The Dark Swords 2.0 Discussion Topic

[CantonWC]

Hello everyone! This is CantonWC, returning to the fold after a very long absence. For those of you who don’t remember me (which is probably everyone) I’ll have to reintroduce myself.

 

My name is CantonWC, but my preferred name which I use everywhere else is Mysterioso. I’m a college student, studying English, blah blah blah. I’ve been a fan of Warhammer 40k for as far back as I can remember, but not a big enough fan it seems to pick an army and play. It never seems like there’s a good time – not enough time, not enough money. Fortunately you don’t need to invest any money in a good story, merely a lot of time.

 

I came onto these boards about a year ago (and was lurking long before that) hoping to write up and create a SM Chapter that I could truly call my own. Unfortunately for various reasons the project stalled. I lost interest in 40k for a while – it seems like a cyclic thing. I got quite interested in the other game offered by Privateer Press – I hope I don’t get lynched for that comment <_< . And of course there’s that thing called real life.

 

Anyway, I’m back and hopefully I won’t up and disappear for months like last time. I’m likely somewhat rusty with my 40k lore, so I’m not going to launch into a first draft right away. Instead I’m going to do something a little different as I slowly ease myself back into the business of writing and hopefully finishing an original work. This topic will be my personal sounding board; I’m going to go through everything one step at a time. Their name, where they live, how they fight, what they believe. I’ll write whenever I can, whatever comes to mind; initial thoughts, thoughts stemming from those thoughts, random tidbits and non-sequitars. Readers (that’s you guys) can respond however you like. Constructive criticism, counterpoints, fire and brimstone, gushing accolades, whatever, everything helps. I don’t expect anyone to write this for me, but the odd suggestion, pointing out overlooked plot holes or liabilities will be immensely appreciated.

 

I think it’s important that I also define the mission statement for this thread, so I have a benchmark or goal to work towards. It’s a bit of a doozy though; my goal is to write a Chapter that is as fleshed out as possible I don’t want to just write an IA: I want to know these men, what they’re like, how they behave, how they conduct themselves, on and off the battlefield, how they see the world around them and how this shapes their views. I want them to be as real as possible. The end result would be a solid platform from where I can launch into fanfiction. It’s a lofty goal to be sure, but I think it’s an ingrained weakness of mine; I always plan ahead and get a little ambitious. After seeing only a small sample of some of the great fanfiction out there, I want to be able to make something that will make people go “Damn, that is cool.”

 

Before cutting this off I should not forget to actually introduce my Chapter. They are the Dark Swords, and they descend from the Raven Guard. Their overall theme is reminiscent of modern day Special Forces (SAS, Delta Force, etc.)

[Ferrata]

Okay, you might want to look at reading some other Raven Guard DIY chapters (use this and search for Corax). Next, if you want this more to be a "watch me whilst I build a chapter", a blog might be more suited. A thread is fine, and can easily work, but as the fatman said to the skinny cow - give us more meat!

[CantonWC]

A thread is fine, and can easily work, but as the fatman said to the skinny cow - give us more meat!

 

All in good time, Ferrata. All in good time.

[CantonWC]

What's in a name?

 

I think as a useful first exercise it would be helpful to break down the Chapter name, ‘Dark Swords,’ and see what we can learn about them from their name alone.

 

First word, “dark.” Dark brings to mind a number of things; nightfall, shadow, gloom, something hidden or sinister, fear of the unknown, of things skittering in the corners of the eyes. The Dark Swords are in a sense “dark”; I do not think of them as being a strictly stealthy Chapter, although some members do engage heavily in stealth and covert operations and this is recognized as a valuable and integral component of their combat doctrine. The enemy may know they are there if they have fought the Swords before, they just won’t know when and where they will strike, and when they do it is with such speed and fierceness that the enemy is a dealt a crippling blow; even if the enemy survives they are too hurt, off-balanced, or ill-positioned to retaliate while the Swords easily regroup for another attack.

 

Many Chapters I have noticed tend to behave in a certain manner; the image of the axe-crazy techno-knight, as I like to put it (although I say so lightly). The Swords are not like that. They are modeled after the popular image of modern day Special Forces; they are cool-headed, disciplined and precise in everything they do. They do not plant their banners into the ground and loudly proclaim their appearance; they prefer to be a bit more subtle. They will move in, accomplish their objectives as quickly and efficiently as possible, and then move on. Dark Swords are taught to despise superfluous talk and empty boasting; they only speak when they have something of value to say. They have somewhat of a mysterious air about them, but they are not so much secretive and insular as they are introverted and contemplative. If one wishes to speak with them, however, they can have much to say, and often far more than the listener would care to hear.

