The Revenants

[PH34RB0T]

Note that I'm just using this to organize my thoughts for now and to receive early critique. Thusly, it won't be prettily worded. Questions I have will be in parenthesis.

Origins:

The chapter was formed as part of the 26th founding from Raven Guard geneseed. (Would it be better to use a Raven Guard successor chaptor? Is the 26th founding to recent for the events in their history? [covered later])

They were created to cleanse the Imperium of the taint of the warp through Holy Bolter fire.

Homeworld:

After their creation, The Revenants were assigned the homeworld of [to be decided].

After discovering that a minute portion of the planet's citizens were under the influence of Chaos following a siege by a small warband of Chaos Space Marines, the 4th Company cleansed the entire population. (might changed the CSM to something else depending upon where I decide the planet to be located. Any suggestions?) When the Chapter Master returned with the First and Second Companies, he was aghast at the unnecessary bloodshed that had happened in his absence. He declared the chapter initiate a Penitence Crusade, during the course of which no marine of the chapter would bear allowed to wear the chapter badge. The chapter remains scattered, fighting the growth of chaos, often rushing to the defense of Imperial forces in danger of falling. In return for their defense, the chapter demands recruits, which they use to replace their losses.

(Is this story even plausible? The only thing that jumped out at me is that the space marines might not bat an eye at destroying an entire planet's populace if they can justify it by saying that a few were tainted.)

I'll be adding more to this later...

[Apothete]

The chapter was formed as part of the 26th founding from Raven Guard geneseed.

 

This is unlikely, as the Raven Guard geneseed is unstable and prone to mutation thanks to Corax's tinkering. All known successors were created immediately after the Heresy, which was before the damage had been done or at least before it had been discovered.

 

They were created to cleanse the Imperium of the taint of the warp through Holy Bolter fire.

 

Isn't that sort of the generic purpose of all Marine Chapters everywhere, though? You might want to think of something a little more specific and interesting if you want people to be drawn in to your work.

 

After discovering that a minute portion of the planet's citizens were under the influence of Chaos following a siege by a small warband of Chaos Space Marines, the 4th Company cleansed the entire population. (might changed the CSM to something else depending upon where I decide the planet to be located. Any suggestions?) When the Chapter Master returned with the First and Second Companies, he was aghast at the unnecessary bloodshed that had happened in his absence. He declared the chapter initiate a Penitence Crusade, during the course of which no marine of the chapter would bear allowed to wear the chapter badge. The chapter remains scattered, fighting the growth of chaos, often rushing to the defense of Imperial forces in danger of falling. In return for their defense, the chapter demands recruits, which they use to replace their losses.

 

Your own answer to your question basically takes care of the first objection I would raise to this plotline. It's not likely that a Chapter would be disbanded and disbursed wholesale on a penitent crusade, especially not those who weren't involved in what happened. On top of that, the population of a single world would likely not merit such harsh punishment, especially given the resources and time that go into training and equipping an Astartes.

 

Now, if you were to take that idea and make some kind of caste system out of it, whereby the ones on the crusades aren't allowed to wear full colors or have to wear some kind of prominent mark over their chapter badge, that'd be more interesting. The full Marines would be the superiors of any crusader and the disgraced would have to prove their worth over again, in effect becoming a sort of knight-errant while lacking all sense of honor or purity. Those not a part of their shame would still present a public face, being the Chapter in all eyes but their own, while the shamed ones fight untenable missions and face inordinate odds to win their place amongst their Brothers and redemption of their names. Hell, I like that too... Strip them of names, colors, anything marking them as something more than a living weapon, only to be returned if they can do something sufficiently impressive.

[PH34RB0T]

I'll take note of the first two and change them accordingly later.

 

I feel like I wasn't sufficiently clear on the third point. It's a sort of self-induced punishment. Basically, they unnecessarily destroyed the population that they pull recruits from, so they went on this sort of crusade thing to both find new recruits and as a self-created punishment.

I was also toying with the idea of hierarchy, but mine was more along the lines of everyone starts out in all black, but enough sufficiently heroic acts earn marines the right to wear the chapter badge.

[Apothete]

I feel like I wasn't sufficiently clear on the third point. It's a sort of self-induced punishment. Basically, they unnecessarily destroyed the population that they pull recruits from, so they went on this sort of crusade thing to both find new recruits and as a self-created punishment.

 

It's not really much of a punishment, is it? The way you're describing it, they're being sent to find more recruits because they killed off the population of the Chapter's homeworld.

 

I find a few faults with this idea. First and most importantly, why would you trust the people who couldn't control themselves or who were ruthless enough to cull an entire planet to be the ones selecting aspirants unless what you wanted was more people with a temperament like theirs? Additionally, small bands of Astartes seem like they'd be useful at times, but why would you allow them the freedom to just roam around and do what they want when the error that they made - in the Chapter's eyes - was one of poor judgement? Wouldn't it make more sense to point them in a particular direction, give them very specific missions, and have someone making sure that they do it? Alternatively, the usual end of a penitnent crusade is something so dangerous and fearful that many, if not all, of those sent on the quest are not likely to return.

 

For a sense of scale, the Imperial Fists use whole-body nerve torture as a way to meditate, the Ultramarines strip failed Astartes of all rank and insignia and send them out to find honorable death, and the Blood Angels stick their crazed but honored fallen in a formation meant for suicide charges. Recruitment duty is punishment compared to that?

 

I was also toying with the idea of hierarchy, but mine was more along the lines of everyone starts out in all black, but enough sufficiently heroic acts earn marines the right to wear the chapter badge.

 

Not a bad idea, though black's a bit overdone.