A pretty cool idea

[Donkey Kong]

Having a third go at Prototype, I've finally thought of a rather amazing, or at least I think so, idea for a DIY Chapter. Alex Mercer's ability to consume and the feral visions when he consumes the hunters made me come to this idea:

 

The Chapter makes use of the Omophagea, though instead of learning, it's more of taking the instincts of animals. They recruit from feral worlds, more than likely jungles and death worlds where initiation depends on initiates tracking down predators, eating its brain and tolerating the experience. Those who can't go made, kind of like the Wulfen, and become predators on the world. An interesting story can come out of an initiate hunting down and killing a failed, insane initiate, eating their brain and maybe even going mad himself.

 

The marines don't think of themselves as super human, instead they think they're inferior to humanity, more or less being animals who do the Emperor's bidding. In battle, I imagine them being more feline like, stalking the enemy, pouncing when they see an opening and being feral in a fight, sometimes just charging the enemy. Commanders are those who dominate over their brothers, maybe having all out brawls with those who challenge them for leadership.

 

Interpretations I'm having now fluctuate between the battle brothers having the animal from time time they pass initiation to their death to eating the brain on the eve of battles. The latter makes more sense, even though the idea of the scene from Indiana Jones does make me chuckle.

 

Does anyone else think this is an interesting idea? Also, if this comes off as the Space Wolves someone please hit me.

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Does anyone else think this is an interesting idea? Also, if this comes off as the Space Wolves someone please hit me.

 

I think it has potential, though you'd have to limit which influences they pick up from other animals. It would likely be done in a highly ritualistic manner as well being Imperial Space Marines, definitely having a strong tie to the chapter cult, or perhaps even the core of it.

 

And unless the marines have long-shaggy hair and grow wolf-like canines, no I don't think of the Space Wolves when I think of this. Though perhaps leave aside any snowy references.

 

To me this chapter conjures up images more of the other predators, not wolves. A jackals cunning, a crocks patience and the bears strength and aggression. Stuff like that, rather than a single theme if you catch my drift.

[Sigismund Himself]

It's a very cool idea. It's different when people make use of the existing functions of the Astartes organs instead of creating geneseed flaws.

 

How this affects them is something that you could take in lots of different ways. Personally, I'd keep from making them too animalistic. I think making them just a full on Wulfen chapter would be wasting a lot of opportunities to play with some very cool ideas. But that's only my thoughts, I look forward to seeing the product, whichever way you decide to go with them.

 

Maybe if they eat enough of an animal species brain, then with training, they are able to let this animal mind take over from their normal Astartes brain, with their normal thought processes then becoming almost the subconscious thoughts of the brain. This would lead to having all of an animal's ferocity, natural cunning, thought patterns but guided subconsciously by the Astartes thought patterns of friend and foe, obedience to commander and objectives.

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Maybe if they eat enough of an animal species brain, then with training, they are able to let this animal mind take over from their normal Astartes brain, with their normal thought processes then becoming almost the subconscious thoughts of the brain. This would lead to having all of an animal's ferocity, natural cunning, thought patterns but guided subconsciously by the Astartes thought patterns of friend and foe, obedience to commander and objectives.

 

I like this. It's kind of what I was getting at but put much more eloquently and concisely.

 

I think making them just a full on Wulfen chapter would be wasting a lot of opportunities to play with some very cool ideas.

 

Agreed.

 

Also, I appreciate being quoted there Siggy! ;)

[Leonaides]

I dont think the omaphogea works quite like that. AFAIK, the marine can glean information from teh mater he eats, emotion and sense, but there wouldnt be anything to 'take over' his mind... There is a good bit in Space Marine where the new IF initiates all eat meat at a ceremony welcoming them to the chapter. Each is served from a different animal, and they are encouraged to say what they learn from their omaphogea. One of the main characters is a bit surprised when he realises he's eating the brain of a dead human woman, from a feral world, and remembering her hunting... Apparently the IF's always have one new initiate in each batch given human flesh, and it is a sign of great things to be the one who recieves it. At no point do the marines lose their sense of self to the memories - its taken far too much training by now for them to be risked like that. Just imagine - you could turn a whole chapter traitor by spiking their food supply if that was the case.

[Bad Monkey]

really like this idea, you'd need to watch that they can still maintain the order of a chapter, unless you wanna make them renegade.

 

Like others have said be very carful you dont make a wulfen chapter.

 

Just a question though, if they see themselves as less than human...would that mean that they would sacrifice themselves to save mere mortals? if so it could make for a very short lived chapter.

 

It might be an idea to adapt this slightly adapt this, so they see themselves as failures due to thier bestial nature and are on a quest to redeem thier flawed genes in the eyes of the emperor. Just a suggestion you may have different way you want to go

 

Whos the daddy? Hopefully not space pups. IF you go for ultras or anybody else really youd need to find the reason for such a major corruption of the gene seed.

 

This is a really cool idea, look forward to seeing more from it.

[Codex Grey]

I think it is a very cool idea, but I think Leonaides has a point. The Omaphogea just doesn't work that way.

