# Legion of the Damned discussion *spoilers*



## MolsonSS (Jan 20, 2011)

I've been trying to find a thread to discuss this book and can't seem to find one, so....

What are your thoughts on the book? I quite enjoyed it (and I must admit, I knew nothing of this 'legion,' and only bought the book as a last minute decision before leaving on a trip so that I had something to read!) 

A couple of questions that spring to mind:






1. This Raptorous Rex star fort... I'm trying to wrap my head around what this thing looks like, given the description in the book... anyone have a drawing? And why would the Apotheon not have any knowledge of it? This fort was (supposedly) well known up until its relatively-recent disappearance, according to online info.

2. Could one assume that Kersh is now a 'believer' in the God-Emperor? (Given the last sentence in the book...)

3. I found it odd that the Chapter Scourge would only be armed with a gladius and bolt pistol... no power weapon? Even a squad whip in the 5th company has lightning(power?) claws, but the man who defends the chapter master gets novice weapons?





I have tons of other thoughts on the book, but they escape me for now. I would definitely recommend this book, I would put it up against any other 40k book (heresy included!)


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## jasonbob (Sep 6, 2010)

1. According to lexicanum the Raptorous Rex is a great crusade pattern void fortress, I couldnt find a picture but if it could house the whole chapter I imagine its quite large.

2. Yeah it seems to imply that he is a believer, I guess he feels like it was a miracle.

3. He probably had the option of a better weapon but decided he liked the gladius and stuck with it.


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## docgeo (Jan 8, 2010)

http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/Warhammer-40000/RAMILIES-CLASS-STARFORT.html

Hopefully this gives you an idea.

Doc


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## WarHammerman (Feb 19, 2012)

for YEARS I've been a fan of the Legion of the Damned.
So, I broke down and had someone with far, far, far better skills then I make me up a Legion of the Damned army (Blood Art Studio): 

Which, though those images are glorious, has nothing to do with the topic of this thread. - darkreever


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

MolsonSS said:


> I found it odd that the Chapter Scourge would only be armed with a gladius and bolt pistol... no power weapon? Even a squad whip in the 5th company has lightning(power?) claws, but the man who defends the chapter master gets novice weapons?


Not the first time something like this has happened. Tauro Nicodemus [spelling?], champion of the Ultramarines _legion_, challenges enemy champions with...a gladius (at least that's what he does in _The Iron Within_)


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## space cowboy (Apr 3, 2009)

I think the thing that frustrated me the most is I can't find anywhere that says the Excoriators are a Second Founding chapter. I understand artistic license blah blah, but when all canon material I can find states that the Imperial Fists only split down into two additional chapters, the Black Templar and Crimson Fists, I would think that the BL authors would stick with that.


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## Phal4nx (Apr 4, 2012)

I'd have to agree, space cowboy. The Astartes Praeses were not founded during the Second Founding, which upsets me no end that now, apparently they were around from the start. It even explicitly states they were NOT founded from the old legions/chapters in order to reduce the possibility of corruption by veteran Space Marines who had been exposed to Chaos during the fighting of the Horus Heresy.

*sigh*


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

space cowboy said:


> I think the thing that frustrated me the most is I can't find anywhere that says the Excoriators are a Second Founding chapter. I understand artistic license blah blah, but when all canon material I can find states that the Imperial Fists only split down into two additional chapters, the Black Templar and Crimson Fists, I would think that the BL authors would stick with that.


You need to read Codex: Space Marines. I think thit says there were seven chapters formed from the Imperial Fists. The codex itself only mentions three of them by name.


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

space cowboy said:


> all canon material I can find states that the Imperial Fists only split down into two additional chapters, the Black Templar and Crimson Fists, I would think that the BL authors would stick with that.


You mustn't have looked very hard. As well as the codex, there's also the Soul Drinkers of BL fame, and Executioners, who, according to IA10 were 2nd founding and originally led by Dorn's most vicious captain.

As to the novel, after reading it a second time I did enjoy the action, and the Scourge was one of the better SM characters. I was a bit disappointed at the minimal LotD action. Considering the novel's whole selling point was these ghostly apparitions, only seeing them in action for the last few pages wrankled a bit.

However, I didn't like the whole idea of Kersh having visions of the spectre long before he had any clue what kind of battle he was going to end up in. This makes it seem that either he is a latent psyker, or that the LotD can see the future, and thus visit those they will aid, which doesn't make sense.


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## space cowboy (Apr 3, 2009)

*shrug* I don't have access to many Imperial Armor books. That being said, the codex doesn't say anything about the Excoriators being a second founding chapter, nor does it actually say there were seven Imperial Fist second founding chapters. It merely states that there are 'several' successor chapters, mentioning the Black Templars and Crimson Fists being among the successors. The only place it specifically mentions second founding chapters is in the table of legions and their associated second founding chapters where they only mention two for the Fists. Considering there are 3, 4, or more listed for other chapters, you would think that they would have been capable of finding room for additional Imperial Fists second founding chapters had there been any.

As for the Soul Drinkers, please reference the canon source that has them being a second founding chapter (as there is no actual reference given in the Lexicanum entry for the material where the Soul Drinkers are a confirmed second founding chapter). Mind you, novels (which many people seem to use as canon references, though I tend not to) have the Soul Drinkers as not being descended from Rogal Dorn, so makes them not an Imperial Fist successor in the first place if you are using novels as your point of reference.


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Hey, 

sorry I was wrong, the codex didn't say 7, it said there were 12 chapters at he Feast of Blades, which I am assuming (especially after reading Legion of the Damned now) are the 12 chapters that the Imperial Fists were split into. 

This makes sense, there's no way the Fists would only have 2000 troops (2 chapters), 12,000 (12 chapters) sounds much more like it. 

so I also listed all the chapters mentioned in Legion of teh Damned, plus the two from Khorn's Fist gives us:

1 - Imperial Fists
2 - Black Templars
3 - White Templars
4 - Crimson Fists
5 - Iron Knights
6 - Fire Lords
7 - Exoriators
8 - Death Strike
9 - Soul Drinkers
10 - Executioners
11 - ?
12 - ?

We just don't know the last two...


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## space cowboy (Apr 3, 2009)

The Feast of Blades isn't just for the second founding chapters. It is for any chapter descended from the Imperial Fists. And, yes, it would make sense that there was only 3,000 troops left (Fists plus two successors) after the incident at the Eternal Fortress. Every time they talk about it in codex fluff they talk about how it nearly wiped out the Imperial Fists legion and that if it wouldn't have been for Guilliman showing up when he did, it would have happened. That doesn't sound like 12,000 legionnaires surviving to me. You may have a different interpretation of nearly wiped out, but 12k fighting space marines seems far from 'nearly' to me.


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## TheReverend (Dec 2, 2007)

Hey man, I'm just saying. Based on how big the legions were aduring the heresy, 12,000 isn't a huge figure, probably 2/10ths of their original number. When the Crimson Fists were down to 2/10ths of their chapter size after Ryan's World, they were classed as almost wiped out. 

And the way I read Legion of the Damned, the history of the feast of blades sounds like it was set up by Dorn when he split the legion, so I was just guessing that only those chapters that were there at that time, i.e second founding, would be invited. 

Anyway, it is all speculation and interpretation so we should all agree to disagree with this sort of thing. No one is right until GW say they are  These are just my interpretations and everyone will have their own.

Rev


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## space cowboy (Apr 3, 2009)

My main point in the last post, about the Feast, was that Dorn set it up, not that only the second founding get to go, and that nothing can really be read into anyone's participation.


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