The Star Lords

[Pulse]

The Star Lords

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Veteran Sergeant Edor

Origins:

On countless battlefields across the galaxy the Emperors armies wage war against all manner of foes. At the forefront of these wars are the finest warriors the Imperium can call upon, the Adeptus Astartes.

Created during the twenty-sixth Astartes founding, the Star Lords quickly formed a reputation as swift and brutal in their prosecution of mankind’s enemies wherever they are encountered. The chapter gene-seed is that of the mighty Imperial Fists and it was because of that the Chapter’s first Master was selected from their ranks.

The honour to lead the newly formed chapter fell to Captain Aescwulf from the Imperial Fists second company. Aescwulf, a charismatic man quick to smile, he is fiercely intelligent, persuasive and possesses an innate understanding of psychology. He understands men in order to use their strengths or exploit their weaknesses. He was instantly adored amongst the newly formed chapter, and being of Imperial Fist stock he is a fine strategist and a meticulous planner. Aescwulf brought to the chapter the teachings of the Primarch Dorn and so instilled on the chapter the knowledge of siegecraft, defensive strategies and fortification building that are unique to the sons of Dorn.

The newly-formed chapter was gifted a battle barge, a number of strike cruisers and several rapid strike vessels from the Imperial Fists' extensive fleet, and struck out to forge a destiny of their own.

Homeworld:

Situated deep within the Segmentum Ultima, close to the Dominion of Storms, the Atan system is controlled entirely by the Star Lords from their homeworld of Lorn, and many of the worlds within the system have specific uses for the chapter.

Lorn exists in a tribal society and is the chapters’ source of recruits. The world itself has a single continent called Fyrhð and is primarily covered with oak forests with green rolling hills and open grass land. The Lornic community on Fyrhð is a rural one, where primarily all classes of society live on the land in fortified wooden towns built of felled oak. The land is divided into kingdoms, which are at near constant war with one another as they vie for resources, land and slaves. These kingdoms have standing armies, all well equipped with swords, axes, shields, chainmail and helmets. The people of Fyrhð prove to be incredibly strong and have superior reflexes that develop from an early age making them ideal candidates for the Star Lords.

The Star Lords convinced that these people were an excellent source of potential recruits, adopted the culture, language and customs of Lorn and wasted no time in constructing their fortress monastery deep within the mountainous region in the north. The fortress known as Burh-sæl or ‘Deep fortress’ hold within its walls the chapters’ precious equipment and vehicles and the vast libraries of information the chapter has gathered and where records of the chapter actions are kept. Deep within the fortress lies the ‘Museum of conquest’ here many cadavers of enemy warriors are kept in display tanks, along with their weaponry. The Star Lords have an attraction for sculpture and a great respect for the past; it is why the chapter will often employ skilled artisans to work within their fortress. Many of the corridor walls have vast stone carvings depicting battles stretching back to the Great Crusade and as far back as the Unification wars. Statues of dead heroic Star Lords line the processional corridor known as the ‘Dead way’. This leads to the great hall and there, the chapters’ greatest sculptures can be seen. The Star Lords have larger than life statues of the Emperor and primarchs, including the traitor primarchs lining the walls. Exquisite detailing on the statues depicts each primarch for his known trait, with particular veneration for Rogal Dorn and the Emperor. The statues of the traitor primarchs however, all show signs hinting towards their fall. Angron is depicted as a berserker, the statue of Fulgrim has a face that expresses pride and vanity, Lorgar is shown as holding aloft a book as though preaching. The statue that draws the eye more than any other is that of Horus. The statue instead of facing forwards into the centre of the great hall like the others, depicts Horus looking towards the Emperors’ statue with a resentful sneer. The Star Lords look to the statues as a source of inspiration and the loyalist primarchs are admired for the sacrifices they made and for the unswerving loyalty to mankind and the Emperor and await their return. The traitors’ statues are there to serve as a warning to the chapter that even mighty primarchs can fall from grace, so the need for an ever vigilant stance against the forces of corruption must be adhered to.

