Changes: Soul Drinkers

Revision as of 19:13, 23 June 2011

Soul Drinker Marine — Soul Drinkers Chapter Colour Scheme

Adrian smith soul drinker — Chapter Master Sarpedon of the Soul Drinkers before his mutation

Chapter Master Sarpedon of the Soul Drinkers after his mutation

The Soul Drinkers are a currently Renegade Space Marines Chapter declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Inquisition because of their extremely high levels of mutation and obvious corruption by Chaos, yet the Soul Drinkers still consider themselves to be loyal to the Emperor of Mankind, if not to his Imperium as it currently stands. They are one of the Space Marine Chapters created during the Second Founding, and they are a Successor Chapter of the Imperial Fists Legion.

Chapter History

The Soul Drinkers were formed from the Imperial Fists' shock assault contingent during the Second Founding. They participated along with the Imperial Fists, Fire Hawks and Black Templars Chapters in the assault on Terra at the end of the Reign of Blood during the Age of Apostasy in the 36th Millennium and had many notable victories on other worlds against xenos races like the Eldar.

The Lakonia Star Fort Incident

The Soul Drinkers were declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Inquisition after their obsessive need to retrieve a relic called the Soulspear (a Warp vortex weapon gifted to them by the Imperial Fists' Primarch Rogal Dorn) brought them into conflict with the Adeptus Mechanicus. The forces of the Mechanicus were ostensibly assisting the Adeptus Ministorum, but actually wanted to obtain the Soulspear for themselves so that they might examine and possibly reverse engineer its ancient technology. The standoff between the Soul Drinkers and the other Imperial forces ended with the destruction of the Mechanicus' Star Fort Lakonia, and major damage to several starships of the Adeptus Ministorum and Adeptus Mechanicus. The remaining Soul Drinkers retreated in their Strike Cruiser to an asteroid field where they were beset by the combined fleets of the Inquisition and the Adeptus Ministorum until the Soul Drinkers' fleet, lead by Chapter Master Gorgoleon, arrived by Warp Route 931-c that had been closed for 600 standard years prior to this incident.

The First Chapter War

After the Soul Drinkers' Chapter fleet linked up with the survivors of the Soul Drinkers' assault on the Star Fort, Chapter Master Gorgoleon told his fellow Soul Drinker Captain Sarpedon of an offer the Inquisition had made, which required the deaths of the Space Marines involved in the Lakonia incident in exchange for a reprieve. Gorgoleon explained that he had refused this offer on the basis that the only person fit to judge a Soul Drinker was another Soul Drinker. This judgment would require Sarpedon to face Gorgoleon himself in a ritual duel to the death known as the Shield-Rites to determine the righteousness of Sarpedon's actions on Lakonia. During the height of the duel, Sarpedon seemed to be affected by some outside power and spontaneously grew eight arachnoid legs, giving him a crucial advantage over Gorgoleon and enabling him to tear his erstwhile commander to pieces and so claim the mantle of Chapter Master for himself. Although he did not know it at the time, his mutation was caused by the corrupting powers and influence of the Chaos God Tzeentch, who intended to make the Soul Drinkers yet another one of his countless pawns. After a brief but bloody struggle with those who could not accept his mutation and still believe that he was uncorrupted, Sarpedon became the new leader of the Soul Drinkers Chapter from that point on. Despite their rejection by and of the Imperium of Man itself as an utterly corrupt institution, the Soul Drinkers remained steadfastly loyal to the Emperor of Mankind, even after they had been exposed to the raw power of Chaos which presently began to manifest mutations in the Chapter's other Space Marines.

Stratix Luminae

After a time, the Chapter Apothecary Pallas managed to stop the spread of new mutations, and also to halt the progression of mutation in those Astartes already afflicted, thanks to the retrieval of information held on the planetoid Stratix Luminae. This information came at the price of the Soul Drinkers being forced to abandon Sergeant Tellos and his cadre of Assault Marines as they made their escape from the planetoid, though Tellos and his squad turned to Chaos completely to save themselves.

Dealing with Tellos

The Soul Drinkers next came into conflict with the Crimson Fists' Force Commander Reinez and with Slaanesh-worshipping Dark Eldar in an attempt to bring the now Chaos-aligned Sergeant Tellos to justice. After a long battle between Chaos forces and the forces of the Imperium, Sarpedon fought Tellos in a duel. Sarpedon emerged victorious, and believing Tellos dead, withdrew the Soul Drinkers from the combat. Tellos survived, only to be killed when the Inquisition bombed the planet.

