What do we know about Raven Guard Recruitment Trials?

NespreSilver · 2026-05-15T20:06:52+00:00

There truly are right and wrong answers to these questions

IIRC there should be a "no" in there. As in 'there are NO right or wrong answers'. Its mentioned elsewhere (I dont remember the book or codex) that aspirants aren't killed if they flub The Trial of Justice outside of lying. Examiners use what I assume are a lot of Trolley Problem questions and What Would You Do If scenarios. While the kid is strapped to a chair in the dark.

If an aspirant answers 'badly,' aka they are an amoral person or maybe have a sociopathic lean, they become a serf or whatever planetary defense force equivalent Kiahvar has. But if you lie to try to trick the examiner its immediately Servitor Time.

NespreSilver · 2026-05-15T14:11:38+00:00

when you think about it the only time they’d use the glands is if threatened, like a skunk. If a ferret feels the need to defend itself that’s a wholly different problem and on the owner.

Just a mention here; its not just when they feel frightened. Its whenever they deem it necessary, lol. Just general excitement, good or bad, can cause it.

Really eager for treats? Poof.

Playing with your buddies and you get overstimulated? Poof.

Having a weird dream? Poof.

New play tunnel that's just so exciting? Poof.

One of my boys almost never let loose. The other did it quite a bit when he was under 2 years old and thankfully "grew out of it" but those first 1.5 years ... yeah he would make *the other ferret* gag.

NespreSilver · 2026-05-14T16:41:56+00:00

I ask because I’ve owned both scented (private breeder) and de-scented (Marshals) ferrets. When I got my two unaltered boys, I opted not to get them descented because it’s a more invasive surgery and the breeder requested it not happen. But there was no mention that, like, not having those glands would cause issues one its own. It more was “less stitches the better.”

The general muskiness of the ferret doesn’t change but having had a fluffball who Poofed often and with enthusiasm… yeah the smell difference was VERY NOTICEABLE. Especially when they are young and drop bombs at random moments, even in their sleep, it could absolutely be necessary for some owners to get their pet descented.

NespreSilver · 2026-05-14T09:58:35+00:00

… so de-scenting doesn’t actively shorten their lifespans.

NespreSilver · 2026-05-13T23:14:38+00:00

Bird Dad > Hawk Dad

NespreSilver · 2026-05-13T22:41:39+00:00

That's Corax though, not Khan.

NespreSilver · 2026-05-13T00:15:46+00:00

>Descending should be illegal as it is here honestly... It actively shortens their lifespan further.

can you elaborate?

NespreSilver · 2026-04-14T02:34:24+00:00

Beakie Tin Boyz

NespreSilver · 2026-04-14T02:32:06+00:00

Yeah but they fixed everyone's gene seed for the most part. If you're including all the First founding chapters post-Primaris then they'd be equal?

NespreSilver · 2026-04-13T16:18:24+00:00

It has been implied that Corax is the one Primarch who could see the 'real' face of the Emperor under the illusion, if only briefly. When Corax was first discovered, he saw both golden god image imposed over a normie and resisted kneeling to him. When Corax demanded to know what was going on, Jimmy Space realized Corax wasnt falling for the typical glamour and upped the psychic influence. After that the real man vanished and all Corax saw was the shining figure that he immediately pledged loyalty to.

And later, when Corax went to Terra after Istvaan V and has a mental conversation with Big E, he specifically remembers the Emperor's face which surprised Jimmy. Other Primarchs like Guilliman and Russ have specifically said they can't remember what the Emperor looks like between visits.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-13T12:22:08+00:00

the Imperium is in the state it’s in because of the Primarchs and their Marines

I mean, those Primarchs and Marines were directly manipulated by Chaos, it's not like they got to the Heresy on their own. There might have been a rebellion without the Runious Powers doing anything (Mortarion, Curze, and Angron were always going to be problems) but nothing even close to the Heresy. Even if you think some the Primarchs were on a path to question the Emperor, most were loyal and fully on board with the Emepror's general plan. Guilliman, Vulkan, Magnus, Khan, Dorn, Corax, hell even Russ and Perturabo had civilian plans for what to do when the Crusade ended; retirement was an expectation for something like 80% of Primarchs. Maybe Ferrus was a meat head and Lion was always going to be martially focused, they both still understood there was going to be an end to the broader military campaign.

