Necroes

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

@Klomster Actually, marines really aren't all that fast, in terms of reaction time. They've got higher quality sensory input than the average human, but nothing they get actually increases the speed at which they process that information. The only thing is training and conditioning, and that only gets you so far before you hit the physical limitations of relying on a biological sensory system, which humans are already pretty damn close to to begin with.

Ironically, given the fluff behind ogryns, they may actually have a better reaction time than marines. Ogryn brains never really 'devolved,' they just mutated to better meet different needs. They seem less intelligent because their brains are more geared towards survival than social pleasantries and basic skills like mathematics and grammar. However, that's actually in their favor, as it means their brains have adapted to filter out all the 'white noise' and focus only on what matters; survival, and by extension, processing information that's important to continuing it.

They also win in muscle density. They average 2.5 to 3 meters tall (that's 8'2" to nearly 10' for my fellow imperialst scum), without any kind of power suit. See, the weird thing about Ogryns is that, on a homeworld with nearly double earth's gravity, they got Bigger. Things don't get bigger when there's more gravity, they get more compact. That's why whales don't work well outside of the water, they need the buoyancy to keep their bodies from being crushed under their own weight.

Ogryns, on the other hand, were put somewhere they should have gotten smaller, and actually got even bigger. That means the need for sheer brute strength was so great, that somehow natural selection favored the largest, despite that extra bulk working against them. This next part is pretty math heavy, so I'm going to use a hider.

Math stuff for anyone who cares.

So when a given body increases in size proportionately by doubling its height, its mass will increases by a factor of about eight, just by a purely mathematical sense. Given the size of the average Ogryn, assuming their weight in a standard Earth environment increased by Only that factor of eight, then halving their height of upwards of 10' would mean we're basing them on the average weight of a 5' man. So, the 'ideal' average weight for a middle aged man of 5' height is right around 110 lbs. That means the matching ogryn would weigh 880 lbs on Earth. Now, on their home planet, they would weigh twice that. Meaning, that all of their bulk has to be able to not just barely, but effectively and regularly support 1,960 lbs.

Meaning, an ogryns muscles have to be dense enough to heft around 2 tons of weight at all times, naked. As the average space marine only has to pack around 600 pounds naked, and both are required to perform under battlefield conditions, the Ogryn at only a couple feet taller would Have to have over double the muscle density of the average space marine.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

Ogryns just Are stronger and tougher than marines. That's why they carry heavier guns, bigger melee weapons, and wear armor that offers similar levels of protection against attacks despite being literally just massive slabs of metal. Space marines are better not because they are more physically powerful, but because they're augmented to be more versatile and better soldiers. It'd be like comparing a human soldier to a gorilla. In a straight-up fist fight, the gorilla is probably going to win... but a soldier wouldn't be dumb enough to let those be the terms he engages a gorilla under, and I definitely wouldn't want a pack of gorillas going in to do the kind of missions I'd give to soldiers.
Physically, the only thing more impressive about a marine than an ogryn is their ability to survive in the long run. That's it.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

@BCTheEntity Sooo, out of curiosity... why did you assume the at least two armored marines helping our dear apothecary would let you just walk away with the patient?

Putting aside any medical issues, Xepherial still has cronies with him, and they're armed and armored. One naked marine wouldn't be able to just walk past something like that. If they wanted to restrain you, all they'd have to do is hold you off long enough for him to cut through skull. Given it's a future saw made to cut through a space marine's skull, it wouldn't take extremely long to do that. Once that happened, the surgery would Have to continue, because even a space marine can't walk around with their brain on open display.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

@BCTheEntity Something to keep in mind is that all the various implants and additional organs added to a space marine aren't natural. As marines can actively control most of them, that means they have to be artificially attached to the brain. In addition to the various tech-marine implants, there are a Ton of injuries that a marine could receive that would require open access to the brain to fix. There would be various machines and what not that could, in theory, bypass the need to look at the marine's brain the old fashioned way, but I doubt a scouting vessel would just have that kind of thing on hand.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

Marines have taken far more than being smashed in the head by an Ork and survived.

@Jbcool

Well, he didn't Just take a blow to the head from an ork, that was just the most recent. As I recall, he's fallen several stories only to be impaled on a large spike, in addition to taking a large volley of bolter fire. I feel like there was more, for some reason, but can't find it.
Anyway, my point is, basically any of those things would outright kill a normal human, several times over. More importantly, though, the extra organs marines are implanted with are fully capable of being damaged to the point of needing repair. Being as most are situated in the chest, and that's where the spike hit him, there's plenty of room to allow for the need of surgery. That a trained apothecary stated he'd be dead without the appropriate care acts to confirm that he needs it.
Marines are tough, but Xeph has taken the kind of damage that could put one down. In addition, he's a techmarine, so it's entirely possible his mechanical enhancements were damaged in the process, and That's why he's dying.

I'm not saying it's Impossible for a healing coma to pull him through, but the Sus-an membrane has its limitations. The most important of which is that, if he Did enter the coma, he'd need an apothecary to wake him up anyway. Plus, how long it would take him to heal those wounds is entirely uncertain. That is, of course, assuming the Sus-an wasn't damaged to the point of being inoperational by either the fall or the bolter fire, which can happen. The fact that he's still bleeding means that at least one of the organs which are responsible for preventing that has also been damaged, which manatee indirectly addressed in his post.

