DIY Chapter: Legio Sparticus

[maverike_prime]

This is to be an ongoing project of mine. The Spartans where my grade school mascot when I first got into Warhammer 40,000 and I initially painted them in my school colors of blue and white. Now, 15 years later, I'm revisiting the idea but I want to flush them out considerably more then I had previously and really give them some character in preparation for building and Army of them. So, check it out. Comment and critiques are welcome and encouraged. I will be adding more to this in the coming days.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a316/maverike_prime/Warhammer/Spartan-1st_companyvetbg.jpg

History

Formed as a garrison chapter to aid the Ultramarines in guarding the eastern Fringe, particularly in light of growing threats from the assortment of Ork Empires in that region. The Chapter was to be raised on Prandium, the crown jewel of the Ultramar empire. So it was that the first recruits into the Legio Sparticus were of extremely high caliber, even by Ultramarine standards.

 

Scantly a decade following their inception, and long before they were even close to chapter strength, the Legio was beset by tragedy as the onset of the first Tyranic war came to be. Prandium was swiftly cleansed of all life with the Legio losing nearly half of their four hundred battle brothers. Only what was to become the Legio’s first devastator companies survived the cleansing on Prandium and even then, only due to their location on Macragge for training with the Ultramarines.

 

The Legio was afforded not time to morn for their ravaged and lost home world as the Hive Fleet Behomoth continued it’s murderous march deeper into the Realm of Ultramar. Side by side with those who were be their progenitors, the Legio learned quickly the ways of war from the Ultramarines and they learned on the crucible of war itself.

It was on the fields of Macragge itself, that the Legio would come face to face with the Tyranids for the first time. It was Brother Lycuron, at that time a Sergeant but acting as company captain, that would make first contact with the aliens from the Legio. Meeting face to face with a monsterous Tyranid warrior, Lycuron lost his right hand in the first seconds of the battle. Wracked with momentary pain from the Tyranid bio-toxins assaulting his body, Lycuron would have been lost were it not for a supporting assault from a brother unit of Ultramarines who distracted the monster with a ranged attack long enough for Lycuron to plunge his sword up through the creatures’ chest piercing and slicing several vital organs killing the monster and momentarily disrupting the hive network in that area.

 

With Calgar injured, Steel Ridge was lost. Lycuron and the surviving Legio evacuated along side the Ultramarines. The Apothicaries managed to save Lycruon from death, and despite their words other wise, he rose to command the Legio once more in the heat of battle as the Ultramarine fleets made contact with the Tyranid hive ships.

Returning to Macragge, following the destruction of the Dominus Astra and the Hive fleet, the Legio were among the troops to make first planet fall. They were the first to witness the horror of the Tyranid threat, and they were the first to swear vengeance for the wounds suffered in that battle.

 

As a sign of respect and admiration for Lycuron, the surviving members of the Legio painted their right gauntlets red in honor of his courage. He was then appointed Chapter Master of the Legio, and approved with a proclamation by Calgar.

 

The Ultramarines took in their now homeless brothers and for a time, the Legio helped to fill the depleted ranks of the Ultramarines while the Ultramarines continued the training of the Legio Sparticus. A century later, the Ultramrines first company restored, and the Legio now numbering over 300 brothers again, Lycuron went before Calgar to seek his assistance once more. The Ultramarines home was the Ultramar region. It was theirs to guard and theirs to rule. The Legio’s home of Prandium had been lost. The Imperium still faced threats from beyond and the Legio was eager to create their own legends. Lycruon sought the means to voyage forth and build the Legio. Calgar granted the Legio Sparticus a Pair of strike cruisers and a handful of smaller support craft. The Legio Sparticus would become a crusading chapter, forever traveling the starts to confront the enemies of the Imperium.

 

Fifty years later, the fleet of the Legio answered a call for assistance from an Adeptus Mechanicus division on the world of Forlox. The Tech Priests had uncovered what they believed to be a nearly intact, though non-functional, STC and were in the process of recovering it when they were assaulted by Eldar pirates. Desperate to the same the STC, the Tech priests called for help and the Legio responded.

 

The Legio provided escort both from the recovery site to the evacuation location and from the evacuation location to the orbiting cruiser. The Eldar pirates were relentless and had it not been for the selfless dedication, exemplary training and unyielding dedication of the Legio, the STC would surely have been lost. In graditude the division of the Adeptus Mechanicus responsible for the recovery offered support to the Legio In the form of additional ships, and materials. The first of the ships to granted to the Legio was a massive cruiser, more on the scale of a Battle Barge then a cruiser. The Legio quickly renamed the mighty vessel, Spartate named for an ancient Prandium tale of a city that was constantly at war. Just as the the ship was to be constantly in preparation for war, so too would it be the Legio's home.

[Aegnor]

Sounds interesting. Is there any precedent for the UMs ceding a world in Ultramar to another chapter, even a successor? That's probably the most unusual thing so far.

