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Henners91 wrote:The point is that it was blindingly obvious that intervening would make him face annihilation

Same as pretty much anyone who went up against Horus at that point of time though yes ? Sanguinius was in exactly the same situation and made the same choice.

I don't really see how he could have gotten there at all, there's no way that a mere normal guardsmen would even have been allowed near the Emperor at the best of times, let alone at the literal razors edge of the battle that will decide the fate of the Universe.

With the way the HH novels are going, I can see a human Ollanius Pius being put back in.

I'd imagine some sort of Euphrati Keeler-style moment of faith - a guardsman/rememberancer who secretly worships the emperor, and finds some of that power. A guardsman who, knowing he is about to be killed, starts yelling at Horus, etc...

TBH, the Lectitio Divinatus thing could work with a Custodes as well....

The cult route is the only way I could see it even slightly working, or, maybe, if he was in fact someone who had previously sided with Horus ( be it willingly or not) and then "sees the light" or some such.

reds8n wrote: The cult route is the only way I could see it even slightly working, or, maybe, if he was in fact someone who had previously sided with Horus ( be it willingly or not) and then "sees the light" or some such.

This I can see happening. It seems a lot more likely than being the only guardsman that zapped up onto the ship with an Elite Strike force of Space Marines and Custodes.

I could see him..or her... perhaps being something like a captured Rememberancer, maybe freed during the fighting on board, stumbling, blindly through the ship, only their faith keeping the tattered remnants of their sanity together, until they stumble into the scene of the final showdown. Terra burns in the distance, Horus stands astride the murdered angel, hatred distorting his face into something fell and terrible as he maims and murders his father, who fights on, desperate to save him...

..or whatever..

I will be absolutely shocked if Mr. Pious makes a return at all, never mind showing up at the climactic battle.

He's gone guys.

I've given my theory for his disappearance, I'd like to see others too!

Also, where is he located in the old background?

Anyone have a book and page reference?

He was a first mentioned, AFAIK, in a small text piece accompanying a picture of a Necromunda derived Imperial Guard regiment in a Wd around...oohh... 112/113/111/110/109/aroundhereanyway.. something like that anyway. He is a Saint like figure on their banner, alleged to have interposed himself between the Emperor and Horus at the climatic battle.

I have a vague feeling the Kid Kyoto might have done a review of the issue with picture ..perhaps... ?


EDIT : the artwork was then used for the first RT era guard palstic box set

http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/1102-Rogue%20Trader%20IG%20box.html?m=2

He's also, kind of, mentioned in one of Andy Hoare's Rogue Trader novels, there's a medla anmed after him.

Alpharius wrote:Fantastic.

How about we try to answer the OP's question too though?

Why, then, is he gone?

To sell more space marines

I think it is completely possible to have OP in the canon as a Saint of Guardsmen and still not have him appear in the Novel of the fight.

It is completely likely that in universe he was merely a fabrication created to boost guard morale at some point in history.

Just because there is a story, and a saint out there does not mean the character actually took part in the events.

It could have started as a story about a grunt who stood between his general and a Chaos Cultist, and chinese whispered its way to being the Emperor and Horus.
Legends have started from less.

Ennkay wrote:

Alpharius wrote:Fantastic.

How about we try to answer the OP's question too though?

Why, then, is he gone?

To sell more space marines

Doubtful.

skrulnik wrote:I think it is completely possible to have OP in the canon as a Saint of Guardsmen and still not have him appear in the Novel of the fight.

It is completely likely that in universe he was merely a fabrication created to boost guard morale at some point in history.

Just because there is a story, and a saint out there does not mean the character actually took part in the events.

It could have started as a story about a grunt who stood between his general and a Chaos Cultist, and chinese whispered its way to being the Emperor and Horus.
Legends have started from less.

More likely, IF he's still in the official background at all...

Melissia wrote:Him being a "regular Joe" is exactly WHY it's more interesting. Superhumans doing super things isn't as cool as regular humans doing super things.

imust strongly agree with this, its why i play IG

i really would like that old fluff bak!

I think as already said he just doesn't really fit, in the fluff or the effect he has. An gaurdsman being anywhere near the emperor during the siege is unlikely being on the teleporter is almost impossible. Having a normal human (has to be human or the effect isn't the same) close to the emperor is a huge risk as traitors are appearing everywhere, only the most loyal and neccessary would be allowed.

Even if he managed that he would still have to fight his way through a ship which is warping into people's nightmares and stay their long enough for the emperor to arrive (did he just sit and watch as horus kills sanguinius?). When they do fight trying to distract horus isn't going to work well as horus isn't going to focus on anything at this point and OP really isn't a threat. Aprat from throwing himself in the way (an action that achieves very little as he would stop either of them from fighting) he can't do much.

The battle between Horus and the Emp is the iconic fight where the emperor tries to save his son and his race and is forced to sacrifice himself. OP would be out of place and distract from the true point. Having 2 sacrifices makes them both seem lesser.

Having said this I could see him existing just not on Horus' ship. He could die protecting the palace or to save a primarch.

4M2A wrote:He could die protecting the palace or to save a primarch.

The thought I have about that is that Ollanius arrives just as Sanguinius takes his last breath and his fragile sanity finally cracks after seeing a Primarch die and then looking over to see the abomination that Horus has become. Horus obviously sees no threat in a mere soldier and maybe he even finds Ollanius' grief for Sanguinius ammusing. Then the Emperor approaches and as Horus sends his first psychic attack Ollanius jumps in the way with a lunatic snarl, instantly obliterated.

