Warhammer 40,000: Legiones Astartes


 * Note:The 'Warhammer 40,000: Legiones Astartes' is a community project and the original brain-child of Lieutenant Davis from the Warhammer 40,000 Fanon Wiki. This content is used with their permission. If you are interested in reading about the various Legiones Astartes and other factions in the original iteration, you can peruse it here, at: WH40K Fanon: Warhammer 40,000: Legiones Astartes Community Project.



Overview = On the eve of Mankind's greatest victory, with near total domination of the stars, the greatest of the Imperium's commanders and most favoured son of the Emperor - Horus Lupercal - Primarch of the Sons of Horus and Warmaster of the Imperium's vast armies, turned against the light of the Emperor. Convinced by the dark whispers of the Chaos Gods, he led a galaxy-wide rebellion against the Imperium, splitting the domain of mankind in twain. For nine brutal years, the loyal servants of the Emperor fought against their traitorous brothers in a war of almost apocalyptic nature.

Eventually, the Traitor Legions managed to make their way to the capital of the Imperium, to the Throneworld itself - Terra - birthplace of Humanity. In the ensuing battle, countless billions gave their lives in defence of the Emperor of Mankind. The servants of the Dark Gods ravaged and burned the planet, leaving it a husk of its former self. In the aftermath of this apocalyptic battle, Horus lay dead, his very soul destroyed by the psychic might of the Emperor, and the traitors' forces were broken and fled. Losses on the Loyalist side were just as grievous, the Primarch of the Blood Angels, Sanguinius, lay dead, and worst of all, the Emperor Himself had been mortally wounded by Horus in the final moments of the battle, forcing him to be interred in the Golden Throne.

To rule in the Emperor's stead, the leaders of the major branches of the Imperium were brought together in a great council, from which they would forevermore dictate the rulership over the Imperium. Their first act was one of monumental importance, and consequence. The Great Crusade was to be renewed whilst the Imperium rebuilt, as the enemies of Mankind could be given no time to rest. The Horus Heresy had kept Mankind from its manifest destiny long enough, and they would not stand idly by. Whilst the this new 'Second Great Crusade' began, an important factor, once a common sight on the battlefield, was missing. The Legiones Astartes had been nearly shattered by the Heresy - half their number had turned traitor - whilst the loyalists took massive casualties.

The Praetorian of Terra, Rogal Dorn, proposed that the Imperium should not only seek to rebuild the Legiones Astartes numbers, but to eventually expand them even further, by creating new Legions. To help guide these future Legions, they would fall back on the wise tenets of the Principia Belicosa, with additional wisdom added to it by Dorn himself. With the death of the strategically brilliant strategist and organiser Roboute Guilliman at the hands of Alpha Legion assassins, Guilliman's proposed treatise, the Codex Astartes was never completed, and therefore, never adopted. Thus, the dissolution of the Space Marine Legions into separate Chapters never occurred. Soon, the old Legions were rebuilt and returned to the field of battle, joined by brothers of a new generation, seeking to prove themselves in a new war against the Emperor's enemies.

Unfortunately, without the Emperor's guidance and leadership for the last ten millennia, the Second Great Crusade has suffered immensely. The High Lords and their appointed commanders remain unable to counter the threats that lurk in the darkest corners of the galaxy. Billions are slaughtered every day - victims of poorly planned assaults and ill-prepared defences on planetary scales. In this time of everlasting war, there is only one stalwart force keeping the flame of humanity burning - the Legiones Astartes. What is it? =  Legiones Astartes is set in an alternate timeline where instead of the loyalist Space Marine legions being broken up into Chapters, they were kept as legions in order to bring about a 'Second Great Crusade'. These legions later gave their gene-seed to serve as templates to create more legions to replace the ones that fell to Chaos during the Horus Heresy. Along with this, members of the Magos Biologis discovered a way to further augment a Space Marine to somewhat of an intermediate level, above that of a normal Astartes, and slightly less than the Primarchs. Assigned the title of Legion Master by the High Lords of Terra, these individuals were the leaders of their own legions, veterans of the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, they had to leave their parent legions to take up the mantle that their own Primarchs had to accept.

Legiones Astartes takes place during this Second Great Crusade, which has stretched from the 31st Millennium to the present. It tells about how the Imperium, over its proverbial head, attempts undertakings far greater than it has the capacity for, and the consequences for such actions. As the Imperialis Auxilia and Imperialis Armada prove incapable of defending Humanity in the absence of the Emperor, the only thing stopping a complete collapse from their over-extension, are the forces of the stalwart Legiones Astartes. Rules = Legiones Astartes is a community collaborative project that is set in an alternate timeline where the Codex Astartes was never introduced, and as a result, the Loyalist Space Marine Legions were never broken up into smaller Chapter. Instead, the Legiones Astartes were rebuilt and further expanded in order to bring about a Second Great Crusade to reunite all that was lost during the Horus Heresy. Though this is an Alternate Universe (AU) community collaborative project which does deviate slightly from established canon, some ground rules must be put into place in order to maintain a unified vision for this project as well as maintaining a high standard for the quality of content that is expected of our editors here on the Warhammer 40,000 Homebrew Wiki.

==Before Beginning==

To begin, please ensure that you have read the Legiones Astartes community collaborative project page’s Overview and What is it? sections, in order to familiarize yourself with the project's background and setting. The following sections will give you an understanding about what you can, and cannot, write about when creating a Fanon Space Marine Legion. When creating a Space Marine Legion for the Legiones Astartes universe, please ensure you utilise the Infobox LALegions in order to keep your article uniform with other Legiones Astartes Space Marine Legion pages. Also be sure to browse through the Space Marine Legions section on the Legiones Astartes project page, or the 'Ur-Legions' section on the Nova Terra Regency page, as there are already quite a few Legions that have been created. There might be one that is similar to one you had in mind to create. Though this is unfortunate, try to ensure that you create something unique and original, as this will avoid problems with being accused of plagiarization.

