IA: Martyrs Vermilion.

[Epistolary Exander]

Below is my first revised draft of my Index Astartes: Martyrs Vermilion. I would appreciate any feedback on the article concerning regarding the quality of the fluff & quality of the writing of the article itself.

 

Through Their Faith.

IA: Martyrs Vermilion.

 

With only their belief in the Great Martyr & their Librarians to the for, the Martyrs have eradicated their enemies from within & without the Imperium. For the chapter’s very beliefs are the Martyrs greatest asset & the chapter’s weakest link…

 

Origins.

The origins of the Martyrs Vermilion chapter has become lost in the anarchy of Imperial history, but the chapter is believed to be an Astartes Praeses chapter. Imperial records show the chapter regularly fighting in the surrounding sectors of the Eye of Terror over the last 4 millennia. Many scholars argue the Martyrs chapter symbol of a crimson eye represents the chapter’s role in guarding against the horrors that assail from the Eye of Terror.

 

Despite the clear link between the Martyrs & the Eye of Terror, there are battlefield reports showing the grey & crimson zealots of the chapter in far flung Imperial systems thousands of light years away from the Eye of Terror. In several of these reports the Martyrs are accompanied by a member of the Emperor’s Inquisition. All the Inquisitors have been identified as being of the fringe Thorian faction.

 

The Martyrs Vermilion are known to be experts in ship to ship boarding actions, exemplary even by the high standards of the their Astartes peers. The Imperial Navy has reported the chapter employing its skill in intercepting & destroying several high profile space hulks in the region around the Eye of Terror.

 

The chapter is currently believed to be heavily deployed against Abbadon’s 13th Black Crusade, untilising the entirety of the Chapters resources in conducting operations against the Despoilers fleet to prevent traitor resupply & reinforcing combat theatres. Unfortunately with the chaos of Despoilers invasion neither the Great Wolf or Lord Castellan Creed have received any word from the Martyrs. The chapter’s highly autonomous nature & the isolation of the Martyrs common deployments make contact with Imperial authorities highly problematic. Although it has been noted by Lord Castellan Creed that the mayhem of the region provides plenty of cover for the chapter’s enemies to maneuver against the Martyrs Vermilion.

 

Homeworld.

It is clear anyone investigating the Martyrs Vermilion that the chapter has no planet it calls home. This is supported by reports of the Martyrs having a large number of fleet assets including forge ships, indicating the chapter is of a crusading nature. The chapter is not known to recruit from any specific world. Despite the high numbers of feral & medieval worlds in the sectors surrounding the Eye of Terror. This suggests the Martyrs take their recruits from the worlds & environments they fight in.

 

The chapter’s proximity to the Eye of Terror has been theorised to explain the Martyrs high numbers of Librarians within the chapter. The sectors around the Eye of Terror are known to Imperial Authorities to have above average rates of psychic mutation with the general populace.

 

Beliefs.

The Martyrs Vermilion is known to have a radical twist to accepted Imperial doctrine. The chapter believes in the divine superiority of mankind over other species. But the Emperor’s chosen form of humanity is that of the psyker. Instead of actively fearing the psychic mutation, the Martyrs actively embrace psykers. Many would say more than any body of Astartes since the Thousand Sons Legion. This radical belief system has had a huge effect of the chapter, actively affecting the chapter’s organisation & combat doctrine.

 

The key to the chapters embrace of psykers is the belief that the Emperor is a God. That the Martyrs believe they must strive to be as close to the God-Emperor as an individually can be. The Emperor is known to be being of immense psychic might & the chapter views pyskers as being the chosen sons of their God.

 

The Martyrs Vermilion refers to the God-Emperor as the Great Martyr. The Martyrs believe the Emperor committed the ultimate act of martyrdom when he slew the arch traitor Horus. The chapter believes this single act saved humanity from the evil of chaos. This created a debt of honour between the Great Martyr & mankind. The chapter’s brethren try to emulate the Great Martyrs martyrdom against the enemies of mankind in an attempt to expunge their debt. The Martyrs believe that Mechanicum illicitly imprisoned the Great Martyr in the Golden Throne, instead of allowing his martyrdom to succeed. This belief is source of tension between the chapter’s brethren & the chapter’s techmarines.

