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Home WorldCapital and Starport is at Lyubovport, and offers
good quality services including spacecraft
construction, starship overhaul and refined fuel.
The world’s population is 9,000,000.
Technology is in the stellar mainstream, capable
of building and servicing large starships. Fusion
power is standard and laser weapons are the
weapon of choice for the armed forces. The
local military is equipped to the standards of
the Imperial Army.
Government is by a single leader enjoying the
confidence of the citizens. The Imperial
bureaucracy agonized over whether this world
was a charismatic dictatorship or a religious
dictatorship, finally settling on a charismatic
dictatorship since religious tolerance exists to a
greater degree than in most religious
dictatorships.
The social outlook of the people of Lyubov is
harmonious and conservative but a noticeable
technological drive exists. The planet’s
technology is solidly in the Imperial
mainstream. While not an overly militaristic
society, Lyubov maintains a powerful military
and the people are quite accepting of the use of
force to protect the world and defend their
neighbors, especially against the depredations
of Chaos. Lyubov is a world open to off-world
contact and visitors are treated well; however,it is also a conservative and well-ordered
society so visitors are strongly advised to not
violate the social or religious mores of the
world.
Law Level is moderate - light assault weapons
prohibited, but otherwise the right to keep and
bear arms is universal for adults. Broad civil
liberties exist although biblical law defines thedefinition of what constitutes a civil liberty.
Freedom of expression of political opinion is
broad but tolerance of heresy, blasphemy,
indecency and obscenity is rather low.
Local Cultural Idiosyncrasies include married
women covering their hair when in public, men
will cover their heads with some sort of hat or
cap at all times. Children’s names come f rom
deceased relatives or cultural heroes.
Professional matchmakers arrange marriages
with input from parents and the parties
involved – divorce is possible but rare.
Psykers are criminal, the exception being a very
small caste of religious scholars whose ethics
are beyond dispute. This caste comes under
scrutiny, however, to prevent corruption.
Witchcraft (unauthorized psychic activity) is
punishable by death.
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Details of Lyubov
Equatorial Diameter 11,220 km
Mass 0.64
Density 0.955
Orbital Eccentricity 0.2
Axial Tilt 25°
Surface Gravity 0.82g
Escape Velocity 9.55 km/s
Bond Albedo 18
Orbital Period 336 days Terran
standard
Rotational Period 23 hours 58 minutes
Avg. Mean
Temperature
280° Kelvin (7° Celsius)
Atmospheric
Pressure
0.91 bars
Atmosphere Type Standard, Tainted
Atmosphere Notes High Oxygen (29%)
Hydrographics 65%
Greenhouse Effect 10%
Population 83,000,000
Major Cities 10 (avg. 5,000,000)
Government Type Charismatic
Dictatorship
Head of State Tzar-Tzaddik
Head of Government Tzar-Tzaddik
Other Branches of Government
Executive, Judicial(Douma Council)
Source of Legislation Tradition/Judicial
Technology Level Stellar Mainstream
Primary Name Sabex
Primary Type G0v
Orbital Distance 0.946 au
Stellar Mass 1.05 sol
Stellar Luminosity 1.00 sol
Tectonic Plates 4
Tectonic Stress
Factor
3
Highest Point 6147 m
Notable Volcanoes 6
Table 1: Planetary Details
CULTURE AND SOCIETY You can never know true cold until you have
lived through a Lyubov winter. The chill seeps
into your joints like a trickle of ice water,freezing their motion and shivering into your
very soul. Even when the sun spreads through
the deep gray blanket of clouds, it· does not
warm you. The rays shine blindingly white from
snow-covered trees, and the world seems like a
tremendous forest of spun glass. When the
winter has reached you, truly covered you in
ice, you feel as though you may never know
warmth again…
The world of Lyubov lies in the Eastern Fringe of
the Galaxy. The further east one travels from
Terra Prime, the fainter the Astronomicon
grows and the weaker the Imperium’s grip
becomes. Societies conform less and less to the
Imperial norm. Lyubov is one such world.
The winters of Lyubov are cruelly long and
harsh and the land is gripped and for months by
snow, blizzards and ice. The townships of
Lyubov are of timber because stone is rare and
only the most important of the cities have stone
buildings and walls. In the ancient capital city of
Lyubovhive the massive white buildings are
topped by vast gilded domes and decorated
with golden statues and gargoyles. An old adage
is that Lyubov is a poor world filled with rich
people. It is certainly true that the people that
live in this beleaguered land have an outlook on
life that strangers often find surprisingly
positive. For Lyubov is under constant threat of
invasion. Armies of savage Chaos Reavers often
venture to Lyubov, raiding and pillaging, and to
make matters worse Lyubov lies right on the
border of the Satyressia Wastes, so that any
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clustered around Babushkas (affectionately
called Bubbies literally "dear grandmothers")
for stories and discipline, elder brothers went
with their fathers to tend to the horses andhunt and women took care of the harvest and
home. The entire family eats, sleeps and
worships together in the same small house.
Little is sacred to dour Lyubov humor and
Lyubov folklore often reverses the family image
(as does much of Lyubov humor). One fairy tale
tells of a clever farmer who posed a riddle that
the tsar could not answer. He told the tsar that
of the money he made from crops, one-fourth
went to taxes, one-fourth went to pay debts,
one-fourth was loaned and one-fourth was
thrown away frivolously and yet all his family
were well-off. The Tsar understood paying taxes
but was confused by the rest and asked the
farmer to explain. "It is easy." replied the
farmer, "feeding my father is repaying a debt,
feeding my son is making a loan, and feeding
my daughter is frivolous!" The point of the story
is to mock the concept of the worth of a
daughter – originally to dissuade the Chaos
occupiers from taking an interest in the women
of Lyubov, as a matter of fact women are
considered extremely valuable since one’s
religious and cultural identity is inherited from
one’s mother. Among certain circles of Lyubov
nobility, young women remained in private
rooms until adulthood, and did not circulate
publicly!
Hospitality
Lyubov is cold and large; each village could find
itself alone for months during the long winter.
As a result, Lyubovs developed a strong
tradition of hospitality. The Izba (homestead)
providing an island of shelter amid the dangers
of the wilderness has being likened to the oasis
in Arabian culture. All visitors, without
exception, were welcomed with food; Muzhhiks(free peasants) offered bread and salt to
visitors, and proffering a place by the stove was
the highest expression of a peasant's good will.
The same standard, albeit on a grander and
occasionally more pompous level, applies to the
wealthy Boyars who were expected to lay out
feasts and open their bathhouses to their
guests.
The Lyubov are tremendous gift givers,
commonly exchanging tokens, and other small
items. Lyubov give presents to guests, to those
who wish to conduct business, or as a transfer
of small tokens of generosity. This is an
ingrained tradition, and visitors to Lyubov
ignore it at their peril.
Many times an ambassador found himself
turned away from a boyar's home simply
because he bore no token of esteem for his
host or host's family. The best gifts have some
small rarity or value: sketches of one's home
country, small porcelain or semi-precious
statuettes, useful household trinkets such as
kitchenware or knives, children's toys or
clothes, picture books, and any truly practical
items. Gifts also "grease the wheels" of any
negotiation; for instance, to encourage
someone to listen to a political proposal. Many
Lyubov give gifts as a way of asking someone to
be their host for the evening - a sort of reverse
invitation and it is very poor form for a guest to
come empty handed when invited.
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Everyday Life
Lyubov villagers lived and worked as extended
families. The men gathered each day at dawn to
tend the livestock, prepare furs for shipment,build and rebuild houses, gather honey, harvest
crops and perform other such duties as a group
working together for the landowner. While not
strictly feudal, most Lyubov peasants owe a
debt of service to somebody, often by contract.
When not working Lyubovs gather and drink,
typically mead or vodka, and sang and danced.
The drink available depends on how poor the
peasants are: Kvass, a weak beer, usually the
cheapest drink that peasants often make
themselves: mead (fermented honey) is the
"common" beverage; and moshka, when it is
available, is adored but it tends to be more
expensive than mead. Often these gatherings
take a religious veneer with the local priest
lecturing on religious topics – such gatherings,
known as Farbrengen, are exceedingly popular.
Inebriating visitors as a form of greeting is
popular; drinking also honors great Tzaddikim
(saints) on the anniversaries of their passing.
Several festivals and feasts occur annually in
Lyubov: celebration at the arrival of winter,
celebration at the arrival of spring, celebration
of the Liberation, weddings and more.
The warm months are a time of backbreaking
toil as the people work feverishly to produce
sufficient food to see them through the long
winter. After work, peasants had barely enoughtime for food, religious observances and sleep.
After the harvest when the rivers are icebound
and travel is treacherous, work comes to an
abrupt halt and Lyubovs spent much of their
time finding amusements until the spring thaw.
This summer-winter cycle is common on many
worlds of the Imperium but in Lyubov it was
extreme. The time for planting and reaping isshort and winter brings death to the
unprepared.
Diet
The Lyubov peasant diet is hearty if somewhat
monotonous. Most people eat little meat unless
they own sufficient livestock, although due to
good pastureland what domestic meat that is
available is of good quality. Lyubov cultivates
large amounts of grain, a common peasant dish
is a wheat porridge called kasha. The grimmuk
(red wheat) of Molhyna province, so named
because the heads turn a deep crimson when
ripe, is used in baking Molhyni "blood bread".
Nearly every family keeps a cow or a goat but
they are more prized for their milk than their
meat.
Most Muzhiks have meat only on the Sabbath
day with weekday meals consisting of a stew
called Cholent made from cabbage, beans,
onions, garlic and occasionally meat or fish
scraps, served with a dense rye bread. Most
Muzhiks grow turnips, onions, garlic, rhubarb
and cucumbers (which are often pickled). The
forests provide mushrooms and berries that are
gathered and dried: rivers supplied fish. If the
peasant had any livestock, he would have milk:
beekeepers had honey. Fairs bring spices,
coffee, tea and other luxuries to the rural areas
but only twice a year.
In cities, more varied fare is available owing to
the large markets. A wide variety of meats,
vegetables, spices and even coffee were
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Divine Emperor, he brings revenge for the
deaths of the faithful over the ages. He is Hand
of The Divine Emperor, the coming of the end of
the age, and the beginning of the fall of manand the establishment of the Kingdom of The
Divine Emperor.
Malal’s Prophet will oppose this Messiah, says
the Lyubov Faith, whose coming is marked by a
time of Great War. The old ways will fall to the
new, and the domains of man will split into
great nations. The seals of The Divine Emperor
will open, and reveal countless mysteries. To
the Lyubov, Malal’s Prophet is a figure of fire
and devastation; the end of the world and the
return of Malal and her children. How
destructive Malal’s Prophet will be is a function
of how faithful the Lyubov are to the faith – the
greater their faith, the less powerful Malal’s
Prophet will be. Lyubov have no love for those
who encourage Malal’s Prophet's coming, and
they will sacrifice their lives to prevent anyone
from aiding his power.
Growth of the Faith
In the early years of the settlement of Lyubov
and through the dark days of the Occupation,
the Orthodoxy acted as one of the few unifying
factors of the people. Pavtlow, Kislev and
Somojez were universally Orthodox, and Rurik
soon followed. Although the Orthodox faith
took longer to spread through the provinces of
Veche, Molhyna and Gallenia, the easy
conversion from the old ways to the new faith
prompted a wave of religious building across
Lyubov.
By 600M36, nearly all of the primary cities had
at least one major cathedral, and all of the
nobility came to the Faith. Oftentimes Lyubov's
political structure wavered; her belief in the
True Faith did not. At the head of Lyubov
Orthodoxy stands the Patriarch, who servesmany as the local Ecclesiarch. The first Patriarch
was Ilya Belafustus Pascov, who left behind his
name when he ascended to become Menachem
the First (since that day, three other Patriarchs
in history have taken the name Menachem, to
follow in his path of unification and rebirth).
Menachem the First proclaimed that each
provincial lord would assist him in appointing
two Lectors and an Archlector in each of their
respective provinces. Beneath the Lectors standa variety of lesser priests and scribes, scattered
across the country and through the major cities.
The Orthodoxy makes quiet efforts to elevate
Lyubov’s spiritual leaders over the Lords of the
Duma, increasing the power of the Orthodox
Patriarch.
