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{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
{{Infobox Spess Mahreen Chapter
|Name = Iron Hands
|Name = Sons of Medusa
|Heraldry = [[Image:Iron_Hands_Livery.jpg|center|140px]]
|Heraldry = [[File:Sons of Medusa Livery.jpg|150px]]
|Battle Cry = The Flesh Is Weak!
|Battle Cry = Purge the weak!
|Number = X
|Founding = N/A; chapter ratified by edict.
|Founding = [[First Founding]]
|Successors of = [[Iron Hands]]
|Successors of = N/A
|Homeworld = Asteroid network, [[Taelus]] system
|Successor Chapters = [[Brazen Claws]], [[Iron Lords]], [[Red Talons]], [[Sons of Medusa]], [[Steel Confessors]]
|Specialty = Bionics and mechanized warfare, [[Murderhobo|"acquiring"]] loot
|Chapter Master = [[Kardan Stronos]]/The Great Clan Council
|Primarch = [[Ferrus Manus]]
|Homeworld = [[Medusa]]
|Specialty = Bionics and mechanized warfare
|Strength = 1000 Marines
|Strength = 1000 Marines
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Allegiance = [[Imperium]]
|Colours = Black and White
|Colours = Lime Green, White and Black
}}
}}
The '''Sons of Medusa''' are a Successor Chapter of the [[Iron Hands]].


The '''Iron Hands''' were the X Legion of the [[Space Marines]] during the [[Great Crusade]] and the [[Horus Heresy]]. Their [[Primarch]] was [[Ferrus Manus]].
==History==
==History==
[[File:Iron Hands Space Marine.jpeg|thumb|left|An Iron Hands Space Marine.]]
The Sons of Medusa, although born out of strife and discontent, share much in common with their parent [[Chapter]] in terms of organisation and philosophy. They too abhor mortal weakness and place an unusual reliance on technology and equipment.
The '''Iron Hands''' are, like most of their fellow chapters who originated from the first founding, completely bat shit crazy. The chapter worships their ancient Father who got a bad case of worms and ended up with silver metal-coated hands (sounds a bit like the 18th century method of using mercury to cure Syphilis) and subsequently now believe that flesh is weak and as a result the marines try to copy their Primarch and replace their body parts with machinery and cybernetic implants, which Ferrus himself was actually against, believing that they should trust in the strength of their flesh rather than attempting to improve upon the Emperor's work. This is all part of an undoubtedly Freudian complex brought about by the loss of their primarch during the Drop Site Massacre on Isstvan V. Of course, the chapter decided to blame everyone, '''especially''' the [[Emperor's Children|legion]] whose [[Fulgrim|primarch]] shortened [[Ferrus Manus]] by a head at neck level.


In spite of all this weirdness and being part of the [[First Founding]], the Iron Hands remain one of the most forgettable Chapters among [[Games Workshop]] and the fandom at large. Seriously, [[Feral World Religion|even /tg/ forgets about them half the time.]] The only chapter who has it worse are the [[Raven Guard]], barring Kyvvan Shrike. To add self mutilation and cybernetic enhancement (insult) to injury, those who do remember them often get confused with the [[Iron Warriors]], and these people are worse than heretics because at least a Heretic knows the difference between "corn" and "Khorne", but the term Iron seems to confuse many. Leading to much fuck'tardery comments like "Iron Within, Iron Without", these people are total bell-ends and deserve to be scorned (Or would that be, sKhorned?). With the publication of the ''[[Horus Heresy]]'' books the powers that be have finally begun to remember that the Iron Hands were one of the original Space Marine Legions, but aside from their Primarch in resin courtesy of [[Forge World]] they're still years away from getting a named character. But Iron Hands don't care they are too busy kicking arse, taking names and getting shit done. That said, they really are the Emperor's Tin Men in every sense of the word. Now they've got their own codex supplement (providing the world at large with a [[Chapter Master Smashfucker|certain slightly competitive character]], looks like the Sons of the Gorgon are finally getting some attention.
===Founding===
[[Image:Executioners Deimos Predator Executioner.jpg‎|200px|thumb|left|[[Techmarine|Forge-Wright]] of the Sons of Medusa]]The Founding of the Sons of Medusa is highly unusual in that, technically, they were never actually founded at all. Their origins lie within an [[Imperial]] civil conflict known as the [[Nova Terra Interregnum|Moirae Schism]], which itself occurred during the [[Nova Terra Interregnum]]. During this schism, which affected all branches of the [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] and those Imperial factions closely tied to it, the Iron Hands chapter stood on the brink of destroying itself in an internal chapter war. However, the ruling council of the Iron Hands, the Great Clan Council, was able to settle the matter by getting all concerned to agree to a simple solution; the Moirae dissidents were to be exiled from the chapter, with all parties swearing never to take up arms against each other. In the wake of this ruling, almost a full third of the chapter split away to become a [[Black Templars|fleet-based]] divergent branch of the Iron Hands. Over time, they increased their numbers (by accepting Moirae dissidents from other Iron Hands successor chapters as well as traditional recruiting) and by the time the Moirae Schism was over, the Moirae Iron Hands were reckoned to stand at chapter-strength. The only known exeption is the infamously zero-chill [[Red Talons]] Chapter, which [[That Guy|killed all of their Schismatics]].


