The Steelbreakers

[toaae]

So, I am starting a new IA for a new chapter. Below our my basic thoughts so far. I'm looking for C&C on the general ideas, maybe some advice on how to develop them, and which ones are better off dropped. Anything in a ((double parenthesis)) is a question I've already begun to ask myself, though any advice on those would be greatly appreciated. Also, some points have an asterisk* after it, which just means the larger thoughts below correspond to that point.

The last point is in italics because it's an idea I'm really interested in developing, but I'm wondering if it clutters too much with the other ideas. If need be, I can save that for another chapter someday.

Thanks in advance!

The Steelbreakers

• Have made a name for themselves in both holding and taking fortified positions*
  
• Less focused on speed and mobility as compared to bringing down mass firepower on a specific target; use drop pods and deepstriking jump packs to assault locations*
  
• Name earned from defeating a force of Chaos Dreadnoughts early in history
  
• Ultramarines Gene-seed
  
• Large number of dreadnoughts; no less than 5 past chapter masters continue to serve as dreads**
  
• Close to the AdMech, but not super close. Techpriests serve alongside Techmarines, and the chapter participates in many campaigns that result or hope to result in recovering technology**
  
• Makes use of a modified armor for the assault/vanguard squads as the added mass makes the charge more powerful. Nicknamed "Line Breaker" armor by the chapter. Armor and squads are known generically as "Steel Breakers" outside the chapter.***
  
• Colors: Blue, Grey, and Gold.
  
• Homeworld is a feudal place, with ritualized warfare. There are warring seasons and strict rules for conducting war. Recruits are drawn from the fiercest warriors in these ritual battles.****
  
• Personality cults. Chaplains retell the stories of past Steelbreakers, and the chapter flocks to this. A marine can be recognized by a badge which cult he is a member of.****
  

*= Like a loyal, lite-Iron Warriors in the regard of taking/holding fortifications. This combines with the part after about not being reliant on speed. The chapter has become very experienced and known for being exceptional at siegecraft, but that doesn't mean they are masters or lacking in non-siege warfare. It's something they found themselves being called in to do alot, and something they do very, very well, but they do fight in other conflicts, with no siege warfare.

The idea of hitting one spot hard to create a weakness is the basis of their combat doctrine. While this is the idea for space marines in general, they do it with less speed and more power, in theory. If a space marine force is the scalpel to the Imperial Guard's sludgehammer, the Steelbreakers are the sludgehammer to the space marine's heavy hammer. They are still a strikeforce, used to eliminate key targets quickly, in comparison to the Guard. Just slower and heavier in comparison to the average Space Marine force.

**= If the average space marine company has 2 dreadnoughts per company, the Steelbreakers have 3. This is less about just having a lot of dreadnoughts, and more about having a lot of venerable or long-lived dreadnoughts. The connection to the AdMech does allow a few more dreadnought bodies than normal, but it is the number of surviving brothers that allow the chapter to field an above-average number of dreadnoughts. 5 past

***= More of a modeling concept. But, maybe the chapter makes a lot of use of special equipment.

****= First Idea: there are several over-arching cults, or "houses". The personal story of a marine that achieves a cult status falls under one of the greater cults. So, the House of X involves the cult of X, of XF, XD, XFR, ect. The chapter feels all those houses fall under the house of Roboute, which is under the house of the Emperor.

Each marine aspires to leave behind a story worthy of eventually becoming a house. The chaplains, as the spiritual guardians, act as the orators of each house: The Master of Sanctity acts as the caretaker of the houses of Roboute and the Emperor, while Reclusiarchs act as the caretaker for the major house. Chaplains assigned to companies are responsible for cultivating the stories of each marine, and act as the caretaker for the cult of the company captain.

Not all stories become cults. ((how many cults are there?)) a story becomes a cult when a marine makes or adopts a badge for that cult. ((role of the librarium in this? just record chapter history, or not even act as record keepers? flesh out))

[soddinnutter]

Very good ideas.

 

Maybe the Line Breaker armour could be a revision of the Mk3 Iron Armour using modern manufacturing methods. something between Terminator Armour and Power Armour.

 

Could do away with the idea of Tech-marines alltogether and just accept Mechanicus Adepts as members of the chapter. Maybe they have come to the conclusion that the Omnissiah is the embodiment of the natural forces in the universe (gravitation, attomic atraction, megnatism etc) and the Emperor his/her/its Avatar.

 

The exact sect within the Mechanicus they are associated with could be a fringe group that are themselves considered very odd by the other Mechanicus. this way your chapter could have fancy toys but not be 'super-close' to the Mechanicus like the Iron Hands are.

 

Would think twice about the role of smashing up a host of Chaos Dreads early in history. Chaos Dreads are as rare as Loyalist Dreads on their respective side. Smashing up a battle company of the Dark Mechaincus or the Dragon Cultists or even an Oblitorator Brotherhood could be a substitute. You could even just about get away with them having beaten up a small outpost of Necrons woken early by the Mechanicus Explorators in a monumental accident. Maybe even a chaos tainted regiment from the Legio Cybernetica, but that background fluff is a bit obscure now.