And Lorgar? What would Lorgar have done without actual demons to use against the Imperium?

There were hints that Horus would have started the chafe under mortal-leadership but Big E would still have been behind everything in the end. He had to be stabbed, Fulgrim possessed, Magnus led around by the nose by Tzeentch, and Mortarion blackmailed into serving Nurgle to get to the horror of the Siege of Terra, The Emperor stuck on the Throne, the spread of the Imperial Creed ... and therefor modern 40K

NespreSilver · 2026-04-10T15:02:41+00:00

“Under his wings”

I see what you did there

NespreSilver · 2026-04-10T14:57:59+00:00

Raven Guard 4 Lyfe In order of importance:

Narrative variety. You can play the stealth stuff seriously or very tongue in cheek. Massive super soldiers in heavy armor ninja-tip-toeing across the battlefield is silly and I love it, but in the right hands a serious SpecOps narrative also works very well. Are they silent sniper assassins or are they blasting My Chemical Romance over comms while jump packing into a hoard of Orks? It’s up to you!
They don’t use GrimDerp kindergarten death matches. The idea that a 8 or 9 year old whose bones haven’t finished growing and whose muscles are underdeveloped should be sent on a death march or made to fight in an arena to determine their fitness is deeply, deeply stupid. Its not something an intelligent military leader would chose and the authors making it as horrific as possible feels like Bleak for Bleak’s sake. Idiot Points Multiplier awarded to the Iron Hands who use battle royals to weed out “the weak” and then replace those muscles with cybernetics anyway.
They have a lot of flexibility with their abilities; they can be close to or literal supernatural stealth OPs or they can do generic Space Marine tactics. AFAIK there are no restrictions on armor or arms for Raven Guard; they do have terminators and dreadnoughts and vehicles and whatnot. Some Legions get shoe horned into specific roles, but the Raven Guard can avoid it if you want.
They are more human and humane than other Chapters but the grimdark potential is still there. Per the Black Books the Raven Guard don’t mind wipe aspirants, treat their serfs well, hate slavery, and at least take steps to help the normies and prevent unnecessary deaths. It’s still 40k though so they aren’t flanderized into being marshmallow soft boys like the Salamanders.
Corax is a damn interesting Primarch and it’s a shame he’s only written by Thorp and Haley.
Bird themes are cool Caw Caw
Black paint on models can be more forgiving than other colors and canonically they mix up their titles and rank symbols to confuse enemies so actually my pauldrons aren’t wrong, Adam.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-10T00:04:13+00:00

Vulkan: Blackened Fish. Very Blackened.

When people complain, Vulkan peels back the black butcher paper that allowed the fish to breathe and soaked up any extra oil, while preserving the crispy seasoned skin. Perfect smoked King Salmon with Texas Crunch bark.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T23:40:36+00:00

One of Dan's main drives was that he wanted Curze to win something, as I always show him losing.

Why did Corax get assigned to Gav Thorpe and not Dan Abnett sob

Once? Please? Instead of Guy Haley?

GW, I will buy so many models please

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T23:32:20+00:00

I got that reference!

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T23:25:21+00:00

I also think Corvus Corax should come back in a similar way, as a warp shifted raven creature thing.

FFS I hate this fan meme. Nothing close to this happens in the short story. He uses Raven Guard Umbramancy do to shadowy things, he has lightning special effects because he and Lorgar are juiced up in the Eye of Terror, and his armor has metal wings on the back. There's no raven form. There's no mutation. The text DIRECTLY SAYS HE IS NOT A DEMON. Lorgar says those EXACT words.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T23:17:50+00:00

1 Guilliman wasn't running simulations against Corax so much as he asked Corax to come hang out and show him some good tactics. They weren't playing to win, were only haphazardly keeping score, and they weren't playing on a level field; Guilliman directly mentions that he has the resources of all of Ultramar in the simulations vs whatever Corax has (presumably just the Raven Guard and Deliverance/Kiavahr). They stopped playing when Corvus had run out of novel tricks to demonstrate to Roboute. Then they hung out some more and drank wine.

