Crusade of Endless Joy

**The Crusade of Endless Joy** is a warband of **Emperor's Children** Chaos Space Marines, who have terrorized the galaxy and fought against the Imperium in their Heresy-era Strike Cruiser, the ***Endless Joy***, for most of the last 10,000 years, though far less in subjective time.

## Special Characters

### Zelamine

Daemon Princess with Wings, Double Malefic Talons & Warp Bolter

* Hatred Incarnate (Reroll 1's to wound, just her)
* Intoxicating Elixer (+1 S & +1 A)
* Indomitable (Half damage from all failed saves, rounding up)
* Ecstatic Agonies (4+ FnP)
* Special Character ( +1 W )

### Ariel

Sorceror with Jump Pack

* Relic: Sword of Penetrating Corruption, an ancient Slaanesh daemonweapon, flat 2D ForceSword, +1S, which gives him +1 to Cast and Deny, and more plot-wise-importantly siphons warp energy in a way that stresses our reality near the breaking point, projecting a broad field that makes it easier for himself and daemons to move to/from the Warp and to manifest in realspace. Derives it's powers from an ancient Keeper of Secrets trapped inside the Sword.
* Ecstatic Agonies (4+ FnP)
* Sigil of Corruption (4++ Invuln save)
* Special Character ( +1 W )

### Lucius

Lucius the Eternal

* Aspire to Glory (Reroll failed wound rolls in the fight phase for friendly EC units within 6")
* Special Character ( +1 W )

## Special Units

### Cultist Child Possessed by Sorceress Herald

Herald of Slaanesh

* Change S4 to S3
* Knows & Casts 2 powers instead of 1, from either Slaanesh or Herecticus disciplines
* Change D2 to D1 on claws
* Add keywords: Cultist, Emperor's Children, Heretic Astartes, Possessed
* 70 pts, up from 60 pts

### Former Chaos Lord Octavius the Chaos Spawn

Chaos Spawn

* Change W4 to W6
* Heals 1d3 W at the start of his own movement phase
* Rerolls failed charges
* Change D2 to D3 on claws
* Chooses instead of rolling on the Mutated Beyond Reason table
* 75 pts, up from 25 pts
* Add keyword: Character
* Named character (so only 1), but not a special character: his punishment is eternal and he'll keep returning as a Chaos Spawn when killed

## Special Characters lore

### Zelamine

Since 003M42, the Crusade has been led by the **Daemon Princess Zelamine**, Favored of Slaanesh, Mistress of the Strike Cruiser ***Endless Joy***, "Princess Z" to her enemies. Before her apotheosis, Zelamine was known as Lord Telamio, after assuming command of the Crusade when their former leader Lord Octavius was made into a Chaos Spawn as punishment for his lax prosecution of Slaanesh's will (see Previous Leader section below). While Lord Octavius led the crusade for most of the last ten millenia, Telamio served him as an Exalted Champion, and before the heresy he was known as Lieutenant Telamio.

Chaos Lord Telamio was exalted into the Daemon Princess Zelamine as reward for her success and tireless devotion to Slaanesh, made manifest and undeniable upon the destruction of the Blood Raven forces that the Crusade of Endless Joy had been tasked with drawing away from Cadia, as a distraction to aid Abbadon's 13th Black Crusade. Slaanesh knew that s/he had finally found a warlord who could be trusted and relied upon, to tirelessly pursue the enemy and not to slack off onto a years-long bender of self-indulgent hedonism.

Newly Exultant Daemon Princess Zelamine stood on the bridge of the Blood Raven command Cruiser, over the freshly slain Captain and Senior Librarian, with whom she had contented for longer than 2 years in real time, and felt the flow and intensity of Slaanesh's Love for her and trust in her. She remembered everything of her previous life as Chaos Lord Telamio, but it felt as if it had all happened to a different person, and she was now a piece of Slaanesh and eternity in a way that Telamio had been pursuing since the ancient days of the Heresy. Every Exalted Champion and Chaos Lord nurtures the dream of apotheosis, and it often sustains them over the Long War, even when the war was going poorly, but apotheosis didn't feel like Telamio had imagined it would, and she didn't feel like she was Telamio. But it did feel impossibly good to be a beautiful and immortal daemon princess, and she was filled with the Joy of the Love of Slaanesh.