Marines wear armor for a reason. Yea, compared to a human they can take a lot, but that's really not saying much. That's why I don't go by the books, they make marines out to be a lot more than they are. The truth is, space marines die all the time. That's why every chapter is Constantly training new recruits, despite the 1,000 marine limit stated in the Codex Astartes. In the grand scheme of things, in a world where standard-issue weapons are literally automatic mini-RPG launchers, they aren't the nigh invulnerable demi-gods the books act like they are.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

@BCTheEntity Also, Lucius isn't a trained medic. I mean, the list of injuries Xeph took is a quarter mile long, and ultimately cumulated with a pretty heavy blow to the head. Considering the sheer number of added features in a space marine's head, especially a tech-marine's, opening his skull for an operation would be completely justifiable. Any marine with an extended amount of experience would know that when a marine needs surgery, it'd be one Hell of a surgery.

That, and there's all of Azazel's underlings who would get in your way. From my understanding, they're all full-fledged marines themselves, and fully kitted with gear and power armor. If that's the case, and I admit it very well may not be, Lucius couldn't realistically fight them with hopes for success. Whether he'd try is up to you, of course, but he'd know going in his chances of success would be slim, in addition to the fact that he couldn't be sure he'd actually be 'saving' Xeph at all anyway.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

First order of business; I vote we hijack a ship that doesn't cripple two of our number, and get something with some size to it.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

I posted as well. I realized it had been quite a while.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

Urgrugg sat in the corner of the ship, staring into the gem atop his staff. He was only half paying attention to what was going on around him. In a way, it almost felt like there were two of him, one preoccupied with his staff and the other concerned with the rest of the world. In his head, an argument went on, a crazy argument that would make no sense to anyone but an ork. Even then, no other ork would have the argument themselves. Either way, Urgrugg was likely crazy.

As the crew talked and debated, his thoughts slowly began to turn to hostile actions. For the longest time, a voice in the back of his mind had discouraged those thoughts, and helped keep them in check. Now, though, that voice was gone, and each passing moment made Urgrugg doubt whatever sense he had ever thought it had made. The conversations going on were not helping matters, either.

For the most part, things seemed simple to Urgrugg. They needed to leave, and go somewhere else. The obvious place to go was somewhere they could fight. The rest of it was just wasted breath. While some part of him found what the Ogryn said to be fascinating, and extremely informative-it had answered so many questions the ork had had about imperial culture for so long-it still did not matter. Sure, the Ogryn was the biggest, so obviously he should be in charge, but any boy could tell you bosses aren't chosen for their thoughts. All leading a mob meant was you got to fight all the biggest and toughest things.

Of course, there was also the gem. It was small, but it was there, his secret store of warp energy. It wasn't enough to do much, but it took next to nothing to kill someone. All he would have to do is break skin, and the jolt of warp energy could shoot to the victim's brain and destroy it completely. He could use that, but then he would be left defenseless. Just knowing it was there, though, was a comfort to the ork. Really, though, there was something else he wanted to do with that small burst of energy much, much more.

In a way, Urgrugg was like a man lost at sea, with nothing to drink but a bottle of rum. Who he was, his personality as it had existed for his long life, was based on a steady and constant connection to the warp. Without that connection, that personality was dying, being dehydrated by the lack of warp energy he was used to. There was warp energy around him, of course-everything produces warp energy, and the eldar stones were practically giant batteries-but like a thirsty man at sea he knew it would do him no good. Just taking in that power would not only not fix his problem, it would make it worse, and very quickly.

However, his stone was slightly different. That warp energy he could take in, and safely. It also was not the real thing. All it would accomplish is make him want more. Just like the man with the rum, though, it would feel so good going down. That alone might make the consequences worth it, if he were just going to die either way.

These two streams of thought clashed. One side of him wanted to fight, to kill everyone there just for the sake of the battle. The other was obsessed with the gem, stuck in a constant state of uncertainty of what to do with it. While the two sides would not seem mutually exclusive, deep down, it was actually a war between his base, orky self, trying to return to its instincts, versus his true identity, desperately grasping for his last chance at hope, knowing that when he takes hold of it, that will just mark the end.

When the ship shook, it jarred him from his thoughts, and that was all it took. His nose locked onto the scent of fresh blood, his eyes sought the group operating on the fallen tech marine. Standing, the battle in his mind was halted. Not ended, so much as stalled, as both sides agreed there was something else that needed done.

Walking up to the apothecary, he waited for him to finish. Once done, the ork held out his arm. Though it had reattached, and he was able to move it, it was little more than useless beyond that. It looked like it had been mummified, shriveled and completely dehydrated as it was. Like in most cases, the ork had managed to do what many would say could not be done. However, it had not been done well, and the result could hardly be called a success.

"You fix?" he asked the apothecary, a bit excited, though he didn't show it. Seeing the tech marine come out of his surgery with metal additions had made Urgrugg somewhat hopeful for something like that of his own. Perhaps one of those power claws he had heard of. Though, it was unlikely the marine would be able to match true ork engineering. "Can trade. Make me better. Make you better." Gesturing with his staff, he indicated the apothecary with the prior, then himself with the latter.

Are We the Bad Guys? - A WH40k RP [Mature]

“Aye si-,” McNespey stopped and peered for a moment at the long-range scanners, rubbing the screen as if to remove a speck of dirt, then looking back to his commanding officer, “there's something else moving toward us, something smaller than an escort-class vessel, sir. It appears to be an Emperor's Child exploration craft.”

@Jbcool

Emphasis mine.

'Emporer's Angels' is just one of the chapter's nicknames from before the heresy. It references Fulgrim's influence on them to want to be perfect in everything, as well as the eagle's wing featured in their emblem. Admittedly, it's also been used on occasion as a generic term for space marines in general.

Ironically, the term likely wouldn't be used to refer to either the dark angels or the blood angels. The prior because they scare the piss out of basically everyone in the imperium capable of pissing, and the latter because they are the most respected and well-liked chapter among the imperial armed forces. It's well reflected in their chapter masters. Azrael is a scary mother-fucker who doesn't afraid of anything, and Dante... well, 1,100 years of dedicated service to the imperium speaks for itself.