In Lyubov’s current political climate, the
Orthodoxy hopes to establish a strong clerical
rule. There are those in Lyubov who would
gladly transfer power from the Tsar to the
Patriarch, but the Patriarch has discouraged
such talk as he has no desire to provoke the
Tsar with whom the clerical establishment has
enjoyed a convivial relationship since the
Liberation. The Orthodoxy has funded the
construction of majestic houses of worship and
academies patterned after Imperial
ecclesiarchal architectural advances. Academies
play a tremendous role in their greatest service,
apart from their purely is providing rudimentary
education to peasant and nobleman alike. In
addition, academies still record and chronicle all
the major historical events in the life of the
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Lyubov people - both muzhik and boyar. Lyubov
scribes have translated famous and influential
works of literature into Lyubov, and spread
knowledge of various theological, historical andliterary works. Even today, records in Lyubov’s
academies provide the most concrete
information on history of Lyubov, Orthodoxy
and the Imperium, unedited and undamaged by
time.
The Old Ways
Although the majority of Lyubov revere the
Orthodox Faith, Lyubov faith is often complex
and difficult to understand. The same muzhiks
that go to services each week and know their
prayers by heart whisper of ancient gods -
calling them, perhaps, by the names of the
Angels. The pure worship of nature, in the form
of Matushka, and the land still exists in Lyubov,
particularly in the mountains of Veche, Gallenia,
and the northern marches of Molhyna, and
flourishes beside the Orthodoxy in those
provinces. Matushka has become a political
symbol – Mother Lyubov – masking her past as
a goddess of the indigenous people of Lyubov
who Terran forces conquered during the Great
Crusade.
Illicit Cults
Matushka herself is a revered figure within the
Orthodoxy as the personification of Lyubov and
of the Divine Grace that rests upon this blessed
world. She is at once the Sabbath Queen, the
manifestation of Divine Grace and the Avenging
Angel who protects Lyubov. However, there
some who confound her with other figures that
heretics worship in secret, often beneath the
cover of Orthodox religion, by those who do not
follow Orthodoxy. Travelers through Lyubov
may find remnants of the pagan faith still
lingering, particularly in uneducated or
uncivilized muzhik towns far from the
civilization of the Pavtlow in Lyubovhive or Siev.Some of these pagan religions are harmless
delusions, others are half-remembered versions
of the Imperial cult but a few are insidious
Chaos cults that the Maccabees hunt down and
extirpate with fire and sword wherever they can
find them.
Supertitions
The mystic nature of Lyubov has no face, yet
those who break Mother Lyubov’s rules find
themselves devastated as certainly as any who
cross an Imperial Inquisitor. On Lyubov, all
woodlands are the same – Matushka's Forest. If
you enter one and grow lost, you may emerge
anywhere on the planet, dozens or hundreds of
miles away from where you began. The trees
whisper in the night wind, and if you do not
walk straight through the forest, you will lose
the path. This is not mere peasant superstition -
it is fact. The forests grow fast and quickly
obscured trails, her people are the trees and
the animals, and they live within the forests and
the mountains, awaiting the next naive visitor.
The Dibbuks still roam the countryside, the lost
souls of those who entered the forest, grew
lost, and never returned. Gehenna, the land of
the unlamented dead, waits in the Mountains
of Smoke, hidden from prying mortal eyes.
Sometimes spirits escape the underworld and
search the mountains for a wanderer that they
can condemn to take their place in the rolls of
Gehenna. If they succeed, their spirit becomes
free, and the poor mortal never returns to the
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land of the living. Be careful what you believe.
Mother Lyubov is listening.
Orthodoxy and the Chazaks
In 334M41, Sergius of Radonezh left his
Academy at Siev in order to follow his own
quest to bring the Chazak people into the fold
of the Lyubov Orthodoxy. It took over 40 years,
but in 381M41, the leader of the northern
Molhynan Chazaks rode with his family and
tribe to Siev to convert formally to the
Orthodoxy. Though most Chazaks give only lip
service to the Patriarch, they can be as fervent
as the most fanatic Lyubov when it comes to
matters of faith and religion.
Witches and Psykers
Open displays of psychic power are exceedingly
rare on Lyubov. Witchcraft is strictly illegal and
those laws are vigorously enforced. The people
of this world suffered greatly under the 2000
years of Chaos occupation. Many of the people
of Lyubov can trace their families back to the
rebels that went into the badlands to resist the
vile invaders. The authorities take Exodus 22:18(Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live) very
seriously.
As a result, any public display by a psyker would
be the source of conflict. Heretic practices are
strictly illegal and those laws are also vigorously
enforced (Deuteronomy 18:10-11: Let no one
be found among you who makes his son or
daughter pass through the fire, who practices
divination or sorcery, interprets omens,engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is
a medium or spiritist or who speaks with the
dead.. ) At the very least, the local priest and his
students would arrive to denounce the pagan,
and a duel for the burghers' attentions would
result, with invectives flying. The winner of
these conflicts was almost invariably the priest
who would soon have the backing of localsoldiery. The pagan would most likely be
tortured to death or simply executed on the
spot depending on the political climate.
Law and Punishment Execution for crimes other than murder, rape,
kidnapping, witchcraft or heresy is rare on
Lyubov. The Lyubov are famous for the high
premium they place on the value of human
lives. When the courts order an execution
carried out, it tends to be by firing squad or
hanging with the condemned buried the same
day.
The exception is heresy – Chaos-worship and
witchcraft are such serious crimes that the
offender is tortured and killed in an
exceptionally brutal manner, with methods
varied depending on the tastes of authorities
and the degree of the crime in question but
most jurists regard painless deaths merciful to
the point of unfairness. Unlike common
criminals who are human, albeit deserving of
death, witches and heretics are seen as
something other than human and their remains
are not buried immediately but are left for
several days as a deterrent to those who would
follow their dark paths.
In general, law on Lyubov is restitutive ratherthan retributive. A thief must pay a fine equal to
double what he stole; if he cannot pay, the
court sells him into slavery to pay his debt. It
seems a waste of honest people's bread to
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imprison him. A thug must pay restitution to his
victim and endure a flogging. A murderer
carried the death penalty. Crimes against
property require financial penalties whilecrimes against the body carry corporal
punishment (as well as financial penalties).
There are no prisons on Lyubov, only jails to
hold criminals until trial and execution of their
sentences.
Social Classes
Kholop – Slaves
A slave is not necessarily miserable - his lifestyle
depended entirely on his master. A slave is a
person, not an object, whose master owns his
work. The master has to feed, clothe and house
his slaves in the same manner in which he lives.
The slave of a very rich man could live better
than a poor freeman. Lyubov law protects
slaves against abuse (any injury done to a slave
that draws blood, breaks a bone or a tooth or
caused permanent injury is cause for the courts
to manumit the slave immediately without
compensation to his owner)
Lifetime slavery applies only xenos or
foreigners, Lyubov citizens may sell themselves
into slavery but for no more than a term of 7
years. When the Lyubov economy suffers
common workers and gentry alike have sold
themselves into slavery. Of course, if these
slaves ever changed their minds before their
term of service was up, they were stuck (or
forced to "go Chazak"). The law places a
minimum on the amount a man could sell
himself for to prevent abuses! The majority of
Lyubov slaves were house stewards and
workers, but slave concubines are common
among the wealthy – though only a foreign
woman could serve as a concubine, a Lyubov
woman marry by her master or his son but sheimmediately became free at that point. If a man
had children by a female slave, they receive no
inheritance but are legally free upon the death
of their father.
Muzhik – The Free Peasants
The life of a muzhik, or peasant, was a product
of his own hard work and ambition; with a little
luck, a peasant's family could live as well as a
landowner. As social class, the peasantry is
mutable; a muzhik could save money and
become a landowner himself.
The muzhik is not a serf bound to a specific lord
and plot of land. If the landowner for whom he
toiled was unfair or required too high a
percentage of his crops, he simply packed up his
family and moved elsewhere. Out of necessity,
successful landowners are on good working
terms with their muzhiks. The peasant needs to
grow crops to feed his family; the landowner
has land and rents it to the Muzhik for share of
his crop. Greedy landowners could find
themselves without peasants!
Chazaks – The Free Steppelanders
The Chazaks are hard to place in the social
hierarchy, they are freemen but they also live
outside the norms of society. They live a
nomadic lifestyle, following their herds across
the Taiga and raiding each other (and the
occasional town) when they can.
The Chazaks are the remnants of the Attilan
regiments that invaded Molhyna province over
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a thousand years ago during the Occupation as
part of a failed attempt to liberate Lyubov.
Although considered Lyubov, they owe little
loyalty to the Tsar or his Duma. They rulethemselves, keeping their own lands and rarely
bothering to pay taxes. The Chazaks are
dangerous, self-reliant, and rebellious. They
rarely travel outside of Molhyna province, and
the inhabitants of other provinces consider
them lower than even the basest Lyubov slaves.
Figure 1: Chazak Girl in traditional costume
Tell that to a Chazak’s face, however, and you
will not have time to apologize before he cuts
your throat. The Chazaks eat a good deal of
meat, tending herds of cattle or goats wherever
they wander. They are masterful horse
breeders, and trade their stock for Molhyni
grain and liquor (they brew a drink of their own
from goats' milk that, while nauseating, packs a
significant punch). The Chazaks live in leather
tents, lacking permanent structures. The idea of
building things from brick and other materials is
new to them, and they have little skill in this
regard. They have taken to living in the
deserted buildings of the Molhyni they have
driven away.
A year ago, a Chazak Khan named Jyrgal
Timurbek overthrew the powerful Verkhotov
family and proclaimed a Chazak nation,
Chazakia, on their lands. Timurbek based his
claim on the largely dubious evidence that this
area was a former homeland of his people, who
the Gilead drove off during the liberation 200
years ago. No one knows the exact nature of
Timurbek's "proof”, but it has led him to claim a
swath of land from the southern tip of Lake Vigil
to Bear Lake, framed on the south by the fork in
the Volog river. Regardless of the legitimacy of
the claim, Timurbek appears to have tapped a
vein of latent nationalism in the Chazaks. A half-
dozen other tribes have united to back his
claims, and the non-fighters of the tribes are
doing the unprecedented; settling down. They
have planted crops and raised food, while
Timurbek has begun issuing laws for his people.
Chazakia gives the distinct impression of a
newborn nation.
Unfortunately, while the Chazaks ride the
euphoric wave of nationalism, the native
Molhyni fare less well. Centuries of hostility are
bearing bitter fruit in Chazakia, and the new
majority has heavily persecuted the local
Molhyni. Refugee trains constantly stream out
of the region, swelling the populations of the
surrounding provinces. Many have fled to
Siadivgorod, and others have gone south into
Gallenia. On the positive side, Timurbek's
attacks have slowed considerably. Now that he
has a nation to rule, the wily raider finds the
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responsibilities of governing quite time
consuming. His subordinates, however,
continue to raid nearby communities. He hopes
that by showing enough force, he can keepChazakia intact long enough to allow the nation
to survive.
Timurbek has petitioned the Tsar for
recognition as a house minor and admission to
the Duma with the representatives of the other
seven provinces. As a token of goodwill, he has
detailed 10 regiments of Chazak roughriders to
the Tsar’s army and has offered to pay taxes to
the Pavtlow in return for royal recognition of his
claims. Grand Duke Vladimir Drakov of Molhyna
has opposed Timurbek’s petition, of course,
leaving the Tsar with a thorny problem. While
House Drakov has been a loyal supporter for
generations, the Chazaks are simply too
powerful to be dismissed. The Archduchess of
Gallenia has proposed that Timurbek’s eldest
child, his daughter Reka, marry Drakov’s son
Vladimir II and merge the two houses making
Molhyna a binational state – Timurbek Khan has
expressed interest in the idea if power sharing
can be worked out. Some suggest that the
Drakovs give the Gospodar Steppe to the
Chazaks as their province even though that
would require some painful concessions.
Kulaks – the Middle Class
Lyubov’s economy thrives on trade, Lyubov
timber, ores, manufactured goods, weapons
and spices fetch good prices on other worlds
and since Lyubov’s agricultural sector alone
cannot support the population such trade is
vital to her well-being.
The mercantile middle-class, known as the
Kulaks, dominates live in the cities. Like the
Muzhiks of the countryside, the Kulaks are a
mutable class with particularly successful Kulakssaving enough money to advance themselves to
the Boyar ranks and establish themselves as
major trading houses with the rest of the
galaxy.
Boyars – the Nobility
The Boyars are the wealthiest merchants and
landowners of Lyubov, they are the social
superiors of all but the provincial princes and, of
course, the Tsar but they do dominate the local
political scene of most settlements. The Boyars
are the minor houses of Lyubov and are direct
vassals of the Tsar. Within their own territories,
the Boyars are sovereign - they range from
petty despots to enlightened rulers who try to
emulate the Tsar.
