Warhammer 9th Edition Crusade Forces

[Karantu]

In preparation for running a Crusade campaign for 9th edition I'll be making multiple topics to help organize and run the campaign.
This topic is for posting your Crusade Force/Roster. In order to make things easier to find I'm going to edit this first post with the most recent rosters for each participating player. Feel free to post your latest roster here and I shall update it.
The main discussion topic can be found here.

Player List:
Karantu (Tau) - link
Dave (Death Guard) - link
Jye (Space Wolves & Sisters of Battle) - link
Matt (Imperial Guard) - link
Balloonacorn (Raven Guard) - link

[Karantu]

Here's my Crusade roster. The format is based on the templates in the rule book, I might switch over to a printed version once they release the template. I ended up going with a custom Sept using the rules in Psychic Awakening: The Greater Good.

Sept Background:
Mal'el is a relatively new Sept that focuses on mobile Battlesuit warfare. They border Imperial space and thus are attempting to expand to Imperial systems through a mix of subterfuge and covert operations.

Force Background:
My force, led by Commander Star-Piercer is the covert operations arm of Mal'el's attempts to take control of the Imperial system that the campaign in based in. They have been operating under the radar for several years and have built up multiple cells in the system, mostly focused on the jungle covered death world which has a low Imperial population as well as being relatively less monitored by the Imperial administration compared to the other planets. However, due to increased activity in the system, Commander Star-Piercer is forced to resort to less clandestine methods to achieve dominance in the system.

[The Other Dave]

I haven't got a chance to look at the Crusade rules in detail yet, so here's just the basics.

The Dusk Raiders
It is just within the realm of possibility that the plague marine warband that styles themselves the Dusk Raiders are actually Death Guard of Terran stock who sided with Mortation during the Horus Heresy, reclaiming their heritage with the splintering of the legion. Perhaps they are instead of Barbarus or later ancestry, adopting the heraldry of the Dusk Raiders to mock or out of a twisted sense of irony. Or it may be that they are renegades from a later age who turned to Nurgle, discovered the history of the 14th Legion and seek to emulate it. In the end, of course, the so-called Dusk Raiders are a tiny warband in a galaxy torn with strife, a glimmer of an ancient history that has passed, for most, into legend. Any questions concerning their ties to the past are, and are likely to forever remain, both unasked and unanswered.

Little is known about the goals and objectives of the Dusk Raiders, beyond their evident interest in sowing chaos. It appears that the malignant plaguecaster known as Pastus the Impure is the mastermind behind the warband’s activities, although who, or what, he may answer to – if anyone – is unknown. They seem to attack more or less randomly, targeting civilian populations and military installations alike, spreading various sentient poxes and warp-infused diseases with what can only be described as apparent foul glee.

Warp signatures and pict analysis suggest that the Dusk Raiders operate out of a captured Imperial Sword-class frigate, believed with a 68.7% confidence rate to be the Embittered Glaive, reported lost to the warp in 345.M37.

Dusk Raiders Order of Battle
Dusk Raiders [Death Guard: The Wretched]
Supply Limit: 55, Supply Used: 55
Current RP: 1

HQ
Malignant Plaguecaster Pastus the Impure [6]
-Crusade Points: 2 [Relic: The Daemon's Favor, Upgrade: Sevenfold Blessings]
-Psychic powers: Miasma of Pestilence, Blades of Putrefaction
Lord of Contagion Gurloch Thrax [7]
-Crusade Points: 1 [Upgrade: Harbinger of Nurgle]

Troops
Bubox's Plague Marines (7) [10]
-Champion w/ Plasma Gun and Power Fist, Icon of Despair, Plague Spewer, Blight Launcher, Flail of Corruption
Gangrous' Plague Marines (5) [7]
-Champion w/ Plasma Pistol and Plaguesword, Plasma Gun, Blight Launcher
Poxwalkers (20) [6]
Poxwalkers (10) [3]

Elites
Gurloch’s Tainted Cohort [8]

Fast Attack
Foetid Bloat-Drone G'zoethl [8]

[Jye Nicolson]

I will likely alter my Order of Battle many times before the first game, but I have a basic background in mind.

The Taran Heresy

"The Cicatrix Maledictum and the Eye of Terror are but distractions from a simple truth: this universe is already hell, because its inhabitants have lost the capacity to relate through any means but violence and suffering. In this fallen age, we have only the crudest and base avenue of salvation open to us. Only war."

Master Inquisitor Tara's coterie of Inquisitorial philosophers are united in their diagnosis of the ills of the Imperium, but profoundly divided over the means of cure. She holds that despair is the greatest catalyst of suffering, and that only hope will cultivate in the people of the Imperium a capacity to engage with her colleagues' more sophisticated soteriological methods.

