on their way to Deep Strike some poor xenos, he got stuck in a warp storm and was lost. During this time stuck in the Warp storm, he probably roamed the warp with Draigo, beating the everloving shit out of whatever poor demon they met. A thousand years of demon-killing later, he re-emerged back into regular space. Chaos-held space.

Immediately captured by Iron Warriors under the command of Warsmith [[Shon'tu]] (the self-proclaimed reincarnation of an infamous warlord of the same name who ruled during the Dark Age of Technology), who blew up his ship, then captured him and some of the survivors. The mad Warsmith then tortured them for a few weeks on their fortress world of Malodrax in between bouts of ranting about "his" past exploits. Tired of the Iron Warrior's shit, Lysander broke his way out of Malodrax's capital with his bare hands, leaving a trail of death and destruction. He broke out of a fortress-world full of Chaos Space Marines specialized in fortified positions and close combat. [[Awesome|Naked]].

After returning to Imperial space, he was screened for all types of daemonette STD's and for traces of heresy. Amazingly, he was clean. Being the oldest Space Marine alive (except for Dante), he was promoted back to captain of the first company. His first act was to go back to the Iron Warrior fortress world of Malodrax, and destroy all that remained. Due to his rampage earlier, he succeeded in destroying a few untoppled buildings and Chaos UNICEF, but Shon'tu... well, here is where things get fuzzy. In the book ''Malodrax'' Lysander beats the everliving shit out of the Warsmith of Malodrax, using special Inquisition anti-Marine poison for good measure. However, the book never actually gives the Warsmith's name, just that Lysander knew who he was. Why is this important? Because every other source makes it clear Shon'tu had long since escaped Malodrax and Lysander never found him.

[http://www.scribd.com/doc/147213864/m1180071-Space-Marines-Datasheet-Terminator-Titanhammer-Squads Today, he walks around with his hammer and his hammer-wielding buddies whacking at the ankles of Traitor Titans].

==A Bad Boss==
{{MattWard}}
[[File:Lysander.jpg|450px|thumb|right|The poster-boy of the Imperial fists.]]
Darnath Lysander is not the sort of person you'd want as your employer. Even amongst genetically enhanced religious fanatics indoctrinated from childhood to genocide all deviants to death, he has a reputation for being a bit of a cockhead. For example, once upon a time, the Imperial Fists 3rd Company was surrounded by Iron Warriors, their Captain was killed, and the company was almost annihilated. The few survivors of the ordeal would later learn that reinforcements from the Blood Angels and Ultramarines were in the system and available for rapid deployment at any time, but Lysander, the commander of the Imperial Fists on the planet, was too proud to accept their aid, instead preferring to allow his marines to die in great, heaping mounds. In fact, during the subsequent trial, Lysander continued to deny that their assistance was ever needed and even suggested that if the Ultramarines hadn't intervened, he would have slain the Warsmith commanding their forces. (Incidentally, the Warsmith in question was none other than Shon'tu, which suggests that Lysander was motivated by revenge and not just stubbornness.) While Chapter Master Vladimir Pugh considered stripping him of his rank for allowing the unnecessary deaths of so many of his men, doing so ran the risk of causing a split in the Chapter, as many believed Lysander's actions to be heroic instead of the byproduct of a single-minded obsession with revenge against the Iron Warriors. As a compromise, he merely demoted Lysander to the rank of 3rd Company Captain (and promptly reassigned them to a crusade against the Orks, much to Lysander's disappointment).

In the book Architect of Fate, Lysander was attached to an Imperial Fist garrison on board a star fortress, so he clearly goes where he wants when he wants to. Continuing the theme of being a bad boss, he murdered the astropath so that a clandestine call for reinforcements wouldn't get out (the astro knew it was coming, and was okay with it in the end, so not so bad we guess?), had his injured [[Techmarine]] possessed so that he could kill a daemon dead, and manipulated the enemy [[Warsmith]] into unleashing his pet greater daemon so that his reinforcements could kill it. He won in the end, but lost at least one star fortress and got a lot of his own killed in the process. The theme there was that Lysander thought that no price for victory against Chaos was too steep, which just reinforces him as being pretty obsessive about revenge against Chaos, no matter how much it hurts his own side in the end. Although, if it really is that he's so obsessed with fighting Chaos, he should put his pride as secondary rather than refusing reinforcements and the like. On the other hand, putting fewer forces into harm's way when it is not '''''strictly absolutely definitively''''' necessary does have its own merits.

[http://mediacdn.disqus.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/638/6021/original.jpg This is not bullshit, this is actually canon.] Unsurprisingly, this garbage was written by everyone's favorite serial [[Matthew Ward|canon]]-[[Robin Cruddace|rapists]]; see [http://thegoodthebadtheinsulting.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/sentinels-of-terra-part-2-lore.html THIS] and [http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/281122-sentinels-of-terra-a-sm-supplement/?p=3479977 THIS]. Cuz, you know, Ward will fling his own poo at every Chapter Master other than his beloved Papa Smurf in order to make [[Marneus Calgar|him]] look good. Then again, considering Lysander's tendencies towards [[Malal|being a self-destructive teamkiller just so he can destroy the forces of Chaos]], [[Just As Planned|something sinister may be afoot here]]. If you gaze in the abyss, the abyss gazes into you; and Lysander's behavior is strangly reminiscent of his hated enemies disdain for every other thing in order to secure victory. Or he just has trouble remembering that not everyone has 2+ and 3++ saves, Eternal Warrior and 4 wounds like he does.

Recently GW seems to be trying to rehabilitate his image. For his flaws, Lysander has now turned down taking up the mantle of [[Chapter Master]] not once, but twice when offered by his fellows. The reason ''why'' is never stated outright, but whether out of humility, stubbornness or a [[rage|burning need]] to [[Rip and tear|cave traitors' skulls in]] by deploying some [[anal circumference|Thunderhammer time upon them]]; he is at least on some level aware his way of doing things might not be the best and that getting overall command would be bad for his Chapter.

==On the Tabletop==
===7th Edition===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Captain Lysander:''' || 230 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 3 || 10 || 2+/3++
|}

Lysander is tough. Do not fight Lysander. He will win. He has a captain's stat line with an extra wound and a bunch of fun toys. Basics first, he has ATSKNF and Chapter Tactics (Imperial Fists: Bolter Drills, which Lysander gives 0 shits about), plus he has Eternal Warrior. His warlord trait gives him FNP, as if he needed more durability, and a unique rule "Icon of Obstinacy" that makes your space marines within 12" know no fear (rerolling morale checks! Because they really needed that. For toys he has a suit of terminator armor for a good save, plus he has a storm shield and the "Fist of Dorn" which is a thunder hammer that strikes at strength 10 AP2.

