Priory of Dorn Chapter Organization

[AngryJohnny]

I've updated my Chapter Organization Chart for my DIY Chapter: The Priory of Dorn.

 

Please see post # 27 for the most recent version of the Chapter Organization Chart.

[augustmanifesto]

great product, really adds character and official tone to your DIY. two things, however:

 

1. what are "ecclesiarchy guard?'

2. you have 20 sternguard veterans all of your battle companies, and I think in your reserve companies as well. That's screams of really cheezy, self-aggrandizing and entirely unrealistic background material. I would change that. just me though.

[AngryJohnny]

great product, really adds character and official tone to your DIY. two things, however:

 

1. what are "ecclesiarchy guard?'

2. you have 20 sternguard veterans all of your battle companies, and I think in your reserve companies as well. That's screams of really cheezy, self-aggrandizing and entirely unrealistic background material. I would change that. just me though.

 

Ecclesiarchy Guard are a unit that accompanies the Chaplains as a retinue. For my Chapter, we have a high number of Chaplains to make up for the lack of Librarians and the Ecclesiarchy Guard are the Chaplain's personal body guard as well as the Chapter's aspiring Chaplains.

 

The Sternguard in each company take the place of Command Squads, Honor Guard and Devastator Squads. The Sternguard act as the body guard for the Company Master and Company Captain and fill the roll that is voided by the absence of Devastator Squads. The Priory of Dorn is a 3rd founding chapter so they've been around for a while and have amassed quite a few veterans to fill this purpose. The Sternguard Squads in each company are also used to administer and oversee the continued training and battle readiness for the company. Who better to fill this role than experienced veterans? :(

 

In the 8th company the Sternguard Squads are replaced by Vanguard Marines which have the same purpose and duties as the Sternguard do in the other companies. In the 9th company, the only company with Devastator Squads, the Sternguard are primarily body guard for the Company Master & Company Captain as well as continuing the training like they do in the other companies.

[Inquisitor Kravin]

I like it. One small pedantic point but someone's going to have to mention it, you've misspelled "chief" as "cheif" in the titles of your 8th and 9th company captains. I love the fact that you have a "Chief Actuary". Just as GW already did with Librarians you've taken the title of a profession normally seen ad dull and made it cool! People can make jokes about life insurance but a chapter would actually need some form of Actuary to forecast combat losses and consequent resourcing issues.

 

At first I was a bit sceptical about the number of Sternguard because to get such a high quantity I think that you would have to dilute the quality somewhat but given that you have no command/honour guard squads to compete for veteran candidates it is plausible. Also, if your chapter has no Devastators this allows more time and resources for focusing on training Tactical Squads to a higher standard which is essentially what Sternguard are.

[AngryJohnny]

I like it. One small pedantic point but someone's going to have to mention it, you've misspelled "chief" as "cheif" in the titles of your 8th and 9th company captains. I love the fact that you have a "Chief Actuary". Just as GW already did with Librarians you've taken the title of a profession normally seen ad dull and made it cool! People can make jokes about life insurance but a chapter would actually need some form of Actuary to forecast combat losses and consequent resourcing issues.

 

At first I was a bit skeptical about the number of Sternguard because to get such a high quantity I think that you would have to dilute the quality somewhat but given that you have no command/honor guard squads to compete for veteran candidates it is plausible. Also, if your chapter has no Devastators this allows more time and resources for focusing on training Tactical Squads to a higher standard which is essentially what Sternguard are.

 

Crap! I didn't realize I miss-spelled chief. Thanks for pointing that out. I'll get it corrected ASAP! (I wish Photoshop had spell checker...)

 

I tried to to come up with some sort of balance to make up for having additional veterans in the Chapter and given that Sternguard are basically Tactical Squads with access to special ammunition and better heavy weapon choices I figured that if I didn't have any Command Squad or Honor Guard in any of the companies and limited the Devastators to the 9th company, it would be a fairly even trade. I'm glad someone else agrees. :(

[chaplain belisarius]

Pretty good....i like chaplains loads too..:(

 

You got any plans to take reclusiarchs in your army?

[AngryJohnny]

Pretty good....i like chaplains loads too..:P

 

You got any plans to take reclusiarchs in your army?