The most influential Boyars sit in the Duma or
Advisory Council, by invitation of the Tsar
where they can voice their opinions on the
issues of the day and lobby the Tsar to enact
this or that edict. As the senior political leaders
of Lyubov they bring important experience and
knowledge to the table and the Tsar is wise to
heed them but their counsel is not binding on
His Majesty.
Besides the hereditary nobility, there is a class
of Service Boyars; they are long-service Civil
Servants, military heroes and other people who
have rendered extraordinary service to Lyubov.They are elevated to the nobility by decree of
the Tsar. (Such Service Boyars also tend to
dilute the power of the hereditary Boyars since
their positions are entirely dependent upon the
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pleasure of the crown and their loyalty is
directly to House Gilead rather than to a local
minor house)
Below the Boyars are their noble retainers - the
Bogatyr or Gentry - these are wealthy families
with feudal obligations to their noble superiors.
Tsar – Royalty
The Tsar-Tsaddik is the current head of house
Gilead, whose forebears lead the resistance
against the Chaos hordes that occupied Lyubov
for over 2000 years. Lyubovhive – the largest
city on the planet and the surrounding
provinces are the direct domain of the Tsar. The
Planetary Defense Forces (known as the
Strelets) are directly answerable to the Tsar and
come from across Lyubov but most of the
officer corps come from the cities of
Lyubovhive, Erengrad, Praag or elsewhere in the
Capital Province of Kislev.
Clergy
White Clergy are the urban priests who tend to
the great Synagogues and lead the greatacademies. They generally hold the more
politically influential positions within the
religious hierarchy. Their duties include keeping
the standards for weights and measures,
overseeing oaths, collecting tithes and housing
members of the lay community in times of
crisis, (the heavily fortified and reinforced
synagogues of Lyubov are a legacy of the
occupation and make excellent shelters in times
of natural disaster or military crisis).
White clergy are respected and very often
wealthy; Lyubov nobles tithe vast amounts of
money to the religious establishment,
particularly to "yes-men" who pander to them.
The clergy (and their wives!) are sometimes on
a social level equal to that of the petty nobles
and wealthy landowners.
Although the clergy (with the exception of
sextons) are immune to conscription priests are
often soldiers as well and many such fighting
priests become heroes. The most famous of
these military orders are the Maccabees –
followers of Matisyahu of Nidom, a hero of the
resistance, who lead a guerrilla campaign
against the Chaos forces that once held much of
Lyubov. Notable for their long black coats, hats,
white shirts, gloves, and the large power-
hammers they carry, these priests stand in the
middle between the White and Black clergy.
They lead religiously motivated troops in a
never-ending war against Chaos and its
followers. Any witch or chaos-follower who
finds themselves in the hands of a Maccabee
has truly been abandoned by the Dark Powers.
The hatred of Chaos of these zealots knows no
bounds. Ironically, the Maccabean Order also
requires its adherents to be able hospitalers
and many of the priests of this order are
Masters of Physik as well as able warriors. The
Maccabees are well respected for the hospitals,
orphanages and other charitable institutions
they operate. These institutions are considered
part of their war on Chaos since charity is a
requirement of the Law, it is the antithesis of
Chaos and as they fight it on a physical level on
the battlefield, so to do they fight on a spiritual
level with good works and acts of kindness to
their fellow man.
Black Clergy tend to be closer to the people,
teaching and guiding the common man,
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accompanying the army to war, collecting and
distributing arms and advocating for the
ordinary man before the nobility. Some
members of the Black clergy are, as a result,wildly popular and wield considerable political
power – sometimes greater than that of their
White ‘superiors’ in the religious hierarchy.
Black clergy are often prolific writers,
expounding on esoteric meanings of the
scriptures and the deeper hidden meanings
behind the stories and moral tales therein.
GOVERNMENTThe ruling house of Gilead is lead by his Most
Pious Majesty, the Tsar, who functions as both
the religious and secular leader of the
government. Through long tradition, genuine
belief and well-inculcated values, the Tsar
Tzaddik is typically a genuine, albeit extremely
focused, philanthropist who works to insure the
safety and well-being of his subjects.
The government is not particularly heavy-
handed as enforcement social mores are
matters of indoctrination, self-policing, and
following the Tsar Tzaddik's example to prime
virtues. The stories of the Tsar Tzaddik and his
predecessors see publication in comic format
and the virtues of the ruling houses are extolled
daily in the state run media. It also saturates
children's stories and popular entertainment.
Law is a matter of tradition rather than
legislation; as a result, there is no legislativebranch of government. The application of the
law is in the hands of a Supreme Judicial Council
whose 71 members serve for life after
appointment by the Tsar Tzaddik. There is an
advisory council to the Tsar Tzaddik, which lacks
any law making ability but can offer advice and
forms the leadership of the civil service
executive. This council, the Duma, is composedof two tiers. The upper house is called the
Senate and is composed of the Boyars of the
minor houses of Lyubov, the lower house is
called the Burgesses and is comprised of leading
citizens of the world. There are seven members
of the Senate (one from each province and the
Tsar's representative as the Grand Duke of
Kislev), the number of Burgesses varies as the
Tsar or the Boyars can appoint members.
Concern for others, charitable giving, and public
works are primary virtues. Those failing to live
up to this society's high standards face pity and
re-education. There are halfway houses for
those trying to work their way back into society,
maintained at government expense. Extensive
state-sponsored charities provide for medical
care, housing subsidies, food subsidies and
education. Taxes are relatively high, but largely
the citizenry support the status quo, as the
standard of living is also high.
Criminal justice tends to be restitutive rather
than retributive. Thieves are required to repay
their victims twice what they stole rather than
face incarceration. Those who cannot pay are
forced into indentured servitude (either to the
victim or to the state) to repay their debts.
Assaults result in flogging and restitution to the
victim for injuries caused. Murder, rape,
kidnapping, slaving, heresy, blasphemy and
treason are capital crimes. Two witnesses to the
actual crime are required for a conviction.
While the legal system is simple, judges have
some limited latitude in its application. A great
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deal of genuine justice prevails in the courts of
Lyubov.
There are few limits on emigration; however,
strict reguations apply to immigration.
Immigrants are required to learn the language,
laws and legal system prior to gaining
permanent resident status. Residents can
become citizens after a seven-year residency
and passing certain civil and religious tests.
HISTORY OF THE RULING HOUSE
The House of Gilead is also called the House of
Lyubov, successively Lords of Enosh, Counts of
Davion, Counts of Araman, Counts Chalcedony,
Imperial Counts of Hoosick Fate, Imperial
Counts of New Home, Dukes of Urian, Imperial
Dukes of Gallil, Imperial Dukes of Lyubov; junior
titles include Barons Aravayeen, Barons Simeon,
Barons Corak, Counts Gamnonides; distaff titles
include Barons Zimran, Lords Medan, and
Counts Lahairoi. The House of Gilead claims
descent from the biblical heroes, Shimon and
Levy; their actual descent, however, can only be
proven from the time of the Great Crusade.
Early History
The first mention of a Gilead in historical
records occurs in Camille de Bry's The Great
Crusade: A Popular History, which drew on
eyewitness accounts, diaries, surviving
documents, and oral tradition to produce a
rather lurid rendition of the heroic struggle
between man and machine. Bry's work
mentions one Saul Gilead, Governor of theBrunig District, who was assassinated about
875M30 while defending the Pax Imperialis
before the rioting masses. The location of the
"Brunig District" was not mentioned by Bry, and
has not been found by later historians, leading
some to speculate that the incidents (and the
person) were invented by an overactive
imagination.
It is certain that Daniel Gilead participated in
the Battle of Zimaway as a junior officer, serving
with the soon-to-be emperor's forces in the
struggle against the last of the Schismatic
States. Daniel Gilead enlisted as an Auxiliary in
the Sixth Dark Angels Legion, which represented
a number of the planets in the Calaban Cluster.
Daniel was made a gunnery officer on the ship
HMS Lucien, and assumed command of his
vessel early in the three-day battle after all the
senior officers were killed. During one phase of
the battle, when Sulaiman al-Hajj Kunaitra
threatened to turn the Emperor’s left flank after
the desertion of Commodore Abulurd Al’Farius,
Gilead rallied the Imperial forces, and
spearheaded a desperate attack that took
Kunaitra by surprise. Kunaitra's command ship
was heavily damaged, Kunaitra himself killed,
and communications disrupted.
Most military historians point to this action as
the key turning point of the struggle. Gilead was
ennobled after the coronation as Baron Enosh,
and was given large estates on the planet
Enskog in recognition for his services to the
Imperium (914M30).
Daniel Gilead had three sons; Saul (born c.
915M30.), Ephraim (born c. 917M30), and
Samuel (born 919M30); from these three mendescend all the branches of the House Gilead.
Saul succeeded to the Barony on his father's
death in 38M31.; Ephriam Gilead was ennobled
as Baron Aravayeen in 957M30 during the wars
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of expansion conducted by Henry I, Lord
Glimmerdrift: Samuel Gilead became Baron
Simeon the year before he died, in 989M30.;
Saul's son, Daniel II, was further ennobled in994M30 as Count Davion.
The family fortunes fell, however, with the
onset of the Horus Heresy; Alman al’Haig (a
captain in the Alpha Legion) brought a bill of
attainder before the Sector Lord Glimmerdrift
Harmond I by, accusing Elias Gilead of
supporting the exiled Emperor's forces; but
Alman himself was assassinated before the bill
could be acted upon. Sector Lord Harmond II
restored Elias Gilead to his estates by and
reconfirmed in his titles. Elias's son, Daniel IV,
was murdered by shortly after his accession in
184M32 (by suspected cabals loyal to the Alpha
Legion), and the Gilead lands were redistributed
as Lyubov descended into anarchy.
Thomas Gilead was instrumental in restoring
Sector Lord Edward II in 207M32, and received
the title Duke of Jaddua and a fiefdom, both of
which Alman Al’Farius IV attainted in 346M32,
when Thomas II Gilead was executed. Akiva
Gilead successfully petitioned for restoration of
the County of Davion before the Sector Regent
Hendryck Abbot in 381M32.
Middle Years
Between its establishment and the middle of
the fifth Imperial millennium, House Gilead
produced many sons and daughters who gained
fame from their unique talents, flamboyantactions, or spectacular vices. This entry sketches
only a few of the most noteworthy. The most
prominent member of the family during the
first millennium of imperial rule was Aaron
Gilead, son of Count Saul III, who was
instrumental in settling the differences between
various branches of the local noble Houses,
thereby preventing the Glimmerdrift fromsliding into total anarchy.
In the year 603M32, he persuaded Harmond III,
who ruled the sector with the title of Protector,
to step down in favor of Andrew I, the son and
heir of Cyrus I Lord Glimmerdrift. Concentrating
most of the power in his own hands, Aaron
Gilead set about reorganizing the Imperial
government and reestablishing the principles of
The Lex Imperialis.
Thus, what had been a government of personal
rule, with all its attendant chaos, became a
Hierarchy. The Sector Lords’ seat was merely
one source of power counterbalanced by the
Landsraad, which regularly scheduled meetings
for the first time, and the Guild Mercantile and
the Houses of the Navis Noblite, previously
dealt with through the Sector Lord now had to
contend with the new council. The Sector Lord’s
power was further diluted by making him
responsible for his actions to the Archducal
Family. The Archducal Household (the
immediate relatives of the reigning Archduke),
the Imperial Cousines (offshoots of the
Archducal Household, distaff members of
the Family, and collateral houses), and the local
Astartes Chapter Masters (whose daughters
often became royal concubines) controlled and
balanced the Archducal Family in turn.
For his contributions to Imperial rule, Aaron was
named Count Araman in 635M32, and was
given the hand of Andrew Corrino's daughter,
Princess Salusa, thereby making him a member
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of the Household. Thus began the long and
close association between the two houses.
Count Simshon II Gilead (ruled 681-715M32),
Aaron's son, maintained the family grip on the
imperial power by having himself named
Chancellor by the Landsraad; he was murdered
by Ivan Al’Farius while making love to one of
Ivan's twenty-four mistresses. Count Daniel VIII
Gilead, younger brother of Simshon, succeeded
to the family estates, but distinguished himself
only as a sportsman and hunter, taking little
interest in imperial politics.