The third planet within the Atan system is known as Rilas, and is the Star Lords main training ground where in lethal conditions the chapter perfect and hone their skills. Rilas is a deathworld, vast and trackless; the landscape is made up entirely of dense jungle and steamy swamps. The planet is home to many dangerous creatures ranging from reptilian predators that can penetrate power armour, insects with potent venom and large ponderous herbivores that can crush a Space marine underfoot. With so many dangerous creatures lurking in the jungles, the Star Lords engage in hunts to keep the creature numbers in check and it is here that many of the new recruits are put through their paces. It is not unheard of for Space Marines to be killed while training on Rilas, but because the planet provides excellent training, the risks are outweighed by the gains.

Eallíren is the largest planet within the Atan system and is nothing short of priceless for the Star Lords, as the crust has vast amounts of naturally occurring adamantium and other precious metals. The presence of such quantities of valuable metal has allowed the Star Lords to establish mines across the surface of Eallíren. These mines produce so much metal that the chapter can sustain its own armoury and fleet many times over, allowing the chapter to become completely self-sufficient.

The Star Lords consider the Atan system to be such a valuable resource, the chapter has constructed vast orbital batteries around the system at strategic locations and many of the planets and moons have orbital defence grids and fortifications making the Atan system one of the most heavily guarded and fortified systems in the region.

Organisation:

The Star Lords always field ten companies, the first being that of the veterans and is the most powerful, with each member of the first company being trained in the use of Tactical Dreadnaught Armour of which the chapter only posses fifteen suits, and they are amongst a chapter's most prized relics. These experienced fighters are spread throughout the different companies so that each commander has a number of hard-hitting, highly experienced warriors.

The chapter adopted the customs of Lorn and so the chapter train heavily with close combat weapons and are often tutored by close combat specialists. All of the battle brothers will carry some form of close combat weapon into battle, from the basic combat knife to ornate swords and axes and all carry marines a fully functional combat shield.

The Star Lords largely stick to the Codex Astartes but with exceptions; being that the companies two through to eight are the battle companies. All of the battle companies have the standard blend of Tactical, Devastator and Assault but the big difference is that each company has one hundred and fifty marines instead of the normal one hundred, including the command elements. This number increase is down to Master Aescwulf, he believes that one hundred marines simply is not enough and so increased the numbers of the tactical squads from six to ten, with two devastator squads and two assault squads.

The chapter’s ninth company function as the chapters only reserve company and are the permanent guardians of the fortress monastery and defenders of the surrounding home system. Being the only reserve company they are bigger in number than even a Star Lords battle company at close to two hundred strong. Elements from the ninth company are spread around the system manning important fortifications and orbital stations. The Captain of the Ninth Company is an extremely powerful individual; with the title ‘Master of the Watch’ he is only second in stature to the First Captain. The position he holds is not taken lightly. If the fortress were to fall it would be an absolute disaster for the chapter and would leave them teetering on the brink, another reason why the ninth company has large numbers.

The Scout Company is made up almost entirely of new recruits and is based on the chapter home world alongside the ninth company. They are spread amongst the Battle Companies and are used for sabotage missions, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The scouts are lightly armoured but equipped to deal most problems should the need arise.

Another notable feature of the Chapter's organisation is the inclusion of the Folgoþ. These are the aspirants that have failed the selection process to become a Space Marine but showed true promise; these men are given a second chance to serve the chapter, and act as personal attendants to the battle brothers of the chapter. The men of the Folgoþ are enhanced through minor surgical procedures that increase reaction speed and strength beyond that of an average man. In times of war the Folgoþ accompany the Star Lords into combat, and form highly organized, trained and motivated combat teams, carrying their standard issue hell guns and assorted heavy weaponry. The Folgoþ are used to support the battle-companies but are also used for reinforcing battle lines, launching diversionary attacks and defending areas of supply.

Combat Doctrine:

The Star Lords are a flexible fighting force, which perform well and adapt quickly to any combat situation. Trained to respond sharply and decisively to the tactical orders of the commanders; the chain of command within the chapter is very efficient. The chapter uses many tactics depending on the situation but the favoured doctrine of eliminating the enemy high command in a swift and decisive strike is well-used tactic. The chapter pride themselves at able to deploy quickly and reliably, where and when required. Every aspect of the battle is analysed and used to their advantage, nothing is left to chance.

