Apollo Diomedes
- You have captain Dayomidis!
- Bruvah I'm pinned here!
- Bruvah I am hit!
- |IT IS THE BEEEEEIIIINBLAAAAADE!
- - Diomedes being himself in a usual day.
Apollo Diomedes; also known as Day-o-MIDIs, Abaldo Diomedes, Boreale 2.0, and BRUVAIAMHITT, is the captain of the Blood Ravens honour guard and the main Space Marine protagonist of Dawn of War 2: Retribution. He also seems to be a close relative of Indrick Boreale due his unique intonation and highly elaborated ingame responses. Ohh, and he's also bald, as in Captain Boreale bald. He is also notable for constantly soliciting Eldar Farseers for sex on the battlefield with bellowing cries of; "FAHSEEYAH LET US TO IT!!". In essence, he is Boreale with a lesser level of win and more grimdark. Funnily, the portions of his dialogue that aren't deployed at maximum volume are actually decent, as seen in the final mission and the Blood Ravens ending. They are, unfortunately, nowhere near as hilarious.
The Captain's name is outstandingly greek for a fictive culture with so much focus on the roman - Apollo is of course the roman/greek god of light, music, sports, archery, but also fear, death and plague and a fuckload of other stuff, while Diomedes was a greek hero on the Achaean side in the Trojan war, a badass without equal in greek mythology - Not only did he beat several Trojan warriors and officers in single combat, he, literally, wounded the god of war Ares so badly that the god had to fall back and brood over his failure on the Olympian mountain (He did all of this with the blessing of Athena, but don't tell his fans that). Within ten minutes of fighting. It's saying something about the ancient greeks that this guy was so unimportant that he's only mentioned as a token hero and not as a main character or something.
He is also amazingly overpowered, with the single most devastating special ability in the entire game; to victory, which when fully upgraded causes even space marines to explode into fountains of gore for just being near him as the ground itself tears apart beneath his feet as he charges. His medpack has absolutely absurd range, essentially covering your entire army, his jump-pack actually recharges more quickly than kayleth's and his other commander items like the banner do hilarious things like heal your troops and make them immune to suppression. Thanks to two abilities that let him heal rapidly in combat he is essentially invincible in melee and with the right weapons he can skull fuck basically any enemy unit in the game. Following some apparent nerfs to Eliphas Diomedes may very well be the single most devastating close combat unit in the game short of the unbelievably bullshit Necron Overlord in the last stand.
In DoW3 he returns as Chaplain Diomedes, keeping his signature oratory skills from the previous game.
History
Dayomidis has served as part of the Blud Rehvens for quite some centuries, being the yes-man of Azariah Kyras, allowing him to reach the level of captain of the honour guard. In Chaos rising, he makes it his mission to obstruct the lives of Gabriel Angelos and FC Hairgel, but canonically survives to Retribution.
Unfortunately for him all his sycophancy was being dumped in a traitor chapter master allied to Chaos; how he deals with this and manages to redeem himself is dealt in Retribution, where he looks for hints of who is the Ascended, encouraging both the other Blood Ravens (read: Cyrus and Martellus) and the players to shout "oh come on Diomedes, just look at Kyras, do you really think he is one of the good guys?" Tellingly, none of the Blood Ravens he encounters in the campaign show any respect for him. After finally realizing he had been serving a heretic all these centuries, he suffers a heroic BSOD which forces the Ancient to reveal his identity. After some brief but precise words about what truly makes a Spess Mehreen, as well as the threat of a meltagun being shoved in certain orifices, he is back on track and goes with Cyrus, the Ancient and Martellus to kick Kyras arse. In the resulting fight Gabe, who was already trying to kill Kyras, gets stomped by him, which finally makes Dayomidis show he actually seems to have got his rank due being a powerful warrior and proceeds to annihilate Kyras, finishing him with a nice orbital bombardment and delivering a kickass ending speech.
Diomedes is believed to have suffered from a unique Psyker mutation known as "Banebladeitism" since birth. This reputably gives him the ability to control any kind of Baneblade in existence. He is also believed to have been the spawn between an Ogryn and a Baneblade, making him half-Baneblade. It is rumored that instead of making his home on a Blood Ravens battle barge or strike cruiser, he instead contains himself to a Baneblade painted in Imperial Fists colors.
He was also in the Dark Knight as Detective Stephens, in Fallout as Joshua Graham, in Universe at War as the Xenos Underseer Kamal Re'x of the Hierarchy (and as Kamal is essentially a Grey type ayy lmao; is also bald), in Asura's Wrath as Kalrow (who is balding), in Halo 4 as the The Didact (Who surprisingly is almost bald). Ohh and he's also secretly the collective intelligence of Harbinger from the Mass Effect series (who is well...reapers don't have hair so let's call Harbinger bald too). He was also recurring character in the oldfag crime series THE EQUALIZER. You can now hear him in Bioshock Infinite as Captain Cornelius Slate, who might as well be his (great)^20 great grand father, and is bald.
