In the far future of the 41st Millennium, there is only War.
Within the Imperium of Man, many forces and groups make up different aspects of the armed forces that go to war in the Emperor's holy name. The Emperor's own Space Marines, fielding powerful and, often times, ancient weapons of war, and many, many years of experience. The Inquisition, shadowy agents that police the Imperium for threats of all kinds, from both without and within. And, of course, another massive force at the Imperium's disposal is the Imperial Guard, billions upon billions of men and women raised from millions of worlds, and the methods vary far more than any other force, barring the Inquisition, when it comes to adaptability and utility. An individual Space Marine or Inquisitor may have experience and equipment advantages over the Guard, but they lack the sheer numbers and variety that the Guard bring. From desert raiders, to urban garrison forces, the Imperial Guard often has many regiments ready for any challenge that the Space Marines are too pressed to deal with, and the rest of the Imperium forces are engaged elsewhere. They hold the line, a thankless job when, at the last crush of the battle, another steals the glory and credit of victory away. Legends are born in the Guard, of this there is no doubt, but their life and lot is a thankless one, in many cases, hated by the citizens they are guarding, seen as currency by many above them, and just cannon fodder in the minds of their enemies.
One such regiment can trace its roots back to the Imperial Army, of the Great Crusades and Horus Heresy. The Vanissan Blades, named for the minor Saint Vanis, was rumored to have died last among the old regiment during the Horus Heresy, defending the grounds of a fleeing starport full of wounded civilians, and only the descendents of the Army regiment would ever really remember their deeds. A detachment of the Dark Angels legion was the only support that the 20,000 strong regiment of the Imperial Army had to stand against Traitor legions, renegade Army divisions, and Dark Mechanicus were also rumored to have been there. Despite being heavily outnumbered, and outgunned, the ancient precursors to the Venissan Blades died fighting to the last man, buying time for the Dark Angels to destroy what the Heretical forces sought, and time for the Starport to evacuate as many civilians as possible. The last to die was indeed Saint Vanis, which local legend has him wielding an ancient power weapon against the greatest of the enemies, weapons fire screaming around the two but not interfering. While the enemy commander was felled, so too was Vanis, last of the Army Regiment that came before the Vanissan Blades.
The world that was being overrun reclaimed after the Heresy was ended and resettled as a Hive world, the actions of that Imperial Army regiment would not be forgotten by its denizens, and even after the Imperial Cult designated that last standing man as a minor Saint for the sector. The descendents of this old Army regiment expanded and grew in number, rapidly filling the hives and landscape between them with a thriving, if humble, planet of the Imperium that lacked any sort of history with corruption or the like. They made a fair amount of wealth and influence, enough that their tithe to the Imperial Guard was unlike other planets in many ways, and similar to others in its own ways. But it was indeed founded in honor of the old regiment, who's name was lost to the annals of history but each member of the Vanissan Blades had some direct link to that original 20,000 strong regiment, even if its not a complete pure blood connection, while officers are required to have parents who have both bloodlines coming from prior officers. Beyond this, other factors are worth note of the Vanissan Blades.
The Vanissan Blades are a 8 Division regiment, split up into very clear groups that utilize combined arms tactics. The first division is the Command division and its supporting logistics, running the affairs of battle for the regiment. While not a true combat division, only skilled veterans and officers make up the Command division, which means it is anything but defenseless. The second of the eight divisions is the Grenadier division, which takes the veterans that do not make up the Command division's bodyguards and tasks and trains them for the jobs that the regular infantry cannot do, but not specializing specifically in any one task or job, leaving the severe complexities of some work to dedicated specialists. The third division is the light Armor, mechanized, division of the Blades. Eschewing anything heavier than Chimera's and its variants, one would think this a weakness, but it plays well to the Regiment's overall organization. Their artillery is light as well, and maintained to keep up with the regiment, so if it isn't self propelled, it isn't in the pool. The next two divisions are standard Line infantry divisions, making up the primary forces of the regiment. Wearing primarily Carapace, they are fewer in number than normal regiments, but make up for this in equipment. Each member of the Vanissan Blades carries, instead of a knife, a Vanissan sword of increasing quality, basic soldiers carrying only regular blades, which are markedly better than knives in many, not all cases, and going up from there.