 

“Sword.” Swords are of course an important fixture in myth and popular culture, being the typical weapon of the hero, as a weapon of prestige, of the upper class or warrior elite, etc. I thought of swords in relation to other weapons, like axes and hammers. One gives connotations of wildness and savagery, the other of slow but absolute crushing power. A sword is neither, being well-balanced for attack and defense. The Swords are technically not balanced, being light on heavy vehicles and heavy support, but they believe their unrivalled mobility and redeployment capabilities grant them unparalleled tactical flexibility… and so far, it’s worked out pretty well for them. When I think of the Dark Swords I think of something like a rapier; graceful and elegant (as much as Space Marines are allowed to be, that is), yet can kill with a single well-aimed thrust through the enemy’s vitals. They can be patient and methodical, whittling away the enemy’s defenses with a thousand cuts before striking them down – or they can slice them in half with one cut, whichever works best.

 

Taken together, the name “Dark Swords” said aloud is very short, simple, and straight to the point, something that I think would appeal very much to these Marines’ attitudes.

[CantonWC]

Why Corax and the Raven Guard?

 

I feel it’s important to explain why I chose to build a Raven Guard successor, as it informs some of the Chapter’s character.

 

First off I really like the Raven Guard, if that isn’t already apparent enough. I love their “style,” the general feel they give off and the battle tactics they employ. It certainly saves me the effort of writing about where the Dark Swords get their attitude and combat doctrine, because they simply inherit it from their forebears. I have noticed that GW often seems to imply that Space Marines usually take the “honor before reason” route, something that I think does not really apply to the Raven Guard and not a path I want my Chapter to go.

 

Second I feel that the Ravens are a bit of an underdog Chapter. You see books about the Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Ultramarines, Grey Knights, but no love for the Ravens. We all get a good sense of what the other Primarchs and their Legions are like, but I don’t get that same feeling for the Ravens. There is so much unexplored territory to write about.

 

Let’s start with gene-seed. This is one of the most interesting aspects of the Ravens and certainly the most tragic. Corax is the only Primarch that deliberately screwed around with forbidden techniques in a desperate attempt to rebuild his legion during the Horus Heresy. That right there is a great plot hook right off the bat. Maybe Corax had no choice, either he went ahead with the zygote acceleration program or the Legion died out. Maybe it was a desperate and foolhardy move to get his Legion back into the fight, a decision clouded by emotion and unworthy of the great Primarch. Or maybe it was a noble but terrible sacrifice, a short-term gain with long-term consequences too awful to bear thinking about. It was a move motivated by Corax’s loyalty to the Emperor, the conviction that his Imperium should not fall and be left to the mercy (or lack thereof) of the Traitor Legions. And who knows, maybe Corax’s decision to go ahead with the gene acceleration put enough Ravens in the right places at the right time and they turned the tide in enough battles to prevent a greater disaster. It’s really quite debatable.

 

The rank and file of the Dark Swords likely won’t know about what Corax did, and perhaps it’s best they didn’t. But since the gene-seed is corrupted they will feel it in their bodies, and they won’t know why. And the higher ranking Marines and leadership will certainly know, and who knows how many nights they spend thinking about it?

 

That’s the kind of conflict I want to write about. I will come back when I have thought more about what it means to have a corrupted gene-seed, and the effect it could have on an individual basis.

[Ace Debonair]

Modern Day Special Forces, huh?

 

A novel idea, and from what I have read so far it appears you have the literary skill to spin such a tale.

Heck, anyone who can get all that text out of the name Dark Swords has got some writing talent, simple as that. :P

 

But that Special Forces stuff might be a tricky path to tread here.

What will make this chapter, as noted in the post before, is the inbuilt tragic weakness of the Raven Guard. I really like the spin you've put on that, and I'd focus a little on that as far as an IA goes.

Special forces, however, are generally portrayed as having no weaknesses. Which automatically translates as better-than-other-chapters, which I think you probably want to avoid.

 

And if you want to put together a great platform to write stories from, you really should make an IA for these guys. It's a great introduction to the chapter, where they come from, what they're like, and so forth.

 

I too know the terrible perils of ambition - I tried to write four IA's at once, something I failed to do spectacularly since real life got in my way.

I look forward to seeing which direction you take with this chapter.

[CantonWC]

Someone else has replied, I do not feel so alone! :no:

 

I too share your concern that I might accidentally make my Chapter into an army of Marty Stus, it's a common pitfall of aspiring writers. I feel this Spec Ops theme deserves a more detailed explanation.

 

Basically I already consider the Space Marines in general to be like the special forces of the Imperium, it's just that they tend not to act this way. They act more like crusading knights. I envision the Dark Swords as being somewhat of a foil for the typical SM chapter; they tend to behave and fight in a way that they believe reflects the Emperor's original intention - an elite, disciplined and professional fighting force, a rapid strike force that moves in, gets the job done and moves on.

 

So in that respect I don't think of them as being necessarily better than other Chapters, they're certainly good at their style of warfare but other Chapters have their specialties. The Swords believe in a high speed, hit and run, surgical strike philosophy, they don't really care for protracted conflicts and siege warfare since Imperial Guard can do that and do it better, so if they get pinned down in a defensive position or if they can't use their mobile elements they could be at a disadvantage.

