Ragnarok - home of the Storm Wolves

Background

The Storm Wolves are a Space Marine chapter based in the Star System Ragnarok. This system is a binary star system, whose main star Ragnarok Alpha Supernovaed approximately 10,000 years ago.

As such it is a system rich in the heavy metals formed in this cosmic explosion. The star system is major provider of raw materials for it's sector, feeding the Imperium war machine. The Storm Wolves role is as guardians of this vital resource, a role they see as a sacred (occasionally fanatical) trust.

However it has been found that “guard duty” is a poor substitute for experience, and after several disastrous engagements a detached unit of 3 companies now tours the galaxy seeking chances to engage the enemies of the Imperium. Called “Prower Units” they contain elements of new and experienced Space Marines.

Ragnarok

Approximately 10,000 years ago the main star Ragnarok Alpha suffered a tremendous explosion, destroying much of the original star system. However, such supernovae are the source of rare and important elements such as iron, gold, platinum – leaving a treasure trove of resources around the exhausted star.

An Imperial colony was first established 8,000 years ago, but the Imperial guardsmen failed to hold onto the star system, being driven back in one of the great Ork Waaarghs 7,000 years ago.

It was up to the Space Wolves to win it back, fighting alongside the remants of the Imperial Guard they managed to crush the Orks, and afterwards established a new chapter in the star system. But this new chapter like so many Space Wolf seeded ones was a cursed chapter, the geneseed over centuries mutating into a form eventually terminal to it's host Space Marines.

The Chapter slowly succumbed to what was called Ragnarok's Curse, and a second founding was attempted using Ultramarine geneseed which proved more stable. This second founding was known as the Storm Wolves.

Planet Helle

Closest to the star Ragnarok Beta, this is a blasted wasteland of a world, with the surface temperature hot enough to melt lead. It is also one of the more populated planets, the ruling elite using the planets natural harshness to deter invasions – for there is little on this world worth invading for. The population lives deep inside the planet in a series of luxurious colonies paid for by the natural riches of this remarkable star system.

Here the Hellion Committee runs the administration of the system, they are the closest to a government, the seats on the panel bought by privilege or money.

But despite the riches and relative security of this fortress world, for many it is still not enough. Dissent brews within the planet. Some see the Storm Wolves as an occupying force. Others on the Committee see them as an annoying drain on resources, and an upstart nuisance in the affairs of the star system. Many politicians will echo words to the effect that “Hellion should rule, Storm Wolves should guard”.

Hellions see themselves as nobility, and look down on the denizens of the other worlds as inferior in all respects. This was brutally seen in the great Ork Waaargh, where the outnumbered Imperial Guard forces fell back to Helle without even a fight, leaving the other enhabitants of other worlds within Ragnarok to their own fate.

By the Charter of Ragnarok, the constitution which outlines the relationship between the Space Marine chapter and the star systems of Ragnarock, the Hellion committee has managed to retain a small Imperial guard army for itself, independent of the Storm Wolves. By this same charter, the Storm Wolves are forbidden to have any presence of arms on Helle, and are only supposed to visit the planet by formal request by the Hellion Committee.

Planet Muspell

This is the home of the Storm Wolves. It is a planet pulled by tidal forces, with occasional volcanoes, earthquakes, geysers. Most of the planet is dominated by a harsh lichen which only the goat cattle of the Muspell nomads can eat.

However properly treated the soil is abundant, and there are many large farms which feed the rest of the star system.

Unfortunately the planet was badly contaminated during the Orks Waaargh. There are still sizable Ork colonies hidden within the jungle areas, and countless efforts have failed to remove them.

It is little wonder then with such an aggressive local pest that despite a smaller population, the Muspellian farmers and nomads have proved to be suitable Space Marine candidates. Most Storm Wolves have come from Muspellian origins, another factor which irritates many Hellions. That said most officers even within the Storm Wolves, have turned out to have Hellion lineage. Even within the mighty Space Marines there seems to be the seeds of prejudice.

It is on this planet that Storm Wolves keep their main base, the fortress of Midgard.

Planet Jotunheim

A gas giant world, the satellites of which contain Ragarok's mining, processing and industrial infrastructure. These factory worlds generally have poor conditions, containing human hives of workers who get to share very little of the systems wealth, whilst paying high prices for their shoddy food, water and air.

It is little surprise that crime here is rife, with many murders between individuals squabbling for what little they have. But not all crime is so ill-disciplined, and there is a powerful syndicate at work in these factories called The Talon, of which very little is known, even by the overworked and under-resourced Inquisition.

The satellites of Jotunheim, with their citizens who grow around technology have provided many Space Marines who would go on to become Master of Arms for the Storm Wolves.

Planet Niflheim

This ice world is a brutal and inhospitible place, but still some life clings on. No indiginous life survives above ground, but large underground seas heated by the volcanic planet core still teem with swathes of marine life. It's on this life the tribes known as “the ice folk” live – they are nomads similar to the Muspellians. They live on the surface, and track migrations of the underwater fish life – for they are skilled divers and underwater fishermen.

The Storm Wolves maintain an early warning outpost here. Here too is the Hall of Sleeping Warriors. Chapter Master Albert Donitz of the Cursed Founding placed 300 of his Space Marines into cryogenic storage here, where they wait through the millenia.

It is said that in Ragnarok's greatest hour of need, the seal will be broken and the Doomed Warriors will wake to fight one final battle.

Warhammer 6th Edition - it's here!

It's here!  Finally …

Today saw the launch of the Sixth Edition rulebook of Warhammer 40,000.  We managed to get the last copy at our local Games Workshop in Lower Hutt, and with much trepidation opened it up.

