Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

So I searched for a thread on this could not find one. I wanted to put it out there. Since GW has made tons of money off the die hard chapter what is the future of these mighty warriors. How will they fare in the End Times? I have a few theories, but wanted to see what you guys thought first.

First let us see if they are still alive as Relic still didn't stared the canonical ending for Retribution, depending on the end they could be either reborn as a new and proud chapter, still at half strenght and rebuilding and leaderless to that and utterly annihilated.

But knowing Relic they will say it is Space Marine one ( they cannot kill Gabe just like that ).

That is what think. Why kill the money maker for the Dawn of War series? Since the Aurelia sub sector sits near the edge of Imperium space they are always on the side that new threats come in. The Blood Ravens have no knowledge as to who is thier primogenitor. The most likely is the Thousand Sons. And if Mangus is the Primogenitor that would explain the perfect recall and lack of R.E.M. sleep. But would the Blood Ravens stay loyal if it is true or will they join the Dark Powers? The Blood Ravens are the most interesting chapter IMO and i think there is so much more that GW can do to expand upon the Blood Ravens past, current, and future story lines

I to hope so that they will be featured in DoW 3,but with Relic asking "what chapter would you like to see in next Dawn of War game" don't give me high hopes. I hope I am wrong on this...

The thing is, GW aren't going to do anything about the Blood Ravens. Reading in between the lines, and taking into account ADB's opinions on the matter, it seems that as far as GW are concerned the Blood Ravens are Relic's baby.

Aaron Dembski Bowden has gone on record in saying that he feels the Blood Ravens nods in 'A 1000 Sons' and 'Rebirth' were big mistakes and 'something that's not likely going to be repeated again.'

So, it comes down to if Sega and Relic are allowed to continue with Dawn of War.

If not, then the only Blood Ravens stories we're going to see in the future are our own.

Whether Gabe went out like he did in Retribution or not is really irrelevant. His Chapter was in obvious rebellion, had consorted with the Dark Powers, had allowed not one but *two* Greater Daemons/Daemon Princes to invade reality (and had, in fact, been instrumental in permitting the first, while the second was their former Chapter Master). They are also responsible for the Exterminatus of at least 2 Imperial worlds, costing the Imperium unimaginable sums. The Ravens are bad news for the Imperium, really. Their territories would have been better off in the hands of a Chapter with known parentage and more-stable gene-seed, like maybe, I dunno, the Minotaurs or the Flesh Tearers. Seriously, it could not have gotten much worse.

The best the BR can hope for, at this point, is a centuries-long Penance Crusade, if not summary execution at the hands of the Sororitas and the Inquisition.

Seeing as they show up briefly in the Space Marine game, and the main character of that game makes reference to their notable performance in Aurelia, it's a safe bet that if Relic continues the series, they'll still be around.

But wouldn't that be in "an alternate timeline" as well, then?

Sorry, I just could not resist.

We might see some servitors rolling around with suspiciously-familiar iconography and voice files for the Ecclesiarchy campaign in the next release.

 Compel wrote:
The thing is, GW aren't going to do anything about the Blood Ravens. Reading in between the lines, and taking into account ADB's opinions on the matter, it seems that as far as GW are concerned the Blood Ravens are Relic's baby.

Aaron Dembski Bowden has gone on record in saying that he feels the Blood Ravens nods in 'A 1000 Sons' and 'Rebirth' were big mistakes and 'something that's not likely going to be repeated again.'

So, it comes down to if Sega and Relic are allowed to continue with Dawn of War.

If not, then the only Blood Ravens stories we're going to see in the future are our own.

SEGA has officially acquired the license from GW to publish the WH40k series of games. They will continue to have Relic be the developers.

That being said, it will probably be a VERY long time before Dawn of War III is even a thought for them since that project was completely scratched after the failure of CoH Online, and the massive amount of money that THQ sunk into CoH II, which may or may not be a hit.

Or they might end up the way the soul drinkers did...

If the Blood Raven ending in Retribution is to be believed there was a cleansing of the chapter and is now believed to be pure. But I can see the next game opening up with Gabriel on trial to answer for the atrocities committed during the Aurelian Crusade. And some time has passed and the Ravens have rebuilt some. But before judgement is able to be passed an enormous threat calls all the space marine chapters in the sector to fight the threat including the Blood Ravens.

They need to be purged, asap...reason - cleptomancy ( and chaos thingy too)...

They're not kleptomaniacs.

They're just well equipped.

At the expense of others.

Who may or may not be on the same side.

Totally different.

^Lol
No wonder Ragnar didn't want that axe, because he probably thought that it was "too hot"...

 Lynata wrote:
But wouldn't that be in "an alternate timeline" as well, then?

Sorry, I just could not resist.

M42 Ultima Segmentum Graia, not the one eaten by Tyranids. Cato Sicarius new Ultramarines Chapter Master, Calgar dead, Titus Sicarius's replacement for 2nd Company.

The Blood Ravens ending in Retribution mentions that the Chapter's purging of Heresy took some time after Kyras was killed. They've already paid their penance by scouring the entire Chapter for heresy. My bet is that assembly of Space Marines being addressed by Angelos at the end were all that were left when all was said and done. They're near extinction, but still loyal.

I think that their continued rivalry with the Alpha Legion and the Word Bearers should be expanded on. The Alpha Legion seems to continue coming across the Blood Ravens, especially concerning the Maledictum Daemon, while the Word Bearers are host to their nemesis Eliphas.

Oh, I was just making fun of how a THQ rep tried to explain the inconsistency regarding Titus' role as Captain of the 2nd Company, rather than simply admitting that somebody screwed up.