Lysander is dead 'ard and dead killy. Seriously, not only is this fucker striking at strength 10, he's got 2+/3++/5+++ with eternal warrior and he WILL NOT run away from you. While he's no tactical genius, Lysander will take most challengers that dare to step up. Seriously, even [[Marneus Calgar|The]] [[Dante|Big]] [[Logan Grimnar|Three]], or [[Smashfucker]] will have trouble with this guy. By mathhammer he'll only consistently lose to a few independent character challengers like [[Kaldor Draigo]], [[Asterion Moloc]], [[Abaddon]], or [[Phoenix Lord|a few of the Phoenix Lords]], like [[Phoenix Lord#Jain_Zar|Jain Zar]] or [[Phoenix Lord#Asurmen|Asurmen]], with his "Fuck-Your-Eternal-Warrior" 1-shot sword.
===8th Edition===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
! Captain Lysander
| 130 || 5 || 2+r1 || 2+r1 || 4 || 4 || 6 || 4 || 9(10)rf || 2+/3++
|-
! || colspan=2 | Range || colspan=2 | Type || S || AP || D || colspan=3 | Abilities
|-
! Fist of Dorn
| colspan=2 | Melee || colspan=2 | Melee || +6 || -3 || 3 || colspan=3 |
|}

*'''Special Rules'''
**'''Angels of Death''': Basically Shock Assault, making him hit 5 times when charging or charged.
**'''{{W40Kkeyword|Imperial Fists}}''': Still useless on him.
**'''Deep Strike'''
**'''Icon of Obstinacy''': Only 1 '''IMPERIAL FIST''' model may flee as a result of a failed morale test within 6".
**'''Rites of Battle''': Re-roll hit rolls of 1 for friendly {{W40Kkeyword|<CHAPTER>}} units within 6".
**'''Warlord Trait''': ''Indomitable'': Cannot be wounded by wound rolls of 1-3, regardless of the weapon's Strength characteristic. Makes him considerable harder to shift due to effectively ignoring 50% of all wounds.
*'''Wargear'''
**Terminator Armor, Storm Shield, Fist of Dorn

Lysander has a captain's stat line with an extra Ld (which usually won't matter) and his chapter tactics are also usually irrelevant - he has no weapons to ignore cover saves with, and he lacks any guns he'd want to use on a building. His warlord trait means that even overcharged plasma and Knights can only wound him on a 4+ or better. The big seller is his melee weapon, which acts like a Thunder Hammer without the to-hit penalty and with an additional +2S, although if you give him an S buff you'll notice that it isn't a normal thunder hammer - e.g. under ''Might of Heroes'', he'll go to S11, not S12. This difference will tend to be insignificant, however, as he's already strong enough to flatten even Knights with a good thwack.

{{Marines-Characters}}

Kaldor Draigo

2023-05-26T13:47:11Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

{{awesome}}
{{Fail}}
{{MattWard}}
{{Plot Armour}}
{{HurfDurf}}
[[File:Kaldor Draigo vs M'kar the Reborn.jpg|400px|thumb|right|Mary Sue HOOOOOOOOOO! From the looks of it, things are [[not as planned]] for the Lord of Change.]]

{{Topquote|I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me!|Kaldor Draigo thinks he is as badass as [[Angry Marines|Rorschach]] in Watchmen, [[skub|which is obviously, utterly false]]}}

Oh fucking hell, where to ''start'' with this [[Erda|poorly-written piece of work.]] '''Kaldor Draigo''' is the '''Supreme''' Grand Master ''(Don't forget the [[Azrael|Supreme]] part)'' One True Sue of the [[Grey Knights]] probably the [[Alpharius|greatest living loyalist in the 41st Millenium]]... and a ridiculously obnoxious thorn in the side of anyone who [[Dark Angels|<s>is an enemy of the emperor</s>]] isn't an obnoxious prepubescent [[Bitch|BITCH.]] And the worst thing is that we can't get rid of the thorn.

==Origins in the Fluff==
Draigo first showed up from out of no-where in [[Matt Ward]]'s [[Skub|infamous]] Grey Knights 5th Edition codex, previously there had been no mention of the character anywhere, but suddenly we were presented with this all new guy, with a list of deeds equivalent/greater than any of the established 40k heavies, including several [[Primarchs]], yet somehow completely and unbelievably infallible.

As a lowly Battle-Brother he banished the [[M'kar|Daemon Prince M'kar the Reborn]] and he has risen steadily through the ranks to become the '''SUPREME''' Grand Master Chosen of the most secretive Chapter of [[Space Marines]]. Yet ever since his other battle with [[M'kar]], Draigo has been cursed to a life within the Warp, doomed to walk within the [[Chaos|Realm of Chaos]], [[Mary Sue|to remain pure when constantly assailed by Chaos]] and to show fortitude and personal strength [[Mary Sue|that is beyond comprehensible measure]]. ''(In other words, he's got [[Plot armor]] of a scale equivalent to a 1++ unmodifiable save)''

But while Draigo lives, he will [[troll|prevail]], and one day, he will return.

===Wait this sounds so familiar... Oh, son of a bitch!===
''Long ago in a distant land, I, M'kar, a shape-shifting Daemon of Chaos, unleashed an unspeakable evil! But a foolish Grey Knight warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. (Sword fighting happens) Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in space and flung him into the Warp, where my evil is law! Now the fool seeks to return to the Materium, and undo the evil that is M’kar!''

[[Samurai Jack|Dammit, Matt Ward's ripping off stories better than his own again.]]

To be fair, Samurai Jack is <s>ripped off from</s>{{BLAM}} {{BLAM|'''HERESY'''}} inspired by Frank Miller's Rönin; if you haven't read that Samurai Jack's like a less violent, samurai-and-fantasy-based version of [[Fist of the North Star]]. Though Matt Ward's fluff is still awful and unworthy of even sharing the same paragraph as those three.

Another theory poses that Draigo is a copy-paste of Khal Drogo from [[A Song of Ice and Fire]], whose only notable characteristic for most of the series was being literally undefeated forever. Khal Drogo got better later; Draigo didn't.

===Listings of Deeds===

Kaldor Draigo is famous for:
*Killing a Daemon Prince in his first combat action. Admittedly it was [[M'kar]], Daemon Prince of Jobbers and Getting Shitstomped by Main Characters, but still. ''First bloody mission.''
*Banishing Daemon [[Primarch]] [[Mortarion]] back to the warp, somehow carving the name of the previous supreme grand master Geronitan (a fucking long name) into the heart of said Daemon Primarch ''without contracting [[Nurgle|space daemon AIDS]] in the process''
**to put this insanity in perspective, try cursive writing with a Chainsaw (block letters are difficult in wood to begin with, let alone flesh) while in the middle of an industrial toxic waste dump <s>without any protection.</s> wearing a punctured HAZMAT suit. Unless you have Plot Armor, then it's pretty sensible.
***<s>Another idea would be to go and listen to the audio drama "Mortarion's heart", this will resolve the issues that people have with this event.</s> Said book was literally created to shed some light on the absurdity of this event and it just turned into an inevitable Grey Knights fans hype train, with the bottom line being "Death Guards sucks, GK rule, Mortarion is a bitch", so, not much help really.
**As of [[Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate - Daemonhunters]], whooping Mortarion's rank ass for a second time, but this time [[Derp|in Nurgle's Garden,]] [[Wat|with only 4 Grey Knights backing him up (with 4 more holding off the]] [[Death Guard]] [[Bullshit|), in a trap he deliberately walked into because there was no other way to stop Mortarion's plan]]. Really, [[Aaron Dembski-Bowden|ADB]]?
*Single-handedly holding off a daemon horde for two days in real space
*Killing a Daemon Prince with a broken sword,
*Killing one of [[Khorne]]'s strongest [[Bloodthirster]]s with little to no weaponry
*Taking said Bloodthirster's axe and reforging it into a sword for his own personal use WITH HIS MIND (<s>you know, despite it being an obvious weapon of a Daemon and automatically a corrupting influence just to hold, let alone press your bare mind against (just don't tell this to Logan Grimnar, m'kay?)</s> okay fine, this actually has precedent in the older lore and even more so in the newer fluff for being done safely; it typically requires the Daemon weapon to either be HEAVILY purified by space-priests, or a more esoteric ritual under the guidance of Stormseers or Rune Priests (as was the case for Logan Grimnar), or alternatively, just be nullified through the use of archeotech, and ONLY THEN can it be reforged without risk of corruption).
*Slaying 6 of Slaanesh's chosen Daemonettes (when setting one's gaze upon them is enough to instantly force submission from any mortal, no matter how strong-willed, unless they are <s>blessed/cursed</s> backed by Khorne)
*Setting fire to Nurgle's garden (again, whilst somehow miraculously avoiding space daemon [[AIDS]])
*Walking into the City of Tzeentch and single-handedly smashing it to rubble, which, given that the City of Tzeentch comprises geometry which is literally impossible, MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE <strike>''(maybe he just smashes the impossible buildings into equally-impossible rubble?)</strike> {{BLAM|Who the fuck gave Matt Ward his editing privileges back?!}}''

