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Hi dakkadakka,
way back when a super young me LOVED the dawn of war games for pc. Dont get me wrong I still do, but the reason I fell in love with 40k was the Blood Ravens. Iv decided to build an Assault Company and I was wondering how each company for this chapter is set up. There are descriptions for Ultra Marines, Imperial Fists, White Scars and Blood Angels but very little for Blood Ravens. I was wondering if anyone had any insight into there company composition and the role of their psykers in there leadership.

Thanks all hope I have the right thread.

Google blood ravens and read the wiki's for the most part they are codex compliant but the first company has full vet squads of librarians. Also have librarians in Vet Sgt. roles. Rumored to be 1000 son gene seed. So do up some grey knight torsos with jump packs. Giving you the psychic hood for looks. Rules wise i'd use codex grey knights for first company vets. And the librarian conclave codex formation to rep regular companies.

Thank you!

 ThirstySpaceMan wrote:
but the first company has full vet squads of librarians. Also have librarians in Vet Sgt. roles.

Where are you getting that from? I don't see that on either Lexicanum or the 40k Wikia entry..

From the game - I gather that they are a codex compliant chapter. I also think the bit about their psychic prevalence is conflicting with the DOW - the Captain specifically said he distrusted librarians. Hardly something I would expect from a chapter that has a lot of psychics.

I would use Ultra marines tactics as they are the standard chapter compliant tactics. They are also one of the best tactics.

 Gashrog wrote:

 ThirstySpaceMan wrote:
but the first company has full vet squads of librarians. Also have librarians in Vet Sgt. roles.

Where are you getting that from? I don't see that on either Lexicanum or the 40k Wikia entry..

It doesn't exist - the Chapter does have a abnormally large amount of Librarians, but there is no special squad for them. They can lead as Captains, and their last two Chapter Masters were Librarians, but that is considered to be "their biggest deviation from the Codex Astartes".

The Chapter is most likely still reeling from the Aurelian Crusade, so numbers among the Chapter may be low. If you want to build the Assault Company prior to the Crusade, then it should be the same size as a regular Codex Chapter.

DOW3 will shed some more light on the current status of the Chapter, primarily with how Angelos managed to survive fighting Kyras and being saved by Apollo Diomedes. My own Strike Force exists in the limbo between DOW2 Retribution and whatever DOW3 has in store.

G.A

Yeah, they would be generally Codex compliant. Maybe throw in some more Librarians and stuff, but generally Codex adherent.

Use Ultramarine traits if in doubt.

 Gashrog wrote:

 ThirstySpaceMan wrote:
but the first company has full vet squads of librarians. Also have librarians in Vet Sgt. roles.

Where are you getting that from? I don't see that on either Lexicanum or the 40k Wikia entry..

Honestly I don't remember where I read that bit of fluff. Perhaps its head cannon from my buddies BR army. But I do know they have lots and I mean lots of librarians. If they have enough to field as Cpts. and Vet Sgts. Also codex says vet sgts are seconded from 1st company squads. Some math should fix this right up. 8 companies with 10 squads even if only half have vet librarians that's still 40 extra librarians. I left out the scout and first companies for obvious reasons. So as a Chapter Master/librarian you wouldn't use this valuable pool of man power in non codex ways? Or do you just have fits trying to stay codex adherent?

 ThirstySpaceMan wrote:

Honestly I don't remember where I read that bit of fluff. But still should be google able.

It's a bunch of made up gak on 40kwiki that has no evidence in writing to back it up. While Librarians can lead from the front in the Chapter, and may have improvised at one point or another (as the Blood Ravens do), they have not created a Codex defiant squad (similar to the Tyrannic War Veterans but with Librarians) that the Chapter uses.

To be fair they didn't exist until DoW. And until recently it was all grim dark secrets and unknowns with BR. the only hard fluff we have is unknown primarch, and lots of psi guys. Sorta codex compliant. Jackflashultra can forge the narrative with whatever fluff he wants to use.

 ThirstySpaceMan wrote:
To be fair they didn't exist until DoW.

Their Index Astartes article was written a little time prior to the release of the first game, detailing their beliefs and their existence in the Imperium. There are records of Psyker Battle Squads being formed by the Chapter's inner circle, however this is an anomaly, not a regulation, among the Chapter's Librarians, and has also never been witnessed by anyone external to the Chapter.

And until recently it was all grim dark secrets and unknowns with BR. the only hard fluff we have is unknown primarch, and lots of psi guys.

Unknown Primarch... what? That's just a ridiculous fan theory, if I ever heard of one. It certainly is not hard fluff.

Again, you can find out almost everything you need to know via their Index Astartes article. While their origin is one of mystery, with no records about their existence before M37, the rest of the Chapter's deeds and beliefs are pretty clear cut - they dedicate themselves to the acquisition of knowledge as well as their service to the Imperium of Man, hence why they have such a large amount of Librarians, and a tendency to go off the rails in more ways than one.

Sorta codex compliant. Jackflashultra can forge the narrative with whatever fluff he wants to use.

He can, but that's not a defence for being ignorant of any lore. Considering he is asking about said lore, I think he wants to have an accurate as possible representation of their Assault Company.

I understood "unknown primarch" not in the sense of "their primarch is some guy that nobody's ever heard of", but rather "he's one of the known ones, but the Blood Ravens don't know which".

I think everyone's best guess is that they're a loyalist splinter of the Thousand Sons, but AFAIK that's not actually totally confirmed either. DoW2, insofar as it's canonical, says they're definitely not descended from the Blood Angels, despite some folks guessing they might be.

jade_angel wrote:
I understood "unknown primarch" not in the sense of "their primarch is some guy that nobody's ever heard of", but rather "he's one of the known ones, but the Blood Ravens don't know which".

I think everyone's best guess is that they're a loyalist splinter of the Thousand Sons, but AFAIK that's not actually totally confirmed either. DoW2, insofar as it's canonical, says they're definitely not descended from the Blood Angels, despite some folks guessing they might be.

There are many theories behind where they might originate from, but nothing to say for sure from a reader's perspective. The Blood Ravens themselves have no idea at all, and are dedicating themselves to the quest for knowledge to find answers, while worshipping the Emperor and Vidya as their father figures in the meantime.

DOW2 is also full canon for the Blood Ravens, up till the events of Retribution, where only the Space Marine campaign path can be considered to be canon, with news that Angelos is alive and fighting in DOW3's storyline as the new Chapter Master.

'The Organisation of the Blood Ravens follows the standard practices laid down in the Codex Astartes, with ten companies, each of ten squads. The Chapter is made up of the prescribed mix of Battle Companies, Assault, Tactical and Devastator Companies, though the exact make up of these companies can vary quite extensively.'

Index Astartes: Knowledge is Power [Blood Ravens] in White Dwarf 305 (UK)