Please help me design an East Asian-themed Chapter

[N1SB]

Recently, I requested Muju, the internationally-renowned artist (known for her 40k fanart,) to draw a Space Marine based on Buddhist aesthetics. I've been trying to apply East Asian art to Space Marines as a variation on a theme (as they are typically depicted in a Western-style,) just to bring more diversity to "the Hobby."

 

Why link Space Marines to Buddhism? My thoughts were, the Adeptus Astartes are warrior monks that worship a deity that transcended the mortal realm (and was the reincarnation of the souls of previous sages.) They already sound like Shaolin monks to me, except in the year 40,000 and grimdark. Thus, I'm not forcing a gimmick onto a Space Marine Chapter design; I just think it's quite a natural fit. Then Muju drew this masterpiece:

 

http://public.bay.livefilestore.com/y1pp52Gv5_0RZKeNStbyOkNUx4Cy2QT4lX69BxN7qC89AgOkj7sN33kMM0vtU6VqGgNxOE5Vs0qwP5Sef6T_FnBSg/MUJU%20Brother%20Arjuna.jpg?psid=1

 

I love Muju's pencil style to begin with, but check out some of her details:

 

- an Iron Halo (or Psychic Hood) as a Buddhist Dharma Wheel

- Skull Servitors bearing scripture scrolls, floating like a moving Buddhist rosary

- the floating scarf similar to Buddhist temple guardian statues

- a different shoulder pad from pauldrons, bearing an image of the Emperor on his Golden Throne Lotus

 

I wish to create a Chapter around this design, keeping its East Asian aesthetics as the central theme. In particular, I seek your advice please on:

 

- Chapter color scheme

- Chapter name

- Which codex to use

- Existing samples you've seen

- Other awesome ideas you may have

 

Thank you in advance for your thoughts. I am really open to all ideas (e.g. I named this character Arjuna for an anon's feedback in the initial drawthread.) Just a few IMPORTANT NOTES:

 

- Seriously, I welcome all ideas...I've posted this topic in 2 other places and received fascinating feedback

- Yes, I've looked at Mark Dewis's Samurai-styled Jade Warriors and thought they were cool

- And yes, I know the very 1st of Buddhism's 5 Precepts is to abstain from taking life. But I say, Xenos are not lives...they're a disease

[The Harrowmaster]

First of all I love the image. As for Buddhism I wouldnt implement too much of that religion into the chapter. Id recommend focusing more on the martial arts//shaolin style.

 

But the idea of the chapter being spiritual monks warriors is as you say already part of 40k. Just dressed and expressed in a different style.

 

also keep getting images of dhaslim from street fighter. ;)

 

as for colour scheme I'm pretty stumped. Would it be over the top having marines running round in bright orange shaolin robes?

 

Liking it so far.

[The Normish]

Seems like a wonderful and original idea.

I would recommend getting "Muju"'s permission for the theme though, since you seem to have developed a lot of your ideas around her image.

[fivepointedstar]

It would seem thou like the mantis warrior style art shown in the badab war art I cant remember where i have seen it at thou. with there chapter master with a fu- man chu, and a samurai sword.

[Argon]

It would seem thou like the mantis warrior style art shown in the badab war art I cant remember where i have seen it at thou. with there chapter master with a fu- man chu, and a samurai sword.

 

That was the Bell of Lost Souls unofficial campaign.

[Pulse]

First off the idea you have for this chapter is fantastic and the drawing is very characterful.

 

Why not focus the chapter colour scheme along the lines of colours that have meaning within Buddhism? If you look here you can find the colours. They should point you in a good direction, as you can have more than one in the scheme making it more meaningful to the chapter.

 

As for names, i would go along the lines of martial arts "styles". There are many names like Dragon, Tiger, Mantis, Bear and such that could be of benefit.

[elohimalpha]

Really nice concept/sketch! I would go with orange for the robe, for sure. For the armor, an off-white or bone color would go well, and would tie into sort of a "purity" theme. For trim or accents, greens or blues would be a good contrast to the orange.