Dawn of War 3
Diomedes returns as a chaplain, stepping down from his honor guard position to atone for his past sin. Thanks to the spooky chaplain skull helmet, Diomedes is not only more spooky than ever, he is also more respected thanks to the helmet covering his baldness. He was ordered by Gabriel Angelos to be stationed on the starport, but was destroyed by the sudden emerging of the planet Archeron. Gabriel in all his bromance, defied Inquisitor Holt's orders to give Diomedes the last rite, only to find him fighting off wave after waves of Eldar, alone, armed with only his crozius and a Storm Bolter.
When the raging retard known as Inquisitor Holt commence orbital bombardment on the Eldar and Orks that were fighting each other. It also took down Gabriel with them (or so they thought) and even open the path for the equally retarded Autarch. The news drove Diomedes so mad that it almost turned him into an angry marine, which given by his new fearsome appearance has made him about as frightening as Konrad Curze. He was going to board on whatever ship the Inquisitor was on and RIP AND TEAR HIM APART, but was stopped by Jonah when he tells him to calm the fuck down and continue with the mission.
Although he made no appearance after this, we could assume that he and Lady Solaria would testify at an Imperial Court against Inquisitor Holt for abandoning the protection of the Imperial Knight World of Cyprus Ultima, being a friendly fire fucktard, chasing after a daemonic artifact, and being incompetent in execution of his even more retarded plan of blockading a planet the size of a small sun.
In terms of gameplay, Diomedes is a strange elite. His strengh lies in giving your entire army shields while smacking enemies for negligible damage.
Codex Diomedes
Because it was waaaay too long to wait for someone to make it.
| Pts | WS | BS | S | T | W | I | A | Ld | Sv | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Captain Diomedes: | 200 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 10 | 2+/4++ |
Unit Type:
- Infantry (Character)
Unit Composition:
- 1 Captain Diomedes
Wargear:
- Blade of Divination: Can be swapped for the Talons of The Blood Raven for 50 pts or Doom of Apostasy for 40 pts.
- Bolt Pistol: See Codex: Space Marines. Can be swapped for a Plasma Pistol or a Storm Shield for 15 pts. Either of these are replaced if Diomedes chooses to swap the Blade of Divination for the Talons of The Blood Raven or Doom of Apostasy.
- Artificer Armour: May swap it for the Star Shield for 20 pts.
- Iron Halo
- Frag Grenades
- Krak Grenades
May take one of the following Wargear:
- Jump Pack - Can take for free. Changes unit type to Jump Infantry (Character)
- Personal Teleporter - Can take for free. Gains the Deep Strike USR.
- Personal Standard - Can take for free. Counts as Company Standard.
Special Rules
- And They Shall Know No Fear
- Chapter Tactics (Blood Ravens): As per the rules for all Chapters who do not know their primogenitor Chapter, the Blood Ravens do not have a unique Chapter Tactic. Instead, the player can elect to use any existing Chapter Tactics from Codex: Space Marines and any Forge World supplements.
- Independent Character
- Rampage (Talons of The Blood Raven Only)
- Captain of The Honour Guard: Diomedes is both the Captain and Champion of the Blood Ravens' Honour Guard, making him both a master of both tactical and martial acumen. Diomedes may take an Honour Guard squad instead of a Command Squad. This will not take a Force Organization slot. If Gabriel Angelos and Diomedes are in the same Detachment, then Diomedes may never be the Warlord.
- Champion of The Chapter: Diomedes can issue Challenges and accepts every Challenge. If an enemy unit declines the Challenge, Diomedes gains the Hatred USR against the unit that refused the Challenge. If the enemy accepts, then Diomedes can re-roll one die to-hit and to-wound.
- Chapter Master's Shield: If Gabriel Angelos has only one Wound remaining and Diomedes is in the same unit, then Diomedes will automatically pass any Look Out Sir! rolls he may take.
- Blade of Divination: The Blade of Divination is a renowned Power Sword once wielded by Sergeant Martinus of the Ultramarines, who dispatched countless daemonic horrors in the purging of the planet Quinn IV. Its effect on the forces of Chaos was so potent that when Martinus began to fall prey to the whispers of the Dark Gods, the blade took it upon itself, to "cleanse" him. It was lost after Martinus' death, but was later found by the Blood Ravens and wielded by a Battle Brother in the Aurelian conflict whose name has curiously been stricken from Chapter Records.
| Name | Range | Strength | AP | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blade of Divination | - | User | 3 | Melee, Master Crafted, Vorpal Strike, Anathemic Presence |
- Vorpal Strike: During Combat, Captain Diomedes may exchange his attacks to make a Vorpal Strike. Place a Small Blast Marker in front of Diomedes. All enemy models under the blast marker must undergo a Toughness Test. If failed, all models that failed the test must take a wound that cannot be saved using Armour Saves (Invulnerable Saves are usable though)
- Anathemic Presence: Attacks from this weapon force units with the Daemon USR to re-roll all successful saves granted by that rule.
