KJDavid Posted July 8, 2010 Share Posted July 8, 2010 The Night Wyrms Angels of Death Fueled by the dishonor of ancient failure, the Night Wyrms Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes fight to reclaim the lost worlds of the Margin. Once, the Night Wyrms stood as a bulwark between the worlds of Saleos Sector and all threats. Now, with that name but an echo, the Night Wyrms wage an endless war they have already lost. Founding and Earliest History According to some, the Night Wyrms were born to face impossible odds. The battles of the Age of Apostasy brought the Imperium of Man nearly to its knees, and, in its weakened state, xenos hordes poured past once strong borders. The final chapter to be birthed of the 22nd Founding, the Night Wyrms, found themselves hastily pushed into the path of a massive ork tidal wave now known as the Eight-Headed War. Three brand new Astartes chapters fought the xenos, but only the Wyrms suffered near annhiliation. At the Battle of Morjiang, the Night Wyrms stood alone, shoulder to shoulder, against a tidal wave of orks rampaging across the surface. The blood of xenos and demigods painted Imperial cities black while smoke from innumerable fires darkened the sky. Yet, the Night Wyrms emerged victorious, holding their banners high through the worst that the cauldron of war could throw at them. In honor of the victory, the Night Wyrms claimed Morjiang as their homeworld, and set about the difficult task for driving the last orks from the Saleos Sector. Their crusade proved successful, and won them laurels among the high and mighty. The Wyrms would survive and thrive for another three thousand years of glorious victories. The Fall of Saleos Sector Sometime in the early 37th Millennium the Darvone Insurrection (219-257.M40) very nearly destroyed the Saleos Sector. Innumerable cults, organized across light years of space, rose up as one to overthrow their righteous masters. Shadowy assassins struck down great lords and even inquisitors, and the blackest sorceries pulled warps torms of terrible power to swallow entire star systems. Chaos threatened to unravel everything Man had built. Morjiang was unaffected, ignored as it was by the sector economy, but two of the Night Wyrm's recruit worlds succumbed to foul influence. Virus bombs murdered the population of Chandao before the Wyrms fleet could intervene. Sondao died to perversion as hidden cults emerged and slaughtered many among the planet's loyal populace. A Night Wyrm squadron arrived in orbit, and the ships' voxes picked up numerous transmissions from the surface, but each frequency was choked with sickening praise to the Ruinous Powers. Immediate Exterminatus ended such abject blasphemy. Wounded they mighat have been, but the Night Wyrms were not dead. The Night Wyrms swore oaths of vengeance, and launched themselves into crusade. Night Wyrms stormed across the sector in a wrath, slaying all who dared to ally themselves with the Ruinous Powers. Their anger was a thing to be witnessed, and even remarked at by Inquisitor Tephanus Marx in his much later penned A History of Failure. By 257.M40 the Night Wyrms and Imperial allies crushed the final resistance of the Darvone Insurrection. The False Prophet Darvone, finally identified as Traitor Astartes, evaded Night Wyrms and Officio Assassinorum agents and disappeared. What Traitor Legion or warband Darvone pledged allegiance to remains a mystery. The Wyrms swore a death oath upon Darvone, and the 3rd Squad, 9th Company hunt him still. None know, since the 3/9 disappeared into the warp in 259, and has not yet been heard form. The warp storms abated, the last few heretics were put against the wall, and peace returned, but only for a time. In 260.M40 an Ork horde of unfathomable size gorged Saleos. Weakened as it was by the recent insurrection, the sector military struggled to put up any kind of defense. The Night Wyrms too were unprepared, caught in the midst of rebuilding shattered companies and replacing lost wargear. Meanwhile, on Holiest Terra, the Departmento Munitorum calculated the long odds. The Ork horde broached the size of any yet encountered, and Saleos Sector stood weak with some worlds, no doubt, wallowing in faithlessness barely suppressed. Holding Saleos would require a massive influx of ships and troops from nearby sectors, possibly even further afield. Even then, some doubted if Saleos could be saved at all. Word came from on high: sell your lives dearly, no further aid will be forthcoming. Yet, news of this never reached Morjiang and the Wyrms. The Astartes engaged the ork horde on Jekal Prime, and, against all odds, held the orks there, waiting for what the Space Marines assumed would be an unstoppable tide of inevitable Imperium support. But, day by day, more orks fell from the sky, and the only allies that fought beside the Wyrms were the Jekel PDF, ill-trained and ill-equipped. Long months after the campaign began, a Night Wyrms serf-astropath received word from Lord Militant Phaxos of the proclamation from Holy Terra. The Lord Militant requested the Night Wyrms to hold the orks for as long as possible so as much wealth and techno-arcana could be evacuated from Saleos as possible. For the first time in Chapter history a Chapter Master was dumbstruck, unable to even know how to respond. Sorrowfully, the Night Wyrms abandoned Jeckle Prime and the world died the same morning. The Second Battle of Morjiang The Night Wyrms retreated to their homeworld, despair in their hearts. Their last recruit world, Jui-bai had fallen while they fought on Jekal, they had already sustained heavy losses, and the innumerable orks surged through the void, closer and closer. With nothing else left to them, the Space Marines swore death-oaths and prepared to die in battle from the hallowed walls of their fortress-monastery. The orks soon fought their way to Morjiang, an Astartes homeworld an impossible prize for the xenos to resist. In orbit, the Dragon Fleet fought to destruction, slaughtering three times their own weight in ships, but that was not nearly enough. Ork dropships soaked the surface, and death seemed a foregone conclusion. Soon, the walls of Sacred