History Literature / BloodRavens

* CultureClash: In the ''Dawn of War 2'', when the Blood Ravens are looking for aspirants among refugees, one speaks to the old woman who is in charge of one group to try to get a boy from her. She contemptuously refuses to speak to him because he hasn't shown her his face. He considers and unhelms rather than use force. That granted, she only asks whether the boy will have a chance to survive if they take him, and being told that he will have a chance to live, tells him to take him.
* DarkSecret: The Blood Ravens do not know their founding history, as their records are several thousand years short of other chapters. They constantly seek knowledge about their past, and when they find sources, they are coveted fiercely. Additionally, when facing the Chaos Legions, the traitor marines constantly toy with the Blood Ravens, implying that they know some terrible truth about the chapter.
** Their unusual approaches to combat and heretical knowledge, high number of Librarians, and color scheme make them a dead ringer for pre-Heresy Thousand Sons. One of the five sects within the pre-Heresy Thousand Sons was the Corvidae Cult who specialized in precognition, which could explain both the Blood Ravens' name and why they were absent from Prospero when the Space Wolves attacked. This would make their Primarch the Daemon Prince Magnus, something their predecessors would have been quite eager to cover up.
** A more concrete dark secret of the chapter is that their interest with lore and ancient knowledge can become a full on obsession, and if they aren't checked, a Blood Raven can slowly start the lose their mind.
** It is mentioned that Davian Thule destroyed much of his findings on Kronus, while he was there to find out more about the Blood Raven's past.
** [[spoiler: The Literature/HorusHeresy novels feature a character attempting to discover what the future of the Thousand Sons will be, and seeing a 'Raven of Blood', which suggests the Blood Ravens are canonically Thousand Sons successors.]]

* MysteriousPast: The Blood Ravens' chapter records only go back to M37 (the 37th millennium) and they canonically do not know who the identity of their Primarch and parent Legion. Their motto, "Knowledge is power. Guard it well", reflects this. Recent hints during the Literature/HorusHeresy series indicate that [[spoiler: the Blood Ravens are descendants of one of the Traitor Legions. The current fan favorite is the Thousand Sons due to the Blood Ravens' high psychic potential and that the Pre-Heresy colour scheme of the Thousand Sons is very similar to the Blood Raven's current scheme. Not to mention that the Corvidae (Latin for Raven), one of the Thousand Sons's cult disciplines, has a raven as it's emblem. On top of this, a loyalist Thousand Sons marine outright quotes the first half of their original motto ''"Knowledge is power"'' at the end of the short story ''Rebirth''.]]

* PsychicPowers: The chapter's defining characteristic is their possession of a relatively large number of Librarians, who often use their powers to divine the enemy's strategy so that it can countered.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:The daemon that Gabriel Angelos released in the first Dawn of War later ends up empowering Chapter Master Azariah Kyras' ascension to Daemon Prince.]]

* NotSoDifferent: During his battle with the Blood Ravens on Kronus, Eliphas The Inheritor constantly toys with Captain Thule, teasing him with the notion that the Blood Ravens are closer "brothers" with the Chaos Marines than they realize. [[spoiler: It's quite likely Eliphas is aware of the answers to the Blood Raven's MysteriousPast.]]

* GladiatorGames: Traditionally, Blood Raven recruits are tested in gladiatorial fights called "Blood Trials" where they compete to see which of them are worthy of becoming neophytes.

* ShroudedInMyth: Their records only date back to M37, leaving the Chapter's origins, founding, progenitor legion and Primarch, a mystery.

* [[EvilCounterpart Good Counterpart]]: Given their high number of Librarians and emphasis on psychic powers in their battle tactics, they are the good counterpart of the Thousand Sons. [[spoiler: The Horus Heresy novels suggest this is because they ''are'' descended from Loyalist Thousand Sons.]]

* HistoryRepeats: Their InterserviceRivalry with the Space Wolves [[spoiler: echoes the conflict between the Space Wolves and the Blood Ravens' apparent progenitor Legion, the Thousand Sons.]]

