Blackshield Reaver Lord

"I am become the Slayer, the Ancient of Days come hither to consume. Of all these hosts of treacheries mustered, there stands not one shall see the dawn."

— Fragment, Ch XI, Song of the Lords

A Blackshield Reaver Lord was a commander and de facto lord of a Blackshield warband during the Horus Heresy in the 31^st Millennium.

These ad hoc groups were composed of a wide range of Space Marine outcasts, marauders and those members of the Legiones Astartes of uncertain allegiances or origin. They were invariably led by individuals possessed of a fierce presence, the drive to forge their own destiny and the ability to sweep others along with them in their quest.

Some were darkly brooding and malign warriors, resentful of the dark fate that had befallen the galaxy. Others enthusiastically embraced their new existence and relished the chance to prey upon those weaker than themselves and to take by force that which they considered their rightful due. Many such Blackshield groups would often adopt entirely new heraldry of their own invention or created by a strong-willed leader imposing his vision on the entire band.

History[]

Once an officer in one of the Emperor's Space Marine Legions, treachery and fate have caused this warrior to obscure his erstwhile heraldry and to pursue another path entirely. It is around such men that bands of Blackshields invariably coalesced, for they were possessed of a fiery mien and fate visibly rested upon their shoulders.

While many appeared to fight because they knew no other existence than the pursuit of war, a few were said to be following some far grander strategy that only they were able to perceive. There existed no standard type among Reaver Lords, for each was an individual uniquely shaped by the circumstance that caused him to renounce whichever of the Legions had sired him.

They ruled their bands with the utmost authority, either through brute force or charisma. All were fearsome and accomplished warriors, peerless leaders and strategists, and the skills they once brought to bear in service to the Great Crusade were now turned towards the cause of caring for their own fates in a galaxy drowning in the blood of its ending.

Notable Blackshield Reaver Lords[]

An ancient Remembrancer's sketch depicting the Blackshield Praetor Endryd Haar

Endryd Haar - Known as the "Riven Hound," Haar was once a World Eater. Both he and his command were believed long-lost on Crusade when his brethren cast in their lot with the Traitors. Endryd was driven to cold madness by the revelation of his Legion's betrayal when he returned to find the Imperium riven by civil war, and he cast off all traces of his Legion's insignia and honours and swore a Death Oath to atone for the XII^th Legion's crimes. Leading a Blackshield unit known as "The Fangs of the Emperor," Endryd Haar fought alongside the Loyalists as a field commander in the dark days before the Siege of Terra, accepting any mission -- whatever the odds of survival -- so long as in doing so he could spill the blood of the enemy.
Crysos Morturg - Section Leader Crysos Morturg was a bitter warrior, morbid and given to introspection. He was disliked by his Battle-Brothers despite his evident talents as a warrior and field commander. He was neither Terran nor Barbaran by birth, having been inducted into the Death Guard Legion during an emergency influx of recruits from the induction pool of the 18^th Expeditionary Fleet after the Death Guard suffered near-catastrophic losses during the Rangdan Xenocides campaign of the Great Crusade. Years after his induction, after he rose to the rank of Lieutenant, his latent psychic abilities manifested. This only served to further isolate him from his fellow Astartes, and he had barely begun his training within the Legion Librarius when Mortarion had it disbanded and ordered such "witchcraft" suppressed. Morturg was reassigned to the Legion's Destroyer Corps and was often given Legionaries judged to be fractious or unstable, and his unit was tasked to the brunt of the worst fighting the Death Guard endured. During the campaign against the Traitor Legions' Loyalists on Istvaan III at the start of the Horus Heresy, he was marked for death as a Loyalist and sent to the surface on the doomed world. But Morturg did not die and instead endured, rising to become one of the most deadly commanders of the Loyalist resistance. Despite all the odds, Morturg survived the atrocity on Istvaan III and he and the few remnants of the slaughtered Loyalists he had gathered to him would live to avenge themselves upon their former brethren.
The Nemean Reaver - This unknown Blackshield Reaver Lord fought throughout the middle years of the Horus Heresy, leading the Blackshield band known as the Dark Brotherhood against numerous foes as he sought to carve out a haven within the Eridayn Cataract. He garnered a reputation throughout the Pale Stars, and was often referred to simply as the Nemean. It is generally believed that he was once an officer of the I^st Legion -- the Dark Angels -- though even this was far from certain. Unconfirmed rumours circulated that he was a survivor of the Rangdan Xenocides, the apocalyptic conflict that saw the nascent Imperium threatened with destruction during the Great Crusade, and he had already entered into the legends of the Legiones Astartes long before the Horus Heresy. At the Conclave of Optera, he renounced his position and departed with Nathaniel Garro, Knight-Errant of Malcador the Sigillite, for Terra, leaving his lieutenants to take command of the Dark Brotherhood and lead it as they saw fit. It is believed his duty to the Sigillite culminated at the Battle of Terra upon the walls of the Imperial Palace during the very climax of the Horus Heresy.
Nuhmarak - Nuhmarak, the so-called Crippled King of the Void, was a darkly brooding warrior-lord, bitterly resentful of the fate that had befallen the galaxy.

Wargear[]

Wargear (Terminator Only)[]

Terminator Armour (Tartaros or Cataphractii Patterns)
Combi-Bolter
Power Weapon

Optional Wargear[]

Bolter or Pariah Bolter
Combi-Weapon
Volkite Charger
Xenos Deathlock

A Blackshield Reaver Lord may exchange either their Bolt Pistol and/or Chainsword / Combat Blade for one of the following:

Volkite Serpenta
Plasma Pistol
Archaeotech Pistol
Heavy Chainsword
Charnabal Sabre
Power Weapon
Power Fist
Single Lightning Claw
Thunder Hammer
Halo Blade
A Blackshield Reaver Lord may exchange both their Bolt Pistol and Chainsword / Combat Blade for a pair of Lightning Claws

A Blackshield Reaver Lord may take any of the following:

A Blackshield Reaver Lord may upgrade a single weapon to become:

Master-Crafted

A Blackshield Reaver Lord may exchange their Power Armour for:

Pariah Power Armour
Artificer Armour
Terminator Armour

A Blackshield Reaver Lord may take one of the following:

Combat Shield
Refractor Field
Boarding Shield
Iron Halo