Assault Marines

Finally finished, after months and months of creepingly slow work

Video on Sons of Medusa

Deathwatch

It's often difficult to adapt the rules of tabletop games to computers or tablets.  Attempts have been a mixed bag, with games like Warmachine: Tactics providing reasonably acceptable translations while games like Space Hulk or Bloodbowl falling disappointingly short  The new mobile game, Deathwatch, however provides a genuinely enjoyable experience.  

The game is somewhat similar to Space Hulk insofar as the player controls a kill team of space marines against hordes of nefarious tyranids.  However the controls of the game have been considerably streamlined in comparison to its somewhat ponderous predeceasor, leading to superior, more intuitive gameplay.  The game has also been infused with a limited role playing element, where you can select members of your kill team from the ultramarines, blood angels, or space wolves and build them up and watch their skills expand.

Overall one of the better new 40k mobile games out there and a must try.

Space Marine

Just completed the Warhammer 40,0000: Space Marine video game for PC and have to say that it was an amazing ride. No other video game that I've seen has done such a great job of capturing the experience of what it might be like to be a space marine, mowing down orks and chaos heretics.

For people not familiar with the game, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine was a third-person shooter game developed by Relic Entertainment and published by THQ. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 6, 2011. The game takes place in Games Workshop's Warhammer 40,000 universe and features the Ultramarines chapter. Its gameplay focuses on a hybrid shooting and melee combat model.

The game's plot line involves the Forge World Graia (a planet devoted to military production) that has been invaded by alien Orks. The game follows a Command Squad of three of the Ultramarines, Commander and playable character Captain Titus, his immediate subordinate Veteran Sergeant Sidonus, and a relatively inexperienced and by-the-book Tactical Marine named Leandros.

Space Marine also features a robust online multiplayer game, where you can play as any of a number of space marine chapters either cooperatively or in direct team based combat.

The game received positive reviews from critics. However unfortunately the closure of THQ has ended the chances of a direct sequel any time soon, unless Sega decides to attempt one. In the meantime though I would strongly encourage anyone to try this hidden gem, regardless of whether you are a 40K fan or not, especially given its reduced price point.

Beakie

Beakie missile launcher

Terminators complete

Next up Assault Squad I think.

Eternal Crusade 5th Chapter

Warhammer: Eternal Crusade is holding a vote to decide what the 5th chapter of Space Marines will be in the game.  Possible choices include: Iron Hands, Imperial Fists and Raven Guard. While there is of course no vote for SOM, the Iron Hands are probably the closest available option as the parent chapter.

ETERNAL CRUSADE VOTE

BattleScribe Roster

BattleScribe updated their data for the new 2015 Space Marine codex.  Here's my current roster of models that I currently have completed or near completed for my new army

BATTLESCRIBE SOM ROSTER

Terminators

Attack of the one armed terminators

Space Marine video game

With the Steam summer sale going on I picked up a copy of the Space Marine video game for PC and have been enjoying it quite a lot!  I was surprised and gratified that the SOM were included in multiplayer.

I'm not particularly good at shooters, but playing on PC with a mouse makes targeting a lot easier.  As a result, I'm really looking forward to Eternal Crusade.

Power fist and sword

Experimenting with airbrushed colors for captain and sergeant

Where is Taelus?

Very little information is provided as to where the Taelus is located, home system for the Sons of Medusa.  Medusa itself is located to the galactic North close to the Eye of Terror in the Segmentum Obscurus.  Moirae was located in the Northwest of the Segmentum Solar.  The SOM are rumored to retain recruiting rights to the Laanath Rifts as a result of the Bellrath Crusade.  The Angevin Crusade occurred to the North in the Calixis Sector.  And the Badab War was located to the East in the Ultima Segmentum.  So there does not appear to be much rhyme or reason to the locations associated with the SOM.

Nevertheless the best guess as to the location of Taelus based on rumors seems to be a short distance from the former forge world Moirae.  A location in the Segmentum Solar might make sense if one believes that the Sons of Medusa still believe that hidden messages from the Omnissiah can be discerned from the beacon of the Astronomican.

Tacticals

So the backbone of any army is the troops.  So I started off first by building and painting a tactical squad of marines.

Some miscellaneous SOM pictures from the web

 

Sons of Medusa

The purpose of this page is to blog about my new Sons of Medusa 40K army and other miscellaneous subjects.

Who are the Sons of Medusa?  They are loyalist successor chapter to the Iron Hands space marine legion, first introduced in Imperial Armour Volume Ten - the Bedab War Part Two.  They have proven to be a surprisingly popular dark horse chapter despite their low profile origins, probably due to the appeal of their bright lime green color power armor.

The Sons of Medusa conduct themselves similarly to the Iron Hands in most respects.  They are organized into three Clans, they are obsessed with technology, and they abhore weakness.  The primary difference between the two chapters lies in a conflict which occurred in the 35th millennium known as the Moirae Schism. The 35th millennium was a turbulent time in the Imperium. The Imperium was weak and corrupt at the time and the Administratum was dominant over the Ecclesiarchy in power. Into this vacuum various decentralization movements arose. To the galactic west, the planet of Constantinium (now known as Nova Terra) declared its independence and successfully asserted rule over a large portion of the Segmentum Pacificum. This was known as the Nova Terra Interregnum. During this time period there were two empires, which would remain the case until until the Ecclesiarchy once again rose to power in the Cataclysm of Souls nine centuries later.

 

Early in the Nova Terra Interregnum techpriests on the forge world of Moirae in the north west of the Segmentum Solar developed a creed that maintained that the beacon of the Astronomican contained hidden messages within its micro-fluctuations, and that these messages were from the Omnissiah and prophetic in nature. The Moirae Techpriests compiled these apocalyptic messages in their archives, copies of which quickly spread through many of the Cult Mechanicus' sub-sects. These radical teachings included references to the future overthrow of Mars and the fusion of the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Ecclesiarchy. Such claims were treated as heresy by Mechanicus authorities on Mars. The resulting conflict would be known as the Moirae Schism. Eventually, Moirae was destroyed by a Adeptus Mechanicus Fleet sent from Mars itself, but not before the schism spread throughout the Mechanicus.

Several Titan Legions and Space Marine Chapters with close ties to the Mechanicum defected to the insurgents. The Iron Hands chapter was split in its loyalties. Fortunately the ruling council of the Iron Hands, the Great Clan Council, was able to settle the matter by getting all concerned to agree to a simple solution; the Moirae dissidents were to be exiled from the chapter, with all parties swearing never to take up arms against each other. In the wake of this ruling, almost a full third of the chapter split away to become a fleet-based divergent branch of the Iron Hands, now known as the Sons of Medusa.  

The Sons of Medusa are currently based in the asteroid fields of the Taelus system, believed to be located close to the currently destroyed planet of Moirae.