Spirit Walkers, Updated 7/17: Beliefs, Gene-Seed, Battle-Cry Options

[Barret]

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Added to the Origins and Organization sections as per people's feedback. Additions to previously completed sections are marked with NEW:. Filled in Beliefs, Gene-Seed and Battle Cry.

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Filled in Organization and added a little preface to the article.
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Filled in Combat Doctrine.
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Filled out the Homeworld section. I'm not sure if it's really finished or not, and I would appreciate any feedback on it. If anyone's wondering, I'm basing the mythology of the Chapter off the Inuit of northern Canada, and the planet off the same area, where I grew up...
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Ahoy,

The Spirit Walkers are a pre-crash invention of my that unfortunately did not survive the warp. However, I've taken this as a good sign they needed to be reworked, which they do. And so I am. I've decided to stick fairly closely to the original ideas and origins of the chapter, but rework them with an ethnic-base that I think is pretty uncommon, and familiar to me.

As always, with anything based on a particular ethnicity/culture, I'm running the risk of offending someone through my alterations of mythology and practices, both accidental and purposeful, but I hope I won't and don't intend to.

The other driving purpose behind this DIY is a) it is by far the most detailed project I've undertaken, and I'm a little tired of all my armies of wild and wooly barbarians running around whacking peoples' heads off and I'm ready for a something a little more sedate.

Anyways, may I present...the Spirit Walkers... As they are. The blank section will get filled in, I promise, but I'm done typing for the moment.



The Spirit Walkers

Steeped in mysticism and highly aloof from an Imperium they barely remember, the Spirit Walkers are only now beginning to return to the galactic stage and be acknowledged by their allies and brethern in the fight to defend humanity. For over a millennia since their founding, the Spirit Walkers have struggled to rebuild a Chapter shattered in its infancy, while staving off the predations of the xeno threat and stay true to Emperor-worship.

Traits
Suffer Not the Alien to Live (Orks)
Faithful Unto Death


Origins

The precise origins of the Spirit Walkers, a name that was to be recognized as oddly proptheic, have been lost in the catastrophic first decades of the Chapter’s life, along with much of their early history. However, it is known they were founded in the very late M40 or early M41, so it is likely that they are of the twenty-fifth founding.

What is known of the Spirit Walkers founding is typical of many foundings. The creation of the Spirit Walkers was commissioned by the High Lords of Terra with orders to move into the southwestern area of the Ultima Segmentum and aid the Ultramarines and Crimson Fists in controlling the Ork menace that was developing there, and would ultimately become Waaagh Snagord, the Arch-Arsonist of Charadon to name the most infamous. The Spirit Walkers were assembled as purely Codex Chapter under the command of Chapter Master Amerigo Castille, a former Crimson Fist veteran with centuries of experience fighting Orks, and Epistolary Qutugh, a former Storm Seer of the White Scars Chapter. Due to the pressures of time, no head Chaplain was appointed and the two leaders of the Chapter were expected to create a Reclusiam from the most devout Battle-Brothers in the Chapter. Historians of the Ordo Hereticus have pointed to this deviation from standard practice as a large cause of the events that were to come.

Given a full fleet, including a Battle Barge and at least three Strike Cruisers, and a full 100 Battle-Brothers, the High Lords and Amerigo pronounced the Spirit Walkers fit for battle and sent them out into the cruel galaxy to fulfill their destiny. They did it rather sooner than anyone could have expected.

For two years the Chapter sailed the Warp through Segmentum Tempestus, engaging in minor skirmishes with Eldar pirates and Ork reavers. Finally, to the east of the Imperial Navy system Bakka, near the border of Ultima Segmentum and their assigned patrol area, the Chapter encountered their first real test: a rapidly growing Waaagh under the command of an Ork warlord whose name has been lost to the ages, if he needs have not. The Chapter fought repeated space battles with the Ork fleet, driving back in engagement after engagement, towards the southern edges of Segmentum Tempestus and Imperial space. It was over the obscure, unsettled feral world known as Tempestus 101342-III that disaster struck.

The Ork warlord, in a display of disturbing taktikal kunnin', laid a trap for the Spirit Walkers. His main Kroozer, a gargantuan ship known as the Sun Krusha, held orbit over the planet, which would come to be known by the name its inhabitants gave it: Tuaq, and feigned distress while the rest of his fleet hid in the nearby asteroid belt. Amerigo, chafing for a decisive victory over the Orks after so many limited clashes, took the bait and sent the entire fleet at the Kroozer, into the jaws of the trap. The Ork fleet plunged out of the asteroids and set upon the Chapter, cutting the ships off and using their superior numbers to deadly effect. One Strike Cruiser was boarded in a dozen places and, the Battle-Brothers nearly overwhelmed and butchered, self-destructed. The resulting explosion scattered much of the Ork fleet and damaged the Sun Krusha, at the cost of two whole companies of Marines. Enraged and seeing an opportunity to end the fight, Amerigo ordered the Battle Barge to blow through the encircling Orks, straight at the Sun Krusha, intending to ram the Kroozer and board her in an attempt to cut the head from the snake.

The two great ships locked together like mating kraken under the ice of Fenris, burning and dying together. It is held in Chapter legend that, like the Emperor himself, Amerigo found the enemy leader and slew him, at the cost of his own life. The truth will never be known, as the poorly-constructed Kroozer lost containment and exploded, taking the Battle Barge and nearly half the Chapter with it. The remaining Orks scattered.

The primitive inhabitants below watched the terrible battle and believed a horrific struggle of gods was taking place above them, the wreckage of ships burning up in the atmosphere the bodies of old, dead gods being slain by a new generation of deities.

Qutugh, on one of the remaining Strike Cruisers, was faced with a horrible decision. He could pursue the remaining Orks and take the fledgling Chapter down in a blaze of glory, ensuring their place in history, or attempt to salvage the pitiful remains. He made the harder choice and ordered all surviving craft to land on the planet below. Many of the battered smaller craft did not survive re-entry. The third Strike Cruiser had been lain open to the void in many places, and only a handful of Battle-Brothers escaped in lifepods.

The Strike Cruiser crash-landed on the planet’s largest continent, itself little more than a large island, and left a scar across the land miles wide and cause minor earthquakes across the small planet. More than one coastal village was lost to tidal waves.

The Battle-Brothers of the Spirit Walkers were scattered across the planet, a cold, hard ball of rock and ice, cut off from each other and the Imperium. Still, in a testament to their faith in the Emperor, they squared their shoulders to the trials ahead and made for the crash site of the Strike Cruiser.