**To be <strike>fair</strike> a cunt, Great Boss [[Tuska Daemon-Killa|Tuska the Demon-killa]] did that to several different places with impossible geometry during his WAAAGH! into the warp... but then again, those are [[Orks]], for whom impossible shit forms the backbone of their war machinery, he had an army and artillery with him so they could've [[Dakka|fired in all directions]], he had an army with him that took losses as they went and they eventually were defeated, in a sense <span style='color:green;font-size:105%'>'''DEFEETED? WE'Z STUCK IN IN AN ENDLESS WAAAGH!!! WHERE U KAN COME BACK FO' MOAR EVVRY TIME U GET ZOGGED! AN' WE'Z NEVAH RUN OUTTA ENEMIEZ! GREAT BOSS DEMONA-KILLA IZ DA BEST BOSS EVAH!'''</span>)
*Slaying a large number of daemons whilst being trapped in warpspace (though not nearly as many as Doomguy, who has a confirmed demon kill count of over 400 quadrillion)
He can also be summoned by chaos cultists unwittingly instead of a daemon, no sooner returning to the Warp than after slaying them all.

===Additional Bullshit===
If anyone needed additional proof that Matt Ward is too busy wanking off at the thought of his own fluffing skills to actually pay any attention to what he's writing, just look at the chronology of Draigo's entry. He initially distinguishes himself in 799.M41 during his first encounter with M'Kar, earning the rank of Justicar. The next confrontation with M'Kar occurs 'Two hundred years to the day since Draigo's victory on Acralem' (i.e. 999.M41). 999.M41; this is confirmed in the 'Deeds of Legend' section of the Codex as well. Additionally, 999.M41 is ''also'' the point Draigo is dragged into the warp and begins his centuries-long rampage. Later on in the '''exact same fucking fluff entry,''' when he returns for the first time to the mortal plane, he has been "clearly long adrift in time, for he knew [those Grey Knights he encountered] not". Y'know, despite the fact '''[[FAIL|TIME FLOWS DIFFERENTLY IN THE WARP THAN IN REAL-SPACE.]]''' Doubtless, as we all know, time passes differently in the Warp; Kaldor himself may have been experiencing years or centuries there, but time crawls linearly along for everyone in the Prime Material, and that therefore would have ''zero impact'' on the age and number of surviving, recognizable members of the Grey Knights whom he left behind. So, unless we're intended to assume that his entry is to be read as though in the future, i.e. sometime well after the END of the 41st Millennium, then Kaldor "''I'm-a-fucking-badass-who-can-survive-indefinitely-in-the-Warp''" Draigo has really only been AWAY from the mortal plane for, at most, a few months. Giving Mr. Ward the benefit of the doubt (which seems completely unfair to readers with more than an iota of brain power), either Kaldor has been randomly deposited into points in the distant PAST, or we're intended to pretend all Grey Knight battles that include him are taking place in the distant FUTURE. Without one of these two assumptions, only two other alternatives remain: either Draigo has gone completely fucking senile/[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|has gone completely batshit fucking insane from Warp exposure]], or Draigo was too big a stuck-up, arrogant snob to ever learn the names or faces of those serving under him. This, of course, is if we want to give Matt Ward ''any'' credit at all. In other words, the above is a concrete example of '''BAD WRITING.'''

Seriously, what the fuck more do you want, GW? Who's he fluffing (is that what it's called now?) on your board of directors, that you've retained such a piss-poor hack for so long? Are you on drugs? What kind of Slaaneshi death cult has been giving you drugs? Can I have some of your drugs so I can at least make sense of your goddamned incompetence?!

===Wut?===
Clearly, the only explanation for the sheer levels of retardation and gratuitous [[Matt Ward|canon-rape]] Draigo represents is the simplest one: That Draigo is, in fact, defeated - Chaos cannot be beaten in its own realm of non-space because of the mere fact that chaotic beings are immortal, after all, and none of the above is true (though psykers can "technically" kill chaos daemons for good in the warp, it requires an amount of psychic energy and willpower that's far beyond the norm). Such a thing would be like a candle not only staying lit at the bottom of the ocean, but managing to burn/evaporate the surrounding water away in the process.

Right now, this very moment, (in the far future) Draigo is in fact a shredded pile of torn flesh and shattered bone after having his ass handed to him by the above Lord of Change and Bloodthirster, who proceeded to step in whilst the Lord kept him distracted - [[Just as planned]]. This pile of broken ex-marine is also gushing ooze and phlegm and pus as he was infected with every blight and pox Nurgle has to offer. This shredded, oozing pile....''thing'', is also being raped and violated in the most unspeakable and vile ways by the Daemonettes of Slaanesh.

And so it shall continue, for all eternity. [[Troll|Because every single Chaos God finds it fucking hilarious]].

The only reason he thinks "all is well" is because Tzeentch thought he'd have a bit fun with Draigo. He stuck Draigo into a matrix-esque dream world where everything goes his way and is just waiting for Draigo to climb as high as he can. This dream world will probably last until Draigo has crushed the Chaos gods themselves and all their armies beneath his feet and caused the God-Emperor himself to rise from the throne and suck him off!

Then, at the "funniest" possible moment, right as his bolter is about to fire its payload (and we're not talking about the one on his wrist), Tzeentch will rip it all away from him, Draigo will wake up and see what has really become of him and weep tears of utter loss and despair! "[[Just as planned]]!"

While all that's happened, Draigo thought to himself: "I have no mouth, but I must scream".

At least that's what the heretics want you to think.

[[File:Jelly thing.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Kaldor Draigo, what really happened to him.]]

<s>Admittedly, Draigo's fluff is pretty badass, but still canon-rape (no pun inten- wait, pun totally intended).</s> There is nothing awesome about someone who just goes around fucking everything up with zero challenge. It's like people who write stories about how their super awesome character killed the [[Lady_of_Pain|Lady of Pain]] or something. Nah, sometimes people want to read an overpowered character doing stuff. Not all the time, but sometimes. His deeds, taken out of context, are awesome and badass. It's only crappy when put into context. Personally, I hate his fluff and want it completely removed and for it to all have been a delusion running through his mind while lost in the Warp or perhaps he's still fighting that Lord of Change and this is just part of a psychic attack against him. But, I can see why his fluff can be enjoyed on its own by people periodically.

//{{BLAM|''Inquisitor's Note: While the above is no doubt the fevered ramblings of a mind crying out for the Emperor's peace there is a small measure of truth in it. Our [[canon|most blessed and sanctified scriptures]] tell us that Lord Draigo's victories in the warp are indeed empty ones, and that every daemon slain and fortress toppled shortly rights itself. This is his curse and only when, by the Emperor's blessing, he returns to the materium will he be able to enact any lasting defeats on the ruinous powers.}}//

//{{BLAM|''Historitor 165.82.108.238 remanded to custody for Inquisitorial review.}}//

++{{BLAM|''Thought for the Day: Many are the faces of the enemy, many are the hands of the enemy.''}}++

Alternatively you could also accept the less serious but popular fanon that Kaldor Draigo is actually traversing the Warp while high on drugs. His latent psychic abilities and drug-fueled insanity could technically allow him to shape his battles in the Warp to go in his favor. That or Draigo has almost [[Malcador]] levels of psychic abilities, the strain of which has caused him to go completely bat-shite insane, rendering the Warp into his own personal plaything to a certain extent.

