40K Lore: Remember The Raptors
Don’t worry Loremasters, we aren’t engaging in heretical thought this week–these Raptors, unlike their traitorous brethren, are worth remembering and honoring for their service to the Emperor.
Greetings Loremasters, the time has come to honor the Raptors, But put away Form 34-C/7-J: Reporting a heretic/request for more lasgun chargepacks, because we’re not speaking of the Chaos cowards. Indeed, why would we speak of those traitors who, according to the latest theory from Loremaster-Adept Polemnius, cannot engage foes in a normal fight, owing to the fact that their bones have been hollowed out by exposure to the Ruinous Powers, marking them as avian as their namesake, Raptors.
No today, Loremasters, we are here to discuss one of the most famed Successor Chapters of the Raven Guard–the Raptors.
Created in the Second Founding, the Raptors are first created in M31, after a Raven Guard Legion company of new initiates, training on Deliverance at the time of the Drop Site Massacre, survives the incident, going on to serve with distinction. After the reforms initiated by the Codex Astartes, the company was honoured as a Chapter and the Raptors now begin their service to the Imperium as a fleet based chapter hunting down the forces of the Traitor Legions.
Throughout their millennia of service, the Raptors have been responsible for some noted victories in the Imperium:
n 701.M36 at the direct request of Sehmentum High Command Raptors blockaded Origo System. As a result all of the system’s population disappeared. It is remained a mystery what happened there and dozen highly ranked Lord Inquisitors, in particular of Ordo Xenos have vanished in attempts to determine the truth.
775.M41-777.M41 (Fourth Quadrant Rebellion): The Raptors, along with the Dark Angels, Skull Bearers and Red Wolves are called upon to pacify the Fourth Quadrant and help quell the largest civil war the Imperium has seen in one thousand years. During their three-year involvement the Raptors fight alongside elements of Battlefleet Solar focusing on the Sulsalid Sub-sector where several Imperial taskforces have been unsuccessful at stamping out the ideas of “progress” and “democracy” which have taken root at the sub-sector capital Auranar. The Raptors take command of the Imperial Guard units and make use of them as diversions for the many precision strikes against the enemy’s command and supply infrastructure. With the enemy forces in disarray following these strikes the Imperial Guard are able to overwhelm the majority of traitor units while the Raptors assault the sky-palaces of the Sulsalid Ordinators, mercilessly killing them and thus ending the revolt within the Sulsalid Sub-sector. It is worth noting that during this action the Raptors fought at full chapter strength, something unusual for the often independently operating companies.
During the Badab War, the Raptors proved invaluable in fighting Secessionist forces in the Badab Sector. Commanded by Lias Issodon, the grim, taciturn Chapter Master, the Raptors see some of the heaviest fighting during the war, and lose between 35% and 60% of their original fighting force. The worst losses are inflicted during fighting against the Mantis Warriors and Astral Claws in the Gargathea System and include the destruction of the strike cruiser Arias Vex. The losses are not in vain, however, as the Raptors help achieve the eventual victory on Gargathea III, a victory that in no small part is also due to the Raptors’ ability to match the Mantis Warriors’ tactics of ambush.
Their valiant sacrifices allow the Imperium to come out ahead, and as the Chapter rebuilds, the Raptors found themselves battling in the jungles of Jemadal, perfecting their skill in jungle warfare, which would come to serve them when the Chapter was called to Armageddon. Five Companies from the Chapter deploy throughout the equatorial jungle and vapour woods with the Armageddon Ork Hunters and Catachan Jungle Fighters where their deadly jungle warfare skills are put to best use.
Most recently, they have been seen fighting a campaign near Taros. Where their natural advantages will surely help them find success.
Like their predecessor chapter, the Raptors have a malfunctioning Melanchromic Organ, leading to pale skin and blackened hair. The Mucranoid is likewise missing. Unlike the Raven Guard, however, the Raptors still have a fully functional Betcher’s Gland. It is unclear if the gland was somehow recovered or its loss among the Raven Guard occurred after the founding of the Raptors.[8b] The Chapter as a whole expresses a great skill at marksmanship, even by Astartes standards. It is uncertain if this is innate in the gene-seed or a result of superb training.
The Raptors follow their progenitors, the Raven Guard, in adhering to the broad organisational patterns and provisions laid down in the standard Codex Astartes, but as a Chapter, the Raptors see the Codex as a highly effective and proven set of strategic and operational guidelines rather than inviolable dogma to be obeyed without question. As a result, they maintain a high degree of flexibility in their deployments and structures. Each of the companies operates on a largely independent basis, fighting across the breadth of Imperium. It is only in dire situations that multiple companies will fight together.
Here is a Chapter that’s ripe for new adventures–unlike certain, other Raptors, these ones have the Emperor’s Blessing. Probably.
