IT: Golden Dragons v2.0

[Ecritter]

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png IT: Golden Dragons – Forsaken Sons of Vulkan

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/GoldDragonsSymbolb.png

”Let them that stand against the Imperium know fear. Let them know the pain of defeat.

Let them know the terrible price to be paid for those that worship false gods, Chaos gods.
For you are Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes. You are steel and doom. You are Dragons!”
- Coyllas Moyo, Chapter Master of the Golden Dragons, Captain of the First Company

Golden Dragons' battle tactics are marked by savage brutality, and often ends with them tearing their enemy limb from limb. It is said that they fight more like animals then men. Fighting for the Imperium of Man brings them close to the edge and in their fervor for victory, they often push the boundary between zealot and heretic. Cast out for their fervor, yet they carry on their original duty.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Founding

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg.png

Chapter Badge

During the 1st Black Crusade of Abaddon the Despoiler, the Adeptus Astartes had been weakened due to battle losses. In response, the High Lords of Terra deemed a new founding necessary and ordered the creation of several new Chapters of the Space Marines. This was to be the 3rd Founding, and by order of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Salamanders provided the leadership and a training cadre of veterans for a new Chapter.

In the Gothic Sector of Segmentum Obscurus, the training cadre claimed the Feral Jungle World of Lupaca. From the great stores of the Adeptus Mechanicus, they were given geneseed and for the next several decades the Chapter grew and learned to act as one. They were presented their fleet by the Adeptus Mechanicus and given the daunting mission to battle the enemies of the Imperium. So was born the Golden Dragons Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png History

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/GoldenDragonsFM2.jpg

Fortress Monastery on Lupaca

Lupaca is a small Jungle World. Its surface is covered by a great rainforests, only cut sporadically by long winding rivers and large lakes. The great forests of Lupaca are truly a sight to behold. However, the dozens of species of of man-eating animals and plants make it as deadly as it is beautiful. From the smallest swarms of carnivorous insects, flesh eating fish with razor-sharp teeth, to the lone jungle cats that roam the forest, it is a world of uncounted dangers.

The origins of the human population on Lupaca has been lost to time. Whatever their source, they were little more then feral cannibalistic tribes when the Salamander training cadre arrived. Between the beasts of the jungle and constant warfare with other tribes, they would indeed make for many suitable recruits for the fledgling Golden Dragons chapter.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/golddragonc.jpg

Golden Dragons Marine

From the moment the training cadre arrived on Lupaca, they found themselves being watched from the trees. They ignored the local inhabitants at first since they posed no threat to them, the marines simply set about to clear a patch of rainforest and set up a command post. It was only later when they began the search for recruits that they saw the affect they'd had on the locals.

As they began to scout the nearest villages, they were met with not just fear but awe as the villagers hid from the towering marines. It was only when they entered the center of the village that they found what their new role was to be. There before them stood a rough stone statue of a Space Marine, and before it stood a low alter, covered in blood. The Golden Dragons were given honor as gods it seemed.

As they looked around, the tribal priest finally approached them. He was a small but impressive man, adorned in all manner of brightly colored feathers. It was obvious he held a very high position in the tribe, but his demeanor towards the marines was one of abject servitude.

As the years passed and the chapter grew, so did their divine presence on Lupaca. From the smallest village to the largest city-state, the Dragons were worshiped as golden gods. The marines did nothing to quiet this practice as it greatly aided in their recruiting.

The Dragons quickly learned that most of the population practiced cannibalism in one way or another. They even found themselves being presented with gruesome sacrifices in the form of human hearts. Both to confirm their status as gods and to honor the tribal priests, the Dragons would consume the hearts given them. As most of the growing chapter now consisted of aspirants from the local population, they found the act neither distasteful or disturbing. The marine's omophagea gland also allowed them to learn more about the natives in this way.

