'The Foe Eaters' - 1st draft

[Malthe]

--- updated oct. 24. ---

 

Hello everybody, and thanks for reading!

For some time now I've been searching for a chapter to represent on the battlefield of the forty first millennium.

I tried painting a couple of Crimson Fists, some Sable Swords and even some Angels Sanguine. But neither of those really struck my fancy.

I'v looked through all the marine codex, read a ton of fluff on this site and on the lexicanum, but I simply haven't been able to find a chapter that intrigued me enough that I want to spend my time and money collecting it.

Then a week ago it struck me, I have to do a DYI!

And so here comes my first attempt at crafting a chapter in which colors I can paint my little plastic soldiers:

 

The Foe Eaters

26. Founding, Blood Angel successors

 

Disavowed by the Adeptus Mechanicus after the disastrous defense of a forge world in 897.M41 the Foe Eaters now rely on the support of their parent chapter the Angels Sanguine to keep their operations running. Recently parts of the Inquisition have taken interest in the chapter, because of suspicions that they have taken to performing mercenary actions in an effort to procure some much needed supplies.

 

Origins

Around 700.M41 the High Lords of Terra, in their infinite wisdom, decreed the 26st founding of space marines. It is unknown why the Adeptus Mechanicus decided to create one of these chapters from the lineage of martyred Sanguinius, but most suspect it was in an attempt to cleanse the corrupted gene seed of the great Hero-Primarch.

Looking for a suitable chapter to lead and train the young chapter, the Adeptus Mechanicus found the Angels Sanguine to be the most reasonable choice among the Blood Angels successor chapters, and so offered them the honor.

Though weary of loosing future leaders of the chapter, the Angels Sanguine nevertheless agreed to select a cadre of 1st Company veterans to act as leaders and teachers of a new chapter.

Thus, a Strike Cruiser left Baal Triune carrying some 20 officers and specialists of the Angels Sanguine (and a significantly higher number a serfs and servitors), among them 1st Company Sergeant Aeschylus who were to become the first Chapter Master of the Foe Eaters.

 

History

Meeting up with the chapter they had been selected to lead and mature, the Angels Sanguine first sought to establish wether the curse of Sanguinius was evident in their new wards.

The Adeptus Mechanicus had assured the Scions of Sanguinius that the new chapter was as pure in gene seed as any chapter of Guilliman's heritage, but this soon turned out to be false.

Already on the journey from Mars to the chapter planet of the Angels Sanguine some of the Foe Eaters started to display genetic instability and it seamed that the chapter should thus be plagued by the curse of Sanguinius from the very beginning.

Determined not to let their charges perish, the Angels Sanguine gathered members of their Sanguinary Priesthood and the Chaplains of the chapter in an effort to stabilize the gene seed of their new wards.

In a program consisting equally of psycho-conditioning, genetic manipulation and arcane blood rituals not seen outside the Cult of Sanguinius, the Angels Sanguine nearly succeed in their endeavor. Though they accomplished much, the Angels Sanguine were not abel to purge the last seeds of corruption from the Foe Eaters' gene seed. They did, however manage to stabilize the gene seed to such a degree that even today the number of Foe Eaters succumbing to the Flaw is much lower than one would expect from a chapter of Sanguinius' line.

Thus, after 50 years of struggle to cleanse their gene seed of corruption, the Foe Eaters were given a Battle Barge of their own, 'the Purity Unbound', and sent on the first of their xenocidal crusades.

 

The Fall of Jakonov VI

Never having had a good relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus the chapter took a hard blow when in 968.M41 they deployed in full chapter strength to defend the forge world of 'Jakonov VI'.

Close-area-scans had detected a massive amount of orc spaceships closing in on the planet, and the Adeptus Mechanicus sent out at request for reinforcements. The Foe Eaters, nearby and hungry for glory, immediately answered the request.

Initially the Foe Eaters fought valiantly against the invading orcs. Designated as a first response unit the Foe Eaters took the brunt of the close-quarter fighting, while allowing their allies in the Mechanicus and the Imperial Guard to shell and gun down the aliens from relative distance.

While the forces assembled on the Jakonov VI were not nearly enough to halt the invasion, nor were they supposed to. The Sector Fleet was hastily on it's way and it seemed the defenders would hold until it could arrive.

Then disaster struck. Seeking to delay the orcs from bringing their Gargants to the fight, the Foe Eaters had attempted a preemptive strike at the orcs' primary foothold on the planet. In one manner it can be said that the attack was successful, for the Gargants and indeed more than five million orcs were killed in the nuclear explosion that tore through the atmosphere that day. But the explosion was not a result of cautiously planned sabotage but from the collateral damage to one the planets primary reactors, located directly under the orc stronghold.

With power fading from defense networks across the planet and over two million Imperial Guardsmen dead, among them three entire regiments of Leman Russ battle tanks positioned on the edge of orc-held territory, Aeschylus foresaw the inevitable defeat and ordered his fleet to clear the system and engage in hit and run tactics, while he and his ground forces would hold the last major factory complex, desperately waiting for reinforcements.

When twelve days after the accident, the final wall was broken and the orcs flooded the facilities, Aeschylus issued his two final orders as chapter master of the Foe Eaters. First all Thunderhawks still able to take flight were ordered to evacuate as many forces as possible. Second all marines who were not able to extract, were given a final order: “Charge! For the glory of Sanguinius, charge! Make them remember our final deeds!”

And they were remembered. By the remaining brothers of the chapter, for their ultimate sacrifice, trading their lives for time, for Mechanicus personnel to evacuate their precious artifacts.

By the Adeptus Mechanicus, for causing a vital forge world to fall into the hands of the orcs and cowardly retreating instead of fighting to their deserved end.

Since this event the chapter has been denied access to all forge worlds in the sector, each time with some excuse that ought to be of little concern. It is perfectly clear, to the chapter itself at least, that they have been abandoned by the Adepts of the Machine God.

Possessing a total of two forge ships the chapter was not immediately hamstrung by this, being abel to produce all the necessities of war and capable of performing most repairs needed to keep their equipment and war machines to an acceptable standard. After some ten years however, the troubled chapter was running out of supplies.

Once again the Foe Eaters turned to their betters begging for aid. The Angels Sanguine, unwilling to see the young chapter perish after having invested so much in its survival agreed to supply what resources they could spare.

But the Foe Eaters were neither willing nor abel to live of the alms of others for eternity.

Desperately needing to acquire minerals and metals for their forges the chapter have taken to providing escort for private vessels and even trading favors with rogue traders of the region in order to procure those things that they cannot supply themselves and cannot petition from their benefactors. This behavior has sparked some suspicion within the Inquisition, as this line of action in the past have carried many a chapter down the dark road of piracy and rebellion.

 

Home world

For most of their existence the Foe Eaters have been a fleet bound chapter, recruiting from a small number of worlds throughout their area of operations in the southwestern part of Ultima Segmentum. The primary reason for this being that the Foe Eaters, offsprings from Sanguinius' gene-line, prefer the relative anonymity that their crusading fleet grants them.

The spiritual home of the Foe Eaters and the heart of their fleet is the Battle Barge 'Purity Unbound', gifted to the chapter by the Angels Sanguine upon the completion of the 50 year program that stabilized the gene seed of the Foe Eaters. The Purity Unbound contains vast facilities for training and storing marines during transit, as well as the Reclusiam where the chapters' artifacts are stored and venerated by the Chaplains and Tech-marines of the chapter. The chapter's Sanguinary Priesthood also resides on this ship and research into the curse of Sanguinius as well as rigorous testing of the chapter's gene-seed is undertaken on the very lowest decks of the battle barge.