To that end her work is in generating stories for the Imperium, victories snatched from the jaws of defeat, desperate last stands rescued by the descent of glorious angels, heroes whose unyielding will turns back the greatest darkness. She is the saviour of worlds that any sane strategist would give up for lost, and is the doom of others when she lets a preventable threat blossom into an apocalypse worthy of legend.

Charismatic and cunning, Tara prefers a network of allies in place of a standing organisation of her own, but two forces in particular find her methods appealing and reliably respond to her requests:

The Daughters of Russ are a Wolf Time cult that have radicalised female warriors of the Vlka Fenryka with the belief that Russ will return to fight alongside his literal daughters; while they are aware those daughters never existed, if their sagas become sufficiently glorious they will nevertheless be true. They have swelled to the size of a Great Company, causing troubles for Logan Grimnar that for the moment he has chosen to manage by permitting their association with Master Inquisitor Tara.

The Orders of the Sanguine Halo are tightly knit alliance of minor orders of the Adepta Sororitas seeking to "complete the Great Martyrdom of the Unconquered Saint", which seems to manifest in actively searching for exactly the sorts of opportunities for death in battle in which Tara specialises. They are noted for a pre-battle ritual of dying their hair blood red and producing truly prodigious numbers of Repentia (usually volunteering on dubious grounds) and Zephyrim (when their desire for martyrdom overwhelms their ability to maintain rational thought). Worse yet frequent association with the Daughters of Russ is leading them to overlook that cult's heresy, drawn to the promise of the war to come.

Tara has also been aided in the past by what appears to be a company of the Emperor's Scythes Adeptus Astartes (though fighting with distinctly divergent tactical doctrines from those that chapter is known for) and at least one Forge World.

Order of Battle - 50PL

Daughters of Russ

Jarl Sangrior (Ragnar Blackmane) PL 6
Jarl Geiravör Wolf Lord, PL 6, Crusade Points 2
Thane Reginleif and Pack Veteran Intercessors, PL 5, Crusade Points 1
Verdandi Impulsor, PL 6
Sangrior's Hounds, Fenrisian Wolves, PL 2

Orders of the Sanguine Halo

Canoness Hypatia Esserine PL 3
Imagifier Himiko Immacea PL 2, Crusade Points 2
Battle Squad Saberine PL 4
Seraphim Squad Decata PL 4
Seraphim Squad Julella PL 4
Benevolent Exegesis, Exorcist, PL 8

[The Other Dave]

I made a couple edits to mine after getting the gist of how RPs work, and to nail down some of the gear decisions we're supposed to - sub-optimally, I'm sure, but that's kind of my brand at this point . I'll probably spend the last RP to upgrade a unit or something after I get a better look at the book.

[Mattb]

Sorry for going over the top with the background! I get carried away sometimes. Also I might change up the order of battle a bit, but I'm not sure yet.

Tarson
Tarson is an industrial hive world located within the Agripinaa Sector with the primary purpose of fueling the forge world of Agripinaa itself. It's primary export consists of promethium and various chemicals used in production, with immense refineries permanently turning raw materials into usable components. Millenia of extensive mining and pollution has completely destroyed Tarson's environment, leaving oceans of toxic sludge and vast ash deserts, whilst toxic chem-storms periodically batter the planet's hive cities. Tarson also raises and maintains large numbers of Astra Militarum regiments; being situated so close to Cadia, these regiments are designed to mimic the training and appearance of the Cadians. Indeed, Cadian troops maintain a permanent garrison on the planet in order to train and drill the Tarsonian regiments. The major difference between the Tarsonian and Cadian regiments are the Ashwalkers - companies of well equipped hostile-environment specialists that are used to patrol the endless ash wastes of their homeworld. These companies are often attached in support of infantry regiments.

During the 13th Black Crusade, Tarson was infiltrated and attacked by elements of the Emperor's Children Traitor Legion who had created a massive network of cults and dens of excess throughout the underhives. At the onset of the crusade these cults struck - completely disabling the planet's defence systems and capturing entire hive cities. The Tarsonian and Cadian regiments, along with maniples of Skitarii from
Agripinaa, were almost completely overwhelmed. It was only the arrival of Inquisitor Torquemada Coteaz that stopped the planet from falling to Chaos. Taking command of the Militarum forces, the traitors were eventually pushed back to a single hive - rather than risk an assualt, the entire city was virus bombed until not a single soul - civilian or otherwise - was left standing.

The 82nd Tarsonian Ashwalkers & the 512th Tarsonian Armoured
Following the Tarson Heresy, Inquisitor Coteaz himself requested a Militarum regiment for his own personal use in hunting down traitors and daemons. Thus, he was given command of the 82nd Ashwalkers under Colonel Reeve as well as a single company of armoured support from the 512th under Captain Helven. Although in battle, command is often given to the 1st Company commander, Major Morten - a gruff veteran who lost his left arm fighting a Heretic Astartes in personal combat.