 

As far as a name, aside from the stuff that's been mentioned, I think it would be good to tie into the Buddhist concept of the 8-fold path. "The Aurete Path" would be my choice - it's different in that it's not a adjective-noun combo, and it could help the name stand out.

 

For a codex? Dunno - how do you see these guys doing most of their fighting?

 

I'm picturing these guys using less armor than normal - bare-headed space marines ftw! Close combat specialists and strong psyker-chaplains . . .

[N1SB]

Hi all, thanks a lot for your feedback. I really should have come to Bolter & Chainsword 1st. After all, you are THE resource for everything Space Marine-related.

 

First of all I love the image. As for Buddhism I wouldnt implement too much of that religion into the chapter. Id recommend focusing more on the martial arts//shaolin style.

 

But the idea of the chapter being spiritual monks warriors is as you say already part of 40k. Just dressed and expressed in a different style.

 

also keep getting images of dhaslim from street fighter. :D

 

I absolutely hear what you're saying about the idea of warrior monks being part of 40k, so this Chapter is just expressed in a different style rather than a completely different thing. In numerous fluff pieces, Space Marines are already described as warrior monks, but in the Templar/Teutonic fashion. This Chapter follows the same Imperial Cult, so I'll try to stick to existing dogma, just seen from a different perspective. It's about inclusion. Plus, we get to stay away from debates about Buddhist beliefs/history/dogma and focus on 40k.

 

The fact that you see Dhalism (for those that don't know, he's a spiritual fighter from the video game franchise Street Fighter) is actually great indeed for reasons in the next point.

 

It would seem thou like the mantis warrior style art shown in the badab war art I cant remember where i have seen it at thou. with there chapter master with a fu- man chu, and a samurai sword.

 

That was the Bell of Lost Souls unofficial campaign.

 

Thank you for the recommendation. I've visited the site, downloaded and read the Badab War Play Aid and it's awesome. Similar to the Mantis Warriors you mentioned are the similarly awesome the Jade Warriors.

 

I think it's a great design, but there's a reason I don't want to adopt it. The Mantis/Jade Warriors are aesthetically based on Japanese samurai, which is how East Asian history is perceived by the rest of the world. Of course, there's more to it than that and that's what I want to illustrate. I mean no disrespect to anyone or the Japanese (having lived in Tokyo for 3 years myself and genuinely admiring many things in their culture.)

 

I admit, there is no way I can think of to capture all of East Asian culture. As you probably all know, we have very different cultural identities, though many traditions are shared. IMHO, the most common denominator is probably Buddhism, which had more influence over art and culture than any other single factor in many countries for the most amount of people. Thus, I chose that as the common basis.

 

Thus, as before, the point isn't about Buddhism per se. It's about finding a connection between us, and for now, the scope I chose is East Asia. There's been lots of international tension here, China vs Japan over a fishing boat, Hong Kong vs Philippines over a hostage tragedy that was really caused by a lone crazed gunman. I'm trying to believe that there's more connecting humanity than divides it...man, it's hard.

 

I really don't wish to start a debate or discussion on religion/history, but I just wanted to articulate why I don't for a samurai feel that might seem obvious to everyone else. But that's why I really like how Genetchi imagined Dhalism. Dhalism's clearly spiritual, but no one knows his actual religion, if it's Buddhism or Hinduism or what. And if anyone asked him, I bet he'd be like, "Faith is faith...all religions are one."

 

First off the idea you have for this chapter is fantastic and the drawing is very characterful.

 

Why not focus the chapter colour scheme along the lines of colours that have meaning within Buddhism? If you look here you can find the colours. They should point you in a good direction, as you can have more than one in the scheme making it more meaningful to the chapter.

 

As for names, i would go along the lines of martial arts "styles". There are many names like Dragon, Tiger, Mantis, Bear and such that could be of benefit.

 

This is a great chart, thanks for pointing it out. Sorry I didn't come across that before! I appreciate how it has the meanings of each colour. I see your point on the names and I'll think about that more.

 

I would go with orange for the robe, for sure. For the armor, an off-white or bone color would go well, and would tie into sort of a "purity" theme. For trim or accents, greens or blues would be a good contrast to the orange.