As aspirants became Space Marines, they carried the practice of eating the hearts of the dead with them and it flourished within the Chapter. Many rites and rituals grew from it, and each generation of dragons adding to its ever growing animalistic nature. Eventually the eating of the hearts was expanded to encompass the total body. Now, within the great chapel of their Monastery Fortress, gruesome trophies of battle adorn the walls, and the many chambers and passages of the inner sancta are littered with the bones of fallen foes.

Only a millennium after the inception of the chapter, a strange phenomena began to appear within its ranks. As the chapter was engaged in battle, a few Battle Brothers would fly into an uncontrollable fury and rush headlong into hand to hand combat with enemy forces. At first it was a rarity, only one or two brothers would be overcome by the fury at a time. As the millennia passed it has become much more prevalent, reaching every level of command. This, as much as anything else, has added to the chapter’s reputation of savage brutality in combat.

The Doton Incident

Deep within the dead world of Doton, the Dragons fought along side a full regiment of the Imperial Guard to beat back an invasion of Chaos Marines. In the rough tunnels, the normal tactics of the Dragons became confused and combat broke into small close skirmishes.

Meeting heavy resistance, a squad of Dragon Terminators, supported by three squads of Imperial Guard, fought a hard won battle with a seemingly unending swarm of their fell enemy. It was a long and brutal fight, two of the Dragons and half the Guards fell to the enemy.

So taken by the fury, and finding no more Chaos Marines to fight, the surviving Dragons turned on the remaining Guards. In the confining space of the tunnels, the Imperial Guard didn't stand a chance and quickly were dispatched. The fury quickly spread throughout the Chapter and soon all the Imperial Guard lay dead. Only when no one else was left standing did the Dragons regain their senses.

This reputation of Brutality placed the Dragons under close scrutiny, and in M39 after several reports of bloody battles where the Chapter killed friends and foes with equal gusto the Ordo Hereticus was forced to act. After a thorough investigation, the Golden Dragons were ordered on a hundred year Crusade of Penance. The Dragons, however, found it impossible to change their ways and following the Doton Incident a mere ten years into their penance, they were declared Excommunicate Traitoris, stripped of their homeworld and chased from the Imperium that they served.

Disgraced, the Golden Dragons now hunt outside the Imperium, on the edge of Segmentums Obscurus and Ultima. Ever vigilant in their fight against the forces of Chaos hoping to regain favor in the eyes of their brothers in the Adeptus Astartes.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Recruiting

Forced to recruit on the move, the Golden Dragons move from planet to planet taking those youths that they deem fit.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Organization

Although the Golden Dragons follow the Codex Astartes, they also follow the doctrines passed down to them from their Salamander progenitors. The Dragons maintain 6 combat companies of 120 marines, with an additional small company of about 60 scouts. Unlike the Salamanders however, the Golden Dragons have a normal Fast Attack contingent and use it with deadly affect. Using them to encircle and cut off enemy units.

Like the Salamanders before them, the Golden Dragons' Chapter Master commands the Veteran 1st Company. They normally engage wearing Tactical Dreadnought Armor, but have been known to enter the fray as Assault troops.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Combat Doctrine

The combat doctrine of the Golden Dragons has been well honed over thousands of years and closely mirrors that of Salamander ancestry. They favor close-ranged combat and Flamers, Melta Weapons and Lightning Claws are widely used throughout the chapter.

A favorite tactic of the Dragons is to have squads of Terminators punch holes in enemy formations while the Assault squads drop in and attack the heart of their foes. More Assault squads follow the Terminators taking full advantage of any weakness before them. They are all covered by constant fire from Tactical squads, while Devastator squads target any heavy units in range.

Every generation of the Dragons is marked by a rise in savage brutality in combat. It is not uncommon for a large number to charge headlong into enemy formations, tearing at them with close combat weapons or even their bare hands, literally ripping their enemy to shreds.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Beliefs

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/golddragontermie.jpg

Golden Dragons Terminator Veteran

The beliefs of the Golden Dragons beliefs stem from two main sources, the Promethean Cult of their Salamander forefathers and the Lupacan tribal religion. They are a chapter at odds with itself. Though they place a high emphasis on self-reliance, self-sacrifice and loyalty, at the same time they honor the blood sacrifices of Lupaca. The noble marines are torn between the time honored ideals and rituals the chapter began with and the newer, more savage, ones that have grown over the centuries.