I don't buy into the whole "M42" theory myself.

Wait...What M42 thing? Isn't "Space Marine" supposed to be on an alternate timeline? not the future of the current universe?

Some players have come up with a theory about the game taking place in M42 in order to circumvent the controversy regarding Titus' role within the Chapter. Personally, I would say it's easier to just acknowledge it as one of the many, many contradictions throughout the fluff as a whole and move on, but ... why not!

Really? How long has captain titus been a leader of the ultramarines and during what times? I figure there's at least a bit of time to work with. Besides to my knowledge he was under investigation at the end of the game so he probably could have been replaced for a time or something. I dunno. Maybe he's with the inquisition in some way or form. I figure you guys would know more about that than me esp. because i really couldn't give two craps about most marine chapters.

At least dark angels and blood ravens have an interesting history. I mean both have a history now of part of their chapters falling to chaos and both aren't super pure, monotone boring honor-bound chapters or rage filled angry marines -_-.

They're ninja looting all the drops...
Damn ninja looting...

 purplefood wrote:
They're ninja looting all the drops...
Damn ninja looting...

Technically, so does the Imperial Navy. We salvage any hulks/wrecks left behind by any faction after each battle.

On-topic, I hope the Blood Ravens' story goes on. Yeah, I know a Penitence Crusade is the standard policy for loyal Chapters that were touched by Chaos, but considering that Diomedes and Gabriel already purged the Chapter and actually supported the Inquisition's exterminatus of the sector should they (the Blood Ravens) fail in defeating Kyras (or even if they succeeded: Diomedes reflected after his moment of despair on that space hulk that they might still be condemned afterwards but it didn't matter so long as their duty to the Emperor was completed), the Inquisition might cut them some slack. It's not like it hasn't before; Space Marines who come into contact with Grey Knights are supposed to have their memories of the encounter wiped, yet the Blood Ravens on Kronus and Kaurava still remember the campaigns, though Grey Knights were attached to the Blood Ravens on both occasions.

As for Space Marine, yeah...I know it's supposed to be AU and all, but I kinda like the M42 idea myself. I have no problems with the Ultramarines in general, but Cato Sicarius seems to me as more fitting to be Chapter Master than Calgar who's, well, a Mary Sue.

 flamingkillamajig wrote:


At least dark angels and blood ravens have an interesting history. I mean both have a history now of part of their chapters falling to chaos and both aren't super pure, monotone boring honor-bound chapters or rage filled angry marines -_-.

Hmmm, good point

Never thought of it like that. Though I doubt many people would agree.

Yeah, the funny thing with that is that the Blood Ravens dealt with it properly. - They tidied up their own mess after only 10 years or so.

Dark Angels.... 10000. And they're still not done.

 Compel wrote:
Yeah, the funny thing with that is that the Blood Ravens dealt with it properly. - They tidied up their own mess after only 10 years or so.

Dark Angels.... 10000. And they're still not done.

Well, it's not like the fallen Blood Ravens were scattered through the Warp like the fallen Dark Angels. And the Blood Ravens are actually quite fluid in their operations and command structure, unlike most Chapters. Which kinda reminds me of how Magnus and the XV Legion's commanders operated.

 Admiral Valerian wrote:

 Compel wrote:
Yeah, the funny thing with that is that the Blood Ravens dealt with it properly. - They tidied up their own mess after only 10 years or so.

Dark Angels.... 10000. And they're still not done.

Well, it's not like the fallen Blood Ravens were scattered through the Warp like the fallen Dark Angels. And the Blood Ravens are actually quite fluid in their operations and command structure, unlike most Chapters. Which kinda reminds me of how Magnus and the XV Legion's commanders operated.

Hunting your Fallen brethren throughout time and space, using clues gleaned from the ones you have tortured to death and often know you cant trust, takes time. And you need to keep it a secret from the majority of your brothers. Sins of the father and all that.

 Viersche wrote:
Wait...What M42 thing? Isn't "Space Marine" supposed to be on an alternate timeline? not the future of the current universe?

Space Marine is set after the events of Retribution. Retribution is set ten years after Dawn of War 2. In Dawn of War 2, you fought Hive Fleet Leviathan, which appeared in the galaxy during the final year of the 41st Millennium. Ergo, Retribution and Space Marine are set in early M42.

 Compel wrote:
Yeah, the funny thing with that is that the Blood Ravens dealt with it properly. - They tidied up their own mess after only 10 years or so.

Dark Angels.... 10000. And they're still not done.

Dark Angels also had thousands of Fallen to track down from when they were a legion. It's a completely different scale of operation compared to the Blood Ravens.

 Arcsquad12 wrote:

 Viersche wrote:
Wait...What M42 thing? Isn't "Space Marine" supposed to be on an alternate timeline? not the future of the current universe?

Space Marine is set after the events of Retribution. Retribution is set ten years after Dawn of War 2. In Dawn of War 2, you fought Hive Fleet Leviathan, which appeared in the galaxy during the final year of the 41st Millennium. Ergo, Retribution and Space Marine are set in early M42.

Hmm...haven't heard of this before. But I'm okay with it.

As for the Blood Raven's stealing, I think it gives them a very unique quality. Not every chapter is honorable and those who go against the grain suffer for it when it comes to relations with other chapters. If anything, it helps to explain why certain chapters are held up as a standard of how space marines are supposed to act.

If you look at it in a way the Blood Ravens have had their own little "Horus Heresy." They have fought wars with every major race, they have had their chapter divided by chaos, and they have reformed themselves into a smaller fighting force and become pure and now look to fight for the Emperor just like the legions at the end of the Horus Heresy.