- Talons of The Blood Raven: The Talons of the Blood Raven are venerated Lightning Claws that were gifted to the Blood Ravens Chapter, at the conclusion of the Buckley Purgation, by the artificers of the Raven Guard. Fashioned after the famed Raven's Talons of Shadow Captain Shrike, these strengthened adamantium blades can cut through the thickest armour with ease. These Lightning Claws grant the Rampage USR.
| Name | Range | Strength | AP | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Talons of The Blood Raven | - | User | 3 | Melee, Specialist Weapon, Master Crafted, Shred |
- Doom of Apostasy: The Doom of Apostasy is a two handed Thunder Hammer belonging to the Blood Ravens Chapter. Legend has it that the Black Templar High Marshal Sigenandus wielded this mighty Thunder Hammer during the Terran Crusade. Apocryphal records would have it that Sigenandus used it in the final assault on the chambers of Goge Vandire, the debased head of the Ecclesiarchy and target of the Crusade. Imperial scholars dispute the origins of these records, but the few who have wielded the Doom of Apostasy have little doubt in its holy providence.
| Name | Range | Strength | AP | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Doom of Apostasy | - | 10 | 2 | Melee, Two-Handed, Master Crafted, Unwieldy, Concussive, Strikedown, Purifying Aura |
- Purifying Aura: All Infantry Units of the Chaos Space Marines, Chaos Daemons, and Renegades & Heretics factions who charge Diomedes must do so as if he has defensive grenades.
- Star Shield: For nearly a millennium, Brother Gunn patrolled the halls of Strike Cruiser Decimus. Rarely did his boots touch solid earth, but he did not want for battle. Mysterious Eldar, creatures of the Warp, and even the undying Necrons boarded the Decimus during interstellar flight. Brother Gunn stood against them all, and died among the stars after a lifetime of vigilance. The Star Shield is an Artificer Armour that also grants the Feel No Pain and It Will Not Die USR.
Diomedes' famous lines
- Bruva I am hit!
- CAP-TOR-ING!!
- Bruva I am pinned heer!
- IT IS THE BEEEEIIIIIINNNBBLLLLAAADE!!!
- I AVE TE EMUN LUSS ANK!!!
- Ah! A WAHP SPIDEAH!
- OGRYNS?! AGAINST ME?!
- IT IS THE STOOOOOOOOOOM TROOPER!
- You are healed, DO NOT FEAR!
- That vehicle...is *Puts on his helmet* halted.
- FAHSEER LET US TO IT!
- That....noise.....CANNOT DEFEAT ME! (Hammers a Noise Marine)
- Dreadnought...thing! I shall ruin you!
- 'Tis nothing.
- These weapons shall bring us gloreh!
- DEATH TO HIS ENEMIES ALLL!
- TRAITORS! FAILURES! FOES! (While reducing Chaos Marines to bloody pulps)
- I DIE.....AS I SWORE I WOULD!
- I SHALL ARIVE SEEEWN.
- I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THIS DAY WOULD COME...
- In an age gone mad, look to the madmen to lead the way!
- I bequeath the Emperor's greatest gift to humanity: HATRED FOR HIS ENEMIES!
- SPPPPPEEEEEEEAAAAAAKKKKK LEEEEEAAAADDD US TO VIKTORRRRRRYYYYYY
A most generous donation
The Deathwatch book Honour the Chapter has revealed some interesting information. It mentions that the Raptors chapter once had a Captain Diomedes who took the Apocryphon Oath and served a Long Watch with the Deathwatch. He was an expert at using the jump pack in jungle environments. He commissioned an upgraded jump pack to improve his effectiveness in said terrain, an artifact that still serves with the Deathwatch. Using a new method of transportation always takes training, and as such it is quite possible that Diomedes smashed head-first into a tree while getting accustomed to his new jump pack. Since captains do not wear helmets and Diomedes has no hair to cushion the impact his brain was scrambled a bit. If a particularly sneaky Blood Raven happened to be serving in the Deathwatch at his side that time, it is very possible that he... recruited the captain to the cause of the Blood Ravens. Why this did not include the jump pack is not certain: perhaps it detached upon impact and the Blood Raven had to choose which to acquire.
A list of Diomedes' Hijinks
- Diomedes' voicelines
- IT IS THE BEEEIIINBLADE! - Diomedes' first single.
- Diomedes attempts to use his Baneblade-itism.
- We all live in a Yellow Baneblade.
- The most devastating weapon employed by Captain Diomedes himself: The Banebladeapult.
- It seems he turned to chaos.
- The Bald Brothas: Boreale and Diomedes feat.
- Diomedes favorite Black Library book... BEEIIINNEHBLADE!!!
- All shall yield or fall before the BEHNBLAAAADE!