Besides their flagship the Foe Eaters' fleet consists of one more Battle Barge 'the Rectifier', approximately ten Strike Cruisers and several more Rapid Strike Vessels. The fleet is rarely gathered at any one place, though the majority is usually found in close proximity to the Purity Unbound or the new chapter planet Bedrock.

 

Bedrock

After the disaster at Jakonov VI, the Foe Eaters, desperate for a source of steady supplies, constructed a chapter keep on the abandoned mining planet Bedrock, in the northwest of the Charadon Sector, and claimed this world for themselves.

While the chapter serfs and servitors are still in the process of reconfiguring one of the chapters' two forge ships so that they might set it down on the planet, progress is somewhat slow. At 999.M41 one forge ships is still hanging in orbit while the other has landed on the planet and is currently undergoing heavy modifications that it may one day form the heart of their new fortress-monastery.

Bedrock is a small planet rich in minerals and sand, but in very little else. After two thousand years of strip mining the atmosphere have been rendered corrosive by massive industrial waste and so all population centers are located underground. Water is found both in the atmosphere and in larger underground rivers but all food is imported. Bedrock was originally populated through penal transportation in M39 and even today the population is tough, resourceful and prone to violence.

Around 900.M41 the planet was abandoned by the Imperium when production had fallen to the lowest level since the planet was first settled. The cost of keeping the planet alive was beginning to outweigh the profits. When the Imperium left the private companies moved in, desperate to squeeze out the last bit of surplus from the barren planet.

There are six mining colonies left on Bedrock, all policed by mining company overseers enforcing harsh martial law. The daily life in these colonies is much alike. The day is classified as thirty hours, and is divided into three shifts each of ten hours. Though it is technically illegal for a miner to work more than one shift in a row, this law is not enforced and double shifts are common if somewhat dangerous to the miners. The small upper class on Bedrock consists of the mining company directors their administration. As long as production is at a reasonable level they live a luxurious life, cowering behind massive walls in eternal fear of insurrection. Riots are common, and de facto control of the planet have long since passed to the company overseers. Crime is widespread, the different mining companies exploiting the thriving youth gangs of the colonies in order to sabotage each other, in order to maximize their own profits. The overseers have long since given up policing the hab-areas and the abandoned mining tunnels, but should a youth gang venture near an active mining-area, and they often do, the punishment is always torture, followed by summary execution.

These gangs produce marvelous candidates for new space marines, and they among with the planet's dwindling mineral supplies are what attracted the Foe Eaters to the planet.

The Foe Eaters does not interact much with either the population or the mining companies. Believing in the philosophy of 'vassals not recruits', they merely observe the conflicts of the gangs searching for suitable candidates for induction. Also, they demand a percentage of the raw minerals extracted from the mines and so adds to the exploitation of the working population. This however, beyond being immensely valuable to the chapter forges, merely serves to toughen up the population and so serves the Foe Eaters in more than one way.

 

Organization

The Foe Eaters are a codex chapter, organized along the lines of their parent chapter the Angels Sanguine. Accordingly the chapter is split into ten companies: The first is the veteran company, the second till fifth battle companies, the sixth till ninth reserve companies and the tenth is the scout company composed of the neophytes of the chapter. The most remarkable difference from the codex, is the replacement of the Apothecarion with the Sanguinary Priesthood and the addition of the auxiliary Death Company.

The current Chapter Master is Brother Terentius, former Captain of the 3rd company, who was promoted following the fall of Jakonov VI. Leader of the Reclusiam is High Chaplain Theodorus and the Sanguinary Priesthood is lead by High Priest Menander.

The unorthodox promotion of a mere 3rd company Captain to the seat of the Chapter Master was natural to the Foe Eaters chapter council as it was him who had overseen the evacuation from doomed Jakonov VI and thereby saved the chapter from extinction. Despite that, some voices within the chapter, most notably Chief Librarian Aristophanes and 1st Company Captain Euripides still argues that the council made the wrong decision and that the chapter should rather have gone down fighting than dooming itself to a slow decay.

At 999.M41 the chapter consists of some 600 marines spread out between the line and reserve companies and approximately 100 recruits in the scout company.

The chapter has recently assumed a strategy of letting individual squads, especially reserve and scout squads, perform missions independent of the main companies in order to gain valuable experience through genuine combat rather than through training and exercise. Critics within and without the chapter speculates that these squads are actually performing regular mercenary actions as a mean for the chapter to obtain additional resources. High Chaplain Theodorus who is in charge of this program however vigorously denies this.

 

Beliefs

The Foe Eaters like most chapters of the Adeptus Astartes recognize the Emperor not as God, but as a venerable ancestor and as the perfect being who's heritage it is their duty to protect and expand. They do believe, somewhat unorthodox, in the eventual resurrection of the Emperor, but it is chiefly Sanguinius and not the Emperor himself the chapter cult is centered about.

While most of the Imperium consider Sanguinius a hero and a martyr, the Foe Eaters in fact does not. Instead they mourn his failure.

Central to the Foe Eaters' beliefs is the notion of duty. Duty to the Emperor, duty to the Imperium and duty to the chapter. In the eyes of the Foe Eaters, Sanguinius, by allowing himself to be killed by Horus betrayed this duty.

Some reason that Sanguinius had foreseen his death and willingly sacrificed himself while striking a chink in the Warmaster's armor for the Emperor to exploit, and the Foe Eaters does not deny this. They do however dispute that this this was the act of a hero. As far as the Foe Eaters are concerned; a real hero, in that situation, would never have allowed himself to die without completing his mission objective. This is the main pillar of the Foe Eaters' beliefs, that they must redeem themselves to the Emperor, by making up for their Primarch's mistake.

Because of this the Foe Eaters strive for purity, discipline and martial skill above all else. No matter how crippled their production facilities, no matter how disgraced their chapter may seem for begging the support of their betters, no matter how pressed on all fronts, the Foe Eaters will endure. They will take all the punishment necessary and still rise to fight one more battle, they will rise because it is their duty. The Foe Eaters exists for one reason only: To rectify the wrongs of the past, and until all traitors are purged from the galaxy and the reign of the Emperor restored they will not rest.

 

While many of the Blood Angel successors are prone to inflicting massive civilian casualties during their operations, not so the Foe Eaters. The reason for this is quite simple, the Foe Eaters believe that every man may one day mean the difference between victory and defeat. Therefore they wish to preserve as many imperial citizen as possible until the final battle when the Emperor is reborn and the time comes for them to redeem themselves. Only the Emperor knows wether one man may be the father or grandfather of a future hero of the chapter, and so only the Emperor, represented by the High Lords of Terra, may judges who is to live and who is to die.

The humanitarian streak ends abruptly when the Foe Eaters are faced with rebellion or a traitorous population. In such a situation the Foe Eaters will strike with the fury of a god and visit vengeance upon the fallen. Not seeking to return the sheep to the fold of the righteous, but to slaughter them until the entire rebellious planet is no more than an abattoir. Such is the punishment for forsaking ones duty to the Imperium of Man.

