this is a 2 part post the guard units will be posted here while the ships will be posted in the rogue trader forum.

after the glorious death of rogue trader Darrius Austin, no descendents were located. the family fortune passed to the imperium. the ships were pressed into the imperial guard and the house guard was pressed into the imperial guard. all tithed to the "Margin Crusade". while most of the ships were sent to battle the 'nids, commander Ebongrave requested Conquest squadron. these 5 ships were formally the planetary conquest squadron of House Austin. these 3 transports and 2 light cruisers contain: 7 extreamily well equipped and trained regiments, 5 penal legions, 2 battle servator cohorts, 12 squadrons of air support, and all the ships were specialized for air support. and best of all they had no ties to the area. these are the guard units of the 1257th imperial guard group.

1st Burnscour Jungle Crawlers

Homeworld: Burnscour/ death world/ Koronus expanse.

military specialty: recon/snipers

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 men each

commanding officer: Regina Holt, independent and strong willed she doesn't usually play well with others.

history/summary: the crawlers were not drawn from the world of burnscour itself, instead the best of other regiments, big game hunter guides, hive scum, mercs, and almost anyone else that thought they had what it took to be a crawler were sent to this death world and dropped into it's jungle with minamal supplies and a tracker linked to a beacon on the other side of the planet. anyone that arrived at the beacon was accepted. they are the elite. used to working behind enemy lines in small units, each squad has both a sniper and a demolitions expert. experts in the jungle environments, and outfitted with the best a wealthy Trader house could afford. stealth and recklessness are their bread abd butter. fanatically loyal to their commander they have had some issues adjusting to the new commissioners. having fought in several campaigns against various xenos in the expanse, more xenos shouldn't be any different.

miscellaneous: having been the elite unit of House Austin they recieved only the best equipment, from storm trooper carpaces, to customized sniper rifles.

adventure hooks: dropped behind enemy lines the kroot may be just as good at strike and fade as the squad.

3rd Zayth Hammers

Homeworld: Zayth/ War world(fortress world)/ koronus expanse

order of battle: 10 companies of 100 tanks each. roughly 10,000 men.

commanding officer: Galen Vellius, carefully thinking out each decision, he is sometimes too cautious.

history: hailing from the war world of zayth, this regiment came from the remains of a shattered hive. after their home was destroyed the to to being mercs. after fighting for several contracts with landships they took contract with House Austin and decided to stay on in a permanent capacity. raised as soldiers, they are unshakeable in combat. "there's nothing we can't knock down" is a common saying among these troops.

miscellaneous: each of the regiment's Leman Russ tank is outfitted with a powerfield. due to this they can survive much more of a pounding than many enemies expect.

adventure hooks: after taking their tank to the local town for "a good time" a sudden advance by the enemy has cut them off from their platoon.

7th damaris calvery "line holders"

homeworld: damaris/ imperial world/ konorus expanse

military speciality: mechanized infantry

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 men each.

commanding officer: Gloria Statter, eager to prove herself she is sometimes reckless

History: given to House Austin after the planet was saved from an ork invasion, these men and women are no strangers to battle. serving as a fast reactionary reserve, they know how to plug holes and hold the line.

miscellaneous: each of the chimeras of the unit were equiped with power fields, like the tanks of the zayth hammers. having faced some of the worst fighting on damaris and holding the line is several other campaigns many of the troopers are augmeted with different bionics.

aventure hooks: the line is failing….. "HOLD THE LINE!!!!"

12th missionaries of grace (the devoted)

homeworld: Grace/imperial (penitent) second settlement/ koronus expanse

military speciality: line infantry

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 men.

commanding officer: Reverend Marius Gold, the teaching of Saint Drusus and the glory of the of emperor must be spread. he will not wavier in this.

history: raised after the second settlement of Grace by Drusus pilgrims house Austin raised a regiment of the faithful to spread the light and cleanse the xenos from the expanse. they don't see how their mission has changed and out of all the regiments are adjusting the best.

miscellaneous: a few converts from the first settlement made their way into this regiment, they have a tendency to end up with supplies they have "found". trained in the mountains of grace, they are most at home in mountainous environs.

aventure hooks: the squad stumbles onto a tau sympathizer cell. do they cleanse it or try to bring them to the light?

