Vostroyan Firstborn

"Quiet you dogs! Are you weak-willed agri-wolders, or are you first-born sons of Vostroya? If you receive an order, you act as if the Emperor Himself gave it!"

- Sergeant Teodor Arinkev, berating new recruits recently arrived from Vostroya

The Vostroyan Firstborn is the name given to the Imperial Guard regiments that originate from the Industrial World of Vostroya located near the Halo Stars in the Segmentum Obscurus. The Vostroyan regiments have served the Emperor for countless centuries, however they fight to absolve themselves of a terrible shame enacted by their ancestors over ten millennia ago. During the dark days of the Horus Heresy, Vostroya failed in its duty to the Emperor. When all across the galaxy was war and anarchy, the Emperor commanded that worlds still loyal to the Imperium send forth fighting men to help defend it against the [[Warmaster Horus and his Traitor Legions. Vostroya refused, arguing that it could better serve the Imperium by continuing to devote all its efforts to the manufacture of weapons for the Emperor's armies, and that to give up so much of its populace to become warriors for the Imperial Army would render it incapable of producing those weapons in sufficient quantities. The Vostroyans' refusal to provide soldiers was met with uncommon mercy once the Heresy had ended, and they sought to atone for their mistake, promising to provide the first-born of every family to the service of the Imperial Guard.

History
Vostroya was, as it remains today, an important Industrial World providing vital arms and munitions to the forces of the Imperium. During the Horus Heresy when Vostroya was ordered to found additional regiments of soldiers, the Vostroyan government deemed that the sacrifice of manpower in the great smelteries of the manufactorum would render their production quotas unattainable. Reasoning that they could better serve by maintaining the work forces and producing the weapons of war for the Emperor's armies, Vostroya reluctantly refused the order to raise any extra armies. Following the Heresy, in an act of mercy, the Vostroyans were give a chance to atone for their sins and repay their debt to the Emperor. For ten thousand years, the Vostroyans have given up their first-born son of every family for service in the Imperial Guard. There is no exceptions to this, even the greatest noble families must comply.

The homeworld of the Vostroyan Firstborn is an industrialised world, covered in manufactories and cityscapes, which has maintained ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus since the Age of Strife. Though not a hive world, it is nonetheless heavily populated. Its rulers are known collectively as the Techtriarchs, a council of native nobility and Adeptus Mechanicus Archmagi. Most of the population work in the manufactories, subjected to poor conditions and long hours to ensure that weaponry and other goods are produced in the vast quantities demanded by the Imperium. For the poorest families, their first-born sons are provided with an opportunity to achieve something beyond the toil and frozen squalor of their homes, and for all on Vostroya, the offering of the first-born is regarded as both a duty and an honour - their culture places enormous importance on the repayment of their ancestral debt to the Imperium.

Regimental Training & Organistation
Firstborn regiments are trained in the frozen, snow and ash-covered ruins of its ancient cityscapes, on portions of their homeworld no longer habitable or functional, before being shipped out, once each generation, to serve the Imperium, never to return. Unusually, the Firstborn reinforce their regiments, sending new solider out to each one, no matter how far away it is. This ensures that the youngest Firstborn have the experience of hardened veterans to draw upon, and means that every Vostroyan Firstborn regiment can trace its existence back to their original mustering, ten thousand years before. With every family -- from the highest Techtriarchs to the lowliest menials -- required to send their first-born sons to serve, familial ties within regiments are no uncommon, and many young Vostroyans have found themselves under the guardianship of distant uncles and older cousins, something that encourages a strong bond of brotherhood. Within each regiment, the officer corps is composes of those of noble birth, while the common soldiery are drawn from the worker families that make up the bulk of Vostroya's population. Vostroyan regiments are most commonly line infantry, and are particularly at home in cold environments and urban areas, as these conditions best match those of their training back on Vostroya. However, the Firstborn armoured regiments are not uncommon, turning the Vostroyans' traditional ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus to the operations of powerful battle tanks.

Regimental Appearance
With both the industrial capacity of Vostroya and its unusual tradition of reinforcement, the Vostroyans are particularly well-equipped, clad in durable, plasteel-alloy carapace armour and armed with finely-wrought Lasgun rifles. These are both often passed down through the generations, giving the Firstborn a baroque look, further embellished by their traditional use of red dyes and brass metalwork in their uniforms and wargear. Firstborn Officers bear lasguns with integrated axes. Vostroyan Regimental standard bearers bear ancient tribal sabers and daggers, along with ritual scars on their upper torsos.

Wargear
The following is a list of the equipment traditionally equipped to a Vostroyan Firstborn soldier:
 * M36 Lasgun
 * Flak Armour
 * Carapace Breastplate
 * Uniform
 * Respirator
 * Toolkit
 * '''Frag Grenades & Krak Grenades
 * Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer