+ inload: Salamanders in the Horus Heresy +

+ A Mantle of Ash + 

I've been building Salamanders again. A few of the PCRC have dug out long-dormant Horus Heresy-era projects, and after their recent 2nd edition outing [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] I thought it'd be nice to add some XVIII Legion forces to the pot. The plan is to keep things small – in the past, our HH enthusiasm has been dampened by the exhausting prospect of huge numbers of models to paint! – so we're currently looking to work on 500pt projects.

As you can see above, while I'm using the Mark VI box, I'm throwing in lots of different parts. I've got so many odd bits and bobs left over from years of building 'truescale' marines [+noosphericinloadlink embedded+] that I've found I can make a convincingly battered-looking late Heresy style force. The Salamanders, after all, had a rough time of things during the Heresy, being sidelined as one of the Shattered Legions. I've decided to lean into this and avoid having uniformity; it's proving a fittingly thematic way of using up my bits box. 

I've taken the idea of a battered post-Isstvan force, and want to build around this concept. I'm not sure yet whether the Salamanders will be veterans of the Dropsite Massacre, or perhaps an isolated Company that had to find out second-hand that Vulkan had (apparently) been killed.

I very much like the more human feel of the Salamanders in comparison to other Legions (I've always  tended to favour the goodies), but think that it works best when it's balanced with some sense of the Marines as savage weapons – after all, without any contrast, the characterisation becomes at risk of being one-dimensional. To that end, I want this force to be pulled in different directions; torn between their understandable desire to strike back against the Traitors, find out the truth of the fate of their beloved Primarch and Legion, and their sense of duty. And if that leads to some unfortunate clashes with forces that have different ideas of what Loyalty means, all the better.

Of course, I don't have a novel to get these themes across in the force, so instead I'm going to try to create characters who personify things – a triad of officers who have to find a way forward for their Company in the madness of the Heresy. I haven't quite pinned down exactly these will be in game terms, but I'd like to set up some narrative options – a leader who pulls the force towards finding the truth about Vulkan, no matter what (useful for creating a Loyalist-on-Loyalist conflict); one who is more concerned with following the Promethean Cult and serving humanity – perhaps pulling the force towards a more self-destructive/sacrificial direction; and one who wants simply to preserve and consolidate, sure in the Primarch's teachings.

This sword-wielding fella is the first leader built. I'm toying with him representing the Promethean Cult identity, and using the Chaplain rules. I've added some Raven Guard and Salamander trinkets, suggesting he's either an Isstvan veteran/victim, or has had some sort of link with other Legions.

This Adrian Smith Librarian artwork, from the old Codex: Armageddon, is a favourite of mine, and I've had vague plans to make a model based on it for ages. Perhaps this is the time? While I have used Librarians in the past, I've never been a huge fan of magic (the dawi in me, clearly), but the esoteric/visionary aspect of this project makes them seem very fitting.

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My existing Salamanders from the Dust of Armageddon project will be pulling double-duty here, too.

... and I have the other half of the Mark VI box to polish off, too: