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Codex Denied The Blackblade Guard (Resubmission)

Major Faction

Darth Carnifex

Eternal Father
Darth Carnifex
Character Bio
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Name: The Blackblade Guard
Intent: To update and recodify the Blackblade Guard
Affiliation: The Zambrano Family (Primarily Darth Carnifex & [member="Darth Prazutis"])
Image Credit: Click - LeadZero@DeviantArt.com

Availability: Rare

Quality: B - Veteran

Type: Infantry Corps

Strength:
  • Corps Strength: 48,403 personnel, 3,385 repulsorcraft, and 795 heavy tanks.
    Reinforced Battlegroup: 14,890 personnel, 676 repulsorcraft, and 212 heavy tanks
  • Line Battlegroup: 14,410 personnel, 511 repulsorcraft, and 53 heavy tanks
  • Armored Battlegroup: 16,346 personnel, 1,132 repulsorcraft, and 318 heavy tanks
  • Auxiliary Battlegroup: 10,130 personnel, 390 repulsorcraft, and 40 starfighters of varying types.

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Description: The Blackblade Guard had been a long standing symbol of terror and oppression throughout the galaxy for many decades, known far and wide as the Fist of the dreaded Butcher King of Panatha. To the wider galaxy it would seem that this malevolent group of thugs had risen from the fetid pits of chaos to sow chaos and destruction throughout the galaxy at the behest of their dark master, but their true origin is less than mythical. The earliest conscripts of what would inevitably become the Blackblade Guard were Imperial soldiers who had performed exceptionally in both the academies and on the harsh battlefields fighting tooth and nail against the enemies of the Empire. They were chosen for a secret project by the then Minister of Intelligence, Kaine Zambrano, to be molded into warriors willing to commit any form of barbarism with unflinching devotion.

These earliest recruits had their minds, bodies, and spirits pushed to the point of breaking. Minister Zambrano sought to test the limits of these men without any concern to the sanctity of their lives, ultimately discarding many who had proven to be too soft, too susceptible to the torture inflicted upon them. Eventually he would find those who had not folded, not crumbled beneath his cruelty, and it were they who formed the first generation of butchers that would reap terrible suffering upon the weak and the downtrodden. Outfitted with state-of-the-art armor and weapons, they were sent into battle against the Mandalorians at Feriae Junction and Concord Dawn where their mettle was tested by the beskar-clad warriors time and time again.

The Guard proved readily adaptable, and quickly concocted various counter measures against the Mandalorians to horrific effect as many Mandalorians met their end at their hands. As the efficiency of the Guard became increasingly apparent, the newly christened Grand Vizier Zambrano sought to incorporate more soldiers into his personal militia using the same methods he had before. The ranks of the Blackblade Guard swelled well into the hundreds as more and more were put through the crucible and arose stronger than ever before. They were continually tested against the Mandalorians throughout the remainder of the war until the ascension of Empress Decimus to the Imperial throne. While such hostilities between the Empire and the Clans became a temporary thing of the past, the Guard found a new enemy to hurl themselves against with fanatic zealotry.

The Jedi initially held the advantage of the Force and their superior weapon, the lightsaber, but as more and more anti-Force technologies were created and successfully employed against Force Sensitives the scales tipped back into the Blackblade's favor. By the time of the Empire's zenith only five Guardsmen remained of the original generation recruited by Zambrano all those years ago. Zambrano tutored them in the dark arts, warping their minds and their bodies to unnatural lengths. They became the Gore'merji, the Gorebound, an elite oligarchy of the Blackblade's most powerful and ruthless warriors led by an Echani known only as Highlord Anthmar. With the Dark Side of the Force coursing through their bodies they cut a bloody swath of ruin through the Republic even after the Empire fragmented and crumbled due to internal schism and external foreign aggression.

They Guard's tale did not end there as they were gathered by their Lord, the former Sith Emperor Kaine Zambrano, and relocated to his homeworld of Panatha on the opposite side of the galaxy. There they were reorganized and bolstered by fresh troops comprised of Imperial exiles and Epicanthix youths. their strength numbering in the thousands as the Sith returned to the galaxy after their temporary defeat to quickly seize Coruscant, Jewel of the Galaxy, from under the Republic's nose in one swift military strike originating from deep within the Deep Core. During the twelve years of war between the New Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic the Blackblade Guard found a new avenue to wage war upon, their butchery becoming infamous among the terrified denizens of the Core alongside the infamy of their long-time master, the newly titled Darth Vornskr of the One Sith.

With the passing of Highlord Anthmar during the Battle of Kashyyyk, a new champion of the Blackblades was to be chosen from among the Gore'merji. The elite warriors fought and killed each other in their attempt to nominate a successor until only one remained, Highlord Osbasid, a warrior even more ruthless and cunning than his predecessor.

The Blackblade Guard saw their greatest trials and tribulations during the dark period when Kaine Zambrano perished, his very body failing him and crumbling into nothing but dust in the wind. Darth Vornskr's own dark side corruption eroded his body away until nothing left, and not even his elite legion could defend him. Despite it all it was during this turbulent period that the Blackblades hit their lowest, morale sinking.

But there was hope.

Braxus Zambrano, God-Prince of the Panathan Empire led them in a huge rearmament and war preparation campaign, a string of preparations occurring all across the Pacanth Reach. The legion was moved from the old Holdfast to the new Fort Zambrano, the bulwark of the new grand citadel far in the mountains. The God-Prince spoke to Panatha's favored sons proclaiming the death of their King was not the end, for he had eluded death before and he would do so again. As foretold their master would return to them, and with his return the Blackblade Guard found themselves renewed with dark might. Rechristening himself as Darth Carnifex he returned back to Panatha, where he and Braxus would again train a whole new generation of Guardsmen to serve the Zambrano family with unwavering loyalty and unflinching brutality.