 

As far as a name, aside from the stuff that's been mentioned, I think it would be good to tie into the Buddhist concept of the 8-fold path. "The Aurete Path" would be my choice - it's different in that it's not a adjective-noun combo, and it could help the name stand out.

 

For a codex? Dunno - how do you see these guys doing most of their fighting?

 

I'm picturing these guys using less armor than normal - bare-headed space marines ftw! Close combat specialists and strong psyker-chaplains . . .

 

Thanks for the suggestion on the colour scheme. I like orange and white in real life, but I just haven't seen that combination much on miniatures. I will seek out examples.

 

As for names, not to contradict Pulse's suggestion, but I'm leaning a little bit more this way. I even considered the Eight-fold Pathfinders...which I regret. I do like "wolf in sheep's clothing" names like the gentle-sounding White Lotus Society, which always turns out to be an ancient order of the most ruthless killers you can imagine. I like the "Aurete Path" as it's not Buddhism-specific. Taking your cue, I'm going to dig up some 1st ed era materials on the Emperor and try to find something there.

 

For codex choice and combat styles, I'm genuinely undecided, though I've received a surprising (to me) yet very appropriate suggestion on another board. There's 3 thoughts I like, though, but I don't know the 5th ed codices well enough to know what's most suitable:

 

- I like Drop Pods because when they open, they look like a lotus like in Buddhist art bearing these Angels of Death

- I like the idea of lightly armored warriors for this, too

- I also like a defensive force for this, partly due to Buddhism's pacifism, but also the military idea of "the greatest victory is when the sword isn't even drawn"

 

Not to put the burden on you, but please suggest what you feel is appropriate, I'm so open to ideas right now.

 

Seems like a wonderful and original idea.

I would recommend getting "Muju"'s permission for the theme though, since you seem to have developed a lot of your ideas around her image.

 

Thanks for the reminder. I'll leave a note on her Deviant Art space.

 

I look forward to all further suggestions and welcome them. I will mention something right now as well. Have you guys noticed how the 8-pointed Star of Chaos in the Post Icons section when posting looks just like a Dharma Wheel, as shown in the Iron Halo of the above art?

[NightrawenII]

- And yes, I know the very 1st of Buddhism's 5 Precepts is to abstain from taking life. But I say, Xenos are not lives...they're a disease

When the Genchis-khan invaded Lhasa(the current Tibet), he was suprised how fierce warriors the Lhasans are.

 

I think it's a great design, but there's a reason I don't want to adopt it. The Mantis/Jade Warriors are aesthetically based on Japanese samurai, which is how East Asian history is perceived by the rest of the world. Of course, there's more to it than that and that's what I want to illustrate. I mean no disrespect to anyone or the Japanese (having lived in Tokyo for 3 years myself and genuinely admiring many things in their culture.)

 

I admit, there is no way I can think of to capture all of East Asian culture. As you probably all know, we have very different cultural identities, though many traditions are shared. IMHO, the most common denominator is probably Buddhism, which had more influence over art and culture than any other single factor in many countries for the most amount of people. Thus, I chose that as the common basis.

Well, let see, what is the East Asia first.

In my book it's Japan, Mongolia, Korea and China.

Now, for shoehorning these cultures into Space Marine Chapter you need some kind of elite or monasteric warriors:

Japan is famous for its warrior culture, but you said that you don't want Samurais. Well then there are Yamabushi and Sohei. It is important to note a Kensei.

Mongolia is pretty clear, but this is covered by White Scars, so move on.

Korea has low to zero warrior culture AFAIK, bar the turtle-ship.(BTW, the replica is wrong.)

Thanks to the confuciasm, the China never have had a warrior culture. The China's armies consisted mostly from the peasants, forced into service. So we are left with Shaolin monks.

 

I also like a defensive force for this, partly due to Buddhism's pacifism, but also the military idea of "the greatest victory is when the sword isn't even drawn"

As you can see in the links above the Buddhism is about pacifism as the Christianity. The problem with "not drawing a sword" in W40k is, that the races here fight a war of survival. In such conflict the annihilation of the opposing force is the only option.