Also, they're totally crazy post-apocalyptic Texan British Italians in space. Yes, this is canon.
With the restoration of the [[High Lords of Terra]] just before the beginning of the [[Age of Redemption]] in the Thorian Reformation in the last years of the [[Age of Apostasy]], the Moirae Iron Hands were carefully judged and scrutinised by the resurgent Imperium for their actions during the Schism, the Interregnum and the Apostasy, and were found pure and loyal to the greater Imperium. As a result, the High Lords of Terra issued a special edict that would ratify the Moirae Iron Hands' right to exist as a Space Marine chapter in their own right. They were renamed the Sons of Medusa and gained new heraldry, as well as the distrust and wary observation of some in the Adeptus Mechanicus and other Space Marine chapters unhappy with this development.


==Organisation==
As if to test their loyalty, the first campaign officially issued to the Sons of Medusa was that of the Great Cull; the eradication of those elements of the Imperium found wanting in the aftermath of the [[Nova Terra Interregnum]], the Moirae Schism and the greater part of the [[Age of Apostasy]]. They are noted to have performed above and beyond expectations in this campaign, outshining their parent chapter as well as other Imperial forces with their zeal to destroy Imperial traitors, as well as other foes of humanity.
The chapter itself is ruled by the Great Clan Council, composed up of 10 seats, each representing one of the ten clans (the Iron Hand equivalent of a company). The clans themselves are all highly autonomous and are nomadic, travelling across Medusa in mobile fortresses. Each clan nominates a warrior to represent them at the Great Clan Council and together, the ten warriors get into all sorts of [[A Game of Pretend|debates and political shenanigans]]. The logic behind this is that with no central leadership role, the chapter cannot be lead astray like so many others have. This immediately makes the Iron Hands smarter then the rest of the fucking [[Warhammer 40,000]] universe because they're smart enough to realise that having everyone led by a de facto dictator was a pretty retarded idea. Then again, they also believe that replacing their dicks with drills is the best fucking idea in the world, so I suppose your mileage may vary. (And the fact that /tg/ considers this sort of setup as fucking ridiculous based on [[Codex Astartes|where the suggestion comes from]], so again, your mileage may vary.)


That said, they do have a kinda chapter master. When something major happens that affects the whole chapter, the council elects one of their members best suited for their current state. For example, if they're fighting orks the one who has the most experience fighting them will lead the chapter, and once done he will sit down. Making him more of a Chapter President really with checks and balances, the chapter master checks the council from getting caught up in red tape and the council makes sure he doesn't lead the chapter astray.
While their beliefs from the original creed of Moirae have diverged over the years, their adherence to its prophecies filtered through cold mechanical logic has given them a reputation for knowing exactly when to intervene. More recent rumors suggest that their Primaris battle-brothers may have true prophetic abilities, but nobody has been able to prove it yet.