 

Combat Doctrine

The Foe Eaters' approach to combat is nearly strictly codex. The two notable exceptions are the chapter's preference for close combat and their reliance on surgical strikes by veteran or scout forces. The chapter maintains some twenty pieces of Terminator Armour some of which are still painted in their original Angels Sanguine colors. The sudden appearance of these behemoths at the center of enemy command or at the weakest point in the Foe Eaters' battle line have turned many a battle from threatening defeat to crushing victory. Likewise the Foe Eaters hold the rest of their 1st Company Veterans in high esteem and have a great deal of confidence that the actions of one man at the right place can change the course of the galaxy. Some of these veterans have trained with the Ultramarines, particularly in anti-Tyranid doctrines, and it is an honor for the chapter that a large portion of their veterans, including High Chaplain Theodorus and 1st Company Captain Euripides, have also toured the Deathwatch at several occasions.

Other than this, many of the Foe Eaters' tactical doctrines are directed towards slaying traitor marines and to this end plasma weapons and Vengeance Rounds used to hold a special place in the chapter arsenal. Recently though the chapter have come to rely less on equipment and even more on the skill and experience of the individual marine.

 

Gene-seed

The Foe Eaters hail from the lineage of Sanguinius and his Blood Angel legionnaires.

Despite the best effort of both the Angels Sanguine's and the chapters' own Sanguinary Priests the flaw continues to haunt the marines of the Foe Eaters. Both the Red Thirst and the Black Rage are frequently seen among even the veterans of the chapter, but slightly less so than amid many other Blood Angels successors. The marines who fall to the later of these ailments are immediately inducted into the Death Company, while the former are interred in the lowest depths of the Purity Unbound for the Sanguinary Priests to conduct experiments upon. The ones who fall are neither missed nor honored by the chapter for they have committed the same mistake as Sanguinius and have given in where they promised to stand strong. However, no member of the chapter would ever speak ill of such a soul, least they suffer the same fate.

Precisely what this fate is and what happens to the test-subjects of the Sanguinary Priesthood, is not known outside the Priesthood. Even Chapter Master Terentius when, after his promotion, he asked the High Priest, was explained that he needn't concern himself with those matters. Why he didn't simply order High Priest Menander to tell him anyways is subject to some debate within the chapter, but what he learned must have made a significant impact on him since he was persuaded not only to drop his own inquiry but have also forbidden anyone else to meddle with the affairs of Menander and his Priests. Much to the chagrin of Captain Euripides, who have at several times demanded that the chapter council be informed of the secrets of the bottom decks of the Purity Unbound.

 

Motto

Call and response: “Pure in blood, pure in deed!”

_________________________________________________

 

Please let me know what you think!

I have edited and rewritten this a bunch of times and I really need a different pair of eyes to see what I have been starring my self blind upon.

I'm not quite happy with the beliefs section, as I don't feel it is clear enough, but I can't really see how to expand upon it.

Also I'm worried that the theme of the chapter is not coming across clear enough, but I'm not sure wether this is because of the material I have written or the way I have written it...

It's a long time since I wrote anything in english, and I'm afraid it's showing here and there.

Please feel free to point out mistakes in grammar, syntax or repetitive language should you fall upon them.

 

Your's

- Malthe

[Hrvat]

Hello and wellcome to the DIY familly :P

 

 

Hello everybody, and thanks for reading!

For some time now I've been searching for a chapter to represent on the battlefield of the forty first millennium.

I tried painting a couple of Crimson Fists, some Sable Swords and even some Angels Sanguine. But neither of those really struck my fancy.

I'v looked through all the marine codex, read a ton of fluff on this site and on the lexicanum, but I simply haven't been able to find a chapter that intrigued me enough that I want to spend my time and money collecting it.

Then a week ago it struck me, I have to do a DYI!

And so here comes my first attempt at crafting a chapter in which colors I can paint my little plastic soldiers:

 

The Foe Eaters

26. Founding, Blood Angel successors

 

Disavowed by the Adeptus Mechanicus after the disastrous defense of a forge world in 897.M41 the Foe Eaters now rely on the support of their parent chapter the Angels Sanguine as well as the Ultramarines to keep their operations running. Recently the Inquisition have taken interest in the chapter, because of suspicions that they have taken to dealing with rogue traders in an effort to procure some much needed supplies.

 

You need to explain this. It is highly unlikely that a Chapter would stop dealing with an organisation just because they were not really up to the task of defending a world that belongs to the said organisation. On the other hand most chapters are self sufficient organisations and can produce all of their equipment but not with the speed that AM can create it. If for some reason they have difficulties creating all their stuff help of their parent chapter is not beyond imagination but pulling Ultramarines into this just seams like you wanted an important supporter of your guys.

 

 

Origins

Around 700.M41 the High Lords of Terra, in their infinite wisdom, decreed the 26st founding of space marines. It is unknown why the Adeptus Mechanicus decided to create one of these chapters from the lineage of martyred Sanguinius, but most suspect it was in an attempt to cleanse the corrupted gene seed of the great Hero-Primarch.

Looking for a suitable chapter to lead and train the young chapter, the Adeptus Mechanicus found the Angels Sanguine to be the most reasonable choice among the Blood Angels successor chapters, and so offered them the honor.

Though weary of loosing future leaders of the chapter, the Angels Sanguine nevertheless agreed to select a cadre of 1st Company veterans to act as leaders and teachers of a new chapter.

Thus, a Strike Cruiser left Baal Triune carrying some 20 officers and specialists of the Angels Sanguine (and a significantly higher number a serfs and servitors), among them 1st Company Sergeant Aeschylus who were to become the first Chapter Master of the Foe Eaters.

A solid origins section but needs some explanation. Why Angels Sanguine? They are a secretive chapter that hides their faces, not really someone you would want to train the new generation. Considering the idea that the atempt was to cleanse the gene seed my personal opinon would be to either have Blood Angels, Blood Drinkers or Lamenters as the Chapter providing the original officers.

 

History

Meeting up with the chapter they had been selected to lead and mature, the Angels Sanguine first sought to establish wether the curse of Sanguinius was evident in their new wards.

The Adeptus Mechanicus had assured the Scions of Sanguinius that the new chapter was as pure in gene seed as any chapter of Guilliman's heritage, but this soon turned out to be false.

Already on the journey from Mars to the chapter planet of the Angels Sanguine some of the Foe Eaters started to display genetic instability and it seamed that the chapter should thus be plagued by the curse of Sanguinius from the very beginning.

Determined not to let their charges perish, the Angels Sanguine gathered members of their Sanguinary Priesthood and the Chaplains of the chapter in an effort to stabilize the gene seed of their new wards.

In a program consisting equally of psycho-conditioning, genetic manipulation and arcane blood rituals not seen outside the Cult of Sanguinius, the Angels Sanguine seemingly succeed in their endeavor. Thus, after 50 years of struggle to cleanse their gene seed of corruption, the Foe Eaters were given a Battle Barge of their own, 'the Purity Unbound', and sent on the first of their xenocidal crusades.

Having spent the first fifty years of their existence on Baal Triune and in the confines of their escalating fleet, the Foe Eaters were far from battle ready when in 790.M41, they arrived at their designated area of operations in Ultima Segmentum. It is a mark of quality upon the original officers of the chapter that they realized this and choose to remedy the fact by petitioning support from the Ultramarines.

The Ultramarines, still understrength after the Battle of Macragge saw this as a golden opportunity to acquire some much needed manpower, and made a deal with the Foe Eaters.

In return for training and strategical support from the Ultramarines, the Foe Eaters would deploy in support of the Ultramarines whenever needed for a five centuries years.

 

Interesting. You will just have to explain weather the curse is completely cured or just momentarely supressed. Providing assistance to understrength for tactical adivce and gear could exist but would that also insult their founding chapter as it would mean that the new guys didn't belive they were tought good enough. The only explanation would be to have chapter seek to follow the Codex as closely as possibly and sought adivce from the Ultramarines who are the most codex chapter there is.