Mountain, the Night Wyrms fortress-monastery, was stained with foul xenos blood. For forty days and forty nights the Angels of Death fought an ork horde stretching to the horizon, and the killing choked them so that it nearly slaked even their thirst for battle. Yet, no matter how many the Wyrms killed, there were always more orks, and no more Wyrms to replace those who inevitably fell. On the 41st Day the Night Wyrms found succor. Long ignored by the Wyrms, the feudal mountain tribes had watched the orks fall from the sky. The tribes murmured as the orks surrounded and lay siege to the sacred House of the Demigods. Meanwhile, fleet-footed messengers carried word to every scattered mountain-hold for leagues. On the 41st day, the tribes marched to war, a beast aroused by the scent of prey's blood in the water. The slaughter was complete. The tribes were mortal, but fanatical and vast. They smashed against the ork horde, and, at first, made little difference. But each day new warriors arrived and new tribes threw themselves, screaming the Litanies of Faith, into the despised greenskins. The Battle of Morjiang ended on the 50th Day, an unending sea of ork dead stretching all around the slopes of Sacred Mountain. Rebuilding In the battle's wake, the Night Wyrms counted the cost of what they later came to call the Doomed War. The chapter was decimated, but alive, a mere three hundred brothers remaining to it. The warp roiled with ork disruption, and what messages were received told only of worlds burning under xenos siege. The Dragon Fleet no longer existed. The Wyrms were stranded and alone, but with so many dead enemy trod beneath their booted feet, they refused to give in to despair. One thing Morjiang's tribes had in plenty were death-cults. Warrior fanaticism grew for centuries under the Wyrms shadow, and it was from those death-cults that the Wyrms decided to draw their new aspirants. Not all the Night Wyrms were in favor of this new recruiting strategy. Voices of dissent were raised, pointing to the cults possibly dangerous fanaticism, but need overrode desire and the first death-cultists were inducted into the Maw. The Long Crusade In 265.M40 the Lord Militant Phaxos assumed the Night Wyrms destroyed and dispatched official word to Holy Terra to inform the High Lords of the Chapter's death. In 351.M40, Salvation of Morjiang, a sword frigate, emerged from the warp on the edge of the Phaxos Sector to smother rumors of the Chapter's doom, and inform the Imperium of Chapter Master Bao-Dai's sacred pledge to retake Saleos Sector, planet-by-planet. The Long Crusade has not, despite ceaseless effort, resulted in the rebirth of the devastated Saleos Sector. Most of the once proud worlds remain abandoned to ruin, wasted to nothing by the ravages of time or the countless roving threats that grew up in the vacuum of military power. Yet, the Wyrms show no desire to end their impossible task, and simply ignore any requests to relocate. Homeworld “This is our only world now, forever and more. We shall never abandon it, not if Abaddon himself should dare us.” – Chapter Master Bao-Dai, Night Wyrms Morjiang is a green, blue world with terrain as varied what was once said to grace Holy Terra. Morjiang could support a much larger population than it does, since the plains are prime agricultural territory. Ancient tradition, fear, and the power of the death cults keep the relatively small population, by Imperial standards, hemmed into narrow mountain valleys and across scattered island archipelagos. The human inhabitants have been largely ignored by the Imperium at large since the end of the Eight-Headed War when the agri-export capability was destroyed, and the planet's tithe grade was reduced ot Exactus Non. The Administratum abandoned the planet, and the Night Wyrms then claimed it as their own. Little did anyone suspect that such a practice would become habit forming for the Saleos bureaucrats. In the 41st Millenium, Morjiang continued to provide recruits and foodstuff to the Night Wyrms Chapter, much as it had done since the Year 260 War. The feudal mountain princes and death cults maintined their frequent wars and blood feuds, with hatred of outsiders and loyalty to the Wyrms providing the only communal links. Even after the Imperium re-established contact with the Night Wyrms it continued to ignore the Morjiangi. Combat Doctrine “Zeal is its own excuse.” – Anonymous The Night Wyrms fought according to the Codex Astartes for the bulk of their history. The Doomed War and the demands of the Long Crusade have changed things. The bulk of the Wyrm's armored fighting vehicles were destroyed during the Siege of Sacred Mountain, and not yet fully replaced. In addition, most of the revered Thunderhawks were shot down or destroyed when the Dragon Fleet died. This means that the Night Wyrms rarely fight with proper armored support, and Thunderhawk insertions are few and far between. The Wyrms more commonly deploy via standard Imperial transports and march to the battlezone. Only the 3rd Company possesses Rhinos in any number, and they are guarded scrupulously. Each one lost is lamented as if it were a murdered brother, since the holy APCs have become so difficult to replace. Organization The Night Wyrms adhere to the Codex Astartes in terms of organization on paper. This often varies widely in practice due to the unusual demands of their unsupported war against the myriad enemies of a fallen sector. And despite their lack of supervision, isolated as they are, Night Wyrms numbers rarely exceed 1000 Astartes due to combat casualties and logistical limitations. The prime Codex divergence occurs in the 10th Company. The 10th Company is made up of scouts, as many Astartes chapters are, but it also containts what the Wyrms call Death-Aspirants. These are young recruits who have accepted the various Astartes organs without physiological rejection, and who have passed all the examinations. The Death-Aspirants are not full scouts, nor are they full battle-brothers. The Death-Aspirants exist in a quasi-warrior status until two things happen: one, a suit of power armor becomes available through death or construction or, two, the Death-Aspirant