IA: White Ravens

[Oelber]

I think I came across far harsher than I meant to, in which case I apologize. This simply happened to be the thread in which I ended up commenting on it...Again didn't mean to come across as overly harsh.

 

I'd also like more information on these "Raven Trials", with either a generic description or a sidebar focusing on one aspirant's experience.

[Dosjetka]

I've been seeing genetical all over the place on these forums...unfortunately genetical is not a word and in like every instance I've seen it genetic would work just fine.

 

Genetic is the correct word, but give him a break... I believe BBL is Swiss.

:lol: that's not an excuse though as I'm English born. But I'll make an effort to write better ;) Thanks for pointing that out Oelber. :)

 

Ok, I'll flesh out the Raven Trials ASAP, but I don't have many ideas so I may ask you chaps if you may have any ideas to share?

 

++Over++

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

You have more than enough work to get through on your own based on the overview you posted before asking for other peoples ideas. Not only that but typically it is you that works out what happens with the chapter and if there is a problem then other people can give suggestions as to how to get around it.

 

You build the chapter, we tell you how to improve what you have.

 

Everything on that list needs to be explained comprehensively but concisely and needs to be justified in the face of the rest of the shared universe that we create these DIY's for.

 

The very first thing off the starting blocks for me is just why they have the Rune Priest angle going on? It's so far away from Codex behaviour it's in another galaxy.

 

For every idea or quirk you think of you have to ask why something like that would come to be. Then you have to explain it well enough for everyone to believe that it is reasonable to see how your chapter has come to be a certain way.

 

Also, if something doesn't add anything to the chapter it typically needs to be chopped.

 

I think I came across far harsher than I meant to, in which case I apologize.

 

That was hardly harsh Oelber, you wait till you see Octavulg critique a bad DIY. :lol:

[Dosjetka]

The very first thing off the starting blocks for me is just why they have the Rune Priest angle going on? It's so far away from Codex behaviour it's in another galaxy.

 

For every idea or quirk you think of you have to ask why something like that would come to be. Then you have to explain it well enough for everyone to believe that it is reasonable to see how your chapter has come to be a certain way.

Ok, well firstly, thanks for your input Ydalir.

 

Secondly, that's a good question and I came up with an answer as I was reading your question (bear with me until the end. It will be long).

 

Raven Druids=>psykers and Apothecaries (use of psychic powers to heal, as well as for combat), Raven Priests=>spiritual leaders and keepers of knowledge (like the middle age priests) .

 

Because :

 

Small Chapter (600-700 active Astartes), not much staff so one staff member must fill in two roles in the Chapter (except Captains and Chapter Masters).

 

Because :

 

Chapter in search of genetic purity as their gene-seed has been damaged by Corax’s meddling with it. The Raven Druids use the gene-seed of desceased Astartes to perform experiments on it in search of purity. The new gene-seed will implanted into an aspirant as soon as it is ready.

 

Which can cause :

 

Mutation, destruction of other organs, etc…

 

Which means that :

 

Raven Druids will have to kill the mutated aspirants and decide to either repair the gene-seed or destroy it.

 

Which causes :

 

An Astartes shortage in the Chapter.

 

 

That's my justification (long and twisty but I have a reason for my main idea :cuss)

 

++Over++

[Dosjetka]

Hello again folks!

 

I've updated the Warcry part, tell me what you think of it, and I've found some ideas for the Raven Trials.

So, here I go:

 

- Raven Trials are different for psykers and non-psykers.

- for psykers: must capture a white raven (easier said than done) in the -something- Mountains and try to psychicly communicate with it. it then becomes the young aspirant's familiar. if aspirant fails the Raven Trials, then the white raven's mind is cleansed and it is released into nature again. they are only killed if mutation occurs and it is too severe for the Chapter Raven Druids to cure/repair, as white ravens are sacred to both Voxii and the White Raven Astartes.

after this they must pass pretty much the same trials as other aspirants, with only a few minor changes.

- if any aspirant fails, then they are killed. no records of otherwise happening.

 

Those are my ideas so far. I'll be posting others in the next week or so.

 

Cheers,

[Octavulg]

Why do they feel the way they do about Corax?

 

That's the source of pretty much all of what they do, so it's a question that needs to be addressed - why and how did they come to feel this way?

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

That was hardly harsh Oelber, you wait till you see Octavulg critique a bad DIY. ;)

 

I know this isn't a bad DIY but damn, you're undermining the reputation I'm striving so hard to reinforce for you. Better to be feared and all that eh? :(

 

Small Chapter (600-700 active Astartes), not much staff so one staff member must fill in two roles in the Chapter (except Captains and Chapter Masters).

 

That's not a terribly small chapter, perhaps one that's been heavily battered by unfortunate events but nothing to really change up the guidelines written in the Codex Astartes. Hell, the Crimson Fists are almost extinct and they are still Codex Adherent.

