Storm of Vengence (1997) Chaos Lore

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THE IMPERIAL DEFENDERS
There are no records of the part that the Dark Angels played in the Horus Heresy. Only the Emperor and the highest ranking Dark Angels know that the Chapter once teetered on the brink of Chaos. ‘The battle that decided the Dark Angels’ loyallies was fought between the Primarch Lion El’Jonson and his second-in-command, Luther. Jonson won the battle but was left mortally wounded and the horrendous forces released in the fight ripped the Dark Angels’ home world of Caliban apart.

Most of the planct was sucked into the warp through a huge portal created by the Chaos gods and only one part of the planet, called the Rock, now survives. The Dark Angels made the Rock their home and drilled out a huge network of tunnels, rooms and halls in the bedrock under the ruined fortress monastery. In time engines were added to allow the Rock to move around the galaxy and, as a result, the Dark Angels do not recruit from any single planet. It is for this reason that the Chapter has strict levels of admission and rigorous tests of loyalty. The Masters of the Chapter have to ensure that all those who join become true Dark Angels.

While the Chapter is recruiting, the Rock stays in one place for generations. In this time the Dark Angels build temples and shrines on the planet to act as recruitment centres for the planet’s population. One of these temples was built in Kadillus Harbour on Piscina IV during the 39th Millennium. At the time of Ghazghkull and Nazdreg’s invasion, the Third Company, under the command of Master Belial, was stationed in the system for recruiting. Every planet in the Imperium has a planetary defence force and the Planetary Lord is obliged to provide a proportion of his total armed forces for recruitment into the Imperial Guard. Planetary defence forces are usually well equipped as they may be the only defence the Planetary Lord has against a cult uprising or full scale invasion. Every city, town and trading post on Piscina IV has a planetary force garrison to defend it and help to keep the peace.


DARK ANGELS MASTER BELIAL
Belial is Master of the Dark Angels’ Third Company. He rose to the rank of Master whilst fighting against the Black Crusade of Furion, a Chaos Lord of Khorne. Belial defeated Furion in single combat whilst his brave company tore apart the attacking Chaos hordes with heavy weapons fire. In recognition of his superior skills, Grand Master Azrael presented Belial with an ornate power sword, an artefact dating back to the founding of the Chapter. On Piscina TV, Belial’s company was assisted by squads from the Deathwing and Scout Company. Although he faced an awesome Ork invasion, his brilliant mind allowed him to contain the attack until it could be destroyed. It is said that Ghazghkull now seeks vengeance against him, with a hatred almost equal to that which the Warlord once reserved only for Commissar Yarrick.

 

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USING OTHER ARMIES

Although the main protagonists of the Piscina IV invasion were Orks and Dark Angels Space Marines, the scenarios in this pack can be used with almost any force (in fact, Koth Ridge was mostly defended by Imperial Guard). Since many of the armies used in the scenarios are points based, a certain amount of balance is already present. However, some troops will be better in certain situations regardless of their points cost. The following notes detail how to use Chaos Space Marines and Imperial Guard instead of the two armies originally used, but using the guidance below you could just as well use Eldar or Tyranid armies instead.

Chaos Invaders
A Chaos Black Crusade makes a good substitute for the invading Orks. Rather then a telly porta, they will have a warp portal to gain access to the planet. The Chaos army will be seeking to secure ancient sites on the planet which will channel more energy into the portal (instead of power stations). Generally the much higher points value of Chaos troops will put a lid on the more excessive forces available, and restrictions on mounted models and vehicles apply to them exactly as they do to the Orks (no Daemon-possessed predators in Scenario 1, for example!).

Unlike the Orks, Chaos forces may have limited access to a level | psyker, but to maintain balance it’s advisable to keep to this limit. Perhaps in the larger battles a level 2 Sorcerer may be on hand, but there should never be more than one psyker in the Chaos army.

In terms of special characters. you could possibly substitute Kharn the Betrayer. Huron Blackheart or Fabius Bile for one of the Warlords, but not more than one. It’s a good idea to create your own Chaos Lord to lead the other contingent, keeping his cost down to 150-175 points at the most. Abaddon the Despoiler is another option, but be prepared for someone like him to dominate the battles he is involved in.

In particular, keep a careful eye on the troops used in the Shadow Warriors scenario. It may be a good idea for the Chaos player to field cultists from the subsidiary army lists as sentries and have D6 Chaos Space Marines in each camp (at the most!).

Daemons should also be limited in some fashion, perhaps you should restrict their use to the assaults on Koth Ridge and maybe the Counter-Attack scenario. Again, we should say that in some situations troops such as these will be disproportionately effective compared to their points cost.

Other than that, it’s pretty much anything goes. Will another world of the Imperium fall into the vile hands of Chaos? You'll be able to fight it out for yourselves!