Organisation and doctrine wise, the chapter follows the basic idea of the [[Codex Astartes]], while changing all the bits they don't like or cannot follow due to the heavy losses/destruction of equipment at Isstvan V (yup 10,000 years later and the Departmento Mmunitorum has not yet resupplied them, fucking REMF's). Each company is called a "Clan" and there isn't a specific company for Scouts; instead each Clan recruits their own Neophytes. Once the recruit is indoctrinated, his left hand is replaced with a cybernetic replacement. As an Iron Hand serves his Chapter he gets more and more augmented: appendages, limbs, organs; the whole shebang until the Marine is little more than a brain in a shell. There are also rumours that dead warriors are instead replaced with automatons rather then new Neophytes. Because of their extensive augmentation the Iron Hands are amongst the strongest Space Marines: strong enough to dual-wield weapons that regular Space Marines would need both hands for like the [[Melta|Multi-Melta]]. Due to the destruction of equipment at the Drop Site Massacre, the chapter lacks in Terminator armour. However veterans are often given suits of Terminator armour and placed in charge of leading squads of Tactical Marines, who see the suits [[Pauldrons|giant pauldrons]] as inspirational. Additionally, Dreadnought chassis are highly revered and sought after pieces of equipment, and being entombed within a Dreadnought is the considered the best fate possible for an Iron Hands Marine. Finally, due to their shared love of machines the Iron Hands and [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] are pretty much bros 4 lyfe, with much Bromance and fist bumping. ''01110100011011110111010001100001011011000110110001111001- Mhu Rho 6''
===Recent Years===
[[File:Iron_Dakka.jpg|300px|thumb|left|The Iron Hands are the most gritty of the First Founders. You could even call it... True Grit.]]
The Sons of Medusa most recently appear in Imperial records as one of the chapters who took part in the [[Badab War]] on the side of the loyalists. They entered the war after the initial period of conflict as reinforcements called in to deal with the secessionists after they had officially been deemed heretical. The chapter deployed significant forces to the war and performed admirably throughout. They spent the first few years of their involvement purging enemy outlying strongholds, during which they are only noted to have suffered one serious setback; the destruction of the [[Strike Cruiser]] ''Warspite'', lost with all hands. The ''Warspite'' was destroyed by the secessionist [[Executioners]] chapter; when the Executioners surrendered not too long after, the Sons of Medusa advocated bloody retribution. They were denied this by the actions of the [[Salamanders]] forces present in the warzone, who stepped in to prevent unnecessary deaths. This incident is noted to have seriously soured relations between the loyalist chapters.
In combat they are utterly unforgiving and relentless, hate [[Daemon|Daemons]] and the [[warp]] with a [[Angry Marines|rare and intense hatred]] and utterly despise [[heresy]] and [[blam|cowardice]]. During one particular campaign involving the rebellion of an entire sub-sector, the Iron Hands got in and [[Rip and Tear|fucked shit up so bad]] that they executed a third of the sub-sector's entire population. That is not killed. [[Commissar|Executed]]. As in the ones they did not kill in battle, and those who surrendered and begged for mercy. Despite this they are seen as a wholesome and pious chapter, unlike [[Flesh Tearers|some others that murder everything within sight regardless of whose side they're on]] [[Marines Malevolent|or level refugee camps because there are hostiles within the perimeter.]] Either way, don't piss them off lest you fuel their murderboner; and whilst on the subject of boners, it is believed they hate [[Slaanesh]] with the [[Rage|intense hatred]] of a billion [[Æonic Orb|Æonic Orbs]] because she's the Prince of Excess and the Iron Hands believe THE FLESH IS WEAK (the previously-mentioned one-third-of-a-subsector-getting-[[blam|blammed]] was because of Slaaneshi orgies and daemons). This could mean they are more apt at fighting the minions of She Who Thirsts, but there is, as all things Iron Hands related, not much to elaborate on this except they are getting shit done.


==Tabletop==
The Sons of Medusa were in at the kill of the Fall of Badab and [[Lugft Huron]]'s secessionist forces, being primarily responsible for the capture of one of the star fortresses which protected Badab Primaris from attack. The capture of this particular fortress was the last act needed to shatter the Tyrant of Badab's "Ring of Steel" and open Badab Primaris to planetary assault. Most of their Atropos War Clan now replaced with [[Primaris Marines]]. They took part in the defense against the Invasion of the [[Stygius Sector]].
Good news is they got a much needed bone in 6th edition. Robin Cruddace realized how stupid it was for a chapter with close ties to the Ad-mech to not have a lot of gear; they're now loaded with tanks, aircraft, and dreadnoughts. Their variation of Chapter Tactics gives all marines 6+ FNP (which is a great bonus that will save a few marines here and there, but is nothing something to be built around), all of their characters and vehicles get It Will Not Die, and [[Techmarine|Techmarines/Masters of the Forge]] get +1 to Blessings of the Omnissiah. The strength in this particular set of Chapter Tactics is that basically every single model benefits from it, allowing you to play a wider selection of builds while still playing to its strengths.


