Editing Setting:Cloudburst/Blue Daggers (section)

==Council of Masters==

This roster of Space Marines constitutes the pre-Great Rift composition of the Blue Daggers' senior leadership.

Senior Members: (N) designates Novamarine membership

Chapter Master – Lord Ranult Arden (N):
The Council of Masters chose this ancient Veteran of the Novamarines to lead the Blue Daggers after the death of inaugural Chapter Master Alderoster because of his exceptional defensive combat and diplomatic skills.  Never have those skills been more favored by the Space Marines than in the protection of the Imperium in this decaying era.  His (usually) even temper and exceptional marksmanship have served the Imperium well.  He regards the human soldiers of Septiim as a useful asset, given their numbers, but he holds them in no special place in his view of the Imperium, and he is more likely to trust his brothers than mere mortals.  Perhaps unusually, he has never attempted to gain Terminator honors.  He long ago served in the Deathwatch for a total of twelve years.
Wargear:  Combi-conflagrator/slug pistol, power bastard, krak grenade belt, combat knife, combat shield, artificer mark four armor.


Chapter Champion – Cesper Clerc:
Clerc is the oldest Marine in the Chapter outside the Dreadnoughts who was not a member of the Novamarines.  Inducted in the first batch of the Daggers, and having served with distinction ever since, Clerc is an unrivaled master of the glaive and other polearms, which he uses with terrifying speed.  He is prone to being rather silent and moody, but in battle, this serves as a source of fear for his enemies and relief for his allies, who know that it represents his absolute focus.
Wargear:  Reach of Terra, two bolt pistols, chainsword, monomolecular stiletto, smoke grenade, artificer armor, medkit.


Master of the Armory – Lord Techmarine Doreth:
Doreth was inducted in the ‘class’ after Clerc, and is one of his few friends.  The ancient Techmarine is a warrior of some great skill, but he earned his place among the Masters through exceptional and profound connection with the Machine God.  His irrefutable bond with machines and respect for the institutions of the Mechanicus and Munitorum alike make him an ideal representative of the Armory, since the artifacts within include some technotheological items the Mechanicus would quite openly like to possess.
Doreth is the single most experienced ship-boarder in the entire Sector, without question.  He has personally destroyed a Glasian Control Cylinder and a lesser Cylinder, in the Sixth and Fifth Migrations respectively.
Wargear:  Master-crafted multimelta, six frag grenades, flare gun, combat knife, chainfist, servo-harness, master-crafted bolt pistol, Teleport Homer, Cataphractii Terminator Armor, artificer armor.


Master of Sanctity – Lord Chaplain Etienne Dunvraith:
Dunvraith is a cold and frightening speaker of the God-Emperor’s word and a specter of retribution and pain for his enemies.  He has not even a moment’s concern for his appearance, which indirectly makes him even more terrifying.  He leaves his armor painted space-black at all times, save for the marks of the Chaplaincy on his pauldrons.  He uses an unusual weapon, as befits his Chapter’s Novamarine heritage: a two-handed Power Stave, which has a Crozius Arcanum’s force field built in.  In an emergency, it can connect to his Mark 8 armor’s backpack generator for an extra surge of power, which makes it powerful enough to resist even graviton and radioactive weapons.  He does carry a bolt pistol, which he never uses except for simple target practice, or to dispatch snipers.
Wargear: Power Stave Arcanum, bolt pistol, Rosarius field device, mark eight armor, skull mask.


Master of Veterans – Venerated Senior Sergeant Porter Chandline:
The role of the Master of Veterans is an odd one.  Appointed by the Company Captain of the First Company, this is the highest-ranked member of the Battle Brothers, Vehicle Crews, and Recruiters who is not actually a commissioned officer.  Invariably given Terminator Honors and usually drawn from the Command Squad of the 1st, the role is that of an advisor to the Chapter Master, and serves as one of those authorized to declare martial law for the system if the Glasians are sighted.  Chandline is the second to serve in the post, and has a spotless record of service in the Imperium.  His skills with a Stalker Bolter are such that, after a glorious century of service in the 6th, he served briefly as the second-in-command of the 10th company before being promoted directly to the 1st.  He is staid, calm, pleasant, and surprisingly pious for a Marine.
Wargear: Storm Bolter, Stalker bolter, bolt pistol, power sword, combat knife, three frag grenades, Combat shield, Tartaros Terminator armor, mark eight armor.