 

Each company has it's own Reclusiarch plus a standard chaplain. :)

[chaplain belisarius]

good call...! :)

 

chaplains fit well with dorn for some reason, dont they?

[AngryJohnny]

@chaplain belisarius: I added the additional Chaplains because the Priory of Dorn doesn't use any Librarians - and yes, Chaplains do work well with the Son's of Dorn.

[Isiah]

Nice looking org chart :tu:. Photoshop wouldn't be my first choice for that kind of text-heavy material though. I'd use InDesign or Illustrator – then export as either a pdf (for smooth-edged type) or second best a jpg (where you risk pixelated text).

 

Cool colour scheme for your chapter.

 

Cheers

I

[chaplain belisarius]

I like that idea...makes them sorta like imperial fists and black templars (but more codex...)

 

Do you have any of these guys painted up at all? :)

[Cpt. Salvatore]

I like it a lot, only thing I really find very wrong is the chapter symbol. They might honour their heritage but the same logo? Not good man, not good. My advice here is to take the white circle and paint it some other colour. It will be yours and on the minis, still very easy to have if you are using the transfers.

[lee265]

Was it a choice to not have Bikes or just a little overlook? also just as a minor note 22 land raider redeemers in the first company?

[AngryJohnny]

Thanks for your comments guys. I really appreciate the feedback. I'd like to hear what other recommendations you all have too. I'm working on completed all the background for the Priory of Dorn so I can publish an IA in the Librarium. This Chapter Organization Chart is going to be part of it along with the Insigium Astartes & Homeworld image that's currently in my Chapter gallery.

 

I'm also working on another Chapter Organization Chart for my other DIY Chapter: The Scions of Cestus - It will follow a similar format, but the Chapter structure & size is going to be quite different. I'll post it when it's completed.

 

@Isiah: If I had access to something other than Photoshop I'd definitely use it but unfortunately, Photoshop 5.0 is all I've got. Yeah, I know, way outdated but it seems to suite my needs. I don't know what I'm going to do once I upgrade to MS Windows 7 though... I think it came out pretty good considering my limited resources. On the master image (*.jpg), the text is actually a lot crisper but for some reason, the B&C album re-sized it and won't display the full size image and the text did get a little blurry.

 

@chaplain belisarius: That's exactly what I was going for with them, so it appears that I was successful! I have some miniatures painted but I don't have any pictures of the completed models yet. I've got my Sternguard Squad & Pedro primed and a full Tactical Squad & Dreadnought almost completed. Once I finish a complete squad, I'll post some images. I was thinking about starting a blog for it but I may just create a thread in the HoH to display them.

 

@Cpt. Salvatore: I thought about using yellow inside the circle and initially had it that way, but I think the white looks a lot better because of the yellow shoulder. The rest of the armor is green so there is no mistaking them for being Imperial Fists as the only yellow is the one shoulder & some other bits like shields & banners. What's wrong with using the same symbol as their parent chapter with a different colored armor scheme? Your actually the first person who has ever mentioned this to me.

 

@lee265: Yes, it was a conscious choice to not have bikes in the Chapter. I also don't have any Predators or Whirlwind tanks. I was afraid that 22 Land Raiders in the 1st company may be a little on excessive side, but I wanted each squad to have access to a Land Raider Transport. I was actually thinking of changing it so that only half of the 1st company has access to a Land Raider. I was also thinking about getting rid of the Land Raiders in the 1st Company all together except for the the Land Raiders for the Company HQ (Master, Captain & Chaplains). I'm not 100% sure what to do on this one. Is 22 Land Raiders for the 1st company really that excessive? I couldn't find anything saying what a normal amount of Land Raiders for a Chapter would be. They are a 3rd founding chapter so they've definitely had the time to build up their armory...

[lee265]

Ok I get what your going for but Land Raiders according to fluff are rare units. Youcan do and ignore fluff, explain it in some crazy mannor or change it. Personally I wouldn't do more then a couple but it is your chapter.

[chaplain belisarius]

Cool...cant wait to see some of them painted! You got any fluff in mind for them? ;)

[AngryJohnny]

@lee265: I agree with you. I want them to be mostly codex with only a few variations. I think I'm going to drop the number of Land Raiders for the 1st Company down to 4 and if the need any more they pull from the Chapter Armory.