[Viray]

As you can see in the links above the Buddhism is about pacifism as the Christianity. The problem with "not drawing a sword" in W40k is, that the races here fight a war of survival. In such conflict the annihilation of the opposing force is the only option.

Very true. However, perhaps these Astartes can use the approach when policing the system they are charged with?

[Pulse]

As for names, not to contradict Pulse's suggestion, but I'm leaning a little bit more this way.

Do whatever you feel is more appropriate for your chapter, i am just giving you ideas. :D

 

I wouldn't go down the route of having marines with less armour though, after all they will still be fighting in the Emperors name and even with the unqiue physiology the marines can still die, and will be more likely to die without full astartes plate armour. :)

[maligncomedy]

I think it's a great design, but there's a reason I don't want to adopt it. The Mantis/Jade Warriors are aesthetically based on Japanese samurai, which is how East Asian history is perceived by the rest of the world. Of course, there's more to it than that and that's what I want to illustrate. I mean no disrespect to anyone or the Japanese (having lived in Tokyo for 3 years myself and genuinely admiring many things in their culture.)

 

I admit, there is no way I can think of to capture all of East Asian culture. As you probably all know, we have very different cultural identities, though many traditions are shared. IMHO, the most common denominator is probably Buddhism, which had more influence over art and culture than any other single factor in many countries for the most amount of people. Thus, I chose that as the common basis.

Well, let see, what is the East Asia first.

In my book it's Japan, Mongolia, Korea and China.

Now, for shoehorning these cultures into Space Marine Chapter you need some kind of elite or monasteric warriors:

Japan is famous for its warrior culture, but you said that you don't want Samurais. Well then there are Yamabushi and Sohei. It is important to note a Kensei.

Mongolia is pretty clear, but this is covered by White Scars, so move on.

Korea has low to zero warrior culture AFAIK, bar the turtle-ship.(BTW, the replica is wrong.)

Thanks to the confuciasm, the China never have had a warrior culture. The China's armies consisted mostly from the peasants, forced into service. So we are left with Shaolin monks.

 

 

I don't know about that. China did have some major war heroes, especially during the Yellow Turban Rebellion (where the peasants revolted) and the Reign of Dong Zhuo (in which 18 warlords formed a coalition force to battle Dong Zhuo, including his eventual downfall at the hands of Lü Bu In fact, drawing on the Three Kingdoms era would be a fantastic setting to look at in terms of Chinese cultural warriors. Guan Yu is pretty much even a god of battle. So yes there is a warrior culture, it just differs from the traditional sense that we would use to define a "warrior" culture.

 

As for names though, I would suggest using traditional Chinese names drawn from martial arts or famous generals if you choose to go that route. For example, any of the names above or martial arts like Ba Gua Zhang (8 Trigrams Palm), Liu He Ba Fa Chuan (6 Harmonies 8 Methods) or Mí Zōng Quán (Lost Track Fist).

[N1SB]

When the Genchis-khan invaded Lhasa(the current Tibet), he was suprised how fierce warriors the Lhasans are.

 

Well, let see, what is the East Asia first.

 

Well then there are Yamabushi and Sohei. It is important to note a Kensei.

 

As you can see in the links above the Buddhism is about pacifism as the Christianity. The problem with "not drawing a sword" in W40k is, that the races here fight a war of survival. In such conflict the annihilation of the opposing force is the only option.

 

I cannot deny the truth you speak. I studied Kendo (Japanese swordsmanship) under a professor of Buddhist philosophy. He used to say, "When you hit me, it is violence. When I hit you, it is enlightenment." He enlightened the heck out of me and I had the bruises to prove it for awhile.

 

I should not have said "not drawing a sword." What I meant to say was something like "we shan't strike first, but we shall strike last (because when we strike the enemy will be dead, so no point flogging a dead horse.)" Even that's not perfect, but the idea is I don't want to be a pure Assault Death Company-style force, more like a strong seize & hold objectives (similar to Razorback Rush, I think?)