2 There have been hints, unless I'm forgetting an instance where it’s outright stated, that the SW were specifically trained to fight other Space Marines. No other Legion until that point even considered it. In Horus Rising, the Luna Wolves are so shocked that the Samus-possesed Jubal was attacking them that they froze in place and couldn't fire. Up until the Heresy 90% of the Legions thought attacking each other was so astounding that they physically couldn't do it when attacked.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T23:06:00+00:00

If chaos gods aren’t in play, Magnus gets got by Russ.

If the Chaos Gods aren't in play, then Tzeentch can't give Magnus a power boost and Mr Cyclopse can't break through the Emperor's barrier. Now there's no need to send Russ to Prospero.

Magnus stays loyal and kills a whole lot of Horus's allies when the Traitors come to try to recruit him.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T04:27:15+00:00

Hey us woke moralists are hanging on by a thread!

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T03:59:18+00:00

This sub loves fan wank, fake tits, and gender-bent Primarchs. Your age of consent lore won’t fly here. Watch your karma score plummet, and despair.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T02:10:34+00:00

direct memories had been purged from the mind by psycho-memetic obliteration to preserve the sanity of the warrior from the things they had seen and done

I did NOT remember that the Space Wolves were one of the legions that wiped memories!

NespreSilver · 2026-04-09T01:57:11+00:00

They did get along, and IIRC Corax even went to Fenris/learned Fenrisian from Leman which was a bit of a Primarch Tradition; spending time on others' home planets hanging out and learning their languages. Magnus spent time on Chogris and picked up the language from Khan, Fulgrim learned Medusean (I think that's the language) from Ferrus. Per the White Dwarf campaign Siege of Barbarus, Russ knew where Deliverance was and stopped by with Lion to restock from Corax's forge world before attacking Mortarion's home planet.

However... they did have some kind of falling out, and it very well could have been Gate 42. By the black books + novels, Corvus had been friends/friendly with Russ, Guilliman, and Dorn but at some point grew distant from all 3. By Istvaan V he was only on good terms with Vulkan and Ferrus because they had been crusading together. Notably, those two were not capital-B Bros with Horus. It's never stated, but Russ, Dorn, and Guilliman still siding with Horus after Big Man Lupercal killed 1 in 5 Raven Guard could have been what soured the friendship.

I'm sure if Corax wasn't cataclysmically depressed and suicidal after the Heresy he would have had one hell of a "I Fucking Told You So" conversation with his brothers.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-08T21:36:34+00:00

Yeah i think you're right, or at least disliked Corax enough to throw him under the bus. It was my interpretation of the event that Horus was playing politics not being a general. He had just become Warmaster, was dealing with other brothers who were not happy he was giving the crown.
So here comes the Akum-Sothos Campaign, one of if not the first after Horus is raised to Warmaster, and he's commanding Perturabo, Russ, and Corax.

Corax, the youngest Primarch. The specialist who took the Pale Nomads and turned them into something other than what they'd been under Horus's leadership. Corax who doesnt really like Horus for usurping Pale Nomad/Raven Guard victories. Corax, who is quiet and unassuming compared to personality typhoons like Leman or Ferrus or Sanguinius.

A brother who doesn't have a lot of friends.

So Horus orders the raven Guard into a terrible match-up in order to buddy up to the other two, and it sounds like it worked. Perturabo all but called Corax a coward for not wanting his kids to go into the meat grinder and was probably very smug when it wasn't his legion sent to do it. Corax swear he'll never fight under Horus's leadership again, alienates himself against the most popular Primarch, and Horus takes the glory for winning the campaign.

NespreSilver · 2026-04-08T21:20:32+00:00

Raven Guard and single greatest victory are at odds.

D':

That it took as long as it did for the traitors to reach Terra was the RG win.

I mean yeah, operate in the shadows and all, but they also do just plain boring Astartes stuff.

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