Order of Battle
Supply Limit: 55
Supply Used: 52
Requisition Points: 1
Crusade Points: 3

++2PL, 1CP++ Major Morten, 82nd Ashwalkers' 1st Company CO Company Commander, WT: Grand Strategist
++2PL++ Lieutenant Vasko, 1st Company's 3rd Platoon CO Company Commander
++12PL, 2CP++ Captain Helven, 512th Armoured's 5th Company CO Tank Commander, Relic: Hammer of Sunderance, Tank Ace: Slow and Purpseful

++3PL++ Alpha Squad, 3rd Platoon Infantry Squad
++3PL++ Beta Squad, 3rd Platoon Infantry Squad
++3PL++ Gamma Squad, 3rd Platoon Infantry Squad

++5PL++ Alpha Ashwalker Squad, 6th Platoon Veterans
++1PL++ Sanctioned Psyker Adept Damas Astropath, Psychic Barrier
++1PL++ Sanctioned Psyker Adept Liras Astropath, Nightshroud
++1PL++ Sanctioned Psyker Adept Karsk Astropath, Psychic Maelstrom

++6PL++ Sludgethrower Banewolf

++3PL++ Delta Squad, 3rd Platoon Heavy Weapons Team
++10PL++ Ol' Reliable Leman Russ Battle Tank

[Karantu]

The list looks fine and I don't think anyone is going to complain about the lore. Feel free to update your list as much as you want before our next game day and after that we'll probably be doing update posts summarizing the battles and any post battle stuff. I'm guessing we might see Inquisitor Coteaz himself show up once things start escalating?

[Jye Nicolson]

The list looks fine and I don't think anyone is going to complain about the lore. Feel free to update your list as much as you want before our next game day and after that we'll probably be doing update posts summarizing the battles and any post battle stuff. I'm guessing we might see Inquisitor Coteaz himself show up once things start escalating?

Corteaz is pretty scary!

I'd like to include some Inquisitors myself, though I'll probably use Greyfax for a counts-as Inquisitor and try to bring her up with XP rather than using the named character - Ragnar is going to be "wasting" enough XP as it is

Also kind of tempted to change my lists so as to not have to paint this Exorcist here, but without the pressure of a game day I'll never get them done.

Nice lore, @Mattb, I look forward to seeing them on the table!

[Mattb]

I'm guessing we might see Inquisitor Coteaz himself show up once things start escalating?

Hopefully! I haven't actually got him yet, but probably soon.

I'm not sure if he's all that useful for his cost, but I just love the model.

I'd like to include some Inquisitors myself, though I'll probably use Greyfax for a counts-as Inquisitor and try to bring her up with XP rather than using the named character - Ragnar is going to be "wasting" enough XP as it is

Nice! An Inquisitor duel would make for a pretty interesting battle I think.

[Balloonacorn]

The Indentured Souls

They were lost... lost for so many years... being trapped on the wrong side of the warp since the Heresy. They fought. Hit and run. Hide in the shadows. They never gave up, never gave in, but millennia of conflict chiselled away at their numbers.

When the Eye of Terror cut a hole in real space they escaped in a derelict cruiser. The true emperor had led them to safety. They kept to the shadows. Striking at the enemy whenever they could, where they could, until that final, fatal battle: lured into open battle by Eldar warp tricks... the numbers were just too overwhelming.

They were all dead. Both sides whipped out... except for one lone marine. Energy depleted... That is how he found him. He picked him up and carried back to his shuttle. They couldn't save the marine but the warrior lives on. His gene-seed was implanted into a new breed of space marine.

With new bodies, equipment, weapons and a newly refitted cruiser they have returned to the shadows to strike at the enemy and find the home world of their progenitor.


Indentured Souls - Order of Battle - 50PL
Indentured Souls Space Marine Chapter (Raven Guard)
PL - 49 Unused RP: 3

Red Claw - Primaris Lt. [4]
Ex Tenebris – 1 RP

The Umbral Shadow - Primaris Chaplain [4]
Master of Ambush Warlord Trait – 1 RP


Red Vengence Squad – 5 Intercessors [5]

Black Vengence Squad - 5 Primaris Intercessor [5]

Night Vengence Squad - 5 Primaris Assault Intercessor [5]


The Sharpened Beak - 5 Reivers [4] w/ Grapnel Launchers

The Stained Beak - 10 Reivers [8] w/ Grav Chutes and Combat Knives

Nevermore - Invictus Tactical Warsuit [6] w/ Incendium Cannon


Skyfall - 5 Hellblasters [8]

I should have called this "Marines I got that were bundled with the Plague Marines I bought." The list is rather incomplete and it is my first attempt at fluff. I am working at improving both.