As the Space Marines trekked across the tundra wastes in small groups or alone, something odd began to happen. Due to the long, hard journey, they were forced to continue moving without rest or resupply. As such, they relied on their Cataplesean Node to keep them going for long periods without sleeping. However, even mighty Space Marines are not immune to the ravages of long periods of sleeplessness. Over the months it took them to return to Qutugh and their brethren, they began to hear voices. At first they dismissed it as the symptoms of over-reliance on the Cataplesean Node, which they had been warned against in their training. As the ‘hallucinations’ persisted and grew in strength, many began to realize that the voices were many things; fallen brothers, long-forgotten family from before undergoing the transformation to Space Marines, and, oddest of all, voices that claimed to be the spirits of the land. Some Marines were driven mad by the voices, or took them to be the whisperings of Chaos, and took their own lives. Their brothers buried them with full honours, recovered their gene-seed as best they could, and moved on. The natives of the planet, finding these bodies, honoured them in their own way, believing them to be the bodies of gods. They built create stone megaliths in the rough shape of a man, called inukshuks. Before these had been used only to mark harbours, trails and to give homage to the spirits of these places.

The Marines who did not succumb to madness began to listen to the voices, and discovered that they could be relied upon for guidance and aid in the darkest hours, leading the Marines around dangerous pitfalls and hidden crevices on the planet’s many glaciers and ice-fields, or to favourable hunting grounds, or to shelter from the planet’s vicious blizzards and forest fires. After a while, Marines who interacted with the natives of Tuaq learned the custom of building inukshuks to honour helpful spirits and ward off malicious spirits, for there were many and not being able to learn the difference cost the lives and sanity of many Battle-Brothers, and began to follow suit. Soon, the natives took to worshipping these statues, building shrines around them as best they could in the frozen wasteland.

Meanwhile, Qutugh, realizing that for better or worse, this planet was now the Spirit Walkers’ home, began to undertake to covert the remains of the Strike Cruiser, which would never fly again, into a Fortress-Monastary worthy of the Emperor’s chosen sons. It was not long before Marines under his direct command began to experience the same hallucinations as the Marines lost in the wasteland, and, in the absence of any real Chaplain presence, undertook to counsel and aid them in the only was he knew how: psyker-craft. To his shock and initial horror, he discovered that the Marines were not hallucinating, but actually communicating with a numberless multitude of spirits that circled the planet and lived beneath its crust. Some, as the lost ones discovered, were benign and even helpful, others were willful and fond of mischief, and others were downright malicious. Qutugh journeyed to several nearby native inhabitants and communed with their shamans and witch-doctors on the spirits and learned their customs, leaving command of the rebuilding to a Marine who would come to be known as Tuuluuwaq the Builder. As he became more steeped in the planet’s spirit-lore, Qutugh was the first Spirit Walker to undertake a spirit walk. The spirit walk was a long-standing tradition among the natives of Tuaq. It was journey outside the body a shaman took to visit the world of the spirits and gain their counsel, learn the future, or gain the power to perform powerful miracles. The spirits, good, neutral and evil, were all more powerful on their home turf and thus more dangerous. Qutugh, in his legendary first and only spirit walk, battled a powerful evil spirit known as Irdlirvirisissong, the evil brother of the chief god, Tekkeitsertok. The battle drained Qutugh, though he managed to throw back the daemon, for a warp-daemon it was. It was not the last time that the Spirit Walkers would have to deal with the vengeful Irdlirvirisissong. Qutugh, his vitality drained from his flesh and withered to an old man, realized only belatedly that Tekkeitsertok was a corrupted version of the High Gothic word for Emperor. Qutugh lived only a few years after that battle, long enough to pass his wisdom onto the next generation of Librarians, or Shamans, as they came to be known in the Spirit Walkers. He died before seeing the Fortress-Monastery completed and his decisions vindicated.

As more and more of the lost Marines arrived and brought their stories and knowledge of Tuaq to the Spirit Walkers, Tuuluuwaq asserted himself as the new Chapter Master, and set about reorganizing the Chapter to fit with their new circumstances, and beliefs, which he himself championed. He was instrumental in laying down the doctrines that continue to guide the Spirit Walkers and bringing the whole Chapter into their new beliefes. He also completed the Fortress-Monastery, and several other smaller installations around Tuaq, hence his appellation, “the Builder”.

The Spirit Walkers, reorganized into five “Companies” or, more appropriately, “Sects”, began to rebuild their numbers from the hardy folk of Tuaq, strengthening the Chapter’s connection to the spirit world and the planet. The natives began to call them “Aguta”, which means “gatherer of the dead” in the native tongue, for their practice of recovering gene-seed from fallen Battle-Brothers. The natives claimed that the progenoid gland represented the fleshy container for a Marine’s soul, and that was why it was so critical to reclaim it. This reverence, beyond what most Chapter’s hold for gene-seed, combined with the Spirit Walkers’ desperate need to conserve equipment and materiel lead to another of their highly unorthodox practices: the passing of gene-seed and armour from father to son.

It took centuries for the Spirit Walkers to rebuild space-worthy craft capable of inter-planetary flight, and they slowly began to exert dominion over the Tuaq system. Soon after the launch of their first ship, the Spirit Walkers built outposts on the other planets in the system, most little more than airless planetoids in erratic orbits. Without any remaining warp-drives and lacking the capability to rebuild them, the Spirit Walkers took centuries more to expand out to the nearest systems. There, they found the descendants of the Waaagh that crippled them, and the Spirit Walkers fell upon them in force. For hundreds of years, the Spirit Walkers scoured the surrounding systems of every Ork. However, they discovered something disturbing in travelling beyond their home system. The other planets of the Tuaq system were so small, little more than large asteroids, that the Spirit Walkers thought little of the absence of spirits inhabiting them. However, as they cast out into the void, the longer a Spirit Walker was away from Tuaq, the more he sickened and grew weak, forcing the Spirit Walkers to constantly rotate their active forces which further slowed the purging of the Orks.

The Chapter leaders debated this development long and hard. Some argued that it was a sign from Tekkeitsertok, the God-Emperor who lived in the centre of Tuaq, that they were not meant to the leave the planet. Those who remembered the greater Imperium argued for finding a way to inure the Spirit Walkers to the absence of spirits so that they might be fully effective fighting outside the Tuaq system.

It was at this time that the Great Devourer swept through the area en route to the fateful battle in the skies of Ultramar, and the Spirit Walkers were occupied with keeping Tyrand splinter fleets from penetrating their home system. Tuaq itself was the Spirit Walkers’ greatest ally in this, as the barren, frozen and above all lifeless wasteland that is most of Tuaq proved highly inhospitable to the scouting Lictors, called Keeluts by the natives, and the Spirit Walkers were able to hunt them down and eliminate them quickly enough to prevent much attention being given to their planet by the Hive Mind.

After the Tyranid threat had passed, the Spirit Walkers’ attentions were once again drawn to the question of how to travel beyond their home planet. Eventually, after much spirit walking and questing, the Shamans came up with a solution: if they could not go far from Tuaq, then they must bring Tuaq with them. To accomplish this, the Spirit Walkers began taking whole spirit-shrines and chunks of earth from the tundra into their ships. Although this was not easily accomplished, as this disruption of the land sat well with neither the Spirit Walkers, the natives nor the spirits themselves, the Spirit Walkers eventually prevailed and discovered this practice enabled them to spend extended periods outside of their home space. A few squads of Spirit Walkers were even able to participate in the battle to stave off the 13th Black Crusade, although they went largely unnoticed. It is still not a permanent solution, and the Spirit Walkers are still attempting to find a better way.