Master of the Ships – Lord Gwinnet Eiger:
Gwinnet Eiger is a cold-blooded bastard, with a cruel side that the Navy does not appreciate.  His ability to picture object movement in three dimensions redeems the acerbic and hard-willed old warrior.  Eiger is sharp and focused, and demands the highest possible level of discipline from his crews.  Eiger is technically the third in command of the Blue Daggers, and has been present for every campaign the Daggers have ever waged at Company level or higher, thus making him the most experienced member of the Chapter by total combat hours.
Wargear: Chain of Albrinter, Kraken-loaded bolter, bolt pistol, combat knife, mark seven armor.


Master of the Ancients – Percival Langhard:
Another unique position in the Daggers’ hierarchy, the Master of Ancients is responsible for the maintenance and care of the Dreadnoughts and their occupants, but is also the unofficial liaison between the Daggers and the rest of the Munitorum if the Chapter Master himself isn’t present to perform the function personally.  Langhard is a sharp fellow, and he carries himself with a dignity and poise that lends itself well to his somber duty.
Wargear: Heavy bolter, twin combat knives, five frag grenades, plasma pistol, mark four armor.


Master of the Librarius – Lord Tolleair Covum (N):
The only other living member of the Chapter outside the Dreadnoughts who was a member of the Novamarines before joining the Daggers, Covum is a psyker of horrifying power.  His extensive service in the Deathwatch – more than any member of the Chapter save the Second Company Captain, at present – has made him quite self-reliant, and given the relative lack of Librarians in the Septiim system, he spends much of his time in meditation, divining the Emperor’s will and preparing his own psychic powers.  He is a friend and confidant of the other Novamarine Dagger, Arden, and he is always keeping an eye out for any promising psykers in the Schola Progenum in the system.  His Psychic Hood is a non-replicable wonder of the Dark Age, far eclipsing even those of the Grey Knights.
Wargear: Dark Age of Technology-era Psychic Hood, plasma pistol, two frag grenades, force stave, power fist, artificer armor.


Master of the Tech Brotherhood – Peter Alling-Durant:
Officially, all Techmarines, including the Armory and Vault leaders, serve Alling-Durant.  In practice, he only rarely feels the need to exert his influence over the outlier branches of his Brotherhood.  Thanks to the Daggers’ (and Novamarines’) tight relations with the Mechanicus, his brothers are well trained and well equipped, though not to the scale of the First Founding Chapters.  His large and loyal Brotherhood is always ready to expand and improve the might of the Septiimi orbital stations.  He is so heavily automated that there is barely any flesh left in him; so little, in fact, that he does not have enough flesh to inter in a Dreadnought should the unfortunate need arise.  He has also been unable to convince the Martians to either give him the plans to make Iron Halos or simply start producing them for the Chapter, which irritates him somewhat.
Wargear: Artificer armor, servo-harness, conversion beamer, auspex, combat shield, two frag grenades, two krak grenades, two smoke grenades, master-crafted melta, combat blade.


Master of the Scouts – Lionel Dwerhardt:
This gifted sharpshooter and logistician is tasked with controlling, training, and evaluating the huge Scout Company.  The Daggers have extra scouts because the simple size of the sector with which they are tasked in protection would otherwise tax their resources beyond any hope of balance when the Glasians arrive.  This, coupled with the Chapter’s sadly high casualty rate during the alien attacks, requires a larger pool of potential Brothers than the average Chapter needs.  Dwerhardt, whose name means ‘stout courage’ in Archaeoterran, fits the role to a tee, with the combination of stealth combat skill, logistical talent, and keen people senses that he needs to keep the youths of his Chapter alive and well-supplied.  He is not the Tenth Company Captain, but rather oversees all Scout efforts including that of the Captain, and decides which fireteams will be sent to which Glasian incursion zones during their Migrations.
Wargear – Stalker bolter with custom scope, recoil suppressor, and anti-armor bolts, plasma pistol, bolt pistol, master-crafted power axe, and seven krak grenades, custom carapace armor for infiltrations, mark seven armor for other duties.


