HeySeuss

Blackshields: The Horus Heresy

Once, they were brothers...

TL;DR Summary

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• Warhammer 30K, of course.
• 31st Milennium, the Horus Heresy, an age of blood and temptation.
• In the aftermath of the Istvaan Dropsite Massacre, some Astartes legions have turned against the Emperor of Mankind and wage war against him. In turn, some legions remain loyal. And within some traitor legions, there are individuals and units that break with their Primarch and fight for the Emperor.
• Due to the requirements of the Great Crusade, detachments of these legions are spread out all over the place. During the atrocities that opened the Horus Heresy, there was fighting between and among these elements as loyalties are tested and divided.
• Characters will be survivors of these various engagements, cast adrift from their parent units and forced to form an ad-hoc unit of Astartes together in common cause; loyalty to the Emperor.
• These characters are from Traitor Legions. Dark Angels are a debatable item. I do not want to have Ultramarines, White Scars, Imperial Fists, Blood Angels or Space Wolves unless someone makes a compelling case. Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard were shattered at Istvaan and that means they could wash up in this, as hardened loyalist holdouts.
• Non-Astartes will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
• Characters have managed to secure the assistance of a rogue trader to get them to a planet with a rogue Imperial Governor that has access to planetary defense forces capable of carrying them into the battle against the heretics.
• This Governor stands in their way. He must die. That is where this new crusade of retribution begins.
• Please post sheets in the character tab for approval. That will have a titanpad template, please use that.

In Character Info

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The fratricide of the Horus Heresy sounds so precise and clinical in retrospect. A clean break, without loose ends. The reality is that the betrayal of the Emperor was not relegated merely to the legions whose primarchs turned, nor were all the Astartes in those legions traitors. There were many solitary acts undertaken that escape the historical record.

All the same, it is a battle of brother turning bolter on brother. The Great Crusade sent detachments of Legiones Astartes, the Space Marines, into the far-flung corners of the galaxy. In these corners, as the events reached them, some reacted. There was bloodshed in the wake of the betrayal. Many were cast adrift. Even so, there are those that know their duty, and know what is coming. They are cast off, left to fight their smaller battles without glory. Some bear the grim knowledge that their progenitor has cast them out, and carry that burden with them into battle, fighting not for glory, but for redemption.

One rogue trader, Balixus Kyros, manages to gather a number of these men into a group, though he cannot lead them. But he can help only so much. He can carry these warriors to the fight on the planet Argyos, where they can purge the traitor governor in the name of the Emperor of Mankind and begin to pay back their debts of fury and vengeance against the betrayers.

Out of Character Info

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Astartes of different legions, different outlooks and widely different stories. They are, of course, bound in one common cause, but they are otherwise thrown together in the chaos of a truly grand-scale interstellar war. This is meant to be an RP of individual characters struggling with the shock of the Horus Heresy's onset. We are after the events of Istvaan III and looking toward the battle of Terra. We will see how far the story takes us.

31st Century, of course. So no inquisition and psykers are not the norm. Chaos is not really something that is delved into in the Imperium and they still believe in the Imperial Truth. The Emperor still lives and these warriors of the Astartes are intent on their purpose of fighting his cause. That said, I am looking for characters that fit into this theme.

Of course, there is a lot of temptation in the universe in a time of chaos and uncertainty. It's possible for the characters to carve their own empire or turn to Chaos and once again know the brotherhood of their legions. It's not too late to fall, brothers...

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

<Snipped quote by Inkarnate>

Is your concern that vetoes can't be discussed at all? I think selections should be debated either way.

@Vilageidiotx

I think that the reader should have the chance to object and I'd rather create a process for recourse than have them just drift off.

I wasn't going for a system where someone goes, "No, just because" as that is the opposite of "This is my choice, we're reading this book, end of story." I'd prefer to avoid that, because people will peace out at that point if it's a sufficiently distasteful book to them. Also, I think we should avoid putting down titles that are duplicative to the group, so that there aren't several people re-reading a title. That dilutes the value of having a discussion among people reading it for the first time.

(Which was honestly my objection; I already read certain titles once, it's going to be suggested sooner or later, and I'd prefer something new. It has nothing to do with close mindedness and everything to do with having done my time already.)

The alternate mechanism I was envisioning was that the person present at least three titles by different authors for vote by the participants with a chance for discussion.

That allows a mutually inclusive process of selection. I mean, end of the day, I do not think we should be just letting someone just pick the books without at least some explanation of what they want to do and there should be a compelling reason for turning it down. But there are good and valid reasons for not wanting to read a book.

Since this isn't a purely academic forum, we should be considering that some reads are not simply asking tough questions, but are genuinely unpleasant. We should be striking the balance between challenging/stimulating and entertaining here, and that means that we shouldn't be just assigning books like this is an undergrad course.

