IA: Red Bulls Chapter

[- Deathwing -]

RED Bulls: Headstrong and impatient

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t232/schmic1977/Red%20Bull%20Chapter/RedBullsChapterSign.jpg

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t232/schmic1977/Red%20Bull%20Chapter/RedBullMarinewithChapterbadge.jpg

Tactical Marine

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t232/schmic1977/Red%20Bull%20Chapter/Red_Bull_Terminator_Invert.jpg

Terminator of the first company; Note the inverted colour scheme

Origins

The Red Bulls Space Marine Chapter was founded after the fourth Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler to bolster the imperial strength north of the Eye of Terror.

Since the first Red Bull Battle Brothers put on the blessed Power Armour, the chapter took part in some minor campaigns. After reaching full strength in M35, the Red Bulls were eager to prove their worth among their brother chapters.

In the following centuries the Red Bulls started a liberation crusade around their homeworld. In the wake of the Black Crusades some Chaos Cults have formed on several planets. The Red Bulls descended on the worlds without mercy, slaughtering thousands of Cultists. Even today there are stories on these planets of silver blue Marines charging through the cities and killing the foes of the Imperium.

During the 12th Black Crusade a small Chaos force worshipping the god Khorne managed to land on the homeworld of the Red Bulls chapter, Mejico. As it is common in the Chapter, the Chaos Space Marines were faced head on. After bitter Fights the Chaos Space Marines were finally shattered, but to a high prize. Several cities lay in ruins or had to be completely purged and Chapter Master Roberto Hernandez was killed.
After this Chaos invasion the Red Bulls, now under command of Chapter Master Franzisko Torres, vowed, that no traitor would ever set his foot on Mejico again.

At every time one strike Cruiser of the Red Bulls Chapter, carrying half a battle company and some elements of the first company, is on patrol near the Cadian Gate. More than once a single traitor vessel emerged from the Eye of Terror to be instantly obliterated by a massive broadside from the Red Bulls. If a vessel survived the initial barrage, the Red Bulls, impatient as they are, boarded the vessels and destroyed them from within.

Homeworld

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t232/schmic1977/Red%20Bull%20Chapter/Homeworld.jpg

Mejico is a Death World in the Segmentum Obscurus on the northern fringe of Imperial space.

There are no natural oceans on this world and it is completely covered by deserts.

Storms rage on the surface, so the population had to build underground cities to survive.

The air is filled with Copper particles so no human can survive on the surface without a respirator and protective goggles. Combined with the storms the Copper particles would shear the flesh from a human in seconds.

Every few hours the storms decrease to a strong wind. Even then the Copper in the air is fast enought to embed itfelf in human flesh. Those few humans that were on the surface without proper protective clothing are easily spotted. When the wounds are healed, the skin of these people gets a metallic gleam.



The planet's core is rich on Promethium and the People of Mejico build vast wind traps to filter the Copper particles out of the Atmosphere.

The Red Bulls Fortress Monastry is in the deserts, far away from the hive cities. It was built in a natural mountain and is the only inhabited structure above the ground.

But even in this environment native life can be found. In some vast natural valleys, which are sourrounded by mountains, the storms can't reach, although there is a constant wind.
In these valleys the native plants and animals of Mejico can be found.
There are some kind of predator animals, but the most dangerous creature native to Mejico is the Red Bull. This gigantic creature easily reaches three times the size of a terran Bull. Generally it is a peaceful animal, but easily provoked. Due to the permanent exposure to the Copper filled air, the hide of the Bull is very thick and nothing short of a Chainbalde is able to penetrate it.

Due to the high percentace of Copper in the atmosphere, the ground, plants and animals, the population of Mejico has to import the majority of their goods, mainly food and water from nearby planets. Emergency rations of food and water are stored in every hive city, but they could feed their inhabitants for a week at maximum.

Organization & Combat Doctrine

The Red Bulls consist of ten companies.

When a Scout receives his black carapace, he is promoted to a Devastator Squad. After gaining come Combat experience wearing a full Power Armour, he joins a tactical Squad.
The most ferocious Space Marines may advance in one of the feared Red Bull Assault Squads.

If a Space Marine becomes a veteran, he isn't automatically removed from his company. In times when the first company has it's full strength, the veterans stay in their companies and form veteran squads. Usually, these are Vanguard Squads.