The Star Lords also retain much of the Imperial Fist traditional doctrine in siege or defensive warfare conditions, using and constructing field fortifications and defensive positions, but only if all aggressive options have been exhausted.

Beliefs:

The Star Lords venerate the Emperor as the father of the Adeptus Astartes, and Rogal Dorn as the Primarch of the Imperial Fists Legion. The chapter celebrates only one event; Day of Foundation, during which the entire chapter gathers to celebrate its creation. Speeches are made by each of the leading figures of the chapter and the chapter's greatest victories are remembered, and its boldest sacrifices commemorated.

Gene-seed:

The natives of Lorn are warlike, ferocious in battle and known for their courage. They are a proud people and free of any mutation or corruption, and it is this very nature that makes them such ideal candidates for the Star Lords.

The Star Lords gene-seed is derived from the Imperial Fists and therefore is lacking the genetic enhancements of the Sus-an membrane that allows a Space Marine to enter a life-sustaining state of deep sleep and the Betchers gland that allows him to spit a form of corrosive acid. The Star Lords do not see this as a weakness but rather see it as the unique legacy of Rogal Dorn’s sacred gene.

Battle-cry:

Shouted by the Chaplains; “For the Emperor!” and answered by the brethren “For Dorn!”

[Pulse]

Just editing a few bits as we speak, any c&c will be much appriciated as i will be working to iron out many of the creases this IA has. :)

[Tyrannicide]

I like where you're going so far and the Star Lords is one heck of a name, I'll admit, but the article does have some minor problems. Firstly I cannot tell if you'd like to write this in the first or third point of view, you mix the two which makes it slightly confusing in some spots. A few corrections would deal with that easily though. Also I like the fact that you have taken the initiative to name the worlds, system, and first Chapter Master among other things, but I don't like the ring of some of them. It's always good to name items but sometimes it gets a little overboard. That's not the case here but 'Acca' isn't the best choice of name. Feel free to disagree or ignore me if you'd like if I'm coming off like a dick, but this is just my opinion.

 

The Star Lords, once convinced that these people were an excellent source of potential recruits, wasted no time in constructing their fortress monastery deep within the mountainous region in the north.

To me this suggests that something befell the Chapter, or there is more to the sentence. Perhaps taking out the 'once' part, so the sentence reads "The Star Lords, convinced that these people were..." would be a better option.

 

 

The chapter’s ninth company function as the chapters only reserve company and are the permanent guardians of the fortress monastery and defenders of the surrounding home system. Being the only reserve company they are bigger in number than even a Star Lords battle company at close to three hundred strong.

I really like the idea of the Ninth Company acting as the safeguard of the Star Lords home planet and system, but is three hundred really needed, is it that necessary? Even though the Imperium is under siege from the xenos, heretic, and mutant I don't believe the system would be attacked so frequently that three hundred Astartes are needed to guard it. Now possibly a system located on the Eye of Terror's front steps but Atan isn't located near there, if I'm not mistaken? In addition to taking three-hundred Marines, the Star Lords would need that much more time and resources to rebuild themselves if anything were to happen to the Ninth Company. A prime example of my point is in the book Brothers of the Snake, when a single Space Marine is sent to destroy the remnants of a small Dark Eldar raiding party... and - he succeeds. I believe that a standard one-hundred battle brothers would surely get the job done and deal with the tasks of protecting the fortress monastery.

 

 

Only one battle cry has ever been recorded, this is screamed through amplified vox-systems.

 

“You’re going to die!”

I think that the battle-cry is a little too bland and dry. I understand you wanted to go with a more unrounded, tough sounding phrase but it could be much better while still retaining those qualitites. Give it a bit more thought, afterall wouldn't you like the Star Lords to have an original battle cry as opposed to a boring one?

 

 

Hopefully my insight helped a bit, thanks for the entertaining read! :)

[Pulse]

Thanks for replying Darth! :)

 

I like where you're going so far and the Star Lords is one heck of a name, I'll admit, but the article does have some minor problems. Firstly I cannot tell if you'd like to write this in the first or third point of view, you mix the two which makes it slightly confusing in some spots. A few corrections would deal with that easily though. Also I like the fact that you have taken the initiative to name the worlds, system, and first Chapter Master among other things, but I don't like the ring of some of them. It's always good to name items but sometimes it gets a little overboard. That's not the case here but 'Acca' isn't the best choice of name. Feel free to disagree or ignore me if you'd like if I'm coming off like a dick, but this is just my opinion.

