Raven Guard
From Warhammer 40k
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[edit] Overview
The Raven Guard is one of the original First Founding chapters of Space Marines. The Primarch of the Raven Guard is Corax, which is part of the Latin for raven (the full being corvus corax). Their homeworld is Deliverance, which was renamed from Lycaeum.
The Raven Guard are known for their cool-headed temperament, infiltration skills and furious close-quarters engagements (especially shown in their successors the Raptors in the Warhammer 40,000 novel Fire Warrior by Simon Spurrier]). They are also rightly feared for the units of Assault Marines they field, who use a pair of lightning claws instead of the usual bolt pistol and chainsword. Captain Kayvaan Shrike is part of such a unit.
[edit] Combat Doctrine
The chapter specializes in guerrilla tactics behind enemy lines, using precisely coordinated attacks and refraining from frontal attacks or protracted attrition warfare. The chapter's MO consists of rapid maneuver engagements consisting of assault marines, Land Speeders and bikes aimed at harassment, sabotage and destruction of key targets over engagement of enemy forces at large. Tactical Squads are deployed via Thunderhawk gunship insertions, supported by drop-pod deployed Dreadnoughts (as opposed to tracked vehicles that cannot be air-deployed). The chapter maintains few and fields even fewer fire support units such as Predators and Land Raiders. Raven Guard relies heavily on its Scouts elements, which operates without support for extended amount of time, even by Space Marine standards. The chapter, by and large, operates as something of a cross between mechanized infantry and a special forces unit, combining small unit tactics with their preference of covert, behind-enemy-lines operations.
[edit] Chapter History
[edit] Notable Campaigns
During the Horus Heresy, the Raven Guard were involved in the Drop Site Massacre of Istvaan V in the Warhammer 40,000 back-story, where four Legions turned to Chaos under the banner of arch-traitor Horus. The Raven Guard fought ferociously alongside the Salamanders and the Iron Hands Space Marines against the forces of Chaos, but suffered heavy losses. In the following reorganization, the Raven Guard was left inoperable as a combat unit.
It was during the Heresy, when the chapter was undermanned and equipped that the the Raven Guard honed and perfected its small unit, covert tactics that utilized little fire support or heavy equipment. Even today, their lack of Predators, Land Raiders, and new/replacement equipment reflects conditions of the past.[1]
[edit] Post Heresy
With his chapter depleted and the Imperium teetering on the brink of destruction, Primarch Corax ordered the chapter Apothecaries to use forbidden zygote acceleration and cloning processes to replenish the Chapter's numbers. The methods used are lost to history, but the process allowed the creation of new Marines at the cost of the purity of the chapter's gene-seed. The process suffered high failure rates causing many to become hulking monsters. The results were not always successful. Ninety percent of the recruits were unable to hold a Bolter let alone fire it. Of 100 recruits, perhaps one would have a genome stable enough to become a Space Marine.[2] Despite the inefficiency of the method, the Raven Guard was able to become combat worthy enough to reenter the war, despite fielding a much smaller force.
After the Heresy, Corax gave the Emperor's Peace to every surviving monster that resulted from the hastened Marine development.
[edit] Appearance
Due to the degeneration of the Raven Guard's gene-seed several of the organs implanted in Space Marines no longer work properly or no longer grow. Their Melanchromic Organ has a unique mutation that causes the skin of a Raven Guard member to lose pigment. Eventually the skin becomes pure white while the hair and eyes darken, until they become jet black.
[edit] Chapter Colors
The Chapter paints their Power Armor black with a white Aquilla. The right shoulder trim denotes the Space Marine's Squad (Yellow for Devastator, Green for Tactical, and Red for Assault)
[edit] Chapter Symbol
The chapter symbol is a stylized white Raven.
[edit] Successor Chapters
Successor chapters include the Black Guard, Revilers, and Raptors. There has also been much speculation about whether the Hawk Lords and Knights of the Raven chapters are also successors, due to the fact that they share the same chapter emblem. Games Workshop has never confirmed this.
[edit] Notable Chapter Members
- Corax: Chapter Primarch
- Kayvaan Shrike: Captain of 3rd Company
- Aajz Solari: Captain of 5th Company
[edit] References
- ↑ Codex: Space Marines 4th Edition, (2004). Chambers, Andy, Nottingham: Games Workshop. ISBN 1-84154-526-0.
- ↑ Index Astartes: volume 4
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "List of Space Marine Chapters". The primary authors of that article are: Darkson, Pak21, Saberwyn, Achnash, Othor, Shock Trooper, Othorio, Pariah Press.