4M2A wrote:I think as already said he just doesn't really fit, in the fluff or the effect he has. An gaurdsman being anywhere near the emperor during the siege is unlikely being on the teleporter is almost impossible. Having a normal human (has to be human or the effect isn't the same) close to the emperor is a huge risk as traitors are appearing everywhere, only the most loyal and neccessary would be allowed.

As opposed to an Astartes, half of which already turned traitor? At least a human is technically less dangerous if they betray.

Sageheart wrote:

Melissia wrote:Him being a "regular Joe" is exactly WHY it's more interesting. Superhumans doing super things isn't as cool as regular humans doing super things.

imust strongly agree with this, its why i play IG

i really would like that old fluff bak!

Actually, I kinda agree here. It's part of the reason people like Batman are so cool; they do the ultra-heroic stuff without the special powers, pretty much relying on courage. A humble man sacrificing his life to save the master of Mankind? Now, that is undeniably awesome.
However, I doubt they'll return OP to the fluff, which is a great pity, but can't be helped.

Melissia wrote:

4M2A wrote:I think as already said he just doesn't really fit, in the fluff or the effect he has. An gaurdsman being anywhere near the emperor during the siege is unlikely being on the teleporter is almost impossible. Having a normal human (has to be human or the effect isn't the same) close to the emperor is a huge risk as traitors are appearing everywhere, only the most loyal and neccessary would be allowed.

As opposed to an Astartes, half of which already turned traitor? At least a human is technically less dangerous if they betray.

Debatable at best, outright wrong at worst.

As we've been told countless times, there are millions of guardsmen/PDF/etc out there, just waiting to go over to the dark side...

With their access to untold numbers of men, machines and equipment, they're probably a bigger threat in the end.

Most battles within the Imperium are with the Lost and the Damned, aren't they.

Which makes the lack of a LaTD list all the more annoying!

Well, they could include him in some other way - perhaps he dies at the Gate, or was some sort of messenger... Over the years, the story gets expanded...

Though I had always seen the attack on the Vengeful Spirit as a sort of "hey, the shields are down!" "What? Really? Right, everybody on the teleport panel now! Yeah, you guys too. Yes, we're all going to die, get on the damn panel!". Total desperation, get every gun you can in there while you still can. Every man who dies might buy the time needed for the Emperor to defeat Horus. That sort of thing...

Alpharius wrote:Debatable at best, outright wrong at worst.

A single guardsman is nto more dangerous. A thousand guardsmen with tanks and artillery? Sure.

Yes, and unfortunately Thousands of Guardsmen and their tanks go Chaos everyday.

But Ollanius Pius didn't.

A tale of human courage amidst the ravages of war between superhumans is all the more awesome for it.

Please, stop being deliberately obtuse.

A single Space Marine isn't all that dangerous either.

The forces that the Imperial Army (Guard) can bring to bear nowadays are a lot more dangerous to the Imperium, ESPECIALLY after the Heresy and with the restriction of the Codex Astartes.

This is not dense. We are not talking about after the heresy, or have you forgotten the subject of this thread?

I have.....what are we talking about again?

Ollanius Pius, that human dude who sacrificed his life to try and save the Emperor in the final moments of the Horus Heresy. He became the first Saint.

oh yeah, they should bring him back!

Melissia wrote:This is not dense. We are not talking about after the heresy, or have you forgotten the subject of this thread?

Do you even read or remember what you post?

Either way, whatever.

Mr. Pious is gone, most likely never to be brought back.

I've actually stated WHY I think he's gone, which is something precious few others in this thread have actually done!

Obviously he is gone because he makes very little sense. How did he get there? How did he not die? How did he not go insane? The list goes on.

But what to remember is that Ollanius Pius' true intent was to show humanities undying loyalty to the Emporer and the Imperium in the face of literal, unstoppable destruction. Ollanius Pius being a man makes it much more powerful than a custodes, adn helps the tale resonate with players (as they are men/women as well). The point is it's power, not the hows and whys. Now he is gone. A tragedy imho.

Obviously this doesn't answer the OP and to be honest I don't have an answer as to why he was there. There could be a million reasons.

Whenever something is retconned I always go with it seeing as it's the IP of the creators and they can do whatever they want to it. But the story of Olannius Pius is way too awesome so I personally hold it as cannon no matter what.

Also as for how he got there, if he was able to face Horus w/out going mad I'm sure the rest of the ship wasn't so bad. Also Terra is under siege: accidents are bound to happen, people ending up where they aren't supposed to be. It is a gigantomundo war then add in the vagrancies of the warp.

In the end what's more important is the message. Badass hard as nails guardsmen (which is redundant since all IG are pretty much like that) facing Horus is way more meaningful than a superhuman doing superhumanly things.

Yes he was an "Oh so brave normal man who stood up to Horus in the final struggle between good and evil in a war between superhumans! It just goes to show that, even though every bit of fluff states that a Space Marine could kill a normal man with his big toe, one brave soul could stand up for what he believes in and spit in the faces of the forces of Chaos!" *Cue dramatic Braveheart music*



What made this guy so special? He (as far as I know) never had any genuine buildup before the Siege of Terra. Nor any genuine character development. So suddenly they can bring up some random dude who pops in out of nowhere and is like "F*CK YOU HORUS! I LOVE ME SOME EMPEROR!" It's like...what made this guy so pious, brave, and heroic (incredibly lame name he has, by the way) that he could avoid the horrors that made the most battle-hardened Space Marines go insane at a glimpse. And how the hell did he get up there in the first place? It's ludicrous at best. Flat out asinine at worst.

Darth Bob wrote:a Space Marine could kill a normal man with his big toe

Even GW isn't that idiotic. Only 4chan is. And 4chan sucks.