...and now they get their own supplement. Interesting, it would seem GW is dealing with not knowing what to do with them by portraying the Chapter as full of contradictions, such as despite the clans being autonomous they do act like Codex companies. Apparently the Codex Astartes was simply "more logical" than the admittedly terrible idea of telling Guilliman and Dorn to go fuck themselves.
==Organisation==
Whilst the Sons of Medusa are unusually structured - being split into three separate and effectively autonomous War Clans (Lachesis, Mageara and Atropos, two of which are interestingly named after Mechanicum [[Knight]] patterns, Lachesis and Atropos are Fates, the third Fate is Cloto, but gw is dumb…) - their overall organisation is reasonably close to that laid forth in the [[Codex Astartes]]. This is achieved due to the makeup of the individual War Clans: One Battle Company, one Tactical Company, one Support Company (composed of [[Devastator Squad|Devastator]], [[Assault Squad|Assault]] and [[Veteran Squad]]s) and one auxilliary [[Scout]] force each. When the makeup of these companies is totalled, the Sons of Medusa "notionally" end up with about the same amount of marines assigned to the various roles as a more straightforward [[Codex Astartes|Codex Chapter]].


Also, [[Derp|they almost completely forgot about the Contqual purging]]. Codex: Marines skips most of the campaign right to the final battle on the Shardenus hub, and Supplement: Raukaan skips it entirely in favor of the suspiciously similar "Gaudinian Heresy". There's also a story in there about a certain Iron Father deciding that machines are better than men and then [[Heresy|getting brainwashed and mutated by a Keeper of Secrets]].  It's also deeply suspicious that for a Chapter which must absolutely revere their Apothecaries, potentially folding them into their Techmarines like Space Wolves and Blood Angels do with their Chaplains, since they'd be the ones in charge of installing new cybernetics, their fluff consistently yammers on about their Techmarines and just doesn't discuss their Apothecaries at any great length.
However, the Sons of Medusa have a particularly exacting recruitment and indoctrination process, which can result in a lower-than-average number of initiates at any one time. On the plus side of this equation, the high wash-out rate does ensure the chapter has a large number of [[servitors]].


Crunch-wise, it's not so crap. The new wargear all works very neatly (especially Chain of the Gorgon), the Warlord Traits are okay, Masters of the Forge get to grab 3 Techies for their retinue (and everyone else gets 2), and all dreads get to be Elites or HS. This means that the Iron Hands get to be much killier, if [[Chapter Master Smashfucker]] has anything to say about it.
Each War Clan is commanded by an Iron Thane - these three being the ruling council of the chapter - and each company by a [[Brother-Captain|Captain]]. Besides the official command chain, there sit the unofficial links of respect and tradition; the wisdom of the chapter's Venerable [[Dreadnought]]s and their [[Techmarine]]s, who group themselves together as the "Chamber Ferrum." The Chamber Ferrum not only advises the War Clan leaders, it keeps direct control over essential chapter resources such as the forges and apothecarion. This ensures chapter unity in focus, philosophy and materiel.


==Daily Rituals==
[[Image:Sons of Medusa Predator.jpg‎|200px|thumb|right|Their vehicles are painted black.]]Indeed, the Sons of Medusa are noted to be a very unified chapter despite their clan organisation, with their chapter philosophies of logic and the abhorrence of the weak always being forefront in the mind of each Astartes. The chapter possesses extensive forge resources, allowing them to field an impressive amount of Space Marine equipment, in both number and variety. There is almost no pattern of vehicle or armour they do not possess, either through direct forging or battlefield acquisitions. The Sons of Medusa unfortunately have a reputation for being [[Blood Ravens|scavengers or carrion crows]] and their detractors accuse them of only participating in campaigns in order to [[Munchkin|accumulate more wargear]]. This isn't helped by their historical preference for ''"[[That Guy|aggressively]]"'' seeking to add to their stockpiles by [[Minotaurs|taking wargear]] from [[Lamenters|renegade chapters]].
[[File:You're_Terminated.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A rare Iron Hands [[Terminator]] showing why metal is superior and why THE FLESH IS WEAK.]]
While each Clan Company has its own rituals and traditions, the following should be considered an outline of the Iron Hands daily routines:


