Ultra Marines

8/7/2019 Ultra Marines

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by John Lambshead

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THEULTRAMARINES

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ULTRAMARINESThe Ultramarines were part of the FirstFounding Space Marine legions, which meansthat they are older than the Imperium itself.The genetically engineered warriors of the FirstFounding were the elite shock troops in theEmperors armies way back in the Age of Strife.Ultramarines were one of the twenty vast SpaceMarine legions that took part in the GreatCrusade to reconquer the galaxy under theleadership of their genetically modifiedPrimarchs Roboute Guilliman in the case ofthe Ultramarines.

The warlord of the Emperors armies was thePrimarch known as Horus, Commander of theLunar Wolves Space Marine legion. Hemanoeuvred the loyal Ultramarines far fromEarth then led more than half the Space Marinelegions west across the galaxy in an invasion ofEarth to mount a coup against the Emperor.Horus and the rebels had been utterlycorrupted by the Dark Powers of the Warp.

Advancing along the southern Galactic axis, theUltramarines missed most of the heavy fightingof the Horus Heresy that occurred to thegalactic north-west, so were in better condit ion

than most of the loyal marines when Horus fell.The Ultramarine, legion held the Imperiumtogether immediately after the revolt and wasinstrumental in the reconquest of rebel p lanetsand the reconstruction of Mankinds empire.The Heresy confirmed Roboute Guillimansconviction that strict adherence to orthodoxywas vital for spiritual fortitude, and, henceorthodoxy has been the Ultramarines strictpol icy ever since.

Seven years after the Horus Heresy, the SpaceMarine legions were broken up into smallerformations called chapters. The Ultramarinescontributed twenty-three new chaptersincluding the Aurora, Black Consuls, WhiteConsuls, Doom Eagles, Eagle Warriors, GenesisChapter, Inceptors, Libators, Mortifactors,Novamarines, Patriarchs of Ulixis, Praetors ofOrpheus, Sil ver Eagles and White Consuls. Mostof these chapters follow the strict orthodoxy ofGuilliman, but not all the Mortifactors are anexample of a radical chapter. Orthodox marinesare known as Codex Chapters.

It is believed that Guill iman was one of the firstHigh Lords of the Imperium and that hepersonally laid down the structure of theImperial Guard and the Imperial Navy at thesame time as developing the Codex Astartes togovern Space Marine doctrine in the future. Inthe eyes of the Ultramarines, this makes theCodex Astartes a religious instrument ofsupreme authority and they are extremelyreluctant to challenge or modify any of itsprecepts.

ULTRAMAR

The Ultramarines are unusual in that they

control and rule the entire subsector ofUltramar. Most Space Marine chapters have asingle base of operations, usually a planet butsometimes another orbital structure. Ultramarconsists of eight major inhabited systems thatshare a common cultural heritage with theprimary world, Macragge. It is reckoned to bethe happiest and best ruled place in the galaxy.The worlds of Ultramar are unusual in that theyare held in ecological balance, and are notcharacterised by the typical industrial

Roboute GuillimanRoboute Guilliman was a Primarch, one of the genetically engineered supermen created bythe Emperor to lead his armies. When the Primarchs were still in their incubators they werestolen into the Warp by the Dark Powers and scattered throughout the galaxy. Many of thePrimarchs were damaged by their time in the warp, a fact that was not to become clear untilthe catastrophic Horus Heresy, but Guilliman avoided this fate.

His capsule fell onto Macragge where it was discovered by noblemen out hunting. The semi-divine child was adopted by Konor, one of the two Consuls that ruled Macragge. RobouteGuilliman, as he was named, astonished his tutors and while still young led a successfulcampaign against Illyrium barbarians. Returning home in triumph, Roboute discovered thatthe second Consul, Gallan, had conspired against his adopted father and assassinated him inthe very Senate House itself. Guilliman crushed the rebellion swiftly and completely andassumed power as sole Consul, an office he held when Macragge was rediscovered by

Imperial forces fighting the Great Crusade.

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desolation common across much of the rest ofthe Imperium. The Ultramarines recruit fromall eight inhabited systems so they have a hugepool of potential recrui ts to ensure the highestpossible quality in their candidates.

All the wor lds of Ult ramar could be classified ascivilised because of their high technologicalinfrastructure base but they are otherwise quitedistinct. They are largely self-sufficient in foodand basic products but merchant traders have aflourishing business in specialities anddelicacies between the systems.