When joining the first company, the Marine dons his Terminator armour. The Terminator armour has an inverted colour scheme. Why the first company started to use the inverted colour scheme remains a mystery. It is only known that this is done since the first Red Bull Battle Brothers received their Terminator armour.

In their Organization the Red Bulls follow the Codex, but they do not follow the battle tactics by the letter.

The combat motto of the Red Bulls is best described with ?Hit them hard and hit them first?.
Instead of using firing lines and cover, the Red Bulls continously advance towards the enemy, Bolters blazing.

The Red Bulls are easily provoked by any threat to the Imperium and will fight every foe on every world, regardless the cost.

The way of meeting the enemy head on is also practised in the Red Bulls' fleet. Every vessel is capable of ramming an enemy. The ships of the Red Bulls have special prows. When an enemy vessel is detected, the Space Marines gather in the prow section. If the enemy survives the initial barrage, the Red Bulls vessel rams the enemy in their vulnerable sides. As soon as the prow penetrates the enemy ship, massive hydraulics split the prow allowing the Red Bulls to board the vessel.

Beliefs

Like most other Astartes Chapters, the Red Bulls believe that the Emperor is a supremely powerful human being and honor his sacrifice to uphold the psychic beacon.
Descending from Roboute Guilliman himself, the Red Bulls venerate the Primach like all other Ultramarines Sucessor chapters do.

Chapter Master Franzisko Torres

The current chapter Master of the Red Bulls is Franzisko Trorres. He became Chapter Master after the former Chapter master Roberto Hernandez was mortally wounded during the 12th Black Crusade.

Franzisko Torres is an example for what it means to be a Red Bull. He fights without fear and is always leading from the front. His orders are to be followed instantly for his patience is always very limited.

He also was the only Red Bull who brought the skull of a Bull after his trial to become a veteran. This skull was later implemented in his personal banner, after he became Chapter Master.

The Red Bulls believe, that only a test of arms show a real veteran. If a battle brother is recommended for the Crux Terminatus, he has to leave the Chapter fortress to travel to one of the vast valleys. There he has to best a Bull in combat. Honour demands that the weapon of choice is a close combat weapon. When the Space Marine was successful, he may take a piece of the Bullas personal talisman. This piece is attached to his Armour as a personal talisman, marking him as a veteran. In most cases, this is a piece of the Bulls hide.

Native to a world where even the wind can kill you, the Red Bulls regard eben the environment as a possible threat. So no Red Bull Space Marine would willingly remove his helmet or part of his armour. Even the Scouts of the Chapter have a fully enclosed hemlet. Only in their chapter fortress, or their own vessels, the Red Bulls take of their armour.
The loyalty of the red Bulls was never in question, but their habit of wearing full battle plate alle the time has lead to a certain level of mistrust.
Rumours about skin diseases or even mutations were heard, but the continously checking of their provided geneseed shows no flaws.
Seeing a Red Bull Marine without his armour would be a shocking experience nonetheless. As part of their indoctrination a Neophyte has to stay outside the chapter fortress for several hours, wearing nothing but a respirator and reciting the chapters many regulations. While being outside the chapter fortress, the eyes of the Neophytes are forced open. This trial is performed during the time of wind, not while the storms rage on the surface. The trial of the million bites, as it is called, helps the Neophytes train their concentration even while enduring pain. This trial is the reason why the skin of the Red Bulls has a coppery shimmer and their eyes are bloodshot.

Geneseed

The Red Bulls' geneseed is that from the Ultramarines and shows no degenerations or mutations.

Because of the existing mistrust due to their habit of wearing full battle plate all the time, the geneseed of the Red Bulls is checked unusually often.

Battle Cries

?To Victory! Charge!?



**********************************************************

Author's note: English isn't my native language, but I hope there aren't too many mistakes in it.

It is my first attempt writing an english IA article, so I hope you enjoy reading it.

C&C welcome

Grammar corrections are welcome, too. Edited July 29, 2010 by - Deathwing -

[Magnus Thane]

Brilliant... simply brilliant. I love the colorscheme ROFLMAO!

[Hemal]

Inetresting - I think I posted almost the same thing back in teh day (this is MAN MANY years ago) on teh B&C - I decided not to progress, but the chapter was based on the Blood Angels, but was notorious for its use of chemical enahncements which sometimes went a little "wrong" rather than a specific gene issue.

 

++Edit++

Here you go:

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/index.p...amp;hl=red+bull

[- Deathwing -]

I didn't know another Red Bulls Chapter already existed. Ah, well, I still hope you like teh article.

