New Chapter(?) - SW Counts-As

[The Smiling Bandit]

Okay, I'm in the planning stage for my DIY, and I've run into more than a few problems. I'm throwing this all out there in the hope that somebody can light the path a bit.

 

My issue is, I really enjoy the Space Wolves codex. I like the way it plays, I like the way the chapter's organized, I like the wolf theme, I really like the models. Trouble is, there are a few aspects of the fluff I don't like. The main one is the Viking flavor. I enjoy the barbarian theme, don't get me wrong, I just want to do it a little more Germanic than Nordic. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but consensus from the SW subforum seems to be that the Space Wolves are unequivocally Nordic, and there probably isn't a more Germanic tribe lurking somewhere on Fenris. If there were, I'd simply do a Lost Company, the bulk of whose members were originally recruited from said tribe, and call it a day. Also not a huge fan of the Canis Helix "rawr you are now werewolf man!" stuff, but I could live with it.

 

The problem I run into with a DIY is that, at the end of the day, they're going to be awfully similar to Space Wolves in a number of areas. I'd be using Space Wolf command structure, Space Wolf models, even my preferred color scheme for the test models I've done (very dark gray with bone trim) could be a valid Space Wolf scheme. And, of course, I'm running on the slightly OCD theory that if my opponents in games are always going to be calling my Grey Hunters Grey Hunters, they might as well actually be called Grey Hunters. What I really want to avoid is simply creating a Mary Sue carbon copy of the Space Wolves, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it without it coming off any other way - and I realize the preceding paragraph does.

 

One idea I'm toying with is having this new chapter assigned a Feral World that bears many similarities to, say, Europe at the turn of the millennium. A bunch of barbaric tribe warring against one shining civilization that either didn't regress quite as far back during Old Night, or has pulled itself further ahead afterwards. Said tribes would make ideal Space Marine recruits - I'm thinking Dorn gene seed - but here's where the story breaks down: the new chapter would have a Space Wolf training cadre. If that's not too eye-rollingly bad, that could go a long way towards explaining the similarities in organization and tactics and, dare I say, even terminology, while still allowing me the freedom to develop them the way I want.

 

Another method (in my opinion weaker, though probably a lot more plausible, in that I doubt the HLoT would use a Space Wolf training cadre for anybody) would be founding them as rigidly Codex-adherent, and then having them suffer a massive defeat somewhere, the chapter/objective/crusade/whatever saved only by the timely arrival of a Space Wolf Great Company. One "we followed the Codex and got our butts kicked, the Space Wolves don't and won!" epiphany later by a chapter master, and reorganization takes place. I'm short-handing that explanation a bit, obviously, but I'm still not a fan of it. I don't like the idea of starting out following the ways of the Primarch, then abandoning them even if the SW method fits better with the character and instincts of the chapter than the Codex.

 

The dark horse candidate is indeed doing a Lost Company, but one that's obliged, for whatever reason, to recruit while out wandering around, and simply have them recruit from a Death World similar to Fenris, but with the - drumroll - Germanic-style barbarians I want. This suggestion always opens up a can of worms about whether or not a Lost Company would do such a thing, whether or not it's feasible to recruit from anywhere other than Fenris given the peculiarities of the Canis Helix, etc. It does, however, give me the best of both worlds, in that I don't have to feel dirty in using the SW codex, yet still can name a dude Conrad rather than Sven.

 

Just looking for advice on the methods laid out, or if there's a way of doing it I overlooked, always happy to hear it. If you actually read all this, I greatly appreciate it.

[Gree]

Try asking about at Liber, they specialise in that sort of thing.

[CompanyChampionSiege]

Here is the beautiful thing about a codex. You can use it to just represent your playstyle. Then whatever shinanigans you want to have be personal fluff can be. For example my DIY is a salamanders successor chapter but uses the SW codex. I run no Wolves (though the temptation to run Thunder Carnisaur Cav is highly tempting =))

[Octavulg]

Keep in mind - there's nothing in particular about Space Wolves organization that can't fit within the Codex as long as you don't make squads larger than ten men.

[lothbrok]

well while i understand the not liking the viking theme germanic really isnt the way to go mostly becuase the vikings were germans as far as culture war and even religion weant. Not to mention space wolves already have a lot og german influence, for instance Ulrik is actually a german name

[The Smiling Bandit]

Mmm, while Norse/Viking culture is considered "Germanic," there are some differences, some profound. Either way, the only thing truly "Viking" about the Space Wolves is the given names, I suppose, so it wouldn't be entirely out of place to simply go with my initial idea, which was having a Great (Lost) Company composed, at least in part, by a more Germanic Fenrisian tribe.

 

Does the Liber take IAs for that sort of thing, or would it have to be a whole new chapter to qualify if I wanted to write up some fluff for it?