joins the Forever Scouts. Those who receive power armor join one of the nine companies. Those who become Forever Scouts are destined to walk in 10th Company for their entire term of service, constantly scouting Saelos worlds to determine how to retake such planets for the Imperium. While a Death-Aspirant a recruit is still technically part of the chapter and part of their death cult fighting school from whence they came. Sometimes these Death-Aspirants have been known to fight amongst themselves when cult feuds or local wars break out. This is, officially, frowned upon by the chapter, but no steps to stop such bloodshed have ever been taken. Forever Scouts The 10th Company, the Forever Scouts, will never don the Sacred Ceramite, yet in this penance they do not lament. The short centuries have returned the Saleos Sector to a primitive and dangerous state. The Wyrms must constantly reconoitter and explore, both to find potential allies and vulnerable enemies to smite. The Forever Scouts fulfill this sacred role. The Forever Scouts provide the chapter with ground reconaissance teams, but also maintain the chapters fleet. The Dragon Fleet was destroyed at the 2nd Battle of Morjiang, and each new ship the chapter acquires is handed to the 10th Company. Given the wide campaign area and varied duties, the 10th Company is much, much larger than a standard company and may maintain as many as five hundred brothers, but none wear Sacred Ceramite. Beliefs “Piety, purity, and penance are all we have left.” – Chaplain Shudo Zeong The Night Wyrms still consider themselves guardians of the Saleos Sector, and interpret their Long Crusade through that lense. They are not fools, and realize the longs odds set against them. No matter, every day they awaken to fight what many call a hopeless fight. And yet, they will fight it until they are defeated. This is not a gloomy belief, and unlike some Astartes chapters, the Night Wyrms will not fight pointless last stands. To the Night Wyrms, it is simply the way things are. The Wyrms despire orcs, and mutation of any kind, possibly a hold over from common Morjiang death-cult belief. Wyrms barely tolerate Navigators and Astropaths, but only because they must and the Emperor himself did. They maintain Librarians in their ranks, but, again, only because the Emperor himself was a psyker. No others are trusted. Gene-Seed “Purity Above All.” – inscribed above the main gates of the Sacred Mountain The official history of the 22nd Founding records that the Mechanicus used Dornian seed from the Crimson Fists and Hammers of Dorn to create the Night Wyrms. Most scholars argue this is erroneous, since the Night Wyrms possess fully functioning Betcher's Glands and Sus-an membranes. Both glands degenerated out of Dorn derived gene-seed centuries ago. It seems more likely the Mechanicus used Ultramarines gene-seed to create the Night Wyrms, and the official history is incorrect. Whatever the case, the Night Wyrms regard Rogal Dorn as their progenitor, praising his courage and faith in the Emperor before and after every battle. The Wyrm Crusade and Heresy-era histories in the Sacred Mountain also portray Dorn as one of the Emperor's most zealous killers, slaughtering any who dared blaspheme against the Emperor's Divine Name. This interpretation conflicts with most accounts of Dorn, but the Night Wyrms simply dismiss such texts as erroneous. They, after all, know their primarch. Battle Cry The chapter holds no official battle call. Many launch themselves into the fight with a simple roar. Heraldry A purple drake's head sigil on a field of white inside a broken ring. The drake's head represents the marines themselves. The ring represents their original duty to guard the Saleos Sector. Recently, however, some Night Wyrms insist their duty is not to guard, but slaughter everything that desecrates the once-sector's holy ground. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sigismund Himself Posted July 9, 2010 Share Posted July 9, 2010 Here's your IA since Ferrata's meltagun shot seems to have gone wide and accidentally got the other topic :drool: Author's Note: This is the 2nd draft (I think!) of a SM Chapter I'm creating. I want to solicit your feedback, comments, and criticism. I have very thick skin, and really, really want to know what you think of this effort. Please, let me know, and don't worry I won't grouse if the chapter isn't to your tastes! The Night Wyrms Angels of Death Fueled by piety and zeal the Night Wyrms Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes patrol a portion of the murky borderlands between Segmentum Solar and Ultima Segmentum. Once, the Night Wyrms stood as a bulwark between the worlds of Saleos Sector and all threats. Now, the once powerful sector reduced to ashes, the Night Wyrms seek only to slaughter their foes in His Name. Origins The battles of the Age of Apostasy brought the Imperium of Man nearly to its knees, and left whole regions of space defenseless against xenos invasion as each Imperial faction sought to outnumber the other. In the war's wake, the High Lords ordered the 22nd Founding of Space Marines to help rebuild some of the defenses left crumbling. The Night Wyrms, the last of the 22nd Chapters to be born, found themselves hastily pushed into the path of the Eight-Headed War pouring out of an ork empire along the Ultima border. The Night Wyrms were not the only Space Marines to face the orks in the Eight-Headed War. Three of their 22nd Founding brothers joined them, but it was only the Night Wyrms who were nearly annihilated. The Battle of Morjiang saw the Night Wyrms stand alone against a tidal wave of ork invaders. The blood of xenos and demigods painted Imperial cities black while smoke from innumerable fires darkened the sky. From this first cauldron of battle the Night Wyrms emerged victorious, but only three hundred brothers remained after the horrible fighting and Morjiang's populace was nearly wiped out. Yet, the Night Wyrms did not lament. Each of their remaining brothers was now a scarred veteran, tested in one of the hottest forges imaginable. So too was Morjiang changed, the once agrarian people transforming nearly overnight