[hider=Imperial Penal Assault Unit 31-3]

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The unofficial unit emblem of Imperial Penal Assault Unit 31-3.

Faction Name:  Imperial Penal Assault Unit 31-3 (Official Designation)
The Damned (Unofficial Designation)

Faction Overview/Concept: The Damned are a penal military unit, made up of the numerous dissidents, prisoners of war, political undesirables, degenerates, and criminals generated by the expanding Imperial rule on Terra. The Emperor’s forces, in great need of manpower, press even the unwilling, unable, and unfit to widen his sphere of influence, and to knock off a few future risk factors in the process. 

Strategically, the Damned operate like no other force in the Imperial panoply. They make extensive use of combat drugs, most particularly the newly synthesized Frenzon, to whip the troops up into a bloodthirsty, but malleable, fervor. They make extensive use of exploding discipline collars to punish cowardice, and employ ‘discipline cadres’, regular Imperial Army veterans earmarked for their loyalty to the Imperial Cause, to execute any member of the 31-3rd found wanting.

 While any one of these things is not unheard of in the technobarbaric wastelands of Unification Terra, using all of them at once is considered especially inhumane and heinous. However, these brutal methods are extremely effective in pressing untrained, unwilling penal soldiers into feats of suicidal bravery, which is what makes it useful to the Emperor.

Faction Assets: (Brief Overview of their Strengths/Capability)

The 31-3rd is organized along the same lines as a typical Imperial Army regiment of the time. It is on paper, approximately 10,000 - 20,000 fighting men and women. In practice, attrition makes this number far, far smaller. It is rare for the Damned to operate in small units - they are typically massed for wave attacks to probe defense lines, storm fortresses, assault across a wide front, and fight delaying actions for other Imperial forces. 

They are armed with whatever they can get their hands on; the most common armament being solid slug autoguns and shotguns, with the occasional lasgun or crew served weapon. It is not unheard of for close combat weapons to be issued if firearms ever run short, which they often do, as the majority of issued arms are taken from captured enemy weapons, cast offs from other units, and weapons personally stolen by the individual soldier. Standardization is nonexistent, and not considered desirable by the Damned’s command cadre. 

Key Characters:

Colonel Jonathan Stavin: The CO of the Damned is a former militia leader who’s organization had been swiftly crushed by Unification forces. As punishment for his dogged defense after being offered surrender, he is forced to lead what started as his old comrades into the meat grinder. Now, he sends the Damned to their doom with a callous cruelty, viewing himself as the ferryman across the river Styx.

Discipline Master Augusta Severina: The Discipline Master of the Damned, Severina was a trooper in the Emperor’s regular army. A hardbitten woman with a reputation for getting it done no matter the cost, Severina climbed the ranks on the deaths of her comrades. She cheerfully carries out her duties in the Damned, relishing the chance to send the Emperor’s dregs to their deaths. 

Trooper Caleb Raum: A newly inducted penal trooper, Trooper Raum made the mistake of posting a leaflet that expressed skepticism of the Pax Imperialis. Picked up by the constabulary, they quickly pressed him into the Damned. Trooper Raum was formerly an academic, and possesses no relevant combat experience. 

Sergeant Ernest Whitaker: A survivor of the militia unit that formed the initial core of the Damned, Whitaker is a hollow man, a killer of unparalleled skill and uncountable trauma. A mean man with a mean rep, Sergeant Whitaker takes no shit and doesn’t hesitate to lord his position over his lessers. 


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