16th Folly Engineers (Gravediggers)

Homeworld: Sheldon's Folly/ war world (fortress world)/ koronus expanse

military speciality: siege infantry

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 men

commanding officer: Dyson Hunt, stubborn and ill mannered, having been raised in a warzone he is constantly looking for infiltrators.

history: tired of fighting a dead man's war on Sheldon Folly they begged to be taken off the cinder of a world. agreeing if they would serve the house, the unit was lifted off the planet. use to fighting in urban wastelands they excel on most battle fields. they gained their nickname from their trench warfare tactics, "fighting from a grave".

miscellaneous: heavy weapons are heavily used by the gravediggers.

21st Footfall Drop Troops (thrill seekers)

homeworld: footfall/ Hive(void city)/ koronus expanse

military speciality: drop troops

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 men.

commanding officer: Jillian Brooks, she leads her men from the front, but like most of the regiment many wonder at her intelligence.

history: raised from the narcogangers of footfall, house Austin saw something few others could. that mixing drug addled phychos with grav chutes would be a "good" idea. suprisingly this has worked out excellently. these fighters cause complete chaos in the enemy's rear areas. running off combat drugs and adrinalin they may not be safe to be around but they manage to destroy everything in site. strangely the crawlers get along well with the seekers and the 2 regiments are often in close support of each other.

miscellaneous: if there are drugs to be had in an area the seekers will find them. raised from generations of additics, they don't do well sober and become harder and harder to control.

adventure hooks: the squad is being supported by the 21st, the drugs ran out a week ago and they are all in withdrawl.

25th trader's own (the tank hunters)

homeworld: voidships/port wander/ footfall (high born)/ koronus expanse

military speciality: seek and destroy anything/ hunter killers

order of battle 10 companies of 1000 troops

commanding officer: Cameron Ellens, depressed over the death of House Austin his troops sometimes have to fend for themselves.

history: as House Austin grew, so too did the families of the officers serving the house grow. not having enough positions on ships, stations, or other holdings the warrant holder at the time raised this regiment from the families of his officers and lesser branches of those families. each and every member of the hunters has felt the loss of House Austin personally. many of them having family serve it for thousands of years. another of the favored regiments they have felt the loss by being regulated to one among many regiments. distinguishing themselves in some long gone battle they earned the name tank killers, however they are trained to deal with almost any type of unit and destroy it. to do this different companies differ wildly from one another.

miscellaneous: like all other vehicles used by the better regiments raised by the house their vehicles have power fields. being drawn from the elite they tend to be "snooty" to others. other regiments sometimes refer to breaking a snoot, this refers to them getting into a fist fight with one of the 25th and breaking his nose. others will talk about calling in the 25th to deal with a problem such as a tank. saying they had it "snot shot" referring to them holding their noses in the air.

adventure hooks: the 25th take over the squad's favorite drinking hole, and won't let anyone not in the 25th or "good looking" to enter.

346th gracen penal legion (the man eaters)

homeworld: grace (first settlement)/ koronus expanse

military speciality: line infantry

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 men

commanding officer: Nathan Chelt, unimaganative and bland, he follows orders from his supiores but doesn't distinguish himself.

history: grace was founded as a retreat for the criminal scum from the imperium. those that could afford to retire or run from the law, made their way to grace with their fortune and lived like king on inported food, wine, and women. surrounded by servants and waited on hand and foot. this changed when warp storms cut the colony off from the rest of the expanse. nothing on grace was suitable for human consumption. within a year the stores had been consumed leaving the inhabitants with nothing to eat……… except each other. when the storms receded House Austin investigated the planet. finding that most of the population had decended to eating each other, they resettled the planet with Drususan missionaries and drafted most of the rest of the population into penal legions. the circumstances around the orgins of this legion have been "lost". the imperial guard don't know about it's past and the other regiments arn't talking since they don't really like the commissioners assigned to them. quietly laughing every time another commissioner from the 346th goes "missing". 43 have had "accidents" or "deserted" so far.

miscellaneous: charismatic and welcoming to outsiders, these hardened criminals have other motives when getting outsiders drunk.

adventure hooks: the squad has been pinned down for a month in ruins by the enemy. the only other unit there are 2 squads from the 346th. the food has run out and all the officers are dead.do they join in or fight to survive?