The next division of note is the recon division, which utilize hot shot lasguns and long las rifles for recon work, and are seconded several Tauros all terrain vehicles for long range recon, modified with no weapons on the Tauros vehicles themselves, but are much quieter and have extended range without support, and usually one in three will have the comm gear to reach command with news. The recon division experimented with bikes for awhile, but the Tauros, modified as it is now, served its purpose better in the long run. The almost polar opposite of the recon division is the Heavy Weapons division, that organize the layout of the heavy weapon teams amongst the forces, where to set up Lascannons, Krak Missile Launchers, Heavy Bolters and Autocannons to situate effective killzones. Lastly, but certainly not least, is the Vanissan Blade's Engineering Corp. These men and women will set up defenses, carry the explosives (Many of them qualified demolition experts), spot repair vehicles in ways that the Techpriests in other regiments and their own would not approve of, and otherwise support the war efforts of the Vanissan Blades. They are, interestingly enough, also the most assault minded of the divisions, preferring combat shotguns and serrated combat swords over the equipment and setup of the other divisions.
The Vanissan Blade's command structure is hereditary, those with documented links to the officers of the older generations of officers gain their posts, which while this does lead to incompetent commanders, oddly enough, it works well enough that the regiment operates well enough to accomplish the goals set before them. What is unusual is the close familiarty and working habits between regular troopers and officers, as they all hail from the same history, they are more comfortable working closely than normal regiments. Equipment is above standard for your average light infantry regiment in the Guard, carapace is more common than Flak armor, the Flak worn by non combat personnel that might, under extreme circumstances, come under fire. Actual armor coloration changes on environment and the preferences of the squad, although tan and green are the most common colors, and are the official standard colors of the Vanissan Blades. A practical, well trained and equipped regiment, the Blades are usually sent into high risk war zones, where defeat is generally not an option, and have an unusually high record of success against the xenos races, from Tau to Tyranid, and most other Xeno in between, they have had run ins with the Deathwatch of the Ordos Xenos before, but overall, seem to have a natural knack for hunting the Xeno races of the galaxy. Their newest engagement is taking them up against a Tau incursion on a colony, which places them on the defensive, but fate rarely allows men to simply do what they do best without complications, and only the Emperor knows how it will end for the sons and daughters of Saint Vanis.
So, the plan is to start with each player being part of the Vanissan Blades, a highly skilled light infantry regiment that emulates its ancient ancestor regiment, whom served in the Great Crusades and Horus Heresy as part of the Imperial Army. Heritage is strong in this regiment, and only men and women with some blood from the original 20,000 is required to even join, let alone advance to any sort of command position. The Tau are currently assaulting the training grounds and homeworld of the Vanissan Blades, Vani, although they are launching these attacks from a captured Agri class planet in the same system. Rules are a given, so I'm trying to keep them brief.
Rules:
1. While, yes, the Blades are well trained and equipped, they are still humans, with all their strengths and weaknesses, even with augmatics and the like. So, characters can die, and I reserve the right to remove whomever is being a repeated problem by being a problem in or out of character..
2. Metagaming, god modding, controlling other players characters, the usual stuff is not cool, to say the least.
3. I try to be pretty relaxed and lenient about stuff, so if you have ideas or concerns, do bring them up. I also want folks to try and be nice, or at least civil, with each other when OOC. IC, I don't expect people to get along, but try and keep OOC drama and stuff down. And as another note here, if you have ideas or thoughts for the story or characters that your not sure about, feel free to ask! I'll do my best to hear you out and see what I think, in relation to how things are moving along.
4. Try and have fun, I don't want this to devolve into some chore that no one wants to really continue, fair enough?
5. Try to post at least regularly, I don't expect some high speed posting, but if you dont post once every couple days, I will keep things moving. I understand stuff happens, so if at all possible, giving some fair warning can just get your chara moved to an NPC role until your able to come back to posting.
Alright, CS Time!
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Rank: No higher than a Lieutenant, the more senior command structure will be NPC'd.
Appearance: (Image or Equipment)
Equipment:
Personality:
History:
Division: Which division are they part of? Do they play any special role within the division or regiment overall?
