Pale Hounds

Pale Hounds
Battle Cry	"Let Loose The Hounds of War!" and "Rend with Fang and Claw!"
Number	XVI
Founding	First Founding
Primarch	Valorn Adras
Homeworld	Tagia
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.

The Pale Hounds were the XVI Legion of the original twenty-one Space Marine Legions under their Primarch Valorn Adras.

History

Pre-Primarch History & Reunion

The years before the Pale Hounds were united with their gene-sire were difficult ones for the legion. At first, the Hounds were a stolid and dependable group, fighting valiantly for the Emperor and the Imperium. However, this changed over the years. As the Primarchs of other legions were discovered, and their own remained notable only by his absence, fear settled within the hearts of the Hounds. Fear that their Primarch had not been revealed to them as they were unworthy of him. The accursed – those Hounds whose Betcher’s Glands had mutated and were overactive to the point of killing the marine – were seen as proof of this.

And so, the Hounds fought harder, seeking greater foes and greater glory, all to prove themselves worthy of their Primarch. This led them into contention with their fellow legions, as they would often eschew aid from others whilst also providing it unasked for and unwanted. Thus, the rifts that would one day isolate the legion from all but a handful of their fellows were first formed. As the decades passed and the master of the Hounds remained lost, their hope dimmed, their tactics grew reckless, and their legion shrank in number, suffering greater and greater casualties with every campaign.

This all ended one day, when word reached the legion of the rediscovery of a new Primarch. So long had the Hounds been without their own that they didn’t dare to hope or even think of hoping that their long wait might be over. That they might finally be worthy. But word travelled fast, and revealed the truth.

This Primarch was named Valorn Adras.

And he was theirs.

Great Crusade

The Legion’s reunion with their master was for many a great disappointment. Valorn did not praise their skills or laud their accomplishments. In fact, he barely spoke to his sons, save to give them orders in the evacuation of his homeworld. It was only after Taiga’s destruction that Valorn spent any real time with the Hounds and, by all accounts, his primary reaction was simple disappointment. His sons had sought glory above all else, sacrificing their brothers on its bloody alter, with nary a second thought. He balked at the ineffective carelessness of his sons, and so set to work reworking the tactics of his legion both by finding ways to convert the Accursed into capable fighters, and by splitting the legion into two disparate segments: The Fangs and the Claws.

The Fangs acted similarly to how the Hounds originally had, unleashing an unrelenting blitzkrieg against their foes. The Claws however had another purpose. They were to be dropped onto planets that the Hounds were invading or intending to invade with a single mission: disrupt the planet’s defences as much as possible. As such, when the Hammer of the Hounds finally fell, the shield that met it would be severely weakened.

This was met with enthusiasm from the younger Hounds and many of the older ones, who were simply glad to have recovered their Primarch. However, some of the older and more influential legionnaires resisted the changes. They resented the continued implication that they were not good enough for Valorn, that they had somehow failed him. This hampered Valorn’s work somewhat, but enough of the legion’s high-ranking members accepted the changes that he was able to reorganise the legion. The reformed legion’s first victories and the success of Orion Erratz in the Great Joust, using tactics similar to those the legion was now adopting, silenced many naysayers.

Not all unfortunately. Many marines remained staunchly opposed to Valorn’s changes and, as the legion expanded, he feared that these malcontents could compromise the cohesion of their units, or even disobey orders, leading to unnecessary casualties. As such, once his legion had grown large enough to merit it, Valorn authorised the establishment of three additional chapters and began reorganising the legion to fill them. The thirteenth chapter was filled with the legion’s troublemakers and had one of Valorn’s own adopted great grandchildren placed at the head, one Dacern Adras, to keep them in check. This would prove an ill decision in later years and the majority of the thirteenth would later fall to the whispers of Chaos, including Dacern himself.

Until then however the Pale Hounds enjoyed successful campaigns throughout the Great Crusade. They often fought alone, proud of their new tactics and some would even say arrogant, they often viewed other legions as being very capable of ruining their plans. As such, the rifts between themselves and the other legions grew ever larger.

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, obsessing over their mistakes/failure and the rectification of such.

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