 

EDIT: What I mean to say is that the Swords have a slightly different mindset than most Chapters, but their physical capacity is more or less the same. It's how they choose to apply their capabilities that makes the difference.

[CantonWC]

Gene-seed

 

Onto gene-seed. This writing will delve a bit more into speculation; I’m basically throwing out ideas for you all so please post your thoughts and tell me what you think is on the mark and what isn’t.

 

First let’s go over what is known. We know that the Raven Guard have lost the Betcher’s gland and Mucranoid. We also know that the Melanochrome has mutated slightly, making Marines dark-haired and pale-skinned, like their Primarch. Beyond that, all we know is that the gene-seed is heavily degraded.

 

So from what is explicitly stated, we can conclude that the Dark Swords successor chapter will need sun block or some other safety measure for operating in high-radiation environments :P But wait! The Imperial Fists have also lost two gene-seed implants, but their gene-seed is noted as being stable. The Raven Guard lost two and have a minor mutation in a third, but theirs is degraded. Why is this?

 

My theory/speculation/explanation/interpretation is that most or nearly all of the Dark Swords’ gene-seed will be mutated to some degree, even the gene-seed considered usable will have some minor mutations, and some gene-seed considered “safe” may develop complications later down the line. This means almost every Marine will have problems with one or more organs. The “bad” gene-seed will likely show up early and claim the lives of the recipients or otherwise render them unusable, and attrition takes more candidates, so in the end turnover will obviously be very low.

 

Mutations could possibly range from harmful (as in, will lead to the painful death or disability of the recipient) to reduced effectiveness in an implant to completely harmless to perhaps even beneficial. So, to do some quick thought experiments:

 

The Ossmodula either making the recipient’s bones extremely brittle (basically the opposite of what it’s supposed to do) and basically making the candidate ineligible for service as a Space Marine, OR making the recipient’s skeleton virtually indestructible.

 

Larraman’s Organ either creating a hemophilia-like condition or being super-charged to the point where it provides Wolverine-style instantaneous tissue regeneration (hey put down the pitchforks, I’m not planning on making Marty Stu Marines).

 

Lyman’s Ear either making the Marine deaf or interfering with his balance or making his hearing so sharp and sensitive it would necessitate a sensory deprivation device in his helmet.

 

Catalapsean Node either interfering with a Marine’s sleep patterns to completely eliminating the need for sleep.

 

The Occulobe either inducing blindness or enhancing vision far beyond its normal capabilities, even allowing the recipient to see in multiple spectra (?).

 

The Omophagea either being a complete dud and doing nothing to mutating in such a manner that it would allow the recipient to access the genetic memories of those Marines who had come before him, whose progenoids had been passed down from one to the other to the recipient, a la Assassin’s Creed. Could be useful as a plot point.

 

So, on one end of a spectrum, we have the failed candidates who wash out early. Then we have the normal rank and file, who have one or more organs suffering from reduced effectiveness or are completely dysfunctional but otherwise carry on as they normally would. Then, on rare or semi-rare occasions, we have a Marine who exhibits a completely pure and stable gene-seed that seemingly comes out of nowhere. These Marines would be said to be marked for greatness or something like that, and the Apothecaries would carefully keep watch over him, because he would represent a chance to restore the Chapter’s gene-seed. Then, just so we don’t leave him out, all the way on the other side would be a literally one in a trillion possibility of a Marine receiving beneficial mutations to ALL his implants, transforming him into a kind of Ubermensch Chuck Norris Marine. I say so mostly in jest, but perhaps he could work as a semi-mythical Chapter Master in the Chapter’s past history who would split mountains in half and reduce aliens to cinders with the force of his stare alone.

 

The effects of these random gene-seed mutations, should we choose to go with them as they are, would be widespread.

 

Recruitment and training would be affected. The Swords are fleet-based and will be recruiting from a number of different worlds. The candidates they select must be the best of the best, physically and mentally strong; their training must be especially stringent and harsh because the Swords have to be sure that their candidates can survive on the battlefield. Every loss they take is that much harder to replace, so every potential candidate is a significant investment, more so than other Chapters.

 

Organization is going to be slightly affected. There will have to be more Apothecaries per Company, or one Apothecary and several “junior” Apothecaries. The Apothecaries would do what they normally do (monitor genetic health and perform field surgeries) but the extra Apothecaries would help take the strain off of dealing with multiple Marines and allowing for more individual attention. Overall the Apothecaries will likely have a much larger role in the Chapter, not just maintaining the Chapter’s health and performing field surgery. I think it would be nice to explore the Apothecaries in greater depth since it seems to me that Techmarines, Chaplains and Librarians tend to get more exposure.

 

Combat philosophy would not necessarily be affected so much as reinforced. The Swords cannot needlessly waste Marines. Ever. In battle they are patient, cautious and methodical, seeking out the most efficient and logical solution to defeating the enemy, though when the opportunity presents itself they strike without hesitation. The Swords abide by the philosophy of using minimum force to achieve maximum effect, doing only what is necessary to deal the most damage to the enemy while preserving Marine lives.