 

With the feedback in this thread and similar ones in other forums (I wanted separate discussions to see different perspectives,) I'm narrowing down the design direction I want to go. As you mentioned, I've considered Sohei and they were the top choice for awhile. Shaolin has always been a top contender. But the third option, which you mentioned yet also avoided, was Tibetan Buddhists, for the reasons you described at the top.

 

I also read Viray's point and the word "policing" struck a chord with me. I would like to pose 2 questions in addition to my original request please:

 

1. What do you all think about a Chapter with 10 Companies as per Codex Astartes, following a common doctrine, but each of the Companies drifted apart into their own schisms with their own idiosyncracies, reflected in some variation in their designs? Example (following Ultramarines 10 Companies) - 2nd Company (a balanced Battle Company) would bear yellow (Company color) sashes in a Shaolin or Tibetan style, while 8th company (a full Assault Company) would wear light grey (basically white) robes and head-wraps in a Sohei style? How much flexibility would be appropriate (e.g. the Chapter symbol remains the same, but would having different colored power armor be heresy?) I don't want to make a controversial point, just trying to see how this idea is perceived.

 

2. On policing, I remember 2 things from Do's & Don't's of DIY Chapters - 1st your Chapter should have a purpose, 2nd don't do something non-Marines could do just as well. See if these work; if they don't, we can always modify them. The Chapter is in a heavily populated Imperium space that previously that faced outbreaks of Chaos (or even just politically-incorrect Imperial) cults that spread quickly. These became major uprisings, which could have been avoided if they had been identified early and prevented. Thus, the Chapter is divided into garrisons (or temples) that are the custodians of faith and Kill Team patrols (wandering monks) that could fight start-up cults immediately. There's at least 1 flaw in this, but I'll leave it here and receive criticism first.

[N1SB]

I don't know about that. China did have some major war heroes, especially during the Yellow Turban Rebellion (where the peasants revolted) and the Reign of Dong Zhuo (in which 18 warlords formed a coalition force to battle Dong Zhuo, including his eventual downfall at the hands of Lü Bu In fact, drawing on the Three Kingdoms era would be a fantastic setting to look at in terms of Chinese cultural warriors. Guan Yu is pretty much even a god of battle. So yes there is a warrior culture, it just differs from the traditional sense that we would use to define a "warrior" culture.

 

As for names though, I would suggest using traditional Chinese names drawn from martial arts or famous generals if you choose to go that route. For example, any of the names above or martial arts like Ba Gua Zhang (8 Trigrams Palm), Liu He Ba Fa Chuan (6 Harmonies 8 Methods) or Mí Zōng Quán (Lost Track Fist).

 

I've got to rush for a major presentation to prepare, but let me say this. I appreciate both sides' perspective. I'm Chinese myself, which makes me subjective, but I deliberately try to just keep that part of me out of arguments.

 

The fact is both Night Rawen II and Malign Comedy are right, but China had a lot of people and a long history, so there's a lot of variation through different times, places, people. Both points of view are completely right at different times. The former was right to point out Confucianism, but the latter was also spot on with the reference to Three Kingdoms and Guan Yu and perhaps a different definition fo warrior.

 

I'm just stepping in to say let's not debate history just here. It's a worthy topic, but perhaps best-suited for a different setting. We're just talking about Space Marines, bros.

 

But I also take your main point, which is not a history debate, but that Chinese names from martial arts or ancient military could be a source of inspiration. Despite being Chinese, I know none of the references you mentioned, but they sound spot on. This is great, I'm going to do more research. You are opening a channel I probably did not consider, I thank you.

[Argon]

Korea has low to zero warrior culture AFAIK, bar the turtle-ship.(BTW, the replica is wrong.)

 

I wouldn't quite say that. 5 minutes of research shows that Korea has been invaded by the Chinese, the Japanese, and the Mongols at various points in time.

 

Also, they invented this.

 

 

Lastly, the Koreans were (and still are) crazy good archers.

 

Korean bow

 

Archery at the Summer Olympics

[elohimalpha]

I can see the companies forming mini-crusades a la Black Templars, each having their own style of robe/sash/headband/etc. This could be where you work in White Lotus, Tiger Crane, and all those other sweet martial arts names.