I must admit i am a fan of the name Star Lords, hehe. I want to make it third person as a normal IA article would be, but for some reason as you pointed out i keep going into first person, but that will be corrected. Also Acca is just a stand in name for the time being, the chapter will all be named using Anglo Saxon names so i will find the master a better name! :)

 

To me this suggests that something befell the Chapter, or there is more to the sentence. Perhaps taking out the 'once' part, so the sentence reads "The Star Lords, convinced that these people were..." would be a better option.

Good spot, i think i will remove 'once' to make it a bit clearer.

 

I really like the idea of the Ninth Company acting as the safeguard of the Star Lords home planet and system, but is three hundred really needed, is it that necessary? Even though the Imperium is under siege from the xenos, heretic, and mutant I don't believe the system would be attacked so frequently that three hundred Astartes are needed to guard it. Now possibly a system located on the Eye of Terror's front steps but Atan isn't located near there, if I'm not mistaken? In addition to taking three-hundred Marines, the Star Lords would need that much more time and resources to rebuild themselves if anything were to happen to the Ninth Company. A prime example of my point is in the book Brothers of the Snake, when a single Space Marine is sent to destroy the remnants of a small Dark Eldar raiding party... and - he succeeds. I believe that a standard one-hundred battle brothers would surely get the job done and deal with the tasks of protecting the fortress monastery.

I have to agree with you on that, nearly three hundred marines does sound a bit excessive, i will drop it down a tad. Maybe i could move the location of the system closer to the Dominion of Storms? Trouble is i am not sure if the Dominion of Storms is just a huge storm or an actual rip in space, or i might be able to stay the chapter picked the system to control the flow of daemons and other foul things.

 

I think that the battle-cry is a little too bland and dry. I understand you wanted to go with a more unrounded, tough sounding phrase but it could be much better while still retaining those qualitites. Give it a bit more thought, afterall wouldn't you like the Star Lords to have an original battle cry as opposed to a boring one?

Haha Mol picked that out straight away, and then asked "Is this chapter a serious one?" so i guess its not to popular, hehe! I will be changing it though, i am quite tempted to go with the Flesh Tearer theme and have them develop a dreadful wailing cry. Might be a bit to manic though for a IF successor chapter. ;)

[Sigismund Himself]

He brought with him the idea of education, and insisted that the men of the chapter should take time to develop their minds and expand their knowledge, when not in training, on all matters military including recorded tactics of ally and foe.

That would be in training though.

 

Acca also brought to the chapter the teachings of the Primarch Dorn and so instilled on the chapter the knowledge of siegecraft, defensive strategies and fortification building.

Perhaps add this onto the end "...that are unique to the sons of Dorn." The Codex Astartes does have knowledge of siegecraft, defensive strategies and fortification building in it.

 

The people of Enga prove to be incredibly strong and have very good reflexes that allow them to become excellent warriors. Each Kingdom has a fairly large standing army, all well equipped with swords, axes, shields, chainmail and helmets. The Kingdoms are at near constant war with each other, as they vie for resources, land and slaves.

 

The Star Lords, once convinced that these people were an excellent source of potential recruits, wasted no time in constructing their fortress monastery deep within the mountainous region in the north.

Remember that the chapter has to recruit from 14-16 year olds at the latest.

 

 

Larger than life images of the Emperor and Primarchs including the traitor primarchs before their fall, line the walls of the hall, breath taking in their detail they look down on proceedings with grim faces.

Interesting bit with the Traitor Primarchs. Explanation on their inclusion would be good. I can guess why but I want to know the marines' reasons

 

 

The Star Lords follow a very simple method of attack. They open fire with a sustained bombardment utilizing every heavy gun at their disposal. The heavy weapons are aimed at a specific target to devastate the enemy while fast moving unit formations move up and on to enemy positions.

 

Often where a breach has been made in enemy defenses it will be tested by assault parties formed usually of company veterans and supported by devastators. They will probe and open the breach wider so dedicated assault forces can move up.