The internet has been rife with rumours about what this version would and wouldn't include.  We ourselves had mixed feelings about a new rulebook, feeling we'd only just got to grips through play at Wellington Warlords on the Fifth Edition rules.

So here is our first pass through the rules, and our initial impressions on what's most obviously changed.  This article is meant to help readers to hunt out the changes rather than as a substitute for players buying the book.

First off the good news – Warhammer 40k is still Warhammer 40k.  After some of the rules rumours, it sounded like the new rules would be substantially compromised with much more look-ups etc which promised to slow down gameplay.  Thankfully not – it's the same old move, shoot, assault we're all used to, and nothing here really wrecks that.

With that little rumour squashed, lets look into the most obvious differences …

Snap shots

In amongst normal shooting is now the concept of snap shots against unit.  This is a reactionary “pot shot” which is taken opportunistically at various points of the game, and is one of the central core to the new rules.

A snap shot is taken at a much lower ballistic skill than normal – it allows you for instance to fire a heavy weapon even though you've moved (useful), and has other uses which I'll come to later.

Overwatch

Now when your unit is assaulted, you get the opportunity to use snap shots against your attackers as they rush you (instead of being dumbfounded and waiting to be attacked).  Really handy for units like Tau who don't fare well in assault to even the odds.

Likewise the move for assault has been changed from 6” confirmed to 2D6” … which means you can declare assault and fail to make up the ground, leaving your unit sitting ducks for the next turn (oops).

Special Rules

There are about double the number of special rules covered now compared to Fifth Edition.  Perhaps our favourite is the Hammer of Wrath, which fixes a discrepency of previous versions.  Certain units like riders, bikers, jet troops get an automatically hitting attack when they charge into assault.  This really beefs up the punch on units like the Imperial Guard rough riders, who too often played out like normal guardsmen who can assault over larger distances.

Vehicles now have hit points!

Well they're called Hull Points in the game.  Generally flyers have 2, tanks have 3, heavy tanks have 4.  You lose a HP after a glancing or penetrating shot.  So gone will be the days when my Ironclad dreadnaught took multiple penetrating shots in one turn, which would all (through lucky dice rolls) turn out to be just stunned.  On the third such shot my dreaddy would have joined the Emperor's Choir Celestial!

This definitely makes vehicles feel much more vulnerable than they once were!

Sadly though there is still a rule for vehicles – you can only move and fire a single weapon (which seems daft for tanks with dedicated weapons crews).  However you get the option to fire additional weapons using the snapshot (reduced BS) rule, which is a step in the right direction.

Psykers

If you own Tau, look away now (Tau get none of this).  Without doubt one of the biggest changes has been to psychers.

This felt slightly inevitable.  With the rise of Warmachine, which focuses on special characters and abilities, it's always felt that Games Workshop would want to do something to reflect this.

There are in total 32 psychic powers split into 5 “magic disciplines”.  Different armies have access to different disciplines (except the formentioned Tau).  I've never been too keen on using Librarians with my Storm Wolves, but now I'm wondering about maybe taking two next game and try these new rules out.

Flyers

Yes, we now have flyers in Warhammer.  We can't help but feel a bit cynical about these.  With the rules changes around flyer, they are now a “must have”.  Handy as Games Workshop has released a whole new line of them (odd that).

Yes, tanks are now a thing of the past.  Flyers can fly great speeds around the table (typically 18”), whilst still being able to fire up to 4 weapons.  Oh, and if you shoot at a flyer, you have to shoot on the snap shot rules (they're much harder to hit).  The rules here do feel a little unbalanced.

Oh, and if you have Tau, you don't have anything in your arsenal which counts as a flyer.  Which is annoying, as this means that the Tau do not benefit from either of the two new additions to the rulebook.  It's no wonder many players at Wellington Warlords are refusing to dust off their Tau army until the new codex comes out and addresses some obvious deficiencies in this army.

Summing up …

Bottom line as said, this still feels like Warhammer.  The new book (we won't mention the NZ pricetag as it's a very expensive purchase here) is really a beautiful piece of work, beyond the rules themselves are page after page of background story, artwork (though many will be familiar), and ideas for building your army, game scenarios etc.

As some have said, there is a feeling throughout of Chaos taking more centrestage over the struggles of those valiant souls who fight for the Emperor.  As a player since first edition, I hope not, as Warhammer 40k has always been the tale of mankind in the far future hanging on by its nails against the worst scum of the Universe.

There is only war …

The Storm Wolves ...

The Storm Wolves are a chapter of Space Marines.  They are the guardians of the resource star system known as Ragnarok.  They are the second such chapter to carry the name, following in the footsteps of a Space Wolf founded chapter which failed due to cursed geneseed.

The Storm Wolves (II) were founded using Ultramarine geneseed several thousand years ago, inheriting much of the equipment of their former chapter.  They draw on the ranks of the local population, who are Germanic in nature and have retained many of the legends of the Space Wolves, with the honour of the Machine Spirit being upheld by naming most ships and vehicles within the chapter after Norse Gods.

Captain Marcus Stauffenberg looks out from the fortress of Mitguard. 

Captain Karl Rommel and Chapter Master Albert Donitz with the Vindicator Heimdall's Horn

The Ironclad Dreadnaught tomb of Gunther Ludendorf, a fallen hero of The War Of The Deep Dark

Starting at the beginning ...

Welcome to our blog.

We're passionate gamers for Warhammer 40,000, who create videos for our channel on YouTube when we can.  But it's all about the gaming.

We love our armies, and they have considerable back-history we've developed over the years.  This blog is about sharing some of the stories and fun we have in the Warhammer Universe.

The main armies we play are;

• Space Marines
• Imperial Guard
• Tau

But they are not just any Space Marine/Imperial Guard army, they are our own concoction.  No off-the-shelf Ultramarine or Cadian squads for us.