Why did the Night Lords resort to such excessive force when dealing with their enemies and decorate their armour in such death imagery?
Via our good friends at Lexicanum
After his discovery by the Emperor, Konrad Curze underwent a period of training under the tutelage of Fulgrim, primarch of the Emperor’s Children, who introduced him to not only wider military stratagems, but also Imperial culture, specifically that of Terra itself. Following this period, Curze was placed at the head of his legion, who are known to have adapted to his philosophies quickly and with diligence, as well as intelligently transforming the primarch’s beliefs into military tactics.
Curze’s experiences upon Nostramo in his self-appointed role as the Night Haunter had instilled in him the philosophy of terror, whereby he had inspired obedience to the law by fear of extreme punishment. This societal philosophy translated into the military tactics of swift, sudden and decisive strikes often carried out to excess, as well as making sure the enemy knew who had hit them.
The Night Lords therefore developed a practice of regularly using excessive force to defeat their enemies, as well as publicizing these actions so that other potential transgressors would be well aware of what could happen to them should they break faith with the Imperium.
This approach made the Night Lords well-suited for dealing with worlds brought into the Imperium during the Crusade who were subsequently lax in achieving full compliance, or who even threatened to rebel. They were heavily utilized as a force that solidified the Imperium’s grip after initial pacification was achieved; as this sort of endeavor mirrored what Curze did as the Night Haunter on Nostramo, the Night Lords excelled at reinforcing the Emperor‘s will – through fear.
To increase their effectiveness in this regard, Curze encouraged the Night Lords to decorate their power armour with death imagery. The legion soon gained a tremendously terrifying reputation, one that would cause many planetary rulers to immediately make good any outstanding tithes, make sure Imperial laws were being followed and sometimes would entirely stop an incipient rebellion at the mere rumor of Night Lord retaliation.
As the Great Crusade wore on and the Night Lords began to slowly receive replacement Marines from Nostramo (which had meantime fallen back to its pre-Night Haunter ways), the criminal element of Nostraman society, including murderers and rapists, began to fill the ranks. This, in addition to Curze’s probable insanity, initiated a downward spiral for the Legion.