04:00-Morning Prayer: The Iron Hands of the Clan Company are awoken from their power stations and reconfigure their Power Options for best performance, ready for the Iron Father to lead them in sermon which is completely told in Binary.<br>
==Timeline==
05:00-Morning Firing Rites: The Iron Hands engage in fire practice.<br>
*M35 - [[Heresy|Moirae Schism]]; Moirae Iron Hands (+ non [[Red Talons]] Iron Hands successors) exiled and become independent.
07:00-Battle Practice: The Iron Hands gather for practice in the cages. Often the Iron Hands end up repairing the damage they inflicted on the practice servitor themselves. On more than a few occasions Chapter serfs have been unable to tell the difference between a battle-brother and a servitor.<br>
*011.M37 - Moirae Iron Hands ratified as a Space Marine chapter; re-codifed as the Sons of Medusa. Took part in the Great Cull.
11:00-Morning Maintenance Rituals: The Iron Hands polish and repair their wargear and augmetics.<br>
*182.M38 - The Bellrath Crusade; liberation of the Laanah Rifts from [[xenos]], [[Heresy|heretics]] and scum.
13:00-Midday Meal: A light meal is prepared by the Chapter serfs and occasionally accidentally given to a Servitor - lol oops.<br>
*453.M38 - The Bellrath Crusade ends with the Sons purging the capital of the Hellgrammite Xenos with the help of the [[Tome Keepers]].
13:30-Tactical Indoctrination-The Clan-Commander gathers the Iron Hands for a tactical sermon on potential enemies, pointing out the vulnerable weak flesh to fire bolters at.<br>
*M39 - Sons of Medusa establish permanent fortress-monastery complex in the Taelus system, far in the galactic east.
14:30-Land-Behemoth Maintenance: The Clan Company assists in repairs to the Land-Behemoth which serves as the Clan's mobile fortress-monastery. Mostly because by this point the vessel has taken on too much ash and soot from Medusa's volcanoes to continue moving. Raising questions about whether this means machines are weaker than flesh earns a battle-brother one hundred days of penitential duties.<br>
*322.M39 - Participated in the [[Dark Heresy|Angevin Crusade]].
16:00-Evening Firing Rites: Having gotten the Land Engine working again, the Clan Company assembles for evening firing practice. Again, they will often repair any damage they inflict on the practice servitor.<br>
*907.M41 - Entered the [[Badab War]].
18:00-Evening Prayer: The Iron Hands gather for the Iron Father to preach to them. Areas frequently covered include the sinfulness of still having your own kidneys, why washing machines are superior to many humans and mortification of pathetic, weak flesh by poking yourself repeatedly in the eye.<br>
*912.M41 - The Badab War ends.
20:00-Evening Meal: A feast is prepared by the Chapter serfs. Overcooking or undercooking the food will result in the serf being banished to the Enginerarium decks (trust us, for people born on a half-frozen planet, nothing is worse than the heat of the Enginerarium decks of a Land-Behemoth). Cooking the food just right will see the serf rewarded with being made a cooking servitor.<br>
21:00-Evening Maintenance Rituals: The Iron Hands spend the rest of their day overseeing maintenance of their wargear and augmetics with adjustable Spanners, Watchmakers and ratchet Screwdrivers. Many magnetic heads are lost on the Marines Armour in very hard to reach places, Rare Earth Magnets are banned.<br>
00:00-Rest Period: The Iron Hands retire to their power stations for the evening where they configure themselves to low power mode and watch a couple of DVD's and download a torrent, after spending an hour trying to find the right codec, all this whilst half their brain sleeps.


** On Tuesdays they all have to report to the Mechanicum Chamber for a "Special" Blessing from an Iron Father, - This is called "Patching" and then it all gets "Rolled out" by Serfer's before Logging off which involves the Latrines? Without this ritual the Adepts and Techpriests start freaking out and talking a lot about vulnerabilities and Fire Sales?
==Notable Members==
*'''Vaylund Cal''' - Iron Thane of Atropos War Clan, High Artificer of the Sons of Medusa, Scion of the Moirae and a FUCKING BADASS character on the tabletop, combining the functionality of a Chapter Master with a techmarine as well as having been the ''only'' special character that someone who uses the ''Chapter Tactic (Iron Hands)'' could have taken, since GW were reluctant to release any unique models or kits for the Iron Hands before recent codex supplements gave the Iron Hands their first named character model [[Malkaan Feirros|Malkaan Feirros]].