NEW:
Caused by a combination of the heavy losses in the space battle, the horrific crash-landing onto Tuaq, the harsh climate and the lack of equipment and expertise required, the Spirit Walkers now have a very, very few servitors remaining in service. They are also highly unwilling, now that they are more in a position to be able to create Servitors to do so, as their beliefs strongly contradict the notion of entrapping a spirit forever into a crude shell that was once a man. Serfs are also more uncommon among the Spirit Walkers than in other Chapters for similar reasons. No serfs survived the crash and first few months on Tuaq, and most failed aspirants either die or are returned to their homes to aid their tribes.

Home World

Tuaq, homeworld of the Spirit Walkers, is a small planet covered by freezing oceans and howling, frozen wasteland. The world Tuaq, in the native tongue, even means "new ball of ice created from an old ball of ice", referencing part of the native creation myth, which is a corrupted version of the tale of the original settlers who arrived on Tuaq not long after the end of the Horus Heresy and the ascension of the Emperor to godhead.

The planet itself is small, perhaps two-thirds the size of Terra and is further from its sun than Terra. However, its oddly steep polar axis and incredibly fast spin creates a gravity that is only slightly lower than Terran normal. It also creates a world with very active tectonic plates.

The majority of Tuaq's landmasses are concentrated in the northern hemisphere, with no land at all below the southern hemisphere save for a single continent lying over the south pole. The northern continents are hardly worth of the name, and are little more than a large archipelago. The biggest and most populus isle stretches from the north pole to a few degrees of latitude north of the equator. The remaining islands are scattered around the central island, encircling the northern hemisphere.

Because Tuaq is far from its sun, and has a thinner atmosphere that has difficulty retaining heat, Tuaq is a world of mild summers and bitter winters, with the temperature frequently plunging to below fifty degrees centigrade in the middle of winter near the equator. The extreme axis of rotation means that during the winter, the northern hemisphere goes months without seeing the sun, and during the summer the sun doesn't set for just as long. Some Marines, while near the north pole, have reported the bizarre phenomenon of seeing the sun rising and setting at the same time, an illusion caused by the sunlight reflecting off the ice vapour in the upper atmosphere.

Most of the islands are scrubby tundra, inhabited by little flora and less fauna. Towards the south, the land turns to hilly boreal forest, vast stretches of coniferous trees. In the winter the native population moves south to live in the relatively warmer forests and live off the game that migrates there. In the summer they are driven north with the migrations and to avoid the vast forest fires that ravage the forest lands, continuing the cycle of death and rebirth. In the winter time, most of the world's shallow oceans freeze solid, and it is possible to circumnavigate the globe not far north of the equator on foot over the pack ice during the winter freeze. The only place that maintains a regular temperature is the southern continent, which the natives call cursed and refuse to journey to. Orbital scans have revealed it to be a blasted landscape of volcanoes, rivers of lava and vast chasms in the earth that shift daily. Scans also indicate that the heat and nutrients fed into the ocrean from undersea volcanoes breed a significantly larger and more dangerous population of ocean predators, another reason the natives stay in the northern hemisphere.

While far from a deathworld like Catachan or Fenris, Tuaq has its share of dangerous animals. On land, the devilbear, a monstrous version of the Terran grizzly bear, lives in the forests and eats anything smaller than it, which is just about anything but a Rhino, which they have been known to attack on occasion. Their smaller, but more aggressive cousins, the white icebears, live on the icefloes in the north and feed off of smaller herbivores, fish and the occasional native. In the ocean, another overgrown descendant of a Terran animal, the aptly named killer whale (or sea wolf) swallow canoes whole and smash apart larger boats. They feed mainly off the larger, more docile baleen whales that live in Tuaq's oceans and are driven north in the summer, apparently preferring the predations of the killer whales to whatever horrors lurk in the southern oceans.

The Spirit Walker Fortress-Monastery is situated on the only raised piece of ground on the largest island, a scant few hundred miles south of the north pole at the end of the long furrow carved by the Strike Cruiser's crash, which the natives call Graveyard Canyon. At its feet is the site of the Iglupuk (literally "big house") where the natives gather at the height of each summer to trade, celebrate life, marry, settle disputes and, above all, witness the ritual selection of the best warriors and hardiest survivors by the Shamans of the Spirit Walkers to become Tiquana, those who are to undergo the trials to become Spirit Walkers.

At the exact point of the planet's magnetic north pole lies, buried beneath a glacier, the original settler colony. The natives regard it as a holy and untouchable place where men must not go. Qutugh himself is legended to have gone there to battle Irdlirvirisissong for dominion over the world, but no Spirit Walker has ever set foot there since. Orbital scans have shown that a significant amount of technology remains under the ice, but the Chapter has been either occupied elsewhere or too riven with debate over whether it would be a sacrilige or a pilgrimage to explore the ruins.

Combat Doctrine

Despite the many idealogical and organizational changes the Spirit Walkers have undergone, they still hold true to much of the Codex Astartes for their combat doctrines and practices. The bolter remains the preferred weapon (although spears and axes have become preferred melee weapons, as the sword is completely unknown among the Stone Age natives of Tuaq), and the flexibility and training to fight in any combat situation remains prized amoung the Chapter. However, their great losses and the experience of fighting Orks for so long and, to a lesser extent, Tyranids have shaped their fighting style into something divergent from the holy Codex.

First, the Spirit Walkers are a primarily infantry force, with little in the way of mechanized support. Much of the Chapter armoury was destroyed with their Battle Barge, and the first newly trained Techmarines in centuries have only just begun to return from Mars (until re-establishing contact with the Adeptus Mechanicus, knowledge of technology was passed down from the surviving Techmarines as an oral tradition). Even as the Chapter slowly rebuilds, it is likely that the Rhino, Predator and their varients will see much use among the Spirit Walkers for reasons both idealogical and practical. It was discovered early on that tracked vehicles were heavily unreliable in the tundra wastes as they tended to foul in the bogs created by melting permafrost in the summer and fall through pack ice in the winter. In addition, ground-based vehicles are heavily damaging to the delicate Tuaq ecosystem, and are greatly distruptive to the spirits that guide the Chapter in all things. Land Speeders, however, are both highly prized and widely used among the Spirit Walkers and there are rumours that they have developed varients on the Land Speeder STC to function as transports and heavy weapons platforms to take the place of Rhinos and Whirlwinds.

Vehicles weren't the only thing the Chapter lost in the great battle over Tuaq. Only twenty suits of Terminator armour remain in the Chapter's possession, and these powerful relics are regarded as the most holy of relics. They are also the only pieces of wargear that are not hereditary. The Masters of the Five Sects (Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Metal) all wear a suit of Tactical Dreadnaught Armour, as do the five soldiers who form the Chapter Master's retinue. The other ten suits are organized into two squads who form the backbone of the Metal Sect. Jetpacks, unreliable and difficult to maintain, are also rare in the Chapter and belong almost exclusively to the Air Sect. Only one dreadnaught sarcophagus remains active, and it contains the remains of Tuuluuwaq the Builder. This ancient hero is awakened only in the most dire of circumstances, as he prefers to pass the centuries in communion with the spirits. It is whispered that soon the Shamans and Techmarines will grant him eternal slumber, and make the sarcophagus ready for a new hero of the Spirit Walkers. Another dreadnaught sarcophagus, never used and badly damaged, has been salvaged from the debris of the great battle that still orbits Tuaq, and the Chapter's Techmarines are slowly returning it to useability.

