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Me and the girlfriend (and her sister) have been creating some of our own characters and fiction for the 40k universe for fun lately (and last year to), and we're about to get into some Abaddon-related lore. Paramount to this, in some of our story to come, is the 13th Black Crusade and its outcome (the lady is gearing up for a '14th' Black Crusade XD). Lexicanicum's entry is abysmal for ol' Ezekiel(?) Abbadon's 13th Black Crusade, and I didn't find info on it in any search here. I was there fighting on the website and in Games Day for the 13th Black Crusade years ago, though - so I know that players were in a position to actually create some of the lore for the 41st millenium. My question is, what happened, exactly? I remember afterwards there was a short blurb as to how it effected everything and the area around the Eye of Terror (since Chaos ~kinda~ won? Sort of?), but I don't remember much at all about it.

What might you all have to tell me about the 13th Black Crusade - what happened, and what were its results? (and maybe even how good a position is Abbadon in to do a 14th Black Crusade?)

I think that chaos expanded a little but not alot. (a plant or two)

I saved most of the newsletters from the world wide event. I have number 3,4,6,5,6,7,8, and 9. Unfortunatly I didn't think to start saving them right away during the event so I don't have the first 2. There is a ton of information about what happened in them so I won't post them here (it'd be several pages). Let me know if you're interested and I can send them to you.

Edit: Using the Waybackmachine.org internet archive site I have found the first 2 newsletters. They won't have the campaign instructions the rest have but they'll still have all the fluff.

Here is a summary of what hapenned during the 13th Black crusade. It covers mostly the space actions, but the most important events of this crusade took place in the stars anyway.

It started with the usual: an increase in chaotic raids out of the Eye, warp storms and the Eye itself expanding, rebellion spreading on Imperial worlds, etc.

But a few things were different from the very start this time.

First of all, eldars in the area ignored imperial forces and even attacked Chaotic war-bands as often as possible.
Secondly, SM chapters gathered around the Eye, without any official demand from the IG and Navy High-Commands. They simply came, in vast numbers and with massive fleets, sometimes even bringing their fortress-monastries with them.

The imperial forces understood that a massive chaotic invasion was underway and prepared their defenses, purging rebellious worlds and bringing reinforcements to the Cadian Sector and other locations around the eye. Three massive fleets were gathered in the sector: Battlefleets Cadia, Scarus and Agripinaa. The IoM was ready to meet Abaddon.

The first major space engagement took place in the Faber Detroit, where a picket fleet from Battlefleet Cadia chased and engaged a Night Lords fleet. The IoM emerged victorious, but suffered heavy losses. But mere moments after the victory, the battered imperial fleet detected a massive chaotic fleet emerging from the warp. The 13th Black Crusade had begun.

This fleet appeared to be commanded by Abaddon the despoiler, who stood on the bridge of his flagship: the Planet Killer.
This was a shock for the imperial forces since this vessel was thought to have been destroyed during the previous Black Crusade. But it seemed that Abaddon have bought a new shiny toy!
But he was not the only one at the party! Typhus had decided to come, leading a second massive fleet out of the Eye aboard his private super-luxurious Yacht: the Terminus Est.

Battlefleet Cadia departed to meet this overwhelming threat. The battle took place in the Ilithrium Belt, an asteroid field that forced the two fleets to engage the enemy at close quarters.
The engagement started as a disaster for the IoM, with terrible losses to the cannons of chaos, including Battlefleet cadia's flagship: the Hounour and Duty.
But when all hope was lost, Battlefleet Agripinaa (led by Admiral Quarren) arrived and rammed the flanks and rear of the Chaos fleet, allowing the surviving vessels of Battlefleet Cadia to disengage.
Chaos: 1 - IoM: 0

The Navy withdrew and tried to hold the line for a good part of the year while reinforcements came. I'll skip all the minor battles, Typhus and his plague, the planets destroyed by Abaddon, etc.

It was on cadia that Chaos was defeated. Quarren gathered elements from dozens of different battlefleets along with some SM ships and left Cadia, allowing Abaddon to make planetfall and start his little party. Once the Chaos vessels were in orbit, Quarren attacked their flanks, blocking them between his fleet and the planet and destroying them one by one. The Planet Killer fled, the Merciless Death (one of Abaddon's biggest battleships) was crippled by Quarren's own vessel and fled in the warp too. Only Abaddon's Black Fortress and her escort vessels resisted the imperial assault.

Quarren first decided to chase the Planet Killer. He notably boarded it with his SM forces, but was unable to capture it. The Planet Killer, after losing its shields and taking substantial hull damage, also fled in the warp.

Quarren then proceeded towards the fleeing Black Fortress, gunning down its escort vessels and chasing the Black Fortress out of the Cadian Sector. The Back Crusade was over, and Abaddon had failed.