Macragge, the Prime world, is a wind-blastedmountainous place. Three quarters of the mainlandmass is largely uninhabited bare rock andmoorland. Castra Magna, the Ultramarinefortress, is located in the centre of thiscontinent buil t upon a granite crag surroundedby black, impenetrable, splintered mountainranges. At the heart of Castra Magna is an awe-inspiring adamantium and marble Gothictemple that is one of the holiest places in theImperium. It is roofed by a multi-colouredglass dome that is the largest ever created byhuman hands. Inside the temple is the shrine

to Roboute Guilliman. The Primarch sits upona marble throne within a stasis field, his mortalremains held out of time for all time with thefresh blood of his wounds glistening upon historn throat. Pilgrims travel from all over thegalaxy to pray at the throne and many priestsclaim that Guillimans mortal wounds areslowly healing, something impossible in a stasisfield.

The Ultramarines venerate Castra Magna as theheart of their fiefdom and the second mostimpor tant sacred site in the Imperium after theHoly Throne-Room of Terra. The fortress

contains the Ultramarine Headquarters andPrimary Monastery; the Ultramarine Admiralty

and Primus Signalis is also based here. TheMacraggan civil population lives in modestlysized cities of fewer than 50 million peoplealong the coasts of the continent and on thelarger i slands.

The second most important planet of Ultramaris the forgewor ld Calth. This is an airless wor ldwith a surface of bare metall ic-blue frozen rockilluminated by the lethal rays of a blue star.The large population live in huge cavernsconstructed deep underground. These are soenormous that they have their own internal

weather. Basic foodstuffs are grown in nut rientvats in sufficient quantities to feed thepopulation but luxury 'natural' food isimported from neighbouring Iax. Calth is theprimary manufacturing centre for Ultramar. Itis famous for its shipyards that build andservice the Ultramar fleets of starships, bothmerchant and Space Marine vessels. Thesedocks are unusual in being located on thesurface of the airless planet rather than inorbit. The inhospitable smooth surface isperfect for starships. The dockyards areprotected by tall surface-to-space torpedoesand puissant plasma cannon batteries. Armed

battle stations hang overhead ingeosynchronous orbit.

Iax is known as the Garden of Ultramar as it isa verdant, fertile, agricultural world. The worldhas a low population split into small townsdotted amongst farms and parklands. The onlycity is the ancient citadel of First Landing. Thisadamantium fort ress is protected by clusters ofmega-lasers and a detachment of Ult ramarines.Iax is also famous for the fast efficienthydroway transport systems that link themarket towns to First Landing.

Talassar is a water planet, 90% of its surface iscovered by the world ocean which teems with

MACRAGGE UL01.01

Orb. Dist. 2.01AU

1.48G/Temp 23C

Adeptus Astartes

Home World

Tithe Grade: Adeptus

Non

Aestimare: D0

Population:

400,000,000

Fortress of

Hera and Shrine

of the Primarch

Northern Polar

Defence Fortress

File:56440/g. Macragge, Ultramarines home world.

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sea life. Talassar is a productive marineagricultural world with rich plankton fieldsand kelp beds. The fins of the giant sunfish areconsidered to be one of the great fooddelicacies of the Imperium. There is a smallcontinent, Glaudor, where the capital is

located. This was the site of a famousUltramarine victory over Ork invaders not longafter the Horus Heresy. Much of the modestpopulation is dispersed among the rockyislands.

In complete contrast to Talassar are the ThreeWorlds: Quintarn, Tarentus and Masali thatorbit a common centre of gravity. These arelargely desert worlds. Nevertheless, they are amajor agricultural centre for the morepopulated worlds of Ultramar. The soil is richand food is grown in vast farm domesabundantly equipped with water condenserson the roof, which fill capacious undergroundreservoirs. Similar domes enclose the cities ofthe Three Worlds and they are famous for their

parks and lush gardens. The odds against thenatural formation of a stable triple-planetarrangement are infinitesimally low andmembers of the Inquisition have oftenspeculated that the Three Worlds are theartificial construct of a powerful, lost Xeno-

race. If so, no trace of this lost civilisation hasever been found.

Prandium has the most biodiverse planetaryecosystem of all the worlds of Ultramar. It wassettled late, soon after the Horus Heresy, bycolonists from Macragge itself. Prandium isknown as the Jewel of Ultramar because of itswide range of biohabitats and subsequentbewildering species richness and variety.Hunting lodges for rich off-worlders dot thePrandium outback

The last important settled world is Espandor,

also colonised from Macragge. The story goesthat a flotilla of traders was blown off courseby a warp storm in the Age of Strife and then

SEDITIO O PPRIM ERE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 pts

Note: To model the Seditio Opprimere, remove the lateral gun batteries from a battle barge andreplace them with lance batteries from the plastic Imperial Navy weapons sprues.