 

The Fall of Jakonov VI

Never having had a good relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus the chapter took a hard blow when in 968.M41 they deployed in full chapter strength to defend the forge world of 'Jakonov VI'.

Distant-area-scans had detected a massive amount of orc spaceships closing in on the sector, and the Adeptus Mechanicus more ordered than requested the support of the Foe Eaters.

Realizing that his chapter was not up to the task of holding the aliens at bay, Chapter Master Aeschylus nevertheless heeded the call of the Mechanicus and deployed his forces on the forge world. Only a week after the arrival of the Foe Eaters the orcs entered the atmosphere having broken the meager fleets defending the system. Aeschylus foreseeing the inevitable defeat ordered his fleet to clear the system and engage in hit and run tactics, while he and his ground forces would hold the major factory complex, desperately waiting for reinforcements.

When twenty days into the siege, the final wall was broken and the orcs flooded the facilities, Aeschylus issued his two final orders as chapter master of the Foe Eaters. First all Thunderhawks still able to take flight were ordered to evacuate as many forces as possible. Second all marines who were not able to extract, were given a final order: “Charge! For the glory of Sanguinius, charge! Make them remember our final deeds!”

And they were remembered. By the remaining brothers of the chapter, for their ultimate sacrifice, trading their lives for time, for Mechanicus personnel to evacuate their precious artifacts.

By the Adeptus Mechanicus, for allowing a vital forge world to fall into the hands of the orcs and cowardly retreating instead of fighting to the end.

Since this event the chapter has been denied access to all forge worlds in the sector, each time with some excuse that ought to be of little concern. It is perfectly clear, to the chapter itself at least, that they have been abandoned by the Adepts of the Machine God.

Possessing a total of two forge ships the chapter was not immediately hamstrung by this, being abel to produce all the necessities of war and capable of performing most repairs needed to keep their equipment and war machines to an acceptable standard. After some ten years however, the troubled chapter was running out of supplies.

Once again the Foe Eaters turned to their betters begging for aid. The Ultramarines and the Angels Sanguine, both unwilling to see the young chapter perish after having invested so much in its survival agreed to supply what resources they could spare.

But the Foe Eaters were neither willing nor abel to live of the alms of others for eternity.

Desperately needing to acquire minerals and metals for their forges the chapter have taken to providing escort for private vessels and even trading favors with rogue traders of the region in order to procure those things that they cannot supply themselves and cannot petition from their benefactors. This behavior has sparked some suspicion within the Inquisition, as this line of action in the past have carried many a chapter down the dark road of piracy and rebellion.

 

This provides much information about relations of the Chapter with various organisations. Just there are somethings which are slightly difficult to belive. AM are nearly machine like and lacking resolve is not one of their psyhological traits. A more likely reasone for the outcome you wish to represent is that the Chapter anwsered a plea for aid and failed to protect the Forge World earning enmity of the Mechanicus. Support from their parent chapter or some other is not beyond imagination in return for future support. Working with rogue traders used to normal operations for Space Marines in previous editions so I don't think that would spark the suspicion of the Inquisition unless the help smugglers, contacted xeno or some such activity.

 

Home world

For most of their existence the Foe Eaters have been a fleet bound chapter, recruiting from a small number of worlds throughout their area of operations in the southwestern part of Ultima Segmentum. The primary reason for this being that the Foe Eaters, offsprings from Sanguinius' gene-line, prefer the relative anonymity that their crusading fleet grants them.

The spiritual home of the Foe Eaters and the heart of their fleet is the Battle Barge 'Purity Unbound', gifted to the chapter by the Angels Sanguine upon the completion of the 50 year program that stabilized the gene seed of the Foe Eaters. The Purity Unbound contains vast facilities for training and storing marines during transit, as well as the Reclusiam where the chapters' artifacts are stored and venerated by the Chaplains and Tech-marines of the chapter. The chapter's Sanguinary Priesthood also resides on this ship and research into the curse of Sanguinius as well as rigorous testing of the chapter's gene-seed is undertaken on the very lowest decks of the battle barge.

Besides their flagship the Foe Eaters' fleet consists of one more Battle Barge 'the Rectifier', approximately ten Strike Cruisers and several more Rapid Strike Vessels. The fleet is rarely gathered at any one place, though the majority is usually found in close proximity to the Purity Unbound or the new chapter planet Bedrock.

 

An ok section.

 

Bedrock

After the disaster at Jakonov VI, the Foe Eaters, desperate for a source of steady supplies, constructed a chapter keep on the abandoned mining planet Bedrock, in the northwest of the Charadon Sector, and claimed this world for themselves.

While the chapter serfs and servitors are still in the process of reconfiguring one of the chapters' two forge ships so that they might set it down on the planet, progress is somewhat slow. At 999.M41 one forge ships is still hanging in orbit while the other has landed on the planet and is currently undergoing heavy modifications that it may one day form the heart of their new fortress-monastery.

Bedrock is a small planet rich in minerals and sand, but in very little else. After two thousand years of strip mining the atmosphere have been rendered corrosive by massive industrial waste and so all population centers are located underground. Water is found both in the atmosphere and in larger underground rivers but all food is imported. Bedrock was originally populated through penal transportation in M39 and even today the population is tough, resourceful and prone to violence.

Around 900.M41 the planet was abandoned by the Imperium when production had fallen to the lowest level since the planet was first settled. The cost of keeping the planet alive was beginning to outweigh the profits. When the Imperium left the private companies moved in, desperate to squeeze out the last bit of surplus from the barren planet.

There are six mining colonies left on Bedrock, all policed by mining company overseers enforcing harsh martial law. The daily life in these colonies is much alike. The day is classified as thirty hours, and is divided into three shifts each of ten hours. Though it is technically illegal for a miner to work more than one shift in a row, this law is not enforced and double shifts are common if somewhat dangerous to the miners. The small upper class on Bedrock consists of the mining company directors their administration. As long as production is at a reasonable level they live a luxurious life, cowering behind massive walls in eternal fear of insurrection. Riots are common, and de facto control of the planet have long since passed to the company overseers. Crime is widespread, the different mining companies exploiting the thriving youth gangs of the colonies in order to sabotage each other, in order to maximize their own profits. The overseers have long since given up policing the hab-areas and the abandoned mining tunnels, but should a youth gang venture near an active mining-area, and they often do, the punishment is always torture, followed by summary execution.

These gangs produce marvelous candidates for new space marines, and they among with the planet's dwindling mineral supplies are what attracted the Foe Eaters to the planet.

The Foe Eaters does not interact much with either the population or the mining companies. Believing in the philosophy of 'vassals not recruits', they merely observe the conflicts of the gangs searching for suitable candidates for induction. Also, they demand a percentage of the raw minerals extracted from the mines and so adds to the exploitation of the working population. This however, beyond being immensely valuable to the chapter forges, merely serves to toughen up the population and so serves the Foe Eaters in more than one way.

 

Very nice.

 

Organization

The Foe Eaters are a codex chapter, organized along the lines of their parent chapter the Angels Sanguine. Accordingly the chapter is split into ten companies: The first is the veteran company, the second till fifth battle companies, the sixth till ninth reserve companies and the tenth is the scout company composed of the neophytes of the chapter. The most remarkable difference from the codex, is the replacement of the Apothecarion with the Sanguinary Priesthood and the addition of the auxiliary Death Company.

The current Chapter Master is Brother Terentius, former Captain of the 3rd company, who was promoted following the fall of Jakonov VI. Leader of the Reclusiam is High Chaplain Theodorus and the Sanguinary Priesthood is lead by High Priest Menander.