The Second Chapter War

The Soul Drinkers next had to face enemies from within and without as Brother Eumenes usurped the Chapter's leadership from Sarpedon. Meanwhile, the Howling Griffons Chapter had vowed to destroy the ambiguous Chaotic force known as the Black Chalice which they believed the Soul Drinkers Chapter to be. In the end, Sarpedon killed Eumenes, declaring him unworthy of being Chapter Master. He then addressed the remaining Soul Drinkers Battle-Brothers, asking if any of them wish to take up the burden of the title of Chapter Master. When none of them responded, Sarpdedon declared he would remain the Chapter Master. Not satisfied with this, at least one squad of the newer Soul Drinkers recruits left the Chapter.

Necrons

While fleeing from an Adeptus Mechanicus task force, the Soul Drinkers' Space Hulk is severely damaged and low on fuel. Forced to run from the Mechanicus forces, the Soul Drinkers go deep into the veiled regions of the galaxy in search of fuel. They discover the Necrons active on many worlds in this region of space, all with signs of previous human settlement, but now infested with the undying, ancient xenos. Eventually they come upon the last of the human worlds that the Necrons are still in the process of cleansing of all life, and the Soul Drinkers make a deal with the survivors. They allow the humans time to retreat to their spacecraft while they hold the Necron forces off, in exchange for the Soul Drinkers receiving fuel.

The Soul Drinkers hold out against the Necrons, and the escaping human population reaches their spaceport as agreed, but a Necron fleet arrives in-system, preventing them from leaving. The Adeptus Mechanicus fleet arrives shortly after, and the two fleets begin fighting each other. It is obvious that the Imperial forces will soon be destroyed by the more potent Necron fleet, so they begin a complex pattern of manoeuvres intended to delay the inevitable.

When the Soul Drinkers realized they could not beat the approaching Necron force on the ground, while the Mechanicus fleet would lose in space, Sarpedon offered an alliance to the Mechanicus. Chaplain Iktinos of the Soul Drinkers and his "flock" of Space Marines remained behind to help defend the spaceport and the surviving humans. It is revealed that Iktinos, and through him his "flock", is loyal to another master, and not the Emperor of Mankind, although the identity of this master is never made quite clear.

Accepting the proposed alliance from the Renegade Space Marines, the Mechanicus and the Soul Drinkers set off for the main Necron hub world, Selaaca, planning to destroy the Necron Lord and leave the rest of the enemy forces in the region leaderless.

Arriving at the Necrons' Tomb World, the Mechanicus crashed their starship into Selaaca and deployed their forces alongside the Soul Drinkers. A long, bloody battle ensued as the unlikely allies sought to kill the Necron Lord before the Necrons' superior numbers overwhelmed them. Finally, the Imperials arrived at the Necron Lord's location and Sarpedon duelled and defeated the undying creature. However, in typical Necron fashion, the Necron Lord soon resurrected itself, and began crushing Sarpedon to death. Only through the sacrifice of Techmarine Lygis was the Necron Lord finally defeated.

Gathering his forces, Sarpedon lead his remaining warriors towards the crashed Adeptus Mechanicus starship, where their promised transports off-world were to be awaiting them. Instead, they discovered three Imperial Fists Thunderhawk gunships deployed upon the surface of Selaaca, while twenty Imperial Fists Terminators teleported onto the planet, lead by First Captain Lysander. He ordered the Soul Drinkers to surrender to Imperial justice or be destroyed. Sarpedon replies with the challenge of a personal duel. Despite Sarpedon's Warp-enhanced strength, he had been badly depleted in the earlier fighting and was swiftly defeated by Lysander in single combat. Sarpedon hoped that the Soul Drinkers followed his last order to surrender if he was beaten by Lysander in the duel and thus prevent the Chapter from being wiped out by the Imperial Fists.

Chapter Organisation

The Soul Drinkers loosely follow the Codex Astartes but have more in common with the Blood Angels due to the shock-assault nature of their respective Chapters, (the Blood Angel Codex works well as Death Company Space Marines can represent the Soul Drinkers that suffered the worst mutations).

