Pale Hounds

Pale Hounds
Battle Cry	"Let Loose The Hounds of War!" and "Rend with Fang and Claw!"
Number	XVII
Founding	First Founding
Primarch	Valorn Adras
Homeworld	Manaan
Strength	120,000
Specialty	Infiltration. Shock and Awe. Guerilla Warfare. Assassinations.
Allegiance	Separatist
Colours	Camo Green, Tan

This page is part of the Warmasters Triumvirate, a fan re-working of the Warhammer 40,000 Universe. See the Warmasters Triumvirate page for more information on the Alternate Universe.

History

Pre-Primarch History & Reunion

Prior to the rediscovery of Valorn, the sixteenth legion were not particularly exceptional in many regards. They were of a later formation, so they were not provided with the equipment or opportunities of legions like the Leviathan Host. Even their mutations were decidedly unimpressive for the most part, with Accursed marines being far rarer in those early days. Unimpressive and even forgettable by the standards of most legions, they sought to be worthy of their primarch. Thus, they saw every battle more as an opportunity to prove themselves as a legion, rather than as an actual conflict. Victories were lauded but those who fell in battle were considered unworthy of living to see the primarch. This mindset meant both that they took far more losses than they needed to due to their reckless tactics, but they also had a great lack of dreadnaughts, seeing as they considered falling in battle to be a sign of unworthiness and wouldn’t want to keep the unworthy around in dreadnaughts. By the time they were reunited with Valorn they had a reputation of being unrelenting in their military strategies, even when it was detrimental to themselves to avoid retreat. As such, the legion was thought reliable and brave but not necessarily intelligent and certainly a little self-obsessed. When Primarch and legion finally met both parties were more than a little disappointed in the other. The sixteenth found a primarch they viewed as cowardly and weak while Valorn found a legion who had become so obsessed with a single goal that they had forgotten their role as Astartes. It would take Valorn many years to forge their self-obsession into independence and temper their brave and unrelenting nature with pragmatism and tactical thought. However not all of the Hounds would be converted. Those who remained rooted in the old ways would let their distaste for their primarch fester within them into something more. This made them easy prey for the machinations of Chaos and the traitor Dacern.

Homeworld

Fleet-based. Valorn's homeworld of Taiga was destroyed in a great cataclysm not long after he was rediscovered by the Emperor.

Legion Doctrine

Combination of Guerrilla warfare and blitzkrieg. Drop troops behind enemy lines to disrupt operations and erode the strength of the frontline then smash it with a sudden, ferocious and above all else unrelenting assault.

Legion Culture & Personality

Self-reliant, independent and stubborn, the Pale Hounds dislike being forced to call on outside forces for aid. In fact, their willingness to accept offers of assistance often decreases as the difficulty of their mission grows. This causes some to see them as glory hounds (Heh), though it comes more from the Hound’s underestimation of normal humans and over estimation of themselves. They are also perfectionists and will obsess over every mistake/failure and the rectification of such mistakes/failures.

As for Valorn himself the first thing any would notice about him is that he is meticulously clean. Valorn always keeps his chin bald and his hair cropped, with nary a single strand out of place. If one met him after a battle one might notice a few new licks of paint on Valorn's armour, covering scorch marks and other minor battle damage. The second thing one might notice is Valorn's grave and serious demeanour. Valorn is good at concealing his emotions and so isn’t particularly emotive. However, if he was in a particularly good mood that day you might play audience to flashes of dry sarcastic wit that rarely saw the light of day outside the company of Valorn's close friends.

Whilst Valorn knows how to talk he also knows how to listen. As such conversations with him can be rather one-sided, with Valorn's only vocal contributions being short and to the point.

Gene-seed flaws

A small percentage of the marines have an extremely overactive Betcher Glands that constantly produce highly corrosive acid and mix it with the marine’s saliva. If not treated properly most afflicted marines will melt from the inside out, starting with the mouth. It is treated by connecting tubes to the Betcher glands that drain them of their acid and transfer it to a pair of acid proofed canisters attached to the marine’s back. Most afflicted marines will connect a pair of chem sprayers to these canisters so that their mutation does not limit their combat effectiveness. These “Accursed” marines often find themselves as part of Guerrilla operations. Other than that? The Pale Hounds often have pale almost sickly looking skin tones.

Legion Organization

In what sub-groups is the legion divided?

Special units

Special units only this legion has

Special equipment

Special equipment only this legion has

Naval Assets

Flagships etc

Notable Members

Named, noteworthy marines

Rules

If available, tabletop rules