 

As far as policing cults, I like the idea, but I'm thinking if the problem got so bad, some Inquisitor would just show up and nuke the planet from space.

[maligncomedy]

A possible idea to look at might be an Imperial Fists based chapter. But more into this in a second; because I'd first like to ask a question. Following the format of elements of combat, which of these is most like you?

 

Air = Emphasis on speed and mobility. Think bike armies, ravenwing etc. I'd call them slightly aggressive. They pick and choose their battles, opting to use their mobility to swoop in and pick off units that lack the ability to properly counter attack or without support.

 

Earth = Emphasis on resilience or endurance. This army has slightly changed. In essence, you boil down to 2 options. Massive squads or uber resilient troops. In general their wins, come from shooting though simply due to their ability to outlast and wittle down their opponents. Armies are more differently defined now then before when I got into 40k so my view on this, is that earth armies would be things like nurgle with obliterators, possibly grey knights or simple chaos space marines with their massive squad size and decent gearing. Although, in retrospect, other armies can and probably will be argued to be earth.

 

Fire = Emphasis on overwhelming power. Armies like this have an extremely aggressive playstyle. Think Sister's of Battle (in some incarnations), Khorne, Blood Angels, Space Wolves etc. That being said, from personal experience, playing a fire army isn't just like swinging a club around. There is a sort of talent one uses, I just don't happen to possess it.

 

Water = Finally, water emphasizes the ability to adapt. It's a reactive style of play. And stupidly hard to define as tactics differ battle to battle. In a sense, it revolves around waiting to see what your opponent does, and then basing your actions as a counter towards theirs. Examples that I can think of are once again grey knights (their abilities currently suit quite a large number of roles in my opinion) or a balanced list of any origin (could be any codex, it just comes down to making this list more along the lines of an "all-comer" list).

 

 

From what you have said, I'd think you'd be either water or earth. And with that in regard certain army lists spring to mind immediately:

 

1. Marines: They have a ton of characters that would benefit your playstyle, from willingly failing morale, or bolstering defences, to making your troops stubborn, to even delaying reserves, the marine's codex allows pretty much anything. It's highly adaptable, and could easily form a number of defensive lists.

 

2. Grey Knights: For one, in their current incarnation, they can fit both water and earth styles, allowing a blend of various defensive abilities. They further augment this with mystical abilities that could work into the fluff of your chapter (for example, The Shrouding or The Aegis). But there is a double-edged sword to this army. They should be getting a new codex soon and from what rumors floating around are saying, its going to be majority defense. So certain models may become unusable. Also on the negative, there is the entire case of the lack of drop-pods which you desire.

 

Just my 2 cents on the topic of codex. Although I could be wrong on your choice of playstyle.

[N1SB]

A quick reply, then I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow, I'm planning to visit a Buddhist temple to see what I can see. Should be...enlightening.

 

I can see the companies forming mini-crusades a la Black Templars, each having their own style of robe/sash/headband/etc. This could be where you work in White Lotus, Tiger Crane, and all those other sweet martial arts names.

 

As far as policing cults, I like the idea, but I'm thinking if the problem got so bad, some Inquisitor would just show up and nuke the planet from space.

 

Thanks for sharing your views on each companies adopting their own idiosyncracies, I hope to see if others agree.

 

As for policing, you raise a good point. I'm thinking now that this Chapter would be custodians of obscure yet religiously/historically significant temples on different desolate planets. Perhaps each Due to limited resources like food, so most of them spend time in the self-induced comas that Marines can enter, going into a meditative state (which is why IG or Soritas can't do this.) Each Company watches over a planet, thus they seldomly interact, leading to different schools of thought over the decades/centuries.

 

From what you have said, I'd think you'd be either water or earth. And with that in regard certain army lists spring to mind immediately:

 

Just my 2 cents on the topic of codex. Although I could be wrong on your choice of playstyle.

 

I think you see right through me. As I was looking at your list, I was thinking, "Earth - check. Water - check!"