into scattered, paranoid, mountain tribes worshipping the God-Emperor in his Death God aspect more of than not. The Night Wyrms largely ignored the people of Morjiang even though the chapter decided to make the planet it's homeworld. The scattered, violent tribes built feudal kingdoms and warred with each other. They only saw the Night Wyrms when new comets, actually starships, heralded the demigods' arrival or departure. The Night Wyrms needed nothing the Morjiangi produced, since the Administratum had already established three death worlds in the sector as Night Wyrms recruiting grounds. It seemed, at first, that the Night Wyrms and Morjiangi would share the same planet, but live different destinies, fated never to meet. Or, so it seemed. The Fall of Saleos Sector Approximately three thousand years passed between the Night Wyrms Founding, sometime in the early 37th Millennium, and the Darvone Insurrection (219-257.M40). Clearly planned over years if not decades the Darvone Insurrection very nearly destroyed the Saleos Sector. Innumerable cults, organized across light years of space, rose up as one to overthrow their rightful masters, shadowy assassins struck down great lords and even inquisitors, and the blackest sorcery cut off entire systems with warp storms of tremendous violence. Morjiang was unaffected, ignored as it was by the Wyrms and the Saleos economy, but two of the Night Wyrm's recruit worlds succumbed to foul influence. Changun died before the Night Wyrms could arrive after invading heretics, defeated on the ground by Changun's deadly warrior tribes, fired virus bombs onto the surface. Sondao died to perversion as hidden cults emerged and slaughtered most of the planet's loyal populace. When a Night Wyrm squadron arrived in orbit, their voxes picked up numerous transmissions from the surface, but each frequency was choked with sickening praise to the Ruinous Powers. Cyclonic torpedoes ended the Sondao blasphemy. The Night Wyrms, like the rest of the sector, were wounded, but not dead. Changun and Sondao were lost to them, but they retained their homeworld, Morjiang, and Jui-bai, long their most productive recruitment site. The Night Wyrms swore oaths of vengeance, and launched themselves into crusade against the heretics pledging allegiance to the false prophet known only as Darvone. By 257.M40 the Night Wyrms and reinforcements from surrounding sectors crushed the final resistance of the Darvone Insurrection. The False Prophet Darvone, finally identified as Traitor Astartes, evaded Night Wyrms and Officio Assassinorum agents and disappeared. What Traitor Legion or warband Darvone pledged allegiance to remains a mystery to the modern day. It seemed the Saleos Sector had survived the worst that the Ruinous Powers could throw at it. The warp storms abated, the last few heretics were put against the wall, and peace returned, but only for a time. In 260.M40 an Ork horde of unfathomable size invaded the sector. The Saleos military machine struggled to put up any kind of defense, still weakened as it was by the recent rebellions. The Night Wyrms too were unprepared, caught in the midst of rebuilding shattered companies from the last recruitment world left to them. Meanwhile, the Departmento Munitorum calculated the long odds. The Ork horde approached the size of any yet encountered, and Saleos Sector stood weak with some worlds, no doubt, still unfaithful. Holding the sector would require another massive influx of ships and troops from nearby sectors, efforts those sectors might balk at after having paid so high a price in blood so recently. The Munitorum authorities made the decision to abandon the Saleos Sector. No one bothered to inform the Night Wyrms. They engaged the ork horde on Jeckle Prime, and, against all estimations, held it there, waiting for what they assumed would be a horde of slow moving but inevitable Imperium support. The Night Wyrms were wrong. The ork horde grew in strength, day by day, and the only allies that fought beside the Wyrms were the Jeckle PDF, poorly trained and badly equipped. Finally, a Night Wyrms serf-astropath received a message from the Lord Militant Phaxos that the sector was being abandoned. The Lord Militant asked the Night Wyrms to hold the orks for as long as possible so as much wealth could be evacuated as possible. For the first time in Chapter history a Chapter Master was dumbstruck, unable to even speak. Sorrowfully, the Night Wyrms abandoned Jeckle Prime and the world died the morning after. The Second Battle of Morjiang The Night Wyrms retreated to their homeworld, unsure of what to do. Their sacred duty demanded they defend the sector, but, for all their power, not even they could stop an Ork invasion of such magnitude. And Jui-bai had already fallen while they defended Jeckle. How could the chapter replaces its losses without a world from which to recruit? There seemed only one thing left to the Wyrms, and that was to die in battle taking as many foul xenos with them as they could. It took the orks a year to storm their way to Morjiang, but eventually they did. The orks knew they were attacking an Astartes Homeworld, and the vast bulk of the xenos host arrived in orbit. The Nigth Wyrms fleet fought to destruction, and slaughtered three times their own weight in ships, but it was not enough. The orks soaked the surface and Morjiang seemed doomed to fall. The Night Wyrms fought the greenskins from the walls of Sacred Mountain, their fortress-monastery. For forty days and forty nights an ork horde stretching as far as the eye could see surrounding the wals. The Nigth Wyrms killed and killed and killed. No matter how strong the void shielded walls stood, it was simply a question of numbers. Night Wyrms died every day and eventually there would be no one left to fight. On the 41st Day the Night Wyrms found succor. The feudal mountain tribes had watched the orks fall from the sky. The tribes watched the orks surrounded and lay siege to the House of the Demigods for over a month. Meanwhile, messengers carried word by foot and horseback to every scattered mountain-hold on the planet. By the 41st day the mountain tribes were ready, an army millions