 

Last and maybe most importantly, what they believe will be affected. I can’t imagine the Swords going about their business and being particularly happy if they know that there is something wrong with them, if they begin to believe that they are in essence inferior Marines. They need to believe that genetic purity is not the full measure of a Space Marine, that a Marine can define himself by the work he does for the Emperor’s cause and for the good of humanity in spite of his in-built weaknesses; that it is possible to conquer the odds rather than allowing his weaknesses to control his fate and determine his outlook.

 

Wow, that’s a monster of a post. I might have to take a break. Next time I will start to explore the Chapter’s early history; when they were founded, where they are in the galaxy, the early circumstances of their history and how this might affect them. Till next time!

[Octavulg]

You're putting a lot of thought into this. Good for you. :lol:

 

Keep it up. It sounds good so far. And I'll give you a nickel if the color scheme you end up with isn't black, red or grey.

 

Oh, an obvious point - if some of them are so mutated, they can't afford to do some of the more blatant tactics other Space Marine chapters can, since they simply won't work.

[CantonWC]

Thanks Octavulg :)

 

And I'll give you a nickel if the color scheme you end up with isn't black, red or grey.

 

Well... I rather like white and black. But in any case I was thinking of a dark blue, with red trim.

 

Oh, an obvious point - if some of them are so mutated, they can't afford to do some of the more blatant tactics other Space Marine chapters can, since they simply won't work.

 

Well, if by blatant you mean "run at the enemy screaming with chainswords revving" then no, they're not going to do that. They wouldn't do that even if they weren't so mutated; they're the Raven's sons, after all.

[Octavulg]

Well, there's also "land right on top of them in drop pods and charge out screaming".

[CantonWC]

Well, what about "land in strategic firing positions via drop pods and coldly shoot enemies to death then finish them off with an assault marine attack"?

[Octavulg]

Why not just leave the drop pods empty and drop them on your enemies? :)

[CantonWC]

I guess that's something you could ask of all Chapters. Load up the drop pods with nukes and bombs away!

[Ace Debonair]

That's probably heresy of some sort. :)

 

What I meant in my last post is that whilst special-forces-elite-discipline stuff is good, and should be in your chapter, it'll be important to balance it with some good, old fashioned weaknesses.

The co-ordinated assault between melee and ranged attacks is the ideal point, in fact. Making your chapter sound more-than-usually skilled at both of these will seem a bit over the top.

 

Instead, you could maybe focus on the co-ordination aspect, each marine relying on his battle brothers to dispose of the targets around his target. This would mean successful actions would generally be very successful. But when some unseen factors throw a spanner in the works, or squads are isolated, without other support, perhaps your marines might not fare as well. (This is just an example, of course. You probably already have your own ideas.)

 

In any case, I look forward to seeing what you do next with this chapter.

[CantonWC]

Well, Ace, it's like I said before, it's more about conveying the feel of a Spec Ops force than implying that my Marines are more elite than other Chapters, so I apologize if you are getting the wrong impression. Heck, I almost wish my Marines were better in order to compensate for their debilitating gene-seed, which I consider to be their primary weakness.

 

The way I see it, Space Marines are basically already a Marty Stu army - demi-gods of war, insanely durable, can spit acid, can slaughter thousands of enemies by himself because of his superior constitution, weapons, tactics, etc. So, if we take that a baseline, the Dark Swords are not much different from any other Chapter. They're functionally about the same. It's in their mindset where we start to see some differences - their disinclination to fall into the "Honor Before Reason" trap, for instance. Also, how they choose to apply themselves on the battlefield, employing their innate strengths as force multipliers while exposing themselves to minimal risk.

 

About co-ordination, that's definitely an important aspect of the Chapter. Ego-stoking behavior is highly frowned upon, and heavy emphasis is placed on teamwork. Every squad, every individual member of a battle group has his role laid out for him, and they all fight with the idea in mind that they are part of a greater whole attempting to achieve a common objective.

 

But when some unseen factors throw a spanner in the works

 

Well, I would hope that Marines (in general I mean, not just my Chapter) will have back up plans ready :P

[Ace Debonair]

A lot of folks tend to make their chapters too awesome when treading the special forces road, and I just wanted to make sure that didn't happen here, since I quite like every other part of this chapter up to now.

 

I suspect my fears, however, were groundless.

Carry on! :P

[CantonWC]

The Early Years

 

I’ve always envisioned the Swords as being founded as an anti-xenos Chapter. I tend to see a lot of Chapters that are posted that tend to set up Chaos as the big bad arch nemesis – which is perfectly understandable, since Chaos is the Joker to the Imperium’s extremely psychopathic Batman. But, I feel like doing something a little different.