The unorthodox promotion of a mere 3rd company Captain to the seat of the Chapter Master was natural to the Foe Eaters chapter council as it was him who had overseen the evacuation from doomed Jakonov VI and thereby saved the chapter from extinction. Despite that, some voices within the chapter, most notably Chief Librarian Aristophanes and 1st Company Captain Euripides still argues that the council made the wrong decision and that the chapter should rather have gone down fighting than dooming itself to a slow decay.

At 999.M41 the chapter consists of some 600 marines spread out between the line and reserve companies and approximately 100 recruits in the scout company.

The chapter has recently assumed a strategy of letting individual squads, especially reserve and scout squads, perform missions independent of the main companies in order to gain valuable experience through genuine combat rather than through training and exercise. Critics within and without the chapter speculates that these squads are actually performing regular mercenary actions as a mean for the chapter to obtain additional resources. High Chaplain Theodorus who is in charge of this program however vigorously denies this.

 

Nicely writen. It shows a division within the Chapter and an undercurent of beliefs besides of the most prominent ones.

 

Beliefs

The Foe Eaters like most chapters of the Adeptus Astartes recognize the Emperor not as God, but as a venerable ancestor and as the perfect being who's heritage it is their duty to protect and expand. They do believe, somewhat unorthodox, in the eventual resurrection of the Emperor, but it is chiefly Sanguinius and not the Emperor himself the chapter cult is centered about. The Foe Eaters see it as their responsibility to stand tall where Sanguinius fell. In the eyes of the chapter cult Sanguinius committed the ultimate sin by allowing the Emperor to engage Horus unsupported and without himself even having grazed the skin of the Warmaster. Thus, the deterioration of the Imperium since the age of the Heresy can be attributed to their so called Hero-Primarch.

Because of this the Foe Eaters strive for purity, discipline and martial skill above all else. No matter how crippled their production facilities, no matter how disgraced their chapter may seem for begging the support of their betters, no matter how pressed on all fronts, the Foe Eaters will endure. They will take all the punishment necessary and still rise to fight one more battle, they will rise because it is their duty. The Foe Eaters exists for one reason only: To rectify the wrongs of the past, and until all traitors are purged from the galaxy and the reign of the Emperor restored they will not rest.

 

Good, but I would like if you could explain the part about Sanguinius a bit more as it reads a bit strange at the moment.

 

Combat Doctrine

The Foe Eaters' approach to combat is nearly strictly codex. The two notable exceptions are the chapter's preference for close combat and their reliance on surgical strikes by veteran or scout forces. The chapter maintains some twenty pieces of Terminator Armour some of which are still painted in their original Angels Sanguine colors. The sudden appearance of these behemoths at the center of enemy command or at the weakest point in the Foe Eaters' battle line have turned many a battle from threatening defeat to crushing victory. Likewise the Foe Eaters hold the rest of their 1st Company Veterans in high esteem and have a great deal of confidence that the actions of one man at the right place can change the course of the galaxy. Many of these veterans have trained with the Ultramarines, particularly in anti-Tyranid doctrines, and it is an honor for the chapter that a large portion of their veterans, including High Chaplain Theodorus and 1st Company Captain Euripides, have also toured the Deathwatch at several occasions.

Other than this, many of the Foe Eaters' tactical doctrines are directed towards slaying traitor marines and to this end plasma weapons and Vengeance Rounds used to hold a special place in the chapter arsenal. Recently though the chapter have come to rely less on equipment and even more on the skill and experience of the individual marine.

While many of the Blood Angel successors are prone to inflicting massive civilian casualties during their operations, not so the Foe Eaters. The reason for this is quite simple, the Foe Eaters believe that every man may one day mean the difference between victory and defeat. Therefore they wish to preserve as many imperial citizen as possible until the final battle when the Emperor is reborn and the time comes for them to redeem themselves. Only the Emperor knows wether one man may be the father or grandfather of a future hero of the chapter, and so only the Emperor, represented by the High Lords of Terra, may judges who is to live and who is to die.

The humanitarian streak ends abruptly when the Foe Eaters are faced with rebellion or a traitorous population. In such a situation the Foe Eaters will strike with the fury of a god and visit vengeance upon the fallen. Not seeking to return the sheep to the fold of the righteous, but to slaughter them until the entire rebellious planet is no more than an abattoir. Such is the punishment for forsaking ones duty to the Imperium of Man.

 

Interesting but much of this could end up in Beliefs section.

 

Gene-seed

The Foe Eaters hail from the lineage of Sanguinius and his Blood Angel legionnaires.

Despite the best effort of both the Angels Sanguine's and the chapters' own Sanguinary Priests the flaw continues to hunt the marines of the Foe Eaters. Both the Red Thirst and the Black Rage are frequently seen among even the veterans of the chapter, but slightly less so than amid many other Blood Angels successors. The marines who fall to the later of these ailments are immediately inducted into the Death Company, while the former are interred in the lowest depths of the Purity Unbound for the Sanguinary Priests to conduct experiments upon. The ones who fall are neither missed nor honored by the chapter for they have committed the same mistake as Sanguinius and have given in where they promised to stand strong. However, no member of the chapter would ever speak ill of such a soul, least they suffer the same fate.

 

Interesting though you could expand a bit more on what happens to the poor souls.

 

Motto

Call and response: “Pure in blood, pure in deed!”

 

Nice one.

 

_________________________________________________

 

Please let me know what you think!

I have edited and rewritten this a bunch of times and I really need a different pair of eyes to see what I have been starring my self blind upon.

I'm not quite happy with the beliefs section, as I don't feel it is clear enough, but I can't really see how to expand upon it.

Also I'm worried that the theme of the chapter is not coming across clear enough, but I'm not sure wether this is because of the material I have written or the way I have written it...

It's a long time since I wrote anything in english, and I'm afraid it's showing here and there.

Please feel free to point out mistakes in grammar, syntax or repetitive language should you fall upon them.

 

Your's

- Malthe

 

 

Overall this is very nice. I would advise you to break up sections a bit so it is easier to read.

 

Here is how I see your chapter:

 

-seeks purity, abhores faliure

-determined and ferocius but disciplined

-lack support at the moment but are willing to endure

-there is a potential for the division but one that is unlikely

 

 

 

Keep up the good work.

 

 

Cheers

 

Hrvat

[Shinzaren]

Biggest issue that stands out to me is the Blood Angels gene-seed being used in the most recent founding, when it is an acknowledged fact that the High Lords hate using their gene-seed, because of it's corruption. Perhaps make them older?

[Hrvat]

They do not hate using it but are reluctant. Most of the Blood Angel chapters were founded following the Horus Heresy with some more later. With the current gloom and doom theme there is no reason Am wouldn't try to make a new BA successor, especially if they were trying to clean up deficiencies.

[Malthe]

Hello gentlemen and thanks for the replies, they are very much appreciated :)

 

@ Shinzaren

Regarding my origins section: I agree that this is a weak point in my DYI...

I am confident that I want my guys to be of Sanguinius' line and equally confident that I want them to be a very young chapter.

But as you and Hrvat both have pointed out this demands an explanation.

Why would the Adeptus Mechanicus want to produce a chapter from a corrupted gene seed?

My best attempt at making up an excuse is that they do it in order to tamper with the gene seed.

After all, if the chapter turns out badly they can just blame it on genuine corruption rather than on their own failed experiments!