strong marching toward the Sacred Mountain. The orks, being orks, did not bother to post sentries or security details in their rear areas. The mountain army smashed into the horde's back while it besieged the Sacred Mountain on the 41st Day. The orks were caught between the two terrible hosts, and, though it took another week of fighting, were slaughted to a beast. The Night Wyrms, exhausted but unbroken, bowed weary heads to the grace of the Emperor of Mankind, and opened their gates to the mountain tribes. The feudal princes that survived the battle saw, for the first time, the demigods up close and, within a few days, had added new saints to their isolated faith. Rebuilding The Night Wyrms survived the Year 260 Ork War, but just barely. Their last recruit world was destroyed beneath a green tide, their fleet was wrecked, barely a hundred Wyrms remained, and the bulk of the chapter's most experienced officers were all dead. The Wyrms that survived, however, refused to allow this to be their final hour. One thing the Wyrms did have in plenty was gene-seed as early every Wyrm slain died behind the walls, his body easily recovereable and undesecreated The arcane devices for implantation and conversion also remained safe in the lowest depths, and the bulk of the serf-chirurgeons survived. The Wyrms could make new brothers, and they resolved to recruit from Morjiang's innumerable death cults. The feudal princes were elated and the death cults, or so the histories record, offered praise to the Death-Emperor in bloody ceremonies for weeks on end. Not all the Night Wyrms were in favor of this new recruiting strategy. The Wyrms had long been a pragmatic and diffident to the concept of Emperor as Living God. The death cults were zealous servants, true, but perhaps also dangerously fanatic and tended to slaughter each other in complicted feuds as much as anything else. Necessity, however, overrode such concerns. If the chapter was to survive if must have new recruits, and before the orks returned which seemed a very real possibility. With their communications cut off and fleet destroyed the Wyrms had no way of knowing that the bulk of the ork horde died on Morjiang's outside their walls. The Long Quiet What began in 265.M40 the Night Wyrms call the Long Quiet. Their last astropath died during the Seige of the Sacred Mountain, and the fleet ruined. In time the Techwyrms still living managed to salvage one ship, a Sword-class frigate, but even it was heavily damaged. Painstaking repairs began, using what was left of the Wyrm ships in orbit for spare part and even salvaing ork hulks in desperation. Meanwhile, the rest of the Imperium assumed the Night Wyrms destroyed and dispatched official word to Holy Terra to inform the High Lords of the Chapter's death. The Sword frigate, rechristened the Salvation of Morjiang, finally entered the warp in 337.M40. The Salvation finally returned to 351 after a long journey through the shattered Saleos worlds until it found an Imperial outpost in neighboring Phaxos Sector. The Phaxos authorities were just as surprised as any to learn the Night Wyrms still existed, and provided technicians, wargear, and astropaths to help the chapter recover. The Salvation returned to Morjiang with these boons and a request. The Lord Sector Phaxos asked the Night Wyrms to relocate, promising every support imaginable if they did so. The new Chapter Master, Bao-Dai, only ninety years old, angrily refused. The Night Wyrms would night retreat from their original pledge. They were bound to defend Saleos Sector, and they would. Now, however, Bao-Dai swore to retake the sector planet-by-planet until it was reborn, a testament to humanity's ability to endure. So began what the Night Wyrms call the Long Crusade... The End Times of the 41st Millennium The Long Crusade has not, despite unceasing effort, resulted in the rebirth of the devastated Saleos Sector. Most of the once proud worlds remain desolate and ruined, wasted to nothing by the ravages of time or the countless roving threats allowed in thanks to the absence of Imperium protection. Yet, the Wyrms have made some progress in returning order to what most outside call the Saleos Margin. Since the mid-41st Millennium, Rogue Trader dynasties from Phaxos Sector and other neighboring regions have begun exploiting the potential riches within the Margin. Morjiang is virtually the only secure location within the entire Margin, and, as such, quickly became a hub for trade, commerce, and local exploitation. Wyrm archives also contained more up-to-date information on the Margin than any other source, and the chapter forced the traders to pay exorbitantly for access. By the dawn of the 9th Century, 41st Millennium a number of small settlements had been founded within easy striking distance of Morjiang. Currently a mix of Rogue Trader lords and entrepreneurs rule these worlds, but each bows to any dictates from the current Wyrm Chapter Master, Chao. Some Phaxos Sector observers predict the Wyrms will care out their own void fiefdom like Ultramar in the east, but there are whispers of Administratum efforts to short-circuit such plans, if there are any. The Wyrms do seem intent on expanding, but their only official holding, acquired in 979.M40 is a death world in Phaxos Sector proper known as Okxan. Okxan was once a Doom Knights Chapter recruiting world, but following warp storm consumption of the Doom Knights homeworld the Astartes lost control. Okxan was briefly independent before the Night Wyrms took control after months of negotations with a surviving Doom Knigths captain. Many fragments of the Doom Knights chapter opposed the deal. In the late 41st Millennium, the Knights clung to life despite losing 75% of their strength in one stroke and the remainder breaking up after failed efforts to appoint a new chapter master. Violence almost broke out between the Knights and the Wyrms in 978.M41, before the negotiations concluded, but Chapter Master Chao, reportedly, talked the angry Knights down from the precipice. The Okxan Acquisition, as it is known, has caused problems within the Night Wyrms as well. Chapter Master Chao pushed the deal forward over the objections