(Command - I
Grenadiers - II
Mechanized Forces - III
Line Infantry - IV and V
Heavy Weapons - VI
Combat Engineers - VII
Recon - VIII)
Within the Imperium of Man, many forces and groups make up different aspects of the armed forces that go to war in the Emperor's holy name. The Emperor's own Space Marines, fielding powerful and, often times, ancient weapons of war, and many, many years of experience. The Inquisition, shadowy agents that police the Imperium for threats of all kinds, from both without and within. And, of course, another massive force at the Imperium's disposal is the Imperial Guard, billions upon billions of men and women raised from millions of worlds, and the methods vary far more than any other force, barring the Inquisition, when it comes to adaptability and utility. An individual Space Marine or Inquisitor may have experience and equipment advantages over the Guard, but they lack the sheer numbers and variety that the Guard bring. From desert raiders, to urban garrison forces, the Imperial Guard often has many regiments ready for any challenge that the Space Marines are too pressed to deal with, and the rest of the Imperium forces are engaged elsewhere. They hold the line, a thankless job when, at the last crush of the battle, another steals the glory and credit of victory away. Legends are born in the Guard, of this there is no doubt, but their life and lot is a thankless one, in many cases, hated by the citizens they are guarding, seen as currency by many above them, and just cannon fodder in the minds of their enemies.
One such regiment can trace its roots back to the Imperial Army, of the Great Crusades and Horus Heresy. The Vanissan Blades, named for the minor Saint Vanis, was rumored to have died last among the old regiment during the Horus Heresy, defending the grounds of a fleeing starport full of wounded civilians, and only the descendents of the Army regiment would ever really remember their deeds. A detachment of the Dark Angels legion was the only support that the 20,000 strong regiment of the Imperial Army had to stand against Traitor legions, renegade Army divisions, and Dark Mechanicus were also rumored to have been there. Despite being heavily outnumbered, and outgunned, the ancient precursors to the Venissan Blades died fighting to the last man, buying time for the Dark Angels to destroy what the Heretical forces sought, and time for the Starport to evacuate as many civilians as possible. The last to die was indeed Saint Vanis, which local legend has him wielding an ancient power weapon against the greatest of the enemies, weapons fire screaming around the two but not interfering. While the enemy commander was felled, so too was Vanis, last of the Army Regiment that came before the Vanissan Blades.
The world that was being overrun reclaimed after the Heresy was ended and resettled as a Hive world, the actions of that Imperial Army regiment would not be forgotten by its denizens, and even after the Imperial Cult designated that last standing man as a minor Saint for the sector. The descendents of this old Army regiment expanded and grew in number, rapidly filling the hives and landscape between them with a thriving, if humble, planet of the Imperium that lacked any sort of history with corruption or the like. They made a fair amount of wealth and influence, enough that their tithe to the Imperial Guard was unlike other planets in many ways, and similar to others in its own ways. But it was indeed founded in honor of the old regiment, who's name was lost to the annals of history but each member of the Vanissan Blades had some direct link to that original 20,000 strong regiment, even if its not a complete pure blood connection, while officers are required to have parents who have both bloodlines coming from prior officers. Beyond this, other factors are worth note of the Vanissan Blades.
The Vanissan Blades are a 8 Division regiment, split up into very clear groups that utilize combined arms tactics. The first division is the Command division and its supporting logistics, running the affairs of battle for the regiment. While not a true combat division, only skilled veterans and officers make up the Command division, which means it is anything but defenseless. The second of the eight divisions is the Grenadier division, which takes the veterans that do not make up the Command division's bodyguards and tasks and trains them for the jobs that the regular infantry cannot do, but not specializing specifically in any one task or job, leaving the severe complexities of some work to dedicated specialists. The third division is the light Armor, mechanized, division of the Blades. Eschewing anything heavier than Chimera's and its variants, one would think this a weakness, but it plays well to the Regiment's overall organization. Their artillery is light as well, and maintained to keep up with the regiment, so if it isn't self propelled, it isn't in the pool. The next two divisions are standard Line infantry divisions, making up the primary forces of the regiment. Wearing primarily Carapace, they are fewer in number than normal regiments, but make up for this in equipment. Each member of the Vanissan Blades carries, instead of a knife, a Vanissan sword of increasing quality, basic soldiers carrying only regular blades, which are markedly better than knives in many, not all cases, and going up from there.
