Raldoron
Raldoron was the First Captain of the Blood Angels Legion, and Chapter Master of the Protectors. He was chosen to be First Captain because he was an adaptable leader, contrasting Azkaellon, and for being able to read the hearts of his men. He later became the first Chapter Master of the Blood Angels.
Crusade and Heresy[edit]
He was present for Melchior, along with Sanguinius and Horus. He would also be present for the Edict of Nikea. In the aftermath of the Edict, he was talking with Nassir Amit about the effect it would have on the Librarians. Amit interestingly showed concern about having some Librarian's in his own Company. During the pre-Signus Kayvas Belt, he led the assault against the final ork ship. At Signus, he allowed his equerry, Kano, and his fellow Librarians the opportunity to awaken Sanguinius. Which they did. Meanwhile, he led an assault against Kyriss, Ka'banda and the Cathedral of the Mark, being accompanied by the High Warden and others such as Meros, who later sacrificed himself. He fought besides Sanguinius when they travelled through the Ruinstorm. He was also present for the Titandeath.
Siege of Terra[edit]
Raldoron was in charge of protecting the Helios Gate of the Imperial Palace. His aid was none other than Maximus Thane. He was frequently visited by Sanguinius, who talked of Baal and other matters. He also beat up the new leader of the Night Lords, Gendor Skraivok, in a pretty one-sided fight. Later, he would defend the Collosi Gate alongside Jaghatai Khan and Captain-General Constantin Valdor, against Daemons and Death Guard forces.
Following the retreat into the Sanctum Imperialis, Raldoron was part of the Emperor's boarding party onto the Vengeful Spirit, leading the Blood Angels' Veteran Squads under Sanguinius' command. However, the Blood Angels became separated from Sanguinius in the madness of the Inevitable City, forcing Raldoron to lead the Blood Angels in search of their Primarch. That search was a failure, for Sanguinius found Warmaster Horus first and killed the Great Angel. The death of Sanguinius unleashed the Black Rage, which every Blood Angel, including Raldoron, succumbed to berserk madness, attacking both Sons of Horus under Ezekyle Abaddon and loyalists under Rogal Dorn and Constantin Valdor. Horus' death lifted the Black Rage, and a confused Raldoron led the dozen surviving Blood Angels to Lupercal's Court, where they found Dorn and Valdor with the dying Emperor and the corpse of Sanguinius. The Blood Angels bore the body of their gene-father back to Terra, and Raldoron, assuming command of the IX Legion, held a memorial for Sanguinius with the surviving Blood Angels following the Siege's conclusion.
Legacy[edit]
He would return the now dead Sanguinius to Baal. He would also become the first Chapter Master of the new Blood Angels.
Personality and other notes[edit]
He was not the most outgoing of characters, but could read the hearts of his men. He was a fluid and adaptable leader. He also had a great hate for the Night Lords, saying that even if the Heresy had not occurred, he would have volunteered to lead the hunt for them. He had a pair of combat knives which are kept on Baal. Cannon Conflict, another piece of lore, Bloodquest, says that Belarius was the first Chapter Master of the Blood Angels.
Tabletop[edit]
| Pts | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raldoron | 180 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 2+ |
Horus Heresy 1.0[edit]
Raldoron is an HQ for the Blood Angels in the Heresy tabletop. He has a fairly standard praetor statline with +1 WS, artificer armour, iron halo, bolt pistol and a combi-flamer. However the real kicker here is his fuckawesome sword that's a master-crafted shredding Paragon Blade with Murderous Strike that isn't a specialist weapon and his special rule which lets him choose his warlord trait (from the legion table, you'll have to roll if you want one from the rulebook). He also comes with Furious Charge (bringing him up to S6 on the charge), wounding even Castellax on a 4+ (rerollable through Shred). All this gives him a spot on the list of deadliest praetors, right up there with Sigismund and Sevatar. Unlike them, however, he doesn't offer much in the way of buffs or support to other units in the army; he's a beatstick, and a good one, and that's it. Stick him with some Crimson Paladins and let him kill his way across the table.
Horus Heresy 2.0[edit]
In this edition, Raldoron brings a lot to the table for a Blood Angels army that doesn't mind having their main HQ without a jump pack. Stats-wise, he is an absolute beast with WS7 putting him above all other HQs that didn't base their entire identity around winning duels. His weapon of choice is The Encarmine Warblade, a Master-crafted Paragon Blade (technically a Power Weapon, according to his rules) that triggers Murderous Strike on a 5+ and isn’t a Specialist Weapon. With his Furious Charge (2), he goes up to Strength 7 on the charge and is able to wound Contemptor Dreadnoughts on a 3+ AT INITIATIVE; when combined with the Encarmine Fury rule, Raldoron is a monster to be reckoned with. His main draw is his unique Warlord Trait, Archein of Wisdom, which allows you to choose any Warlord Trait, either from the Core Warlord Traits or from another Loyalist Legion (replacing any mention of their original Legiones Astartes (X) rule with Blood Angels version). The only Legion he can't borrow from are the Dark Angels, but their Warlord Traits aren't the strongest anyway, so nothing of value is lost. Given the right trait, he can be an absolute motherfucker; Solar Marshal, for example, pushes him up to WS8 and his squad to WS6 in close combat, Howl of Morkai's one-time +1 Strength on the charge for all units will basically let you reenact the Blood Angels going apeshit at Signus when combined with Encarmine Fury, and The Aegis of Wisdom turns him into a potent buff for the entire army with its Ld shenanigans and additional Reaction.