of many senior captains, who argued only true Wyrms could come from the death cults of Morjiang and that Chao sought to change their most sacred practices. Chao never provided any official reason for bringing Okxan blood into his chapter, but has done so at as steady rate since its introduction. Extreme hazing has led to some deaths of full Okxan brothers if some rumors are to be believed. Whatever the case, the Okxan recruits are almost uniformly maligned and only accepted into companies by captains sympathetic to Chao's designs. What this possible schism will mean for the chapter as it enters the 42nd Millennium is anyone's guess. Chao's insistence also set tongues wagging among those in the know, and more than one Inquisitor has expressed interest in the mystery. Whether any of the Emperor's Most Holy Ordos have investigated further is, of course, unknown. Homeworld “This is our only world now, forever and more. We shall never abandon it, not if Abaddon himself should dare us.” – Chapter Master Bao-Dai, Night Wyrms speaking about Morjiang Morjiang is a green, blue world with terrain as varied what was once said to grace Holy Terra. Morjiang could support a much larger population than it does, since the plains are prime agricultural territory. Ancient tradition, fear, and the power of the death cults keep the relatively small population, by Imperial standards, hemmed into narrow mountain valleys and across scattered island archipelagos. The human inhabitants have been largely ignored by the Imperium at large since the end of the Eight-Headed War when the agri-export capability was destroyed, and the planet's tithe grade was reduced ot Exactus Non. The Administratum abandoned the planet, and the Night Wyrms then claimed it as their own. Little did anyone suspect that such a practice would become habit forming for the Saleos bureaucrats. In the 41st Millenium, Morjiang continued to provide recruits and foodstuff to the Night Wyrms Chapter, much as it had done since the Year 260 War. The feudal mountain princes and death cults maintined their frequent wars and blood feuds, with hatred of outsiders and loyalty to the Wyrms providing the only communal links. Even after the Imperium re-established contact with the Night Wyrms it continued to ignore the Morjiangi. Combat Doctrine “Zeal is its own excuse.” – Anonymous The Night Wyrms fought according to the Codex Astartes for the bulk of their history. The Year 260 War, the Long Quiet, the Long Crusade, and the infusion of death-cult aspirants into the chapter changed things. The bulk of the Wyrm's armored fighting vehicles were destroyed during the Siege of Sacred Mountian, and only partially replaced over the intervening centuries. In addition, most of the revered Thunderhawks were shot down or destroyed with the Wyrm fleet. The death-cult's subtle influence over the centuries has had the most impact, by far. Once the bolter held pride of place as most favored weapon, but now it is the chainsword. The Wyrms battlelust drives them to close quarters with the enemy at every opportunity. Devastator Squads are often maligned by aggressive captains, and Assault Squads held up as exemplars of what it is to be a Night Wyrm. The Wyrms also hold faith to be more important than cover, and rarely fight from behind any. Some have taken to saying that the Siege was the last time they will fight from behind walls, or that holy plate is the only cover a Wyrm needs. Whatever the case, most Wyrms disdain holding back. Such habits have led to an emphasis on hand-to-hand combat and close quarters battle. The Night Wyrms mount as many troops with jump packs as they can or, failing that, simply charge the enemy whenever even remotely feasible. If either strategy fails or seems doomed, then the Wyrms will fall back on ranged fire, but they despise it. Organization The Night Wyrms adhere to the Codex Astartes in terms of organization on paper. This often varies widely in practice due to the unusual demands of their unsupported war against the myriad enemies of a fallen sector. And despite their lack of supervision, isolated as they are, Night Wyrms numbers rarely exceed 1000 brothers due to combat casualties and logistical limitations. The prime Codex divergence occurs in the 10th Company. The 10th Company is made up of scouts, as many Astartes chapters are, but it also containts what the Wyrms call Death-Aspirants. These are young recruits who have accepted the various Astartes organs without physiological rejection, and who have passed all the examinations. The Death-Aspirants are not full scouts, nor are they full battle-brothers. The Death-Aspirants exist in a quasi-warrior status until two things happen: one, a suit of power armor becomes available through death or construction or, two, the Death-Aspirant joins the Forever Scouts. Those who receive power armor join one of the nine companies. Those who become Forever Scouts are destined to walk in 10th Company for their entire term of service, constantly scouting Saelos worlds to determine how to retake such planets for the Imperium. While a Death-Aspirant a recruit is still technically part of the chapter and part of their death cult fighting school from whence they came. Sometimes these Death-Aspirants have been known to fight amongst themselves when cult feuds or local wars break out. This is, officially, frowned upon by the chapter, but no steps to stop such bloodshed have ever been taken. Wyrm Guard The most honored squad in the Night Wyrms Chapter are the elite Wyrm Guard. The Wyrm Guard protect the chapter master wherever he goes, and have done so since the Eight Headed War. The Bull, always a veteran sergeant, leads the Wyrm Guard. Each Wyrm wields a thunder hammer and march into battle inside consecreated Terminator Armor. Organizationly they are part of 1st Company, but answer only to the chapter master himself. Beliefs “Piety, purity, and penance are all we have left.” – Chaplain Shudo Zeong The Night Wyrms no longer consider themselves guardians of any kind, since the fall of the sector. They are the Emperor's Angels of Death, raised up to kill in His Holy Name. The Night Wyrms don't particularly care who they