The Chapter makes use of the Omophagea, though instead of learning, it's more of taking the instincts of animals

Sigismund mentions that it's cool when people make use of existing functions of the Astartes organs instead of creating geneseed flaws, and I agree. But I'm not sure this idea is possible without it being a flaw/mutation of the Omaphogea. If that's okay with you, then great, I think it could work as a flaw. If not, maybe the homeworld predators that are hunted during initiation is a very special creature, with a mind like no other animal? I don't know.

 

The marines don't think of themselves as super human, instead they think they're inferior to humanity, more or less being animals who do the Emperor's bidding.

I just don't see the logic here. Why do their ability to use the experiences of animals to be better in combat, make them feel inferior to humanity?

Unless there are other reasons for this belief, which I'm assuming there are. Take a look at Ydalir's Bloodsworn; They view the tranformation into an Astartes as a Sacrifice to Humanity, as they give up their Humanity for an eternal service to the Emperor, which makes all the more sence with all the curses the BA gene-seed brings with it.

 

The quote just gives the impression that it's their feralness that is the reason for this belief, when they can just stop eating animals, if you know what I mean.

 

 

I may be completely wrong on my first point and I may have missunderstood on my second. Either way, I like the idea, and hope that you'll make it work.

[Donkey Kong]

The Omaphogea would have to be flawed, that is correct.

 

GHY, I like the idea of the best traits from various animals ^_^ .

 

Maybe if they eat enough of an animal species brain, then with training, they are able to let this animal mind take over from their normal Astartes brain, with their normal thought processes then becoming almost the subconscious thoughts of the brain. This would lead to having all of an animal's ferocity, natural cunning, thought patterns but guided subconsciously by the Astartes thought patterns of friend and foe, obedience to commander and objectives.

 

This is a great idea SH.

 

if they see themselves as less than human...would that mean that they would sacrifice themselves to save mere mortals?

 

Yes. No. Maybe. Not necessarily in that order.

 

Whos the daddy? Hopefully not space pups. IF you go for ultras or anybody else really youd need to find the reason for such a major corruption of the gene seed.

 

Cute way to ask the question :( . No, not Space Wolves. It'll probably be the Ultramarines or the Imperial Fists, though I have no real idea of how the flaw would come about.

 

I just don't see the logic here. Why do their ability to use the experiences of animals to be better in combat, make them feel inferior to humanity?

 

The idea for the inferiority complex is more from the last line from the Prototype plot, "I am something less than human, but also, something more." Though I may change this.

 

Any name suggestions, I was thinking Locust, but it's not great, and I'm concentrating more on the Death Heads at the moment.

[Guest Mordray]

official fluff flies in the face of conventional DIY wisdom that everyone has pure Geneseed... according to the official fluff most chapters have minor mutations (reduced effectiveness, odd growths...) or have even lost organs entirely... few retain pure gene-seed. there for it doesn't require that much actual fluff work to explain the flawed geneseed but it might require a lot of 'public' education before the board accepts it.

[Sigismund Himself]

I don't know if a geneseed flaw is needed. I think that training could enable marines with the ability to store these memories, almost creating a whole new animal mind within their own and then call on this mind when they need it. Of course, this leads to the question of how this practice started which would be harder to explain without a geneseed flaw.

[Donkey Kong]

So, Marines eat animals, gain their instincts, gain a collective group of the best traits and in battle let the mind take over and follow orders via subconscious input? That actually sounds really, really cool.

I don't know how to really identify the flaw. Would it be a storage of knowledge or a subconscious tainting of the mind. I'd go with the latter which then carries over into the former, does that sound right? It would explain why some of the neophytes go crazy after killing and eating their first predator.

 

It's funny how an entire Chapter is shaping around this one concept.

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

It's funny how an entire Chapter is shaping around this one concept.

 

When creating a DIY it's the simpler, more concise concepts that usually work best. The less complications you have within the core concept the easier it is to shape it and the chapter to fit each other.

 

This is a good project and it looks like it could really go somewhere. Don't over think it though.

 

Would it be a storage of knowledge or a subconscious tainting of the mind.

 

Could be both, or either really. I'd lean more towards both myself.

[#13]

The souldrinkers were said to have a more sensitive Omophagea, so maybe the Imperial fists would be a nice source for the geneseed.

Blood angels might work as well, I can remember reading something about their Omophagea as well. With the black rage and red thirst they're quite feral and also they're supposedly quite humble so you could work off of that.

 

Space wolves have their Fenrisian wolves, you could come up with an intelligent predator for this chapter. I can imagine that if the predator is intelligent, it might be easier to gain access to its thoughts/memories.

[Donkey Kong]

I think a codex chapter with the Ultramarines gene seed would be best. The reason being that I don't want to have a Blood Angel Successor, and there isn't anything much more feral than a Space Marine spitting acid in some poor fellow's face (thus making Imperial Fists not available). I didn't intend on them being stubborn either, probably much better at adapting.

 

A name is still up for debate. Something Eaters, or maybe, Locust (eat everything) or whatever. Suggesting a name or symbol would be very welcome.

 

The cult would centralize around consuming. I think there would be a more limited use on vehicles, I think a more extensive use of bikes and landspeeders instead of anything really heavy. Same for Terminator armor.