* InterserviceRivalry: While not a massive one like the one between the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves, the Deathwatch sourcebook, ''Honour The Chapter'' presents the Space Wolves and Blood Ravens having a bit of a rivalry as an example of the inter-Chapter tensions that can rise in a Deathwatch Kill Team:
--> The Space Wolves have a long history of distrusting what they view as sorcery, and the highly psychic Blood Ravens Chapter has drawn their ire on more than one occasion. During the battle of Praximil VIII, the Blood Ravens reliance on Librarian intervention to oust the psyker leader of the renegades entrenched there sent their Space Wolves allies into a fury. The Wolf Lord who fought at their side believed the tactics to be dishonourable and he made this known to the Blood Ravens commander with a well-placed punch.
** If the Blood Ravens are indeed descendants of the Thousand Sons, then this rivalry mirrors the (far bloodier and more tragic) one their parent legion had with the Wolves.

* FamedInStory: Titus' dialogue to Squad Corvus in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'' suggests that the Blood Ravens have become renowned for the fury they displayed in the Aurelian Crusade [[spoiler: where they purged their chapter of heretical elements.]]

* EmpathicWeapon: [[spoiler: If Tarkus turns out to be the traitor in ''Chaos Rising'', then his reasoning has been tainted by The Blighted Bolter, an extremely powerful boltgun that has been manipulating his mind and causing him to become more violent and aggressive.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Several of the characters from Dawn of War 2 and Chaos Rising do not appear in Retribution. Particularly, Thaddeus and Elena Derosa are absent.
** It's implied that the canonic for Chaos Rising was ending 3, where the Force Commander [[spoiler: is exiled into the Eye of Terror for a century, to undergo penance]]. In this scenario it's assumed Thaddeus tagged along with the Commander, provided he wasn't killed during the climactic fight with Avitus.

* ItWasAGift: The Blood Ravens' armory has a staggering amount of items that were "gifted" to them, especially from First Founding Chapters. Has lead to MemeticMutation implying that the Blood Ravens are:

* DeepSleep: [[spoiler: In ''Chaos Rising'', it is revealed during an excursion to a Space Hulk that several members of the Blood Ravens thought dead in the Chapter records had actually survived aboard the vessel. Azariah Kyras had been left on the ship for years before being rescued.]]
* DisappearedDad: Since the Chapter's records only date back to M37, the Blood Ravens have no knowledge of their Primarch or progenitor Legion. Acknowledging this, the Blood Ravens instead revere the Unknown Primarch, The Emperor, and "The Great Librarian", a hero in their past.

* CultureClash: In ''Dawn of War 2'', this is discussed by the Administrator of Meridian, who argues that the city planet is far more strict than the wildernesses the player had been exposed to so far.

* DiscontinuityNod: After the poor reception of ''Dawn of War: Soulstorm'', Relic acknowledged the poor quality of the product by making it the butt of a joke in Dawn of War 2, making fun of [[GeneralFailure Commander Boreale's]] incompetence. Less humorously, in Chaos Rising [[spoiler:Cyrus credits Boreale's incompetence as why he defects to the Black Legion if he turns traitor.]]

* KleptomaniacHero: In Dawn of War 2, much of their wargear consists of relics of other chapters that they "discovered." This has led to the FanNickname "Bloody Magpies". On the other hand, the Blood Ravens have a habit of blessing their own relics in the name of heroes from other chapters, and presenting them as gifts to the chapters in question, so maybe they just think its a fair trade.
** Well, they do actually have relics belonging to other chapters, including but not limited to: the Fist of Rogal Dorn, an Inquisitor's bolt pistol, a Doom Eagles' plasma pistol, an Adeptus Custodes' breastplate and what may or may not be Marneus Calgar's bolter.
*** As you can imagine, most of these Chapters are not happy with them, or their "gifts". Most notably, [[Literature/SpaceWolf Ragnar Blackmane]] busted with laughter while presented with one, telling them to keep it.
** This covetous nature takes on another hilarious facet when one considers they were the first Chapter depicted in canon with anything other than red lenses on their helmets. What color did the seemingly greedy, thieving Blood Ravens use? [[GreenEyedMonster Green.]]

* NamedWeapons: Numerous weapons in their armory, as of the release of the ''Dawn of War II'' game trilogy. The most notable example tyhough would be Gabriel Angelos' Daemonhammer, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast God-Splitter]].

* CombatPragmatist: The Blood Ravens approach to warfare emulates the tactics used by RTS players. Unlike the Space Wolves or Blood Angels' ferocious charges, Blood Ravens focus on analyzing and targeting weak points in enemy lines, applying pressure where needed to break apart far larger forces with minimal casualties. The best example of this comes from Dawn of War 2, where a Combat Patrol sized unit of chapter veterans was able to hold off a sector wide Tyranid invasion by striking at key targets while a relief force was dispatched.