 

I think I’d like my Chapter to be from the 8th Founding, not for any particular reason other than my lucky number is 8. I think the general story I want to work with, is that there is a certain sub-sector or sector of Imperial space – is a sector a big enough territory for one Chapter? Anyway, there’s a certain region of space, located in Ultima Segmentum, that’s seeing a general rise in xenos activity – Eldar pirates, Dark Eldar, Orks, minor xenos races and the like. The sector needs to be important in some way, either it’s got a traditional forge world or two, or it has some other very valuable export. Or, it could be like frontier space, and the High Lords want a Chapter posted there to exterminate all the aliens so that Imperial citizens can move in and claim the worlds that are rightfully theirs.

 

At first I struggled to find a reason for why the High Lords of Terra would want to found a new Chapter from the gene-seed of the Raven Guard, knowing that it had become degraded. Perhaps in earlier Foundings the High Lords would want to stick to a quota and have all First Founding Chapters represented. Then a few days I got a stroke of inspiration: I simply had to remember the strengths of the Raven Guard. Certainly the Ravens are a bit different from the other First Founding Chapters; their mindset is a bit different, and their fighting style is quite different, i.e. they have no problem with “fighting dirty,” using hit and run, infiltration and so on, whereas other Chapters are more likely to balk at such underhanded tactics for reasons of honor or whatever. Perhaps the region of Ultima space in question is sensitive in some way, or otherwise extremely valuable, and the High Lords want a Chapter posted there that would not be restrained by notions of honor and instead is more concerned with getting the job done, and that would cause them to overlook the gene-seed issue. Not perfect I’ll admit, but it’s better than nothing.

 

The original story I was thinking of doing would set up the Eldar as the Dark Swords’ principal arch nemesis; I don’t think it’s that great, though, it could probably use some work; I’ve also got another idea for a minor xenos race that could serve in a major antagonist role. Anyway, I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else setting up the Eldar as a major enemy, so I think that’s something else I can do to set my Chapter apart. I think the Eldar make for a nice foil for my Chapter. They’re fairly rare, so any confrontation will likely be a fairly epic event. They’re arrogant as all heck and think of humans as little more than primitive apes, so that’s sure to piss off the Dark Swords. They will more than likely have the edge in battle experience and tech, while the Swords have endurance and sheer determination. Lastly, the Eldar are doomed to their fate; the Dark Swords say ‘screw fate, we make our own.’ They see themselves as rising above the ‘fate’ written in their degraded gene-seed and making their own destiny; they won’t allow notions of inferiority constrain the work they can do for the Emperor’s cause.

 

The conflict would, predictably, center around an Eldar Maiden World. Imperial settlers arrive, they get attacked by a Craftworld, they send out the distress signal. The Dark Swords receive the call and are closest, so they head out in force to confront the Eldar menace. What follows is a knock-down, drag out brawl as the Swords and the Eldar battle for control of the world, with the Swords’ speed and mobility allowing them to keep up with Eldar attacks. The Swords hold out until the Imperial Guard and Navy arrive, at which point the combined Imperial forces drive the Eldar off and secure the planet for the Imperium. There is much jubilation and quaffing of alcohol.

 

Unfortunately, the Eldar are feeling a little sore, so they want to follow the mon-keigh to their home to get revenge. They tail the Swords to their home world then distract or incapacitate them somehow, then they proceed to torch their planet as a kind of “**** you mon-keigh.” From then on the Dark Swords are a fleet-based chapter.

 

I’m not totally happy with this story angle though. I’ve always thought of the Swords as being fleet-based, because they think of themselves as being responsible to the “greater Imperium,” and thus are constantly patrolling a large area of space. So, the above story seems kind of superfluous since there’s no reason they couldn’t be fleet-based from the get-go.

 

I have another idea though. I think of my Chapter as being fairly humanitarian, idealist even. The Raven Guard are described as being close to the people of Deliverance, so this attitude would probably be passed down. Perhaps early on in their history they will be forced into a conflict that will force them to make a lot of difficult decisions that result in a lot of innocent people dying, a “loss of innocence” if you will, and that will start them down on a more cynical, morally ambiguous path. They aren’t going to shoot civilians for the heck of it, but they will be more realistic in their battlefield assessments. If that city’s full of Orks and civvies, and it would be impossible to take the town without causing some innocent casualties? Well, tough luck civvies.

 

Maybe I’m too focused on getting a Big Event early on, where the Swords are at a crossroads and have to make some decisions about who they are and where they stand. Maybe they can just start out trucking, and I can cover their highs and lows in the stories I hope to write. Thoughts?

 

P.S. Geez another monster post. I apologize if anyone’s getting a little sick at looking at a big wall of text; kudos to you if you can get through it all. School’s not too far off. Next time I will be exploring what it means to be fleet-based, so I’ll go into approximate flee size, the necessary logistics and so on.

[CantonWC]

What Does it Mean to be Fleet-based?