His grandson, Samuel IV, was renowned in hisday as an advocate of art and music which he
supported by subsidizing performers on his
estates.
The Reign of Blood and the Gilead Revolts
In 267M36 during a rupture within the Astartes
forces known as the Reign of Blood, an Astartes
captain of the Draco Legion named Feyd
usurped the sector throne, killing all close
archducal relations and suspending theLandsraad. Two of the Gilead counts, Daniel IX
and Shaul II, attempted to organize resistance
to Feyd's rule, and were quickly branded as
traitors.
The now-rebel Astartes of the Maccabees
Chapter joined a hastily organized Gilead force,
and attacked Feyd's homeworld, Ibleam III. The
arrival of the Imperial Fleet reserves during the
course of the battle, doomed the revolution,
and Daniel, his son Saul, and Shaul's son Isaak,
were all killed. Shaul Gilead was attainted,
stripped of all titles and lands, and condemned
to death on sight. Count Yaakov Gilead,
representing the third junior line, was banished
from his estates; Baron Yonaton Gilead, of the
House of Gilead Aravayeen, was executed for
high treason, his son Samuel being sold intoslavery; Baron Shalom Gilead was forced to
cede half of his lands to the Imperium; Lord
Alexander Gilead was dismissed from his
imperial posts; Lady Dina Gilead was sent to an
Imperial brothel for one year; and several
Gilead children, including Yonah Gilead, were
apprenticed to tradesmen and sheepherders.
Baron Andreas von Wikkheizer received the
main Gilead fief of Araman, Shaul Gilead fled
beyond the bounds of the sector with the last
survivors of the Archduke’s House, including the
recognized heir, a five-year-old grandson of
Archduke William II. From the edges of known
space they conducted intermittent running
battles with the Feyd’s forces, with very little
gain. Shaul was killed in 304M36 during a
surprise attack on rebel headquarters; his
underage son, Alexei, escaped with the heir,
Duke Charles. Lord Feyd I died in 351M36, as
secure on his throne as any previous ruler had
been. His son and successor, Estil II, was a weak
and indecisive man, although not without
intelligence; the Civil War degenerated into
stalemate, with the rebels controlling the outer
worlds of the sector, the Sector Fleet controlling
the main trading worlds and the Navis Noblite
selling transport to both sides.
Yonah Gilead escaped his menial existence by
enlisting in the Estil’s forces under the name
Uulavar Treys, commandeering a ship and
selling it at Beta Coriolanus. There he bought
the assistance of the Spacing Guild for a
surprise raid on Ibleam III and IV that remains a
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Harmhab was soon deposed by a revolt of his
household staff; the surviving heir, Kenric IV the
Clever, ordered Harmhab to be planted in the
street up to his neck, where passers-by wereoffered the opportunity of sawing on his neck
with a piece of paper.
Kenric released Daniel from his public prison
and restored to his estate and titles. In his later
years, he became a gourmet of exotic foods and
drink; he would spend exorbitant sums merely
to sample an exotic dish, or would travel great
distances to obtain delicacies that could not
survive transport. He died at the age of 199; his
weight exceeded his age at his death by a factor
of five.
The Fall of Lyubov
The rebel Jieshi Is’Malal attacked Lyubov for the
first time in 609M38, shortly after the death of
Daniel XVII. His son, Zalman I was a poet and
historian but he shocked the other noble
houses of Lyubov and the enemy both by
casting aside his meek ways and showing
himself to be made of tough stuff indeed. He
rallied the fractious planetary defense forces
and using his own well-trained army, repelled
the invaders from Lyubov. However, the victory
on Lyubov was a bright spot in an otherwise
dark time in the Glimmerdrift. During the 12th
Dark Jihad, Chaos forces overran much of the
Outreaumer Worlds. Lyubov falls but several
arcologies remain in Imperial hands, Chaos
occupiers are never able to consolidate their
position.
Prominent during the occupation were such
Gilead as: the poet-Duke Shaul VII (died
829M38); Baron Manasseh Gilead Medan, the
"Great Librarian"; Naftali Gilead Aravayeen, an
expert on ancient weapons, of whom it was said
that he could put three shots into one hole at a
distance of 100 meters; Duke Ruvain II (died315M39), the finest gourmet of his time, of
whom it was said he had "a palate given by the
gods”; Duke Uriah IV (died 401M39), who
outlived six wives, and died in the arms of a
seventh; Count Hillel Gilead Davion, who
invented three new knots, was a master of
perfumes, concocting one entirely new
fragrance, and wrote an epic poem in Aramaic
on the history of his family; Duke Amon II (died
977M39), staged an abortive rebellion againstthe Sultan but was defeated when several
treacherous members of the local nobility
refused to come to his aid, and he was seized
and executed, but without forfeiture of his titles
or estates which were too well fortified for the
occupying Jieshi Is’Malal to take.
Following Amon II’s defeat, the Gilead lords
maintained their independence from the
occupiers of Lyubov by playing one chaos
faction off against another. In 425M40 the
Gilead supported the Is’Malali demi-House of
Hajus against the Slannesh-worshiping line of
Iraleon. Duchess Rivka Gilead threw her
resources behind Fareed Hajus in 425M40, and
when several of the other Loyalist Houses
followed her lead, Fareed was acclaimed Sultan
the following year.
For her efforts, Rivka’s house was left in peace
and for a brief time the attacks on Davion and
Chaslov hives stopped. Her children, Fredrick II
and Alyssa VII, ruled jointly after her death in
477M40. Asher, the son of Alyssa VII succeeded
to the Duchy in 508M40. Asher's son, Nachum
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IV, was stripped of his titles when he was
implicated in an attempt of the life of Sultan
Walid II; a second such episode cost him his life
in 553M40.
The Gilead remained a thorn in the side of the
Is’Malali rulers of Lyubov over the next
millennium. In 705M40, they supported a
revolt, which the Sultan’s forces ruthlessly
crushed. The Gileadi were forced from their
estates in Davion, Chaslov, New Home and
forced into the hinterlands of Lyubov. Raising
an army from the people of the Zarra Uplands,
they continued to resist the Chaos overlords of
their world even as most of the planet’s other
nobility fell into decadence and treason. For
centuries, the exiled Gileadi held out against
their oppressors, in time the Sultan ceased to
bother about the holdouts in the Uplands save
for the occasional terror raid to keep them off-
balance.
Re-contact with the Imperium and the
Liberation of Lyubov
In 355M41, raiders from the Gileadi resistanceforces seized several starships from the main
port at Lyubovhive. In a daring raid, they made
a blind warp transit (frightfully dangerous under
any circumstances) but managed to re-emerge
from the Warp in 752M41 (from their point of
view they had been in the Warp for less than 2
weeks) and make contact with Warmaster
Achilus’ forces. The Warmaster detailed General
Andreas Carnhide to liberate the Outreaumer
Worlds.
Carnhide’s forces were able to achieve
planetfall with minimal losses because of the
landing zones already held by friendly Gilead
forces in the Uplands. With aid from the Gilead
clan and their allies and supporters, General
Andreas Carnhide liberated Lyubov in 777M41
after a lightning campaign that lasted less than90 days. The Imperial Duchy of that world was
awarded to General Elias III Gilead Lyubov in
recognition of his family’s unwavering support
of the Imperium during the occupation and
subsequent liberation.
The Outreaumer Worlds Today
The Gileadi have ruled Lyubov and the
Outreaumer Worlds for the 200 odd years since
its liberation from the forces of the Archenemy.
The current Duke of Lyubov is Manasseh IX, a
robust man for his 68 years. Archduchess Leah
is 10 years his junior. They have 12 children; Ari,
Sophia, Rachel, Zalman, Asriel, Dina, Elias,
Lazaar, Daniela, Shimshon, Hoshea, and Pinchas
thus the succession is reasonably secure.
Under the terms of the re-integration Lyubov
and her sister worlds in the Outreaumer are
guaranteed tolerance of their religious and
cultural autonomy in return for political
adhesion to the Imperium. For over two
centuries, the Imperium has kept its word and
Lyubov forces have assisted in the Defense of
Piscina IV and defended the Imperium in the
3rd Armageddon War, in the 13th Dark Crusade
and the evacuation of Medusa V.
The Outreaumer is part of the Realm of
Levantine, an autonomous state governed by
the Maccabees Space Marine Chapter. Also, likemost vassal states of the Imperium, the Empire
of Levant is internally independent and as such
doesn't agree with the Imperium on a wide
variety of issues.
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Regimental Headquarters and
Support BattalionThe organization of the Ice River Guards is
relatively simple: a regimental headquarters
(commanded by a colonel) with staff and small
headquarters company of about thirty troops,
and six field battalions and a support battalion
reporting to the command.
The regimental headquarters maneuvers in
three chimera troop carriers fined for command
functions; one is for the commanding officer,
while the other two carry the substitute
command post and the operations and
intelligence post. The HQ also has one Valkyrie
air assault carrier at its disposal for
reconnaissance and courier duties; it is normally
maintained and supplied
through the fighter
squadron.
The support battalion
consists of several
independent, specialized
formations dedicated toproviding support and
other services to the
combat units of the
regiment.
The Lyubov regiments are renowned for the
quality of their officer corps. It is said that it
takes the Lyubov longer to plan a strike than to
execute it. Lyubov officers are trained to view
their troops as extremely valuable Imperial
assets and that it is heresy to accept
unnecessary casualties. As a result, Lyubov
regiments tend to favor meticulously planned
strikes over the wars of attrition favored by less
well trained officers.
Lyubov regiments also tend to remain
operational longer than most Imperial Guardregiments because of their tendency to
preserve man-power and the policy of rotating
regiments home every ten years (when feasible)
to retire older soldiers, recruit new soldiers and
generally rearm and retrain the regiment.
Where return home is not feasible and
Figure 4: Regimental Organization
Figure 3: Lyubov Officer
Figure 2: Civilian Support
Recruiting Poster
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Figure 6: Prudentium
Or anization
permanent garrison on another world is
envisioned, the regiment will attach a civilian
support wing permitting it to establish a cultural
enclave on whatever world they are called uponto colonize.
Munitorium (Quartermaster)
Platoon
All military units
need supplies.
Ammunition,
food, batteries,
fuel, medicalsupplies, etc are
all required to keep a unit in the field; these
needs become even more during combat
operations.
The job of the munitorium is to keep each
subordinate unit in the regiment fully supplied
at all times. The munitorium sections attached
to each battalion (q.v.) are charged with
insuring that these supplies are properly
disbursed to each company.
The headquarters squad consists of a
munitorium officer, typically a senior
lieutenant, known as the regimental
chamberlain who is ultimately responsible for
the disposition of the regiments supply needs.
The deputy commander, typically a junior
lieutenant, is known as the regimental cellarer
assists him in this. A staff of a vox operator
(typically a corporal), and 2 supply clerks and a
senior sergeant round out the HQ.
Each munitorium squad is commanded by a
sergeant and consists of a vox operator, 1 clerk
and 7 stevedores
in addition. 1st
squad is
responsible formunitions, 2
nd
squad for
victuals (which
includes all
consumables except ammunition) and 3rd squad
is responsible for spares and replacements.
Prudentium (Intelligence) Platoon
Military intelligence is a military discipline that
exploits a number of information collection and
analysis techniques. Areas of interest include
the operational environment, hostile, friendly
and neutral forces, the civilian population in an
area of combat operations, and other, broader
areas of interest. Intelligence activities are
conducted at all levels, from tactical to
strategic, in peacetime, the period of transition
to war, and during a war itself.
Regimental intelligence is focused on
supporting operations at the tactical level, and
is coordinated at the regimental level. Briefings
are delivered to subordinate units on current
threats and operational priorities, subordinate
units are then debriefed to elicit information for
analysis and communication through the
reporting chain.
The HQ squad consists of a regimental
intelligence officer (typically a senior
lieutenant), a commissar as deputy commander,an astropath, a vox operator and three
intelligence clerks, typically one or two sisters
dialogi are attached though they are technically
answerable to the regimental chapel. Each
Figure 5: MunitoriumOrganization
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squad consists of an analyst (a junior
lieutenant), a vox operator, a cogitator operator
(typically a sergeant), a senior clerk (typically a
corporal) and six intelligence clerks. 1
st
squad isdedicated to electronic intelligence, 2
ndsquad is
human intelligence and 3rd
squad is a
debriefing/interrogation specialist unit.
Mechanicum (Service) Platoon
The mysteries of the
regiment’s machines
and vehicles are the
responsibility of the
Magus Senioris, Magus
Magorus and their 10 adepts and 20 menials.