TYPE/HITS SPEED TURNS SHIELDS ARMOUR TURRETS

Battleship/12 20cm 45 3 6+ 3

ARMAMENT RANGE/SPEED FIREPOWER/STR FIRE ARC

Port Lance 60cm 6 Left

Starboard Lance 60cm 6 Right

Dorsal Bombardment Cannon 30cm 8 Left/front/right

Prow Torpedoes 30cm 6 Front

Prow Launch Bays Thunderhawks: 20cm 2 Squadrons Front

The Seditio Opprimere was reduced to a nearhulk at the Battle of Prandium. I t was rebuil t asa gunship with powerful long-range plasmalances to give the Ultramarines stand-off fire

support when fighting Tyrannids using the newfleet tactics. This severely compromised theabil ity of the barge to deploy troops.

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stranded by further warp storms. It has twolarge continents, the eastern one is left as awildlife reserve and even the western issparsely populated.

Ultramar is located in Segmentum Tempestusin the galactic south where the stars are thinand mostly concentrated in a single galacticarm which spirals lazily out of SegmentumSolar, through Tempestus, and out intointergalactic space beyond the reach of theAstronomicon. There are no significant navalassets in the subsector. The nearest majornaval station is at Bakka. In truth, before theTyranid incursions, Ultramar had little need ofnaval assets. Tempestus tends to be troubledby raiding rather than outright invasions orBlack Crusades like those sectors unfortunate

enough to be closer to Ork Empires or theXenos and raiders who are brave or foolish

enough to prey on Ultramar have to face thewrath of the Ultramarines.

CODEX SPACE MARINE FLEETS

STRATEGY, ORGANISATION AND TACTICS

After the Horus Heresy, Guil liman took steps toensure that no single person or group couldever again hold enough military power toattempt to attempt to seize sole power. To thisend, the Imperial fleet and the Imperial Guardwere split into two distinct organisations withquite separate lines of command up to thehighest levels of the Imperial Government andinhabited planets were garrisoned byindependent Planetary Defence Forces. Theidea was that rebel governors or generalswould be unable to move their forces andspread heresy. Similarly, rebel admirals would

lack armies to conquer planets. The SpaceMarine legions represented both a serious

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potential threat and a uniquely powerful force,capable of policing other Imperial militaryformations. But who would guard the guards?

Guillimans solution was to break the legionsdown into smaller units now called chapters so

that the guards could guard each other. In thisway, the chapters could be allowed to keeptheir own space fleets. A Space Marine fleet hasfour functions; (i) to patrol Imperial space towatch for rebell ion, heresy or xeno-intrusion the investigation of space hulks is a vital marineduty, (ii) to provide an immediately availablelift capability to move marines and theirequipment anywhere in human space at amoments notice, (iii) to assault defendedplanets and space installations so as to safelydeliver marines and their equipment intocombat, and (iv) to support marines fighting inground combat. The Ultramarines, as a codex

chapter, adhere to these guidelines rigidly,unlike some other chapters who may choose toalter the role of their fleet to increase theireffectiveness in space.

A marine fleet is not designed to fight naval

battles, that is the function of the ImperialNavy. A chapter would normally only accept ageneral fleet action under the most favourablecircumstances. Marine ships are equipped withbombardment cannon, boarding torpedoesand Thunderhawk gunships. These heavilyarmed, armoured assault shuttles performtolerably well as space fighters but have little inthe way of anti-shipping weaponry.

Marine ships lack the populous crews of navyvessels (which can be like moving cities).Machinery and servitors carry out much of thework. The rest of the crew are mostly chapter

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serfs up to junior officer level; marines makeup only the senior officers and assault troops.Codex chapters traditionally do not trainspecialist naval officers; any senior marine isexpected to captain a starship or lead a fleet asnecessary. The only outsiders in the crew of an

Astartes vessel are the families of the NavisNobilite who are bound by ancient blood oathto supply warp navigators for the Astartes.

A classic marine engagement would involve; (i)reconnoitring a rebel world with rapid strikevessels before commitment of capital ships, (ii)closing with capital ships and suppressingorbital defences, preferably by capturing themin a lightning assault using boarding torpedoesand Thunderhawk assault shuttles, butdestroying them if necessary, (iii) suppressingground defences with orbital bombardmentand drop pods, (iv) reinforcing the assault wi th

waves of Thunderhawks, and (v) once alanding zone is secure ferrying down larger warmachines.

Traditionally, codex Space Marine chaptershold themselves aloof from the Imperial Navy,

often flatly refusing to engage in jointmanoeuvres or even to give information abouttheir warships capabilities to Navy planners.They see little point in giving assistance topotential opponents especially when they failto envisage circumstances where navy andmarine fleets would fight a joint fleet action.This shortsightedness has been proven to be acrucial error on several occasions, such as theThird Armageddon War where the veryparticular circumstances meant that the vastmajority of available vessels were in fact SpaceMarine ships, not those of the Imperial navy.