 

The reason should be something that is serious or devestating enough to seriously shake up a chapters organisation which is founded in one of the most comprehensive military texts ever written. Departing from the Codex actually makes your chapter less flexible and diverse, rather than the opposite which a lot of people tend to transpose fairly often for some reason.

 

Even most of the chapters that do diverge heavily from the Codex Astartes still use the same guidelines for keeping Chaplains, Techmarines, Apothacaries and Librarians in their respective fields. Only the Space Wolves do this and they are probably the most divergent chapter out there. It's quite a jump from well established tradition and proven military history to taking an idea from a single chapter, first founding or no, out of the entire Astartes which as a majority follow the Codex.

[Octavulg]

I know this isn't a bad DIY but damn, you're undermining the reputation I'm striving so hard to reinforce for you. Better to be feared and all that eh? tongue.gif

 

My 'reputation' is rather out of proportion. My arrogance is not so great as to be out of place in the hallowed company in which I find myself, and my harshness is generally only unleashed upon the stupid. ;) It takes two posts for them to make me angry. They have to ignore the first advice rudely.

 

I mean, then, yeah, I try to shred them, but there are things that have to happen first.

[Captain Juan Juarez]

It takes two posts for them to make me angry. They have to ignore the first advice rudely.

 

Gulp

 

Should I be worried? :P

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

My 'reputation' is rather out of proportion. My arrogance is not so great as to be out of place in the hallowed company in which I find myself, and my harshness is generally only unleashed upon the stupid. ;)

 

This is true, but a bit of embellishment never hurt anyone. Well, maybe a few people...

[Dosjetka]

Why do they feel the way they do about Corax?

 

That's the source of pretty much all of what they do, so it's a question that needs to be addressed - why and how did they come to feel this way?

Hello Octavulg. ;)

 

Well, they feel this way about Corax for these reasons:

-He lost at the battle of Istvaan V. He could have won according to the White Ravens. (I have to check this out and re-read my Heresy fluff, but I'll find an explanation...hopefully :P)

-He has damaged their gene-seed, they feel unpure and tainted.

-Another reason? I'll try and find one, as I'm not sure that everyone is convinced by the two I've already put forward.

 

How? Well, I was thinking that one of their Chapter Masters would tell them, but everyone is doing that so I may find a better way?

 

How about my Chapter started off normally, no problems with the Raven Guard or anything. Then they suffer heavy losses (400-500 marines? would that be too much?) and they all come back to their fortress-monastary to regroup and re-build. They do not participate in any big campaigns, just hit-and-run attacks. Their Master of Faith (head Chaplain) goes into reclusion and analyses ancient documents (tainted by Chaos?) and arrives to the conclusion that they must regain purity as it there gene-seed and their Primarch's tactics that lead to that heavy defeat. And so, now they fight face-to-face, even though they might suffer heavy losses, but they do not want to use stealth as or infiltration as it would link them again to their Primarch and founding Chapter. Along that line. they see that the teachings of the Codex made them loose as well, so they decide to follow their own doctrines and teachings of their elders. Does that sound ok? Impossible? Anyway,now, I need to find a reason for why the High Lords of Terra chose Raven Guard gene-seed.

 

Anyway, thanks chaps for commenting and I can't wait to see what you think of my idea. :)

[Dosjetka]

Small Chapter (600-700 active Astartes), not much staff so one staff member must fill in two roles in the Chapter (except Captains and Chapter Masters).

 

That's not a terribly small chapter, perhaps one that's been heavily battered by unfortunate events but nothing to really change up the guidelines written in the Codex Astartes. Hell, the Crimson Fists are almost extinct and they are still Codex Adherent.

Hm...well how many Astartes would there be in a small Chapter? 400-500? That seems a bit too little.

[Dosjetka]

Just updated the first two parts of my IA. I really need your C&C!!! Please!

[Ace Debonair]

Ok then, let's take a look.

 

The White Ravens Chapter was created sometime during M.39, in the time of the 24th Founding. Their current official goal is to guard the south-western borders against xenos and Chaos incursions. They have fought alongside many different Astartes Chapters and Imperial Guard regiments, notably the Imperial Fists, Red Scorpions, the Death Korps of Krieg and the Vorsk Light Infantry regiments.

 

The South-western borders of what?

I think I know where you mean, but just clarifying on this might help make it less tricky to understand.

 

I'd avoid mentioning all the 'notable' people you fought alongside. I mean, if your White Ravens fought alongside a DIY chapter, I'm sure it's author would consider that fairly notable too. You could just say "They have fought alongside many Astartes Chapters and Imperial Guard Regiments, operating on battlefields both near and far in the name of the Imperium." Or something similar.