===Mat Ward Sez===
''"Lord Kaldor Draigo is a combat monster - there's no other way to describe him. He's lethal against non-daemonic foes, with plenty of Strength 5 force weapon attacks to lay a beat down. When faced with hated Daemons, his Titansword becomes Strength 10, ensuring a pretty one-sided fight in his favour. Even if his enemy survives, Draigo's storm shield is sure to keep him fighting. And on top of all of this, Draigo is a Grand Master, able to bestow extra abilities on his allies. Want your Dreadknight to capture objectives? Draigo can make that happen. Want a Scouting screen of Dreadnoughts? Draigo can make it happen. He's the best possible way to keep your opponent on his toes."''

In summary: HE [[/d/|MAKES IT HAPPEN]].
(So does [[Creed]] but unlike Draigo he does OP with [[awesome|Style]])

===TTS Salvages the Unsalvageable===
In recent years a web series, [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyiDf91_bTEgnBN0jAvzNbqzrlMGID5WA If The Emperor Had a Text to Speech Device], dedicated to Warhammer 40K meant as an affectionate parody correctly citing lore put forth a more plausible reason for Draigo's invincibility that combines the bullshit written by Matt Ward and the fan theory that he's been driven insane in the warp. In TTS Draigo weaponizes his insanity and infallible belief in himself to literally make himself invincible. Because he has no anchor to what should or should not be, he can alter the warp at will and create any effect he desires. This makes for an uber powerful lunatic that's barely sentient but that can slaughter legions of monsters, destroy suns and make more of himself. Together with Leman Russ, they constantly go around destroying villages of demons, pranking the hordes of chaos, and turning the livers of their enemies into ale (Russ has....interesting alcohol recipes).

==Tabletop==
In lab tests conducted on /tg/, Kaldor Draigo loses to [[Abaddon]] the Despoiler [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX7wtNOkuHo roughly 73.5% of the time]. But then again Abaddon is meant to be a high-cost, point-sink, cc-beatstick who doesn't have arms or do anything to boost his own army...

===6th Edition===
Like Abaddon, Kaldor's amazing super awesome blade of Mary Sue has been reduced to AP3, but Abaddon was important enough to get FAQ'd back to AP2! This means anything, ANYTHING, with 2+ save will survive combat with Draigo. Even a [[Tau|weaboo space communist]] wearing iridium armor. Or a Meganob. Or a Captain in artificer armor...if you ignore that Draigo's weapon has the Force special rule, which can cause Instant Death in compensation (which is fine and dandy until he gets challenged by a Phoenix Lord). AP3 admittedly is somewhat of a blow, but this is compensated for against more dangerous foes with its latent abilities and his own 3++ save.

That or just charge a Chaos Lord in Terminator armour with <s>Bloodfeeder</s> '''THE MURDER SWORD''' or the Axe of Blind Fury. Naw, the Lord would have to fail a single save to get mindraped.

===7th edition===
While Draigo's beloved Titansword got upped back to AP2, he himself became far more expensive as a tool, as he is now relegated to the Lords of War Slot -- where Superheavies live -- for a heaping 245 Points. This means that he can't be accessed by himself, he needs someone else in the HQ slot to unlock him. Unless you're running unbound, the system used exclusively by [[This Guy]]'s fluff games and [[That Guy]]'s absolute cheesiness. Actually the former sounds kind awesome, to represent a battle where the GK's command structure has been slain but then Draigo pops out of the Warp with a nose full of warp dust.

He still has his insane 2+/3++ save thanks to his Termie Armor and singular Storm Shield. His Force blade is still S+3 with AP2 Master-Crafted, with the ability to re-roll to-wound against Daemons when he uses Force. That said, Force is now deniable, thus you should expect that they will, and in force. Aside from that, he has Banishment (which weakens Daemons' invuls), Hammerhand (Upping him to an S9 murder machine), Gate of Infinity (For sudden Deep-Strikes anywhere), and Purge Soul (To make a sudden hit). This solves one of the reason he was hated: the utter ability to roll whatever you wanted. Without Biomancy or Telepathy, he's no longer invincible.

As a commander, he is now not very worthwhile, with the removal of Grand Strategy and his Warlord Trait now giving him Hatred (Daemons) and an easier time casting Banishment and...that's it. He can no longer make Paladins troops either, so now you've lost more reason to take them over a cheaper ML3 Librarian with both the Domina Liber Daemonica and a Warlord Trait to give him SIX FUCKING POWERS IN SANCTIC. Quite frankly, he's only useful as the mother of all beatsticks.

===8th edition===
Draigo's sword became S+4 AP-4, and does a flat 3 damage now in the place of Instant Death (Seriously, can someone just give this to [[Castellan_Crowe|Crowe]]? The guy needs a break.). Also, he gives himself and all Grey Knight units within 6" of him the ability to re-roll failed misses in shooting and close combat (it hasn't been updated YET to ALL misses so -1 to hit modifiers still hurt). Additionally, his Bane of Evil aura grants Grey Knights within 6" to re-roll their damage rolls against Daemons in the fight phase (nice, considering all Nemesis Force weapons comes with D3 damage except the Daemonhammer). He still has his 2+/3++ thanks to his Terminator Armour and Storm Shield. His warlord trait, Daemon Slayer, is still heavily situational at best (read: useless). Basically, he's now not totally useless if he's not in close combat.

==Silver(ed) Knight==
The 6E Daemons Codex ''(and reprinted in the 8th edition codex)'' detailed the journey a "Knight of the Adeptus Astartes in silvered armor "whose will was as strong as silvered adamantium" braving the many circles of the Palace of Slaanesh, cutting down a few daemonettes and mortal thralls, only to kneel before the Prince of Pleasures himself, in the guise of a young, androgynous boy who cowed the Knight with absolute and righteous innocence. Too many people believe that it's Draigo because of their seething spite for the Ward, but a more rational mind could realize that the Grey Knights aren't the only people wearing silver armour. There's still the [[Silver Skulls]], [[Doom Eagles]], and the [[Iron Snakes]] or hell a normal red-shirt Gray Knight, all who wear silver Power Armour and have more of a likelihood to be corrupted (Especially if you consider the presumed origins that the Skulls are actually loyalist Iron Warriors)

'''Alternate take:''' How many other Marines are actually running around the Warp, much less loyalist Marines? At the very least, even if it is Draigo it took the god himself to outright convert him with a touch of his "scepter" so someone at least got the idea of what it should take to cause a Grey Knight to just flip to the side of Chaos for no reason. That or maybe their geneseed makes them hot for traps. Either way it's not clear when this happened, so it could be in the future or an alternate timeline since the Warp doesn't care about your single direction flow of time. Assuming it's not some weird symbolic thing.

==Placed in the hands of other authors==
C.Z. Dunn has recently taken a crack at Draigo in the novelization of the Pandorax Campaign. Here, Draigo is decidedly NOT a <s>Mary Sue</s> Gary Stu anymore, with "Supreme Grand Master" taken in the same context as [[Azrael]]. Dunn doesn't nerf Draigo, he still kicks a ton of daemon ass, but he doesn't go around soloing Bloodthirsters without backup or anything so asinine. Draigo is also shown to be moderately flawed as a character, [[Avitus|hot-headed and aggressive]] -- this is to contrast him with the stubborn and conservative Azrael (who takes until chapter 14 to get off his ass and fight smart, though when he finally does he actually fights ''really smart'' like a true Space Marine). He's also a [[Troll|top-tier dick]] who trolls Azrael about all the prisoners they've been taking back to [[the Rock]] and makes several threats that he'll get the High Lords of Terra to investigate if the Dark Angels don't comply, for all good that'd do. (Haters gonna hate.)