* CreepyCrows: Their motif is a black raven with a blood red chest. [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hence the name.]]

** In ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', a squad of Blood Ravens appears to help Titus fight his way towards the FinalBattle.

* BadassCreed: Both of their mottos:
--> ''(Before the Aurelian Crusade)'' Knowledge is Power. Guard it well.
--> ''(Post-Aurelian Crusade)'' None shall find us wanting.

* BackToBackBadasses: Upon administering the poison to kill a Tyranid Splinter Fleet, the Blood Ravens are surrounded on all sides, and fall back to the temple ruins to hold off the Swarm in a last stand.

* ArchEnemy: So far, there have been at least two confirmed individuals whom the Blood Ravens have encountered more than once:
** Chaos Lord Eliphas the Inheritor; first as leader of the Word Bearers legion during the Kronus Campaign, then later switching to the Black Legion during the Aurelian Crusades (first under Araghast the Pillager, then later being retrieved by none other than Abbadon the Despoiler after the Daemon Prince Ulkair the Unclean was sent back into the warp); and
** Ork Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter; first during the Kronus Campaign, then later during the ill-fated Kaurava Campaign (to which the Blood Ravens hold him accountable for), and then finally during the Acheron Crusade.

* AscendedMeme: The term "Magpies" have been used once to describe the Blood Ravens, by way of a [[https://youtu.be/kEdmOLvoa6Q?t=90 side mission against an Ork Force on Meridian]] during the Space Marine Campaign of ''Retribution'':
-->'''Ork Nob:''' Keep dese theivin' magpies off da last node!

-->'''Ork Nob:''' Keep dese theivin' magpies off the last node!

* AscendedMeme: The Ork Mekboy encountered aboard the space hulk ''Judgment of Carrion'' in ''Dawn of War II: Retribution'' outright call the Blood Ravens squad teleported there as "Magpies", in reference to the fan-based perception of the Chapter's incessant "[[KleptomaniacHero acquisition]]" of relics and wargear.

** Chaos Lord Eliphas the Inheritor, first as leader of the Word Bearers legion during the Kronus Campaign, then later switching to the Black Legion during the Aurelian Crusades (first under Araghast the Pillager, then later being retrieved by none other than Abbadon the Despoiler after the Daemon Prince Ulkair the Unclean was sent back into the warp); and
** Ork Warboss Gorgutz 'Ead 'Unter, first during the Kronus Campaign, then later during the ill-fated Kaurava Campaign (to which the Blood Ravens hold him accountable for), and then finally during the Acheron Crusade.

The Blood Ravens are a mysterious chapter of {{Space Marine}}s in the TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} universe, whose origins are unknown even to themselves. Originally created for the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' game, they became {{Canon Immigrant}}s. They feature in C. S. Goto's ''Dawn of War'' trilogy, and Chris Robeson's ''Dawn of War II'' and cameo in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine'', and received official tabletop rules in 8th Edition in ''White Dwarf''.

The Blood Ravens are unique amongst the Chapters due to their approach to war. Emulating the real time strategy games from which they originated, the Blood Ravens prefer more calculated strikes, analyzing enemy patterns and attacking weak points as they arise, similar to how RTS players break through their opponents. They also do not hesitate to salvage any wargear they find for their own use, let it be from Imperium or Chaos which had [[FanNickname earned them the nickname "Bloody Magpies" among fans.]]

** It is mentioned that Davian Thule destroyed much of his findings on Kronos, while he was there to find out more about the Blood Raven's past.

* NamedWeapons: Numerous weapons in their armory in Dawn of War 2, as well as Gabriel Angelos' Daemonhammer, [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast God-Splitter]].

--> Knowledge is Power. Guard it well.
--> None shall find us wanting.

The Blood Ravens are a mysterious chapter of {{Space Marine}}s in the TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} universe, whose origins are unknown even to themselves. Originally created for the ''VideoGame/DawnOfWar'' game, they became {{Canon Immigrant}}s. They feature in C. S. Goto's ''Dawn of War'' trilogy, and Chris Robeson's ''Dawn of War II'' and cameo in ''VideoGame/Warhammer40000SpaceMarine''.

* DisappearedDad: Since the Chapter's records only date back to M37, the Blood Ravens have no knowledge of their Primarch or progenitor Legion. Acknowledging this, the Blood Ravens instead revere the Unknown Primarch.