I believe this is viable, but I am very open to other ideas on the subject. As long as I get to keep the 26. founding and the Blood Angels' gene seed :)

 

@ Hvrat

I'm not going to comment on your first quotation, as I think the points you rightly bring forth are all treated further down the page.

Therefore, allow me to jump right to your point number two:

 

- Origins

As discussed above I also feel that this section deserves some clearing up.

Originally I chose the Angels Sanguine for my parent chapter because I quite liked the DYI on them in the Librarium. That and I dig their colors!

I find that my chapter in many ways fits with the Angels Sanguine in regards to both beliefs, organization, combat doctrine and gene seed...

It seams to me that all these points, as I have tried to describe them in this article, could easily be derived from the Angels Sanguine.

I don't know much about the Blood Drinkers, but blood rituals and the DYI's on this site aside, I quite like the Blood Angel way of designating squad types (I'm going to be painting the right kneepad of my marines either red, yellow or blue) and I believe the Blood Drinkers follow the codex in that regard... I know it's a minor point, but it does bother me a little.

Can you guide me to some good material wherein the Blood Drinkers are mentioned?

 

Of course I could always go with Blood Angels proper, but I really don't like the way they have been portrayed in either the new codex, or in the BL books on them... All that artistic nonsense makes my stomach turn :P

 

- History

I agree that I need to clarify on how effective the Curse have been suppressed.

Don't want people to think that the Foe Eaters cured the Curse of Sanguinius in just fifty years.

That wouldn't be cool at all :o

 

Your point about the Ultramarine is very valid, I had not thought about it in the way you present.

I think that I might just remove that part and have them begging support after the 'Jakonov VI' campaign.

Seams more logical anyways. Thanks for pointing this out :tu:

 

- Jakonov VI

Once again you raise a very valid point.

I think your description of the AdMech is very fitting and I'll be sure to change the wording of that section as you suggest.

Again this simple change makes much more sense than my own ramblings.

On the same note: Do you think it is probable for the AdMech (the local branch anyway) to refuse to deal with a chapter under the circumstances I have described? I am very intrigued about the whole 'division of powers-thing' in the 40K universe and I would very much like to have my chapter represent this in some way. Also I think this is more interesting than simply having the same relations with the Adeptus Mechanicus as everybody else...

 

Regarding the Rouge Traders:

I kind of envisioned my chapter performing small mercenary operations in return for supplies for their forges (and whatever artifacts the RT's dig up).

I'm sure parts of the Inquisition would frown upon this, no?

Smugling seams a bit overkill and the Foe Eaters certainly wouldn't deal with any xenos... They may be desperate, but not that desperate!

Should I just leave out this bit about the Most Holy Inquisition? I think it adds a bit of suspense to the whole thing, how close to the line can you actually go without someone reacting to it?

 

- Beliefs

I came up with this on the fly and I am actually really pleased with the idea of the Foe Eaters wanting to redeem themselves of the sin their primarch committed. Also Sanguinius can't always be the hero, now can he?

Nevertheless I feel you are correct: This section could use some more care and I will see to it.

 

- Combat Doctrine

I think I'll just copy paste that last part into the beliefs section. That is what you are referring to, right?

 

- Gene Seed

I'll see if I can think of something clever. But I would like to keep a bit of mystery in there too.

 

 

Oh, and how would you propose I break it up?

I can't seem to find a more clever way, than increasing the size of the headlines :wallbash:

_____________________________

 

Thank you both for the great replies, it's really helpful!

 

I'll get to work on a revision and post a draft 1.1 as soon as possible.

 

Yours, thankfully

- Malthe

[Quozzo]

In the eyes of the chapter cult Sanguinius committed the ultimate sin by allowing the Emperor to engage Horus unsupported and without himself even having grazed the skin of the Warmaster.

Sanguinius weakened Horus enough for the Emperor to defeat him, its quite well documented in the BA Codex. Sanguinius after all had the power of foresight, had seen his fate and boarded Horus' ship regardless. Thats more of a hero in my eyes than the ultimate sin. but i do like the need the Foe Eaters have to redeem themselves from Sanguinius' sin, if not a bit Dark Angel-esque.

[Malthe]

Well, 'the ultimate sin' might be slightly over the top, but he did allow himself to get killed and left Horus alive to strike down the Emperor. To the Foe Eaters that's just not acceptable! And the fact that he had foreseen it doesn't excuse anything, it's more like the other way around, really.

I know about that chink in the Warmaster's armour and whatnot, but sacrificing yourself to scratching an armour isn't very hero-like at all... Not in the eyes of my silly young chapter, anyways.

And I actually think it's a nice twist to the standart "oh he's such a great-nobel-hero-martyre"-thing.

Though I might tone it down just a little in the next draft.

 

Anyhow, thanks for the feedback! :)

[skawolf]

Only thing I noticed is that you used the word "hunt" when I think you meant to say "haunt" in the following sentence. (but I am horrible with writting my own language, so who am I to correct someone who is authoring something in a language that isn't native to them)

 

"Despite the best effort of both the Angels Sanguine's and the chapters' own Sanguinary Priests the flaw continues to hunt the marines of the Foe Eaters."

[Malthe]

Hello gentlemen!

 

I have just updated the original post, as per the critique by Hvrat, described in post #5.

I am very much happy with the changes I have made, and I am very grateful for the input I have been given in this thread.

Please let me know what you think of these changes!

 

As the astute reader will notice my parent chapter is still the Angels Sanguine, despite the objections raised in this thread.

I have thought about it a great deal, and I haven't been able to come up with a better candidate that I like. Though this might have to do with me not knowing enough about the alternatives.

If you have a brilliant idea or can direct me to something inspiring about the Blood Angels or the Blood Drinkers (Hvrat's suggested alternatives), please let me know!

 

@ Skawolf

No contribution is to small, thank you very much! Though if you have any other observations (on the material or my language), please post them. I could really use the feed back :)

[Hrvat]

Hi, sorry that you had to wait this long I had some other things on my schedule.

 

The theme you are trying to convey is interesting and I like it but there are certain problems in my opinion.

 

 

1) The founders: Angels Sanguine have a long and glorious history but they keep a secret, that in my opinion would not make AM trust them with training a new Chapter whene there are other descendants of Sanguinius that are more open in their practices such as Blood Angels and Blood Drinkers.

 

2) The founding: 26th founding is nice and fresh but as it has been allready discussed it is highly unlikely there would be a Sanguine Chapter in that founding. Once the curse became known the geneseed of Sanguinius was no longer used to found new Chapters. There was only one known instance, the 21st founding with the creation of the Lamenters when a Sanguine Chapter was founed outside the first few foundings. You should also bear in mind that AM doesn't tinker with the geneseed, that is considered sacrelige and there was only one event when AM dared to do that, the 21st founding. Though I personaly have nothing against your Chapter being 26th founding I would advise for the purpouse of a shared univerese to select a more plausibile founding.

 

3) The founders II: Any Chapter selected or invited to assist in the founding a new Chapter would be deeply honoured and unless currenly experiencing a severe lack of battle brothers woudn't think twice about sending certain members to create another brotherhood dedicated to protecting humanity and serving the Emperor

 

4) The testing: The recruitment and training would happen while being monitored by these brethren sent to found the new chapter. These people will carry on the traditions of their old chapter and the question beggs for an anwser. Why doesn't the founding Chapter do what these marines did once they came to the conclusion the geneseed was a flawed as their own or even more so.