Because of the relatively low numbers of active Spirit Walkers and high ratio of veteran Battle-Brothers, the Spirit Walker Tactical Squads tend to be smaller and are almost always lead by a member of the Metal Sect (though Marines who choose to refuse the honour of joining the elite Metal Sect in order to pursue the position of Master of their own Sect are afforded equal respect).

Superior organization and punishing firing drills have become the cornerstones of Spirit Walker combat doctrine, as hard experience at the hands of the Orks and Tyranids have taught the Chapter that with their smaller numbers and superior firepower, it is best to avoid close combat and rely on the mighty bolter to carry the day. One Spirit Walker remarked, after a hard-won victory over the Orks, that xenos "are best greeted with a whiff of boltrounds in the morning". Tactical Squads with assault weapons typically range ahead to engage the enemy in short-range firefights, supported by Land Speeders, while Devestators and Tactical Squads with heavy weapons punish the enemy from the main line.

Much like in Codex Chapters, grizzled squads of Veterans frequently accompany the front line Tactical Squads to act as counter-attack units and to aid in securing objectives. Scouts, too, hold a traditional role in the Spirit Walkers, either serving to harass enemy flanks, provide covering fire, or support the front line units against enemy assault.

The Spirit Walkers prefer to use flamers, heavy bolters and missile launchers as these weapons are more easily maintained and resupplied than the archaic and unrealiable energy weapons used by Space Marines. In addition, these weapons are also the most effective against the lightly-armoured masses of Orks and Tyranids.

It could be considered either irony or the Emperor's Will that, despite their ill beginnings and the many trials the Spirit Walkers have undergone, they have become exactly what they were intended to be: a dedicated and highly skilled force of xeno-killers, and their actions against the Orks proved useful in taking pressure off of the Ultramarines, especially in the wake of the Tyrannic Wars. Even though their contribution to the fight is never acknowledge or, more commonly, even known about.

NEW:
The taking of trophies and aquiring of kill-marks or symbols of great deeds is common among the Spirit Walkers, for several reasons. Primarily, like in other armies, it symbolizes the prowess of the bearer and is intended to intimidate the enemy. Ork and Tyranid heads on poles are common among veteran Spirit Walkers, and many wield weapons taken from fallen enemies. Especially against the Orks, the Spirit Walkers' chief foe, Marine commonly paint on glyphs and iconography of the enemy, again to intimidate them. Veteran Ork-fighters almost always wear the Ork glyphs for "skraga" (veteran) or "nob" (boss/leader).

Organization

The organization of the Spirit Walkers is their greatest deviation from the Codex, and reflects both their new belief structure and the necessities of recovering from their horrible early losses. Tuuluuwaq the Builder, after the death of Qutugh and the completion of the new Fortress-Monastery from the ruins of the Strike Cruiser, held a council of Shamans, which included all of the Chapter's surviving Librarians, those Marines who had demonstrated the gift of the pysker and were undertaking the trials to become the first new generation of Shamans, and a select few native Tuaq shamans who held the most power and experience on the planet. This institution, initially an ad hoc gathering, has become a standing feature in the Spirit Walker hierarchy to this day. This first Council undertook a series of spirit walks to divine what was needed to rebuild the Chapter. One of the first conclusions they reached was that the old 10 Companies organization would no longer work, and Tuuluuwaq agreed, though for very differant reasons. The Shamans believed it was inauspicious and reflected upon the divided command structure that some blamed for the massacre in orbit, while Tuuluuwaq realized that attempting to divide the few hundred Marines he was left with across 10 Companies would only spread out his strength and isolate the Spirit Walkers from each other, something they could ill afford. Leaving whole Companies empty would only be detrimental to the still-fragile Spirit Walker morale. So, the Chapter was reorganized into five Sects: Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Metal, the five basic elements that the natives of Tuaq believed made up all things. Today, there are perhaps six hundred Spirit Walkers in service.

The Metal Sect is the Spirit Walker version of a First Company. The Chapter Master, his retinue and almost all of the Chapter's Veterans are members of the Metal Sect and are elevated there after being nominated by their Battle-Brothers and accepted by majority decisions of the Chapter Master, the senior Shamans and the four Sect Masters. The Metal Sect rarely fights as a cohesive whole. Instead, members of the Sect are dispersed throughout the Chapter to act as Veteran Sergeants, Captains, and Veteran Squads, similar to the duties of 1st Company members in a Codex Chapter. Also, all Techmarines, Apothecaries, senior Shamans and Terminator-equipped Marines are members of the Metal Sect.

However, not all command-rank Marines belong to the Metal Sect. When a Marine is raised to Veteran status and offerred a position in the Metal Sect, he has a choice to make: if he joins the Metal Sect, he gains great honour and the chance to lead his Brothers in battle, but he can never become a Sect Master. Only those Marines who climb the ranks inside their original Sect can become Sect Masters, to ensure that commanders have the greatest tie to those under their orders and prevent callous decisions. The Spirit Walkers no longer believe in the notions of sacrifice, last stands and dying for the cause if they need not; it would be foolhardy to promote such self-destructive behaviour in a Chapter stretched too thin already. In addition, the natives of Tuaq have always held the same tenets of self-preservation and caution, as a hunter who takes unneccessary risks only endangers others in the harsh, unforgiving wastelands of Tuaq. The Spirit Walkers have no compunction about withdrawing from a battle when there is nothing to be gained by staying, and this has been a source of criticism and ill-feeling from other Imperial forces on the few occassions that Spirit Walkers have fought side-by-side with other Marines or the Imperial Guard.

The position of Chapter Master also has special considerations for aspirants. Theoretically, any Marine, regardless of age or rank, can become Chapter Master upon the death of the old Master. When a Chapter Master dies or steps down, any Marine who believes himself worthy can cast his lot for the title. Each applicant is then forced into a series of trials overseen by the Shamans (who themselves are never allowed to contend for the title) to test their bravery, will and, above all, tactical and strategic ability. The Spirit Walkers believe that a leader must be a soldier first and a hero second.

The other four Sects are the Spirit Walker versions of Battle Companies. There is no Scout or 10th Company in the Spirit Walkers, as their recruitment procedes according to their own unique system (namely, heredity). Theoretically, there are no organizational, doctrinal or spiritual differances between the four Sects, but differences have developed nonetheless.

The Air Sect hold the great spirit Aningan, the moon god, to be their patron and follow in his footsteps as great hunters. All of the Chapter's remaining Jumppacks are held by the Air Sect and many of the Marines who crew the Spirit Walker Land Speeders are from this Sect. Speed and skill are prized among the Air Sect, and they are frequently found fighting on the front lines of any engagement. The Air Sect is also the Sect with the fewest numbers, as they have higher casualty rates than the other Sects, and most of their strength crews the Chapter's vehicles. At times, the Air Sect has even been smaller than the elite Metal Sect. An interesting historical note: there has never been an Air Sect-raised Chapter Master, as all applicants have been deemed too rash or too focused on the purely martial pursuits. The spirit Aningan is believed to be the cousin of the demon Irdlirvirisissong, and Shamans raised from the Air Sect tend to be the most zealous of exorcists and daemon-fighters.