The Mortarion's Heart Audio Drama, also has him troll his bodyguard, and the Inquisition (in fact his first act as Supreme Grand Master is to tell the one bugging the Knights to go fuck himself). Also we see just what got him the job; he was simply the best mix they had of skill and expendability to throw at Mortarion (the other GMs either too inexperienced or injured to last in a fight, or having so much invaluable knowledge to lose in a probably suicidal battle). Draigo admittedly stated that by the end of the day, they most likely would have to be voting again for his replacement - so slim was his chance of surviving that inevitable confrontation. When he does fight Mortarion he barely holds his own (still epic enough effort though), as Draigo and his Brotherhood's GK Librarian channel all their psychic power directly into himself - enhancing his combat abilities for a dedicated melee battle (think of the psychic powers Sanctuary, Hammerhand and Armoured Resillience cast onto Draigo - all buffing him at once).

Eventually, as Draigo is physically and psychically exhausted - he is disarmed of his newly bestowed Titansword, and is quickly pinned beneath Mortarion's heel. True to his boastful self, Mortarion in near-certain victory, conjures a swirling vortex of plague wind with the beating of his wings. Aiming to inflict maximum troll-levels on Draigo, he decides for him to suffocate and choke on Nurgle disease during his last moments before death - just as he did to the last Supreme GM. Draigo with the last of his psychic reserves, manifests azure psychic flame onto Mortarion's robes - which quickly expands and engulfs parts of Mortarion's wings and body, as the swirling winds only feed the burning flames ever larger!

In that moment of distraction, Draigo gains the advantage by finally being able to psychically invoke Mortarion's True Name, pass the Daemon Primarch's warp defenses, which causes the Primarch to have the equivalent of a violent, exploding psionic seizure! Draigo getting up and seeing the torn chest cavity, and the now exposed black heart of Mortarion, decides to carve the name of the previous Supreme GM across it (in a masterful counter-troll / "it's payback time" move), as the Daemon Primarch's physical form was already dissolving / being banished back into the warp.

This isn't too shocking as Draigo is a fairly new character and only has about two pages to himself within the codex compare to Dunn's few hundred. Even a good writer would have trouble balancing both a good character AND a badass who leads an army of daemon killers.

===The Plague of Madness===
The 7E Codex also takes steps to reduce the fucking cheese of Draigo by showing him as a competent commander before his banishment, and how he only became relevant because he was able to beat up M'Kar, the Daemon Prince of Jobbers.

In "The Plague of Madness" witten in 7Ed, Draigo has to bring out three whole brotherhoods of knights because some idiot [[Inquisitor]] tried to mess with a [[Lord of Change]] named "Ix'thar'ganix" by binding it to her will and using his power for the good of the Imperium. Ganix was both amused and infuriated at the prospect of a mortal trying to outdick him, so when the Inquisitor summoned the daemon to bind it; Ganix had a [[Great Unclean One]] named Lurgon take his place. Because the wards meant to bind Ganix didn't work with another daemon; Lurgon possesed the Inquisitor and corrupt her posse to the cause of Nurgle. Things later spiraled into madness after Lurgon corrupted the system of Decimalus after the Inquisitor's drifting ship happened upon it.

Draigo attempted to convince the Grey Knights to send a large force to apprehend both Ix'thar'ganix and Lurgon, which after some political maneuvering, he managed to get. After [[Arvann Stern]] secured an orbital fortress from some daemons, Draigo made it planetside and actually saved some Sisters of Battle from a death by daemon-nomming. After that, Draigo's band of merry men and the surviving Sisters attempted to break through a literal sea of daemons by running them over with Land Raiders and [[Rhino Transport|MEHTAL BAWKSES]], with the intent of taking the spire that housed Lurgon. Draigo's Raider however, got stuck after running over so many daemons and was eventually destroyed after a daemonblade ran through it. Thrown out of the tank, he attempted to solo an entire horde by himself and rescue his brothers still trapped inside the Land Raider.

In a completely different way of portrayal; Draigo was actually pretty close to being overwhelmed. He was struck and held down by the legion of daemons around him and would have died if it wasn't for the surviving battle Sisters coming to his aid and gunning down the horde around him. And instead of something retarded like using the Sisters' blood for protection or suddenly getting super strength and ripping his way towards the spire; he motioned a request for the sisters to buy them time while he and the survivors make a mad dash for the spire and end this insanity. The writer to this has already undone the idiocy of the [[Khornate Knights]], and did so while keeping everyone's dignity. A step up amid a codex widely considered to be a step down crunchwise.

===Other counterpoints===
It has recently been posited that Draigo's ability to traverse the Warp and wreak havoc on the Ruinous Powers with relative ease is due not to Gary Sue bullshit powers, but to the nature of the Warp itself. One of the only constants of the Warp is that it is shaped by the belief and emotion of sentient beings with psychic ability, however small. Because of this, it is possible that a being with vast psychic ability and great faith (say, a Grey Knight ''Supreme'' Grand Master) would be able to use his belief in himself and in the Emperor to [[Ork|shape the surrounding Empyrean to match this belief]] in a manner similar to daemons themselves. It also explains why things go back to normal once he leaves, since he is no longer there to affect that portion of the Warp directly. In other words, Draigo cuts a [[Bloody Path|bloody path]] through the Sea of Souls because he believes he can, and the Warp doesn't really want to dispute his claim. If one asks why other powerful psykers can't do it, they can to a degree; see [[Tuska Daemon-Killa]]. As for Eldar, Slaanesh would nab them the moment they entered the Warp. Other human psykers don't tend to try to interact with the Warp too much but it is quite likely they'd be able to some extent. Incidentally, this effectively makes Draigo a ''Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann'' character, and that is actually kind of awesome.

In addition, people never seem to think that his Aegis warded armour (Terminator armour, which I believe to contain a small Gellar Field, no less) is specifically designed to protect the wearer from the Warp, that and Grey Knight [[Interceptor Squad]]s go through the Warp on a regular basis, so Draigo should, in theory have no trouble traversing the Warp.

Also, as a number of people have pointed out, the Codex itself flat out states that nothing he's doing is having any lasting effect on the Chaos Gods. Plus, his first major appearance in a novel has him delivering an impressive verbal smackdown on [[Azrael]] regarding the [[Dark Angels]]' obsession with making sure nobody discovers the truth about the <s>[[Fallen Angels]]</s> UNRELATED TRAITORS WHO CERTAINLY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DARK ANGELS. Which makes him slightly more human.

==[[Warhammer Fantasy]]==
There has been a sighting of what might be Draigo in the Warhammer Fantasyverse - specifically, in the fluff book for the ''Khaine'' splat of [[The End Times]].

During Araloth's travels into the Realm of Chaos, to rescue [[Shallya]] from the mansion of [[Nurgle]], the final traveling companion he picks up is a knight, a "giant of a man" whose armor "gleams like silver" and whose "speech is strange" (why does Kaldor decide to help Eldar?). Upon reaching the mansion of Nurgle, the knight sacrifices himself so the rest of the party can enter, explaining he has "made something of a name for himself since his arrival in the benighted realm" and so he is sure to draw their attention. More notably, when he makes his sacrificial charge, it's mentioned that he sweeps out his hand and blue fire explodes amongst the daemon's ranks. It's also been mentioned that the Warp connects Fantasy and 40k.

Worth mentioning that not only are Wood Elves the Spiritual Liege's favorite Fantasy faction, but this was one of the last things he wrote for Games Workshop before leaving the company. Take it as you will.

That said, if this is Draigo, he is certainly not the all-powerful Gary Sue of other depictions; when Araloth finds him, he has been chained down in a glade in Nurgle's garden, at one point he gets ambushed by a [[Beast of Nurgle]] (when it ''jumps out of a tree and lands on him''), and rather than defeating the daemons he distracts, Araloth leaves the mansion to find his broken body impaled upon a spear. Yes, he's still alive, and the mad scholar the Wood Elf is traveling with (who may in fact be Richter Kleiss, the writer of the Liber Chaotica) explains that the knight is "beyond the power of the daemons" and will "take his own revenge in due course", but that is attributed to being "the way of things in the Realm of Chaos" rather than anything inherent to Draigo (if he is Draigo).