 

The Martyrs hold Astartes librarians as the Great Martyrs chosen subjects his divine angels of retribution. For who can be closer to the Great Martyr than his chosen sons, given the Emperors own flesh to persecute his enemies. Few would argue against this belief, after seeing the fury manifest in each of the chapter’s Librarians. For the Martyrs there is no horror worse than a Chaos Sorcerer, there can be no mercy shown to such a fallen being. This hatred is especially present when the chapter engages members of the Thousand Sons traitor legion.

 

In records of many major engagements show the Martyrs fielding an Emperor’s Champion is present. It has been proposed in some circles of the Inquisition that chapter believes the Black Visions of Emperor’s Champion is the process of the Great Martyr inhabiting the battle brother. This is so he can actively intervene to protect his divine people.

 

The crimson eye chapter symbol is prominent in the chapter’s imagery & beliefs. The crimson eye represents the Martyrs sacred duty to guard against the horrors of the Eye of Terror. The eye also represents the ignorance of common citizens to the dangers & the sacrifices that the Astartes must make to protect them. The eye is also synonymous with chapter’s veterans; every brother who attains the rank of veteran receives an bionic eye.

 

The Martyrs have their weapons painted crimson, this being the colour of red. This depicts the Martyrs holy duty to shed the blood in the name of the Great Martyr. With this often being the blood his enemies, but occasionally the blood of the chapter’s brethren.

 

The chapter’s brethren have a clear disdain for guerilla tactics & refuse to undertake them. Yet the chapter has been known to employ their light skirmish vehicles in these roles. The chapter is able to achieve this because their vehicles are crewed by the chapter surfs. This practice gives individual marines the chance of martyrdom at the hands of their enemies.

 

Combat Doctrine.

“ When they attack, we charge right back. When they dig, we dig them out. When they martyr my warriors, we expunge their cities.” Epistolary-Captain Exander.

 

This quote exemplifies the Martyrs combat doctrine of brutal close quarter fighting to outdo & eradicate the Great Martyrs foes. This ethos leads to swift brutal engagements, where the enemy usually takes excessive casualties. The Martyrs are known to commit this with the use of various assault elements advancing under a fire umbrella provided by mobile fire support.

 

The martyrs have not been observed to deploy their skirmish formations in a lead scout role, traditional to Astartes armoured columns. Instead it is believed the chapter relies on their Librarians precognitive abilities & their foes echo on the warp to locate their enemies.

 

Organisation.

The Martyrs Vermilion have been observed to be a divergent codex chapter. This is because chapter’s beliefs & common combat theatre have influenced the chapter’s unit composition.

 

The Martyrs have 8 battle companies, with no scout company. Each company is responsible for the induction of its own neophytes. This is because each battle company operates autonomously in the surrounding areas of the Eye of the Terror.

 

The bulk of the chapter’s combat strength is made of its zealous assault squads, which are called martyr squads. The Martyrs are known not to use devastator squads, the chapter relies on its scouts & vehicles to provide its fire support elements The Martyrs are known to use codex weapon load outs for its squads.

 

Each battle company has been observed to have its own veteran cadre to provide its captain with an elite warrior element. Despite this the chapter’s 1st Company is the only company which utilises the chapter’s TDA suits.

 

He chapter’s biggest & highest profile departure from the codes astartes is in the chapter’s command structure. The chapter is ruled by exclusively Librarians, fitting in with the chapter’s belief in the supremacy of psykers.

 

For each company of martyrs is lead by an Epistolary-Captain. The chapters’ 1st company forms the personal household of the Chapter Master. This means the Martyrs have no 1st Company Captain. Each Epistolary-Captain is elected from the members of the Librarium. It is very rare for Codicier to be elected to lead one of the chapter’s battle companies.

 

The Martyrs Vermilion Librarium has been amalgamated with the Reclusium. This has meant that the chapters Librarians fulfil the role of the chapter’s chaplains. This means that each company has a Librarian seconded, to it to monitor its spiritual well being & to record the chapter’s deeds. The chapter’s rank & file revere the seconded Librarians within their midst & actively compete to have the Librarian be attached to their squads. The Librarians encourage this, knowing that their brethren will fight all the harder to vanquish the Great Martyrs foes.