 

So, after consulting some Battle Fleet Gothic sources, I’ve come up with a rough idea of the Dark Swords’ fleet disposition:

 

2-3 Battle Barges

4-5 Strike Cruisers

Numerous Rapid Strike Craft, Frigates and Escort Vessels

Numerous support ships

 

According to BFG, most Chapters maintain 2 to 3 Battle Barges. I think I have read somewhere that a Battle Barge can carry up to four Companies at once, but I can’t find any sources to confirm. In any case I think 2 Battle Barges is about right. 4 to 5 Strike Cruisers should be about enough to allow the Swords to address two or three battlefield situations at once, if necessary.

 

I could end the entry here, but where would the fun be in that? I find it important to think everything through as much as possible, to see where all the lines go.

 

Recruitment

 

I do not think recruitment will be a problem. The Black Templars seem to have no problems finding recruits and they’re a much larger organization than the Swords. Naturally the Swords will want to recruit from a number of different worlds.

 

I have a vague idea in mind for an agri-world that could serve as a prime recruiting center for the Swords, after being inspired by the DIY guide. Now hear me out – much of the world would be given over to the planting and harvesting of crops, but there would also be significant portions of land set aside for herding and hunting. The herd animals and carnivores on this planet would be exceptionally large and dangerous, but are considered a delicacy in the local region of space, so we would have something like hunter clans using teamwork to bring down the animals, take what they need and sell the rest to interplanetary traders for supplies and technology. These hunters would make for ideal recruits, being raised in a hostile environment and having the concept of teamwork, loyalty to the clan and so on ingrained early on, traits that the Dark Swords find valuable.

 

Living in Space

 

The specific capabilities of the Battle Barges and Strike Cruisers are admittedly a little vague, based on the few sources I can find. Basically I need to be sure that these ships can serve as a permanent home for a Chapter, rather than being a place they live in while “on campaign”; otherwise, maybe I need to include a line in the final IA that describes their ships as being extensively modified?

 

A forge ship or two would be helpful for sustaining the Chapter’s ability to make war. Perhaps they will need to do a few favors for the local AdMech or bail them out of a tight spot in order to get one as a gift.

 

Training ships I think would be useful. The Battle Barges and Strike Cruisers would undoubtedly have large training areas and battle grounds but it might helpful to have ships with internal environments simulating various terrain types, weather conditions and mission profiles. I don’t see my Chapter as specializing in any specific environment (but they will be good at boarding actions and ship-to-ship combat, naturally, since they live in space), so they need to be ready to undertake any mission on any battlefield.

 

Fleet Defense

 

Obviously the Space Marine’s ships are no slouch in a ship-to-ship battle, and only a fool would take them lightly; but, it’s been stressed that their ships are intended primarily to facilitate and support a planetary assault, and are not intended to be a match for the Imperial Navy in the event they went rogue, and only the smallest ships allowed to be purely gunboats. But, I find myself wondering if being fleet-based changes the scenario up a bit.

 

After all, it’s not like a fleet-based Chapter has a home world, the fleet is their home, they would want the ability to defend themselves more easily against Chaos fleets or whoever. Still, maybe that won’t convince the local Imperial Navy. Perhaps a century or two of dedicated service might make a favorable impression on the local Imperial establishment, or the support of an Inquisitor or two might allow the Dark Swords a little more leniency than is usual.

 

There’s also the issue of pirates, smugglers, heretics and rebels crewing their own ships. Since the Swords will be patrolling their area of space for such scum, they could board their ships, kill everyone on board and take the ship for themselves. Keep the ship if it’s useful, otherwise break it down into parts and sell it or trade it to someone else like the AdMech for supplies or ships. In this way the Dark Swords could build up their fleet and gain access to more powerful ships. Thoughts?

 

P.S. Forgot to mention this the last time, but I just recently visited my local Borders and bought a bunch of Black Library stuff. Ciaphas Cain, Eisenhorn, Ultramarine and Space Wolf Omnibuses; I’ll be reading them whenever I get the chance in order to get a better feel for the 40k universe and get myself in a proper storytelling mood. :P

[Ace Debonair]

I don't know about keeping pirate's ships and stuff.

 

It doesn't really tack onto the special forces image that well.

Breaking them down and using the bits to make their own ships, though - that works for me. Good stuff. :D

 

Incidentally, have you thought of entering this chapter for the Iron Gauntlet IA challenge?

By the time the IA: Dark Swords is up and running it might not be too hard to make it Librarium-grade anyway. ;)

[CantonWC]

Well, what I'm saying is they take what they can get. If they can confiscate a useful ship they'll add it to their fleet, otherwise they strip it down for parts and sell the rest. The Imperial Navy wouldn't like it much, but it's right of conquest, yeah?

 

I keep neglecting to tell everyone that Special Forces is just one theme among many. It's a prominent theme, but not the only one. Special Forces is meant to be conveyed by a certain specific subset within the Chapter, and they'll be coming up very soon, so stay tuned.

 

I don't know if I'll enter my Chapter for the Iron Gauntlet or not. I'd love to enter a finished IA into the Librarium though.