387th dross tribals penal legion (desert rats)

homeworld: Dross/ (desert)/ kronus expanse

military specialty: light infantry

order of battle: theoretically 10 companies of 1000 men, they have divided themselves along tribal lines, so only the officers know exactly how many subunits there are. total man power 10,000 troopers.

commanding officer: Janace Grimhaven. after serving with these P.O.W.'s she has become suspicious, several assassination attempts have reinforced this.

history: during the conquest of Dross, the defeated tribesmen were rounded up and pressed into a penal legion. these desert primatives were unsuited for standard service so were left their traditional spears and clubs made from the fallen crafts on their planet. excellent in desert fighting, they excell at strike and fade tatics. originally intended as cannon fodder they have proven useful in several engagements.

miscellaneous: they are very religious in their belief in the "sky father" and each tribe beleaves their version is the "right one". this causes tension within the legion. thinking any crashed flying machine is a "holy offering" from the sky father makes driving them into battle interesting.

aventure hooks: the squad has been tasked to transport a company of the 387th through a battlefield where a massive air battle took place.

400th noble enemies penal legion (the Traders)

homeworld: voidships belonging to rival traders

military specialty: line infantry

order of battle 10 companies of 1000 men

commanding officer: Jak Rillings, not really caring about anything his troops included he drinks himself stupid every day.

history: the 400th is one of the dumping ground for any "noble" defeated foe of House Austin. most of these come from captured rival Rogue Trader ships that compeated with the house. pulled from the officers and others that might rebel against new management of these prizes ships, the 400th has a rather high education and discipline level for a penal legion. knowing they can fight or die they choose to fight.

miscellaneous: discipline was taught to these troopers long ago when commanding voidships. now they take orders well. also being in the void for so much of their lives has taught them how to fight in cramped spaces, be it tunnels of hive halls they excell while open spaces make some of them uneasy.

adventure hooks: the squad is detailed to guard the landing zone. there are 3 habitable planets in the system, only one belongs to the imperium. several of the 400th want out before they become cannon fodder.

432ed space rats penal legion

homeworld: space hulk/ light of terra wreck.

military speciality: light infantry

order of battle: 2 tribes of around 5000 each. total number 10,000

commanding officer: Hal Pilsworth, seeking promotion out of this legion he is willing to sacrifice his men for glory.

history: when the wreck of the emperor class battleship "Light of Terra" was discovered so were the descendants of it's crew. having gone feral they had divided into tribes. at first relations were strained until they realized that these newcomers worshipped the "throne god". this relation held true until it was realized thet these tribals "throne god" was the captain of the ship wired into the ship and still alive if helpless except for the ship's vox. 3 of the tribes survived the resulting war against the herasy. one renounced the "throne god" for the emperor. the other 2 were taken and formed into a penal legion, their god destroyed. eventually they accepted the emperor.

miscellaneous: these tribesmen fight with the spears and clubs they made when on the Light. they are experts at fighting in enclosed spaces.

aventure hooks: the light of terra was returned to the navy and is orbiting the planet. serving close to the 432ed someone in the squad hears several of the tribesmen talking about the "throne god" and that the Holy land is in the sky. they are talking about joining him and re-takeing the holy Light.

459th freebooters penal legion

Homeworld: pirate ships

military speciality: line infantry

commanding officer: Jill Taggart: she follows orders but could really care less

history: raised from pirate crews, mainly officers, this legion and it's sister legions usually had a steady stream of new recruits. from either attacking the wrong convoy or being hunted down they were captured and pressed into service.

miscellaneous: these thieves haven't changed much, them "finding" supplies is common. usually drugs. having to be driven into battle these troops are hard to control and harder to get to stand and fight. if not for their usefulness in close quarters fighting they would all be turned into servators.

aventure hooks: removed from the 1257th this legion is being moved on a imperial navy cobra to a new warzone. the crew have no idea about the origins of this legion. the squad are also onboard being transported to their regiment as reinforcements.

auxillary forces

the 57th servator cohort: roughly 1000 battle servators with attached tech priests. spare parts drawn from the fallen in battle, this cohort usually stays at full strength.

the 78th servator cohort: same as the 57th

1st-12th drop squadrons: used to get the regiments from space to the ground. outfitted for combat drops.

13th-14th lightning fast attack squadrons

15th-18th heavy marauder ground support squadrons

19th-24th bomber squadrons

Sorry to interject, but great stuff Austin. I happened to copy allot of your posts already and plan on implementing these forces into my RT games. Hope that's okay. Thanks again man.