 

I also thought about stim abuse, but then I decided against it. I don't want a chapter of drug addicts.

[Brother_Kaelgrim]

Red Bulls give you wings?

[StGene]

Dude, if you get this to be accepted in the Librarium...Jesus.

[Hemal]

I actually have a Veteran sarge I entered into a store competition - of the Crimson Taurus chapter - with a dark blue and silver colour scheme and red helmets (currently stripped and awaiting repainting).

 

The concept was pretty much using the BA Codex to model a chapter which overused combat stimms in their assault squads, and across the board generally, to allow the marines to be en par with chapters such as the Minotaurs in ship-to-ship combat. Finesse in ship-to-ship is not really required, its more about bang for buck in the close confines of a vessel.

 

Now regarding your background -I'm not sure it really rings in having a hook - sounds like a "meh" chapter - it needs a bit more... bite? without sounding too cliched of course, which lets face my idea is!

[- Deathwing -]

Red Bulls give you wings?

 

Sort of. The Vanguard Veterans will be done with the BA Sanguinary Guard Kit. Thanks again to Sanguinius Reborn for the idea. :wallbash:

 

 

Dude, if you get this to be accepted in the Librarium...Jesus.

 

You mean this one? LINK

I'd like that. How's that done? Will the Mods simply copy it? or do you have to mention it to them?

 

 

I actually have a Veteran sarge I entered into a store competition - of the Crimson Taurus chapter - with a dark blue and silver colour scheme and red helmets (currently stripped and awaiting repainting).

 

The concept was pretty much using the BA Codex to model a chapter which overused combat stimms in their assault squads, and across the board generally, to allow the marines to be en par with chapters such as the Minotaurs in ship-to-ship combat. Finesse in ship-to-ship is not really required, its more about bang for buck in the close confines of a vessel.

 

Now regarding your background -I'm not sure it really rings in having a hook - sounds like a "meh" chapter - it needs a bit more... bite? without sounding too cliched of course, which lets face my idea is!

 

Ah, okay. So no other Red Bulls Chapter.

I think It's not too easy to stay away from cliches. The overused combat stimm is something like that, in my opinion. A Chapter named after, let's face it, an Energy drink. Energy Drink -> Taurin -> More Energy -> Combat Stimms.

 

To avoid being too much in cliches, I just put in something mysterious ( always cald in full battle plate ) and a frontal attack ( naval boarding actions ).

I may have to think about adding some more "bite" to the Chapter. Thanks for the hint. ;)

Edited July 23, 2010 by - Deathwing -

[Shinzaren]

Dummy's Guide To Submitting Articles.

 

Compliments of Sigismund Himself. Seriously, it's really him. In the flesh. Himself.

Edited July 23, 2010 by Shinzaren

[Argon]

I'd suggest you not blatantly rip off Red Bull's logo. You could just use one of the bulls or use something like the Chicago Bull's logo. Either way, I'd suggest you modify it.

[- Deathwing -]

First of all: I like the logo. And I left the logo as it is, because colour wise it is repeated on the chest heraldy.

 

Plus I even contacted Red Bull and they gave their permission that I may use the logo as chapter sign. :P

Edited July 25, 2010 by - Deathwing -

[Argon]

Well, if they're cool with it, then go for it. I was just making sure you wouldn't get hit with a horribly expensive lawsuit by a company that has a legal team as good as Games Workshop's.

[- Deathwing -]

Thanks for your concern, but they surpriningly said they wouldn't mind. I contacted the company in Austria, so their main location.

[Hemal]

I think GW would probably mind more if you were to try and enter into say Golden Demon etc - as they wouldn't be happy to be promoting the brand almost directly.

 

As for other Red Bulls - I chose Crimson Taurus to steer away from the name, whilst paying homage, and the chapter symbol is the same as teh Minotaurs (or ptentially I was going to do one similar to the Lambo badge, though that is a bit beyond me at 40K scale..)

 

As for teh combat stimms hook - yeah cliched enough, but I think no more than GW own materials TBH, even the recent stuff which cocks a snoot at the older stuff from Rogue Trader (Black Panet, Kil Kil Kil, Orks with big grins etc etc)

[Philip S]

Hello,

I created an image for the 1,000 chapter project which you may like to use;

?

Philip

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Native to a world where even the wind can kill you, the Red Bulls regard eben the environment as a possible threat. So no Red Bull Space Marine would willingly remove his helmet or part of his armour. Even the Scouts of the Chapter have a fully enclosed hemlet. Only in their chapter fortress, or their own vessels, the Red Bulls take of their armour.

