IA: Warp riders

[NO BLOOD - NO FOUL!]

I'm working on some background for a chaos warband. It's very rough, I've tried to incorporate my ideas with existing fluff, but It may still be a bit disjointed. If you have ideas, thoughts, or comment, please don't be shy let me know. :P

 

 

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IA: Warp Riders

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Chapter Summary

Founding chapter	Raven guard
Chaos lord	Dariusz Cerrow
Home world	Anzu (destroyed), Space Hulk: "Throne of Sorrow"
Main colors	Black armor / light green pauldrons
Estimated strength	approx. 450 warriors

 

 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/hq2.gif); background-repeat: no-repeat; background-position: 8px 2px; padding: 12px 8px 12px 8px; border: 1px solid #DDD; margin-left: 0 auto; text-align: left; color: #fff; text-indent:50px; font-size:130%; width:50%;">Organization

With their fall from grace much of the codex structure of the chapter has disintegrated. Since being declared Excommunicate Traitoris, the chapter has suffered heavy losses. New squads have formed out of the remnants of squads and companies, often around the most skilled warriors and leaders; as such there is no given number for the size of a squad.

As always other pirates are drawn towards a strong chaos warband. Humans, mutants and aliens fight alongside the renegade space marines, though often they are used as cannon fodder.

 

Homeworld

The Space hulk “Throne of Sorrow” is now the Warp rider’s homebase. Found within the Vortex of Despair the renegades cleared it of alien life and took it as its home. Made up out of dozens of spaceships it has the firepower of a fleet of spaceships.

 

Combat Doctrine

The Onyx guard were known for hitting weak points in enemy defenses hard and performing lightning strikes upon locations of tactical importance to cripple their enemy. The Onyx guard relied heavily on their Scouts for pinpointing enemy positions and to scout for good drop sites. Their Assault Squads and Tactical Squads would often be deployed via Thunderhawks or Drop Pods.

 

The fall to chaos has had some effect on the way the Warp Riders wage war. As raiders and pirates they still employ many of the same tactics. But infiltration and making use of human followers and mutants to bleed dry the guns of the enemy have become a regular part of their tactics.

 

Gene-seed

The gene-seed of the Onyx guard suffered from the problems that plague all of Corax’ sons. Several of the unique organs of the Space Marines no longer work properly or no longer grow. Onyx Guard do not have the Mucranoid or Betcher's Gland. The Melanchromic Organ has a unique mutation that causes the skin of the Space Marine to grow paler. Eventually each Marine's skin becomes pure white while their hair and eyes darken, becoming black as coal.

 

Since their fall from grace it’s become hard to comment on the state of the Warp Rider’s gene-seed, the warriors have not been immune to the corrupting influence of chaos and many have started to show signs of mutation. Also the chapter’s gene-seed pool has mingled with the gene-seed of other chapters as renegades from other chapters have joined the Warp riders and they have started to steal the gene-seed of their enemies.

 

 

Beliefs

The Onyx Guard were known for planning and performing lightning strikes and disdaining the notion of recklessly charging into enemy ranks, rather they’d employ hit and run tactics.

This ingrained tactical behaviour has had an influence on the Warp rider warband’s beliefs. The warband venerates all of the chaos gods, however many of their warriors are drawn towards either Tzeentch and Slaanesh.

[Ferrata]

Okay, you seem to have the skeleton of which to build an IA around. It is far from the finished article as much of the character and background of the chapter seems to have gone unexplored. Writing the fall of a chapter is quite important to a renegade chapter, it gives them both a motive and a reason for their being. Your chapter seems to have been tricked by one of their own and now are renegades who didn't choose this path. How does this affect their view on the Imperium? Have they've found out they were tricked and now seeking to repent or do they see themselves as too far gone? It seems a long jump from a chapter being forced to flee the Imperium to signing up with chaos.

[NO BLOOD - NO FOUL!]

Thanks for the tips. You raise some good points. I'm not sure I want to go into a very lengthy article, but some things should definately get more attention.

 

On a side note: I came up with the names Onyx guard and Warp riders yesterday. I knew I wanted something with Riders, Onyx guard was more of a filler. But after a bit of time away from the article, I realised I like the word Onyx a lot in a name.

I could name the warband Onyx Claws.

That way it would hook into the chapter's Raven Guard heretage. Also I like the visual of the Onyx Guard being a shield for the Imperium, while after their fall the Onyx claws tear into the flesh of that very Imperium. Lastly with Slaanesh having a prime role within the warband, a claw symbol would link it to the Emperor's children. What do you think?