 

The highest rank a non-psyker can achieve is to be the Chapter Champion. To achieve this rank a brethren must win a series of ritual combat from the amongst the chapter’s veterans. It is a great honour for a veteran to win the tournament. For the chapter’s Librarians seek the advice of the Chapter’s Champions opinions on many issues.

 

The Martyr’s techmarines are the only members of the chapter’s head quarter staff who are non-psykers & are known to have little influence on chapter policies. The techmarines are ostracized from the bulk of the chapter. This is due to the techmarines affiliation with the Mechanicum, for who the bulk of the chapter holds in contempt. For their part the chapter’s techmarines carry out their tasks in diligent solitude, with the blood red of the Mechanicum on proudly gleaming on their armour.

 

The Martyrs Vermilion are known to have average volume of all vehicles found within the codex astartes, with dreadnoughts being the sole exception to this. The Martyrs Vermilion have only been observed to utilise small numbers of venerable dreadnoughts. This can be accounted for because the all the Martyrs endeavor to commit martyrdom. A marine cannot accomplish this goal if he is to be incarcerated with a dreadnought sarcophagus. The Martyrs dreadnoughts are known to be bitter but logical individuals, lacking the fervant faith of the general chapter. This is because the incumbant marines are from the time before the chapter developed its radical beliefs. It can only be imagined how the Martyrs dreadnoughts have handled being awoken to see their beloved chapter decend into witch worshipping zealots.

 

The chapter is known to have a large number of chapter surfs for which the chapter uses to crew its vehicles & to man its extensive fleet. It is a the greatest honour for a serf to be crew the chapters vehicles, to carry & support their masters in the holy task of exterminating the Great Martyrs enemies.

 

The Martyrs are known to have a high number of fleet of assets. With numerous escort vessels, several strike cruisers & the 2 battle barges His Will & Crimson Death. All observations of the His Will indicate the vessel is comparable in size & ability to the ancient vessel the Eternal Crusader of the Black Templars chapter. It is clear that the Martyrs operate His Will in the same fashion as the Eternal Crusader is employed. The His Will being the Martyrs Vermilion Fortress Monastery.

 

Geneseed.

There is no surviving record from which chapter the Martyrs Vermilion were sired from, but it clear that the chapter is from of the lineage of Rogal Dorn. The Martyrs are known to field an Emperor’s Champions, along with the chapter’s extremely stubborn nature are a common traits that are found in Dorn’s progeny. This would indicate that the Martyrs are likely to be founded from the Imperial Fists or Crimson Fists.

 

It is known that the Martyrs Vermilion geneseed is highly stable & has no noticeable signs of mutation. It is believed that the Martyrs lake the zygotes for the Sus-an Membrane & the Betchers Gland.

 

The chapter’s brethren quest for martyrdom has been attributed by some scholars to their heritage. The act of martyrdom can be viewed as the absolute act of self-harm. If this theory is true, it would mean that all of Dorn’s progeny have slightly mutated geneseed.

 

 

Battlecry.

“Bye His Will”.

 

The Eye & the Talon.

By far he most famous combat action of the Martyrs Vermilion occurred in early M37 & has been dubbed by Imperial historians as Battle of Bleeding Talons. The Battle of Bleeding Talons was the final battle of the Regen 5 Heresy & was fought between Imperial Forces of the Blaxus Prime & Renegade Frozen Talons Astartes Chapter. The Battle of Bleeding Talons was fought over the Forge World of Blaxus Prime. Blaxus Prime is one of the Mechanicum’s main fabricator of warships for the Adeptus Astartes, producing ships for dozens of chapters.

 

The Regen 5 Heresy began when the Chapter Master Nashgad of the Frozen Talons led his chapter in campaign of carnage against Imperial worlds of the Blaxus Sub-Sector. After a year of butchery the Frozen Talons arrived within the Blaxus System. Spearheaded by their battle barges Bloodied Talon & Claw of Dominion, the Frozen Talons launched their assault straight for the primary shipyard. The planetary defenses proved to be no match for the brutal power of the Frozen Talons fleet. The renegade Astartes began orbital drops to neutralise the planets ground defenses.