 

@chaplain belisarius: Yeah, I'm working on their background now. I'm going to eventually post it as an IA in the Librarium. I have a few images of some painted miniatures up now since you're interested. I'm doing the DIY Swapping Project right now, but once I've finished I'm going to start work on the Priory of Dorn again.

 

Semi-Completed Miniatures:

Tactical Sergeant - 2nd Company

Tactical Squad Leader - 2nd Company

Tactical Combat Squad - 2nd Company

2nd Company Champion

Tactical Marine - Melta-Gun - 2nd Company

Tactical Terminator Sergeant - 1st Company

 

WIP Miniatures:

Sternguard Squad - 2nd Company

Sternguard Veterans 1

Sternguard Veterans 2

Sternguard Veterans 3

Sternguard Veterans 4

Sternguard Veterans 5

[chaplain belisarius]

looking suitably dornian! :huh:

 

cant wait to see more...am trying to decide on a chapter or if i go diy myself...

[incarnus]

also just as a minor note 22 land raider redeemers in the first company?

 

Not to mention the other 38. In case anyone missed it: one for command, one for reclusiam, 20 in armory, and two in each battle company, most reserve companies, and even the scout company? Come on.

 

Nobody has 60 Land Raiders, certainly not a successor chapter. The organization chart for Ultras in C:SM says they have 13 LRs, I would think this is fairly representative, and they're first founding.

 

the Achilles is perhaps the rarest and most venerable Land Raider variant

 

Twelve Achilles may be a bit excessive. Seems like they might have one or possibly two, being IF successors.

 

Huge groups of veterans in the battle companies are really a stretch, though it's already been addressed.

 

Why is there a reserve company of devastators? The role of reserve companies is to replace losses suffered by the battle companies, yet there are no devastators to lose in the first place.

 

Seems like this should be in DIY Chapter Creation.

 

All that said, a very nicely done chapter.

[chaplain belisarius]

Regarding the land raiders...can i just say.."blood angels! (cough!)" :)

 

Maybe the priory have a large amount of land raiders but a small amount of other armoured vehichles?(maybe land raiders are an important part of their tactical doctrine?)

 

my 2 cents..

[Sandboxxx]

First off, good job on all the work you have put in so far.

 

I would have to to agree with what incarnus is saying. The chapter seems really heavy on the Land Raider and Vindicator side of things even when you do account for not having any Preds. Also, your last 3 reserve are throwing me for a loop.

 

In 8th company you are rocking out 140 Assult Marnies (Includes the VV). How do those 20 Speeders fit in? Are the crew not art of the company like other chapters?

 

An all Dev 9th as a reserve does not seem to fit when there are no devs in other company.

 

The 10th company also seems to have a very high ammount of power armor. 35 in yours as opposed to the 6 or so in a Codex.

 

 

Your Sternguard look awesome by the way.

[AngryJohnny]

@chaplain belisarius: I'd go DIY - it's more fun. ;) You're right The Priory of Dorn does use Land Raiders heavily, with every deployment actually, so they are definitely an important part of the Chapter but I want to make sure that I'm not pushing the fluff boundaries too much. The chapter actually has a pretty high number of armored vehicles, just not a wide variety of them. With the exception of the 8th & 10th companies, all of the units have either a Rhino, Razorback or Land Raider. Plus the chapter has a high number of Vindicators. They're supposed to be mechanized assault specialists in siege warfare.

 

@incarnus: The Land Raiders in the companies are for the Company Master to use, this is why there are Land Raiders in the Scout Company. That's what they're for in each company actually is for the Company Master & Company Captain to use. Maybe I should reduce it to 1 per company for use with the Company Master only and give the Company Captains a Razorback to use? Keep in mind, my chapter aren't the Ultramarines, they're an Imperial Fist successor that doesn't strictly follow codex, so modeling them exactly after another chapter defeats the purpose of a DIY. That being said, I do want the Chapter organization and units to be plausible and not over the top (the main reason I posted the chart) so I really do appreciate your feedback and have definitely taken it into consideration to add to my list of changes to make.

