Salamanders series analysis thread

SF: discuss futuristic sci-fi series, ideas, and crossovers.

Moderator: NecronLord

User avatar
Ahriman238
Sith Marauder
Posts: 4854
Joined: 2011-04-22 11:04pm
Location: Ocularis Terribus.

Re: Salamanders series analysis thread

Post by Ahriman238 »

Something I'd think worthy of discussion, the book takes time to belabor just how dangerous 'Void War' (boarding actions) is. Ships are virtual rats' nests of corridors and access tunnels and maintinence areas, there can be vast hangar or engineering spaces right next to corridors too narrow to turn around in, and you can apparently spend your entire adult life in a particular section of a specific ship and still get turned around and lost in the chaos of a brutal close-quarter fight. To say nothing of actually forcing your way onto a strange ship, where the layout is a complete unknown.

This, according to Nocturne, is why the First Company admits only the greatest, most courageous and level-headed of Space Marines. And gives them armor enough to withstand most heavy weapons, because there may not be space to dodge or cover to duck under.
"Any plan which requires the direct intervention of any deity to work can be assumed to be a very poor one."- Newbiespud
User avatar
Cykeisme
Jedi Council Member
Posts: 2416
Joined: 2004-12-25 01:47pm
Contact:

Re: Salamanders series analysis thread

Post by Cykeisme »

Connor MacLeod wrote:Space Marines apparently require all sorts of chemical modification to keep at their peak (and that doesn't include some of the various chemicals, stimms, battle drugs, or whatever their power armour may or may not inject to enhance performance in combat - varies by author.)
Not related to the "adrenaline overdose causing anaphylactic shock" thing, but in regards to this statement.. I recall the some fluff that's been repeated in a few places (Space Marine 4th Edition Codex is one of those, I think) that neophytes and younger battle-brothers need to have their bodies regulated with regular chemical and hormonal treatments administered by Apothecaries, until they master some funky hypno-control methods of their own body chemistry and metabolism. Once they learn full control over their bodies, they no longer need the treatments.

You guys have probably read it somewhere, too, but if anyone wants a quote I can dig it up.
"..history has shown the best defense against heavy cavalry are pikemen, so aircraft should mount lances on their noses and fly in tight squares to fend off bombers". - RedImperator

"ha ha, raping puppies is FUN!" - Johonebesus

"It would just be Unicron with pew pew instead of nom nom". - Vendetta, explaining his justified disinterest in the idea of the movie Allspark affecting the Death Star
User avatar
Connor MacLeod
Sith Apprentice
Posts: 14065
Joined: 2002-08-01 05:03pm
Contact:

Re: Salamanders series analysis thread

Post by Connor MacLeod »

A long delayed update here.. basically just a Tomb of Fire anthology. Bunch of short stories (already printed, some new) and various stuff. Not much for an update, but I need to get it out there.


Page 16
Three battalions, over a thousand troops,moved into position
Size of a PDF battalion. Basically not much more than a company, all told.


Page 191
She had the cut and form of a Crusader. Her robes were red to resemble the blood of martyrs running in her veins. Her silver helm occluded her face completely, though her stance suggested it was severe beneath the mailed mask. One gauntleted fist gripped a vast Crusader shield almost the size of her entire body. Only with the augmented strength from her silver armour, which was also swathed with purity seals, devotional chains and holy parchments, could she wield it. The same was true of the Crusader sword in her other hand. Its blade was etched with tiny inscriptions and crackled with energy from an unseen source.
A Sororitas, who is also a Crusader I gather. Or possibly just a woman Crusader who is working with the Sororitas. I dunno. either way its a woman with a freaking huge shield and sword, and powered armour.