[CantonWC]

Chapter Organization: the Specialist Staff

 

Alright, now here is where we can start to have a little bit of fun! Chapter Organization I think is going to reveal a little more of the character of the Dark Swords. Also note that this entry is probably going to bleed over a little into the Chapter’s Equipment/Armory and Combat Doctrine as what they wield and the tactics they employ is going to be very relevant to how they organize themselves. More and more, I think, these sections will start to inform each other.

 

For the sake of brevity I will only cover the Chapter Master and the specialist marines for now.

 

Chapter Master – his official title I think would be Lord Commander. No reason really, just preference. Names, equipment, personal history etc. I will get to when the time is right.

 

Techmarines and Chaplains behave as they normally would. I’m tempted to write a bit more about the Chaplain, but I haven’t yet got all my thoughts in order about him, what his general character would be like in relation to the rest of the Chapter.

 

Librarians I think would be much more flavorful and keeping in with the Chapter theme of subtlety if they applied themselves a bit differently than the usual standard of “blast the enemy with eldritch power.” Not that they can’t do that, it’s just that they like using their other tricks.

 

By focusing his mind, a Dark Sword Librarian can confound the enemy with illusions. He can trick the enemy commander into thinking he’d just killed the Librarian, when in reality the Librarian is maneuvering behind him for a killing stroke. He can lure the enemy into ambushes or force them to divert their troops from phantoms. He can trick an enemy position into believing it’s being attacked by a hundred Dark Swords at once, when in reality there’s just ten men or none; meanwhile, the real strike force attacks the flank or the rear. He can cast a veil of darkness so complete and absolute that the enemy wouldn’t even be able to see their hand if it were placed in front of their face, allowing the Dark Swords to use true stealth tactics without having to worry as much about noisy power armor. By worming their way into the enemy’s minds and playing on their fears, the Librarians might focus their paranoia and frustration into rage and cause them to turn on each other, or magnify their anxiety and doubt into fear, causing them to break and flee without firing a shot.

 

Alternately, the Librarian could use his powers in support of his brethren, “linking” them together and enabling them to fight as one unit. Stances are straighter and surer, bolters find their mark, and power weapons strike with devastating effect where they might ordinarily be turned aside.

 

Apothecaries – I always thought it was kind of lame how the Apothecaries don’t really do much other than be battle medics while the Chaplains, Librarians and Techmarines get to be more hands on in battle. This is of course ignoring the fact that Apothecaries still need to be strong warriors, looking after both themselves and others. So, I wondered to myself what the implications of a larger than average Apothecarion would be.

 

Perhaps because of their painstaking research into safeguarding and repairing the Dark Sword gene-seed, the Apothecaries will be able to attain knowledge in biotechnology that other Chapters might not be privy to. I have come across some mentions of a group in the AdMech called the Organicists, who like flesh as well as machines; perhaps the Apothecaries would want to learn from them?

 

On the battlefield, the Apothecaries’ influence would have a slightly subtler impact than the daring feats of arms of the Chaplains or the psychic powers of the Librarians. They should be able to put their expertise in bio-engineering to good use. Rather than carrying an explosive charge bolt shells could be made to carry poison, both synthetic and naturally occurring. Grenades could be modified to explode into poison clouds, or carry powerful hallucinogens or sedatives, paralyzing enemies or turning them into drooling imbeciles. Whirlwind missiles could carry chemical or biological weapons instead of miniature mines allowing the Dark Swords to rain a different kind of terror from afar.

[CantonWC]

The First Company Veterans

 

Finally, finally we arrive at the First Company. I know I’ve been yammering on and on about the Special Forces theme of the Chapter, well these are the guys that embody it. I think I am seriously in love with this concept, so please excuse me if I geek out way too much while describing how the First Company operates.

 

My idea for the First Company fighting as a commando force was partly inspired by the Space Wolves, who have something similar in their Wolf Scouts, but it also partly stems from my general dislike of the Space Marine Scout concept, for reasons I will outline below.

 

Firstly, I don’t like the idea that a SM Chapter would send it’s greenest members out to do what I would think are probably the most dangerous missions, operating deep behind enemy lines with little or no support. The Dark Swords simply can’t risk its recruits like that. Secondly, since turnover will on average be lower than in other Chapters, there likely wouldn’t be enough Scouts anyway to do the Chapter’s recon and special operations.

 

Enter the First Company Veterans. These guys would be like Solid Snake with the dial cranked up all the way to and past eleven, until the dial snaps off. They are the Phantom Men, the Ghost Walkers. They are the hidden hands, the silent daggers, the watchers in the shadows. They are the shadow warriors who, operating alone or in small teams, clear the way for the main Dark Sword strike force, and can even stop an enemy invasion on their own before it truly begins.