{{Template:Marines-Official}}
{{Template:Marines-Official}}
[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]][[Category:Imperial]][[Category:Space Marines]]

Latest revision as of 16:24, 22 June 2023

Sons of Medusa
Battle Cry Purge the weak!
Founding N/A; chapter ratified by edict.
Successors of Iron Hands
Homeworld Asteroid network, Taelus system
Strength 1000 Marines
Specialty Bionics and mechanized warfare, "acquiring" loot
Allegiance Imperium
Colours Lime Green, White and Black

The Sons of Medusa are a Successor Chapter of the Iron Hands.

History[edit | edit source]

The Sons of Medusa, although born out of strife and discontent, share much in common with their parent Chapter in terms of organisation and philosophy. They too abhor mortal weakness and place an unusual reliance on technology and equipment.

Founding[edit | edit source]

Forge-Wright of the Sons of Medusa

The Founding of the Sons of Medusa is highly unusual in that, technically, they were never actually founded at all. Their origins lie within an Imperial civil conflict known as the Moirae Schism, which itself occurred during the Nova Terra Interregnum. During this schism, which affected all branches of the Adeptus Mechanicus and those Imperial factions closely tied to it, the Iron Hands chapter stood on the brink of destroying itself in an internal chapter war. However, the ruling council of the Iron Hands, the Great Clan Council, was able to settle the matter by getting all concerned to agree to a simple solution; the Moirae dissidents were to be exiled from the chapter, with all parties swearing never to take up arms against each other. In the wake of this ruling, almost a full third of the chapter split away to become a fleet-based divergent branch of the Iron Hands. Over time, they increased their numbers (by accepting Moirae dissidents from other Iron Hands successor chapters as well as traditional recruiting) and by the time the Moirae Schism was over, the Moirae Iron Hands were reckoned to stand at chapter-strength. The only known exeption is the infamously zero-chill Red Talons Chapter, which killed all of their Schismatics.

With the restoration of the High Lords of Terra just before the beginning of the Age of Redemption in the Thorian Reformation in the last years of the Age of Apostasy, the Moirae Iron Hands were carefully judged and scrutinised by the resurgent Imperium for their actions during the Schism, the Interregnum and the Apostasy, and were found pure and loyal to the greater Imperium. As a result, the High Lords of Terra issued a special edict that would ratify the Moirae Iron Hands' right to exist as a Space Marine chapter in their own right. They were renamed the Sons of Medusa and gained new heraldry, as well as the distrust and wary observation of some in the Adeptus Mechanicus and other Space Marine chapters unhappy with this development.

As if to test their loyalty, the first campaign officially issued to the Sons of Medusa was that of the Great Cull; the eradication of those elements of the Imperium found wanting in the aftermath of the Nova Terra Interregnum, the Moirae Schism and the greater part of the Age of Apostasy. They are noted to have performed above and beyond expectations in this campaign, outshining their parent chapter as well as other Imperial forces with their zeal to destroy Imperial traitors, as well as other foes of humanity.

While their beliefs from the original creed of Moirae have diverged over the years, their adherence to its prophecies filtered through cold mechanical logic has given them a reputation for knowing exactly when to intervene. More recent rumors suggest that their Primaris battle-brothers may have true prophetic abilities, but nobody has been able to prove it yet.

Recent Years[edit | edit source]

The Sons of Medusa most recently appear in Imperial records as one of the chapters who took part in the Badab War on the side of the loyalists. They entered the war after the initial period of conflict as reinforcements called in to deal with the secessionists after they had officially been deemed heretical. The chapter deployed significant forces to the war and performed admirably throughout. They spent the first few years of their involvement purging enemy outlying strongholds, during which they are only noted to have suffered one serious setback; the destruction of the Strike Cruiser Warspite, lost with all hands. The Warspite was destroyed by the secessionist Executioners chapter; when the Executioners surrendered not too long after, the Sons of Medusa advocated bloody retribution. They were denied this by the actions of the Salamanders forces present in the warzone, who stepped in to prevent unnecessary deaths. This incident is noted to have seriously soured relations between the loyalist chapters.

