Nocturne was wracked by dangerous volcanic activity and bathed in deadly radiation, yet on its surface pockets of mankind flouished against the odds. It even brought them to conflict with their fellow Legionaries, some of whom saw them as unreliable and reckless.Ĭredit: had landed on Nocturne, a volcanic Death World orbited by its moon Prometheus. This asymmetrical approach to battle was admired by some, and seen as suicidal by others. The XVIII were quickly known as never taking a step back, and particularly protective of civilian populations – they would rather lose a hundred of their own number than risk a massacre. These men and woman they knew when the XVIII were deployed, the fighting would be inevitably furious and hazardous. While some would see them as saviours, in some ways this, ironically, earned them a bleak reputation among the unenhanced troops of the nascent Imperium. If a Space Hulk translated from the Immaterium into a newly-Compliant system, or a planetary Governor decided to chance his arm when the Crusade had moved on, the Salamanders would the force of choice for the Crusade high command. This meant, at the outset of the Great Crusade, the XVIII were often used as an interdiction and “backline” force, supporting Rogue Trader groups and Imperial Army regiments behind the front lines of the Crusade.
This meant the XVIII were, in the early days, among the smallest of the Legions and were often “deployed piecemeal”, as and when new recruits were ready. In this crushing subterranean maelstrom 20,000 Legionaries went in, and barely 1,000 survived. The Salamanders found themselves at the front lines of the Unification Wars from the beginning, winning some stunning victories, including the infamous Assault on the Tempest Galleries. These were unique Legions created for specific purposes – for the Salamanders, this was rumoured to be hostile environment operations and savage asymmetrical warfare, but we will never know the truth. “… it was plain that to the XVIII to triumph against the odds was the only victory worth the name.”Ĭredit: XVIII at the time of their creation were, along with the VI and XX, set apart from the rest of the Legiones Astartes as part of the “ trefoil”. Bil’tan is as much of an aficionado of the Salamanders as I am, and his Praetor has taken many a Traitor head in battlefields across the galaxy. They also suffered the largest casualties of any Legion during the Heresy, with up to 98% of their fighting strength killed in the Drop Site Massacre.Īs in our run through the Night Lords, I am going to be joined by a guest writer for this Legion Overview “The Destroyer”, and a true “five star man”, Nomus Bil’tan ( on Instagram). Famed for their skill at forgecraft, the Salamanders were also well known for caring about the citizenry of the Imperium. Today we look at the Salamanders, the XVIII Legiones Astartes, and the main Legion I collect. Apologies for the delay, all – sadly the Nurglite plague running rampant throughout Terra has caused some unaccountable issues with my Astropathic comms to Fortress Goonhammer.
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