Necromunda: ‘Vandoth the Fallen’ Is A Space Marine, Right?
Games Workshop has released the miniature for Vandoth the Fallen. Now maybe we can put this theory to bed.
Vandoth the Fallen has had rules in Necromunda since The Book of Ruin came out. In that book we got a pretty good idea of what this Bounty Hunter was capable of with his description. Now, GW is diving into this character a bit more with a new Forge World Resin miniature. Combined with the existing rules and lore we are getting a very clear picture of who Vandoth really is.
“Vandoth is a mountain of a man rippling with steel-sinewed muscle and skin that can turn aside blades like armour plates. None know where he came from or how he’s lived for so long, and his reputation as a warrior is only eclipsed by the rumours of his thirst for blood. “
Vandoth the Fallen
Just looking at the model you can tell something is different about this Bounty Hunter. Ignoring his head/face for now, just look at this body and armor. First off, this guy is the size of a Goliath which already screams Genetically Modified. If the description didn’t give things away, also note the various “plugs” around his body. If you’re not familiar with the creation of Space Marine, then you might not know about the Black Carapace.
“The most distinctive implant, it resembles a film of black plastic that is implanted directly beneath the skin of the Marine’s torso in sheets. It hardens on the outside and sends invasive neural bundles into the Marine’s body. After the organ has matured the recipient is then fitted with neural sensors and interface points cut into the carapace’s surface.”
While it’s true that these sorts of ports do show up on other various creatures in 40k, Space Marines do fit the description here. I mean, get a look at the first 10 seconds of the Space Marine getting armored up and you can see the various plugs on him:
Aside from that, let’s talk about Vandoth’s armor itself. That sure looks like the remains of a suit of power armor to me. The remnants of the boot and keen are pretty obvious. While we don’t get a perfect look at the chest piece it’s also very close. It’s quite obvious what GW is alluding to with this miniature.
And then there’s the boltgun…Sure, maybe he just got his hands on one from some backwater Necromunda Trading Post. Or, maybe this was the weapon that was issued to him. Just tossing that out there. I will say that the art work is much different than the miniature. That’s why seeing this miniature is more confirmation that he’s got Space Marine origins.
The Fallen Space Marine?
Okay. Now we need to talk about the elephant in the room: His head. So what’s up with that face mask and the crazy collar on his head? Why are his robes purple and gold? Why does he have fangs and drink blood?!?
Honestly, I’m not sure. It does make you wonder what chapter this guy could have been from. Fangs aren’t exactly unheard of with Space Marines after all. The blood drinking is also a practice that more than a few Space Marine Chapters participate in, too. And the scary part is that those things don’t rule out loyalist chapters. Those traits aren’t limited to just Chaos Space Marines, either.
Hey, what’s in that cup…
That said, all of this evidence could be explained from the whole “bodyguard” thing. Maybe he was a Genetically Modified like a Goliath member. And then he was trained and equipped as a House Helmawr bodyguard but he “escaped” somehow. Well, the final thing is his statline:
I dunno about you, but that statline screams Space Marine in my book. And he’s not a Primaris Marine. This guy is old school.
I could easily see him as a classic Marine with an old school bolter and combat knife. And I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what GW is going for.
So what do you think? is Vandoth The Fallen a Space Marine, a Genetically Modified Bodyguard, a rogue Pit-fighter or something else?