 

As befits their rank and the nature of their missions, the First Company Veterans will need specialized equipment; I can’t see them going to battle in simple carapace armor and those dinky fatigues. I’ve always envisioned them wearing some kind of sneaking suit, with lightweight, well-made and form-fitting carapace armor laid over top. The suit would be able to enhance the strength of the Marine, though not to the level power armor does. To do this the Apothecaries take tissue samples from the Veteran and graft cloned muscle tissue into the suit; in essence the Marine is wearing a second set of muscle over himself, sealed within a protective body suit. The body suit itself, at least the outer layer needs to be made of some camouflaged material like cameoline, something that can change color and texture to prevent detection. Furthermore the suit needs something else woven in, litanies of protection and wards of concealment, even enchantments made by the Librarians, something that can render the Veteran undetectable even to psykers and can offer protection in a Chaos-tainted environment. In particular the gloves and arms need to be reinforced, so that the Marine can safely handle and wield blasphemous alien technology without risk of contaminating his soul. The helmet contains the basic autosenses and short-range communications.

 

Owing to the nature of their work the First Company would have almost exclusive rights to the Stalker pattern bolt shells. Other equipment like the components to turn a bolter into a sniping system would be issued depending on the mission profile.

 

In battle the First Company would typically arrive first. Working alone, as Operators, or in five man kill-teams, the Veterans would be covertly inserted behind enemy lines by small rapid strike-craft. They would then scout out enemy positions, gather intelligence, scout for landing sites for drop pods and call down orbital bombardments and artillery strikes on the enemy.

 

In a protracted engagement the mission profile of the Veteran kill-teams would change slightly to direct action and long-range patrols. Assassination of enemy leaders, destruction of enemy materiel, supplies and communications, and so on.

 

Assuming the Dark Swords are not involved on many battlefields at once, some of the Veterans might not have to do their normal sneaking duties. Instead they would do what Veterans typically do, leading their brothers into battle, bolstering the line and any other tasks more suited for their expertise.

 

The Dark Swords maintain a mere 15 suits of Terminator Armor, no more, no less. I don’t know why, 15 just seems like a good number. I don’t consider them poor, but they are definitely resourceful and can make do without the more exotic technology of other Chapters. Terminators don’t seem like they would be well-suited for the Chapter’s combat doctrine in any case. Any time the Terminator suits are unveiled for battle is met with mixed reactions from the Chapter. Great awe and pride that the Chapter’s greatest relics are being brought forth to battle, but also great apprehension, for any enemy mighty enough to necessitate the use of the Terminator suits is a powerful foe indeed, and the upcoming battle may be one to determine the fate of the Chapter itself.

 

 

Whew, another big one, but only because I have so much imagination and free time! Please, post your thoughts. I know there’s a lot, but there should be something for everyone to comment on.

[Guest Mordray]

I personally love the idea of veteran scouts with 'light power armor' ... but then again I've had a similar idea for basically the same reasons... you have to be brain damaged to even consider sending out rookies to do your scouting for you... astartes or not they just aren't going to cut it... maybe compared to guardsmen but not by the standards their battle-brothers would need.

 

I also would like to comment that it is nice to see someone taking the apothecaries serious and giving them some much deserved love. Most seem to just dismiss them or blend them into another position...

 

I would ask you one thing though... even knowing you'll likely cover it shortly anyways... what do the Dark Swords do with their recruits to prepare them for the battlefield and ensure their investment is not wasted?

[CantonWC]

I would ask you one thing though... even knowing you'll likely cover it shortly anyways... what do the Dark Swords do with their recruits to prepare them for the battlefield and ensure their investment is not wasted?

 

That's a very good question, one that I've grappled with for a while.

 

The original idea I had, was that the 10th Company staff (Veterans, Chaplain, Apothecary and attached Librarian) would train recruits by making them "run the gauntlet": basically like a giant obstacle course set on many feral/death worlds. The recruits would be taught all the basics, marksmanship, proficiency with various weapons, hand to hand combat, how to survive in a variety of environments. I'm not really in favor of this anymore though, since a number of posters in the last topic pointed out that the training cadre was essentially undefended. Not to mention the Chapter Fleet is constantly on the move, while the training cadre would stay in the region of space where the Gauntlet is.

 

Another idea would be to set up mentor/student relationships, similar to how the Black Templars treat their new recruits like squires. They would be in constant contact with the Chapter from the get go. In battle they would initially stay back a safe distance as observers, then they would gradually start fighting alongside their mentors. I'm not totally square with this, but at least the older Marines would be able to keep a constant eye on the recruits.

 

One really weird idea I have, is that the Dark Swords could set up a "battle world." Basically like a giant penal colony where heretics, criminals and gangers would be sent. Everyone gets guns and are organized into teams, and whoever's left or achieves a random objective would theoretically "be absolved in the eyes of the Emperor" and gets to go free. What the combatants don't know, however, is that the Dark swords' new recruits are disguised as a faction among the other teams, and it's basically like their training wheels preparing them for life as a battle brother.

 

I kind of like the third idea, now that I think about it. Set up a training ship where the Dark Swords keep all their prisoners, and send in the recruits for extremely realistic training exercises.