The mechanicum shrine of the regiment is
typically deployed well to the rear of combat
operations to insure that the tech-priests are
able to attend to their duties without undue
interference by enemy action.
Regimental Chapel
The Imperial
Army puts agreat deal of
emphasis on
the spiritual
well-being of
its soldiery. As
a result every
regiment has a chapel attached. In the case of
the 18th Lyubov, the clergy attached are from
the Lyubov priesthood – the chief priest of the
regiment is from the “Pious” or spiritual branch
of the Lyubov rabbinate. He is assisted by
several Maccabean or Warrior Priests and
preachers (and aspirants/aides who function as
support/menial staff), who exhort the troops to
acts of valor, tend to the emotional burdens of
warfare, bury the dead and comfort the
wounded. They also seek alms from the soldiery
which are used to provide charitable aid tofriendly populations, gifts to the widows and
orphans of fallen soldiers or transferred home
to support charitable institutions on Lyubov
and/or her colonies. The charitable works of the
Lyubov regiments has made them very effective
at pacifying liberated zones and suppressing
recidivists in the areas they garrison.
The Central
Chapel consists
of the
regimental
chief priest, his
assistant priest
and four
aspirants/aides.
Each field chapel consists of 2 Maccabean
Warrior Priests, 2 attendant preachers and 6
aspirants/aides.
Regimental Admistratum Militaris
(Military Government) Platoon
The Administratum Militaris or Military
Government Platoon is tasked with maintaining
order, discipline and morale within the
regiment. The HQ squad is the Regimental
Commissar, his aide and 3 batmen who act as
clerks, drivers, butlers or other support roles as
needed.
First squad is the Regimental Commissariat –
the subordinate commissars and commissar
cadets assigned to the regiment along with
their aides.
•••
Figure 7: Mechanicum
Organization
Figure 8: Chapel Organization
Figure 9: Admintratum Militaris
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Second squad is the Arbites Militaris or Military
Police. An Arbite Senoris, 2 Arbites Major and
10 Arbites Adeptus police and handle such
military tribunals as are needed within theregiment.
Third squad is the Regimental Band. The band,
of course, can function as a working marching
band but the Regimental Morale Officer, the
Drum Major and 8 Musicians of the band are
also highly trained media experts who produce
“inspirational media” for both the regiment as
well as the public where the regiment operates.
Astropathic ChoirInterstellar
communication
and often
communication
with the
Imperial Navy
that supports
Imperial Army
operations are
impractical with
standard vox-
casters. A
specialist psyker
known as an
astropath fills
the role of long
distance
communications
specialist. The
HQ squad
consists of the Conductor of the Choir whose
responsibility is to monitor the psychic health of
the members of the choir and inform the
regimental commissariat of any warp deviancy.
He is assisted by a commissar and 3 aides.
Each Chantry within the Choir consists of a
Cantor and 9 Astropaths.
It is common for an astropath to be assigned to
a company command platoon to facilitate
communication – especially with naval forces
supporting the regiment’s operations.
Regimental
Artillery
Section
Attached to the
headquarters is a
long range artillery
section. Doctrine
dictates that artillery should never be held in
reserve. If needed, it should be committed. The
regimental artillery battery is available to
support any subordinate unit which needs it.
Each Artillery Battery consists of three vehicles,1st regimental battery is three Manticore missile
launchers and 2nd regimental battery is three
Deathstrike missile launchers, each supported
by a detachment of ammunition carriers to
keep the launchers supplied. The section is
commanded by a Senior Lieutenant, his
sergeant and three gunnery specialists. A junior
lieutenant and his gunnery sergeant assisted by
their six drivers and gunners, commands each
subordinate battery.
Regimental Hospital
The regimental
medical section
Figure 10: Astropathic Choir
Figure 11: Regimental Artillery
Figure 13: Regimental Hospital
Figure 12: Astropath
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provides a centralized aid station and mobile
hospital for the regiment. The HQ is composed
of the chief chirurgeon, a triage officer, a
casevac controller, a pharmacon and asanitation control officer.
1st Ward is the surgical ward and has 3
chirugeons, 6 sisters hospitaller an 10 corpsmen
assigned. 2nd
Ward is the medical ward and also
has 3 chirugeons, 6 sisters hospitaller an 10
corpsmen assigned. The 3rd
ward is the casualty
evacuation ward. This ward has 3 Valkyrie air
assault transports, 3 chimera transports and 6
wheeled ambulances assigned along with their
3 pilot officers, 21 corpsmen and 12 field
medics. They retrieve casualties from the
battalion aid stations that require more
extensive medical care than the primary care
available in the field.
Regimental Airwing
The flight wing attached to the regiment
consists of a headquarters squadron of a wing
commander, his deputy (a flight commander),
and three spotters/commo specialists carried in
a Valkyrie air assault carrier. The fighting
strength of the wing are three fighter squadrons
of Vulture close support fighters, with pilots and
maintenance crews.
Each squadron consists of a HQ flight of the
Squadron Commander and his co-pilot, two
flights of three Vulture close support fighters
and a maintenance squadron of a tech-priestadept and 10 mechanicals.
Rifle BattalionsThe regiment has
three rifle battalions:
first, second, and
fourth, each
consisting of five
companies; three (3)
rifle companies, an
armor company and
an artillery battery.
Battalion Headquarters
The Battalion HQ consists of a command squad
with the battalion CO (typically a major), his
executive (typically a captain), the battalion
commissar, and 7 orderlies. The Battalion HQ is
issued 3 chimera APCs to carry it.
Also attached to the HQ unit is the battalion aid
station consisting of a medical officer, a triage
officer, a nurse and 7 corpsmen is also attached
along with 3 ambulances, their drivers and 6
cas-evac specialists. The role of the battalion
aide station is to provide medical care to those
troopers too badly injured to be treated on the
battlefield, referring more serious cases to the
regimental hospital.
Battalion Mechancus Shrine
Support for the battalion’s vehicles is provided
through the battalion mechanicum – 1 magus
Figure 14: Rifle Battalion
Organization
Figure 15: Regimental Airwing
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mechanicus, 2 mechanicus adepts, and 8
menials. A chimera transport is assigned to
transport the mechanicum section.
Battalion Munitorium
Unlike the regimental munitorium, the battalion
supply depot is not a long term storage and
supply management unit. It simply requisitions
and distributes supplies to the battalion’s
constituent companies on a “just in time” basis.
The Munitorium is 1 junior lieutenant and 10
stewards and 5 trucks that disperse supplies to
the subordinate companies as needed.
Battalion Artillery Section
Attached to the headquarters is a long range
artillery section. Doctrine dictates that artillery
should never be held in reserve. If needed, it
should be committed. The regimental artillery
battery is available to support any subordinate
unit that needs
it.
Each Artillery
Battery consists
of three
vehicles, 1st
battalion
battery is three
Manticore missile launchers and 2nd battalion
battery is three Deathstrike missile launchers,
each supported by a detachment of
ammunition carriers to keep the launchers
supplied. The section is commanded by a Senior
Lieutenant, his sergeant and three gunnery
specialists. Each subordinate battery is
commanded by a junior lieutenant, his gunnery
sergeant assisted by their 6 drivers and
gunners.
Rifle Company
Aleph, beth, and gimel companies are rifle
companies, and consist of three platoons each.
A rifle platoon is formed from three (3) rifle
squads of ten, a heavy weapons squad and a
special weapons squad.
Company Command Platoon
The rifle company commanded by a Captain
with a Lieutenant as deputy commander, often
a commissar is assigned as well. The command
squad will include a vox operator, and a heavy
weapons team as well as a vehicle driver and
vehicle gunner. The company color sergeant is
often issued a special weapon to provide
organic assault capability. The command squad
is mounted in a chimera troop transport which
also provides fire support to the platoon. A
heavy artillery liaison officer (HALO) is often
assigned to coordinate artillery support from
the battalion and/or regimental artillery.
Rifle Platoon
Typically the rifle squads will be assigned man-
portable rocket launcher and a squad assaultweapon (typically a flamer or a fusion gun,
colloquially known as a “melta” or “cooker”) to
provide them with some organic support
capacity. A vox-caster is also standard issue to
Figure 17: Rifle Company
Figure 16: Battalion Artillery
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a rifle squad. The squad is commanded by a
sergeant with a corporal as deputy commander.
A heavy weapons squad will typically be 3
binomial teams manning a laser cannon, a
heavy bolt gun, or a rocket-assisted mortar
(RAM). The squad is commanded by a sergeant
with a corporal as deputy commander.
The special weapons squad consists of 3binomial teams each issued a sniper rifle,
flamer, fusion gun or a plasma rifle. The squad
is commanded by a sergeant with a corporal as
deputy commander.
The platoon commanded by a Junior Lieutenant
with a senior sergeant as deputy commander.
The command squad will include a vox
operator, and a heavy weapons team as well as
a vehicle driver and vehicle gunner. The platoon
sergeant is often issued a special weapon to
provide organic assault capability. The
command squad is mounted in a chimera troop
transport which also provides fire support to
the platoon.
The platoon numbers 1 officer, 12 NCOs and 34
troopers with 1 vehicle attached.
Armor Company
Daled company is a tank company and has
three platoons which are typically deployed in
support of the lift infantry companies. Each
armor platoon consists of three Leman Russ (or
variant) tanks. Each tank is a squad with a
vehicle commander and three crew members,
plus a platoon command tank with the platoon
leader, platoon sergeant and standard vehicle
crew.
The tank company is generally deployed as
platoons, with one platoon of tanks attached to
each company of infantry in the battalion.
Each platoon is three AFVs plus a Chimera
command vehicle and 1 officer, 5 NCOs and 14
troopers. The company fields 10 AFVs, 4 APCs, 4
officers, 18 NCOs and 40 troopers.
Self-Propelled Artillery Battery
Hay battery is self-propelled artillery, and
consists of three firing sections of 3 vehicles
each. First section is equipped with Basilisk
artillery carriers, second section with Griffon
Figure 19: Armor Company
Figure 18: Lyubov Guardsman
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Figure 21: Self-Propelled Artillery Battery
heavy mortar carriers and third section with
Bombard artillery carriers.
A command element for each section consists
of a section leader, sergeant, and two
technicians. Ammo transport is attached as
needed. The artillery battery is generally held to
respond to firepower needs from the entirebattalion. In cases of heavy need, specific
companies within the battalion will be assigned
priorities for response by the battery.
Each firing section is three SPAs plus a Chimera
command vehicle and 1 officer, 5 NCOs and 14
troopers. The battery fields 10 AFVs, 4 APCs, 4
officers, 18 NCOs and 40 troopers.
Cavalry BattalionsThe regiment has two cavalry battalions: third
and fifth, each consisting of five companies;
three (3)
cavalry troops,
a reconnaissance company and a motorized
rifles company.
Battalion Headquarters
The Battalion HQ consists of a command squad
with the battalion CO (typically a major), hisexecutive (typically a captain), the battalion
commissar, and 7 orderlies. The Battalion HQ is
issued 3 chimera APCs to carry it.
Also attached
to the HQ unit
is the battalion
aid stationconsisting of a
medical
officer, a triage
officer, a nurse
and 7
corpsmen is also attached along with 3
ambulances, their drivers and 6 cas-evac
specialists. The role of the battalion aide station
is to provide medical care to those troopers too
badly injured to be treated on the battlefield,referring more serious cases to the regimental
hospital.
Battalion Mechancus Shrine
Support for the battalion’s vehicles is provided
through the battalion mechanicum – 1 magus
mechanicus, 2 mechanicus adepts, and 8
menials. A chimera transport is assigned to
transport the mechanicum section.
Battalion MunitoriumUnlike the regimental munitorium, the battalion
supply depot is not a long term storage and
supply management unit. It simply requisitions
and distributes supplies to the battalion’s
constituent companies on a “just in time” basis.
The Munitorium is 1 junior lieutenant and 10
stewards and 5 trucks that disperse supplies to
the subordinate companies as needed.
Battalion Artillery Section
Attached to the headquarters is a long range
artillery section. Doctrine dictates that artillery
should never be held in reserve. If needed, it
should be committed. The regimental artillery
Figure 20: Cavalry Battalion
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battery is
available to
support any
subordinateunit which
needs it.