And now at the eve of a new galactic war their numbers have at long last swelled into the tens of thousands, their name galactically synonymous with horror and genocide. One can only tremble in fear at what new atrocities they will commit in the name of Carnifex and the Dark Side of the Force.

Battle Function: The primary modus operandi of the Blackblade Guard is that of a hard-hitting paramilitary organization that can be deployed in all manners of environments, although they have tended to favor urban warzones above others. It is rare to find the entirety of the Guard deployed all in one location as they usually split themselves down into smaller units to reinforce run-of-the-mill army groups and Sith contingents primarily those belonging to the Zambrano family. Besides flesh-and-blood soldiers and the machines of war afforded to them during battle, it was not uncommon to find even the smallest of Blackblade units reinforced by Hegemonic Automaton battle droids.

Those belonging to the elite officer corps, the commanders and leaders of the Guard including the Highlord, adorn their black-plated armor with distinguishing coloration on the breastplate and arms that denoted their rank alongside a colored pauldron.

Links:

[*]Melee Weapons:

[*]Ranged Weapons:

[*]Grenades:

[*]Ranged Weapon Accessories:

[*]Cybernetic Implants:

[*]Cybernetic Weapon Enhancement
[*]Emotional Regulator
[*]Hi-Sense Enhanced Eyes
[*]Hyperaccelerated Nerve Implant


[*]Vehicles:


[*]Original Submission:
 

Teynara Jeralyr

Resident Sig Lord
Teynara Jeralyr
Character Bio
Greetings, [member="Darth Carnifex"]. I've picked up this sub, since [member="Darth Prazutis"] cannot. Hope you don't mind. I know the two of you have worked on this together, so I'll accept responses from either and/or both of you for this one, noting that I'm judging it impartially and will ignore Praz's CJ role for the purposes of this submission.

I was initially concerned about the numbers involved - most NPC submissions aren't full armies, and this clearly is, but based on the amount of development involved (which has been a substantial number of threads) and the fact that all the tech has been approved via the Factory first, I can't see why not. Ultimately most Sith will maintain an army of some sort: yours simply has a name and a face to it, rather than just being constituted by nameless Imperial/Sith soldiers. So I'm fine with the numbers.

Now, in the history portion, you mention this:


By the time of the Empire's zenith only five Guardsmen remained of the original generation recruited by Zambrano all those years ago. Zambrano tutored them in the dark arts, warping their minds and their bodies to unnatural lengths. They became the Gore'merji, the Gorebound, an elite oligarchy of the Blackblade's most powerful and ruthless warriors led by an Echani known only as Highlord Anthmar. With the Dark Side of the Force coursing through their bodies they cut a bloody swath of ruin through the Republic even after the Empire fragmented and crumbled due to internal schism and external foreign aggression.
Click to expand...

This followed by:



The elite warriors fought and killed each other in their attempt to nominate a successor until only one remained, Highlord Osbasid, a warrior even more ruthless and cunning than his predecessor.
Click to expand...

Presumably, these five Gore'merji are something very different to the average Blackguard trooper, and I would not therefore accept their presence in the submission - from what I've read, they're more likely to be an A-class NPC, not a B-class. I did take note of the fact that only one of them remains (Highlord Obasid, if I'm reading that correctly), but even so, I'd like a separate submission for that NPC, just so we don't have to haggle over the rating, and he can be properly fleshed out as Commander of the Blackblade.

You've mentioned Fort Zambrano in this sub - I'm aware it's still in the works and has yet to be submitted, but I nonetheless ask that you do ASAP. That said, I won't hold this up on that basis, since it's not a requirement for the existence of the Blackblade.

The amount of dev threads is shockingly impressive, but, if possible, would you mind summarising their battle functions for me? How would they be used in combat, what might we expect to see of them on the field? Are there any distinctions between your standard troopers and officers corps? Little details - Sith like myself are no doubt going to bump into them in the field, and it'd be nice to know more about them to be able to write that part in detail, even though we'd never dare NPC them out fully!

Also, you've noted that this is an Infantry Corps: presumably, the starfighters in their possession therefore belong to a different branch of your military forces, and I honestly think you'd be better off keeping them for a different submission. You've got a sizeable naval force available to you, with your Capital Ships and what-have-you - my inclination would be to suggest that they're a different force that works alongside the Blackblade. Panatha Navy or whatever: best to keep your forces separated, since they'd have different tech and their own chains of command. Does that make sense to you?

Do bear in mind these are just preliminary thoughts - my intent is to open up a dialogue to discuss them with you both, so we can move this onward without any reasons to raise eyebrows (beyond the 'Oh Crap, that's a cool army!' factor). I'm looking forward to working it through with you both. Thanks for the submission (which is not something I'd ever say to Kaine's face, btw!).
 
Major Faction

Darth Carnifex

Eternal Father
Darth Carnifex
Character Bio
I've linked both of the named Highlords alongside the Gorebound in the history portion, and I've also elaborated further upon what sort of function they perform in combat situations.

As for the starfighter component of the Auxiliary Battlegroup, I only included it because it was part of the Wookieepedia article. :p

[member="Tirdarius"]
 

Quietus

Hunting Again
Quietus
Character Bio
A lot of work has gone into this and it is nice to see something last and be used actively for such a length of time on Chaos. These guys are iconic in their own way.

Approved.
 
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