### Ariel

Ariel can fly and cast spells brilliantly. Maybe he should have the daemon keyword, and be possessed by a Keeper of Secrets or something.

### Lucius

Lucius is a cool guy, told by Cetabel the EC Liaison Herald that he needed to help out Team Slaanesh in the Roteus sector, and that they would owe him big if he could put aside his diversions

### Cultist Child Possessed by Sorceress Herald

Children of the local cultist leaders, wanted by the Inquisitor for questioning, to be taken alive for questioning they must be slain during the Fight Phase.

 Early History (Incomplete)

The core EC brother marines of the Crusade all fought together in the Heresy, and most of them engaged in ecstatic slaughter during the Drop Site Massacre.

On and off sometimes helping Abbadon, always raiding and fighting the Imperium, and occasionally succeeding in making new Daemon Worlds and claiming spoils.

## Previous Leader

From the time that the 29th Company of the Emperor's Children became the Crusade of Endless Joy, until the day when Telamio became lord and master of the Crusade, the Crusade was led by Lord Octavius, formerly Captain Octavius.

Octavius was an impressive warlord, and won many great victories for Slaanesh over the course of the Long War; but after leading the Crusade of Endless Joy to a great victory alongside a host of Slaanesh daemons, and opening up a rich industrialized Imperial world for a great ocean of Chaos Daemons and Slaanesh energies to flow out of and forever bringing that world to Chaos.

Octavius deferred the further tasks set upon him by Slaanesh in favor of resting and partying. Specifically, he ordered the Crusade of Endless Joy to fortify their newly conquered world, with the intention of remaining there and ruling over their multiple continents of the trophy world for some decades, feeling that this was the just reward for their success in conquering it.

This laziness displeased Slaanesh, and so s/he made Octavius into a Chaos Spawn [The brightly-colored many-clawed one of my three Spawn], as a lesson to the rest of the crusade that their service to Slaanesh must be unceasing and tireless, and that rewards and rest would come when Slaanesh decreed them, not when the Crusade desired them. Thus began the rule of Chaos Lord Telamio over the Crusade of Endless Joy, and he was most energetic in carrying out his missions.

## The Three Chaos Spawn of the Crusade of Endless Joy (Incomplete)

Former chaos lord Octavius, who chose to rest at the wrong time

Former planetary governor of Atraxis IX, who betrayed his people and his world into the hands of the Crusade for the promise of pleasure

Former aspiring champion of the assault squad, who was almost overwhelmed dueling Blood Ravens, and needed MOAR chainswords

## Recent History

After taking command of the Crusade, Lord Telamio was careful not to repeat the mistake of his predecessor, and rededicated himself and his followers to the tireless pursuit of Slaanesh's will, trusting that s/he would reward them appropriately. Accordingly, when **Cetabel** the Herald told him that they were to aid Abbadon's 13th Black Crusade, Lord Telamio was excited to take part in what might finally begin the downfall of Terra and the Imperium!

A psychic message through the warp of fealty, friendship, and service to Abbadon was answered with a command to raid and conquer around the edges of the Cadian sector, to occupy Imperium forces and keep them from joining the battle for Cadia itself.

To this end, the Crusade of Endless Joy was successful: engaging and destroying numerous Astra Militarum regiments, disrupting local commerce, forcing all the planetary governors in the subsector to beg for reinforcements, and eventually two companies of Blood Ravens were called to pursue and destroy the Crusade and their strike cruiser, the Endless Joy.

After several years of engagements, feints, and inconclusive battles, including the glorious news of the fall of Cadia and the formation of the Cicatrix Maledictum, the remaining Blood Ravens were finally forced into a trap and destroyed. The Crusade looted their relics and armories, took a small number of highly prized Astartes slaves, including their store of gene seeds, took their damaged void ships under tow, and returned in Triumph to the Eye of Terror to rest and refit. Slaanesh gave them several months to get back to top fighting shape after so long a campaign, including using the captured gene seeds to created new astartes who will replenish the ranks of the Crusade in a decade or two of real time, before s/he sent the herald **Cetabel** to tell them they were needed in the Roteus sub-sector, to play some as-yet unexplained part in the newest Chaos scheme.