Loxodontii

Loxodontii
Battle Cry	"Beware the Musth!"
Number	XIII
Founding	First Founding
Primarch	Ashur of Banipal
Homeworld	Babylon V
Strength	~90’000
Specialty	Fast deployment, armoured warfare, protecting/harrassing supply lines
Allegiance	Chaos
Colours	Codex Grey, Bestial Brown, Dwarf Flesh/Brazen Brass, Bleached Bone

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.

The Loxodontii were the XIIIth Legiones Astartes. Led by Ashur of Banipal, their dedication to reuniting humanity into one great family was by far their most inspiring attribute. Their preferred strategy was to quickly deploy marines via transport into combat, escorted by bikes, and to force the enemy into submission simply by outmaneouvering them, denying them any points of strategical interest. Through the lax discipline of their Primarch, they were an easy target for the whispers of Chaos and became instrumental in corrupting other Legions to join the Ruinous Powers. Their betrayal rooted so deep that it led to them capturing and enslaving their own Primarch, forcing him into Daemonhood to be used as a mighty beast of war. Where once they were the tireless protectors of the common people, they now devolved into cannibals with barely an animalistic mind driving them to fight, kill and eat.

History

Pre-Primarch History & Reunion

The XIIIth Legion, often dubbed "Packmules" or "Workhorses" for their focus on supply lines and dedicated transport vehicles for their Astartes squads, was created following the Unification Wars and consisting mostly of recruits from Achaemenidia. Through the initial stages of the Great Crusade, their expedition fleets were spread farther from each other than any other legion, leading to a strong sense of independence and self-reliance among the chapters that, at times, made upper command rather suspicious of them. Nevertheless, they tirelessly brought many planets to compliance and dutifully supported their legionnaire cousins whenever needed.

Ashur was the tenth Primarch to be discovered, and upon being reunited with his gene-sons fostered their chapter structure as the core of their identity, hoping it would create a strong sense of loyalty from the bottom up towards the Imperium as a whole. He also instructed them further and further into the near-religious adoration of their warmachines and wargear as his homeworld had left a serious animistic mentality imprinted on his worldview.

The Great Crusade

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Legion Doctrine

Legion Culture & Personality

What is the legion like, and what their Primarch's personality?

Legion Organization

In what sub-groups is the legion divided?

Special units

The Breachers

Often utilised in situations of small confinement where the Loxodontii cannot employ their vehicles to great efficiency, the Breachers are used as speartips in boarding actions as well as combat indoors. Utilising shields and bolt-pistols to pave the way for more heavily armed battle-brothers, they still carry their boltgun strapped to their backs in order to provide more adequate fire support if cut off from otherwise offensively equipped personnel. The Third Chapter was renown for employing the Breachers on as many occasions as possible, sometimes even taking the role of riot police or bodyguard for their primarch when planetside.

The Outriders

Whether it is the nomadic tribes of the far steppes or the nobility of the great cities, riding is a vital part of the culture of Babylon V. Many children learn to sit in the saddle at the age of six, and to take the reins by the age of eight. As the core approach of the Loxodontii focuses on quickly deploying troops through Rhino- and Razorback-transporters, a sizeable portion imitates those tactics of their homeworld and takes to bikes to escort transporters, intercept enemy fast-attack deployments or to deliver hit-and-run attacks on poorly defended outposts.

The Stargazers

The role of chaplain and librarian are united within the rank of Stargazer. Ashur’s homeworld Babylon V is heavily divided between the rural population worshipping the gods and ghosts of their ancestors, while the religious practices of the great cities revolves around the priest caste worshipping the metropolitan pantheon of gods and goddesses. Both cultures however heavily incorporate astrology and astronomy into their practices. It is these common spiritual practices that Ashur enforced in order to help bridge the gap between the recruits from the rural and urban population.

Special equipment

Special equipment only this legion has

Naval Assets

Flagships etc

Notable Members

Barabash, Stargazer of the Fourth

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Annumashi, Chapter Commander of the Fourth

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Iksuda, The Beastmaster

The most notable Techmarine of the Loxodontii was Iksuda of the fifth chapter, a man whose inherent skill and empathy for the Machine Spirit allowed him to restore all but the most devastated of the legion’s mighty transports. Apart from his technical knowledge was he also a gifted battlefield commander, which became apparent in the many engagements where he’d accompanied mechanized platoons into combat where he could keep the men organised all the while keeping his own machine in tiptop shape. His favourite transport would be named “Iron Tooth” as he’d adorned it with magnificent artwork depicting one of Babylon V’s mighty beasts, giving the front an appearance similar to a grim war-elephant. The life he ascribed to the Machine Spirit was seen by many outside the legion as superstitious, frivolous, even insane, and yet it was this conviction that made Iksuda into the dedicated machinist that he was. Iksuda would befall a twisted fate during the Brotherwar, as during an engagement he would be killed while inside “Iron Tooth” by a particularly brutal anti-armour shell which ripped through the machine’s hull. The Rhino transport itself seemed to roar in pain and grief, as if the Machine Spirit within had felt its beloved brother die, disregarding its own wounds. Grandfather Nurgle stirred in the warp, as Iksuda’s quickly fading soul cried out to his transport’s Machine Spirit, and moved by their bond decided to give them another life. “Iron Tooth”s hull would appear to melt as ceramite plates turned to muscle and rearrange to assume the shape of a huge warrior, before hardening to a pulsating carapace, again. Iksuda and “Iron Tooth” had become one, like a dreadnought and yet so much worse, and while their brutish hands would forever be unfit to maintain a machine, again, the “Beastmaster” could sprout countless mechandrites from the grotesque muscle from which it was made.

Ensi Kiddu Namraru (Contribution from Xun/Gyahdred)

Ensi Kiddu Namraru is one of the Stargazers. Drawn from one of the Amrar-Hatti bands of Babylon V, Namraru found a natural place in the Outriders, though his talent for divination drew him into the orbit of the Stargazers. Trained under Dingir-Gal Nabbu, one of the greatest diviners of the legion, Namraru became a capable leader as well as a ferocious fighter. At battles such as the Siege of Hamaath and the burning of Hiram II his skill in predition allowed his Outrider forces to strike weak points even as they formed. Not merely a support figure, however, Namraru's charisma also made him an able commander, inspiring incredible displays of tenacity at battles such as those in the Yam Zafon belt. Namraru himself took the head of Sharru Humira and looted the Solar Barge Il-Shaddu from its orbital fanes, which would serve him well as a command ship into the dark years of the heresy.

Rules

If available, tabletop rules