 

In his arrogance Nashgad removed the Bloodied Talon & Claw of Dominion away from the battle towards the most constructed vessels at anchor. As the Frozen Talons battle barges lowered their shields to begin the transfer of personnel that the traitor vessels became lit to the cosmos with dozens of explosions across their Port sides. Epistolary-Captain Exander powered up the venerable Battle Barge Prodigal & commenced a devastating attack on the renegade vessels. The Claw of Dominion bore the brunt of Exander’s fury, receiving several hits from the Prodigal’s bombardment cannon. With its shields down the Claw of Dominion was severely crippled & forced to disengage to escape the righteous salvo.

 

Nashgad commanded the Bloodied Talon to come about to target Prodigal, but to his fury he found that his ship was unable to maneuver. Exander had initiated a boarding action with a series of teleports & a wave of boarding torpedoes, which saw the Martyrs board the Bloodied Talon’s aiming for ship’s engineering section. Foreseeing his demise Nashgad & his retinue fought their way to the Bloodied Talon’s launch bays & the salvation of the Claw of Dominion.

 

With the loss of their commander & their flagship the remnants of the Frozen Talon’s fleet broke from Blaxus Prime orbit & fled the system. This cowardly act stranded their ground forces to the wrath of the Martyrs & the Mechanicum’s skitarii. Instead of pursuing the fleeing traitor fleet Exander claimed the Bloodied Talon by right conquest renaming her Crimson Death. The Mechanicum protested against this action, demanding that the Bloodied Talon be given over as compensation against the carnage from Frozen Talons actions. Exander mindful of the Mechanicum’s false imprisonment of the Great Martyr ignored them & withdrew to meet the rest of the Martyrs Vermilion fighting against Waaagh Gorgitz.

 

Allies & Enemies.

Over the Martyrs Vermilion illustrious history, the chapter is known to have developed an enmity with a few notable adversaries.

 

The Martyrs have formed an intense rivalry with their cousins the Black Templars. The 2 chapters are known to have a mutual loathing for each other, created by the Templars hatred of Psykers. To the Templars the Martyrs are an anathema to the purity of the Emperors Astartes & should be cleansed immediately. Whenever the Martyrs meet the Templars, the champion of either force face each other in ritual combat. This fight is always vicious with no quarter given, as the champion not only fights for than the honour of their chapter, they fight to for the Great Martyrs favour.

 

The Martyrs Vermilion have frequently clashed with the forces of the Biel Tan Eldar Craftworld, led by an unidentified Farseer. The Martyrs have intervened in a series of raids conducted by Eldar ground forces against isolated Imperial outposts of the Gloom Worlds. Each contact between the 2 forces is keenly contested with the Martyrs successfully pushing the Eldar back into the webway. More importantly to their chagrin no Martyrs Librarian has been able to slay the Farseer to date.

 

The Martyrs Vermilion most prominent foe is the traitor Frozen Talons chapter, with a blood feud consuming hundreds of marines & fleet assets from both chapters. The Martyr’s have successfully hunted down & eliminated several Frozen Talon warbands over the last 4 millennia. The Martyrs success has cost the chapter dearly with many of its marines being martyred in the process of these victories. The feud has not been entirely one sided with the Martyrs suffering horrendous losses in the notorious battle, Nashgad’s Revenge.

 

Despite the above examples, not all of the Martyrs enemies are to found on the battlefields as the chapter would wish. The chapter’s unorthodox beliefs have brought it into conflict with various influential members of the Inquisition & the Ecclesiarchy, which like the Black Templars abhor the Martyrs & the ideals the chapter represents. These powerful elements actively conspire to bring about the chapter’s demise for doctrinal heresy. The single reason the Martyrs Vermilion has not been declared Excommunicate Traitoris is because of the efforts of the Eregon Cabal.