I understand the need for vibrant discussion, but I also feel it should be tempered by the knowledge that it doesn't have to be our jobs to make people read things they wouldn't otherwise, or engage them in unpleasant discussions for their own good. This isn't academia, so we shouldn't be prioritizing intellectual challenge above all other considerations. It honestly should be the other way around -- views should be challenged, but gently. Discussion and debate are two different things with two different goals, sharing vs. winning and I definitely err on the side of sharing.

The person that humorously suggested Mein Kampf definitely hit the note. As an alternative to Mein Kampf, there is always "Eichmann in Jerusalem" (312 pages) or "Night" (175 pages) if Holocaust studies had to happen, rather than the, quite frankly, banal ranting of Adolf Hitler (730 pages) or something more dry and lengthy history like Raul Hilberg's "The Destruction of European Jews." (1300 pages) Kampf and Destruction have a place in academic study (and were assigned reading for me), but seem a little much for book club stuff.

Basically, I don't believe that we should just take a book sight unseen because someone has their turn. Both sides should be getting their say here.

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

For "Hitler Shrugged" I was going to link to Hipster Hitler...except they finally took it down.

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

hey guys theres no need to fight im sure we can all start with a great book everyone will like

Mein Kampf.

i dunno about yuo but i really think well all like reading it!!! i heard it makes great for writing edgy protagonists who have deep internal struggles and also helps in writing nation rps because ive enver done one before and

For real. Let's all read Me-
*click*

Err. I mean. I am mildly interested for when exams are over, but ideally they should be books we can all access without much effort. :) I know I can't often head to the bookstore, and can't afford very much (books are expensive here y'know!) but I like ebooks...

Please do not call the CIA. That would be most inopportune.

@MyCatGinger

Kinda my point about coming up with a vote mechanism to prevent having someone select Mein Kampf, or something that most everyone has already read. In the case of Atlas Shrugged and Mein Kampf, I was given one in HS and one during undergrad. I'm good.

But if someone else wants to take this and run it their way, I don't have a problem. Also, there's a lot of local library access to books in ebook form these days. It's not all areas, but there's some availability.

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

<Snipped quote by HeySeuss>
I would prefer we rotate choices/people to that, presuming the club is small enough. Voting can ensure nobody gets a turn whilst rotation fixes that issue entirely.

@Inkarnate

I'm okay with whatever structure happens so long as there is an option for veto, otherwise people will simply opt out. A vote might keep someone from having a turn, but it also is possible to structure it so that the voting system can be devised to let one individual have a turn but be required to provide a list of options from different authors that get voted on. They can speak to the merits of their selections.

I'll be blunt; I don't want to be roped into reading "Atlas Shrugged" again and I want to make sure there are ways to keep people from being hit with the inevitable for things they dislike immensely as well.

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

Perhaps schedule three months out, in order of popularity. But that at least gives people a heads up as to what is coming and so forth. Also means that we aren't always voting on what the next book will be.

But hey, what does everyone else think?

Star Wars: You're a Rebel Now

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Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

I think all of us coming in with different tastes is what makes a collaborative club interesting. For example, I'm really a fan of older literature and I would love to turn people on to classics they have not explored that I think has a breadth of value not just for entertainment but merits for writing development such as characterization and narration.

@Inkarnate

I suggest the following: if people nominate a book, we can create a google form and let people vote. The person nominating has to be willing to host the discussion with questions for discussion and moderate the process if they win.

I'm trying to decide which Hunter S. Thompson book I want to put in here. ;)

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

Depending entirely on what book is chosen, I may or may not be interested. Of course, I am more than willing to be turned onto new and exciting books, especially those that I wouldn't normally read on my own volition.

@Altered Tundra

Reading new and exciting books is why I wanted to come up with this. I am not sure what mechanism to use for choosing books. I feel like it should be a mechanism where we make suggestions and then make a decision as a group so that no one feels left out. That depends on the size and you can't please everyone but I figure we can try for that and hope it works the first time. :)

The sort of books we look at shouldn't be too large, necessarily, and I think they should have some bearing on roleplaying, though that's a wide mandate with lots of wiggle room. I think it needs to be something we can sink teeth into and have a lively discussion over.

I mean, if I were going to pick books, I'd perhaps throw out some Hannah Arendt or Stanley Milgram because those are works on the underlying human psyche. But that's not to everyone's taste, even if I massively use the thinking their work inspires to inform the RP's I do.

Edit: Of course, to keep it less dry and either philosophical or psychological, I have a fallback of Hunter S. Thompson, as well as a strong belief that he should be read more.

Guild Book Club Suggestions Wanted

I'm fine with whichever book gets chosen, honestly. Dinh's book looked like it had a lot to offer, and I think part of the structure has to be that someone familiar with the book has to introduce it to the others.

We could, theoretically, shorten this down to essays or something else if a book feels like too hard of a slog.