As might be assumed from their name, the Marines of the Fire Sect have a great love of destruction and firepower. Most Devestator squads are raised from the Fire Sect, and almost all of the Chapter's Techmarines are also Fire Sect, as befits the Sect's reliance on technology to deal death. The Fire Sect's totem is the Sun-Goddess, Aningan's sister and she who bakes the earth and melts the ice. As there is no agriculture on Tuaq, the natives regard the sun as highly mixed blessing, as she usually causes more trouble than good (Tuaq tradition holds that warmth comes from within the earth, not the sun), her only major contributions to Tuaq life being forest fires and light in the summertime. Fire Sect Shamans are more rare than in the other Sects, as the Sect's reliance on technology frequently isolates them from the Spirit World, but the most martial Shamans are always Fire Sect, wielding their warp-powers to devestate the enemy on the battlefield, rather than dealing with spirits or spending time in quiet contemplation.

The Battle-Brothers of the Earth Sect form the backbone of the Chapter and are the least affected by ideology or tactical preferences. Most Tactical Marines and Metal Sect members are Earth Sect, and most of the Spirit Walker Chapter Masters have been Earth Sect. Aumanil, earth god and ruler of whales, is the patron of the Earth Sect and eldest son of Tekkeitsertok the Emperor-in-the-Earth. The Earth Sect is the largest of the five Sects, with almost two hundred of the Chapters' less than six hundred Marines.

Native Tuaq tradition holds water to be the closest physical thing to the spirit world, and many shamanistic rituals on Tuaq use water as a key reagent. It is thus not a large suprise that most of the Spirit Walker Shamans and Apothecaries were inducted into the Water Sect, and the Sect has a long reputation for being close to the spirits. Even the Codex colour of Librarians, blue, is the colour of water and the Water Sect. On the battlefield, Water Sect Marines are as flexible as those of the Earth Sect. Water Sect commanders, however, are regarded as being as conservative as Air Sect commanders are headstrong.

The Spirit Walker chain of command is oddly egalitarian, despite the maintenance of many of the traditional command position. The Chapter Master is lord of the Chapter in all matters, although his judgements are always subject to the ratifications of the Sect Masters and the Council of Shamans, except in battle when his decisions are law. The Spirit Walkers do not believe in battlefield democracy, holding that a mediocre but decisive commander will carry the day before a talented, waffling one. In practice, however, the Chapter Master usually goes unquestioned in his decrees, and the Council only convenes when a major matter, such as the declaration of a new campaign, is at stake.

Below the Chapter Master are the Sect Masters, the High Shaman and his Council, the Master of the Armoury, and the Apothecarion. The Shamans, while nominally part of the Metal Sect, stand apart from an already aloof Chapter, spending most of their time in contemplation of the spirit world and rarely joining their brethern on the battlefield. The Master of the Armoury, in practice the most senior Techmarine, and his junior Techmarines are responsible for maintaining and servicing the Chapter's vehicles and more arcane equipment. The Apothecarion and the senior Apothecary have a suprisingly strong position in determining Chapter strategy and policy, as they have the most critical task: ensuring the very survival and growth of the Chapter. If the Apothecarion speaks against a campaign, even the Chapter Master listens.

The Sect Masters, each a mighty veteran with centuries of experience, have below them several Captains who each command several squads. These Captains are usually who lead Spirit Walker forces, with the Sect Masters retaining overall strategic command. These Captains are also the contenders for the position of Sect Master when it becomes vacant and thus have a vested interest in the well-being of their Sect-brothers, who will vote on their appointment.

NEW:
Besides Tuaq, the Spirit Walkers have established strongholds in a number of other places. The major off-planet base is Outreach, which is built onto, and into, an airless planetoid on the extreme outer edge of the system. Originally rich in ores, the Spirit Walkers thoroughly mined the planetoid for raw material to use in rebuilding their space fleet, leaving the rock is riddled with tunnels and caverns. The Spirit Walkers built a spaceport and naval yard into Outreach, and designated it the only land non-Spirit Walkers may walk in their system. Even then, visitors are confined to the spaceport and surface habs, as deep within the tunnels are secret labs and facilities the Spirit Walkers use to store captured technology and go about attempting to discover a way to allow them to take extended or indefinate tours off Tuaq.

In an effort to avoid polluting Tuaq and distrupting the spirit world, the Spirit Walkers are building all industrial facilities on the next planet towards the sun, a planet similar to Tuaq in climate, but singled out by a strangely sparse spirit population. This planet also serves as a training ground for new and prospective Spirit Walkers.

Tuaq's single moon is the Spirit Walker's principal naval base, and is dotted with defensive missile and laser positions to deter anyone who would attack Tuaq.

The other three planets in the system are completely devoid of life or air. One of them was not always so. The fifth planet was once a planet teeming with life and spirits, though uninhabited by humans. It was the only planet Tyranids ever gained a stronghold on, the milder climate and unsuspecting Spirit Walkers allowing the xenos to infest the planet before the Marines realized what was happening. It was only after two Shamans braved the dangers of the planet to seek counsel with the local spirits that the Spirit Walkers discovered that the Hive Mind appeared to 'eat' any spirits it touched and by that time, the planet was all but empty. The Spirit Walkers used their entry supply of cyclone missiles, scavenged from the wrecked Battle Barge, to wipe the planet clean of life. The day is regarded as a great tragedy, and every year the Spirit Walkers mark to occassion by draping their iconography in marks of shame and undertaking spirit walks to seek forgiveness from the twelve gods.

Beliefs

The religious beliefs and practices of the Spirit Walkers are their most extreme deviation from a codex chapter (or even from the Imperium at large), and are a closely guarded secret. No outsider is allowed to set foot onto Tuaq, and those agents of the Imperium, historically Rogue Traders and Adeptus Mechanicus Explorator Fleets, that wish to meet or trade with the Spirit Walkers are escorted through the Tuaq system under heavy guard and are allowed to land only on Outreach, a base on the outer edge of the system that is in reality little more than a heavily fortified spaceport. Because of their obscurity and their place on the outer edge of Imperial space, the Inquistion has shown the Spirit Walkers little attention...yet...much to their continued relief.

The bulk of the Spirit Walker dogma, if it can be called such, is taken from the beliefs of the native population and mixed with the Imperial Creed that the Marines brought with them. The chief deity is Tekkeitsertok, who lives in the centre of Tuaq and holds the planets and stars in their places, and the Spirit Walkers venerate him as not only the most powerful of the spirits but as the Emperor himself. The major deities below Tekkeitsertok are worshipped as aspects of the Emperor, seperate yet a part of him. There are too many members of the Tuaq pantheon to be counted, as every tree, rock, stream and shrine has its own spirit, but they can be divided into a number of broad catagories.