 

This group of Thorian Inquisitors has a symbiotic relationship with the Martyrs. The 2 factions from a natural foil each other, with many over lapping beliefs in their doctrines. The Eregon Cabal strives to counter the threat of Excommunicate Traitoris to the Martyrs within the Inquisition. The Martyrs provides a powerful military assistance to any Eregon Inquisitor when a threat demands Astartes attention. The Martyrs Librarians frequently commit considerable resources to the Eregon Cabal, sending companies to far-flung corners of the Imperium with these shadowy individuals.

 

Thanks for your time reading the article.

 

Exander.

[Epistolary Exander]

I am wondering if I achieved my goals of expressing the Martyrs zealous nature and how their deviant beliefs affect them. I am trying to show how their beliefs are the chapters greatest asset, but the potentially thier greatest weakness. This should be the entire crux of the article & the chapter.

 

Exander.

[Ace Debonair]

Well, that was a long read.

Interesting though. :D

 

But I couldn't spot anywhere in the text that alluded to the religious fervor of the Martyrs being a weakness.

 

Also I have a funny feeling that marine-vs-marine stuff is frowned upon. At least, if it goes to the death, which your one certainly appears to.

 

I also don't see why the geneseed isn't pinned down. Having it lost in the records doesn't really add much to the chapter, but picking one and making it known will, if nothing else, attract more attention from people. Since you've also stated they're sons of dorn, it's not going to require much of a change, either. :)

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Also I have a funny feeling that marine-vs-marine stuff is frowned upon. At least, if it goes to the death, which your one certainly appears to.

 

Depends how frequent it is. If it's a serious infraction or grievance between two marines I can easily see the more brutal and tribal cults of the Astartes allowing it, even encouraging it. So long as the grievance is severe enough to warrant the 'to the death' caveat.

 

However, religious fervor in the Imperium is more associated with the Imperial Church (Ecclisarchy). They differ from the Astartes main line of faith which is that the Emperor was the greatest man to have ever lived and a distant paternal link, rather than the god of mankind that the church preaches. This creates friction.

 

Some few chapters do dovetail with the Ecclisarchy and follow the same belief system. What do you mean by religious fervor? You can't get more fanatical or zealous than the Black Templars for example. Skimming through I didn't see a Beliefs section either.

 

This zealousness is a definite weakness for the Black Templars, forgoing some more mainstream (and noticeably more intelligent) methods of warfare, preferring to mix it up in hand to hand as their beliefs dictate.

 

To put it succinctly, clarification is needed.

 

The Allies & Enemies section is rather unneeded. It's a very basic way to shoe-horn your chapter into the 40k universe by linking them to official organizations and places. We don't need to know any of that, we can geuss as to who their biggest rivals and enemies would be if you are able to get the chapters character, their 'feel' across properly.

 

I know that a very knightly chapter is going to have real trouble getting along with the Flesh Tearers just because their two personalities don't mix well, the same can be said for the rivalry between the Dark Angels and the Space Wolves. Sure there is a lot of fluff about it, but thats because they are GW chapters and as such can be as overbearingly cliche as they like. However, the character of the two chapters is ripe to create strife between them at any meeting if you know even a little bit about them.

 

The reader does not need to have their friends and enemies listed, they don't want to know what the chapter thinks of another chapter or a certain xenos foe. The DIY IA is there to tell you about that chapter, about who they are and how they make their mark in the universe. While friends and enemies seems like a good way to cement this, it's not. It's too much of what is essentially needless information.

 

Some things are best left to the imagination, this is one of them.

[Imperialis_Dominatus]

Some good concepts here. It will be good to see this fleshed out.

 

You have two names at the top- Crimson Martyrs and Martyrs Vermillion. I know this is supposed to be Gothic and then High Gothic but stick to one, it's more focused that way.

 

Why do they have lost records? What does this add to them?

 

You have a few things mentioned or explained in the article twice- the symbol's significance (which is consistent) and the way the Emperor's Champion is chosen (which is not, see below).

 

Why the twist in their faith that venerates psykers? This would most fittingly be a result of the cult of their home world permeating their ranks, but you need to elucidate. Indeed, why the twist on their faith at all? Most Astartes believe the Emperor is not a god, you need to have an explanation as to why your Chapter believes differently.