Master of Arms – Gallus Forrent:
This intimidating slab of muscle and scar tissue is the unrivaled hand-to-hand combat master of the Blue Daggers, and even Arden would hesitate to fight him at that range.  He is loud, raucous, violent, and shockingly strong, but no less deadly for it.  He had served in the 3rd for decades before his promotion.  Under those circumstances when a Company Captain is unavailable to recommend specific weapons to specific units for a task, all ears turn to Forrent.  Forrent served in the Deathwatch for one Vigil of six months, hunting Genestealers, before returning to his Chapter.
Wargear – Mark six Corvus armor, power sword, gladius, combat knife, molecular stiletto, punch shield, two frag grenades, plasma pistol.


Master of the Reserves – Moand:
This stoic, pious, and placid old soldier is tasked with the thankless and disheartening role of sending the unusually-constituted reserve companies of the Daggers wherever they are needed to combat the alien.  His companies are less than perfectly Codex-compliant simply because the Glasians do not always disperse their forces to the most strategically advantageous locations for either side, and thus are unpredictable in their tactics.  The reserves need to function as an entire army, without the specialization that most Chapters employ.  Moand is one of the rare Astartes whose memory of their life before induction into the Marines left him completely; his earliest remaining memory is looking up at an Apothecary after receiving a bone ossifying injection.  Oddly, his speaking skills are completely intact, and his favorite means of spending what tiny amounts of spare time he has is working in the forges with the Tech brothers, tinkering with his impressive personal weapons; an act that is as much prayer to the Emperor and Machine God as it is pragmatic preparation.  This is a relic of his time in the Deathwatch, during which he served under a Salamander Fire Drake Sergeant who did the same thing.
Wargear: Artificer armor, storm bolter, bolt pistol, eight frag grenades, liquid nitrogen grenade, master-crafted chainsword.


Master of the Devastators – Norman Carache:
The Master of the Devastators serves a similar role as the Masters of the Scouts and other specialized assets in the Chapter.  Norman Carache dispatches his men in groups of twenty, and his extra-sized company serves as emergency reinforcements for any world in the sector that the Navy doesn’t manage to protect from the xenos.  The final twenty-five men in the company serve as the armored fist of the Daggers, striking from the Techmarine Brotherhood’s pool of transports under Whirlwind artillery cover, using their massive weapons to destroy the heavy equipment at Glasian landing sites.  Carache was an immigrant from Terra itself as a child, and his throneworld heritage has been nothing but an impediment to his position in the Chapter.  The neophytes and initiates expect him to walk on water, while the older Marines regard him as something of a nepotist, though of course neither charge is true.  He is simply haughty, an in-born trait that all the hypnoconditioning and training in the galaxy can’t erase.  He is as accurate with his heavy bolter as some of his men are with Stalkers and Ultimas, which is some consolation to those who serve under him.
Wargear: Mark four armor, heavy bolter, combat shield, combat knife, chainsword, four frag grenades.


Master of the Apothecarion – Embri Koell:
Koell is a master battle chirurgeon, charged with maintaining the Chapter’s gene-seed stocks and the organs to be implanted in the warriors they induct.  In battle, he is a terrifying force of military might, clad in the Apothecarion’s single Terminator suit, with his Reductor and other Apothecary equipment stored behind an Adamantium shield on his left arm, and carrying enough painkillers and liquid nitrogen to care for an entire company in tanks on his back.  His personality is similar; clinical and cold, with abundant hate for the aliens who dare to harm his charges, and a hidden core of warmth that only the other Masters and senior Apothecaries ever get to see.
Wargear: Indomitus Terminator armor, mark seven armor, combat shield, master-crafted melta, bolt pistol, chainsword, Reductor kit, Narthecium (Hagen variant), one melta bomb.


