General Tychon Rakes

**Marshal Tychon Rakes of the Helltroopers**

**Age**: 575, rejuved to 25

**Martial**: 17 + 25(40) = 42(57) (+119 or +245 martial bonus) – *General Rakes is an master at defensive warfare with few equals, though he is merely an expert when on the attack.*
**Intrigue**: 16 + 11 = 27 – *General Rakes has an understanding of the importance of covert operations to warfare and a good level of skill in countering them.*
**Administration**: 18 + 9 = 27 – *General Rakes is a skilled administrator able to keep his forces well supplied for the extended sieges he specializes in.*
**Learning**: 10 + 6 = 16 – *General Rakes has the education required for an Avernite officer of his rank.*
**Willpower**: 17 + 16 = 33 – *General Rakes has a strong and tested will, and an abiding faith in the Emperor.*
**Diplomacy**: 13 + 2 = 15 – *General Rakes has little patience for diplomatic niceties, though he is at least able to avoid offence when required.*
**Combat**: 16 + 30 = 46 (+835 combat bonus) – *General Rakes is a highly skilled soldier and a crack shot with his rifle.*

(98/7+3.5=16.5)

**General** (+4M, -1I, +1A, -1D, +2C) – *Tychon Rakes has though dint of hard work, tactical skill and survival risen to become one of the most senior military officers of Avernus.*

**Avernite Bi-centenarian** (+6C, +1I, +2W, -2D when dealing with non-Avernites) – *Having survived two centuries of life on Avernus General Rakes have proven himself to be an expert warrior, the bearer of a strong will and very alert to danger.*

**Leads from the front** (+3C, +1D, +10 to morale of forces under his command, more likely to die in battle) – *General Rakes always leads his men from the front, fighting among the common troopers were he claims that he can feel the flow of the battle better. Whether or not this is true, it is undisputed that his men fight harder when their general is fighting beside them.*

**Master Marksman** (+1M, +2I, +5C, +50 to ranged combat rolls) – *General Rakes is a master marksman who can maintain near flawless accuracy even within the thick of combat.*
***Master Administrator*** (+5A)– *Even among the logistically experts of the Avernite Quartermaster Corps General Rakes ability to ensure that his forces are always well supplied is outstanding.*

**Grandmaster Tactician** (+8M) – *General Rakes has developed a mastery of tactics and battlefield positioning that has few equals, even among the generals of Avernus.*

**An Officer to the Bone** (+2M, +1D) – *General Rakes is an officer of the Avernite PDF, nothing more and nothing less.*

**Complete Defence** (+3I, +50 to counter enemy scouts and infiltrators) – *General Rakes has developed a real talent for setting up his defences so that the enemy has great trouble sneaking infiltrators past them, or even accurately scouting out his front lines. He still can’t keep the Phase-Tigers out reliably, though.*
**Perfect Defence** (+4M, +4W, +4C, additional +4 M when defending, +25 to all forces under his direct command when defending) – *Between General Rakes textbook defence of Cassarondo during the Third Daemonic Incursion and what he has learned assulting the Defence of the Daemon Primarch Perturabo his ability to create and command defences pushes the boundary of the possible.*
**Defender of Hvergelmir** (+1M, +2I, +1A, +2C, +2M when defending, +20 to rolls by all forces under his command when defending, additional +20 to morale rolls by all forces under his command when defending, less likely to die) – *General Rakes commanded the main defenses during the defence of the Hvergelmir Prime Fortress against Hive Fleet Grábakr, and held the line despite the unending tide of monsters unleashed on his forces. This push his skills as a general to their limits, and gave him a reputation as one of the greatest masters of defensive warfare in the Imperial Trust.*
**Defender of Cassarondo** (+1M, +1W, additional +2M when defending, +10 to all forces under his command, and +10 morale to all forces under his command when defending Cassarondo, +2 Prestige, +3 Fame) - *General Rakes has defended Cassarondo, Avernus' northernmost city from all attacks in several Daemonic Incursion no matter the odds against him. This has given him an intimate knowledge of the city and its environs, and how to best defend it.*

(+9M, +5I +3A, +6W, +6C, additional +15M when defending, +70 to all forces under his command when defending, +70 to morale of forces under his command when defending, +50 to counter enemy scouts and infiltrators, less likely to die, +10 Prestige, +5 Fame)- *General Rakes is the greatest defensive specialist among the generals of Avernus, second only to the Governor Himself in his field. His reputation for holding his ground is legendary, as is his men’s willingness to hold against even the most horrific of attacks.*

**Survivor of the Green Skies** (+2W, +1C, +5 to all rolls against daemons, +2 Prestige) – *Having proved him/herself against the most dangerous foes in the galaxy during the Fourth Daemonic Incursion … has had his/her faith and combat skills tested.*

(+8W, +5C, +30 to all rolls against daemons, +5 Prestige)- *General Rakes has led his men through five Daemonic Incursions, including the Grand Incursion. This has tested his skill and strength of will as nothing else has, even the defence of Hvergelmir.*
***Tailored Education*** (+6L, +1D) – *General Rakes has put in a great deal of effort to learn the more abstract aspects of war after being caught up due to not knowing them several times.*
***Unconventional Fighter*** (+4I, +3C)– *General Rakes prefers to fight using rather unconventional methods and excels at catching his foes off guard.*

Tychon Rakes was born to a upper class family on the planet of Zerus twenty years before the colonisation of Avernus. He joined the Officers Academy as soon has he was old enough and was a newly graduated Lieutenant when Avernus was colonized. Much to many of his soldiers surprise he manged to survive and prosper on Avernus, eventually becoming a respected officer. He continued to slowly rise in the ranks for the next few decades until he reached the rank of colonel after his superior fell in the assault on Barovik during the First Siege of Midgard.

Due to the skill that he had always displayed in defensive operation Colonel Rakes was reassigned to a position in one of the first Avernite Siege Infantry Brigades, where he quickly proved to be one of the most gifted officers. He remained there until Waaagh Garkill, where he took command of his brigade after the Brigadier was killed during the defence of The Fens from the main Ork attack. In recognition of his astute command of his brigade for the rest of the engagement he was promoted to Brigadier after the end of the campaign.

Brigadier Rakes and the 9th Helltrooper Siege Infantry Brigade next saw combat in the Assault on Fjol IV, where they were one of the most successful of the Siege Infantry Regiments in the Avernite Army, which attracted the attention of several senior officers. For the following few decades Brigadier Rakes was shifted though several posts in preparation for promotion, which came about six years before the First Daemonic Incursion.

Major-General Rakes was the commander of the defenders of Arbor during the First Daemonic Incursion, and as such came under heavy attack. Being one of the northernmost cities Arbor suffered some of the lightest casualties in the Incursion, a fact that is almsot solely credited to Major-General Rakes command. After going over his after action reports his defence of Arbor started to be used as a textbook example of defending a city from a Daemonic Incursion, and he became known as one of Avernus' greatest defensive experts.

As such it was not surprising when he was slated to command the defenders of Iota One when it was first founded, and was given command over the regions PDF forces when they were formally formed a few years later.

Marshal Tychon Rakes is a highly professional man, who always uses exact military protocol and has a reputation for being strict but fair to his subordinates.