The Sons of Medusa were in at the kill of the Fall of Badab and Lugft Huron's secessionist forces, being primarily responsible for the capture of one of the star fortresses which protected Badab Primaris from attack. The capture of this particular fortress was the last act needed to shatter the Tyrant of Badab's "Ring of Steel" and open Badab Primaris to planetary assault. Most of their Atropos War Clan now replaced with Primaris Marines. They took part in the defense against the Invasion of the Stygius Sector.

Organisation[edit | edit source]

Whilst the Sons of Medusa are unusually structured - being split into three separate and effectively autonomous War Clans (Lachesis, Mageara and Atropos, two of which are interestingly named after Mechanicum Knight patterns, Lachesis and Atropos are Fates, the third Fate is Cloto, but gw is dumb…) - their overall organisation is reasonably close to that laid forth in the Codex Astartes. This is achieved due to the makeup of the individual War Clans: One Battle Company, one Tactical Company, one Support Company (composed of Devastator, Assault and Veteran Squads) and one auxilliary Scout force each. When the makeup of these companies is totalled, the Sons of Medusa "notionally" end up with about the same amount of marines assigned to the various roles as a more straightforward Codex Chapter.

However, the Sons of Medusa have a particularly exacting recruitment and indoctrination process, which can result in a lower-than-average number of initiates at any one time. On the plus side of this equation, the high wash-out rate does ensure the chapter has a large number of servitors.

Each War Clan is commanded by an Iron Thane - these three being the ruling council of the chapter - and each company by a Captain. Besides the official command chain, there sit the unofficial links of respect and tradition; the wisdom of the chapter's Venerable Dreadnoughts and their Techmarines, who group themselves together as the "Chamber Ferrum." The Chamber Ferrum not only advises the War Clan leaders, it keeps direct control over essential chapter resources such as the forges and apothecarion. This ensures chapter unity in focus, philosophy and materiel.

Their vehicles are painted black.

Indeed, the Sons of Medusa are noted to be a very unified chapter despite their clan organisation, with their chapter philosophies of logic and the abhorrence of the weak always being forefront in the mind of each Astartes. The chapter possesses extensive forge resources, allowing them to field an impressive amount of Space Marine equipment, in both number and variety. There is almost no pattern of vehicle or armour they do not possess, either through direct forging or battlefield acquisitions. The Sons of Medusa unfortunately have a reputation for being scavengers or carrion crows and their detractors accuse them of only participating in campaigns in order to accumulate more wargear. This isn't helped by their historical preference for "aggressively" seeking to add to their stockpiles by taking wargear from renegade chapters.

Timeline[edit | edit source]

  • M35 - Moirae Schism; Moirae Iron Hands (+ non Red Talons Iron Hands successors) exiled and become independent.
  • 011.M37 - Moirae Iron Hands ratified as a Space Marine chapter; re-codifed as the Sons of Medusa. Took part in the Great Cull.
  • 182.M38 - The Bellrath Crusade; liberation of the Laanah Rifts from xenos, heretics and scum.
  • 453.M38 - The Bellrath Crusade ends with the Sons purging the capital of the Hellgrammite Xenos with the help of the Tome Keepers.
  • M39 - Sons of Medusa establish permanent fortress-monastery complex in the Taelus system, far in the galactic east.
  • 322.M39 - Participated in the Angevin Crusade.
  • 907.M41 - Entered the Badab War.
  • 912.M41 - The Badab War ends.