The Soul Drinkers suffer heavy losses at several points after they go Renegade. After the First Chapter War and the Battle on Ve'Meths planet, they numbered about 700 Astartes. After the fighting on Stratix Luminae, they were reduced to approximately 450 Space Marines. Though they were able to increase their numbers by being able to recruit Neophytes again, they fell back down to 300 Astartes after the losses on the world of Entymion IV and the Second Chapter War. The exodus of most of Eumenes' Traitors at the end of that conflict dropped the number of Soul Drinkers to 250 Astartes. By the time they struck down the Necrons within the Veiled Regions, there were scarcely 100 Soul Drinkers left, all presumably recently captured by the Imperial Fists.

Chapter Combat Doctrine

The Soul Drinkers prefer to shock the enemy with hard hitting raids and often make use of boarding actions and Drop Pod assaults.

Chapter Traits

The Chapter's name derives from an early mutation to their Omophagea gene-seed. Normally this organ allows a Space Marine to absorb some of the memories of a creature by consuming its flesh. Soul Drinkers ritualise this function in the "Ceremony of the Chalice." In addition to this ability, the Soul Drinkers also experience the creature's emotions. Philosophically speaking, they "see into the creature's soul."

Notable Soul Drinkers

Chapter Master Sarpedon - Sarpedon was once a Chapter Librarian. He can telepathically send but not receive thoughts and is also able to generate a mass illusion called "the Hell," which feeds off the fears of his enemies. His mutation provides him with eight arachnid limbs (allowing him to scuttle along ceilings and walls), incredible physical strength and enormous psychic power. Sarpedon defeated notable foes such as the Inquisition's Interrogator K'Shuk, his own former Chapter Master Gorgoleon, multiple daemons and Daemon Princes, Sergeant Tellos, Chapter Master Eumenes and the Necron Lord of the Tomb World of Selaaca. Sarpedon was most recently defeated in single combat by Captain Lysander of the Imperial Fists' 1st Company, and finally taken into Imperial custody.
Brother Augustus - A newly accepted Soul Drinker who has an open mind to the Chapter's beliefs. But when he finds out about the Chapter's conflict with the Howling Griffons, he is reluctant to fight other warriors of the Imperium. After Sarpedon takes counsel with him, the new Chapter Master decides that the Emperor is watching over Augustus. With a name like Augustus, he is clearly someone destined for great things.
Chapter Master Gorgoleon - Gorgoleon was the former Chapter Master of the Soul Drinkers. He saw the actions of Librarian Sarpedon and his men as being at fault, due to their excommunication from the Imperium. Sarpedon challenged Gorgoleon for the right of leadership of the Chapter and its future fate. Gorgoleon nearly defeated Sarpedon, but the Librarian eventually emerged victorious thanks to the timely intervention of the Ruinous Powers who granted him an arachnoid mutation that imbued him with the power to overcome and kill Gorgoleon. With the death of the former Chapter Master, a civil war was sparked within the ranks of the Chapter. Most of the Chapter's Novices and some others refused to follow their new mutant Chapter Master Sarpedon, taking up arms against their former brethren. It took Sarpedon's forces several months to root them out and exterminate them.
Daenyathos - Daenyathos is a revered Soul Drinker of some renown. He lived sometime in or around the 36th Millennium and in his time wrote the Catechisms Martial, which is still used by the Soul Drinkers Chapter and is considered a nearly sacred tome by them.
Scout Sergeant/Chapter Master Eumenes - Scout Sergeant in charge of Nisryus, Scamander, Raek and others of their Scout Squad during the hunt for Tellos. He was the Soul Drinker who found Tellos. Eumenes challenged Sarpedon to a duel over the Mastery of the Chapter. Shortly afterwards, he masterminded the rebellion that began the Second Chapter War in which he gained the title of Chapter Master. He saved Sarpedon's life by killing Lord Librarian Murcaeno of the Howling Griffons. Sarpedon later killed Eumenes in another duel over control of the Chapter.
Veteran Sergeant Graevus - Graevus is an Assault Squad Sergeant. His mutated right arm allows him to deftly wield a Power Axe with one hand.
Gresk - Soul Drinkers Librarian. Able to speed up the reactions of his Battle-Brothers. Killed by Eumenes' forces after warning Sarpedon of an imminent orbital bombardment during the Chapter War.
Chaplain Iktinos - Master of Sanctity for the entire Chapter. Appears to be manipulating the course of the Chapter, though to what ends is unknown.
Captain Luko - Luko utilises a pair of Lightning Claws. Luko was promoted to the rank of Captain following the battle on Entymion IV and remains one of Sarpedon's most loyal supporters. Luko pretends to love warfare to inspire his followers, telling only Eumenes and Sarpedon the truth, that he actually can't stand fighting and craves nothing more than peace.
Techmarine Lygris - Captain of the Brokenback and one of Sarpedon's most prized counselors. Lygris was the only loyal Chapter member that remained on the Brokenback during Eumenes' rebellion, sabotaging the Thunderhawks and hiding in the network of maintenance tunnels in the Brokenback. Lygris gave his life to defeat the Necron Lord on Selaaca, after losing his sanity after joining with a Necron Harvester on Raevenia.
Apothecary Pallas - Pallas developed a way to halt the mutation of the Soul Drinkers. He joined Eumenes in the Second Chapter War, citing as the reason that he couldn't bear to watch his Chapter dwindle and die out in Sarpedon's wars. Pallas chose to remain with the Chapter in the aftermath of the Chapter War to atone for his sins.
Assault Sergeant Tellos - Once a promising Soul Drinker, Tellos became a servant of Khorne, and is extremely talented in close melee combat like most Khornate Berserkers. His mutation enabled his body to repair any damage it suffered almost instantly. This made him exceptionally difficult to kill, with an orbital strike eventually having the desired effect where everything else had failed.
Tyrendian - Tyrendian is a Soul Drinkers Librarian. He is able to project powerful lightning attacks.