slaughter, nor do they particularly care what the rest of the Imperium thinks of them. They do not hesitate to kill any they consider unpious or unworthy, which has led to problems the few times the Night Wyrms have taken part in operations outside what is now called the Saleos Margin. Above all they live to slaughter anyone or anything occupying Saleos worlds, which they consider rightful Imperium territory. The Wyrms, of course, despire orcs, but also mutation of any kind, possibly a hold over from common death-cult belief. Wyrms barely tolerate Navigators and Astropaths, but only because they must and the Emperor himself did. They maintain Librarians in their ranks, but, again, only because the Emperor himself was a psyker. All else are considered unworthy and potentially blasphemous. They do not trust any other kind of psyker, even sanctioned psykers in the Guard, Navy, or Inquistion. Gene-Seed “Purity Above All.” – inscribed above the main gates of the Sacred Mountain The official history of the 22nd Founding recorded that the Mechanicus used Dornian seed from the Crimson Fists and Hammers of Dorn to create the Night Wyrms. Most scholars argue this must be erroneous, since the Night Wyrms possess fully functioning Betcher's Glands and Sus-an membranes. Both glands degenerated out of Dorn derived gene-seed centuries ago. It seems more likely that the Mechanicus used Ultramarines gene-seed to create the Night Wyrms, and the official history most likely contains a simple typo. Despite this confusion the Night Wyrms hail Rogal Dorn as their primarch progenitor, praising his courage and faith in the Emperor before and after every battle. The Wyrm Crusade and Heresy-era histories in the Sacred Mountain also portray Dorn as one of the Emperor's most zealous killers, slaughtering any who dared blaspheme against the Emperor's Divine Name This interpretation conflicts with most accounts of Dorn, but the Night Wyrms simply dismiss such texts as erroneous. They maintain that their fiery desire to deal death must come from their Primarch and nowhere else. Battle Cry and Other Notes “Death to His Foes!” is the most ubiquitious Night Wyrms battle cry, but the chapter holds no official war chant motto. Many marines simply launch themselves into the fray with inarticulate roars. A few Night Wyrms have been heard to shout, “Kill! Kill! Kill!” during battle and another slogan gaining some popularity is, “Skulls for the Golden Throne!” Heraldry A purple drake's head sigil on a field of white inside a broken ring. The drake's head represents the marines themselves. The ring represents their original duty to guard the Saleos Sector. Recently, however, some Night Wyrms insist their duty is not to guard, but slaughter everything that desecrates the once-sector's holy ground. Motto “Bellus Bellum Gratia” War for War's Sake Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2457960 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJDavid Posted July 9, 2010 Author Share Posted July 9, 2010 Lol! Wow didn't notice that, thanks, pal I appreciate it! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2457999 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octavulg Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 I...I really like this. It's got gothick, it's got neat stuff, it has a little too much detail but not nearly as much as most first-time DIYers, and the Chapter does more than just kill stuff. It's pretty damn good. That said, the history section is very, very long. Probably longer than it needs to be. I'd recommend going through and paring down your writing - you sometimes stretch things out a little longer than you need to, and it shows. But at least generally, things are very solid. Still. It's very good. EDIT: One logical flaw: Librarians would have allowed them to detect the presence of Orks on planet and possibly to communicate offworld. An obvious solution is to claim the Orks disrupted Warp space (which they do, somewhat), preventing communication by the Librarians, and just say that the Librarians weren't 100% certain on the Orks. Plus, once Orks are present, they're never gone forever in any case... Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2471370 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shinzaren Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 Well, now that Octavulg said it was ok, I feel obligated to look it over and find one flaw :P EDIT: Well...damn. It's awesome. I agree with Octavulg that it could be shortened a bit, and I also noticed some grammatical and spelling errors. Sentence structure could be improved in a few places as well. These are all easily fixed, minor things. The content, and the flavor of the Chapter are excellent. I did find ONE thing that I would ALMOST call a flaw :) Regarding the Forever Scouts. Is it seen as an honor? A punishment? I want to know more about this aspect of the chapter. You introduce it, and then never mention it again, and it is a really cool idea. Excellent first draft. Just a bit of trimming needed, and a some grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. Nice work. :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2471375 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octavulg Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Well, now that Octavulg said it was ok, I feel obligated to look it over and find one flaw tongue.gif EDIT: Well...damn. It's awesome. HA! :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2471392 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJDavid Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 Hey folks, thanks for the comments and criticisms, I really appreciate it! And, I'm sure you're right about spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc. I wasn't lying when I said it was a first draft! :) That said, the history section is very, very long. Probably longer than it needs to be. I'd recommend going through and paring down your writing - you sometimes stretch things out a little longer than you need to, and it shows. But at least generally, things are very solid. On the 2nd Draft I'll trim down the history section. I figured it was too long when I