Notable Members[edit | edit source]

  • Vaylund Cal - Iron Thane of Atropos War Clan, High Artificer of the Sons of Medusa, Scion of the Moirae and a FUCKING BADASS character on the tabletop, combining the functionality of a Chapter Master with a techmarine as well as having been the only special character that someone who uses the Chapter Tactic (Iron Hands) could have taken, since GW were reluctant to release any unique models or kits for the Iron Hands before recent codex supplements gave the Iron Hands their first named character model Malkaan Feirros.
Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes
First Founding
(M29) 		Blood Angels • Dark Angels • Imperial Fists • Iron Hands • Raven Guard • Salamanders • Space Wolves • Ultramarines • White Scars
Second Founding
(021.M31) 		Angels of Absolution • Angels Encarmine • Angels Porphyr • Angels of Redemption • Angels Sanguine • Angels of Vengeance • Angels Vermillion • Aurora Chapter • Black Consuls • Black Guard • Black Templars • Blood Drinkers • Brazen Claws • Crimson Fists • Destroyers • Doom Eagles • Eagle Warriors • Excoriators • Fists Exemplar • Flesh Tearers • Genesis Chapter • Inceptors • Iron Snakes • Libators • Lions Sable • Marauders • Mortifactors • Nemesis • Novamarines • Obsidian Glaives • Patriarchs of Ulixis • Purple Stars • Praetors of Orpheus • Rampagers • Raptors • Red Talons • Revilers • Silver Eagles • Silver Skulls • Soul Drinkers • Storm Lords • White Consuls • Wolf Brothers
Third to
Twelfth Founding
(M32-M35) 		Astral Claws • Angels Penitent • Angels Revenant • Charnel Guard • Dark Paladins • Executioners • Flesh Eaters • Halo Brethren • Howling Griffons • Iron Knights • Mantis Warriors • Marines Malevolent • Night Swords • Sable Swords (initial) - Scythes of the Emperor • Space Sharks • Sons of Guilliman
Thirteenth Founding
(M35) 		Death Spectres • Exorcists
Fourteenth to
Twentieth Founding 		Angels of Fire • Avenging Sons • Celebrants
Twenty-First Founding
(991.M35) 		Black Dragons • Blood Gorgons • Fire Hawks • Flame Falcons • Lamenters • Minotaurs • Sons of Antaeus • Tiger Claws
Twenty-Second to
Twenty-Sixth Founding
(M35-M41) 		Angels of Vigilance • Angels Excelsis • Celestial Lions • Dark Hunters • Disciples of Caliban • Emperor's Spears • Fire Angels • Golden Sons • Hospitallers • Imperial Harbingers • Iron Lords • Knights of the Raven • Marines Errant • Mentors • Fire Claws/Relictors • Star Phantoms • Subjugators
Ultima Founding
(999.M41/000.M42 to 012.M42) 		Angels of Defiance • Black Vipers • Blades of Vengeance • Castellans of the Rift • Covenant of Fire • Dark Krakens • Fulminators • Knights Cerulean • Knights of the Chalice • Knights of Thunder • Necropolis Hawks • Nemesors • Praetors of Ultramar • Prime Absolvers • Rift Stalkers • Silver Drakes • Silver Templars • Sons of the Phoenix • Storm Reapers • Umbral Knights • Unnumbered Sons • Valiant Blades • Void Tridents • Wolfspear
Unknown Founding Absolvers • Accipiters • Adulators • Angel Guard • Angels Eradicant • Angels of Retribution • Astral Knights • Blood Ravens • Blood Swords • Brazen Drakes • Bringers of Judgement • Brothers Penitent • Carmine Blades • Cowled Wardens • Crimson Castellans • Crimson Consuls • Crimson Scythes • Dark Hands • Dark Sons • Death Eagles • Doom Warriors • Emperor's Shadows • Fire Lords • Guardians of the Covenant • Graven Spectres • Hammers of Dorn • Harbingers • Hawk Lords • Invaders • Iron Crusaders • Iron Talons • Jade Dragons • Knights of Blood • Knights Unyielding • Marines Exemplar • The Nameless • Night Watch • Rainbow Warriors • Reclaimers • Red Hunters • Red Scorpions • Red Seraphs • Red Templars • Retributors • Sable Swords (refounded) • Shadow Wolves • Solar Hawks • Sons of Orar • Star Dragons • Stormwatchers • Storm Giants • Storm Wardens • Valedictors • Viper Legion • Vorpal Swords • White Templars • Storm Wings
Unsanctioned Founding Consecrators (founding unknown, but likely after 2nd Founding) • Sons of Medusa (separated from parent Chapters, ratified by edict) • Steel Confessors (de facto 22nd Founding, de jure ratified by edict) • Ashen Claws (separatist Raven Guard Legion exiles, nominal loyalists)
Others Astartes Praeses • Deathwatch • Grey Knights • Judged • Legion of the Damned
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