Each Artillery
Battery consists of three vehicles, 1st
battalion
battery is three Manticore missile launchers and
2nd
battalion battery is three Deathstrike missile
launchers, each supported by a detachment of
ammunition carriers to keep the launchers
supplied. The section is commanded by a Senior
Lieutenant, his sergeant and three gunnery
specialists. Each subordinate battery is
commanded by a junior lieutenant, his gunnery
sergeant assisted by their 6 drivers and
gunners.
Cavalry Troop
Aleph, Bet and Gimel squadrons are cavalry
and each has three. Each cavalry squadron
consists of three Hellhound (or variant) tankdetachments. Each tank is a squad with a
vehicle commander and three crew members,
plus a platoon command tank with the platoon
leader, platoon sergeant and standard vehicle
crew.
The cavalry is generally deployed as squadrons,
attached to a company of infantry.
Each platoon is three AFVs plus a Chimera
command vehicle and 1 officer, 5 NCOs and 14
troopers. The company fields 10 AFVs, 4 APCs, 4
officers, 18 NCOs and 40 troopers.
Reconnaissance Troop
Daled squadron is reconnaissance and has three
squadrons that typically deploy in support of
the motorized rifles companies. Walker squads
are three Sentinel combat walkers; the scout
squad is three Salamander scout vehicles.
The reconnaissance troop is usually deployed in
advance of the regiment to flush out enemy
infiltrators, reconnoiter enemy positions and
harass enemy forces. When armed with
lascannons, the recon troop can be very
effective in a tank-hunter role. When the troop
is deployed in support of motorized rifles, it is
generally deployed as squadrons, with onesquadron attached to each company of infantry
in the battalion.
Figure 22: Battalion Artillery
Figure 23: Cavalry Troop
Figure 24: Reconnaissance Troop
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Pathfinder Battalion
The regiment has one pathfinder battalion,which provides raider and special operations
capability to the regiment.
Battalion Headquarters
The Battalion HQ consists of a command squad
with the battalion CO (typically a major), his
executive (typically a captain), the battalion
commissar, and 7 orderlies. The Battalion HQ is
issued 3 chimera APCs to carry it.
Also attached to the HQ unit is the battalion aid
station consisting of a medical officer, a triage
officer, a nurse and 7 corpsmen is also attached
along with 3 ambulances, their drivers and 6
cas-evac specialists. The role of the battalion
aide station is to provide medical care to those
troopers too badly injured to be treated on the
battlefield, referring more serious cases to the
regimental hospital.
Battalion Mechancus ShrineSupport for the battalion’s vehicles is provided
through the battalion mechanicum – 1 magus
mechanicus, 2 mechanicus adepts, and 8
menials. A chimera transport is assigned to
transport the mechanicum section.
Battalion Munitorium
Unlike the regimental munitorium, the battalion
supply depot is not a long term storage and
supply management unit. It simply requisitions
and distributes supplies to the battalion’s
constituent companies on a “just in time” basis.
The Munitorium is 1 junior lieutenant and 10
stewards and 5 trucks that disperse supplies to
the subordinate companies as needed.
Battalion Artillery SectionAttached to the
headquarters is
a long range
artillery section.
Doctrine
dictates that
artillery should
never be held in
reserve. If
needed, itshould be committed. The regimental artillery
battery is available to support any subordinate
unit which needs it.
Each Artillery Battery consists of three vehicles,
1st battalion battery is three Manticore missile
launchers and 2nd battalion battery is three
Deathstrike missile launchers, each supported
by a detachment of ammunition carriers to
keep the launchers supplied. The section is
commanded by a Senior Lieutenant, his
sergeant and three gunnery specialists. Each
subordinate battery is commanded by a junior
lieutenant, his gunnery sergeant assisted by
their 6 drivers and gunners.
Figure 27: Battalion Artillery
Section
Figure 26: Pathfinder Battalion
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Pathfinder Companies
Aleph, Bet and Gimel companies are
Pathfinders and each has three platoons. EachPathfinder platoon consists of a HQ squad and
three Pathfinder squads. The command squad is
comprised of a platoon commander (a
lieutenant), a platoon sergeant, a medic, a vox
operator and a special weapons trooper. Each
squad is comprised of a sergeant, a vox
operator, 2 special weapons troopers and four
additional Pathfinders. Pathfinders are typically
deployed as squads in support of infantry and
mechanized infantry companies.
Each platoon is 1 officer, 5 NCOs and 25
troopers. The company fields 4 officers, 17
NCOs and 77 troopers.
Reconnaissance Troop
Daled squadron is reconnaissance and has three
squadrons which are typically deployed in
support of the motorized rifles companies.Walker squads are three Sentinel combat
walkers; the scout squad is three Salamander
scout vehicles.
The reconnaissance troop is usually deployed in
advance of the regiment to flush out enemy
infiltrators, reconnoiter enemy positions and
harass enemy forces. When armed with
lascannons, the recon troop can be very
effective in a tank-hunter role. When the troop
is deployed in support of motorized rifles, it is
generally deployed as squadrons, with one
squadron attached to each company of infantry
in the battalion.
Each platoon is 12 walkers, three scout vehicles
plus a Salamander command vehicle and 1
officer, 5 NCOs and 16 troopers. The company
fields 10 AFVs, 4 APCs, 17 officers, 17 NCOs and
50 troopers.
Air Assault Wing
The flight wing attached to the regiment
consists of a headquarters squadron of a wing
commander, his deputy (a flight commander),
Figure 28: Pathfinder Company
Figure 29: Reconnaissance Troop
Figure 30: Battalion Airwing
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and three spotters/commo specialists carried in
a Valkyrie air assault carrier. The fighting
strength of the wing is three fighter squadrons
of Valkyrie air assault carriers, with pilots andmaintenance crews.
Each squadron consists of a HQ flight of the
Squadron Commander and his co-pilot, two
flights of three Vulture close support fighters
and a maintenance squadron of a tech-priest
adept and 10 mechanicals.
Arms & Equipment of the Ice
River Guards
Man-Portable Weapons
M41A3 Lasgun Assault Rifle
The lasgun is
the standard-
issue weapon
for all Imperial
Guardsmen. It
fires a focused pinpoint laser bolt, which iseffective when used en masse, but considerably
less effective when used singly. However, they
are powerful enough to remove an unarmored
human limb in a single blast, although these
shots are individually not as effective against
durable alien bodies or heavy armor.
M42E2 Longlas "Kentucky Long Rifle"
Sniper Rifle
The more powerful long las which is a termused to refer to lasguns modified for sniper
work, usually because they bear longer barrels
and range. These weapons also use
overpowered liquid metal batteries known
as hotshots, and have only one power setting.
This quickly wears out the barrels, which arereplaceable and good for about twenty shots
each.
M78 Man-Portable Fusion Gun (Meltagun)
The fusion gun is a
commonly found
special weapon in
the forces of the
Imperium. The M78 fires a super heated burst
of hydrogen fuel. The discharge is so hot that
fusion has begun (but not hot enough for it to
be a superheated plasma like the M77 or M75).
It is typically used as an anti-tank weapon in
infantry formations. Common imperial slang for
fusion guns include meltaguns, melters, cookers
or vape guns. Fusion guns are a common sight
in Space Marine and Imperial Guard armies.
M77 Plasma Infantry Gun
The plama
gun is acommonly
found special
weapon in
the forces of
the Imperium. The M77 fires a super heated
burst of hydrogen plasma. It is typically used as
an anti-tank weapon in infantry formations. The
extreme heat generated by the weapon makes
the unpopular among Imperial Guard troopers.
It is rare to find the M77 outside of carapace
armored or power armored troops.
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M75 Plasma Pistol
The plasma pistol is a
shorter-ranged, single-
handed pistol version of the
M77 plasma gun. It is most commonly carried
by officers of both Space Marines and Imperial
Guard.
VP70 Bolt Pistol
The bolt pistol is a common
variant of the boltgun, and is
available to officers and
seasoned veterans of the
Imperial Guard - they are sometimes gifted to
Commissars, both for battling and to perform
field executions of those too cowardly for the
Emperor's service, leading to the weapon being
nicknamed the "Bravery Bolter". A standard bolt
pistol is capable of housing between 6 and 12
rounds of ammunition. Such weapons are oftenused by assault troops for Space Marines, the
Adepta Soritas, and the Chaos Marines. In
extended engagements, when reloading can
mean almost certain death, a drum-shape
magazine can be attached.
M4A3 Laspistol
The laspistol is the pistol form of
the lasgun, and operates in a
similar way. It is suitable forquick use rather than firepower
or range, and is often used in conjunction with a
close combat weapon. Many laspistols have
power packs mounted in front of the pistol's
grip rather than within the grip itself, so that
heat from the power cell can be quickly
dissipated and the power cell quickly changed
when depleted. This also allows the laspistol touse the same power pack as the lasgun,
increasing the pistol's logistical flexibility. While
it is more likely to be hit when exposed and
cause a potentially debilitating explosion, the
likeliness of this occurring is outweighed by the
benefits.
Laspistols are carried primarily by Imperial
Guard officers and advisers, including
Commissars, Techpriest Enginseers and
Sanctioned Psykers. Some dedicated close
combat units of the Imperial Guard, such as
Rough Riders and special weapon squads can
also be armed with laspistols
M112 Guided Missile System / Man-
Portable
These launchers fire two types of
grenade/missile, Frag and Krak. Frag projectiles
(short for fragmentation) are designed to spray
an area with shrapnel, making them useful
against lightly armored infantry. Krak projectiles
cover less area but they have improved
penetrating capabilities, making them useful for
either heavily armored infantry or moderately
armored vehicles.
M240 Flame Thrower
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Flamers are short-ranged special weapons that
project an ignited stream of promethium fuel
over a wide area, igniting many enemies in a
single gout of flame. They are popular with
Imperial Guard, Space Marine, Sisters of Battle,
Arbites and PDF units across the Imperium.
M5 Grenade Launcher
The M5 grenade
launcher fires two
types of grenade,
frag and krak. Grenades, naturally, are less
powerful than missiles, but are easier to fire on
the move. They can also fire more exotic types
of grenades, though these are not standard
issue, and need to be loaded for firing
individually.
M402 Rocket Assisted Mortar (RAM)The M402 is a rifled 50mm
rocket assisted mortar system.
A mortar is relatively simple
and easy to operate. A modern
mortar consists of a tube into
which gunners drop a shell. A firing pin at the
base of the tube detonates the propellant and
fires the shell. The tube is generally set at
between 45 and 85 degrees angle to the
ground, with the higher angle giving shorterfiring distances. Typical ranges vary from 250m
to 1500m. An Imperial Guard mortar team can
acquire a target, load and fire a fire mission
against a target of opportunity within 15
seconds of receiving a mission order.
Body Armor
M3 Flak Armor
The finest armor
available to the
Departmento
Munitorum protects
Imperial Guardsmen.
In most cases this will
be sufficient for a
Guardsman. The
standard combat
dress of the Imperial
Guard is made from
hard-wearing ballistic fabrics designed to resist
hostile environments and prove hardy in the
field, though some are the result of centuries of
tradition, leading to some variation between
regiments raised on different worlds.
Combat armor is usually designed as a vest or asleeveless jacket that covers the upper torso. It
is rather uncomfortable and unpopular
although it is cheap to make and generally
mass-produced. Really only useful for
protection against shrapnel and low caliber
weaponry (hellguns, bolters and pulse rifles will
invariably pass right through it), the flak jacket
may not exactly be the armor of choice for
many but, for better or worse, it is the only
armor that most Guardsmen have access to.
Figure 31: Lyubov
Guardsman in Flak Armor
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M7 Carapace Armor
Comprised of rigid plates of armaplas or
ceramite, carapace armor is made up of plates
that are molded to (loosely) fit the body.
Usually a carapace suit will cover the torso and
major joints with separate plates for the limbs
along with a helmet, although it is also available
in full body-suit form. Most wearers are in a
relatively fit condition compared to other flak-
wearing troopers, due to the armor being so
heavy. Unlike flak armor it can realistically be
expected to stop a large variety of mid-range
weaponry. Carapace armor is also used by
Imperial Guard Stormtroopers, Kasrkin squadsand some regiments of high-tech Imperial
Guard.
M10 Ballistic Helmet
In addition to body armor, Guardsmen are also
equipped with helmets to protect the
vulnerable cranial area. Injuries to this region of
the body are often fatal and thus maximum
effort should be made to avoid such injuries.
Where risk of such injuries are unavoidable, the
use of an M-10 ballistic helmet offers the best
protection from exploding shrapnel and
fragmentation. These tried and true helmets
are blessed with good non-ballistic protective
qualities that also protect against injuries that
may be caused by concussive shockwaves from
explosions.