==Which Legion?==

Please keep in mind that there are a limited amount of slots for the number of Space Marine Legions for this project. As it stands, the Space Marine Legions of the Imperium of Man possess approximately thirty, created over the ten millennia of its existence. Most of these have already been taken. But a few are still available. Currently, several Legion are still available. And since there are a total of thirty Legions, there are plenty available for those who wish to contribute. Remember, you don't have to write about a Legion that currently exists in the modern 41st Millennium. You can also write about a Space Marine Legion that met some unfortunate end during one of the ages of conflict that have continued to plague the Imperium down the millennia (lost in the Warp, wiped out by an unknown xenos species, an inter-Legionary conflict, ect.) The possible scenarios are endless!

If selecting a possible Space Marine Legion of the Imperium of Man doesn't appeal to you, perhaps you might want to write about one of the so-called Ur-Legions of the Nova Terra Regency, a sizable breakaway state that rules all of the former Segmentum Pacificus and some smaller territories beyond. They seceded from the Imperium in the 33rd Millennium during an eight century long conflict, which came to be known as the Nova Terra Interregnum, and were finally formerly recognised (albeit reluctantly) by the Imperium as a sovereign empire. In order to protect their borders and interests, there were those Space Marine Legions that also sympathized with the Nova Terran Secessionists, and seceded from the Imperium, and fought on the side of the Secessionist cause. Since that time, the Nova Terra Legiones Astartes, or 'Ur-Legions', have continued to defend the Nova Terra Regency's borders and have halted numerous incursions by the various factions within the 40K Universe. As it stands there are currently only three core Ur-Legions, but that doesn't mean you couldn't create a new one. There are numerous possible scenarios of how your Ur-Legion could've come into existence. They could've possibly been a later Founding (usually 3rd Founding or later) Space Marine Legion of the Imperium, that later broke away and joined the liberated sovereign empire for one reason or another. Or perhaps they were created following the end of the Nova Terra Interregnum. Your only limited by your imagination.

==Guidelines==

Before you begin the undertaking of writing about a Space Marine Legion, please keep in mind the following rules that you need to adhere to when creating your own Space Marine Legion:

*Size – One of the more important aspects when creating a Space Marine Legion is their size. Typically, most Space Marine Legions numbered anywhere from 7,000 on the low end of the spectrum, all the way to over 250,000 at the peak of the Imperium's technology during the latter years of the Great Crusade. These Legions are massive armies, and the size of each can vary tremendously. Some Legions are very large, while others are not. The size of each Legion is fluid, with the numbers of combat-ready legionaries dependent on the number of new recruits, the inevitable battle-losses, the availability of potential recruits, and the administrative skills of the Primarch or Legion Master and his officers. Therefore, it has been decided by the community that the following will be put into effect:

**Legions should typically number anywhere from 5,000 (least allowable amount) to no more than 150,000. Legions such as the Nova Blades which number in excess of 300,000-350,000 are a rare exception. If you wish to have a Legion that numbers larger than 150,000, please contact the project Lead Algrim Whitefang or Assistant Lead Achilles Prime. The leads will give due consideration to your request (provided the editor gives an adequate explanation). All requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

*Loyalist Traitors or Traitor Loyalists – This is often a very sticky issue with many editors. Due to the nature of the Legiones Astartes and the long term viability of a Shattered Legion or Blackshield force, the viability of maintaining sufficient gene-stock and technical competence, it is entirely possible for such formation to maintain its strength over a protracted period, provided they are able to recover zygotes from their fallen battle-brothers and are able to obtain a fresh supply of potential recruits. But keep in mind, a connection to a Traitor Legion would be considered a terrible dishonor and would most likely cast your Space Marine Legion into a negative light by your fellow brother-Legions. However, if you feel the need to create such a Legion, please contact one of the project Leads, and they will give your request due consideration on a case-by-case basis. Contributors = Space Marine Legions= LOYALIST LEGIONS ASTARTES Nova Terra Regency Ur-Legions= NOVA TERRA REGENCY UR-LEGION Articles = CHARACTERS (Character Article) The Dread Master

MISCELLANEOUS ERRATA Pictorial List Legiones Astartes (A to Z) Pictorial List Ur-Legions (A-Z)

BATTLES & EVENTS Foundings Nova Terra Interregnum Second Great Crusade Siege Of Nova Terra

LOYALIST UNITS & ORGANIZATIONS Impalers Imperius Ravagers (Legion) Iron Forged (Legion Name) (Legion Name) (Legion Name) (Legion Name) (Legion Name) (Legion Name) (Legion Name)

NOVA TERRA UNITS & ORGANIZATIONS Eternal Legion Iron Talons (Legion Name) (Legion Name) Nova Blades Gorgons Eternal (Legion Name) (Legion Name)

TRAITOR UNITS & ORGANIZATIONS (Traitor Article) (Traitor Article) (Traitor Article)

MISCELLANEOUS UNITS & ORGANIZATIONS Disciplinary Officer The Cabal

LOCATIONS Ferrata Roitheta (Place Article) Nova Terra Nova Terra Regency (Place Article) (Place Article)

WEAPONS & EQUIPMENT (Weapon Article)

VEHICLES (Vehicle Article)

Stories = (Story Name) by Joe Smith