Glad you enjoy them. let me know how you use them. personal favorites of mine are the gracen penal legion and the footfall drop troops.

adding a few more regiments raised by house Austin sent to other parts of the reach. many of the other regiments were not unique. many of the penal legions were just an example of 3 or 4 identical legions raised, GM ruled that a barracks could carry 10,000 men and gear. a cargo hold was needed for armor or mechanized regiments. anyway here are a few more.

the 45th Quppa-psi calvary

homeworld: Quppa-psi/ jungle world/ koronus expanse

military speciality: air calvary/ beastmasters

order of battle: 5 companies of calvary 1000 men each, and 5 companies of beastmasters about 5000 men, each with about 10 whippers

commanding officer: Hassen Shellite, gets the job done whatever the cost.

history: after being saved from the maiden world known as the dread pearl, the sanctarch refugees were taken to Quppa-psi to resettle. many died in the first years as they learned to adjust from a carefree life on a world that gave them everything to one almost a death world. after several years the population learned to domesticate some of the more deadly lifeforms. as the population grew House Austin raised a regiment from this world.

miscellaneous: the calvary ride into battle strapped to the enormous dragon hornets of quppa-psi. the size of a lighter this huge insects have a entire squad strapped to their backs. mounting 2 forward facing lascannons and one "tail gunner". other troopers can fire their weapons from the sides, careful to miss the wings. the hornet itself is also a trained war beast, it's jaws able to tear through armor and it's tail stinger able to punch through the side of a tank.

dragon hornet: type: skimmer, speed: around 100 kph, manoeuvrability: +30, wounds 80, size: enormous, armor: 2, traits: skimmer, opened topped crew: 1 "driver", 3 gunners, 3 loaders, 1 commander carrying capacity: 4 guardsmen + wargear. weapons bite 2d10+8, sting 1d10+10 toxic, 2 forward mounted las cannon (use same as mounted on leman russ tank), one tail lascannon.

where the calvary used the dragon hornet, the beast masters used a different insect from Quppa-psi. the whipper. large pack hunting ambush predators, they proved to be much like dogs in personality and size when raised from eggs. each man can handle about 10 of these creatures sending them into battle in vast hoards. it's not so much that each one is that dangerous, they simply overwhelm the enemy with shear numbers. losing these creatures in battle isn't much of a problem either, like most insects they lay large numbers of eggs and mature quickly.

27th Svard Rock Hoppers

homeworld: Svard/ imperial world/ koronus expanse

military speciality: drop troops

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000 troopers

commanding officer: Duglas Reddoc, problem with xenos

history: originally part of the PDF of the svard system, they were claimed by house Austin when they reclaimed the system during their yu'vath affair. having learned to fight both the constructs of these depraved xenos and their subverted human servants, they are skilled at killing but xenos and men. the troopers of this unit are expert drop troops use to hopping from one astroid to another of their home system.

miscellaneous: many of these troopers are as good or better pilots than the navy pilots that are assigned to them.

90th spaceborn (the wierd ones)

homeworld: space hulks from around the expanse

military speciality: recon/boarding actions

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000

commanding officer: Raban Umbolt, from a minor branch of that house. quiet and introspective, he gives other's "the willies".

history: drawn from the processional of the damed, the breaking yards, the battlefield, and other dead hulks from around the expanse. these men have seen and survived some of the worst horrors the expanse has to offer and survived. hollowmen, space kraken, yu'vath traps, and more these troopers have lived to tell the tale. unshakeable in the face of any enemy, they can withstand horrors that would drive a normal guardsman compleatly mad and not even blink. surviving these challenges hasn't left them unscathed however. to a man they are a bit strange. laughing hysterically at inappropriate things or times, staring into space, mumbling to themselves, or cutting scripture into themselves, they are a bit touched in the head.

miscellaneous: because of the strangeness of this regiment, others are uncomfortable around them. they are being investagated by the inquisition for many of the things they seem to know about a wide range of forbidden topics. these topics also makes them especially effective when facing chaos, xenos or heratics. the commissioners assigned to this regiment report problems controlling them. when given orders from them the guardsmen stare at them and smile or laugh. shooting one or two as an example have drawn applause and comments of "me next!". the commissioners are at a loss as to what to do.

9th black brothers

homeworld: footfall (voidcity)/ hiveworld/koronus expanse

military speciality: line infantry/ garrison troops

order of battle: 10 companies of 1000

commander: Tam Zacrev, a honorable thug. willing to demand protection money from a shop, but will acually protect it.

history: drawn from the black brotherhood on footfall this band of thugs and thieves were in it for the pay. moved from one front to another they enjoyed fighting and house Austin enjoyed the cheap troops. more merc than true regiment these troopers had the misfortune of being in House Austin's employ when it finally died out.

miscellaneous: each of these men carry a personal weapon and knife. many carry several. more street thugs than troopers, they can keep order through terror tactics. in accual combat they tend to be undesciplined but hard fighters.