 

Once assault forces are into the breach the chapter’s heavy armour will then move up in support of the assault forces to add weight of fire to the attack. With the breach held, they then widen the breach and a full attack is ordered, obliterating the defenses.

This just explains their tactics in sieges. Surely they fight in other arenas and have some differences there?

 

 

 

In situations where a tactical retreat would be advised the Star Lords will hold their ground refusing to take even a step backwards. They would rather die than give ground to an enemy.

Sounds rather too like a passage describing the Imperial Fists...

 

The Space Marines of the chapter train ceaselessly for his assigned task.

So marines aren't cross trained but are expected to be perfect at the one task?

 

“You’re going to die!”

Too casual for a Space Marine. "Your death is upon you", "We are your death" and "Let the Emperor judge your deeds" are all more formal and thus better.

 

More expansion and more on what makes them different from the Imperial Fists. Right now they seem a little too much like a chip off the old block.

[Pulse]

Thanks for your imput Sigismund! :(

 

That would be in training though.

I think i will remove the education part out of the origins completely, as you said, it would be in the training anyway.

 

Remember that the chapter has to recruit from 14-16 year olds at the latest.

Yes, thats true. I think i will say the chapter intentionally choose older boys to become aspiratants due to the warriors on the homeworld not being allowed to fight until they are above a certain age, will throw in some challenges as well the young boys need to complete to become selected i think.

 

Interesting bit with the Traitor Primarchs. Explanation on their inclusion would be good. I can guess why but I want to know the marines' reasons

I will also add more detailing of the Emperor and Primarch statues, just need to find a way to word it properly. :)

 

This just explains their tactics in sieges. Surely they fight in other arenas and have some differences there?

I am writing the complete the tactics as i type this. :)

 

Sounds rather too like a passage describing the Imperial Fists...

Also i know it does sound like the Imperial Fists, i will broaden that as well, make it more unique to the Star Lords, hehe.

 

So marines aren't cross trained but are expected to be perfect at the one task?

I think i will keep the marines as "one trick ponies" that way they will be that bit extra skilled in their tasks.

 

The battle-cry will change as i have said. :huh:

 

More expansion and more on what makes them different from the Imperial Fists. Right now they seem a little too much like a chip off the old block.

You'll see some changes fairly soon. Thanks for the input matey, much appriciated! :)

[Pulse]

Ok the second draft is up and to be fair im liking this version a lot. :)

 

Let me know what you think!

[Donkeybomber]

The Star Lords largely stick to the Codex Astartes but with exceptions; being that the companies two through to eight are the battle companies. All of the battle companies have the standard blend of Tactical, Devastator and Assault but the big difference is that each company has one hundred and fifty marines instead of the normal one hundred. This number increase is down to Master Aescwulf , he believes that one hundred marines simply is not enough and so increased the numbers, boosting the tactical squad numbers from six to ten, with two devastator squads and two assault squads.

 

Not bad so far. Um... 10 tactical squads + 2 Dev + 2 Assault = 14 squads =140 marines. Where are the extra 10?

Also, why 300 in the 9th, if all they do is protect the system? Have you considered (and are planning to include) the repurcussions (from the Inquisition) of having 1450 marines plus scouts would cause for the chapter? Oh, why doesn't Master Aescwulf feel that 100 marines is enough? That will be important, and add to some background for his character. And how does one pronounce his name?

 

Donkey

[Pulse]

The extra 10 are the command units, 6 being in the command squad and 4 apothicaries. Should add that bit of into the info.

 

Changed the number from almost 300 to almost 200, the reason the ninth protect the system is that it is incredibly important to the chapter for the amount of resources it has and for the quality of the recruits from Lorn.

 

I could add information of Inquisitorial investigations soon i suppose, would add a bit extra to the IA.

 

Aescwulf is pronounced as A-sec-wulf. :D

[Stad]

Very well done group, esp your custom minis.

 

Of course I got scared with the star lords so close to my Star Guard... but yours is much more cooler!

[Pulse]

Hehe no need to be worried matey, i am sure there are plenty of differences between our chapters.

 

I am currently in the (slow) process of re writing whole sections of this IA, so i will post the changes up when the parts are finished. ;)