 

@Forgeworld: I appreciate your input and will make an adjustment to the amount of Land Raider Achilles that the chapter has. What would you say to having 3 total? Do you think that would be more plausible given they are a 3rd founding chapter of the Imperial Fists? As far as the veterans, if you think about it, there aren't that many more than a normal chapter considering that none of my companies have any Command Squad units or Honor Guard, and they're really just over glorified Tactical Marines. I don't think it's that far fetched; considering the longevity of the Chapter. Also, I don't have any Devastator units in the chapter except the 9th company (which I'll explain later) so they don't have significantly more marines in each company than any other chapter. On the topic of Devastators, while the chapter doesn't have Devastators in the other companies, they do have heavy weapon specialists in all of the Tactical Squads. The Devastators in the 9th company are used to fill the spaces in the Tactical Squads when necessary and are called on for additional heavy support if needed. Their primary purpose is to be used as static defense on their home world and in campaigns that require defensive units. All of the Devastators are lumped into the 9th company because they specialize in a different type of siege warfare than the rest of the chapter. The rest of the chapter prefers to utilize offensive siege tactics but the chapter understands the need for defensive capability also.

 

@Sandboxxx: I'm sorry, but I don't know what you mean by the last 3 reserve are throwing you for a loop. I'm going to reduce the number of overall Land Raiders, the vindicators are going to all stay though to make up for not having any Predators or Whirlwinds. Honestly, I'm not sure how many Land Speeders I was should include in the 8th Company, I was initially thinking that I should have 50 but it seemed like a little much. I was thinking that the individual assault marines from the 8th company would pilot them. Or maybe the 20 Land Speeders is too many? The 8th company is the only company with Land Speeders and jump packs for that matter. I'd appreciate some guidance on this one. Hopefully the Devastators make more sense now after my previous explanation. The power armor in the 10th company is just the personal guard for the Master, Captain & Chaplains and there is only 80 actual scouts to make up for having the 20 Sternguard for the Master & Captain. Thanks for the compliment on the Sternguard. I'm really hoping that they and the Pedro counts as will be my army center piece, so I'm a little nervous to paint them.

[Brother of the Temple]

I was just looking at your T.O.E. and the amount of Land Raiders does seem high.

 

I can see each company having 1-2 and the first having 4-5. This allows you a lot of Raiders for a codex chapter but less than say a chapter like the Black Templars who are known for their use of them. If you wanted to rival them then the armory could house 10-15 to use along side the vindicators as a seige type of formation.

 

I think it was Salvatore that said the color of the chapter insignia should be changed and I disagree with that. I think the color scheme looks good the way it is. It's an honor marking to their founding chapter along with their primearch. The armor color and markings will single them out as a different chapter but they still remember where they came from. Many Ultramarine successors have "Ultra" symbols in their heraldry.

 

I like the idea of the scouts being very mobile with their Storms. I've never understood why codex chapters make their scouts walk all over the place. I can imagine that Thunderhawk insertions aren't the most quiet actions either.

 

Overall I like where your going with the chapter.

[chaplain belisarius]

As they are a fists successor are you giving them just vindicators and land raiders as armoured support? :)

 

might go diy...not sure yet...dark eldar need finishing first!

[Cpt. Salvatore]

To further explain my reasoning behind my criticism of the Chapter symbol. The Ultras use the "U" symbol but as far as I know, never in the same colours. The chapter symbol is in my opinion a very special and rare thing. It is a heraldry, a holy symbol representing the sacred brotherhood you are in. It is exactly like medieval Knight's coat of arms. It represents who you are. Every brotherhood, just like every single knight should have his own and unique heraldry. By having the same symbol, albeit on different armour says: "I am Imperial Fist." But, they are not imperial fists, they are their offspring. Again, compare it to medieval times. When a noble had a son, that son got his own coat of arms. It looked exactly like his fathers, except for some addition that marked the coat of arms as his. It said "I am a son of that man but I am not him! I am my own person". And, as such, your chapter is related very closely to the Imperial fists but they are not Imperial fists. Thus, as far as I can see, they should have similar symbol but not the same one. Armour colour does not count for it is the symbol of the chapter that says who is the one that carries it.

 

Also, another small argument. I wonder if it wouldn't cause confusion in other situations. Like, on spaceships. Spaceships are not green usually so, they will look just like Imp. Fists ones, wouldn't they? And that would be bad, everyone knows how pedantic can Imperium be.