wrote it, but wanted to get everything out before I started deciding what to cut. You're right, there's definitly room there for some weight loss. One logical flaw: Librarians would have allowed them to detect the presence of Orks on planet and possibly to communicate offworld. An obvious solution is to claim the Orks disrupted Warp space (which they do, somewhat), preventing communication by the Librarians, and just say that the Librarians weren't 100% certain on the Orks. Plus, once Orks are present, they're never gone forever in any case... Oh, at first I was confused regarding what you were talking about, but you meant this line I bet: "With their communications cut off and fleet destroyed the Wyrms had no way of knowing that the bulk of the ork horde died on Morjiang, outside their walls." What I meant to communicate was that the bulk of the Ork horde in the SECTOR (not just their homeworld) was devastated. I'll try to make that much more clear, since there was some confusion. OR...would it be more interesting and plausible if their fortress-monastery was saved, but they still had to fight hard for years to liberate their homeworld, ork reproduction being what it is? Also, since the Adeptus Terra basically abandoned Saleos (thinking of making it a sub-sector, thoughts?), then it wouldn't matter if they could send astropathic hails to anyone, since the nearest allies weren't listening. Other Astartes would probably respond, but aid, should it ever arrive, would be a long time coming. Regarding the Forever Scouts. Is it seen as an honor? A punishment? I want to know more about this aspect of the chapter. You introduce it, and then never mention it again, and it is a really cool idea. Fair point. My basic idea on the Forever Scouts is that they are a mixture of battlefield point reconaissance teams, campaign long-range reconaissance teams, and spies. A sector is a big place, and since the Night Wyrms only rarely receive aid from the Imperium, it falls to the scouts to spread out among the Saleos Sector ruins and find battlefields. These are usually very long terms missions. I would say it's neither an honor or punishment. Maybe more like being a chaplain. Death-Aspirants are "called" to do it, so to speak, and I'm sure they would say by the Emperor, himself. But if you have any cool ideas for them, I'd be more than interested in listening. Thanks again for the comment. Should have the 2nd Draft revised and up soon! Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2471754 Share on other sites More sharing options...
RagingGriffon Posted July 25, 2010 Share Posted July 25, 2010 Solid! Time for me to weight in on some criticis,: mountain tribes worshipping the God-Emperor in his Death God aspect more of than not. Clunky. I know what you are getting at, but it needs to be reworded. Possibly, "... more often than not worshipping the Death God aspect of the Lord Emperor." One thing the Wyrms did have in plenty was gene-seed as early every Wyrm slain died behind the walls, his body easily recovereable and undesecreated The arcane devices for implantation and conversion also remained safe in the lowest depths, and the bulk of the serf-chirurgeons survived Too long. Break up and re-word. The new Chapter Master, Bao-Dai, only ninety years old, angrily refused. The Night Wyrms would night retreat from their original pledge Typo. Overall: I know what you were going with Darvone. You wanted to funnel the Wrym's into having to recruit from one world. However, I don't think it adds to much to the IA or Chapter. Now, if you brought back Davone later then maybe I would, but right now they are a forced tool. You can easily have them recruit from one world and then when the Waagh! showed up it destroyed them. What does poaching a recruitment world from Doom Knights do for your Chapter? I mean, it's a cool concept, and your Chapter is kind of racists towards the recruits, but I don't feel like it adds to the Wyrms. It seems like it is tagged on after that fact. I like your Chapter. I do. I just had to point out some things that I think can make your Chapter stronger. I look forward to more. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2472054 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJDavid Posted July 25, 2010 Author Share Posted July 25, 2010 I know what you were going with Darvone. You wanted to funnel the Wrym's into having to recruit from one world. However, I don't think it adds to much to the IA or Chapter. Now, if you brought back Davone later then maybe I would, but right now they are a forced tool. You can easily have them recruit from one world and then when the Waagh! showed up it destroyed them. What does poaching a recruitment world from Doom Knights do for your Chapter? I mean, it's a cool concept, and your Chapter is kind of racists towards the recruits, but I don't feel like it adds to the Wyrms. It seems like it is tagged on after that fact. Ah, let me explain my thinking behind that (and good catch on the other stuff!).... Basically, what I was trying to get across was that the loss of the recruit worlds forced the NW to recruit from their homeworld's death cults. This has pushed the chapter into an emphasis on bloodletting and killing and is very, very slowly corrupting the chapter from within. If this slide is not arrested the chapter could fall to Chaos. That's what I was trying to hint at without saying it. Obviously, need to do some work on that! :blink: My main idea behind the Night Wyrms was a chapter right on the brink off total collapse. The poaching of the Doom Knights planet was the chapter master trying to find a new avenue for recruits to cut down on the death cult influence. That being said, you may be right, and I might need to lose it. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2472226 Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJDavid Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 Updated with the 2nd draft. Please let me know what you think. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/206014-ia-night-wyrms/#findComment-2482578 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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