 

I like the conflict with the Mechanicus, and the reason why- they believe the Mechanicus is keeping Him on Terra tied to this realm. Very cool. How does this affect the Chapter's relations with the Mechanicus? How do they fare requesting equipment that's difficult to replace? How does Mars treat their Techmarine aspirants? In what way do they support (or decline to support) the Mechanicus in battle? Why haven't the Techmarines gone rogue?

 

Why the specific hate for Thousand Sons? And if you must have an Allies and Enemies section, why aren't they there?

 

There are distinct similarities in their organization with the Black Templars but they are posited to be from the Crimson or Imperial Fists. Why is this? It's not that there's no feasible explanation, it's that you need to come up with one and include it.

 

Does the act of allowing Serfs to crew Land Speeders and the like impair the performance of those vehicles?

 

Cool quote, though are you sure you mean 'expunging' cities? Does your Epistolary-Captain mean to extinguish them?

 

Is the First Company also required to handle its own Scouts?

 

Is the Emperor's Champion chosen by ritual combat with other veterans or the visions he has?

 

Overall this could use a little work on organization, grammar, and clearer explanations or elimination of repetition.

 

The painter will also allow you to cook up a picture of a Space Marine in this Chapter's colors, which would really help put a face to them.

[Epistolary Exander]

Thanks for all the feedback. I will try to answer all the points & I will edit the IA in detail when I have more time.

 

The key thing to the Martyrs is their beliefs, in my head their beliefs are similiar to the templars except they love psykers because of the chapters worship to the Emperor. This is a very radical belief system which would grate a lot of powerful people within the Imperium. Chapters & other institutions have been perscuted to destruction because of deviant belief systems. The Martyrs face the constant threat of being wipped out because of their beliefs, its onlt because of the efforts of the Eregon Cabal that keep the chapter safe.

 

I originally chose the Crimson Fists as the founding chapter, but I removed this when I edited the 1st draft. No codex chapter would allow itself to sire such a radical chapter & Imperial authorities would not choose to found a body with such dangerous beliefs. The Martyrs would develop their beliefs over time into what they are today; the Martyrs would of lost their founding name over time, replacing it with the Martyrs Vermilion. This would mean that Imperial records would show who the Martyrs were sired from.

 

The Martyrs & the Templars fued is there to show how dangerous the Martyrs beliefs are to the chapter, its there to function like a red shirt. When you get 2 zealots of differing beliefs mixing, it often leads to conflict as is shown in todays world. It would be easy for the both chapters to come to blows & as both chapters are willing to die for their beliefs, the combat would likely end with a death.

 

The general purpose of the Allies & enemies section is to help express the peril that the chapter faces over its deviant beliefs.

 

The chapter has a functional relationship with the mechanicum. The Martyrs need their techmarines & the Mechanicum to exist & to fight the Great Martyrs enemies. The 2 sides have to tolerate each other, the Martyrs have agreements with the Mechanicum since the chapters founding for which both sides have to honour.

 

There is a Beliefs section.

 

I have the different article title in the same vein as the GW IA articles of old.

 

I have images of the chapter marines on my desktop using the painter. I will add images of the chapter when I have painted up more Martyrs which will go into the final article.

 

The Thousands Sons were in the Allies & Ememies section in the 1st draft. I dropped them feeling that it wouldnt add anything to the article as I had mentioned the hatred already in the Beliefs section.

 

Only the battle companies recruit scouts. A veteran marine have to progress to the 1st company before he can fight for the right to the chapter champion, which is the highest position they can achieve.

 

The process of how a marine becomes an Emperor's Champion is from the Black Visions, as said in the Templars codex. Before 4th ed all Imperial Fist successor chapters had the ability to field Emperor's Champions, its from this that I use as evidence to support the theory of the Martyrs being an Imperial Fist successor.

 

The quote. The Martyrs hate all enemies of the mankind, believing in mankinds divine superiority. The chapter wants to cleanse all of the Great Martyrs enemies from existance. I feel the quote is quite fitting for this.

 

I hope this answers the above critisms, both positive & negative.

 

Exander.

[Epistolary Exander]

 

Above is an example of a typical veteran of the Martyrs Vermilion chapter. I hope this helps brings the Martyrs to life more.

 

Exander.