It's worth noting that the description would also fit a Stormcast Eternal of the Hallowed Knights chapter from Age of Sigmar, which was under development at the time and is technically the same setting. Though, the Sigmarine couldn't fire blue lightning out of his hands (the Sacrosanct Chamber of wizard stormcast were not a thing for a few years yet), nor was he "invincible."

In another story, whilst in the warp, Draigo sees a "world ruled over by a self-styled God-king, where magic flows through the very wind." He ultimately decides not to go there, thus proving himself far more intelligent than he has ever been given credit for.

==See Also==
*[[FAIL|Fail]]
*[[Matt Ward]]
*[http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/598617 What Draigo's actually doing in the Warp]
*[[Doom|The character draigo is trying to emulate...but failing]]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUM_lpvsZ_Y The awesome theme of the Suneater himself]
[[Category:Space Marines Chapter Masters]]

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Draigo.jpg|[[Warhammer 40,000 7th edition|We spoke too soon.]]
File:Draigo2.jpg| well that just got weird...
File:Raven.jpg|STEEL REIHN
File:RAPE TRAIN.jpg|HE MAKES IT HAPPEN
File:Supreme_Grand_Troll.jpg|PROBLEM, DAEMONS?
File:Samurai draigo.jpg|Foolish Grey Knight.
File:Dreadknight.jpg|U Mad, Dreadnoughtfags?
File:Draigo codex2.jpg|Son of a bitch even gets his own codex.
File:Hemakesithappen.png|Still a shitload better than a Primarch
File:DraigoDullSurprise.png|Draigo is a very emotive person.
</gallery>

{{Marines-Characters}}

[[Category:Mary Sue]][[Category:FAIL]][[Category:Warhammer Fantasy]][[Category:Grey Knights]]

Hecaton Aiakos

2023-05-26T13:36:24Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:Hecaton.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Aiakos, looking for more enemies to [[Rip and tear]].]]
{{topquote|The Minotaur more than justifies the existence of the labyrinth|Jorge Luis Borges}}
'''Hecaton Aiakos''' is a Contemptor [[Dreadnought]] of the [[Minotaurs]] [[Chapter]].

And you might ask: "what is so special about a Contemptor Dread"? Well, for starters his [[Forge World]] model is an absolute beauty. But aside from that? This thing is one big walking bag of [[Dark Angels|secrets]].

The Guardian of the Daedalos Krata has served at the forefront of a dozen campaigns in the last centuries, including many of questionable honor such as the boarding of a [[Lamenters]] strike cruiser during the battle of [[Badab War|Optera]], and a friendly fire incident during the Bifrost uprising. The incident in question occurred when guardsmen of the Bifrost Huscarl infantry under the brevet command of a [[Viper Legion]] sergeant mistakenly opened fire on the Dreadnought, which at the time was [[Khorne|covered in gore]]. [[Butthurt|Angered]], the dreadnought rampaged trough the imperial lines killing 37 Huscarls as well as the Viper Legion marine, and ripping in half a [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]] that attempted to stop him. His carnage only stopped when he received a command from his [[Asterion Moloc|Chapter Master]] in orbit, telling him to stay put.

Outsiders have noted that despite his power and battlefield record, Aiakos isn't treated in the same way as most [[Space Marine]] chapters treat their ancients. Instead of being admired and respected, the battle-brothers of the Minotaurs Chapter treat him with cold indifference. Aiakos is not alone in this however, as many other dreadnoughts in the chapter are treated the same way. This had led the rest of the Imperials to ponder on the meaning of the "Hecaton" title given to Aiakos by his Chapter. According to the [[fluff]] "Hecaton" is an ancient Terran word meaning "legion" or "giant", but can also be interpreted as "enslaved monster". Interestingly enough, only the Contemptor-pattern dreads have the "Hecaton" title, suggesting that it is only the ones entombed within those relics that the Minotaurs dislike. Very ungrateful of them considering that most chapters consider themselves lucky to even have one of these, while the Minotaurs themselves have at least one per company (having fielded at least 10 of them during the Orphean War against the [[Maynarkh Dynasty]]).

Instead of being put in stasis awaiting his next awakening like most dreadnoughts, Aiakos remains in a state of sleepless vigil guarding the doors of the "Daedalos Krata" (The Heavy Assault Carrier that the Minotaurs use as [[Fortress-Monastery]]). Given that the Daedalos Krata is described as "maze-like", it is safe to assume that the dreadnought is [[Awesome|left to roam the corridors of the ship]] like the [[Minotaur|beast]] of [[Mythology|legend]] in his Labyrinth.

==On the Tabletop==
===8th Edition===
An HQ choice for your army, but can't be your Warlord. Sporting 13 wounds, a 2+/4++ save, and the ability to ignore wounds on a 6+, he and Moloc apparently both believe that defense is the best offense. Not that either is lacking in that regard. He sports a heavy plasma cannon with all the pain that entails as well as the standard Dreadnought combat weapon. "Groundstrike" allows him to immediately inflict mortal wounds on a unit in 1" of him if he charged. Also worth mentioning is that, as a {{W40kKeyword|RELIC}}, he gives access to the Relic of Ancient Glory stratagem. All this will set you back in points, beating out even Huron for sheer points, but he sure kicks ass. Just let him stay around Moloc for the sweet sweet re-rolls and unleash the moo-moo.

{{Marines-Characters}}

Kyrin Solaq

2023-05-26T13:31:44Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

{{Wh40k-stub}}
[[File:Solaq.jpg|thumb]]
'''Kyrin Solaq''' is a named character and a '''Shadow Captain of the 5th Company of [[Raven Guard]]''', and a '''Master of Marches'''. He is brutal, relentless and is highly skilled in guerrilla warfare and tracking. Not much else is known, aside from the fact that he chased and failed to capture [[T'au]] [[Ethereal]] Aun'Do during the Prefectia Campaign. After [[Roboute Guilliman|Grandpa Smurf]] woke up, he was replaced by '''Aevar Queld''', and his fate after that is unknown.
[[File:SolaqMini.jpg|thumb|250px|right|His miniature.]]

{{Marines-Characters}}
[[Category:Space Marines]]

Kayvaan Shrike

2023-05-26T13:31:00Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:The badass Shrike.jpg|thumb|300px|right|[[If the Emperor had a Text-to-Speech Device|VICTORUSH AUT MORTISH!!!]]]]
{{Awesome}}

'''Kayvaan Shrike of the [[Raven Guard]]''' (AKA '''King Beakie'''/'''Beakie McAwesome''' or any other variation of such) is the Shadow Captain of the 3rd Company, promoted to Chapter Master from 8th edition onward. A fucking badass that wears the lightning claws once owned by [[Corax|Corvus Corax]] himself, he also has a supremely epic [[Beakie]] helmet to round out his [[Rogue Trader|old-school]] style. He also has a Sean Connery-style lisp. He's a sentimental old sod; when the rest of the company pushes off to deliver righteous asskicking on other foul xenos, Kayvaan prefers to stay behind and spend his time rescuing pockets of surviving civilians and soldiers, or assist the local Imperial forces in killing off any left-over resistance. This makes him a goddamn PSEUDO-HERETIC for valuing human life above killing the Emprah's enemies, but hey, that's life in the [[grimdark]] future of the 41st millennium for you. Judging by his interactions with Kor'sarro Khan, he's even willing to look past the Ravens' millennia-spanning rivalry with the [[White Scars]].

Back in 4th Edition, he even had a rule to lead a unique custom unit called Shrike's Wing, which were lightning-claw-wielding Veteran Assault Marines that Shrike personally trained. Pity they aren't available anymore, though you can take Vanguards for the Shadow Captain and call them Shrike's Wing.