The next division of note is the recon division, which utilize hot shot lasguns and long las rifles for recon work, and are seconded several Tauros all terrain vehicles for long range recon, modified with no weapons on the Tauros vehicles themselves, but are much quieter and have extended range without support, and usually one in three will have the comm gear to reach command with news. The recon division experimented with bikes for awhile, but the Tauros, modified as it is now, served its purpose better in the long run. The almost polar opposite of the recon division is the Heavy Weapons division, that organize the layout of the heavy weapon teams amongst the forces, where to set up Lascannons, Krak Missile Launchers, Heavy Bolters and Autocannons to situate effective killzones. Lastly, but certainly not least, is the Vanissan Blade's Engineering Corp. These men and women will set up defenses, carry the explosives (Many of them qualified demolition experts), spot repair vehicles in ways that the Techpriests in other regiments and their own would not approve of, and otherwise support the war efforts of the Vanissan Blades. They are, interestingly enough, also the most assault minded of the divisions, preferring combat shotguns and serrated combat swords over the equipment and setup of the other divisions.
The Vanissan Blade's command structure is hereditary, those with documented links to the officers of the older generations of officers gain their posts, which while this does lead to incompetent commanders, oddly enough, it works well enough that the regiment operates well enough to accomplish the goals set before them. What is unusual is the close familiarty and working habits between regular troopers and officers, as they all hail from the same history, they are more comfortable working closely than normal regiments. Equipment is above standard for your average light infantry regiment in the Guard, carapace is more common than Flak armor, the Flak worn by non combat personnel that might, under extreme circumstances, come under fire. Actual armor coloration changes on environment and the preferences of the squad, although tan and green are the most common colors, and are the official standard colors of the Vanissan Blades. A practical, well trained and equipped regiment, the Blades are usually sent into high risk war zones, where defeat is generally not an option, and have an unusually high record of success against the xenos races, from Tau to Tyranid, and most other Xeno in between, they have had run ins with the Deathwatch of the Ordos Xenos before, but overall, seem to have a natural knack for hunting the Xeno races of the galaxy. Their newest engagement is taking them up against a Tau incursion on a colony, which places them on the defensive, but fate rarely allows men to simply do what they do best without complications, and only the Emperor knows how it will end for the sons and daughters of Saint Vanis.
So, the plan is to start with each player being part of the Vanissan Blades, a highly skilled light infantry regiment that emulates its ancient ancestor regiment, whom served in the Great Crusades and Horus Heresy as part of the Imperial Army. Heritage is strong in this regiment, and only men and women with some blood from the original 20,000 is required to even join, let alone advance to any sort of command position. The Tau are currently assaulting the training grounds and homeworld of the Vanissan Blades, Vani, although they are launching these attacks from a captured Agri class planet in the same system. Rules are a given, so I'm trying to keep them brief.
Rules:
1. While, yes, the Blades are well trained and equipped, they are still humans, with all their strengths and weaknesses, even with augmatics and the like. So, characters can die, and I reserve the right to remove whomever is being a repeated problem by being a problem in or out of character..
2. Metagaming, god modding, controlling other players characters, the usual stuff is not cool, to say the least.
3. I try to be pretty relaxed and lenient about stuff, so if you have ideas or concerns, do bring them up. I also want folks to try and be nice, or at least civil, with each other when OOC. IC, I don't expect people to get along, but try and keep OOC drama and stuff down. And as another note here, if you have ideas or thoughts for the story or characters that your not sure about, feel free to ask! I'll do my best to hear you out and see what I think, in relation to how things are moving along.
4. Try and have fun, I don't want this to devolve into some chore that no one wants to really continue, fair enough?
5. Try to post at least regularly, I don't expect some high speed posting, but if you dont post once every couple days, I will keep things moving. I understand stuff happens, so if at all possible, giving some fair warning can just get your chara moved to an NPC role until your able to come back to posting.
Alright, CS Time!
Name:
Gender:
Age:
Rank: No higher than a Lieutenant, the more senior command structure will be NPC'd.
Appearance: (Image or Equipment)
Equipment:
Personality:
History:
Division: Which division are they part of? Do they play any special role within the division or regiment overall?
(Command - I
Grenadiers - II
Mechanized Forces - III
Line Infantry - IV and V
Heavy Weapons - VI
Combat Engineers - VII
Recon - VIII)
