Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles of the Varangian Guard

Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles of the Varangian Guard

Age: 1,672

Martial: 15+22=37 (+65 martial bonus)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius was Captain Julius' second in command for over a thousand years, time in which he became a skilled general with few betters in the Imperial Trust.*

Intrigue: 13+15=28- *Master of Sanctity Horatius has dealt with uneasy alliances, betrayal and Chaos infiltration for over a thousand years and has become and expert in dealing with them.*

Administration: 11+9=20- *Master of Sanctity Horatius is a skilled administrator, as befits his heritage as an Ultramarine.*

Learning: 17+8=25*- Master of Sanctity Horatius combines the high quality education that the Ultramarines receive with over a millennia of experience in the galaxy and a hobby of reading, making him incredibly well educated within a wide range of topics.*

Piety: 22+24=46- *Master of Sanctity Horatius has slain Greater Daemons of all five major Chaos Gods in single combat without falling to their blandishments, even by the high standards expected of a Adeptus Astartes Master of Sanctity Horatius's faith and will are exceptional.*

Diplomacy: 18+11=29- *Master of Sanctity Horatius was Captain Julius chief diplomat, and has met with countless other factions in the century since the fall of the Imperium. He is an excellent diplomat able to easily find common ground with those he is talking to while deftly avoiding points of conflict.*

Combat: 17+37=54 (+1,100 combat bonus, +1,320 in melee)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius is one of the mightiest heroes of the Adeptus Astartes alive, having bested some of the mightiest foes of the Imperium in single combat and killed entire regiments single-handedly.*

**Paragon Mace Trait: Sanctity of the Duel** (-150 to all ranged attack rolls made at him, halved damge from ranged attacks, Can challenge the strongest enemy in arms reach to a dual that last until they are separated or issue as challenge to any enemy in sight that is started only if the enemy accepts it. When in a challenge both Horatius and his foe are immune to every attack made by an outsider short of major orbital bombardment and can not attack any other foes, can instantly choose new target if enemy dies or escapes)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles hold the duel sacrosanct and never attacks an enemy when he is dueling another, or allows an ally to attack the enemy that he is dueling. He seems to have a incredible ablity to avoid the attacks of all but the enemy that he is dueling, a talent he also uses to wipe out enemy armies one at a time.*

**Paragon Combat Trait: Undying Warrior** (triple health, +3 armour, +200 to resist all non-damage effects, on dying make DC 30 piety test, survive wounds with amount of HP equal to amount passed by, DC increase by 5 every time the test it taken until Horatius has either a full days rest or equivalent healing) - *Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles has been known to keep fighting even after receiving wounds that should have slain him a dozen times over, only stopping once the battle is over.*

**Paragon Combat Trait: Perfect Duelist** (+250 to all rolls when in duel, may re-roll own dice when in duel, +500 to all rolls to maintain contact when in duel)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius is an almost unbeatable foe in a duel, with even the most terrifying of foes being unable to either break contact or put him down.*

**Adeptus Astartes** (+3M, +3P, +5C, +2 to all stats, harder to kill, higher base combat stats, suffers no negative effect from aging, +10 to morale of all forces under your direct command, +5 to morale of all forces in your precence)*- As a member of the Adeptus Astartes Master of Sanctity Horatius is one of the superhumans that the Emperor himself created to defend the Imperium. As such he is superhuman in both mind and body.*

***Ultramarine*** (+2M, +2A, +1D)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius spent the first few centuries of his life as an Ultramarine, a member of the most respected Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. His skill and experiences have been shaped by this beginning.*

***Astartes Ancient*** (+2M, +2I,+2L, +3P, +4C, +1 to all stats, far less likely to die, far less likely to be surprised, +10 to morale of all members of the Adeptus Astartes in your presence)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius is one of those few members of the Adeptus Astartes who live for over a millennium. Over this time he has been forced to develop many skills, and has fought in more wars then most can imagine.*

***Even Death Fears Ancient Soldiers*** (+6M, +5I, +2A, +2P, +2L, +5C, far less likely to die from anything, +20 to morale for all forces under him)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius has been involved in near constant warfare since his teens, several centuries before the Emperor fell. Given that this has been well over a millennium of the most war-torn period since the First Age of Strife he has proven his ablity to survive*

***Adeptus Astartes Master of Sanctity*** (+3M,+6P, +3D, +3C, +2 to all stats, +40 to morale of all forces in his presence)- *As a Adeptus Astartes Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles is a mightly champion, master orator and a piller of faith to his chapter.*