The last publications from GW concerning the situation around the Eye and Cadia described Quarren as establishing a space contingency around the Eye, preventing Chaos from reinforcing its ground troops (like those trapped on Cadia). However, the IoM had lost too many ships to be able to take back the planets that had been completely lost to chaos. A bitter victory for the IoM...

Sorry for the big wall of text.

Thanks to you all - but woah, nice Laodamia - that was epic, and perfectly sized! A tasteful wall of text, imo.

It just makes me wonder...who the heck is Quarren? O.o

Quarren was a Imperial Admiral.

Little is known about Quarren before the Black Crusade. I only know that he was Battlefleet Agripinaa's Admiral, leading a powerful warfleet aboard his own vessel, a battleship named Gathalamor.

After the first months of the 13th Black Crusade, he assumed overall command of all Navy assets around the Eye of Terror. Thus, he commanded dozens of different battlefleets (that makes hundreds of ships) and was even able to request help from SM naval assets. His reputation and skills as an admiral were so great that major elements from Battlefleet Gothic and Battlefleet Solar that were already engaged around Armageddon against orks were dispatched to the Eye, under his command.

It is said that it was only thanks to the efforts of this man that the Cadian Gate held and that Abbadon was defeated (for the 13th time *cough*).

I think most black crusades break on the cadian gate, that is it's purpose.

From all that we know the 13. Black Crusade is still going on. The Imperium currently has some kind of space dominance but several planets around the cadian gate have fallen, after all, the campaign was officialy declared as a minor victory for chaos, something quite a few imperial players like to forget.

I think GW didn't want Chaos to be successful in the Campaign as they were. Correct me if Im wrong but Im sure Chaos did do well in the Eye of Terror Campaign.

blood reaper wrote:I think GW didn't want Chaos to be successful in the Campaign as they were. Correct me if Im wrong but Im sure Chaos did do well in the Eye of Terror Campaign.

In reality Chaos ran riot during that campaign (making massive initial gains) but it was declared a draw. Official result was declared a stalemate, Imperium won the space battle but Chaos took a few worlds.

Make of that what you will . . . . . . . .

And it's best not to bring up the campaign around Eldar fluff fans.

That's all I'm saying.

As i recall, one of the fallouts was that a great deal of Cadia itself was captured. Anybody confirm/refute this?

Skorne wrote:

blood reaper wrote:I think GW didn't want Chaos to be successful in the Campaign as they were. Correct me if Im wrong but Im sure Chaos did do well in the Eye of Terror Campaign.

In reality Chaos ran riot during that campaign (making massive initial gains) but it was declared a draw. Official result was declared a stalemate, Imperium won the space battle but Chaos took a few worlds.

Make of that what you will . . . . . . . .

The objective was for Chaos to claim Cadia and the spaceways around it.

They claimed Cadia and stirred up all kinds of hell outside of the Cadian Gate.

If they didn't accomplish their objective, then that's the definition of a stalemate

Kanluwen wrote:

Skorne wrote:

blood reaper wrote:I think GW didn't want Chaos to be successful in the Campaign as they were. Correct me if Im wrong but Im sure Chaos did do well in the Eye of Terror Campaign.

In reality Chaos ran riot during that campaign (making massive initial gains) but it was declared a draw. Official result was declared a stalemate, Imperium won the space battle but Chaos took a few worlds.

Make of that what you will . . . . . . . .

The objective was for Chaos to claim Cadia and the spaceways around it.

They claimed Cadia and stirred up all kinds of hell outside of the Cadian Gate.

If they didn't accomplish their objective, then that's the definition of a stalemate

I heard they managed to get 60% of Cadia and lost the space battle somewhat massively

Yep, they took turf on Cadia.

The few descriptions I've heard tossed around are that the 60% they took are "hellish landscapes" and "Warp Rifts open everywhere, disgorging the Legions of the Damned and Unclean".

I like to think of it as being a hellish, blasted landscape with Daemons running wild and bastions of Cadian Shock Troops surviving in a kind of "under siege" existence within the Kasrs with orbital strikes dropping in everywhere as the Daemons and Mutants threaten to finally break the defenses.

Here is the final newsletter that was sent out after the event was over. It has pretty much all the details on how things ended.
[/spoiler]
The Beginning of the End Times

Darkness has fallen across a hundred worlds, and for the defenders of the Cadian Gate, the pure light of day now seems but a distant memory. Though the forces of the Despoiler have been denied the ultimate prize of the fall of Cadia, Abaddon's hordes have gained a foothold upon the worlds of Man, and none can see them being repelled for many years to come. Abaddon and his council of three have outmanoeuvred and out fought the forces of the Imperium at almost every turn. Corpses litter the battlefields in their millions, yet millions more still stand beleaguered, against a foe that knows no mercy and whose only goal is the utter destruction of all who stand before them.