Helmets protect the Guardsman’s head through
a mechanical energy absorption process and,
therefore, their structure and protective
capacity are altered in high-energy impacts. The
M-10 helmet weighs just over two kilograms
and has an ideal distribution of mass over the
head center-line, meaning there is a minimum
moment of inertia, and no lag following rapid
head movements. Each helmet has an
integrated outer shell and suspension system to
provide a stable, snug fit and has an adjustablestandard two-point suspension system and
headband.
Other Gear
PRC252 Vox Caster
A communications array,
similar to a radio, that can be
as small as helmet mounted
links to massive banks of
equipment at the HQ. Usually
a squad or platoon will have a
link to HQ via one vox unit
and vox-beads for trooper-to-
trooper communications.
PRC489 Master Vox Caster
Command units usually use more complex
versions of vox casters -- known as master vox
casters. These can receive and transmit on
multiple frequencies at once, making them idealfor coordinating many squads simultaneously.
HG33 Long Range Ground Scanner
A long-range scanner is a development of the
Auspex
Long Range Sweep: With the scanner in this
mode, enemy units will find it difficult to get
close to the Imperial Guard’s positions without
being detected. Any enemy unit that wishes to
infiltrate must first roll a dice. On a 4+ they may
infiltrate as normal. On any other result they
cannot infiltrate and must be set up as normal
with the rest of the army.
Figure 32: PRC252
Vox Caster
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Uniforms of the Ice River GuardsThe Imperial Guard draws its recruits from all
over the galaxy and from a million different
worlds and environments. As such there is noformal uniform by which to easily identify a
unified Imperial Guard. Each world will equip its
Guardsmen with cloths and colors most easily
available to it, thus there is a great deal of
variation between regiments, even those hailing
from the same or nearby worlds. Uniforms are
mass-produced in order that the many
thousands of Guardsmen that make up a
regiment may be equipped quickly and
efficiently (uniforms in standard sizes anddesigns are also easier to replace on campaign).
The Lyubov regiments are issued mark IV
plasteel helmets with an adjustable cradle for a
snug fit around the head (often covered with a
sheepskin "Ushanka" or fur hat).
The most distinctive feature of the Lyubov
uniform is the heavy greatcoat. It is
manufactured on Lyubov from a hard-wearing
woolen cloth produced in a variety of colors,
varying among tan, white, grey, and cammo
patterns. The greatcoat not only provides
protection against the elements (including rain
as it is waterproof), but is chemically treated to
resist chemical or biological weapons attacks.
The Lyubov greatcoat is single-breasted and can
be affixed with subdued plasteel buttons. The
attached collar bears the regimental tags and
the epaulets carry the officer's or NCO's
shoulder boards.
The trousers and shirtsleeve uniform are
constructed of the same hardy woolen cloth.
Spats are typically issued to hold the cuff of the
trousers close to the ankles and to mitigate the
worst of muddy conditions (common on Lyubov
during the spring months). Boots are black
leather combat issue with hob-nailed soles forbetter traction while navigating icy terrain.
The Lyubov armed forces are equipped with the
same weaponry as most Imperial Guard
regiments. The main personal arm is the Aleph
Kawan pattern no. 47 lasgun. This weapon is
produced in mass quantities on Lyubov, it
accepts the standard Imperial power pack
operating in the 18 megathule range. The no. 47
lasgun has a howood stock, bayonet lug, and
basic back sight.
Each squad is typically issued a Moshe-Natan
no.58 longlas sniper rifle. Nicknamed the
'Kentucky Long Rifle' for reasons that remain
obscure, this weapon operated in the 25
megathule range. This is a high powered shot,
draining the power pack after 20 shots instead
of the more typical 40. Unlike the standard
issue lasgun, the longlas is a single shot
weapon.
While all Lyubov troopers are issued bayonets,
a charge with fixed bayonets is not a typical
tactic. More common is an approach by stealth,
often through difficult terrain with a lightning
strike against enemy command and control
assets.
In the field, all Lyubov guardsmen are issued no.
970 trenching tools which are used to dig
latrines, defensive works, dig vehicles and other
gear out of the snow and other necessary but
minor field engineering tasks required by drop
infantry operations.
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Typically, uniforms are made from hard-wearing
fabrics designed to resist hostile environments
and prove hardy in the field, though some are
the result of centuries of tradition, leading tosome standardization across regiments,
however almost every regiment in the Guard
maintains a distinctive look, the Ice River
Guards are no different. This is not an
exhaustive catalog of Lyubov uniforms, just
examples.
Enlisted
Trooper Trooper, 1st
Class
Corporal
Non- Commissioned Officers
Sergeant Veteran Sergeant
Gunnery Sergeant Master Sergeant
Color Sergeant Sergeant Major
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Commissioned Officers
Subaltern Lieutenant
Captain Major
Lt. Colonel Colonel
General Officers
Commissar
(Dress Uniform)
Colonel General
Major General Lieutenant General
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Rank InsigniaRanks in the 18th Lyubov follow the normal
Imperial Guard pattern of six enlisted grades, six
field officer grades and six general officergrades. This simplified pay qualification ranking
(SPQR) system is used through-out the guard to
standardize pay and rationing systems though
titles may vary from regiment to regiment.
General Officers
PayGrade
Rank Collar/Shoulder
Insignia
O-12
Grand
Marshal of
Lyubov
(Warmaster)
O-11Field
Marshal
O-10 General
O-9Lieutenant
General
O-8
Major
General
O-7Colonel
General
Field Officers
PayGrade
Rank Collar/Shoulder
Insignia
O-6 Colonel
O-5
Lieutenant
Colonel
O-4 Major
O-3 Captain
O-2 Lieutenant
O-1 Subaltern
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Enlisted Rank
PayGrade
Rank Chevron
E-9 Sergeant Major
E-8 Color Sergeant
E-7 Master Sergeant
E-6Gunnery
Sergeant
PayGrade
Rank Chevron
E-5Veteran
Sergeant
E-4 Sergeant
E-3 Corporal
E-2Trooper, First
Class
E-1 Trooper
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Combat Engineering
Internal Security (Commissariat)
Chaplain
Civil Affairs
Intelligence
Signal Corps
Quartermaster (Adminstratum Liaison)
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Ambulance
Armor
Command Staff
Medic
Psychic Operations
Recon
Transport
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Distinctive Insignia
Distinctive Unit Seal: The Distinctive Unit Seal is
in gold, blue and white. The gold represents
excellence, as the Light Infantry regiments are
the elite of Lyubov's armed forces. White
represents purity of arms and purpose,
(Hebrew: , Tohar HaNeshek ) is one of
the values of the regiment. The doctrine is use
their weapons and force only for the purpose of
their mission, only to the extent necessary to
complete the mission at all times observing an
absolute economy of force. The blue represents
the warrior's code of honor, to defend
humanity, the empire and Lyubov against all
enemies, foreign and domestic. Also to
maintain their humanity even during combat
and to not use their weapons and force to harm
human beings who are not combatants or
prisoners of war, and will do all in their power
to avoid causing harm to their lives, bodies,
dignity and property.
The double-headed eagle represents loyalty to
the Terran Imperium, while the three crowns
represent the crowns of sovereignty, Torah and
a good name respectively. The unit motto
translates as 'I Shall Not Fear' (Hebrew:
Lo E-rah) and is an integral part of the
insignia.
Distinctive Unit Insignia: The distinctive unit
insignia is in gold, blue and white. The gold
represents excellence, as the Light Infantry
regiments are the elite of Lyubov's armed
forces. White represents purity of arms and
purpose (Hebrew: , Tohar HaNeshek )
is one of the values of the regiment. The
doctrine is use their weapons and force only for
the purpose of their mission, only to the extentnecessary to complete the mission at all times
observing an absolute economy of force. The
blue represents the warrior's code of honor, to
defend humanity, the empire and Lyubov
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against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Also
to maintain their humanity even during combat
and to not use their weapons and force to harm
human beings who are not combatants orprisoners of war, and will do all in their power
to avoid causing harm to their lives, bodies,
dignity and property.
The double-headed eagle represents loyalty to
the Terran Imperium, while the three crowns
represent the crowns of sovereignty, Torah and
a good name respectively. The unit motto
translates as 'I Shall Not Fear' (Hebrew:
Lo E-rah) and is an integral part of the
insignia.
The distinctive unit insignia worn on the left
shoulder of all non-commissioned personnel,
above any rank insignia
Regimental Standard: The regimental standard
is blue and white. The white represents the
purity of arms and righteousness of purpose
under which the unit operates. The blue
represents the honor and discipline of theImperial Army. The the Star of David represents
the resoluteness of purpose and devotion to
right action that are hallmarks of the regiment's
storied past. The white star on a blue field is
also the national flag of Lyubov. The scroll
denotes the 18th Regiment. Referred to as the
Bonnie Blue Banner by the men of the 18th
regiment, this flag has been carried into battleinnumerable times on dozens of battlefronts
across the Eastern Fringe.
Platoon Standard: Each platoon in the regiment
has a platoon banner. The white in the banner
represents the purity of purpose each company
must bring to the battlefied, the blue Star of
David represents the honor and duty with
which the regiment is devoted to right action.
The embattled border of the triangle recalls the
iron will of the men of the 18th regiment. Thewhite triangle represents the threefold nature
of Light Infantry; orbital drop, armored assault
and infantry ground attack to take and hold the
objective. The Hebrew numeral denotes the
platoon number and is displayed in a white
roundel representing the independent
operating capability of each platoon. The
Imperial Eagle denotes loyalty to the Terran
Empire. The third (gimel) platoon's standard is
shown here.
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Regimental Officers' Shoulder Insignia: The
regimental officers' shoulder insignia has a Star
of David in gold representing excellence and
commitment to right action. The black tefillin
strap represents the bonds of brotherhood
between troopers and the bonds of duty to The
Divine Emperor and Empire, the red border
represents the sacrifice of military service, the
white the purity of purpose with which the
regiment pursues its mission and the blue the
honor and duty expected of the Imperial Army.
The steel scroll represents the will of steel in
each trooper to not accept defeat and the
motto of 'I Shall Not Fear' recalls the courage
and daring with which the regiment has always
conducted itself on the field of battle.
The officers' insignia is worn on the left
shoulder in lieu of the Distinctive Unit Insignia
worn by non-commissioned personnel.
Officers' Cap Badge: The officer's cap badge is
in gold, depicting the Menorah from the Temple
in Jerusalem on Terra. The Motto reads
‘Kadima’, which translates as 'Forward' taking
note of the fact that through out history,
Lyubovi officers have lead from the front. The
badge is worn on the peaked cap of all Lyubovi
officers.
Planetary Arms of Lyubov: The arms of Lyubov
feature the great forests and mountains that
cover large parts of the world. The wheat
sheaves represent the agricultural abundance.
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have triumphed over the enemy and returned
in a condition fit for further active duty.
This award is never issued without good cause,
and only the most spectacularly violent and
impressive feats of personal valor will earn it.
The Iron Aquila
A simple iron Imperial
Eagle is one of the most
prized medals awarded
to combat personnel.
Often referred to as the
"boring hero's award,"the Iron Aquila is
awarded to warriors
who, in the face of the
enemy, have triumphed
and returned in a condition fit for further active
duty by acts of valor that do not warrant the
Steel Aquila.
This award is never issued without good cause,
and only the impressive feats of personal valor
will earn it.
Honorifica Mundanus
The highest award given to
support personnel, such as
tech adepts or members of
the Collegia Psykologica,
the Honorifica Mundanus
denotes an individual who
has distinguished himself
above and beyond the call
of duty and who
represents the finest ideals
humanity can aspire to.
The Imperial Laureate
An award born of the
Age of Apostasy, this
Laureate indicates a
warrior who has
effectively "won his
laurels."
Acts of valor leading to
great victory are
recognized with the
Imperial Laureate. Only
warriors who have won
a laurel may bear the
unit/regiment colors.
Administratum Medal
The Administratum awards
this medal to units and
soldiers who have fought
bravely in the defense of
personnel and property
belonging to this esteemed
and highly necessary, but
vulnerable organization.
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Knight's Cross
(Knight of Medusa shown)
A medal and honorific
title awarded to officers
of the rank of Colonel
and above who led
their regiments in 30 or
more consecutive days
of active combat.