 

The animals would probably be a variety though I'm sure there are some notable predators which would attach something like "neophytes who kill it are the most promising."

[#13]

With locusts I get a mental picture of lot's of jump pack marines, I kinda like that name.

Other then that the word ravenous comes to mind, so you could try something like "the ravenous sons" or some such.

 

The World eaters had a great symbol, you could try something like that, but probably it quickly look like the worldeater symbol. Or maybe a skull with something like a sword between its teeth.

[Donkey Kong]

Probably the most difficult thing right now is actually thinking up some kind of animal. I really liked the hunters from Prototype, but I have no idea how a neophyte could expect to kill one, or even how to really describe it.

 

It would need to be an intelligent animal, giving a bit more insight into the cunning ferocity. A pack mentality would be interesting, and I think an even cooler one would be the Fortress standing atop a mountain with jungle standing between the villages and the mountain so initiates go out in groups (or individuals if they're suitably bad :ermm: and suicidal) and those who survive the walk and the climb are inducted into training. They receive implants and when they're ready with the Omaphogea and suitable training they're sent out to kill and eat said animal. Those who can stand the taint return to the Fortress Monastery and those who don't go mad and run off into the jungle or even attack other neophytes.

 

I don't know what colors these guys would have. I see them as one of the few Chapters which makes use of camouflage.

 

Also, with a name like the Locust, would a round set of jaws around a bug be suitable or too Nurgle like? Another funny alternative (maybe even to the extent of being a parody of the Flesh Tearers) would be having the round jaws around an Ultramarine U.

[#13]

I really like that ultramarine U idea. I can definately picture that symbol with some teeth biting down at the bottom of the U. Or alternatively you could take a U and put another upturned U above it so it looks like a set of opened jaws, maybe add some teeth as well.

[Rabidus]

Though used by IG for a name of one of their transports a Chimera is a creature with the traits of several different species -

 

Typically seen in non-human zoology (but also discovered to a rare extent in human beings), a chimera is an animal that has two or more different populations of genetically distinct cells that originated in different zygotes; if the different cells emerged from the same zygote, it is called a mosaicism.

 

Chimeras are formed from four parent cells (two fertilized eggs or early embryos fused together) or from three parent cells (a fertilized egg is fused with an unfertilized egg or a fertilized egg is fused with an extra sperm). Each population of cells keeps its own character and the resulting animal is a mixture of tissues.

 

Just...food for thought.

[Sigismund Himself]

I think calling them the Locusts might be a slight case of over-theming the chapter.

 

Probably the most difficult thing right now is actually thinking up some kind of animal. I really liked the hunters from Prototype, but I have no idea how a neophyte could expect to kill one, or even how to really describe it.

 

It would need to be an intelligent animal, giving a bit more insight into the cunning ferocity. A pack mentality would be interesting, and I think an even cooler one would be the Fortress standing atop a mountain with jungle standing between the villages and the mountain so initiates go out in groups (or individuals if they're suitably bad and suicidal) and those who survive the walk and the climb are inducted into training. They receive implants and when they're ready with the Omaphogea and suitable training they're sent out to kill and eat said animal. Those who can stand the taint return to the Fortress Monastery and those who don't go mad and run off into the jungle or even attack other neophytes.

 

Intelligent, cunning ferocity, pack mentality... Sounds like the good old fashioned wolf to me ;)

 

I'm not sure on the details on recruitment. When are the recruits sent out with their new shiny omophegea to hunt and eat animals? I got the impression that it was before they were made scouts but I wasn't 100% clear.

[Donkey Kong]

A Chimera like animal sounds like an interesting idea.

 

SH, in the draft above they are sent out with the Omophegea after they are inducted into the Chapter but before they are admitted as full scouts. But, it could be changed. I can't seem to find that Creation of a Space Marine article, so this might have to be changed.

 

And yes, the Locust is a bit of an overbearing name. I also thought it was a bit too Chaotic (Nurgle especially).

[Guest Mordray]

I have the chart in my gallery, and access to the RoI article. Was there something specific you needed to know?

[Donkey Kong]

Basically when the Omophegea is implanted? I don't know if a normal human boy could, for lack of better words, handle the implant. Though I'm sure I could have some plot device which would make half the forum hate me :cuss .

[Guest Mordray]

According to this the implant is the phase 8 implant, with the implantation between 14-16 years of age.

[Donkey Kong]

This gives an interesting spin on the whole idea. Mostly about ten year olds navigating their way through the hills and up a mountain (but if Little Red Riding Hood could manage the first part, Death World boys could surely manage the second).

 

It would also make it so that neophytes in training would be the ones who go out for the hunt.

 

A name is up for debate still, though I would prefer to avoid anything involving the word Eaters.

[Bad Monkey]

have you thought about introducing the Omophegea at a much younger age? This could account for the flaw, unless you've decided on the training angle.

 

Also, hows the creepin' quizators gonna see these guys? from the sounds of it thier gonna be circling the drain of heresy with regards to thier view o themselves and humanity.

 

Just some thoughts..

 

Cheers

 

Bad Monkey