Lost companies/Successor Chapters

[Forlorne]

Hi, i have a couple of questions regarding lost companies a) what happens to them if they return from wherever they were lost ? :huh: is it possible they strike of on their own and grow into a warband/ chapter of their own ?

 

Its just i have a space wolf army, and i love the space wolf background however i would like to personalise the background for my army beyond the name of thier wolf lord and their colours :)

 

Thanks, Forlorne

[Khavos]

I asked a similar question recently. Here's what I've gleaned:

 

It depends on what you mean by "returned". Returned to what? Imperium space in general, or the Space Wolves chapter specifically? If they start hanging out in Imperial-claimed space without rejoining the Space Wolves, they're technically renegades, I believe. However, it's entirely possible that this wouldn't be known beyond the Space Wolves themselves. It's a big galaxy.

 

As far as a Lost Company forming a chapter of their own, doubtful - unless they went completely renegade. They're de facto renegades the second they try it, for one thing. For another, they wouldn't have access to a lot of the resources they would need; the geneseed they have available is limited to the geneseed in actual living battle brothers. Apothecaries can and do yank that out when a Space Marine falls, and can use it to implant in a recruit, but it's impossible to sustain that method of recruitment in the long run. Bodies sometimes can't be recovered, the geneseed itself can get destroyed, etc. In order to grow, or even maintain their size, they'd need a supply of geneseed - which would require raiding. If a piece of equipment is destroyed beyond repair, they have no method of replacing it - except for raiding. Etc.

 

There's also the thorny issue of whether or not Space Wolves geneseed will work on non-Fenrisian humans. There doesn't seem to be a consensus.

[Sharpsilver]

Hi, i have a couple of questions regarding lost companies a) what happens to them if they return from wherever they were lost ? :huh: is it possible they strike of on their own and grow into a warband/ chapter of their own ?

 

Its just i have a space wolf army, and i love the space wolf background however i would like to personalise the background for my army beyond the name of thier wolf lord and their colours :)

 

Thanks, Forlorne

 

I imagine if a Lost Company does return for whatever reason, it'll probably be down to the Great Wolf's judgement on whether the Company is disbanded and it's personnel spread across all the other chapters or it stays in limbo and not actually used until it is investigated for Taints of Chaos and and any other matters that may warrant a investigation. It also determines under what circumstances they became 'lost' a healthy Great Company could enter the Warp and become lost, to emerge a thousand years later only ageing a few years in their eyes, when in fact, a thousand years has passed. All the Wolf Lord's and Great Wolf have passed on in the time and the Chapter is vastly different to what they return to.

 

I'd say the best way to personalise your background would be to perhaps base your fluff on the background of a Lost Company for example:

 

A Wolf lord's battle cruiser and escorts enters the warp in the year M35.599 however they never arrived at their destination. The Force is declared Lost in the Warp, and is not seen again until M41 XXX and they emerge...... [Your background continues on from this point.]

 

Apart from that, I reckon the Space Wolves are the hardest First founding Chapter to build a successor Chapter on, because there are none.

[Sharpsilver]

There's also the thorny issue of whether or not Space Wolves geneseed will work on non-Fenrisian humans. There doesn't seem to be a consensus.

 

It will. The original Space Wolves Legion that was built before Leman Russ was rediscovered on Fenris were made up of Terran Humans implanted with the genetic makeup of Leman Russ. Only after when Fenris was declared the Homeworld of the Space Wolves, did they start recruitment on Fenris, where they discovered many beneficial traits.

 

The Men, Women and Children of Fenrisian Tribes are hearty, Strong and resilient. The Tribes fight themselves for Land and Resources and continually battle against the Climate for survival in the Arctic Cold or the Unstable period when Fenris is closer to the Eye of Russ. This means Men who cannot fight perish. Such stigma such as Mutation does not exist really at all on Fenris. The young who show signs of taint are killed before it can corrupt fellow Fenrisians.

 

Therefore, it's a pure, unpolluted, untainted land full of Strong willed Warrior-Tribes ripe for recruitment. The Warriors already have a wealth of Combat skills before they even make it to the level of Aspirant at Russvik and other Aspirant proving grounds.

 

This, and the 'By Luck' chance that Leman Russ was cast out onto Fenris, is the reason they recruit from there. It's a perfect matchup.