Colonels are awarded
the Knight's Cross,
Brigadiers are awarded
the Knight Companion'sCross, Major Generals
are awarded the Knight
Commander's Cross,
Lieutenant Generals are awarded the Knight
Grand Commander's Cross, Generals are
awarded the Knight Master's Cross, Field
Marshals or Warmasters are awarded the
Knight Grand Master's Cross. Each award carries
an equivalent knighthood.
The Merit of Terra
The Merit of Terra is
awarded to soldiers who
have voluntarily postponed
their own demobilization. A
bittersweet award, the Merit
of Terra signifies that the
bearer will be required to
serve much longer than
expected. However, it is awell-known sign of steadfast
loyalty toward the Golden
Throne.
All Imperial military personnel respect those
bearing the Merit, and it is reported that even
the Adeptus Astartes acknowledge the diligence
and self-sacrifice that the award represents.
The Valoris Imperator
This huge, solid gold
Aquilla is obstensibly
awarded to veterans
who have served for
20 years or more, in
recognition of long
and steadfast service,
In practice, it is
awarded postmortem
to long-service
veterans who have
died in particularly
unpleasant and heroic circumstances.
There are, however, rare circumstances where
the medal goes to living veterans who have
served for 20 years or more. Tyhpically, when
such individuals perform unimaginable feats of
survival from certain death situations where the
individual later returns to active service.
On the back of the Aquilla, an inscription in
Imperial high Gothic reads “Imperator Gratia!"
("The Emperor Thanks You").
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The Medallion Crimson
The Medallion Crimson
recognizes those men who
survive grievous, life-
threatening injury without
losing faith or honor. As one
might expect, the award is
often posthumous.
Enemies rightly fear bearers
of the Medallion Crimson as
mighty warriors because it
takes a lot to stop a warrior
who has won the Medallion
Crimson.
The Order of the Storm
A campaign badge
awarded to soldiers
that sustian an
honorable wound in
battle. Unlike other
Imperial awards, it is
not required that a
trooper berecommended for this
award, he is entitled to
it if he suffers a combat injury that requires the
attention of a medicae officer.
The Order of the Storm depicts a pair of crossed
lightning bolts over an Imperial Eagle.
The Ribbon Intrinsic
Taking the form of a
canvass insignia with a
tripartite ribbon hanging
beneath, the Ribbon
Intrinsic recognizes units
rather than individuals.
It is given only to squads
that have proven to be
the linchpin for a
victorious battlefront, where it the line fast and
turned a defeat into a victory by determination
alone.
The Golden Skull
This medal is a
posthumous award to
those who fall in
actions in which their
units have suffered at
least 66% casualties.
It is considered in
every way superior tothe Triple Skull, which is issued to those who
survive such engagements
The Triple Skull
This medal recognizes
the survivors of actions
in which their units
have suffered at least
66% casualties.
It is considered in every way inferior to theGolden Skull, which is issued posthumously to
those who fall in such engagements, although
doubtless the recipients view it a little more
favorably.
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The Order of the Eagle's Claw
This medal recognizes
soldiers who have made
landfall in the most
perilous of landing zones
and triumphed. Only
those who have proven
victorious against
overwhelming odds in a
fashion witnessed by their
superiors or Imperial Navy
observers can earn this
award.
Bearers of the Order of
the Eagle’s Claw will often receive increased
respect from Imperial Navy personnel,
regardless of the soldier’s service arm.
It is rare for soldiers outside of Drop Troop
regiments to receive this award, but it has
occasionally been issued to Imperial units that
have participated in mass orbital deployments
(under fire).
The Order of the Scarlet Wing
A basic medal from the same
group as the Order of the
Eagle's Claw, the Scarlet Wing
signifies that the bearer
sustained injuries but survived
a battle in which he has
participated in some manner
of airborne assault. Injuries in
such actions arecommonplace, however, and
veterans refer to receiving this medal as
"getting your wings".
Bearers of the Order of the Scarlet Wing will
usually receive increased respect from Imperial
Navy personnel, regardless of the soldier’s
service arm. It is rare for soldiers outside of
Drop Troop regiments to receive this award, but
Imperial units that have participated in mass
orbital deployments (under fire) can also earn
the award.
Crimson Skull
Commonly awarded to
Officio Medicae personnel,it is awarded to soldiers
who whilst actively
engaged in a combat zone
have successfully rendered
medical aid to a wounded
comrade.
The award is very common
among veteran combat
medics but occassionalypresented to valorous
common soldiers for
saving the life of an injured comrade.
Campaign Awards
Campaign Awards are medals for participation
in a specific campaign. They are awarded to all
ranks, though officers receive a gold version.
They are the most basic award for a Guardsman
in any given campaign and have little intrinsicvalue except to those soldiers newly transferred
to the regiment.
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Medusa EvacuationMedal
Cadian Defense Medal Tarsus Liberation Medal Defense of Unida Medal(Battle Honors for
Kralgrad and Pripetsk
Marshes shown)
3r
War for Armageddon
Medal
Cleansing of Piscina IV
Medal
Black Reach Assault
Medal
Achilus Crusade Medal
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Regimental Traditions“ Men under foreign skies quickly forget their
history, their past, their tradition, their national
symbols, their way of living, often their own
literary language” . – Master Shimon Milon
Fife and Drum
If there is one tradition of the Lyubov regiments
the Imperial Navy would dearly like to put an
end to it, is that of the Fife and Drum Corps.
Every Lyubov regiment has a Fife and Drum
Corps – master musician is one of the most
prestigious noncombat badges a trooper can
earn. Brightly dressed bands practice en route
to a combat zone, the strains of the fife and the
boom of drums echo loudly in the spaces of
naval vessels. Many naval personnel are
convinced the Lyubov pursue the practice
simply for the effect it has on naval ratings.
Prior to a drop, Lyubov regiments will flood
enemy airwaves with recorded fife and drum
airs both to disrupt enemy communications and
to erode morale with the knowledge the Lyubov
are inbound.
“The Old Brick”
On Liberation Day, NCOs will hang a brick over
their mess. This is a sign that the rules on
drukenness are not in effect and unlimited
drinking is permitted. It is customary for the
NCOs to get roaring drunk on Liberation Day.
The Marib
The officers of the regiment maintain the ritualof playing a medley of five hymns every
evening. This originates from the Regiment's
service during the Great Patriotic War. The
officers received good conduct medals from the
Tzaddik of Zarra and he asked that the officers
hear the hymns on a regular basis.
Passing the Salt
When an Officer first dines with the Regiment,
the Chief of the Mess performs the Passing the
Salt Ceremony. The chief offers salt to the new
officer in a box that contains a fragment of the
original regimental colours inside its cover.
When salt is taken the cloth is revealed and the
officer is reminded of his responsibilities to the
regiment.
Makeshift Toast
When the regiment prepares to “make shift”
(embark on a transport vessel to relocate to a
new base or war zone) the Fife and Drum Corps
pipes the regimental companions (camp
followers, dependents, etc.) into a large,
temporary dining hall. The most senior officer
present then offers a toast to Cornelia vander
Haarlem, a camp follower and watchmaker who
smuggled Imperial scouts into the Chaos held
city of Vulgt on Nadira Segundus in 945M40
leading to a successful assualt on the city by the
18th
Rifles.
Battle Honors"For every battle honour, a thousand heroes die
alone, unsung and unremembered." - Anon
Many and glorious are the deeds of the Men of
Lyubov, and there is not a city or station
anywhere in the realm of House Gilead thatdoes not contain some monument, shrine or
citation to the courage, tenacity and sacrifice of
the soldiery of Lyubov. Without the ceaseless
efforts of her military personnel in theaters of
war ranging across the subsector, the people of
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Lyubov and her neighboring worlds would still
languish under the heel of the foul servants of
the Archenemy. The Imperium stands upon the
blood, sweat and tears of its soldiery.
The High Command of House Gilead and the
Imperial Officio Tactica take pride in recording
all individual actions of Lyubov’s military with as
much accuracy and detail as possible. The
archival body of material held on Lyubov and in
the engram vaults of Holy Terra herself is an
extraordinary and vast resource, a treasure in
which the scholar and aficionado alike may find
glorious accounts of our heroism and fortitude.
These records exist primarily so that we do notforget the valorous deeds of the past. While the
archive remains, the names and deeds of our
illustrious dead receive the honor and gratitude
their memories deserve – thus the Deeds of the
Men of Lyubov shall persist.
However, the archive is also a weapon. From it,
we may discern not just that a particular victory
occurred but how it the men of the Imperial
Guard achieved it. We may analyze and study
the tactical decisions made by the warriors of
the past. Their ideas, their insights thus pass
down to each new generation of soldiers. The
archive allows us to preserve both heroism and
the means of heroism.
To promote this asset, the Grand Marshal of
House Gilead and the Officio Tactica has
selected certain actions from their vast records
to use as examples for military historians and
officer cadets. The Grand Marshal chose these
actions because they illustrate especially well a
particular kind of warfare or tactical application.Study these texts wisely and learn, for though
the Emperor protects, it is the duty of us all to
stand ready and fight when the hour demands.
Battle of Argentum Prime
Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty
spirit before a fall - Prov 16:18
Argentum Prime is a fecund agriworld with a
feral human population existing at a medieval
level of technology. The agricultural resources
to the world, properly harnessed, could feed
several hive or forgeworlds not to mention
dozens of Imperial Guard regiments.
Because the Imperium was already fighting on
many fronts, the Adeptus Terra decided it
would much rather incorporate Argentum
Prime peacefully than turn it into one more warzone.
The Imperium diplomatic overtures to the
stubborn and prideful feral worlders received a
lukewarm reaction at best. Despite Argentum
Prime’s precarious position between the
oncoming Hivefleet Dragon and the turbulent
Cerebos Warzone, the planet’s leader,
Bretwalda Caewlin Badonicus refused to cede
his world to outsider authority peacefully.
Relations suddenly grewn even more strained,
as the bodies of both natives and Imperial
missionaries turned up picked clean of flesh
with an efficiency far surpassing any native
predator. Auran authorities refused to
cooperate with the Imperials on-planet in
investigating the killings, and many Imperials
began to wonder if their lack of cooperation
masks something more sinister than stubborn
pride.
The situation came to a head when medicae
found Sister Rachayel, a Sister Hospitaller
accompanying the Ecclesiarchy, in the Mission,
with her own dagger through her chest. The
locals were eager to call it a suicide due to a
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weak spirit. She was not a Sister of Battle, but
no loyal member of her order would throw
away her life. There were other deaths, how
many remains unclear as the Argentans
concealed them from the Imperials. The fewbodies examined by the Imperial authorities
were meticulously stripped of everything: flesh,
skin, blood. Some had deep grooves in the
ribcage and arms, as though something had
cleaved through to the bone itself.
The Adeptus Munitorium dispatched the 18th
Lyubov Rifles not only to determine if Argentum
Prime harbours an alien foe, but also to
represent the best of humanity to a warrior
culture. If anyone stood a chance of winningover the fierce Aurans, it is the disciplined and
pious Lyubov. Lord-General Archibal Heth
figured that if the 18th Lyubov with its
Commissars and attached intelligence assets
could not convince the natives to trust the
Imperium, they could at least seek out and
purge whatever foe the planet hides.
Bretwalda Caewlin Badonicus was the Highlord
of Argentum Prime; his title commanded loyalty
from the planet’s many tribes and nascent
cities. He ruled from the cliff-top settlement of
Frieburg. The Lyubov landed at the outskirts of
the city and the Bretwalda's laws confined them
to the city precincts. The regiment's
Prundentium began to investigate matters in
the city and met with Caewlin.
Ultimately, the regiment's intelligence officers
uncovered the canyon settlement of Grensvayl
and its infestation with Genestealers. The
Argentans’ pride prevented them from asking
for help even as they slowly lost the battle tokeep the aliens contained. The Imperial Guard
entered the ruined city to do what the
Argentans could not.
The combined arms of the regiment proved to
be pivotal. Air strikes from the regimental
airwing prevented the cultists from
concentrating their forces while a sustained
artillery barrage reduced their fortifications torubble.
An armored assault on Grenvayl flushed out
large numbers of Genestealers and their
infected worshipers. The squadrons of
executioners and leman russ tanks made short
work of large numbers of alien infantry. Lyubov
infantry assualts into the tunnel systems under
Grenvayl allowed sappers to crush the leaders
of the cult – most importantly the Patriarch and
Magus. The Inquisition arrived shortly after theRazing of Grenvayl to conduct purity tests on
the surviving civilians and troopers.
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