PAge 196
Though they came from the Order of the Ardent Veil, these warrior-fanatics looked anything but peaceful. Their white power armour was studded with silver spikes, concomitant bodices drawn tight over their taut muscles. They were akin to the suits worn by the Firedrakes’ battle and reserve company brothers, only slighter but still potent. Holy signifiers – purity seals, rosarius beads and icons of the Emperor’s aquila – bedecked the armour, defining the Battle Sisters’ purpose and zealous determination. They held bolters low-slung at their hips. The sister superior with the white hair also carried a flanged power mace. Her helmet, mag-locked to her belt, was silver.
Sororitas


Page 198-199
Tsu’gan estimated over a thousand dead bodies strewn throughout the perimeter.
...
Praetor had donned his battle helm and was consulting a data feed running across his left lens. ‘Our destination.’ Topographical and geographical schemata spooled across his iris at rapid speed. Praetor’s occulobe implant absorbed the information in a single beat, storing it in his eidetic memory for later use. He’d locked in the route to the convent-bastion and was mission ready.
...
"How many did they lose trying to get in?"
...
Ankar took his place in a ritual circle with the others.

Praetor paused to blink the relevant data onto his inner helm lens. "Nearly a quarter of their garrison – over a thousand battle sisters. Though I’d suggest that’s a conservative estimate."
The Firedrake armour Praetor has a datafeed providing relevant information and mapping info he can memorize instantly.

Also we learn tha tthe Sororitas convent here (possibly the totality of their order (probably one of the minor orders) is between 4 and 5 thousand strong. Given the sheer number of minor orders there must be and the numbers involved in defending various regions this again has to point to Sororitas numbers being far in excess of a mere 'tens of thousands', it would be silly for them to have a quarter (or even a tenth!) of the total number in one location for one purpose, when they are used in so many other (some trivial, in an objective sense) purposes. If we assume this were the sum total of a Sororitas force in one sector, and even assuming that such similar dispositions occured in 10% of the sectors in the galaxy we'd be looking at over a million battle sisters alone.


Page 213
Some rode inside the Rhino APC that followed. Others hung onto its outer rails, holding their bolters one-handed.
Sororitas can ride inside the Rhino, or hang outside to rails to be carried along. not the most ideal means of transport, but better than walking.


Page 217
A stern-faced sister superior appeared from the roof hatch of an Exorcist. It looked more like a grotesque church organ than a battle tank, but there it was, auto-loaders priming for another missile launch.
Exorcist missile launcher of the 'old school, pipe organ' variety. Has autoloaders for the missiles, which I daresay makes it better than a Space Marine Whirlwind in that regard :P


Page 222
"When translation occurs, there will be a massive exothermic reaction. Stand well back. Better still, leave the chamber."
Teleport involves an 'exothermic reaction'- eg the release of thermal energy, which means close proximity (at least in this kind of teleport) can burn people. Bit of an advantage, but is also purportedly why you need Termie armour for teleport (it precludes the use of an unarmored human being teleported.) We dont know if this is true of all teleports (debatable, given other sources) or unique to Salamander-style teleports or the particular method of teleport they use.



Page 226
"Do you know what true names are, Astartes?"

"They are a daemon’s weakness, words of power that can banish them into the warp."

Lumeon faced Praetor. "Yes, they are. Sister Evangeline knows true names."
...
"By being close to a daemon, she can hear their true names. She can banish the denizens of the warp with but a word! That is why she is so valuable. That is why you must save her."

"But what of the fact she is mute? How can she even utter such a word?"
...
"The Emperor’s divine will is not for us to question, it just is. I do not know how."
On one hand the idea of a 'divine' or holy relic/saint like figure who can banish daemons by hearing their true names sounds a bit heretical (a bit too close to dabbling in the daemonic) but... the Imperial Cult is so varied and ridden with differing creeds it snot impossible to find one who believes this holy. And it is a damn useful tool all told I mean its not like the Malleus doesn't do this.


Page 231
She quietened her fast-beating heart and recovered from her stumble into a kneeling position. She began to pray.

