Laying Down The Lore: 40K

On Betalis III, the war reaches a breaking point as Battle Group Odon makes its stand on the frozen Alacian Plains against the overwhelming forces of the Aeldari. What begins with a fleeting morale boost—the rare downing of an Aeldari fighter—rapidly descends into disaster as disciplined Craftworld Mymeara air assaults tear Imperial armour apart and force General Odon into a desperate, controversial gamble: splitting his forces to ...

In this episode we look at the escalation of the Betalis III conflict as the Aeldari Corsair invasion moves from shadow war to full-scale catastrophe. In the void of the Betalis System the naval battle sees the Imperial defence platform Watchful Saviour and the outnumbered Imperial fleet overwhelmed by superior Aeldari manoeuvre warfare, culminating in the platform’s destruction and Aeldari orbital dominance. We then explore the fi...

We start with the covert Eldar attacks that silently cripple the planet’s surveillance network through destroyed relay stations and night raids, leaving Imperial forces blind and shaken. We cover the return of General Myndoras Odon of the Cadian 6th Armoured Regiment, who recognises the raids as a deliberate prelude to a larger campaign ultimately aimed at Betalis IV, and responds by consolidating forces, deliberately provoking the...

We start our dive into the Betalis Campaign with a look at the history and strategic significance of Betalis III, an icy mining world illuminated by a vast blue giant, detailing its origins as the doomed home of a young reptilian xenos species destroyed long ago by Irillyth and Craftworld Mymeara, the planet’s later rediscovery by the Imperium during the Omniel Crusade, and its harsh colonisation under exploitative debt-labour cond...

In this special video episode Dhar surprises the lads with a mission direct from the Emperor himself. We play the Path to Victory book Herald of Oblivion, a choose your own adventure style… well, adventure. Combating both heretics and Dhar’s dyslexia the lads try their best to reunite with their squadmates while fighting through successive waves of Necrons, Orks and Tyranids. Join us for a festive tale of grimdarkness featuring a n...

Cover art by Modyer, big love x

In our final episode on the Star Badgers, for the time being, we look at the changes wrought on the chapter during their reforging and the suspiciously high number of Star Badgers who survived the Rubicon Primaris. We explore the structure of the reborn chapter and their Clawpacks (companies) by focusing on two of the five full strength Clawpacks they currently have. The Ashmoon Clawpack is led by the...

Cover art by Modyer, inspired by the original Rogue Trader artwork.

In this episode we pick up the story of the Meles Astorum after their supposed destruction at Uras’drekh. Far from gone, the Star Badgers dragged the wreck of Luna’s Vigil to the surface of their death world, Samarkand, and went underground – literally. For centuries they became a whisper, sustained only by scraps of relic-tech and a trickle of recruits from the pla...

This episode we dive into the Meles Astorum – better known as the Star Badgers – a fleet-based Chapter first whispered about during the early millennia of the Imperium. We track their rise from brutal boarding specialists in the Jarnhost Reaving, through their reputation for tunnel warfare at Gaulus Red, to the infamous Howling Iron Pact that nearly broke them with questions of purity and trust. Along the way, we highlight their od...

Our final image heavy episode on the breakdown of a chapter rumbles forward as we turn our attention to the armoured fist of the Adeptus Astartes: their vehicles. We open with the towering Dreadnoughts, half-hero, half-sarcophagus, entombing fallen warriors who continue the fight in adamantium shells. From there, the heavy rumble of tanks follows, with predators, vindicators, and their brutal kin forming the iron heart of an armour...

In episode three of our deep-dive into the structure of a Space Marine Chapter we turn the auspex squarely on its commanders. We start off with the Chapter Master, an Avatar of the chapter's spirit and master of its terrifying resources, before turning to the Captains who direct entire companies with the aid of their Lieutenants We then shift to the Librarians, Psykers who wield the immaterium as both weapon and shield. Both la...

Part two in our "Give Cral and Aneurysm” series sees us taking a look at the ridiculous number of squads one can field as part of a Primaris Chapter. We start with a brief look at the Ultima Founding that leads to the Indomitus Crusade, a mission to reunite the fractured Imperium of Man.  We note the distinct changes in the revised Codex Astartes, mostly all squad members use the same type of weapon and the 10th company is now a Va...

In this nose-bleed-inducing episode we take a look at all of the squad types found in a codex compliant space marine chapter. Working our way from Newly minted scout we track the path a marine takes through the chapter. Starting with the scouts and their vehicles we move to a marine’s true ascension to becoming a Devastator marine. Once they have mastered the heavier weapons of the chapter they progress to the role of an Assault ma...

This episode we take a look at the gene-seed implants required to elevate a recruit to a neophyte within Chapters. We explore the use of Progenoid Glands, located in the throat and chest of each Astartes which mature after 5 and 10 years. We look at the process used to create all implants from the Gene-seed and the rough timescales involved and, in dire circumstances, the use of male criminals kept in artificial gestation chambers ...

In this episode we take a look at the meticulously structured process for Space Marine recruitment. We look at how Chapters select recruits from specific homeworlds or regions, seeking individuals who demonstrate exceptional strength and unwavering loyalty. We explore preferred recruitment worlds such as Feral and Hive Worlds, known for producing robust and aggressive candidates. We look at the mythic aura around the various types ...

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We start at the launch of the great crusade and the generic Order of Battle used by the 20 legions before experience and the rediscovery of their primarch changed them. We touch on the schism between those astartes recruited on Terra and those who came after their Primarch was rediscovered. We look at the structure of a Chapter, a central organisational block of each legion and the asset...

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We start with the creation of the Primarchs, the reasons that led the Emperor to command their creation and the mysterious Erda who aided him. We look at how the Emperor's own genome was used and altered and the other “biological material” mixed in… gross. After they mysteriously disappeared their genomes were then used to create the first round of Space Marines even as the Thunder Warr...

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We launch this episode with a look at the context for the Emperor's Unification of Terra and the needs and forces that required the Thunder Warriors. We have a gander at the organisation of their 20 legions, foreshadowing, and the abilities and flaws of their powerful and muscular frames. We then face their end by delving into the battle of Mount Ararat ...

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In this episode we go BACK … to the future! We open our discussion on the state of Terra during the Age of Strife together with its prime rival, the Technocracy of Mars. We explore the cultural impacts of this dark age and how it informed the base culture of the Imperium of Man. We detail the rise of the Emperor with the help of his BFF Macador the Sigillite and his hidden fortress  in ...

We start our dive into the Adeptus Astartes with a brief summary of Episode 13 and 14 defining what a chapter, company and squad look like together with the most common arms and armour they field. We then take a real world turn and look at the early publication of the Space Marines and the setting of the Imperium of Man. This covers the original designers notes from White Dwarf 93 through the order of battle for the Dark Angels Rav...