Harvest Knights

[Harvest Knights]

I'm intending to start a space marine force, but one I could justify using for multiple rule sets. To do this, I would need to answer several questions.

 

First question:

 

Who would have the resources to even create, let alone operate/utilize a force with multiple gene-seeds?

 

A: The Admechs have the geneseeds, the High Lords have the sign-off, the Chapters at large have the need for a testing ground, not only for their seed, but for their equipment.

 

Second question:

 

Why?

 

A: When attempting to improve the gene-seed for each founding, the Admechs need something to test their ideas, changes and concepts before starting a full chapter. An interior group of readily available subjects, each company acting like a small chapter, each using a different gene-seed, becomes the Admechs tool of choice.

 

Third question:

 

What do they do when not being tweaked or broken? How do the Admechs test them?

 

Mars is a Broken world, with four lost civilizations piled on top of eachother, filled with ancient warrens of machinery, surrounding what may be an ancient, evil machine mind. Most of the technology below is useless, and most of what can be salvaged is deranged, possesed, self aware, or just plain evil. As advanced as the average tech-priest may be, they know that they cannot survive below without aid. Worse, the only hope of finding safe, re-creatable technology is millions of light-years away on far-off planets filled with all sorts of random stuff that would love to crack open an admech acolyte like a damn oyster and eat the juicy bit. Enter the Harvest Knights. Pawns of the Admechs, Protectors of the explorers both above and below, the testing ground for rogue machinery and experimental gene-seed. Entire companies are wiped clean to eradicate the slightest mutation, the barest hint of heresy of any kind. It is through these warriors that the Adeptus Astartes as a whole are made stronger.

 

Fourth Question:

 

Who would sign up for this? How do they maintain full numbers?

 

A:

 

Criminals of a young age from Terra, Mars, and nearby systems. The Adeptus Arbites collect younger screw-ups, and send them out to Mars for grueling training, hastily rigged implants, and a short life-span as a test-subject.

 

Fifth Question:

 

How would they be organised?

 

A: Each company is used to test a different project, usually of a different gene-seed. Because of the incredible attrition rate, there are no veterans, just individuals with slightly more training, and slightly more experimental equipment. The first company would hold all of the company dreadnoughts in between corpse-riders, and then be dispatched to various companies after receiving their test subjects. After that, companies would be organized like so:

 

1: Dreadnoughts

2: Ultramarines

3: Space Wolves

4: Salamanders

5: Blood Angels

6: Daemonhunters

7: Witch Hunters

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thoughts? Suggestions? This a very early sketch of the concept.

[Octavulg]

You want the Mentors. They exist to test tactics, strategies, formations and equipment. They have a neat color scheme, too. Just enough background to be fun, not enough to be restrictive. And lots of cool modelling opportunities.

 

This link and this army show them off well.

 

That said...

 

Who would have the resources to even create, let alone operate/utilize a force with multiple gene-seeds?

 

You're conflating geneseed and ruleset - the two do not need to be related. A White Scars successor could plausibly use the BA Codex, and any number of players use the DA Codex for their Chapter's first company.

 

A: When attempting to improve the gene-seed for each founding, the Admechs need something to test their ideas, changes and concepts before starting a full chapter. An interior group of readily available subjects, each company acting like a small chapter, each using a different gene-seed, becomes the Admechs tool of choice.

 

This takes the shared universe and breaks it across its knee, IMO. Also, who says they try to improve at each founding? They had their "improved" founding - it didn't turn out so hot.

 

Also, why would they even need functional Space Marines? They use test-slaves to grow the necessary geneseed, and I would assume that they could test the implants on them if they so desired.

[Leonaides]

seconded. It may have sounded cool in your head but there's very little in there that actually fits in with the 40k background. I'll try to reply better when i get to my computer.