With each silent benediction, the abomination that had been summoned to sacrifice her soul to Khorne slowed. Whereas before, brute force and fury had driven the daemon-engine to impossible feats, now every step was an effort. The closer the machine came to Evangeline, the more it began to shrink.
...
This was the Chapel of Divine Sanctuary – its borders were anathema to rage and fear. Here, peace and tranquillity held sway. Sister Evangeline was the paragon of that fundamental truth. She was order in place of chaos, serenity opposed to anger. There was nothing in this place or in her for the daemon-engine to feed upon. She had disarmed it, and by the time it reached her it had returned to its former size, hell-blade poised above her bowed head but unable to strike.
The Saint/relic is able to, through Faith, to defeat or defy the actions of a daemonic hell creature/machine and to keep it from harming her. What I like about this is that its not good/evil sort of thing, but the more traditional 'order vs Chaos' which characterized much of the 40K conflict. The Imperium stands for order, Chaos for.. well.. Chaos. It's still noble and wonderful and mystical but not quite so simplistic as good or bad either.



Page 233
"Her grace is spent. By speaking, she violated the most sacred credo of the Order. Her unique gift is lost."
This power was pretty much indeed faith based. By breaking the tenets of that faith - the source of that power, she no longer had access to it. Again such is the nature of warp power of this sort.



Page 240
...Praetor’s face as he threw the xenos off his storm shield. Acidic vital fluids hissed against his armour as he crushed the creature against the wall.
Genestealer with acidic blood.


Page 241
Suspensor readings in retinal displays showed maximum lift capacity. Manoeuvring was tough.
Terminator armour with suspensors providing 'maximum lift' - they can vary the amount of support they offer against gravity, and seemingly provide a manuver benefit (or implied to at least) - on a space hulk, anyhow.


Page 261
. The bulk of it, however, was taken up by the landing zone itself, which sat directly under a segmented adamantium-reinforced ceiling. There was evidence of force-shielding too, a last fail-safe to keep out the ravages of realspace when the roof to the chamber was open to the void.
Hangar bay failsafe. Lose the structure enclosing it, a forcefield defense kicks in to maintain integrity. AT least teh atmospheric integrity.

Page 261
Six vessels were in dock, all Thunderhawk variants with stripped-down weapon systems, sacrificed for greater troop capacity.
Thunderhawk variant.

Page 271
Cold air, charged with liquid nitrogen mist from inside the chamber, beckoned them closer. The room was not especially large or remarkable. It was square and held twenty banks of clear cylindrical, coffin-like receptacles capable of housing a Space Marine in full armour. This was where crewmembers could go during a long space journey. It was also a place to keep the badly wounded until a space station or dock could be reached which had superior medical facilities to those of the cruiser.
Uses for a cryo-stasis chamber onboard a Space Marine ship. It may seem odd, even though with the relatively 'slow' transits of the warp can take only weeks or months even across long distances, but that's never a guaratnee and the warp is not reliable. It is possible (and has happened) that months can become years, decades, or longer, especially with the random time dilation of the warp. Given those cases, having stasis like that is a useful backup in emergencies.


Page 274
Another lashed out like a whip, ripples of psychic power coursing over the cryo-tank’s surface in agitated waves. Nu’mean staggered as the bolt struck him but stayed standing, protected by his Crux Terminatus.
Crux Terminatus provides some protection against psychic attack from an Eldar Farseer.


Page 274-275
Tsu’gan stepped inside and unleashed a salvo. The explosive shells stopped a few centimetres from the frozen cryo-vessel, detonating harmlessly in mid-air. The impacts blossomed outwards, as if striking some kind of miniature void field, and dissipated into nothing.
Farseer able to block multiple storm bolter shots from multiple Terminators, the effects of which likened to a void field (giving an idea of what some kinds of void shields can do against physical impacts.


PAge 279
Nu’mean went to his own bio-scanner, one of the concomitant systems of his Terminator armour.
Several heat traces, distant but very real, were approaching.
Bio scanners are infrared in nature, at least partly.

Page 285
The cuts were heaviest at the weaker joints. His Terminator suit was badly rent and scorch marks suggested close-ranged plasma. Sections of partially dissolved ceramite, which left gaping crevices in Hrydor’s sundered flesh, had been made by a melta gun.
Melta and plasma fire is visually distinctive in its damage.