He's also fucking awesome because he's named after one of the most hardcore birds in existence, the shrike, who are known for [[Rip and tear|impaling their prey on brambles instead of outright killing them]]. Hence why they are known sometimes as [[Khorne|butcher]] birds.

As of the 7E Warzone Damocles campaign, it's revealed that the Raven Guard Chapter Master, Corvin Severax (whose crowning achievement was... nothing, really), got blasted by Commander [[Shadowsun]]. As they regrouped, the remaining Captains began debating over who'd be next and Shrike decided to take the initiative. Only time will tell whether or not this will reflect on his statline or with a new model... but as of right now [[Awesome|he's Chapter Master of the Sons of Corax]]. And he's getting his own book.

As of 8E he has joined Calgar, Tigurius and Kor'sarro in becoming a Primaris marine. His model has hair like that of an early 2000s emo (though he still retains his Corvus helmet).

True to being the big boss of the Brooding Beakies, Shrike's been more than a little emo about Corvin Severax's death. He thinks he's unworthy as a successor, seeing himself as a mere Shadow Captain with more warrior pride than [[Reasonable Marines|sense]]. Guess even the Raven Guard takes pride in how well they can pull a sneaky on the enemy and [[Rip and tear|tear out their throat]].

So when the [[Indomitus Crusade]] rolled along, he figured it was the perfect way to play "The Apprentice: Chapter Master Edition". Shrike sent his finest men on scattered missions to see which of them will prove to have the qualities a Chapter Master truly needs. [[Just_As_Planned|Without telling them about why they're doing it or that they're competing with their brothers, of course.]]

Should a worthier candidate come along, Shrike plans to abdicate as Master of Shadows and let them sit in the big chair. [[Derp|And in true emo form]], he fails to recognize that humbly recognizing his own strengths and weaknesses while prioritizing duty over glory-seeking make him worthier than he thinks. Which is more than [[Cato Sicarius|SOME people]] can boast.

And for all his melancholic self-doubt, Shrike has always been able to [[Gets shit done|take action and lead]] when it counted. He sabotaged a relic the [[Iron Hands]] and [[Imperial Fists]] were [[Skub|arguing]] over to get them to stop wasting time and move on from that warzone, and reestablished the Heresy-era Mor Deythan as an elite covert ops unit ([[Centurion Squad|within the...elite...covert ops...chapter]]). He even chastised one of his own captains who was [[Butthurt|butthurt]] over the fact that a member of the [[Knights of the Raven]] was included in their "Raven Guard-only, no successors allowed club", saying they were all sons of Corax, so shut up, accept your fellow Marine, and do your job.

== Tabletop ==

{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || WS || BS || S || T || W || I || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Solid Shrike:''' || 185 || 6 || 5 || 4 || 4 || 3 || 5 || 3 || 10 || 3+/4++
|}

Shadow Captain Shrike appears to be an underwhelming character, and unless you're playing with your mates and are willing to fudge your way through the issue discussed below, he really is useless. Shrike comes out of the tin with a typical captain's stat line and a few extra bits. He has ATSKNF and Chapter Tactics (Raven Guard tactics give him shrouded on the first turn, plus they allow him to use his jump pack for movement AND assault and he can reroll wounds on his HoW attacks). His warlord trait, Angel of Death, gives him fear, which your opponent must test on 3d6. He has a unique special rule, "See, but Remain Unseen", which gives him infiltrate and stealth, but he is only allowed to join jump infantry squads BEFORE deployment. His infiltrate rule fucks with this, but more on that below. For wargear he gets frag and krak grenades, power armor, an iron halo, a pair of relic master-crafted lightning claws, and a bolt pistol (fuck if I know how he uses the damn thing when he's got those giant gloves on - maybe he just throws it). His Chapter Master upgrade will need less [[derp|derpy]] rules. Games Workshop should at least give him artificer armor, an Assault 2 ranged weapon mounted on one of his lightning claws and the appropriate stat-line.

;Rules Conflict
<s>:If you're playing by strict RAW standards, Shrike can't join squads, because of some fucked up sentence structure in the codex. His "See, but Remain Unseen" Rule says he can only join a squad of jump infantry before deployment, which would be great if characters were allowed to join squads before deployment (yes, that means his special rule is quite literally useless). The infiltrate rule was also FAQ'd to mean that in order to use the rule, all members of a squad must have the rule. IE, a character who doesn't have the Infiltrate USR can't join a unit that does, and vice versa.</s>
:UPD: The most recent SM FAQ returned Shrike his ability to infiltrate with his pals, so the point above is now void.

In true Raven Guard fashion Shrike is more tricky and evasive than hard or killy. If you're just looking at his stats and gear he'll seem overcosted. After all, he's essentially just a captain with a jump pack and lightning claws. Obviously he's pretty mobile and reasonably good in a melee, but his real strength comes from his ability to infiltrate a squad in to wherever you want them. Being an independent character he doesn't actually have to stick with whatever squad you brought in, which can open up a lot of fun options. I think this guy actually fits his fluff really well, because, while he is a badass, he specializes in clever strikes and guerrilla warfare rather than raw, balls out power. If this guy sees your special snowflake killy character he isn't going to challenge him, in fluff or in crunch; he's going to withdraw and hit him at the least convenient possible time.

Shrike is especially good in any of the Raven Guard special Detachments. Shadow Force in particular is almost tailor-made for him, having a Sternguard and Vanguard squads joined by a Captain (can be replaced with Shrike) and a unit of Land Speeders. As everyone in this formation receives Acute Senses, Move through Cover, Scout and a mobility bonus (re-roll Run moves for infantry, +6" Flat Out for vehicles), Shrike's Vanguard squad, which ALSO receives Stealth and Infiltrate through his special rule, ''and'' first turn Shrouded and double jump pack use through the Raven Guard Chapter Tactics, becomes hyper-mobile and very well protected on the turn it is yet unable to charge (at least if your [[Tau|opponent]] doesn't have [[Rage|Markerlights]]), even without a transport, and it can choose either to Infiltrate, Outflank with a re-roll, or even Deep Strike while ignoring Dangerous Terrain, all on turn 1 if you are also using the Raven Guard decurion.

===Raven Guard Chapter Master===
The above profile is Shrike's old Captain profile, but he's a Chapter Master now. Warzone Damocles: Kauyon gave us a way to make a very effective Raven Guard Chapter Master, which is simply a Raven Guard Chapter Master with a jump pack and the twin artifacts ''Swiftstrike'' and ''Murder''. This profile is affectionately named [[MURDERWINGS]], and may be effective/manly enough for you to pretend he's Chapter Master Shrike until we get actual rules for him. Don't be a cheapskate and buy him Artificer Armour to improve his survivability, and maybe an Auspex to fuck with enemy cover saves.
You might also want to put him in a unit of jump pack Vanguard Veterans with Lightning Claws to represent his Command Squad. Emphasis on might because he almost costs as much as a [[Land Raider]] with this load out.

[[File:NuShrike.png|thumb|250px|right|On the plus side, he's got foot-talons and a sick jump-pack. On the downside...that fucking emo fringe.]]

===8E===
{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Solid Shrike:''' || 150 || 14" || 2 || 2 || 4 || 4 || 6 || 6 || 9 || 3+/4++
|}
He's had a promotion, and now has the Chapter Master special rule. His stat-line still reeks of his old Captain status, not to mention his 5 wounds and only 5 attacks including both his lightning claws. He grants fellow Raven Guard models re-rolls to their charge distance, so he pairs very well with any sort of risk engaging CC alpha strike army. With him alongside your forces, you have a very good chance of getting a charge off even when 9 inches away. If you like using Vanguard Vets and jump packs, Kayvaan is the HQ for your army. He can deep strike more than 9 inches first turn. A 9" charge should go off 28% of the time, but with the re-roll that rises to 48%. Keep that in mind when building an alpha-strike CC army, you'll need more than 2 units charging to reliably get a charge off. If he is the Warlord he MUST take the Raven Guard specific Warlord Trait, which prohibits overwatch from being fired at him at all. He's worth sending in first to eliminate overwatch from your vict..er, targets and then following with Vanguard once they can't shoot at them. His CC attacks now do 2 damage and has the same AP as a power sword, rather than normal lightning claws. Overall he's gotten buffed considerably and his rules (chapter master, re-roll charge, and improved melee potential) makes him a character worth investing in, and all of this for just 150. 150 points for 1st turn charges, [[rape|Yes please!]]