 

5) Fall of Jakonov: Though it serves a purpose in explaining why your Chapter is currently as it is this story is highly unlikely and serves more as a deus ex machina that as a valueable addition in uderstaning your Chapter. My personal advice would be to modify it so that it looks feasable or to completely remove it as a section and leave it as a passing notification elsewhere in the article - something along the lines "for some time now the Chapter has experienced shortages of equipment due to fallin out with the AM. The Foe Eaters were commited in defending xxxxx from the Orks and failed resulting in the AM blaiming them for the loss of xxxxx and refusing to resuply them until the redeem themselves" - this is just a suggestion. Also it would be advisable to keep the founding chapter out of this as much as possible.

 

6) Homeworld: Getting a complete Battle Barge would a mighty gift that I think few if any Chapter can aford to give. The Strike Cruiser of the original brethren could be gifted but the rest of the fleet would have to come from AM. Bedrock sounds as an interesting place. Very similar to a planet from 1st edition that had mines and was usually cut of from the rest of the Imperium by warp sotrms and had Orks and Men competing for resources. I think this is the best part of your article so far though it needs some more embelishments.

 

7) Organisation: They are a Codex chapter with ad hock formation of Deathy Company like all members of the Sanguine line. Pretty much everything else would be better if placed elsewhere. The mercenary thing could go into a sidebar while the 1st Company Captain thing could be in the Beliefs sections.

 

8) Beliefs:

...Foe Eaters strive for purity, discipline and martial skill above all else. No matter how crippled their production facilities, no matter how disgraced their chapter may seem for begging the support of their betters, no matter how pressed on all fronts, the Foe Eaters will endure. They will take all the punishment necessary and still rise to fight one more battle, they will rise because it is their duty. The Foe Eaters exists for one reason only: To rectify the wrongs of the past, and until all traitors are purged from the galaxy and the reign of the Emperor restored they will not rest.

 

This is the only part currently that fits the section. The first part about Sanguinius is very odd. Chapters inherit their Beliefs from their founders and there is no indication that Angels Sanguine or any other Sanguine chapter for that matter holds such a view. If you want to keep that you will have to give us an excellente explanation for this, not just why but how it came to this. Sanguinius is the most highly regarded Primarch in the Imperium, not even great Guilliman can match him, and to have one of his sons see him like that something really big must have happened. By big I do not mean sudden, it could have taken centuries or even millenia for such a 'heretical' belief to emerge. The last segment of your belief section could also use some rewording, the most notable of which would be changing of 'many' to 'some' in the first sentance.

 

9) Combat Dotrine: this section gives a little insgiht in what you want your chapter to look on the battle field and how you invsion them more than any other but that brings questions about the compatibility of this section with other parts of your article. You tell us that they have developed tactical doctrines around fighting traitors yet you place them in the south of Ultima Segmentum, not to mention bordering one of the most active Ork Empires in the Galaxy. Also why would the new Chapter maintain suits in their old colours?

 

10) Geneseed: This section is ok and in some ways resembles that of the Flesh Tearers (combined with sidebar about their high chaplain). I like that they show no compassion to those that fail to resist the urge and then become space marine guinea pigs. The part about Chapter Master and High Priest isn't really necesary and what they talked would not be known usualy outside the pair.

 

 

Overall: The Foe Eaters have a lot of potential and I like the core of your idea. What I would suggest to you to first compile your ideas and present us with the basics(main themes) of your Chapter, try first to sourt out general stuff before focusing on details such as names, individual agendas etc...

In addition to that having an undercurrent of unsatisfied officers could offer you a nice basis to develop some intra chapter relations.

 

 

 

Cheers

 

 

Hrvat

[Malthe]

Once again thank you for your time!

Please don't apologize for having other things to do than helping me out with my little project here, I take it you have a life of your own :)

 

Instead of responding to your criticism point for point, I will try to do as you suggest and present you with my notes, which I have used to form the basic ideas of my chapter and address some of the areas in which I need some help.

 

Main concept:

 

The Foe Eaters are a chapter cursed with an unstable gene-seed which prevents them from living up to their own ideals of purity and duty to the Imperium.

More so than this the chapter have recently angered the Adeptus Mechanicus and are thus permanently short on supplies.

In order to deal with these problems the chapter have recently taken a home world for the first time in their existence and have reformed their combat doctrines to focus on surgical strikes by scout forces and veteran marines.

The chapter refuse to be undone and have taken unorthodox measures in order to uptake supplies and experience for their neophytes.

The Foe Eaters place great value in the heroics of the individual marine and firmly believe than one man can alter the course of the universe.

 

Bullet points:

 

#1 The Foe Eaters strive for purity and discipline above all.

#2 The Foe Eaters believes strongly in the concept of duty and abhor failure.

#3 The Foe Eaters are a chapter of Sanguinius' lineage.

#4 The Foe Eaters have been neglected by the Adeptus Mechanicus, who are punishing the chapter for failing to defend a vital forge world.

#5 The Foe Eaters have some trouble in living up to point 1 and 2, because of point 3 and 4.

#6 Within the chapter there is some disagreement as to how to deal with point 5.

_______________________

 

I believes that sums it up... and if I have forgotten something it might just get erased between now and draft number two ;)

 

It is of course my intention that everything (well, nearly so) in the IA should be related to at least one of these points.

If something in the article doesn't - and at present time I think that is my main problem - it should be revised or perhaps even cut from the AI entirely.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post (I think it was...) one of my problems is choosing what parent chapter the Foe Eaters are formed from.

I have selected the Angels Sanguine, mainly because they are one of the Blood Angels successors I have always liked. Then came Matt Ward and suddenly they are very mysterious and don't show their faces... Hmm.

I agree; it doesn't make sense for the AM to chose the Angels Sanguine to train a new chapter.

But who would be better??

The Lamenters went all wrong, so that's no good.

The Flesh Teares are all crazy, so they're out as well.

The Angels Encarmine I know absolutely nothing about, but that their Death Company is white, and I don't think I'm up to that...

The Blood Drinkers are relatively unknown to me as well, but the whole blood-ritual thing seems a little too vampire and they use codex-markings on their squads which I'm not going to do.

The Angels Vermillion are virtually fluff-less if I recall correctly, except that they choose to "bear their curse in solitude". A possibility?

That leaves only the Blood Angels themselves, but they just seem so... bland. And artistic... That's just not very Angels of Death.

 

I'm leaning towards the Angels Vermillion. That or I might just have to suck it up and go with the Blood Angels.

Thoughts?

 

 

With regards to Founding:

I have thought about making the Foe Eaters a chapter of the 18th founding, to make them a bit older.

Would that be old enough for the Curse of Sanguinius not to be know to the AdMech?

I really don't want them to be too old and established, as I think that would weaken the theme of the Foe Eaters trying to reestablish themselves after the Jakonov VI incident - which is quite important to me.

 

Also I really want to keep the Jakonov VI part of the AI.

Though I was thinking of changing the whole thing so that their failure at defending the forge world were due to their genetic instability, rather than that horrible explosion-story it is now.

This would add to the 'purity-theme', and I think I'd like that.

Does this sounds like a sensible plan?

 

 

With regards to my current beliefs section.

I actually think this section fits with the pro-duty/anti-failure concept very well. But I do agree that it is a bit hard to pull off and I'm not sure how to do it.

Truth be told I've always had a hard time understanding what all this martyr-nonsense was about... What on earth did Sanguinius accomplish by boarding Horus' flagship and getting himself killed?

I mean, if he had somehow rescued the Emperor or been instrumental in the defeat of Horus that would have been one thing.

But come on! He made a chink in the Warmaster's armor, before being beaten to pulp and we all know what happened to the Emperor afterwards.

Now if that isn't a failure I don't know what is!