Page 287
It took Praetor three blows from his thunder hammer to batter the bulkhead door down and send it screeching from its moorings into the corridor at speed. Like most sons of Vulkan, his strength was prodigious, but even amongst the Fire-born Praetor had a reputation for incredible feats. Brought on by fury and determination, this one ranked amongst the toughest.

The closest Raptor didn’t see it coming. Six thousand kilograms of half-metre-thick metal took the renegade down, slamming into its torso and nearly cutting it in two. A death rattle escaped from its skulled faceplate before it died.
Praetor is equipped with a thunder hammer (powerfield explosive enhacment) and stronger than your average Salamander in Terminator plate (who are stronge rthan most Marines in terminator) is able to not only smash through a half metre thick, six tonne door but send sit flying at high speed.. which implies..a considerable velocity (several metres per second at least for the Raptors to not avoid getting hit.) And in reality that velocity would be imparted on the last hit, the first two were needed just to bash the door off its freaking hinges, which tells oyu something. To call tha timpressive is an understatement even given all that above.

Also assuming a 3x2 or 3x1 meter, half a metre thick door (about Terminator sized, which probably is a reasonable approximation is an average density between 2000 kg*m/s and 4000 kg*m/s, which is not super dense but not exactly trivial either.


PAge 291
The cleansing fire of Brother Kohlogh’s heavy flamer had done its work well. Ashen genestealer bodies littered the corridor ahead, but more were coming, many more.
Heavy flamer can at least partially cremate multiple genestealer bodies (which are many times more massive than normal humans) Probably at least half a ton to a ton of organic matter cremated (at least partially) all told, although the degree to which can't be estimated. Still to even partially cremate a body is impressive.

Page 321
Perhaps it was his fifteen friends, or the fact that three of them were bulky chrono-gladiators, lumbering into the phosphor light.
Astartes resemble Chrono-Gladiators, at least in bulk.


Page 322
A bulky-looking ganger even managed to crank up his autocannon before it was shredded, and him with it. In just under nine seconds, all sixteen of the dregs were dead,
ganger carrying an autocannon fo some kind, and 3 Marines kill 16 humans in 9 seconds. Seemingly unarmoured at that.


Page 329
He squinted through a monocular lens past kilometres of dirty smoke and acres of cloud..
Monocular with some vision enhancing capabilities, and a range of kilometres.


Page 338
...he said into the feed, attempting to raise the Techmarine monitoring their progress in the Promethus Moon far above Nocturne's turbuluent atmosphere.
Range of Space Marine comms to TEchmarine's location. hundreds of km easily.


Page 338
The storm-variant land speeder was designed for troop transport and could carry up to five easily, but Ba'ken had stocked it with equipment, phosphor flares, granpels and rappelling wire, as well as spare ammunition and a modest weapons cache.
Land speeder variant, both troop and equipment carryinhg.

Page 339
The first bolt clipped it, stagggering the creature, and the second and third took out its troso and blew irt apart.
Some sort of lizard/bird creature blown apart by three round bolter shot from a Scout.



Page 350
That was before its head epxloded, taken apart by mass-reactive fury. The torso followedm jerking as the head was struc, a ripple of hard kinetic bangs first buckling the natural carapace and then shredding it.
Another bolter headsplosion and bodysplosion

Page 351
..pulling out a monomolecular combat knife,,
Blah blah mono edge mc fureh.


PAge 359
..he took out a pair of folded scopes. HE extended them, snapped on the activation rune and began cycling through ocular settings. There was too much visible light to make night vision useful and thermal imaging would prove difficult given the waves of heat coming off the canyon.
Scout binocs with multiple settings, including IR and night vision, although the IR is fucked by the volcanic setting of Promethius.


Page 368
..his twin shotgun blasts as a storm of shrapnel erupted from their mouths.
..
..the lead serrwyrm's death screa m as it plummeted off the fire caynon's flank with only half a head.
Dual (combi) Shotgun takes half the head of a lizard creature. About half the damage of a bolt roud, comparatively.


Page 368
Illion had adpoted a kneeling stance with the end of the carbine's stock tucked into his armpit, up into the shoulder to better absorb recoil.
A lascarbine with recoil.