The Thirteenth Black Crusade has broken the Imperium's hold upon the Cadian Gate- perhaps forever. The raging tempest of the Eye of Terror has surged forth, engulfing those worlds lost to Chaos. The Imperium no longer bars the gate to the Eye, only a small channel remains through which Imperial Navy vessels may pass to bring aid to the desperate forces upon Cadia.

At the close of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, Cadia still stands. But she stands alone, a failing beacon flickering against the encroaching night. Total war is come to Segmentum Obscurus, and all hopes of repelling the invaders are dashed. The Imperium must now consolidate its grip upon those worlds it still holds, and prepare to fight a war that will not end within the lifetime of any of its combatants. While Cadia still stands, humanity has reason to hope, but Abaddon the Despoiler has finally achieved what he has failed to do on twelve previous occasions, over ten thousand years- he has breached the Cadian Gate, and none can now hold back the inexorable tide of Chaos unleashed upon the Imperium of Man.

Cadia
The bleak moors of Cadia are reduced to a barren, crater-pocked wasteland, blasted by orbital torpedoes, super-heavy artillery and the footfall of titans. The Vilklas and Andur defence lines have collapsed under the relentless pressure of a million frenzied cultists, traitors and mutants, and the Cadian High Command has been forced to relocate to Kasr Gallan on the far side of the Caducades Sea. Though the Imperial Navy is in control of the inter-system space lanes, Chaos rules the skies above Cadia since the orbital defences fell in the opening days of the Black Crusade. The defenders of Cadia are now deployed around Kasr Gallan and throughout the Wastes, resolute that not a backward step shall be taken. The order is given- 'stand at Cadia, or damn the Imperium of Mankind to the depredations of Chaos for all eternity'.

Scarus
The unstoppable force of the Green Krusade has laid waste to the Scarus system, and now the Orks rule Lethe Eleven and Mordax. The Forge Worlds of Mordax are now infested with lootaz of the Death Skull clan, a truly terrifying prospect to the devotees of the Machine God, who know full well the depths of blasphemy against the Omnissiah to which these barbaric xenos will sink. Only Thracian Primaris holds firm against the Green Crusade, bolstered first by the intervention of a Black Templars Crusade, and later by the stalwart defence mounted by the Salamanders Chapter. The situation is grim in Scarus, and none can see an end to the infestation given the dire situation across the region.

Belis Corona
The Imperium have largely held at Belis Corona, suffering the worst excesses of a Tyranid splinter fleet of Hive Fleet Leviathan, and the horrific plagues bestowed upon the Hive Cities by the Death Guard. Subiaco Diablo saw the Convent of the Order of the Ermine Mantle hold out against overwhelming odds, before being relieved by a host of Adepta Sororitas from across the region, their assault spearheaded by the celebrated Canoness Astra.

Agripinaa
The industrial heartland of the Cadian Gate lies in ruin. Though the Imperial Navy controls space, many worlds of the sector are lost to anarchy and destruction. Agripinaa itself may stand, but without the Agri-worlds of Yayor, Ulthor and Dentor, its populace may yet starve to death, and without the vital materiels provided by the Hive worlds of Albitern, Amistel and Tabor, its mighty forges may yet fall silent. With Typhus, Herald of Nurgle consolidating his grip upon the Ulthor system, as if claiming it as the capital of a nascent, plague-ridden empire of his own, it is apparent that the taint of Chaos is well and truly upon the Agripinaa sector.

The Webway
The Eldar have sealed the Webway against all invaders, expelling the Traitor Space Marines of the Thousand Sons Legion, and pushing their own wayward kin, the Dark Eldar, back to their shadow-realm of Commorragh. For now, the hidden places of the Eldar, and the most terrible secrets they hide are safe from the predations of the 'lesser races'. Those warzones only accessible through the Webway are now held by the Eldar, including the ancient Crone World of Belial IV, former jewel in the once-mighty galaxy-spanning empire of the race.

The space lanes
The Imperial Navy has fought with courage and vigour throughout the war, ruthlessly taking the battle to the enemy wherever it encountered them. Admiral Quarren has been hailed a true hero of the Imperium, for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival, and utter defeat for the Imperium. Though Cadia is besieged, the Imperial Navy commands space, and is able to offer support to beleaguered forces on the ground. The only question is whether the rapid redeployment of almost the entirety of Battle Fleet Gothic, along with a substantial proportion of Battle Fleet Solar will leave the Navy dangerously overstretched elsewhere and unable to maintain the level of operations required to hold the line at the Cadian Gate.

