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

The Pale Hounds differ from their fellow legions in that they are split into two distinct sub groups: The Fangs and the Claws. The Claws are split into “Packs” of approximately one hundred marines each attached to a chapter and led by a “Handler”, who reports to the master of the chapter they are attached to. Each chapter is granted five Claw Packs to use as they see fit. The separation between Fang and Claw has nothing to do with rank, but with skill sets. The Fangs make up the bulk of the legion’s forces and act as an assault force, specialising in Blitzkrieg style engagements whilst the Claws act as infiltrators, being deployed behind enemy lines to subtly weaken them through the sabotage of equipment, the assassination of high value targets and the like. Due to their requirement for stealth only those marines who are skilled at being covert are made Claws. The Claws themselves are not singularly comprised of Tactical, Assault and Devastator marines, they also include Techmarines, Apothecaries and even Librarians. Of course, for a psyker to be allowed within the Claws they must display a great deal of control and be trusted to not simply explode at the slightest provocation. These more specialised marines are found in lesser numbers than their tactical, assault and devastator brethren, but it is expected that all Claw Packs should have Techmarines and Apothecaries on hand to maintain both the marine’s equipment and the marines themselves. Librarian Claws are rare. Those who exist are generally valued less for their sheer destructive power and more for their value in a support role, focusing primarily on telepathy and divination.

Special units

The Unworthy

In his early days, Valron Adras was used to most actions having an ulterior, or at least additional, motive. As such, he originally assumed that the use of cybernetics amongst the Adeptus Mechanicus was to ensure that its priests had ample reason to hone their art, for if they didn’t they ran the risk of dying. Needless to say, he was disappointed when he discovered the somewhat more religious truth, but this didn’t dissuade him from using cybernetics as a way to screen potential techmarines. Aspirants were given a collection of cybernetic implants, along with information on how to maintain them, and then informed that they would have to keep these implants maintained to the highest standard for six months, along with acting as an assistant to one of the fully trained techmarines. Those who succeeded in meeting these standards were sent to train as techmarines, however, those who did not were sent to Claw Packs to join The Unworthy. A squad of the Unworthy is oft a motley crew, each member bearing a variety of augmentations, some external and obvious others less so. There is however one factor that unites them, their skills. Whilst Unworthy have not the skill with machinery that their successful counterparts have, they do have more knowledge on the maintenance of equipment than the average marine. This makes them invaluable to the Claws during long infiltration missions, as weapons and equipment must be maintained and Unworthy are more suited to this duty than a techmarine, being more common and readily available, though their skill is lesser. This frees the techmarines up for more urgent matters, but it is not the only reason the Unworthy are valued. Breaking something is much akin to fixing something, only in reverse. As such Unworthy are not only skilled at sabotage, as most Claws are, but are skilled at doing so stealthily. Rather than use explosives or bullets they simply mess with the workings of their target. It may be a loosened wire here, a jammed gear there, but whatever form their sabotage takes, it is always subtle. Not in that the sabotaged object won’t blow up, but in that it will be less likely to be seen as outside interference, appearing more as human error or bad luck. They prefer stealth for their sabotage, but can do it under fire, only not as effectively. Some Unworthy are offered the chance to retake the trial and possibly rise to the position of techmarine, but this generally only happens after many years of service among the Unworthy and not all those who receive the offer take it. Some prefer to stay where they are, having achieved a different form of perfection to one they once sought, but a form of perfection nonetheless. Also they all have a deep hatred for Orks because much of their equipment doesn’t work out of an Ork’s grasp anyway, so it’s impossible to sabotage. Admittedly, you can sabotage them by painting something like “Dis Don’t Wurk” on the side of your target, but only works if the Ork working it can read.

Special equipment

Special equipment only this legion has

Naval Assets

Flagships etc

Notable Members

Named, noteworthy marines

Rules

If available, tabletop rules