***"The Steadfast"*** (+1M, +4P, +1D, +3C, no penalties for fatigue, no penalties for being outnumbered, +60 to morale of all forces in his presence) -*One of the most legendary feats of Master of Sanctity Horatius is his defence of the Pons Sublicius, the only bridge into Rome, the Capital of the Petty Imperium of the same name. He held the bridge for an entire night against all comers, killing thousands of elite soldiers and hundreds of champions. More importantly he bought the time for the sabotaged defences of Rome to be repaired allowing the city to survive the coming assault.*

***Die-Hard*** (+4P, +1C, less likely to die)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius has been known to keep fighting with wounds that should be mortal, even for his superhuman physique.*

***Paragon of the Mace*** (+4M, +3D, +3I, +12C, +120 to melee combat rolls)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles is one of histories greatest masters of the mace, regularly preforming seemingly impossible feats with his Crozius Arcanum. In this time he has killed at least one Greater Daemon of each of the Chaos Gods, a C'tan Shard and several Ork Overlords.*

***Hero of Hvergelmir*** (+1M, +1I, +2P, +2D, +4C, +20 to rolls by all forces in his presence, +20 to rolls vs psykers)- *Master of Sanctity Horatius held the lines in the defence of the Hvergelmir Prime Fortress against Hive Fleet Grábakr, inspiring those beside him to fight to the last and holding entire sections of the wall alone when needed. Even when the feared Alpha Broodlords were deployed against him he still slew them and held the lines.*

While little is known about Master of Sanctity Horatius Cocles life before the death of the Emperor it is known that he was a respected Chaplain of several centuries experience assigned to the Ultramarines Second Company when the Emperor died. It was in large part due to his sermons that his task force dealt with the Emperor's death as well as it did, though he became known for other skills.

Over the period since the death of the Emperor and the Fall of the Imperium Chaplain Horatius has become one of the legendary figures of Segmentum Pacificus, with his deeds inspiring countless other heroes and striking fear into the heat of many champions of Chaos. His legend started during the Triumph of Taybar III where he destroyed a C'tan Shard in single combat during what is considered by many to be the Ultramarines Second Company's finest hour. It continued though the conquest of Gaul, where he defeated both the Daemon Prince Gal’furth and the Great Unclean One Ul'Gor. However it was his stand on the Pons Sublicius at the gates of Rome and his slaying of the Archangyl Uriel on Carthage, that propelled Chaplain Horatius into the ranks of legends.

This battle happened in the early years of the Petty Imperium of Rome, mere decades after the conquest of Gaul made it more then a regional power. A massive collection of Chaos Warbands, with worshipers of all five Gods, was attacking the Petty Imperium and the main force reached Rome itself while the majority of Romes armies were elsewhere. The defences of Rome were more then up to the task of holding back the invaders, which is why a collection of traitors sabotaged the bridge to one of the secondary gates and the gate itself, creating a lethal weakspot in the defences. Chaplain Horatius, as the greatest warrior in the Hive volunteered to hold the bridge until the Tech-Priests figured out how to either destroy it or undo the sabotage, an task that took all night. In this night Chaplain Horatius and a pair of his closest companion, one of when still lives, held the bridge against thousands of the Chaos Warbands best soldiers and hundreds of Champions. Recordings of this fight have been preserved and while both Spurius Lartius and Titus Herminius Aquilinus proved themselves to be heroes in that fight it is Chaplain Horatius that can be credited with the victory. He was like a force of nature, killing enemy soldiers with every blow and taking mere minutes to overwhelm even the mightiest of champions. Due to this valiant stand in which Titus Herminius Aquilinus was slain the besieging forces were forced to attempt to take the Hive by siege while lacking many of their leaders, who had fallen to Chaplain Horatius on the bridge.

The second of the deeds that ensured Chaplain Horatius' legendary status was the defence of Carthage, another of the planets of the Roman Petty Imperium which came under assault from the forces of the Abomination led by an Uriel, an Archangyl of the Second Sphere who had led the forces of the Abomination during the Fall of Erabor almost a hundred years before. The Archangyl Uriel once more proved to be an unstoppable force on the battlefield, smashing a hole in any defensive position put in front of him and killing all that opposed him. This ended in Carthage itself, where Chaplain Horatius, met Uriel in single combat in front of the last line of defence. This battle supposedly lasted hours as skill met power in a display that few have seen, which ended with Chaplain Horatius drove his Crozius Arcanum into the heart of the Archangyl. While the planet of Carthage was irrevocably tainted by the invasion and had to be leveled by sustains orbital bombardment the slaying of one of the Abomination's greatest servants by a single mortal foe, during his period of ascendancy, was enough to spread Chaplain Horatius reputation far and wide.

In person Chaplain Horatius is a larger then life figure, who attracts the attention of all who see him. His voice project a resolute certainty in his purpose and he moves with an utter confidence in his own skills. On a social front he is well spoken, duty-bound and surprisingly cheerful given his reputation.