We are a Bastion

Trained never to give up or retreat, Dragons are capable of going on when the rest of their squad is dead, holding positions for months on end. This is one of the more significant effects of Promethean doctrines upon the chapter's collective psyche.

Ritual Branding

Before each battle the Dragons get a brand mark each by a Brander-priest, special Chaplains within the Chapter. This symbolizes their respect for the chapter. Only veterans ever get brand marks on their faces.

The Honored and Disgraced Dead

Like every other chapter, the Dragons gather their honored dead and return them to the fleet. The precious geneseed is then harvested so the chapter can grow and replace the lost. As the chapter grew more savage, it became common practice for the bodies to then be consumed by his Dragon brothers in great feasts. It is a solemn ceremony where the strength and courage of the dead are celebrated, great songs of heroes are sang, and the dead are eaten with high reverence. In this way, the lost are completely reabsorbed in the chapter.

Early in the chapter's history the Dragons also began to bring the enemies dead back to the fleet as well. At first it was simply to harvest teeth, claws and even skulls to be used as trophies to celebrate their victory. As with their fallen brothers, it also later became common to devour the bodies of their enemies in great feasts. It is not however, a solemn ceremony as with the fallen brothers. There is much drinking, celebrating and laughter involved. Degrading their enemies even after death.

Only the Strong Survive

Mock battles once used to practice close combat have changed to more savage tests of strength. Its now common to find nude Dragons locked in hand to hand combat. Normally the fights end in first blood, but its becoming more common for brothers for fight for hours and for the fights to last until one lies dead.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Geneseed

The geneseed of Vulkan, by way of the Salamanders, was used to create the Golden Dragons. Like the Salamanders before them, they suffer with the malfunctioning Melanochrome gland. The environment on Lupaca has less effect on the marines then that of Nocturne on the Salamanders. They still develop the bright red eyes of their original founders, but the skin of the Dragons does not gain the onyx hue.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c162/ecritter/Space%20Marines/480px-Dragon01_svg-1.png Battlecry

Originally the battle cry for the chapter was ‘For Vulkan’, but has changed over time to angry animalistic roars preceding the attack.

[Ecritter]

Saved what I could from the Lions of Caliban project, had to do major rewrite ... and its still in the works.

[Ecritter]

First full draft up for review. Its still short at just under 2000 words, may need to add something somewhere.

 

C&C requested. :P

[NightrawenII]

C&C requested. :)

Well, in all fairness, there is nothing to C&C.

 

Trained never to give up or retreat, Dragons are capable of going on when their entire squad is dead, holding positions for months on end.

Hmm, I was going to reply with quote of Fritz Bayerlein, but I can't find it in english. ;) Sooo, of course they hold their position, they are dead after all. ;)

 

Before each battle the Dragons get a brand mark each by a brander-priest.

Who is the Brander-Priest?

[Hrvat]

By now you have made 3 Chapters. What interest me is why are all of them so violent?

[Ecritter]

By now you have made 3 Chapters. What interest me is why are all of them so violent?

 

Wait .... did you just ask me why Space Marines are violent? ;)

[Ecritter]

C&C requested. :)

Well, in all fairness, there is nothing to C&C.

 

nothing? :)

 

Hmm, I was going to reply with quote of Fritz Bayerlein, but I can't find it in english. ;) Sooo, of course they hold their position, they are dead after all. :o

 

dead? by the way, who is this Fritz guy? ;)

 

Who is the Brander-Priest?

 

have to ask the Salamanders, he came over with them. Honestly I guess its a priest that brands you. :P

 

EDIT: I did forget to put in the part about how the Golden Dragons single-handedly won the Gothic Wars. No seriously, I did forget to put the whole Gothic Wars in.

[NightrawenII]

nothing? :)

Well, they are the Chapter, whose motto is not Salamander's "Bros before Hos" but "Slaughter the Bros to save the Hos."