Master of the Forges – Kell Trebein:
The Master of the Forges is also a Techmarine, traditionally the third in command of the Brotherhood, and Kell is no exception.  Heavily augmented because of rather severely losing a fight against an Eldar wych some two hundred years past, he embraced the Machine, and now serves the priesthood as well as the Daggers.  The Daggers have extensive manufacturing facilities, but lack most of the Imperium’s blueprints, unlike their Novamarine progenitors, and must make do with those they possess.  However, they are on good terms with both the Inquisition and the Mechanicus, so it’s not out of the realm of possibility that more advanced designs will find their way into the Daggers’ arsenals.  Kell is the most monastic in personal nature of all the Techmarines in the Daggers, and biologically the oldest.  He has a calm, quiet, and introspective tone to his mannerisms and voice that put others at ease.  In battle, he refuses to even turn on his vox-grille unless needed, the better to unnerve the foe.  This puts him in contrast with others of his Chapter, who love to use the amplifiers in their helmets to sound war-cries while fighting.
Wargear: Artificer armor, servo harness, thunder hammer, storm shield, plasma pistol, frag grenade.


Master of the Recruiters – Darius laFordier:
Given the sheer size of the Daggers’ jurisdiction, a steady supply of recruits is indispensable.  As such, one of the eighteen positions on the Council belongs to the Recruiter.  This Marine’s responsibilities number three: recruiting the best and brightest boys from the Septiim system, overseeing the efforts of others who do the same and weeding out the defective, and casting the tie-breaker vote on the Council if needed.  Darius is a muscular, squat, argumentative man, covered in veins and scars, and fits the description of the stereotypical Imperial Guard Drill Instructor so closely that some of his Marines mutter that he must have been one before recruitment.  A lie, of course, but he finds it profoundly amusing.  The actual training of the Daggers recruits and Aspirants falls to the Tenth Company Captain.
Wargear: Mark eight armor, Stalker bolter, bolt pistol, incendiary grenade, chainsword.


Master of the ''Gargantuan'' – Jeremy Haskell:
Haskell is a master of warships, rivaling the Fleetmaster for sheer experience, but where the fleet strides across the void, the ''Gargantuan'' never leaves its orbit.  Its massive weapons, rocky shell, servitor complement, and many, many corridors are familiar ground for Haskell, who rarely departs.  His responsibility during the Invasions extends to the other satellites and platforms in the system save those under the express control of other branches.  His centuries of experience show on his lined and worn face.  He had gone white before a mortal man might have, but his ruthless combat demeanor and total control of the mightiest weapon in the sector have done much to endear him to the Navy, SDF, and Mechanicus whose platforms he sometimes commandeers.
Wargear: Mark seven armor, combi-bolter/flamer, chainsword, auspex.


Master of the Vault – Aitrandus:
Aitrandus is the last of the four Techmarines on the Council, and the youngest.  His exceptional eye for detail, even for a Techmarine, allows him to carefully inspect the truly ancient weapons and armor that are contained within the vaults of the orbital and terrestrial fortresses and bases the Daggers maintain.  Beyond the Armory, where so many of the Chapter’s precious wargear relics are stored, many of the Chapter’s relics have no combat function at all.  This includes things like flags, holopicts, dataslates with uncopiable files, maps of Glasian invasion routes, and other items that are both too fragile to move much, too inert to be used in battle, and too precious to lose.  As such, Aitrandus is the Council member least likely to enter battle despite his vaunted rank.  This suits him, as he finds a certain calm and reverence in his task.
Wargear: Artificer armor, twin shotgun, two bolt pistols, grenade launcher, combat blade, servo harness.