Tekkeitsertok and his eleven children are the gods, each with their own portfolio. These are the most powerful spirits and also the most inaccessible. It is a rare and powerful Shaman who speaks with one of the eleven, and only Qutugh himself has even communed with Tekkeitsertok.

The tonrar are the ordinary spirits that inhabit Tuaq. These can be the patron spirits of a shrine or a natural feature (called torngasak), the ghost of a human who died away from his home (tonraq), mindless wraiths, or minor demons and imps (tornuaq). There are thousands upon thousands of tonrar in the spirit world, and telling whether they are friend, foe or neutral is the hardest and most dangerous part of the Shamans' spirit walks. A very few have names that are remembered, and these are usually the patrons of particularly important places, like a Spirit Walker burial shrine or a major safe harbour.

Then there are the Iqniq, the daemon-spirits, lead by Irdlirvirisissong. These are the most hated, the most feared, and above all, the most powerful of the evil spirits of Tuaq and are to be combated and guarded against at all times. They can posses an unwary Shaman's mind and force him to do evil (or just make his brain explode), they warp time and space, and they can sometimes force themselves out of the spirit world and attack the living. Irdlirvirisissong, who was first defeated by Qutugh, has returned every few centuries to wreak havoc upon Tuaq and the Spirit Walkers, and every time he is thrown back, but only at a terrible cost; Shamans killed or driven mad, the material world scarred by vile magics. Were an Inquisitor to hear these tales (which they never will, so have the Spirit Walkers sworn), they would doubtless conclude that Irdlirvirisissong is a Changer of Ways, a Greater Daemon of Tzeentch, and one of considerable malice.

The Spirit Walkers also acknowledge six evil powers beyond Tuaq among the stars. The four are Chaos Gods. Khorne is Auk, which means blood. Nurgle is Naartok, which means obese. Slaanesh, Pasinaqtuq or guilty. And Tzeentch is Simmibaa, or change. The fifth, interestingly, is not respected as a deity anywhere else in the Imperium. It is Iqsiruq, which literally means fear, and is known everywhere else as the Tyranid Hive Mind. The Shamans discovered Iqsiruq when the Spirit Walkers encountered the fringes of Hive Fleet Behemoth on its famous journey to Macregge. The Spirit Walker who named the Hive Mind is remember less for doing so, then for having his brains explode out through his eyes and ears seconds after placing his hand on the corpse of a Lictor. He barely had time to whisper the word. There is a seventh off-world spirit that is gaining reverance among the Spirit Walkers. It is Tiritchiq, the Dragon, and knowledge of this powerful spirit has been introduced to the Spirit Walkers by the Techmarines as they return from their training on Mars.

Their belief in the persistance of spirits and their unique recruiting methods have instilled in the Spirit Walkers a fierce need to protect and reclaim the bodies and relics of the fallen, even beyond the zealous desire to reclaim gene-seed that other Chapters have. There is nothing a Spirit Walker will fight harder for than to rescue a dead Battle-Brother, and all slain Spirit Walkers are laid to rest in inukshuk shrines on Tuaq. Spirit Walkers mourn to loss of a suit of power armour more than they do the loss of a Battle-Brother, as they believe the spirits of dead Marines are allowed to return to Tuaq with their relics. Several notable Spirit Walker victories, especially the few they had during 13th Black Crusade, were won not out of a desire to defeat the enemies of the Imperium, but to recover a lost or fallen Marine.

The spirit walk, originally a custom of native Tuaq shamans, is now a major part of Spirit Walker life. Not decision of any significance is made without at least one Shaman undertaking a spirit walk to consult the spirits, and every Spirit Walker has undergone at least one, and likely dozens of them in his lifetime. The spirit walk itself is a strange and not fully understood ritual that involves a long period of fasting and isolation, as well as chanting and meditating, to seperate spirit and body so that the walker may enter the spirit world and converse with the spirits there.

While in the spirit world, the walker is subject to the variable rules of the spirit realm, as he is subject to gravity and the laws of physics while in the material world. The walker is also vulnerable to the native inhabitants of the spirit realm, and, should he run afoul of a malign (or just misunderstood) spirit he cannot overpower, risks physical harm, madness, possession or even death. For this reason, those undergoing a spirit walker are closely monitored, lest they awaken with something evil inside them.

There are two major incidents of possession in Spirit Walker history both of which are as different as they are closely guarded secrets. The first is the second coming of Irdlirvirisissong. Thinking the malign entity permanently defeated and not yet fully aware of the nature of the spirit world, the High Shaman of the Spirit Walkers left himself unguarded during a spirit walk and was possessed by the daemon. It was two months before the Spirit Walkers discovered what had happened, when Irdlirvirisissong began to us his formidible magics against them. He killed many Spirit Walkers and devestated much of their Fortress-Monastery. Only the combined powers of all Spirit Walker Shamans, as well as more than a few native shamans, managed to subdue Irdlirvirisissong long enough for the Spirit Walkers to throw the body, armour and all, into the Fortress' fusion power core and force a defeated and weakened Irdlirvirisissong back into the Spirit World. It is the only case of the Spirit Walkers destroying a set of armour, and it is recorded nowhere but in their oral histories.

The second case of possession is quite different. A few centuries after crash-landing on Tuaq, the first Spirit Walker fleet left the system in pursuit of the Orks that had decimated them. They encountered on of the major Waaagh strongholds and set about purging it. However, the Spirit Walker Captain was completely unprepared for the viciousness and cunning of the Ork defense, and Spirit Walkers were beaten back, almost to the point of annihillation. Desperate, the Captain, whose name has been lost to time, undertook a Spirit Walk far from Tuaq. When he awoke, the Spirit Walkers say his eyes glowed like coals and his voice rang like a thunderstorm. He led the Spirit Walkers back from the edge of death to deal the Orks a crushing defeat, smashing their cities and killing their chieftens single-handed. After the Spirit Walkers were victorious, he collapsed and died. On examining the body, the Apothecaries found that his blood has completely boiled away, and all his organs were shriveled, as though drained of their vitality. It was later, after a long and perilous spirit walk, that the High Shaman learned the Captain had been possessed by Afuyakti, a mighty soldier-spirit. His armour and relics were sealed away in the Fortress-Monastery against the day that the chapter would need the power of Afuyakti again. This is another tale that outsiders will never hear.

Gene-Seed

After being out of contact with the Imperium for so long, the Spirit Walkers have begun sending their gene-seed tithes to the Adeptus Mechanicus (although in smaller and slower amounts than Mars would like, doubtless out of a desire to keep as much gene-seed on hand for the rebuilding process). Spirit Walker gene-seed, originally of Ultramarine stock, has been found to be free of mutation or corruption, except for an oddly overactive Cataplesean Node, leading some Magos' Biologis to speculate that Spirit Walkers rarely, if ever, sleep. At this point, the deviation has not generated enough notice or concern to warrant investigation. If the Inquisition or the Adeptus Mechanicus ever do decide to do an in-depth review of the Spirit Walkers, they will doubtless be in for a rough time.