Other Personnel

Interrogator K'Shuk - Apprentice and former Acolyte of Lord Inquisitor Tsouras, he delivered the sentence of excommunication to the Soul Drinkers before being killed by Sarpedon in a duel.
Inquisitor Thaddeus - Forges an alliance of convenience with Sarpedon in order to kill Teturact. Uses incredibly expensive executioner rounds in his auto pistol. One round has been known to cost the same as an Imperial cruiser. Reappeared tracking the Soul Drinkers aboard the Howling Griffon's Battle Barge. He attempts to explain to them that there is no such thing as the Black Chalice, but is forced to leave the ship, killing a Howling Griffon in the process. He then goes and meets with Sarpedon. After a brief reunion, the Howling Griffons assault the Soul Drinkers, during which Murcaeno kills Thaddeus.
Lord Inquisitor Tsouras - Head of the Lakonian Persecution.

Chapter Appearance

Chapter Colours

The Soul Drinkers' Power Armour is purple with ornate bone and gold-colored pauldron trims and a gold Imperial Aquila on their breastplates.

Chapter Badge

The Soul Drinkers' Chapter badge is a golden chalice with five spirals of soul energy rising out of the top.

Sources

Priestly, Rick (1988). Book of Astronomican. Baltimore, Maryland: Games Workshop, 65.
Counter, Ben (2005). Crimson Tears. Nottingham: Black Library.
Counter, Ben (2005). The Soul Drinkers Omnibus. Nottingham: Black Library.

@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 The Soul Drinkers hold out against the Necrons, and the escaping human population reaches their spaceport as agreed, but a [[Necron]] fleet arrives in-system, preventing them from leaving. The [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] fleet arrives shortly after, and the two fleets begin fighting each other. It is obvious that the Imperial forces will soon be destroyed by the more potent Necron fleet, so they begin a complex pattern of manoeuvres intended to delay the inevitable.
-When the Soul Drinkers realized they could not beat the approaching [[Necron]] force on the ground, while the Mechanicus fleet would lose in space, Sarpedon offered an alliance to the Mechanicus. Chaplain Iktinos of the Soul Drinkers and his "flock" of Space Marines remained behind to help defend the spaceport and the surviving humans. It is revealed that Iktinos, and through him his "flock", is loyal to another master, and not the Emperor of Mankind, although the identity of this master is never revealed.
+When the Soul Drinkers realized they could not beat the approaching [[Necron]] force on the ground, while the Mechanicus fleet would lose in space, Sarpedon offered an alliance to the Mechanicus. Chaplain Iktinos of the Soul Drinkers and his "flock" of Space Marines remained behind to help defend the spaceport and the surviving humans. It is revealed that Iktinos, and through him his "flock", is loyal to another master, and not the Emperor of Mankind, although the identity of this master is never made quite clear.
 Accepting the proposed alliance from the Renegade Space Marines, the Mechanicus and the Soul Drinkers set off for the main Necron hub world, Selaaca, planning to destroy the Necron Lord and leave the rest of the enemy forces in the region leaderless.