...Then he got a new model with rules coming in the Raven Guard supplement for the 8.5 Edition Space Marines Codex. It's quite clear that Shrike opted to go with a specialized suit of Phobos armor that lets him keep his beloved Beakie helm while also mounting some special-looking jump pack. For armaments, he not only retains his talons, but he also gets new foot-talons (probably for a charging attack) and a bolt pistol so he can contribute to ranged combat.

==Gallery==
<Gallery>
Image:Shrike.jpg|FUCK YEAH LOOK AT THIS AWESOME BASTARD
Image:Kayvaan.jpg|Shoryuken!
Image:Master Shrike.png|Shrikerman 3
</Gallery>

{{Marines-Characters}}
[[Category:Space Marines Chapter Masters]]

Vulkan He'stan

2023-05-26T13:26:45Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:Salamanders Vulkan He'stan.jpg|350px|thumbnail|left| Definite contender for most badass 40k character ]]
'''Vulkan He'stan''' is the Forgefather of the [[Salamanders]] chapter of [[Space Marines]], once the [[Brother-Captain|Captain]] of the Fourth Company. He should not be confused with [[Vulkan]], the [[Primarch]] of the Salamanders; He'stan used to have a different first name, but he gave it up for Vulkan's when he became the Forgefather.

Part of his duty as Forgefather is to seek the artifacts that Vulkan made and scattered throughout the galaxy. In particular, four remain to be found: the Engine of Woe, the Obsidian Chariot, the Unbound Flame, and the Song of Entropy. His task would be made slightly easier if anyone alive knew what these were, but apparently, Vulkan only left the names. Vulkan spent some time in a casket inscribed with the words ''Unbound Flame'', but he did not make the casket, it is on Nocturne, not lost, and its nature is known to both the Salamanders and the Ultramarines, rather than a total mystery.

Fortunately, He'stan wears three of the recovered relics to help him on his way: the Gauntlet of the Forge (which has a built-in [[heavy flamer]]), Kesare's Mantle (which gives him a 3++ invulnerable save), and the Spear of Vulkan, a master-crafted relic blade.

He also speaks Dark Eldar fluently enough that a Haemonculus was surprised by it.

== Tabletop ==

{| class=wikitable
! || Pts || M || WS || BS || S || T || W || A || Ld || Sv
|-
| '''Vulkan He'stan:''' || 135 || 6 || 2 || 2 || 4 || 4 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 2+/3++
|}

In addition to having the statline of a [[Brother-Captain]] (with a 2+/3++ instead of a 3+ armor save) and all his tricked-out wargear, Vulkan He'stan confers a great advantage on the army that he leads: all melta and flame weapons in a unit he focuses on that meets some criteria loosely fitting "any non-centurion infantry, any bike, or any dreadnought" re-roll to both hit ''and'' wound. For this reason (not to mention being one of the [[Salamanders]], and therefore one of the few genuinely good guys in the [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe), he is a popular choice to lead [[Space Marine]] armies.

A common strategy is to field a list full of multi-meltas and heavy flamers packed into drop pods when using him. This is because using a melta becomes a lot more reliable when using Vulkan He'Stan, meaning you can count on the meltas to at least hit (and we all know [[Rape|what happens when a meltagun hits]]). Also of note is that he makes stock Dreadnoughts incredibly efficient when used in a drop pod. If you upgrade the dreadnought to ''Venerable'', you literally have a ''2.78% chance of missing the target''. Great for when you absolutely have to kill that pesky [[Land Raider]].

Another thing of note is that despite his army-buffing prowess (the biggest reason most people take him), he's got great prowess of his own. While having "only" the stat-line of a Captain, he's actually a steal in terms of points. A Salamanders captain somehow allowed to buy all of his gear at once with costs scaled to the captain's equipment would be 85 base + about 7 for the force axe, based on his costs of 5 for a power axe, which is worse, and 10 for a relic blade, which is much better + about 10 for the flamer, since it's on par with a combiflamer + about 7 for the combat shield presumably granting him a 2+ = 109 points, and he'd still be stuck at a 4++; you'd need to upgrade him to a full-on chapter master to ''also'' include something like his buffing, which would spike you to ''149''.

==In the Fluff==

Yes, he makes an appearance. Where? Why, in the pages of [[Nick Kyme]]'s ''Tome of Fire'' series, of course. He spends most of his time being a boss and impressing the Fire Drakes, frightening a Homunculus, and eventually leading a boarding action against the Red Dragons Chaos Space Marines. The main man himself sticks around to help explain how some Dark Eldar technology works, and demonstrates how a Webway Mirror functions on science and not Warpcraft when it's being used on him. However, because the Fire Drakes job ''hard'' in this series, it does help him look even more badass when he takes on a Soul Grinder in close quarters and takes it the fuck apart.
At the end of the series, he decides that he needs to go find the Unbound Flame, one of the missing Artefacts of Vulkan, and sets off.

{{Marines-Characters}}
[[Category:Salamanders]]

Xavier

2023-05-26T13:25:42Z

2A02:1808:86:CB23:C15D:BE6B:A9C3:5BC4:

[[File:XavierMini.jpg|200px|thumbnail|left|A bro among a Chapter of bros. He's badass enough that he don't need no piddly pistols to get up in his shit-smashing.]]
[[File:Chaplain Xavier.jpg|300px|thumbnail|right|Seems he just saw a bunch of traitors. That's why he's grinning.]]
'''Xavier''' is a historic member of the [[Salamanders]] [[Space Marine]] [[Space Marine Chapter|Chapter]] and regarded as the greatest [[Chaplain]] the chapter has ever known.

Even as a novice he was noticed to be talented and dedicated and his mentor, Chaplain Hasdrubael ([[Asdrubael Vect|no relations]]) took him under his wing and taught him the Chapter's methods. When Hasdrubael was slain during an attack on a [[Chaos]] battleship, Xavier took command and manfully completely destroyed the chaos scum.

He was regarded as the paradigm of the Chapter's values, embodying them more than any other marine in the Chapter's history. Proudly upholding the chapter's Promethean Cult, he was a powerful orator and inspiring leader and anyone from new scouts to even the [[Tu'Shan|Chapter Master]] wanted to sit in on his lectures and hear him speak.

Here is rare audio of one of his speeches, [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD_9Ph8KiVM talking about how it is].

As a sign of how much of a bro the Salamanders thought he was, they gave him '[[Vulkan]]'s Sigil', said to have been used by the big man himself. It was a sign of how much regard they held for him.

He had a pretty heroic ending given to him, battling alongside his brothers against their hated foes the [[Dark Eldar]] and kept on fighting regardless of his wounds until all of the foes were dead and then allowed himself to die. Despite being dead you can still use his miniature, meaning new adventures await our mighty hero. Of course, after 3E, he's just gonna be some generic Chappy without the badass double-melee murder combo.

==Heresy Era Xavier==
In one of the Horus Heresy Artbook Series, there is a Salamander's Chaplain by the name Xavier. Note that this Chaplain lived ten thousand years before the actual Xavier. Coincidence? Ancestor? Previous incarnation? Who knows.

{{Marines-Characters}}
[[Category:Salamanders]]