Oh, and they like to eat their... everyone.

 

I don't know, for me this IA lacks some deep-thought or passion, I can normaly feel from others.

 

dead? by the way, who is this Fritz guy? ;)

Entire squad is dead.

Entire=all=everyone.

 

Fritz Bayerlein

 

have to ask the Salamanders, he came over with them. Honestly I guess its a priest that brands you. :)

So that's how it was!! :o How could I overlook such obvious fact?! It's luck to have blessed Ecritter here, for he will guide us from the Darkness of Ignorance. ;)

[Ecritter]

Points taken, will me changed in v1.1.

 

Thanks for the great C&C.

[Hrvat]

By now you have made 3 Chapters. What interest me is why are all of them so violent?

 

Wait .... did you just ask me why Space Marines are violent? ;)

 

 

Golden Dragons' battle tactics are marked by savage brutality, and often ends with them tearing their enemy limb from limb. It is said that they fight more like animals then men. Fighting for the Imperium of Man brings them close to the edge and in their fervor for victory, they often push the boundary between zealot and heretic. What is to be their fate, will they drive Chaos from the Imperium, or will they fall to its curse?

 

They fight for their god with the hopes to find redemption and favor in his eyes. They do not fear death, instead they seek it out. They throw themselves into battle with no regard for their safety and they never retreat from a foe...

 

 

...Marines of the White Hand Chapter throw themselves at the enemy in waves and its said that they have never retreated from battle. Though they often suffer great losses, it is not seen as a drawback. Their belief that to die in battle serving the Emperor is the path to redemption drives them forward.

 

In battle, they fight like zealots for the divine Emperor. They eagerly throw themselves into combat with any enemy of the Imperium, and stand where others falter and fail. Their reputation as fearless warriors continues to grow over the centuries and shows now sign of falling.

 

 

Actually the Sons of Pyron are all right with their Codex doctrine. So it is not all but 2/3.

 

Operationally Golden Dragons look like White Hands with different garb if you understand what I am trying to say. I guess you like the immaginary of marines fighting like that but I just wanted to hear you reasoning.

 

 

Cheers

 

Hrvat

[Ecritter]

Hrvat,

 

The White Hand fight to find redemption in the eyes of their god, while the Golden Dragons are cannibalistic animals that feed on the dead. I don't really see them as being anywhere near the same.

 

As for why so violent, they are Space Marines and I don't see them as real bunny lovers ya'know. They are genetically engineered killing machines.

 

I do see what you mean though, thanks for the input.

 

EDIT:

 

Octavulg did warn me about making the Sons of Pyron seem to Salamander-like ... I guess it is the style of combat I see the SMs doing more, so it is personal preference, maybe.

[Ecritter]

Okay, I put the Golden Dragons in the Gothic Sector before I actually read what happened in the Gothic War. So that leaves me with a few choices.

 

1) Move them;

2) Do a small writeup telling how they fought but had no big part in the war;

3) Do a mid to large writeup telling how they singlehandedly won the war; or

4) Something I've never considered (you put in the option here).

 

Opinions?

[Hrvat]

I can't remember where but there was a list of SM chapters in the Gothic War.

[NightrawenII]

I can't remember where but there was a list of SM chapters in the Gothic War.

The BFG rulebook doesn't mention any Chapter of Astartes, but this was before the SM's ships were introduced so...

 

The White Consuls and Exorcists are mentioned to join the cleaning after war.

 

Ecritter, move them. It's better to not touch a official events.

[Ecritter]

I've been thinking (and yes it made my head hurt so I had to stop) and here's what I've come up with. I already have the White Hand Chaper finished, and am well on the way to completing the Sons of Pyron ... so I don't really need another IA. Since the Golden Dragons were going to be a Chapter on the edge of Chaos I've decided to change things up and make this after they are declared Excommunicate Traitoris.