 

The homeworld of the White Ravens is Voxen, a Hive World in the Strakos system. It has been noted that the Voxii (inhabitants of Voxen) have a high level of technology.

The Voxii take great pride in their war traditions and are trained from a very early age in the different aspects of Imperial warfare. As this is a warrrior society, many regiments are raised from Voxen. Approximately 50% of children are recruited into the off-world regiments, 25% are recruited into the planets Planetary Defence Forces and the remaining 25% are the workers, miners, slaves and other people that inhabit the Hives and the many mining colonies of the Durkas Mountains. Very little citizens make their way up to the higher echelons of the Voxii society, which is governed by a handful of merchant lords and mine owners.

 

Drop the bit in the brackets. I reckon we can work out who the Voxii are. The last bit should be 'very few citizens' rather than 'very little citizens.' :)

 

Most of the planet's surface is covered in volcanoes and high mountain ranges. Hive cities are situated on the high-altitude plateau called Sea of Strakos and the mining colonies are situated all over the mountains, linked together by underground tunnels.

Once every two decades, during the Raven Trials held by Raven Priests, potential Astartes are assembled before the Raven's Canyon, the only safe way to the White Raven's fortress-monastary. Only the very best are selected and so the Chapter's number of new recruits is quite small, as not all aspirants survive the ardous trials.

 

Cool. I'd like to hear more about those Raven Trials, though, they sound interesting.

[Dosjetka]

I mean, if your White Ravens fought alongside a DIY chapter, I'm sure it's author would consider that fairly notable too.

Would I be so honoured as to add your Chapter name (whichever one you want) to the list? :D

 

I'd like to hear more about those Raven Trials, though, they sound interesting.

Working on it. I posted something on them but no one has replied yet...:)

Thanks for that Ace!

[Ace Debonair]

I mean, if your White Ravens fought alongside a DIY chapter, I'm sure it's author would consider that fairly notable too.

Would I be so honoured as to add your Chapter name (whichever one you want) to the list? ;)

 

 

If you want to add a chapter of mine, feel free, but I think it might look better if you just make it sound like they've fought alongside everyone who's passed by that area.

 

If you're set on keeping the list though, add the Infinity Knights. They're my go-everywhere-fight-everything chapter, after all. :tu:

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

A small chapter would be more like something under the halfway mark. By that point the chapter has to seriously take into consideration a reduction in it's activity to safeguard a rather heavy recruitment cycle to replace their losses. Sorry it took me so long to reply, I forgot you had asked me to qualify my statement. ;)

[Dosjetka]

No worries GHY! :)

 

Btw where did you get me saying that you knew what was what? :devil: (look at your sig)

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Well I certainly didn't make it up, are you saying you have forgotten whenst you gavethed me yonder compliment young lad? CJJ shall be most displeased with you!

 

On a more serious note, I forget the topic but it's here in the Liber if you have the time and patience, both of which I have neither of right now as I have to dash out of the house. No, seriously, that is so, so not an excuse not to look. Seriously! :devil:

[Captain Juan Juarez]

The Topic In Question.

[Dosjetka]

The Topic In Question.

Why thank you CJJ :blink:

 

I doremember now and don't regret what I said :)

[Octavulg]

-He lost at the battle of Istvaan V. He could have won according to the White Ravens. (I have to check this out and re-read my Heresy fluff, but I'll find an explanation...hopefully tongue.gif)

 

Only way to win at Istvaan was not to play.

 

-Another reason? I'll try and find one, as I'm not sure that everyone is convinced by the two I've already put forward.

 

Sadly not, I'm afraid. I'm sure you can come up with some, though. :)

[Dosjetka]

-He lost at the battle of Istvaan V. He could have won according to the White Ravens. (I have to check this out and re-read my Heresy fluff, but I'll find an explanation...hopefully tongue.gif)

 

Only way to win at Istvaan was not to play.

Really? How come? ;) My knowledge about the Heresy is not great. I may be confusing battles though...

 

-Another reason? I'll try and find one, as I'm not sure that everyone is convinced by the two I've already put forward.

Sadly not, I'm afraid. I'm sure you can come up with some, though. ;)

Ok well, then I'll try and find more... thanks for your C&C Octavulg ;) Very appreciated!

[Ferrus Manus]

Really? How come? My knowledge about the Heresy is not great. I may be confusing battles though...

8 Traitor Legions vs 3 Loyalist. Even the greatest tactical genius wouldn't like those odds.

[Dosjetka]

Really? How come? My knowledge about the Heresy is not great. I may be confusing battles though...

8 Traitor Legions vs 3 Loyalist. Even the greatest tactical genius wouldn't like those odds.

Hmm...ok, yes, it does make sense, stupid me :P Thanks for that Ferrus Manus