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Why can't we get more 'Bjorn the fell handed'

I really can see a dreadnought leading an army, why doesn't this seem to happen.

because they can tend to die easier mabey the could make the to where they could explode more than once

I think its so that its one more unique thing for armies. I believe that the BA are going to have a psyker dreadnought. which will be scary

Because dreadnoughts are awoken so infrequently that it would not make sense for them to lead forces. When they next awake the troops that they lead in the last battle might be long gone.

Dreds are, in the fluff, awoken every 50odd years or less - they are infrequent tools, hence "Elite" - so they cant lead forces so much. Bjorn is an exception.

The reason they dont wake them longer is, well, they go mad. Theyre heavily sedated, pumped full of drugs and then put back to sleep.

nosferatu1001 wrote:Dreds are, in the fluff, awoken every 50odd years or less - they are infrequent tools, hence "Elite" - so they cant lead forces so much. Bjorn is an exception.

The reason they dont wake them longer is, well, they go mad. Theyre heavily sedated, pumped full of drugs and then put back to sleep.

Chaos dreds are nuts because they have spent the last 10,000 odd years trapped inside a metal box, wih few natural senses and no sense of touch, all they have left to do is kill stuff indescriminatey. You probably dont want one of those leading a chapter of SM.

Regwon wrote: Chaos dreds are nuts because they have spent the last 10,000 odd years trapped inside a metal box, wih few natural senses and no sense of touch, all they have left to do is kill stuff indescriminatey. You probably dont want one of those leading a chapter of SM.

Hell you don't want them in your CSM army half the time, they could go crazy and start killing your own guys which i love to watch.

Do you read the stories in the codex solon?

I do, solon, but I can still seem them doing it, when they were awake.

Fluff aside, it would be kind of bad ass.

so, when they're awake, they can't be asked to do command? they've most of them been around for 1000's of years, I think they could be a good HQ.

how about a dread specifically for HQ?

I kind of like this idea-maybe not regular Dreads, but I can certainly see Venerable Dreadnaughts doing it. Didn't the SW used to have this option before the 5th ed codex?

they have 'Bjorn the 'fell-handed'' which is an awesome HQ choice.

Well for one thing, Bjorns not an awesome HQ choice, he's a capable one and I would argue that rather than being incapable of being a leader, dreadnoughts are simply bettered by others. Captains and Chapter masters and the like will still have tons of experience, but unlike dreadnoughts, they can be used in all circumstances and at any moment whilst being able to constantly adapt to a change in fighting methods... IMHO.

AKGator wrote:

Regwon wrote: Chaos dreds are nuts because they have spent the last 10,000 odd years trapped inside a metal box, wih few natural senses and no sense of touch, all they have left to do is kill stuff indescriminatey. You probably dont want one of those leading a chapter of SM.

Hell you don't want them in your CSM army half the time, they could go crazy and start killing your own guys which i love to watch.

Ditto, nothing better than watching you'r own dreads turn on each other.

Didn't one of the Blood Angels books have a successor chapter lead by a Dreadnought?

I think they did. which one was it?

I can totally see a little '21st founding' chapter being full of clawed dreads such as a the flame'falcons

Generally even SM dreads are a little..unsure of what is going on. They are only woken up for serious frigging wartime, as their systems cant handle continuous operation for any great length of time, and as such their senses of place is lost - if you read the fluff they often confuse periods of history from before their interment with current events. They lack an abiltiy to change to suit the environment, and therefore are rubbish as commanders - given a fixed objective they are fine, but give them something more nebulous (achieve victory on X) then they are going to struggle.

And this is without leaving them awake, deprived of most sensation, for 10,000 years (or the local warp equivalent duration) in the warp like chaos do.

It takes an *exceptional* mind to withstand this and still be a capable and *flexible* leader - and this would be excpetional to the already top 0.000000000001% iof humanity. In addition dreadnought chassis are nto exactly common....

If I remember correctly, there was a Dreadnought commanding an Iron Warriors warband in one of the Ultramarine books...

Well the SW have/had Bjorn as a possible HQ choice because he was old...Like thousands of years old (He is one of the few who remembers the Emperor and Leman Russ). The SW feel that because of this he is a suitable leader when in need. This doesn't mean it is true but it is their way of honoring someone who means a lot to them.

Also, Iron Hands could possibly do this because to them a Dreadnought is an ultimate form of becoming one with a machine. So why would someone who has become one be unable to lead?

Bjorn is 10k years old :3

Captain Solon wrote:so, when they're awake, they can't be asked to do command? they've most of them been around for 1000's of years, I think they could be a good HQ.

how about a dread specifically for HQ?

Your right that would be great ! It could work for alot of other armies as well ! Like some sort of wraithlord for Eldar , and maybe some sort of Stompa for orks !!!!

nosferatu1001 wrote:Dreds are, in the fluff, awoken every 50odd years or less - they are infrequent tools, hence "Elite" - so they cant lead forces so much. Bjorn is an exception.

The reason they dont wake them longer is, well, they go mad. Theyre heavily sedated, pumped full of drugs and then put back to sleep.

You make them sound like a teenage drug adict

i would love a HQ dread
it would be awesome as an imperial guard HQ

Perseus is listed in the Badab War campaign info I have as being the commander of the Sons of Medusa forces, so its not completely impossible

Vulkan -not teenaged, but they are drugged into unconsciousness between fights, and then popped onto stimulants when they need to be woken up and fight.

Seriously , read the fluff. Dreadnoughts, even loyalist ones, arent normal leadership material. It takes an *exceptional* commander to survive as a viable commander after being reduced to little more than a brain and nervous system and placed in a metal casket.

Soladrin wrote:If I remember correctly, there was a Dreadnought commanding an Iron Warriors warband in one of the Ultramarine books...

Lord Berossus. An Iron Warrior dreadnought Warsmith at the head of a Grand Company, meaning he was leading around a thousand chaos marines. He was doing just fine as a leader until a rival killed him.

But that's not the point, loyal Dreadnoughts are actually lazy bums and enjoy faking the whole going 'crazy' thing so that they can sleep some more.

Iron Hands in 3rd got the original Venerable Dreadnought as HQ, as their chapter is lead by a council consisting mostly of Dreads.

Also Bjorn is not the oldest Dreadnought. There is an Ultramarine Dreadnought in fluff that was a hardened veteran by the time of the Horus Heresy. The Ultramarines don't wake him because he can barely handle the idea that the Emperor and Robute Guillaume are dead.

Also most Dreads aren't some great leader thats passed, a lot of stories around about 3rd edition put them more as martyr's who managed to survive their martyrdom through sheer badass. We're talking some one who strapped the whole company's supply of meltabombs and decided to "Glasgow Kiss" a greater daemon, and yet survived like the black knight.....

Essentially we're not looking at Field Marshall Rommel in a tin-can but one fething berzerk Sgt Rock driven mad by the fact he failed to die in the emperor's name the first time round.

So to answer your question.. Dreads are bad leaders as they sucked at the whole Not Dying For The Emperor part of strategy and then proceeded to screw up the hell easier Die For The Emperor alternative.

Eyclonus wrote:The Ultramarines don't wake him because he can barely handle the idea that the Emperor and Robute Guillaume are dead..

Lmao! But remember, the Emperor is sustained by the Golden Throne.