TYRANID INCURSIONSBehemoth

The Tyranids were first encountered at anAdeptus Mechanicus outpost at Tyran Primus inSegmentum Ultima, 60,000 light years from Solto the galactic east. They are assumed to haveinvaded the galaxy from somewhere east viaintergalactic space in the vast empty distancesbetween the galaxies.

This first recognised fleet was labelled HiveFleet Behemoth by the Inquisition. Behemothdri fted through the southern sectors of Ultima,fortunately missing the densely packed

Imperial worlds in the spiral arm, butdestroying hundreds of thousands of planetaryecosystems in its passage until it came toUltramar.

After some initial skirmishing with Tyranidvanguard flotillas, the main hive fleet launchedan assault on Prandium. The Ultramarinesmassed in force in an uninhabited system witha warp gate to Prandium and then moved intothe system to meet the invasion under theleadership of the Lord of Macragge himself,Master of Ultramarines, Marneus Calgar.

The battle was little short of a disaster. Calgarfollowed the Codex Astartes to the last full stopand allowed the Tyranids to reach Prandiumwhile harassing and picking off their flankguards. The Master had set up marine units indefensive fortified positions on the planet. Heintended to catch the invaders between theanvil of the forts and the hammer of marinedrop pods. Meanwhile, the fleet would assaultthe Tyranid ship creatures when they deployedto invade.

Everything went wrong. Hit and run raids onthe Tyranid ships suffered an unacceptablenumber of casualties for the little damagecaused. The inside of a Tyranid ship was heavily

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defended and a living hell literally. The shipcreatures dropped invasion spores withoutdeploying in any sense that the Imperialsunderstood and their fighting potentialappeared undiminished. The Ultramarine shipsin orbit were soon in a major naval action and

were unable to reinforce their forces on theplanet. The latter were assaulted by wave after

wave until they were destroyed one by one,despite wiping out thousands of attackers withdiscipl ined fire volleys.

The indomitable Chaplain Cassius led the lastsurvivors of the Prandian expeditionary force

back into orbit in just three Thunderhawks.The battered fleet disengaged and retreatedback to Macragge leaving Prandium to its fate.The world was completely destroyed andstripped back to its bedrock by the gorginghiveships.

The Ultramarines were dismayed by the defeatand the abandonment of one of the Ultramarworlds that they were honour-pledged todefend. None was more desolate than MarneusCalgar himself. For five days and nights he

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SHIPSOF THE ULTRAMARINES

BattlebargesThese are the capital ships of the Ultramarine Fleet. They are large bombardment and assaultcarriers designed to act as an invasion headquarters and control centres. They arefearsomely equipped wi th bombardment turrets to support landings. Much of their internalarea is given over to assault and landing shuttles of various types, including the armouredand heavily armed Thunderhawks and drop pods. Batt le barges can deploy three companiesof marines with support weapons and vehicles in a single drop. They also have massedlateral weapon batteries to deal with orbital defences. Normally, chapters would onlypossess two or three of these crushing vessels but Ultramarines can field five as Ultramartraditionally depended on them for sector naval protection.

Ultramarine battle barges include:

Pro MeritoLost in the warp while in transit to put down a rebellion on Tar Centiri; the planet wasdeclared exterminatus by the Inquisition when the full extent of daemonic possession of thearistocracy was realised.

AeternusThe most venerable battle barge on the Ultramarine ship list.

Emperor IncarnatusConsidered to be an unusually holy and hence lucky ship

AdsidusThis ship was Lord Canastras Fleet Headquarters for the Hydra-9 strike where an entireplanet was subdued during three days of continuous battle.

Sedi ti o Oppri mere

Destroyed the heretic cruiser Sporespi tt er.

Lord LaomedonBuilt to replace the Pro Merito.

Str ik e Cruisers

Strike cruisers are marine rapid response vessels, usually with a full company of marinesonboard and the equipment to get them on-planet immediately upon reaching the target.They also carry bombardment cannon to support ground forces. The Ultramarines maintaina permanent fleet of ten strike cruisers, though this number has been known to increase asdemand requires. The most famous, the Vae Victus, is often used on detached duties. Otherfamous strike cruisers include the Iter Splendere, the Fidelis, the Internecio, and theAccipiter.

Damnation starts with little steps, byarrogantly thinking that you are wiser thanour great forbears, by tinkering with truth,by comprising, by departing from thestraight and narrow path of the Emperor slight.

Marneus Calgar

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Ultra Marines