+ conceptinload: Ultramarines commander +

+conceptinload: Ultramarines commander+

+ Doghouse is a regular on various modelling and painting fora, and has been a big influence on my marines. We decided it'd be fun to meet up and have a couple of Ultramarines versus Iron Warriors games set during the Horus Heresy at some point. His inventive log can be found on the Bolter and Chainsword* forum, and has loads of cool stuff already.

+ It's given me a boost to get my Ultramarines in order. As usual, I've started with the basic troops. Altogether, I think I'm going to be able to field upwards of fifty painted and completed marines by the end of the year, including elements of my older Praetors of Calth Ultramarines project.

Five more prepped for priming last night.

+ With the bulk of the army well in progress, I can turn to getting the more unusual elements like support and command together. A note in Unremembered Empire, the latest Horus Heresy novel, makes it plain that the Librarius has been brought back, so I might have some fun making a space-wizard.+

+ However, it's not an Ultramarines army without a Captain (or equivalent), and I'd like to create someone a bit different. Here are my thoughts at the mo; I'd appreciate any feedback, suggestions or thoughts on how you go about creating characters.+

+ Characteristics

+ There's a great quote from One Hundred Years of Solitude by Marquez that reads: 

Arcadio Buendía would not accept, because according to him he could never understand the sense of a contest in which the two adversaries have agreed upon the rules.

I really like this, and want to apply this idea to the commander.

• Sly, wily – he is respected amongst the Legion, but not admired. An Odysseus figure.
• Driven by duty, as all Ultramarines should be; but also on an intellectual level in pitting his wits against the Iron Warriors. 
• Wise, but guarded. Not well-loved by his men; though his results are. 

+ With these characteristics in place, I'll need to start thinking about how I'm going to get that across on the model. Currently, I'd like to tie the following in:

• Slighter – or certainly no larger – than his men.
• Robes of some sort. Perhaps a toga/cloak?
• I like the idea of an eyepatch/crude bionic/eye replacement to evoke the Odin myth of knowledge – this'd tie in well with the robe
• Staff/maul in addition to his gladius?
• Greek/Roman feel – key pattern on cloak?
• More elaborate armour
• Iron halo replaced with something else... halo is at odds with the concept

+ In Heresy terms, he's sort of a Maloghurst the Twisted-type figure, so it's important not to go too far into making him shifty and political. He's still an Ultramarines officer, and like Odysseus, brave when he needs to be. Also, I want to get some unique character points in to make him distinctive, and not just 'X-in-space'. Depending on his Doghouse feels this can tie in with his ideas, I like the following concept:

1. Ultramarines and Iron Warriors are serving together (fleet? fortifying somewhere?). For some reason (betrayal? accident?) the the Ultramarine forces are near-totally destroyed; and the commander terribly injured.
2. Heresy breaks out, Iron Warriors fall back to Olympus and surrounding worlds – a sort of black mirror to Ultramar – after Horus is defeated.
3. The Ultramarine Commander is part of a huge taskforce sent to break the Iron Warriors' hold on Olympus and drive them out of the Imperium.
4. He brings a talon of Dreadnoughts – marines from his original command that he has convinced/tricked into living death through some cunning ruse. They resent his actions, but are bound by honour to follow him [provide contrast to his underhand tactics].
5. The assault brings the Ultramarine commander against the Iron Warriors he served with – and now his familiarity offers the Ultramarines' only hope of bringing them down...

+++

* Noospheric protocol link: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/278560-heresy-era-iron-warriors-now-with-terminator/