 

<snip>

 

Seeing a Red Bull Marine without his armour would be a shocking experience nonetheless. As part of their indoctrination a Neophyte has to stay outside the chapter fortress for several hours, wearing nothing but a respirator. The skin of the Red Bulls has a coppery shimmer and their eyes are bloodshot from the exposure to the Copper particles.

This indoctrination ritual seems needlessly dangerous. No sane native of so deadly a world, will submit to such a ritual.

 

Why don't you simplify it so the copper skin and red eyes are the result of mutation or genetic engineering? (The Imperium has SOME tolerance for this- see the Salamanders.) The way the planet is, the plants will be SATURATED with copper, the herbivores' meat will be coppery from such a diet, and the carnivores from theirs... Unless the colonists import a majority of their food, there will be a lot of copper in their diet, necessitating a genetic enhancement to prevent copper toxicity.

Edited July 28, 2010 by Bjorn Firewalker

[- Deathwing -]

To be honest, the main reason why they all wear helmets is, that I lack the ability to paint eyes.

 

I forgot to mentio that the neophytes are outside in the hours of wind, not while the storms rage.

 

The colonists do import nearly everything. I didn't mention it, but I think I should.

 

 

@Philip S: Thank you. :tu:

 

EDIT:

 

Added the import and the clarification ( wind, not while storm rages ).

Tactical Marine is now shown with Chapter badge ( Thanks again, Phil )

Edited July 29, 2010 by - Deathwing -

[Lysimachus]

Ok, firstly, this is very amusing and an inspired thing to theme a Chapter from. However, while I like the idea in theory there are a few problems here.

 

 

 

For one thing, there are a fair few typos and grammatical issues, but at the moment there isn’t much point in doing what should be the final fine-toothed comb checks. Can I ask, do you write in Word and then copy into the browser? If not, you might find it helpful to catch those mistakes (we all make them, it’s just a case of knowing how to avoid/cover them up!)

 

 

 

Secondly, it’s extremely short at just over 1,400 words. An average IA ranges from around 2,500 as a bare minimum up to 4 or 5 thousand at the very most, so you could comfortably double your word count (or even triple if it was really good enough, although I wouldn’t advise making it that long).

 

Where can you expand? Well, an introductory paragraph, a few words to sum up your Chapter in a nutshell and get the reader hooked, is always a good start.

 

Also, one good way to really make your Chapter different is the Beliefs section, in fact its been suggested by more than one veteran Liberite that this is the single most important part of any IA. Who are your Marines? What are their defining characteristics, their attitudes? How do they view things; combat, life, death, the Imperium (including the various organizations that make it up) and its many enemies? What is going to be unique enough to interest the reader and make him want to know more? Perhaps this is something to have a think about?

 

 

 

Of course, the biggest problem with this IA is also what most people (including myself :P ) would immediately think is the most amusing/fun/coolest thing about it. The whole Red Bull thing. Why is this a problem? I’ll quote the excellent ‘Guide to DIYing’ (stickied at the top of the Liber Astartes Forum if you’ve not seen it) and in particular the wise words of Ferrata in the ‘Suspension of Disbelief’ section:

 

Suspension of disbelief is one of the most important factors to an IA article, which is strange for a fictional piece of work which is obviously not fact. What is suspension of disbelief I hear you ask? Well, we all know that Space Marines aren’t real (well, I hope we all do) and thus these articles are all pieces of unbelievable fiction. A good writer will be able to suspend this disbelief for an entire article making the reader believe in their chapter. This ideology isn’t only in 40K IA articles; it spreads to all other forms of media. Sometimes a writer wishes to break the sense of disbelief to make sure the viewer knows it is a story (which, as I was informed, is why Moulin Rouge used actual and famous songs instead of making new ones up). Unfortunately, the suspension bubble is weak and fragile and is so easily punctured. Here is a small extract from the Planetfall: Alcmene story (by Rogue Trader):

 

“Digging the toes of his boots into the rubble, Jarrett pulled his knife from its sheath, and tensed his legs for the lunge toward the traitor.”

 

A lovely sentence isn’t it? You really believe this is happening, especially if you read the rest of the story. Now, let’s look at the same sentence again but I’ve replaced ‘Jarrett’ with a well-known mythological character:

 

"Digging the toes of his boots into the rubble, Lancelot pulled his knife from its sheath, and tensed his legs for the lunge toward the traitor.”