I really think this is a weak part in the Blood Angel fluff...

 

Guess I'm just a little disillusioned in Sanguinius right at the moment :)

But well, canon is canon, I guess.

I'll really have to think about this, as right now the only solution I can think of is simply to remove the entire section and go along with established fluff.

But I still think that would be a loss.

 

Damn this is hard work ;)

 

Thanks for reading!

- Malthe

[Hrvat]

These notes are really helpfull.

 

 

Let us start with Sanguinius. He is a martyr and martyrs in general do not do rational things but things they see as right. There is a reasson why among all the Primarchs Sanguinius is the most well known in the Imperium and most highly prasied. His worship is second only to that of the Emperor. What he did was particulary brave, even if it looks to us (3rd party viewers with inside knowledge) that it made no sense. Seeing the future in 40k is no certain matter. What people see are flashes or various possibilities. Some(Eldar Farseers and Thusand Sons) are capable of seeing all/most of them and try to descern the most probable ones while others (Sanguinius and Konrad Cruze) see only a particular possible future. What Sanguinius knew/saw was that by confronting Horus and dieing he would ensure Emperor and Humanity to win. There are few more noble actions a man can do (in my opinion) , sacreficing his life for the future salvation of others. Yet even he wasn't sure how he would die or even if that was really necesary. How do we know that? Well because he fought like never before. It was a titanic strugle he knew that he could never win but still he engaged Horus against all hope (Horus was mightier than him in his normal form and now was powered up by the Gods, while Sanguinius was wounded from defeating the Bloodthirster and weary from weeks of fighting in the siege). So you may ask what really did he acomplish besides the "chink in the armour". Well he saved the Emperor by refusing Horus's offer to defect and saved Terra in doing so. But in concetion to your IA only one thing is important in all of this, one thing you consider very important for your Chapter, DUTY. Sanguinius fought for Humanity out of duty, he boarded Hours's Battle Barge out of duty, he faced Horus even when he knew it would most probably be the end of him out of duty and he died out of duty knowing his death would save humanity. All these things great Sanguinius did out of duty but the important thing was from where that duty came, it came from his love for Humanity and the Emperor. Never forget that Bravery, Honour, Duty and Love are the cornerstones upon which the Blood Angels(and their descendants) are built.

 

 

With that done let us progress to the founding.

 

We know that Blood Angels geneseed is no longer used or that the AM is very, very, very reluctant and my personal view is that former is corect. The latest codex mentions that most of the Blood Angels successors were founded after the Horus Heresy. The number of 2nd founding BA successors fluctuates between 4 and 6 between editions. During the 2nd edition(C:Ultramarines pg. 9) and now in the 5th edition(C: Blood Angels) Blood Drinkers are not counted as part of the 2nd founding while during 3rd(C:BA pg 14, C:SM pg 47) and 4th(C:SM pg 8, C:DA pg 73) editions, while Flesh Tearers(ever since 1st edition there have been two spellings the divided one and the Fleshtearers one) have been added to the 2nd founding in the 3rd edition.

 

So:

1st ed. - Blood Angels, Blood Drinkers, Flesh Eaters, Flesh Tearer (at this time no connection is made between them and BA)

2nd ed. 2nd f. - Blood Angels, Angels Encarmine, Angels Sanguine, Angels Vermilion

3rd ed. 2nd f. - Blood Angels, Angels Encarmine, Angels Sanguine, Angels Vermilion, Blood Drinkers, Flesh Tearers (IA cements this)

4th ed. 2nd f. - the same as the third

5th ed. 2nd f. - Blood Angels, Angels Encarmine, Angels Sanguine, Angels Vermilion, Flesh Tearers (this guys become 2nd most imprtant through novels)

 

In the latest codex it is mentions both Centuires and Millenia and that gives us an insight in what time period later chapters could be formed and we also know that quite probably not all foundings up to the moment when BA geneseed was no longer used contained BA successors.

 

...most were founded in the days following the Horus Heresy...most harsly are affected those founded in later centuries, at thimes when Blood Angels Chapter Council had thought the Flaw eredicated from the gene-stocks. In reality, it had merely degenerated into new and worrying forms...described here are the most famous...list is by no means complete...others have come and gone in millenia...

These shows us that BA and their descendants form a really small group of Chapters and that usage of BA geneseed was an on and off afair before the AM decide to drop it and as far as we are aware Lamenters could have been the last such Chapter or were one of the last. By the 21st founding the flaw was enough widely known that AM decided to temper with BA geneseed to try and remove it because apparently BA geneseed is superior to other geneseed (or so UK WD 279 tells us). Aparently the Lamenters are free of the Curse (though new Imperial Armour book suggests otherwise, someone with the access to the book could help here) and were trusted by the Imperium until 901.M41.

 

So my suggestion on when the Foe Eaters could be founded is either before the 21st founding and maye a founding quite a bit before due to the fact that by the 21st the flaw was known and a cure was searched for. Or you could make them a later founding even 26th but then you would have to be limited to Lamenters originated geneseed and founders.

 

Known Sanguine Chapters and whys:

 

Blood Anges(2nd f.) - they would be the generic source of founder marines but you consider them bland

Angels Encarmine(2nd f.) - very active but very suseptible to the Flaw, their renown would be great just as suspicion of their purity

Angels Sanguine(2nd f.) - glorious history but secretive (no Matt Ward retcon it has been so since 2nd ed)

Angels Vermilion(2nd f.) - exemplary service but even more secretive, clashed with Sister of Battle duing 3rd Armageddon war

Blood Drinkers(uk/2nd f.) - keep the flaw in check by drinking blood (blood drinking result of a mutated Omophagea organ), Codex adherant

Flesh Tearers(2nd f.) - most affected by the flaw, epitome of a dedicated assault force by Imperial strategists

Exsanguinators(uk. f.) - undone by geneseed failure

Flesh Eaters(3rd f.) - undone by geneseed failure (canibals, result of a mutated Omophagea organ), were almost excomunicated for that

Knights of Blood(uk. f.) - frienzied due to the flaw, declared renegade, portion of the chapter maybe fallen to chaos

Knights Sanguine(uk. f.) - consumed by war

Lamenters (21st f.) - Codex adherant, apparently cured, suffer from unexplainable doom, on a penient Crusade

Blood Swords (uk. f.) - Featured in Codex Space Marines, C:BA mentions them not being BA successor, BA novels on the other hand do - puzzling

Blood Legion (uk. f.) - Only colour scheme is known and that they exist at the end of the 41st millenium

Blood Ravens (uk. f.) - have claim no connection with the BA though more than average number of Librarians could be a link

 

So we have 5/6 2nd f. Chapters and 8/9 later founded chapters. We also know that most were founded after Horus Heresy.

 

 

So where am I getting with this. Since duty, purity and abhorance of failure are very important to you here are couple of ideas for you.

 

Either make them an earlier founding and make them Successors of one of the failed Chapters and develop how that affected them or you can do this.

Make them a 26th founding descented from Blood Angels through Lamenters and develop them from there and explore how would theFoe Eaters react to Lamenters 'rebellion' during Badab war. Also remember that origins and Jakonov VI do not have to be connected. A chapter can have a long history of keeping true to their beliefs on to suffer a failure in recent past that forces them to either change or become even more hardlined.

 

edit: on a second thought I am not so sure AM would use geneseed from a chapter created during the CURSED founding no matter how pure it might be. Imperium is a very superstitious place.

 

It is getting late where I am so I should better stop. I hope these musings of mine help you in some way.

 

 

Cheers

 

Hrvat