[Ace Debonair]

I originally chose the Crimson Fists as the founding chapter, but I removed this when I edited the 1st draft. No codex chapter would allow itself to sire such a radical chapter & Imperial authorities would not choose to found a body with such dangerous beliefs. The Martyrs would develop their beliefs over time into what they are today; the Martyrs would of lost their founding name over time, replacing it with the Martyrs Vermilion. This would mean that Imperial records would show who the Martyrs were sired from.

It doesn't say anywhere (except in your own head) that the Martyrs Vermillion have to be so radical from the outset. Perhaps they were influenced early on by some event or other, but began existence as a fairly codex-adherent chapter, or what have you.

You also talk about how they develop their beliefs over time, which is exactly what I'd suggest as a cure to the unsure geneseed problem.

I think all of us have an idea for at least one 'unknown geneseed' chapter, but to my mind it's more compelling if you have a solid, chosen parent chapter to compare your DIY marines to.

 

Feel free to ignore anything I've said at your leisure. ;)

[Epistolary Exander]

For the Martyrs developed their beliefs over the centuries after the chapter was founded, slowly loosing its codex organisation & combat doctrine. It would be a slow process happening over decades if not centuries after the chapters initial founding. Ive tried to hint at this process in the updated discriptionof the Martyrs dreadnoughts.

 

The Martyrs are an Imperial Fist successor. Im thinking it would be appropriate for them to be founded directly from the Imperial Fists & not the Crimson Fists. This is because the Crimson Fist marines are more psychologicially balanced individuals, while the Imperial Fists marines are known to still actively punish themselves with the pain gloves. It is much more likely that the Martyrs would develop their beliefs if they already had the biased views of the Imperial Fists.

 

The reason why I havent named the Martyrs successor chapter is that the chapters identity & heraldry have changed from their initial founding. It makes sense that that the Martyrs initial name & founding chapter would have been lost in the chaos of Imperial History. I can see why having a named successor chapter would give a basis for comparison, to show how much the chapter has diverted from the codex.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Exander.

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Above is an example of a typical veteran of the Martyrs Vermilion chapter. I hope this helps brings the Martyrs to life more.

 

I see no image. Did you remove it or a link to it?

[Epistolary Exander]

I tried to upload an image I created on painter, but Im having problems loading it up. The link below should bring up the image.

 

http://bolterandchainsword.com/sms.php?bpe...amp;spr2=533B1C

 

The image below is an example of a Martyrs Termie

 

http://bolterandchainsword.com/tsm.php?hdt...;grid=TRUE&.

 

Hope these 2 images help to bring the Martyrs to life.

 

Exander.

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

The Marine works fine and looks good.

 

The Termie is a load of gibberish. Perhaps try and see if you've mistyped the link, or create a new one.

[Epistolary Exander]

Ive checked the termie link, its working fine.

 

Exander.

[Dazzo]

Whats their chapter symbol, I know its an eye but what type of eye?

And why Martyrs Vermillion and not Vermillion Martyrs, its generally somthing something martyrs or martyrs of...sorry its just not grammatical and its bugging me :D

[Epistolary Exander]

The eye symbol is based on the eye of ra below. The is the same crimson colour as tha armour trim & weapons. The bits of the symbol which is not part of the eye are removed to form the Martyrs chapter symbol.

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm.../18/Eyeofra.png

 

I know the name Martyrs Vermilion is not gratically correct, but it has a nice ring to it.

 

Hope that helps.

 

Exander

[Dazzo]

Which bits are removed, the brow bit and the lashes?

[Epistolary Exander]

The chapter symbolhas the lashes & the brow are both removed to the leave outline of the eye. The eye is then similiar to the eye of tzeentch.

 

Thanks for the image, its good.

 

Exander.

[Dazzo]

Ok easy enough to fix, is the outline red as I have done or is the white bit of the eye red and the outline black?

[Epistolary Exander]

The eye outline & the attached pupil are both crimson. The field inside is grey like the rest of the armour.

 

Thanks. Exander

[Dazzo]

Ok Ive updated the image above, hopefully ive got right this time :devil:

[Epistolary Exander]

Cheers, that is perfect.

 

Exander.