The Spirit Walker initiation process is very similar to that of other chapters: a series of gruelling physical, martial and pyschological tests designed to weed out all but the most worthy aspirants. The major departure is, of course, the spirit walk all aspirants must undergo. When, and if, they wake from the spirit walk, the aspirant will know three things: whether he is fit to be a Space Marine, which Sect he belongs in, and where his inukshuk shrine will be built when he dies.

The process of selecting aspirants is, however, very differant. The Spirit Walkers, obsessed with the continuity of spirits, have instituted a system of heridity. When a Spirit Walker dies, all of his direct male-line descendants still living on Tuaq are taken to the Fortress-Monastery and become aspirants. The one (or only) who best succeeds the trials of initiation takes up his ancestor's relics after he has completed his time as a Scout. The only reason this is possible is because of the way Tuaq natives live their lives. They have no concept of the nuclear family or romantic relationships, believing that in order to survive in the howling tundra wasteland and combat high mortality rates, they must concieve as often as possible . Thus, once children have passed puberty and are capable of reproducing, they are considered adults. Whenever a woman is fertile, she is expected to concieve with the male with the fewest children. Thus, by the time a Tuaq boy is fourteen, it is normal for him to have at least two children. Children are raised communally by the entire tribe, and a detailed record of the somewhat convoluted family trees is kept by the shamans. In this way, the Spirit Walkers have a steady supply of recruits.

In the event that a fallen Marine has no suitable heirs or, as is increasingly comman as the Spirit Walkers rebuilding process acclerates, there is a suit of power armour available with no history, a series of games are held at the yearly native gathering at the foot of the Fortress-Monastery. Only men who would not otherwise be eligible for selection by heredity are allowed to entire the competition, and the best are taken to the Fortress-Monastery to undergo the initiation rituals. This process is much more rigorous, especially the spirit walk, as the selected aspirant will not only becoming a Spirit Walker, but also founding a dynasty.

The only armour that is not passed down to descendants is Terminator Armour. Instead, when a Marine is granted a suit of Terminator armour (either by becoming a Sect Master, the Chapter Master, or one of the elite Metal Sect veterans inducted into the two Terminator squads), he gives up his power armour permanently and it is passed on to a descendant as if he had died. By this symbolic act, the Spirit Walker is symbolically giving up his life for the honour of wearing the mightiest of power armour and becoming one of the true elite of the chapter.

Battle-Cry

The Spirit Walkers do not have any recorded battle-cries as such. Instead, they frequently chant in the native Tuaq tongue the tales of great Spirit Walker heroes or translated pieces of the Imperial Creed, like the Litany of Hate. There have also been records of the Spirit Walkers using the enemies' battle-cries against them, most notably against the Orks. There are several places in Spirit Walker history where they have attacked Ork lines with a mighty "Waaagh!". Although they have rarely fought the forces of Chaos, they have never been observed using any of the blasphemous litanies of the Traitor Legions, although an Imperial Guard Colonel recorded them crying "We have come for you!" as they attacked a Night Lord encampment.

Heroes

...coming soon...

Notable Engagements

...coming soon...

Allies and Enemies

...coming soon...



Colours

Chapter Badge, the word "Aguta" (meaning "Gatherers of the Dead") in the native language and alphabet, which is the native word for Spirit Walker, or, possibly, just for Space Marine, as the natives of Tuaq have never encountered any other Marines



Metal Sect Scheme, the equivalent of a 1st Company, includes all command officers and veterans, even veteran sergeants serving with squads in the four Sects



Air Sect Scheme



Earth Sect Scheme



Fire Sect Scheme



Water Sect Scheme



Non-Veteran Officer Scheme, Air Sect (note Ork Grim glyph, indicates having fought in the campaigns against the Orks)
A Veteran Officer not of the Metal Sect paints his whole helmet black with a stripe of his Sect colour



C+C are, naturally, highly appreciated. This is something of an experiment, and I'd really like to know what others think.


Cheers,

Barret


--edit--
Fixed Orkspeak.

--edit--
Changed Sus-an membrane to Cataplesean Node

This post has been edited by Barret: Jul 17 2006, 04:39 PM

[iron father]

Ahoj!

Woah, that's intense. A lot of stuff going on here. Very detailed, but possibly a little ponderous.

My first comment would be a slight correction in regards to:

The Ork warlord, in a display of disturbing tactical cunning,

I believe you mean "taktikal kunnin'."

I like the description of the engagement with the Orks. An exciting addition to your chapter's history, and the tremendous losses experienced by the Spirit Walkers explain how they were put in the position to differ so widely from the codex.

With the spirits of the land, I like how you've imposed a limitation on your chapter. The idea itself is interesting and unique in teh 40k universe. I am curious, though. These spirits are not merely the hallucinations of a chapter, as they impart useful information, so what are they? Latent psychic abilities? Some form of xenos entity? Actual spirits? Each of these is problematic in its own way - and when I say problematic, I don't mean that you should revise it. I mean that it would likely bring your chapter into conflist with other elements of the Imperium who are not quite so understanding in regards to a chapter which worhips a god other than the immortal Emperor. That could be interesting, though.

[Barret]

My first comment would be a slight correction in regards to:

The Ork warlord, in a display of disturbing tactical cunning,

I believe you mean "taktikal kunnin'."

Fixed. Sorry about that, I've been away from my Orkses for far too long.

I like the description of the engagement with the Orks. An exciting addition to your chapter's history, and the tremendous losses experienced by the Spirit Walkers explain how they were put in the position to differ so widely from the codex.

That's what I'm aiming for, so it's good to know it comes across.

With the spirits of the land, I like how you've imposed a limitation on your chapter. The idea itself is interesting and unique in teh 40k universe. I am curious, though. These spirits are not merely the hallucinations of a chapter, as they impart useful information, so what are they? Latent psychic abilities? Some form of xenos entity? Actual spirits? Each of these is problematic in its own way - and when I say problematic, I don't mean that you should revise it. I mean that it would likely bring your chapter into conflist with other elements of the Imperium who are not quite so understanding in regards to a chapter which worhips a god other than the immortal Emperor. That could be interesting, though.

The idea here is that the 'spirits' the Spirit Walkers commune with are a number of things. Some of them are warp daemons and agents of Chaos for certain. Others are the 'ghosts' of the deceased natives of the planet, as well as fallen Marines who have been interred on the planet. I'll go more into this when I get to Beliefs, but what I've been thinking is that due to some strange property of the planet, souls/spirits/ghosts/whatever are unable to leave the planet and so populate the spirit world.

I haven't decided yet on whether or not the Spirit Walkers have an increased incidence of pyskers or are simply 'seeing what really is there', as it were. Game-wise, I very rarely use Librarians, and never Chaplains (hence the lack of Reclusiam in the founding), and I was thinking of making the Librarians into very isolated individuals, apart from the rest of the Chapter and rarely taking to the field alongside their brethern and rather guiding from afar.

