The Mystery of the BGB Cover

[Bigred]

Did anyone ever figure out what's the deal with that shield emblem on the cover of the rulebook?

I remember alot of talk about it , then nothing.

So the Emperor in the center fighting a doubleheaded serpent is fairly obvious.

The outer ring of 12 spikes each with a seal of some type, around the 13th larger skull center at the top.

Inside them is a ring of 20 rivets, 3 of which are missing.

Ideas?

[Gotthammer]

12 seals:
- Inquisition (=I=, 1st)
- Adeptus Arbites
- Adeptus Astra Telepathica
- Adeptus Mechanicus (cogwheel, 5th)
- Assassins (=I= plus Skull, 6th)
- Rogue traders
- Legionnes Astrates (winged sword? 11th)
- Planetary Governors
- Imperial Guard
- Fleet
- Administratum
- Adeptus Custodes (shield, 12th)
+ The Emperor on top.

Taken from the 12 listed organisations in the original Rogue Trader Imperial organisation chart. There is a second cogwheel (7th), so maybe replace RTs or Governors with Titan Legions or somesuch.

20 rivets = the twenty Primarchs less the two mystery legions and Horus.

That's my thoughts anyway.

[Grotzooka]

Don't forget the lion and eagle on the hammer's head. They are the Imperial Guard and the Space Marines.

[Cryl]

12 seals:
- Inquisition (=I=, 1st)
- Adeptus Arbites
- Adeptus Astra Telepathica
- Adeptus Mechanicus (cogwheel, 5th)
- Assassins (=I= plus Skull, 6th)
- Rogue traders
- Legionnes Astrates (winged sword? 11th)
- Planetary Governors
- Imperial Guard
- Fleet
- Administratum
- Adeptus Custodes (shield, 12th)
+ The Emperor on top.

Taken from the 12 listed organisations in the original Rogue Trader Imperial organisation chart. There is a second cogwheel (7th), so maybe replace RTs or Governors with Titan Legions or somesuch.

20 rivets = the twenty Primarchs less the two mystery legions and Horus.

That's my thoughts anyway.

The seals make sense but the rivets less so... if two were missing then you could say it was the missing legions but why drop Horus as well and not Fulgrim, Curze, Mortarion etc as well.

Also would there be a seal for Rogue Traders in the current fluff? Isn't the Adepta Sororitas more likely? Not saying you're wrong at all just thinking out loud :)

[Gotthammer]

The seals make sense but the rivets less so... if two were missing then you could say it was the missing legions but why drop Horus as well and not Fulgrim, Curze, Mortarion etc as well.

Also would there be a seal for Rogue Traders in the current fluff? Isn't the Adepta Sororitas more likely? Not saying you're wrong at all just thinking out loud :)

There's still good in them, and the Emperor can sense it? Perhaps Rogal Dorn, Sanguinius and Ferrus Mannus - the loyal sons lost to their father? They're the only loyalist Primarchs who are 100% confirmed as dead.

I was iffy about Rogue Traders, but just put the list from what was in the RT rulebook. Sororitas are more likely, but the second cogwheel is puzzling me. Skitarii and Titan Legions are part of the AdMech, but the Legions I could maybe see getting their own seal.

[Jmaximum]

The seals make sense but the rivets less so... if two were missing then you could say it was the missing legions but why drop Horus as well and not Fulgrim, Curze, Mortarion etc as well.

Also would there be a seal for Rogue Traders in the current fluff? Isn't the Adepta Sororitas more likely? Not saying you're wrong at all just thinking out loud :)


2nd, 11th, and Horus are dead yes? Wait, my theory sucks: Ferrus Manus is dead too, and Guilliman is sorta/kinda dead. Oh, and Sanguinius is definitely dead. Russ is off somewhere chasing El'Johnson (would love to know how that resolves).
what the hell do i know? I dont even own the rulebook.
But, the above listings forgot the Ecclesiarchy (of which the Adepta Sorirtas is a subdivision.)

[Gotthammer]

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r314/Gotthammer/Necromancy.jpg

[ToBeWilly]

Could the 12 seals be for the 12 High Lords of Terra?

[Drew da Destroya]

Gotthammer wins the thread. Holy crap. Well done, sir.

The 12 High Lords makes a lot of sense, and probably makes more sense than the 12 "parts" of the Imperium theory. The Assassins getting their own seal strikes me as odd, at least.

[ToBeWilly]

The Assassins getting their own seal strikes me as odd, at least.
I believe The Grand Master of the Officio Assassinorum, is a High Lord.

[Lexington]

I get the feeling that the "big deal" that was supposed to take place during 5th Edition - and hinted at by the rulebook cover - never materialized for some reason. Maybe there was a planned tie-in with the Horus Heresy novels, revealing something that would have been symbolized by the odd number of missing rivets? Just off-the-cuff guessing.

[Denzark]

I get the feeling that the "big deal" that was supposed to take place during 5th Edition - and hinted at by the rulebook cover - never materialized for some reason. Maybe there was a planned tie-in with the Horus Heresy novels, revealing something that would have been symbolized by the odd number of missing rivets? Just off-the-cuff guessing.

I never heard of any 'big deal' or any tie-in with the rule book cover. Howsabout this? It is just a random shield they got one of the session artists to come up with, and they just liked the look of it - sort of like the Joker 'Dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight'.

No conspiracy, just random art.

[Gotthammer]

http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r314/Gotthammer/40k/FunPolice2.jpg



:p


I too do not know of any 'big deal' that was to happen, or allusions to it in the cover.