 

I like the idea of the Personality Cults. Maybe this could be a way of adding in-chapter rivelry. Lets say that one of the Marines, goes places, does much, kills lots and carves out a name for themselves. He could have been a Death Cultist who had a thing for sniper rifels, traps and covert killing. Another hero arises and he has a thing for obliteration things utterly, bringing guns to knife fights, nukes to gun fights, likes to use heavy artilery and just happens to have been raised with the Thorian Creed. a couple of hundred years down the line you have people who never met either of them idolising one and despising the other.

 

The strict following of the Codex Astartes could be considered a form of Pesonality Cult of Lord Gulliman. Idolising the tactics used during the Unification Wars could be considered a Personality Cult of the Emperor. Could there be Cults of non-chapter members? Cults of Marcharious(spelling is wrong, can't remember spelling)

 

But then what does this do to the idea of a Company Structure? Breaks it up quite nicely i think.

 

Will there be a Chapter Master or will the Steelbreakers have an Iron Hands style Chapter Council? If you have a Chapter Master then which ever Cult he belongs to will have prestige and more say into the long-term and day to day running of the chapter. But how is he chosen? To maintain the cult system you can not rely on popular vote or you have the most numorous faction gaining dominence and extending power and staying in power for all time. You would need people to chose who are closer to neutral in the constant infighting. The Dreadnaughts maybe?

 

If you go with the Chapter Council idea then there will be a lot more of the fractious rivelry. Maybe seven cults are allowed to have a council representative and the cults (High Cults?) are chosen by the Librarium recieving Omens from the Omnissiah/Emperor.

 

Recruitment. Does each faction recruit its own? Are recruits taken in ignorence of the rivelry and choose which faction they belong to when they find on they agree with? Maybe the Chaplins do the recruiting and remain distant from the constant and eternal squabeling of the Main Chapter so as to remain neutral and not recruit new asspirents based on pre-existing predisposition towards one ideology or another.

 

Could the Chaplins be psychic and the job of Librarian be given to mundane human assisstants. Maybe the job/title of Rememberencer could be ressurected.

[toaae]

Thanks for your reply!

 

The exact sect within the Mechanicus they are associated with could be a fringe group that are themselves considered very odd by the other Mechanicus. this way your chapter could have fancy toys but not be 'super-close' to the Mechanicus like the Iron Hands are.

 

I actually really like this idea. I'm going to shameless steal it, because that really does seem like a great way to create the sort of relationship between the two that I want. The question now is, does the chapter send it's marines for techmarine training to mars, or to a different world where this sect trains them? I'm thinking the second one.

 

Would think twice about the role of smashing up a host of Chaos Dreads early in history. Chaos Dreads are as rare as Loyalist Dreads on their respective side. Smashing up a battle company of the Dark Mechaincus or the Dragon Cultists or even an Oblitorator Brotherhood could be a substitute. You could even just about get away with them having beaten up a small outpost of Necrons woken early by the Mechanicus Explorators in a monumental accident. Maybe even a chaos tainted regiment from the Legio Cybernetica, but that background fluff is a bit obscure now.

 

Good point. I'll think about it some more.

 

I like the idea of the Personality Cults. Maybe this could be a way of adding in-chapter rivelry. Lets say that one of the Marines, goes places, does much, kills lots and carves out a name for themselves. He could have been a Death Cultist who had a thing for sniper rifels, traps and covert killing. Another hero arises and he has a thing for obliteration things utterly, bringing guns to knife fights, nukes to gun fights, likes to use heavy artilery and just happens to have been raised with the Thorian Creed. a couple of hundred years down the line you have people who never met either of them idolising one and despising the other.

 

I don't want to break up the chapter. The way I think of it would be that the cults are used to inspire. It's less about worship and more about using as an example. They are all still united for the same purposes, but individual battle-brothers will aspire to a different cult.

 

But then what does this do to the idea of a Company Structure? Breaks it up quite nicely i think.

 

It could, if I went that route. I want to make a pretty heavily codex chapter, though.

 

Will there be a Chapter Master or will the Steelbreakers have an Iron Hands style Chapter Council? If you have a Chapter Master then which ever Cult he belongs to will have prestige and more say into the long-term and day to day running of the chapter. But how is he chosen? To maintain the cult system you can not rely on popular vote or you have the most numorous faction gaining dominence and extending power and staying in power for all time. You would need people to chose who are closer to neutral in the constant infighting. The Dreadnaughts maybe?

 

I don't want to mess with the codex organization. The cults are just a belief system. They wouldn't have any effect on organization or combat doctrine. It's about the achievements of the person that the cult was established around.

 

Thank you for your thoughts! Already helping me flesh this out.

[Grand Master Tyrak]

I actually really like this idea. I'm going to shameless steal it, because that really does seem like a great way to create the sort of relationship between the two that I want. The question now is, does the chapter send it's marines for techmarine training to mars, or to a different world where this sect trains them? I'm thinking the second one.

 

I'd just make a point that the second one isn't really feasible - the Mechanicus top brass could simply deny the sect the knowledge of Space Marine technology. It's limited to a handful of forgeworlds anyway for security reasons. It might be better to send the Techmarines to Mars as normal (so as not to raise any suspicions) and then have the sect installed with the Chapter itself ready to 'reeducate' the Techmarines when they back - in essence Mars provides the knowledge, the sect supplies the ideology.