 

In reality, I'm probably more like a Pebble and a Droplet, at least to start with. I plan on investing money/time on a Kill Team or 2 first, based on different Companies/sects. Thanks for your codex suggestions.

[Hubernator]

Going back to colours, I've ruffled through some I've made and a couple srping to mind but not perfectly. From what I can gather (including my littl knowledge of Buddhists) is orange robes and little else. For marines you won't get that so much because well they're heavily armoured superhumans. And not much compliments orange. Perhaps something similar to the Knights of the Covenant in terms of lots of robes.

 

Colour wise I'm thinking maybe pure colours like white. Perhaps something like this:

http://i244.photobucket.com/albums/gg17/Hubernator/My%20DIY%20Marines/AngelsMagnificent.jpg

 

I can mix and match for you if you wish and generate something of your liking.

[Firepower]

A quick reply, then I'm going to sleep. Tomorrow, I'm planning to visit a Buddhist temple to see what I can see. Should be...enlightening.

 

Anyone else hear a rimshot?

 

Overall I like the idea, and it doesnt seem any more far fetched than the bulk of 40k mythology: just about every Chapter and most IG, plus Tau are a re-purposed philosophy/culture from world history.

 

Anyway, when it comes to colors, I think you're on the right track with the white, beige (or is that gold?) and orange. In the time i spent studying in Thailand, much of the Buddhist art/statues i saw used whites and predominately warm colors. I'd be hesitant to use pure white though. For one, it's a royal pain to paint. Also, many of the statues I saw were either gold or chipped/worn stone with a more beige color, sitting/wrapped in on saffron orange cloths. As long as the white or beige has a worn/dirty look to it, gold and bright orange really "pop"

 

I'll look into the fluff when I've got more time on my hands :devil:

 

Have fun!

[elohimalpha]

I'm thinking now that this Chapter would be custodians of obscure yet religiously/historically significant temples on different desolate planets. Perhaps each Due to limited resources like food, so most of them spend time in the self-induced comas that Marines can enter, going into a meditative state (which is why IG or Soritas can't do this.) Each Company watches over a planet, thus they seldomly interact, leading to different schools of thought over the decades/centuries.

 

Love it! Maybe have a dedicated "Watcher" unit/character for each sect/company/style running things while everyone snoozes. It really goes to reinforce how isolated and lonely it must be to be an Astartes (aww . . . ^_^ Poor super-human killing machines)

 

Hubernator is on the right track with the color scheme - I came up with something pretty similar (switch the cape for a tabbard and up the intensity of the orange and it's the same thing). Firepower raises a good point about white being a pain, and might look too "new" for such an ancient-feeling Chapter. I was thinking about Thailand too, if there was some way to incorporate the unique art style there - certainly could on the banners.

 

Really like where this is heading!

[hummus]

love the idea I was kinda thinking of using the reincarnation idea for my splinter word bearers army

with the idea that they are looking for the psychic spore of horus kinda like a evil version of the star child theory.

 

but the whole 8 fold path is very chaos and word bearer influenced

[N1SB]

I'm revisiting the forums I posted this discussion to say that I'm consolidating all your ideas. This has so grown that I no longer consider it my own concept. If people ask me if this was my idea, I'd say, "No, it's from the collective hivemind that is teh Interwebs."

 

My role now is merely that of an editor...which is actually quite fun and challenging. I was also going to say that you might be surprised and disagree with some of those editorial decisions. And I think that, should I succeed at all, the key is in the framework that I've built to house your ideas.

 

Precisely because there's been so many different perspectives that I wanted to capture, I created a framework that can maintain a common identity yet is designed to be scale with many ideas. The comparison I'll make is with when the Space Wolves were 1st "re-booted" in the 1st edition. It used Ragnar's Company of Space Wolves to illustrate all sorts of new ideas, yet allowed any player to make his own individual Company freely.

 

Thus, please stay tuned, I should have something up next week! I think you'll find it entertaining how the different ideas fit together. Also, if you wish to adopt our shared concept as your own, please realzie I deliberately set aside gaps to allow you your own creative space.