Page 374-375
As the shot sounded...

..Themion's body was a ragged, half-destroyed mess. Most of his legs were intact, the shell had hit him in the torso, pushing him back with the sheer force of the impact, and then detonating inside his body. Internal organs, bone, it was hard to discern amidst the ruddy pile of viscera Kade had become. His head was several metres away, torn off ihs neck during the explosion.
..
He held a stocky looking pistol in his outstretchd hand..

Bolt shot in detail, from a bolt pistol. The interesting thing is the knockback, since its the physicla impact BEFOre detonating, which basically obliterates most of the upper body. tens of grams of TNT easily.


Page 375
"A bolt pistol"
...
"..Keep it close and shoot two-handed. Try it in one and you'll dislocate your shoulder at best. Its not meant for normal humans."
Humans have to shoot Astartes bolt pistols two handed, not unlike some of the higher power rifles.

PAge 377
His bolter was the last of his weapons that had survived the fall and he wasn't about to part with it. He doubted the boy could fire it and not cave in most of his ribcage with the recoil anyhow.
Bolters have considerably more recoil (duh) than bolt pistols.


Page 391
She deactivated the medi-cogitator next to the man's bunk. Cardiac response was negative, blood pressure flat-lined.
Medical cogitator

Page 391
Athena was removing her smock as she made for a small basin with its sub-standard sanitising spray and dermal-scrubbers.
Medical sanitization stuffages.


Page 392
"I'd rather listen to Yarrick espousing the virtues of resistance that listen to him." Captain Vinyar's rhetoric was fleeting on the vox-band but his propaganda was always directed at the disparagement of the weak and their worthlessness to war.
Vox propoganda for the Imperials from various officers and figures of authority in the Armageddon war. Yarrick seems not to be universally popular :P


Page 405
Athena fired. The first shot went wide; the second struck the greenskin's torso. It grunted but didn't slow. She fired again and again, venting the laspistol's power pack and praying to hit something vital.

The ork was bleeding and burned, but not dead. The gun whirred, temporarily drained.
...
The beast was laughing, about to slay them both when a shadow loomed out of the smog behind it. Athena saw the muzzle flare in slow motion, realising that the bolter's salvo would hit them too.
Ork blasted with laspistol fire. Not exactly calcable here, but worth noting is that it does thermal damage at last partly, but is also drilling bleeding holes (so its not cauterizing) Its also not stopping the beast. The other point to note is that the gun was 'temporarily' drained.. which can't be the battery being empty. Rather it probably speaks to the laspistol having some osrt of multi-shot capacitor that needs periodic charging. One advantage may be multiple shots in a shorter period of time (with a need for longer recharges between bursts). Although it may be a peculiarity of the design or the battery as well (not all batteries may recharge equally fast.) Sadly we dont kno whow many shots, other than its less than the full pack.


Page 408
Emerging from between a pair of smouldering blockhouses, Nemiok drew a bead on a greenskin's back. It was already wounded, missing half an arm and badly shot up. It was rushing at a kill the Marines Malevolent couldn't see and didn't care about. He scythed the ork down, opening up its back and spine as the mass reactive bolter shells exploded. As it fell, Nemiok saw two females he recognised through his blood-flecked crosshairs.
Obviously it sthe same ork the lady shot up before with the laspistol, so it gives us a better idea of the pre-bolter damage (which is extensive in and of itself) Part of the arm blasted away by however many shots, and he's 'badly shot up.' implying damage to the torso area (at least) as well as the arm,

Assuming 10-15 shots, and 3-5 of those were for the arm, and a 20x20cm area burnt (3rd degree burns) we'd be talking 4-7 kj per shot at least. ASsuming the torso was shot up (10-15 shots total) say.. 25% (and assuming at least 50x50 cm area) with 3rd degree burns we're talking 625 sq cm which is 31.3 KJ total.. at least 2-3 kj.

So at least single digit kj, which would be consistnet with limb severing and drilling sizable, bleeding holes in an Ork.
Post Reply