 

New Chapter will be forced out of the Imperium due to their brutality ... but remain loyal SMs. So look for a big rewrite later this weekend. As I've never written an IT (not even helped other write theirs), I will be needing help.

[Octavulg]

Just as a general comment (and I'm haven't read this latest version. I've been busy. :)).

 

If they're no longer DA, they're going to need a good reason to be eating Chaos Marines. Eating your enemy is one thing, eating him when he's poisoned is another.

[Ecritter]

Just as a general comment (and I'm haven't read this latest version. I've been busy. :)).

 

If they're no longer DA, they're going to need a good reason to be eating Chaos Marines. Eating your enemy is one thing, eating him when he's poisoned is another.

 

I do have a good reason, or I think so .... HW is covered in tribes of cannibals and that has directly affected the Chapter over time. Mind you, it would affect the Chapter slowly so CMs would be a later addition I guess.

 

Also, I suggest you don't bother reading it till v2.0 is up later this weekend as an IT.

[Ecritter]

IA to IT first draft up.

 

I really need more in Recruiting I think, suggestions?

 

Again C&C welcome.

[NightrawenII]

Let them that stand against the Imperium know fear.

It seems, like there is something missing.

 

In the Doton incident, second paragraph, bottom you still have tyranids.

 

Although the Golden Dragons follow the Codex Astartes, they also follow the doctrines passed down to them from their Salamander progenitors. The Dragons maintain 6 combat companies of 120 marines, with an additional small company of about 60 scouts.

The Salie's follow this doctrine, because they recruit from 6 villages on Nocturne and their recruiting pace is slow. Your Chapter shouldn't have same problem.

 

Also some mention, how the excommunication affects the mindset of the Chapter will be neat.

[rookster]

in the battle of Doton blurb you say they are fighting chaos marines but then have the termies and guards killed by nids and then mention chaos marines again you might want to fix that?

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Glancing through I noticed that these guys have an extremely similar, if not uncannily similar paint-scheme to my Blazing Sons. While there is no monopoly on colour schemes (look at all the black armoured chapters out there), I was definitely taken by surprise.

 

Though it's more to do with the fact that your gold is similar to my somewhat darker bronze, so far as the painter can distinguish, and the black accents and detailing that make them so similar.

[Ecritter]

in the battle of Doton blurb you say they are fighting chaos marines but then have the termies and guards killed by nids and then mention chaos marines again you might want to fix that?

 

I don't see it. I think you may be referring to this.

 

a seemingly unending swarm of their fell enemy

 

Though this was originally used when it was Nids in the story, I feel that it still works with a large 'swarm' of Chaos Marines. Thoughts?

 

Glancing through I noticed that these guys have an extremely similar, if not uncannily similar paint-scheme to my Blazing Sons. While there is no monopoly on colour schemes (look at all the black armoured chapters out there), I was definitely taken by surprise.

 

Though it's more to do with the fact that your gold is similar to my somewhat darker bronze, so far as the painter can distinguish, and the black accents and detailing that make them so similar.

 

I assure you that its accidental. I think you're using the newer painter, while I prefer the older one ... that may be making them look closer then they actually are.

[rookster]

Meeting heavy resistance, a squad of Dragon Terminators, supported by three squads of Imperial Guard, fought a hard won battle with a seemingly unending swarm of their fell enemy. It was a long and brutal fight, two of the Dragons and half the Guards fell to the Tyranids.

 

end of the sentence

[Ecritter]

Odd that wasn't in the copy on my computer and should have been changed already. I reposted my copy and it seems gone now. Hopefully it won't return.

[Brother Claudius]

ecritter: Good read with some interesting background. Well written with a good flow to the overall IA.

 

they were declared Excommunicate Traitoris, stripped of their homeworld and chased from the Imperium that they served.

Being excamunicated, wouldn't there have been an =I= fleet or some such that destroyed their homeworld utterly? As opposed to them being stripped of it and simply chased from the Imperium? Might be worth a little development here to provide more back drop for the "we still fight for the emperor" aspects of the chapter. It might also provide additional background/historical fluff if you are looking for some.