Horus Heresy Emperors Children organisation

[Eberk]

I'm interested in the organization of the Emperors Children during the Horus Heresy. How many there were, how many companies and their size, their commanders, etc, etc...

So the "Horus Heresy book I: Betrayal" seems like the logical book to buy.


So I have to ask... before I spend so much money on a book.

Will I be happy with the content or will I be disappointed ?

(I'm not asking for the info that is contained in the book, I'm just asking if there is a lot of the info I seek contained in the book or is that sorely lacking ?)

Thanks for the heads up

[Tzeentch's Dark Agent]

It is a beautiful book, I do not regret buying it.

[Eberk]

It is a beautiful book
No doubt about that... but a beautiful book can also contain info you don't need or want (or vice versa).

I think it's a little bit to much money for just an added weight in my bookcase (if it doesn't contain the info I seek)

[Khorneguy]

I'm interested in the organization of the Emperors Children during the Horus Heresy. How many there were, how many companies and their size, their commanders, etc, etc...

So the "Horus Heresy book I: Betrayal" seems like the logical book to buy.


So I have to ask... before I spend so much money on a book.

Will I be happy with the content or will I be disappointed ?

(I'm not asking for the info that is contained in the book, I'm just asking if there is a lot of the info I seek contained in the book or is that sorely lacking ?)

Thanks for the heads up

Reading Angel Exterminatus is your best bet. Betrayal covers up to Istvann, but Angel Exterminatus covers just after Istvann. The EC legion structure breaks down very quickly after the dropsite, descending into barely controlled anarchy and changing on an almost daily basis, usually with the deranged whims of Fulgrim.

Angel Exterminatus is a great read, gives you the information you need and is cheaper too

[eldargal]

There are three pages devoted to EC structure and hierarchy within that Legions write-up, it indicates that it followed a fairly standard Legion pattern with an emphasis on speed and a few other things. Between it and the write-up on Legion organisation you should be able to get a good idea of HH-Pre-HH EC organisation from Betrayal.

[Eberk]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll write those books on my 'must have' list :)

[Flying Tigress]

Hey Eberk. Tina from Deepstrike Radio. I'm collecting a fairly huge FW Pre-Heresy Emperor's Children army (slightly before Fulgrim went nuts).

Betrayal is more than a book. It's frankly art. I'll try to provide a bit of a breakdown of the EC coverage in Betrayal and try to chip in my own two cents. The book contains eight pages of in-depth focus on the organization and history of Fulgrim and his legion, and three pages of their infamous battles, which short of highlight the tactics used in those particular battles. There's also a page of Legion-specific rules, a unique "Palatine Squad" (close combat swordmasters, think a squad of Luciuses.), rules for Tarvitz (yay) and Rylanor (yay), and Fulgrim (yay). From the book, and the fluff, their tactics appear to focus on things like:

- Very tactically focused, with an emphasis on the right tools for the job. To this extent, in theory, anything from the Betrayal book could be fielded within an EC army to some extent with a legitimate argument made as to being "fluffy."

- Mention of very tactically elite and skilled armies, so I'd probably focus less on standard tactical squads and smaller, more elite things like veterans in tactical armour.

- Fulgrim appears to have a fairly rigid command structure, meaning that most companies and squads had very fixed numbers. I would extrapolate that there would be somewhat specialised companies or regiments, perhaps an all heavy weapons/support vehicle unit, that would then subsequently be deployed to support another company or regiment.

- A lot of speed. Both in terms of deployment speed but also swiftness to engage. So there's going to be a legitimate use for things like assault squads, land speeders, bikes and jet bikes. Modelling wise, things like banners and cloaks and capes are suitable. Also, tactically, I'd make the suggestion that there would be a lot of Rhino transports, and not a lot of hanging back camping home objectives. Thematically, obviously, objective holding is key.

- A lot of heavy weapons squads. There's specific mention in Betrayal of "sun-killer" devestator squads equipped with lascannons.

- As far as close combat goes, there's a definite emphasis on skill at arms and ceremonial duelling. However, there's also a nod to the fact that the legion was ravaged prior to Fulgrim's rediscovery by the Emperor, and so he was very cognizant of not wasting troops, so huge formations of foot-slogging close combat troops, ala World Eaters/Khorne Berzerkers, I would posit is not really their deal. Perhaps Land Raider mounted veteran squads with power weapons, or Assault Squads, and especially the Palatine Blades, who are armed with awesome weapons from the Betrayal book.

- Modelling wise, the sergeants and characters in the army are the focus! They pride themselves in skill-at-arms, and have been known to collect the weapons and armour of particularly worthy opponents. So really, you could make excellent use of things like third-party varieties of swords, the more unique and alien the better, it would seem. There's also a strong emphasis on things like pride in appearance and presentation, very Blood Angels aesthetics, so things like capes, cloaks, lanyards and baubles. I wouldn't do this for the line troops, as I prefer to keep things fairly uniform, but sergeants, veterans, and the like.

- So really, whatever you want from the book, it seems you can take. Headquarters-wise, lots of Apothecaries and Champions. There was a large apothecary detachment as Fulgrim was very focused on maintaining (and improving) the Emperor's design. There's no limit really, if it was available, the III Legion had it, wanted it, or wanted to perfect its use.

The ONLY thing I'm unsure of is the use of Librarians up to and after Nikea, after they started falling towards Heresy. It's not really touched upon whether Fulgrim re-instated the Librarian program (one could assume that he did disband it as per the Emperor's edict). After the fact, I can't see why he wouldn't have encouraged his psykers to enjoy their talents, as he himself devolved into excess.

Hope this helps for a start!