 

As soon as you read the name ‘Lancelot’ it broke your belief that this was really happening. This is just one example of how fragile the suspension bubble is. Now I’ve got you’ve worried about popping your own bubble I shall inform you of some of the major bubble-bursters.

 

And continuing here:

 

Over Themeing

 

This one again is hard to define as there is a very fine line between a theme and over-themed. GW themselves are prone to over-themeing a chapter, it is quite lucky that a chapter named the Flame Falcons burst into flames and not the Lamenters. For once, the Space Wolves are a good example, their name being obviously linked to their Norse theme without being overly obvious. This extends to chapters being named after animals which just so happen to be at the top of the food chain on their home world. How do you control this? It is very hard, you just need to keep looking back at your IA article and ask yourself if you are pushing something too hard.

 

Extending this to the theme themselves which can often be a fall for many chapters. Keeping with the slight Arthurian theme, a chapter only needs hints of this to make it a good themed chapter, whilst too much is bad. What are the good things to take? More the mentality over anything else, as these are easily translated into a chapter. The Knights were meant to be noble, honourable and individual; all these can easily be part of a chapter. A chapter seeking a holy grail or a love triangle between two marines and a women isn’t likely to be happening in the 40K universe, but even these can have their spirit altered to fit.

 

 

Get the point? Using such a well known brand name/logo/design so blatantly immediately breaks the suspension of belief, bringing a reader back from the ‘grim darkness of the far future’ to the ‘canned drinks industry of today’. The name, the colour scheme, the Chapter badge (plus smaller stuff like the Home World name) all added together is just too much. It’s not than any of the above are particularly bad, any of the three could work, and if Red Bull (the drink) didn’t exist, perhaps even all together. But it does exist. Because of that people will look at this and wonder if it’s a serious article or is in fact a joke Chapter?

 

Now, to be clear, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with comedy Chapters, they’re great fun, cool to see on the battlefield, and in the end, it’s your models and your fluff that will be enjoyed by both yourself and those you might game with.

 

However, that’s not really what the Liber Astartes section of the Librarium (and the forum here) is for. The goal there is to create Chapters that are well written, believable and well fitted into the imagery and background of the 40K universe that GW has given us. Presumably if you want to submit it, that’s your goal too? At the moment, I’m afraid this IA just doesn’t seem to quite reach where it needs to.

 

My suggestion as far as the theme goes would be to try and move away slightly from the obvious, perhaps make some subtle differences to one (or preferably two) of those three things. Perhaps change the name; Crimson Bulls, Red Aurochs, etc? Maybe swap the Chapter badge for the Minotaurs badge in red (would be easier to paint for one thing!)? Or keep the name/badge but go for a different colour scheme altogether?

 

 

Overall, the original idea is very cool, with some nice details too, but it just needs a bit more work and some toning down in some areas.

 

I hope this has been of some help. :P

 

Lysimachus

[soddinnutter]

Assault Marines with Jump Packs. IT GIVES YOU WINGS!

 

The only things it needs is a spellchecking and more fleshing out.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Still waiting on that winged Vanguard squad Deathwing... >:to:

[- Deathwing -]

Didn't forget them, but they had to wait because other models needed to be painted faster. I guess I'll continue with them in a few days.

[Nomus Sardauk]

Didn't forget them, but they had to wait because other models needed to be painted faster. I guess I'll continue with them in a few days.

Hehe, I'll hold you to that. >:evil:

[Aegnor]

As a joke chapter, it's cool and extremely well done. If you don't want it to be a joke chapter (and there's nothing wrong with wanting it to be) then you need to change the name and badge to something that references, rather than straight copies.

[- Deathwing -]

No, it really is meant as a fun chapter. There is nothing wrong in taking WH40K serious and I also have serious armies. But the idea came to me when I experimented with the DoW II Army Painter while drinking a Red Bull. I found matching colours and so the idea was born.

 

 

Didn't forget them, but they had to wait because other models needed to be painted faster. I guess I'll continue with them in a few days.

Hehe, I'll hold you to that. >:lol:

 

Promised. :D It may take some time ( I'm a slow painter ), but I'll do my very best. All needed parts are gathered.

[Pulse]

I think your idea is a cracker to be honest, i love it!

 

The logo is fine to use, and if Red Bull gave you the go ahead, all the better!

Edited February 8, 2011 by Pulse