Caliban
The Dark Angels have not only held on to the ruins of their homeworld of Caliban against continuous attack, but have countered the activities of a number of the 'Fallen'- rogue brethren who the Chapter and its successors relentlessly hunt to the exclusion of all other considerations. Rumours abound that the Dark Angels captured The Voice of the Emperor himself, only for this mysterious heretic to escape his prison en route to the Tower of Angels. Other rumours suggests that Lord Castellan Ursarkar Creed now harbours a deep resentment towards the chapter, whose presence, he feels, might have proved critical in the defence of Cadia in the most desperate phases of the war, were the chapter not focusing their efforts upon Caliban.

The Tau Empire
If any one group can said to have gained from the wholesale destruction of the Thirteenth Black Crusade, it is the Tau. The collectivist xenos have expanded their territory, and look set to establish at least one, perhaps two, new Sept worlds in space formally claimed by the Imperium. With the forces of the Emperor firmly committed to defending Segmentum Obscurus, the Tau may just be able to consolidate their hold upon their newly won worlds. These are the initial results of the Eye of Terror campaign. Inquisition Servitors, lexmechanics and auto-savants are currently engaged in the lengthy process of compiling a true and detailed account of Abaddon's Thirteenth Black Crusade. These results will be published shortly in White Dwarf, along with the account of the climactic battle that took place at Cadia, the battle for the very future of the Cadian Gate.[/spoiler]

Cannibal wrote:Here is the final newsletter that was sent out after the event was over. It has pretty much all the details on how things ended.

No mention of Eldrad in there. Despite the success of the Craftworld Eldar in the campaign, Eldrad seemingly got his soul devoured by a daemon of Slaanesh.

GW really knows how to motivate their players to succeed, don't they...?

Oh yeah I remember that. He sacrificed himself to take out one of the Talismans of Vaul /aka Blackrock Fortresses right?

It's possible his soul was not devoured by Slaanesh and still survives in the warp.

Cannibal wrote:The space lanes
The Imperial Navy has fought with courage and vigour throughout the war, ruthlessly taking the battle to the enemy wherever it encountered them. Admiral Quarren has been hailed a true hero of the Imperium, for his masterful defence of the space lanes was all that stood between survival, and utter defeat for the Imperium.

The Imperial Navy FTW!

The Guard f up, but the Navy held the line!

blood reaper wrote:It's possible his soul was not devoured by Slaanesh and still survives in the warp.

No, it's not.

Eldrad forced his way into the Talisman of Vaul, attempting to wrest control of it from whatever entity had taken control.

Unfortunately for him--Slaanesh had.

Eldrad is dead, dead, dead and he's being a tasty treat for the Pretty Prince(ss).

Kanluwen wrote:

blood reaper wrote:It's possible his soul was not devoured by Slaanesh and still survives in the warp.

No, it's not.

Eldrad forced his way into the Talisman of Vaul, attempting to wrest control of it from whatever entity had taken control.

Unfortunately for him--Slaanesh had.

Eldrad is dead, dead, dead and he's being a tasty treat for the Pretty Prince(ss).

Hey, but at least he blew up the last of the weapons that had trapped the C'tan, right?

It's not like that can go wrong...like, ever.

If I remember right the Thousand Sons captured and stole a vast number of Thunderhawk gunships, most of them had modifications upon them (size and weapon load outs) if thats true. I will go locate that info and ppost it here.

Really interesting fight.

I wonder what would happen if the Cadian gate was ever broken. Judging from this battle it seems the war would be of immense size.

Kanluwen wrote:Eldrad is dead, dead, dead and he's being a tasty treat for the Pretty Prince(ss).

It's worth noting that the most notable eldar seer who believes he's still alive is a protege with a name suspiciously similar to "Cassandra". Given that, there's the possibility that Eldrad's death was originally intended to be revealed as a fake-out at a later date when the storyline advanced yet again. But given that GW abandoned the idea of an advancing storyline and provided no further hints that he might return in the future, he is - for all intents and purposes - dead.


Assuming, of course, that Matt Ward isn't involved in writing the next Eldar codex; in which case not only will Eldrad emerge from the Warp alive and unharmed, but he'll destroy an Eldar Avatar when he does so - probably the possessed one from the Demons of Chaos codex.

Correct me if I'm wrong but I remember reading somewhere that Eldrad split his soul or something like that and stored various pieces in different craftworlds.

LordWynne wrote:If I remember right the Thousand Sons captured and stole a vast number of Thunderhawk gunships, most of them had modifications upon them (size and weapon load outs) if thats true. I will go locate that info and ppost it here.

Sorry for asking but how do you capture a ship without stealing it? Or vice versa?
At any rate the 13th Black Crusade seems to have ground to a spectacular halt with plenty of fireworks and parties for both sides to enjoy.

Well, they are Tzeench followers. it's possable