As for the worship aspect, what I'm thinking, and what I'll go into more, in the Beliefs section, is that the major deity the Spirit Walkers venerate is simply a divergence of Emperor-worship as the settlers of the planet brought with them before they became the ferals they are now. So while they do technically worship the Emperor as a god, it's divergent enough that they will definately get into trouble with the Ecclesiarchy and the Ordo Hereticus should either of those agencies become too aware of what the Spirit Walkers are up to. They're not heretics and they're definately loyal to the Imperium, but they're also aware that whole Chapters have been condemned for far less. Nothing like a little tension to make things interesting, as you say.


Cheers,

Barret

This post has been edited by Barret: Jul 12 2006, 03:58 PM

[Hemal]

Woah there - I thought I'd stumbled upon a thread about small Eldar Dreadnaughts


Lovely colour scheme and pretty cool background stuff - however, it's the cataplesean node, not the sus'an membrane which would keep them working - they didn't all gon into stasis, they kept awake constantly

[Barret]

Woah there - I thought I'd stumbled upon a thread about small Eldar Dreadnaughts

I know, but they're so rare I don't care. Besides, it's a cool name...

Lovely colour scheme and pretty cool background stuff - however, it's the cataplesean node, not the sus'an membrane which would keep them working - they didn't all gon into stasis, they kept awake constantly

Ah HAH. I thought there was something wrong with that. I guess I misread IA: Crimson Fists. Thanks. I'll fix that now.


Cheers,

Barret

[Sigismund Himsel...]

About their chapter symbol. Has it been changed when they took Tuaq as their homeworld or did they know the language before they got there? Part from that, looking like it can become a great chapter
cheers

[Severus6]

Very impressive and unique,...I like it a great deal. There are two issues that I would bring up; the first Iron Father has already brought out. The onset of the voices to your Chapter might be described differently,...maybe simply based on the fact that your Chapter has a higher content of psychic abilities based on some type of mutation within the geneseed. The planet has some unknown "quality" that acts as a catalyst that has affected the Marines in such a way. Additionally you could describe the "attribute" as possibly addictive thus the need to return to the planet on a regular basis. I can easily see where you could combine the office of Librarian and Chaplain with some additional war gear. Regardless I like your Chapter idea, its very well done.

Severus6

[Barret]

About their chapter symbol. Has it been changed when they took Tuaq as their homeworld or did they know the language before they got there?

...that...never...occurred to me. D'oh! I'll have to think about that one. I suspect they just took it as their new symbol during the reorganization period, and their original symbol has been lost with their original records.

The onset of the voices to your Chapter might be described differently,...maybe simply based on the fact that your Chapter has a higher content of psychic abilities based on some type of mutation within the geneseed. The planet has some unknown "quality" that acts as a catalyst that has affected the Marines in such a way. Additionally you could describe the "attribute" as possibly addictive thus the need to return to the planet on a regular basis. I can easily see where you could combine the office of Librarian and Chaplain with some additional war gear.

I like that idea, but I think I'd like to just leave an exact explanation of the voices, and any potential mutation or outside influence, to the reader's imagination. I don't really have a clear idea of what exactly is happening to the Spirit Walkers, and I like that air of mystery. Kind of like the hints of the Blood Ravens being tied to the Thousand Sons...


Thank you all again for your feedback, and please keep it coming as I fill out more of the fluff.


Cheers,

Barret

This post has been edited by Barret: Jul 13 2006, 08:17 AM

[Big Woop]

The chapter has a unique feel to it, with the shamanism and the arctic environment.

About two companies being lost when a strike cruiser was destroyed, saying "two whole companies were lost" sounds a little vague. You could elaborate a little bit more, what the others felt when the saw it etc, but that's just my opinion.

What happened to their serfs and servitors after the disaster, did any of them survive?

[Barret]

The chapter has a unique feel to it, with the shamanism and the arctic environment.

About two companies being lost when a strike cruiser was destroyed, saying "two whole companies were lost" sounds a little vague. You could elaborate a little bit more, what the others felt when the saw it etc, but that's just my opinion.

What happened to their serfs and servitors after the disaster, did any of them survive?

Unique is exactly what I'm going for, so cheers. I think basing it off the environment and mythology of the place I grew up in helps me make it more sound, too.

I think I'd rather leave more detailed descriptions of that first battle, especially when it comes to what specific Marines saw and felt, to actual fluff. I want to keep this article as 'historical'-feeling as possible. I -am- going to write fluff for them, and what you're suggesting is definately going to be done.

As for the serfs and servitors, thank you for bringing that up. I hadn't even thought about that issue, and now I am. I suspect the answer is "No, not really", for reasons I'll go into under Beliefs, I think. I may go back and talk about it in Origins and possibly Organization, too. Thanks.


Cheers,

Barret

[Severus6]

Lack of Chapter serf and servitors may simply one more trial to endure. All things old are swept away, a virtual purging of the former ways of the Chapter. Besides, if only a few of the Marines were able to survive this harsh climate, how would a mere serf/servitor? Something to consider.

Severus6

[Barret]

Lack of Chapter serf and servitors may simply one more trial to endure. All things old are swept away, a virtual purging of the former ways of the Chapter. Besides, if only a few of the Marines were able to survive this harsh climate, how would a mere serf/servitor? Something to consider.

Severus6

Thanks for the feedback, again. I used this piece of advice and added some to the "Origins" section about serfs and servitors.


There's a Kill-Team/Tac Squad of Spirit Walkers under construction right now. I'll post up pics in a day or two once I've got a couple more made and I've built myself a photo/light box thingy.


Cheers,

Barret

[Severus6]

Additionally, have you considered, for later background writing, the idea that your Marines maintain tribal ties as well as the necessity to make planetary landfall on constant basis? Possibly small keeps that the Marines will visit and stay in while they are on the planet. Maybe even going as far as writing the names of fallen brothers inside and out of the keep as "spirit marker" for the fallen to return home. Just a thought, hope it helps.

Severus6

[Heru Talon]

Spirit Walkers are cool

[Barret]

Additionally, have you considered, for later background writing, the idea that your Marines maintain tribal ties as well as the necessity to make planetary landfall on constant basis? Possibly small keeps that the Marines will visit and stay in while they are on the planet. Maybe even going as far as writing the names of fallen brothers inside and out of the keep as "spirit marker" for the fallen to return home. Just a thought, hope it helps.

Severus6

That's an interesting idea. The Marines continue to live amongst their original tribes when not on tour, similar to the Salamanders? It would strengthen the idea of heredity recruitment and ensure the Battle-Brothers remain connected to their homeworld...

I was thinking more of the spirits of the fallen inhabiting their grave shrines, but mini-keeps where they could congregate to communicate with the living would be cool.

Spirit Walkers are cool

Thank you! That's what I think, at least.


As a side note, the first four Spirit Walkers are over in the PC&A.


Cheers,

Barret

[Severus6]

"I was thinking more of the spirits of the fallen inhabiting their grave shrines, but mini-keeps where they could congregate to communicate with the living would be cool." Barret

Why not both,...you could base it off region, signifigance of the fallen Marine or location of the shrine or keep. Shrines could be a holy place for the tribe and Marines, keeps could be strictly for Marines. Just a thought, hope it helps.

Severus6