 

Edit: sorry, I'll be more specific. Unusual in itself isn't a problem after all. One difficulty placing your chapter on Prandium immediately poses a reader who is looking to learn about your chapter while not disregarding the already published material is that the event of the Tyranid invasion of Ultramar are quite well detailed already - and the Legio don't appear in any of that. A second chapter being present in Ultramar is a pretty major omission in the existing account to have to explain. I guess what you're going to be asked is it necessary for your chapter's story to include an element of contradiction to existing fluff, or could you keep much of the same good parts with some adjustments to avoid that contradiction - eg their original world neighboured Ultramar and was wiped out by Leviathan, but wasn't Prandium?

[Ferrata]

I am going have to say this in the nicest possible way, this is a difficult chapter to accept. I am not going to go through it point by point because I feel like that would just be rather unneeded. However, you should not attempt to weave your chapter too closely to one of GWs, especially one as famous as the Ultramarines. At first, I thought it was going to be a little "We were there at Macragge" but then you merged for while and separated again. Basically, if your chapter did this we would have heard about them. This instantly breaks the suspension of disbelief, which is the one thing you need to keep from start to end when writing a chapter. I would suggest having a read of a view articles in the DIY Guide at the top of the page - it might help focus your thoughts.

 

I think the best questions to ask is what do you want your chapter to be like. Think about the destination you want your chapter to achieve and we can help suggest good paths to this point. Do you want them to be a crusading chapter? A chapter that has lost their home world? A chapter that hates the Nids? A chapter that has very close ties to the Ultramarines? A chapter that enjoys rugby and bacon on a Sunday morning? All of the above?

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

To be totally honest I'm missing the character.

 

 

 

That could be because 'spartan marines' are very much 'pie flavoured pie'. The Space Marines and the history behind them already include so many varied real-world cultural drawing points and the Spartans are one of the first and most commonly linked.

 

That's not to say it isn't possible to make a Spartan themed chapter and make it well. However, you'd be better advised to actually define what it is about the Spartans that you enjoy so much. What part of the Spartan 'character' do you like the most? Is it their 'come home with your shield or upon it?' mentality? Is it their practice of saying nothing unless it was meaningful or important?

 

The problem you're facing with Spartans is they were simply warriors. Very, very good warriors. That is exactly what the Space Marines are. In order to make it work you need to focus more clearly on a specific aspect and build around it.

 

Though please make it an actual characterization or personality trait of the chapter rather than battle tactics and heroic last stands, that's not what will make the chapter work.

 

*Edit*

 

Also the name is about as subtle as setting someone's bed on fire because you want them to get up.

 

Though I do quite like the colour scheme.

[maverike_prime]

okay everything that's been said thus far I can take into account and work with with out question, well maybe not the Bacon and Rugdy thought. That just brings to mind a lot of crazy images. Though I suppose there could be Bore to hunt on their recruiting worlds... so I suppose they could like bacon. The rugdy.... yeah I got nothing.

 

 

Though I do have ask for clarification on one point. Considering the Ultramarines records spans 10,000+ years, and I'm not talking like The primarch was encountered 10,000 years ago followed by this happened 100 years later, by the heresy a 100 years later followed by "The actively crusaded for 9,800 years and now it's the 41st Mellenium", is a 100 years really that long?

 

I mean I get you're point about not weaving a DIY chapter too closely with an established chapter and I agree with it. but 100 years out of 10,000? Is that really too much?

 

Also the name is about as subtle as setting someone's bed on fire because you want them to get up.

 

It works doesn't it? I mean lighting the bed on fire to get the person up.

 

Jokes aside, why should it be subtle? I mean it is a Space Marine Chapter. Yeah, in comparison to the Imperial Guard they're a rapier that compared to a sledge hammer, but it's sill a rapier that stabs you in the face repeatedly, breaking the blade and then pummeling you to death. Subtly isn't exactly the Space Marines defining characteristic.

[Ferrata]

Though I do have ask for clarification on one point. Considering the Ultramarines records spans 10,000+ years, and I'm not talking like The primarch was encountered 10,000 years ago followed by this happened 100 years later, by the heresy a 100 years later followed by "The actively crusaded for 9,800 years and now it's the 41st Mellenium", is a 100 years really that long?

If you ignore the Heresy, the invasion of the Tyranids that resulted in Xenos stepping on Macragge itself is one of the key times for the Ultramarines chapter, and due to GW recent efforts, one of the most detailed parts of the timeline. There were no other chapters present on Macragge at the time of the 'Nids, it was just the Ultramarines. When Prandium was destroyed it wasn't mentioned that it was the "Homeworld of the Legio Sparticus", it was one of the worlds the Ultramarines held as their own. It is generally considered a bad idea to involve major characters and chapters in your background because it makes it less believable. Yes, we are talking about unbelievable things here, but the key to a good story is to make the reader believe - and writing a DIY chapter is just that, you are telling me a story.

 

As for the not subtle thing, in the background Space Marines don't do subtle. That is why names like Flesh Tearers and Imperial Fists work so well - they tell you what they do on the tin. They aren't called the 3rd Regiment of the Callidion Pike Regiment, 4th Division because that doesn't sound scary. Sparticus is a real life person and the mention of him really rips the reader from the 40k millienia back to the 3rd.

[maverike_prime]

Though I do have ask for clarification on one point. Considering the Ultramarines records spans 10,000+ years, and I'm not talking like The primarch was encountered 10,000 years ago followed by this happened 100 years later, by the heresy a 100 years later followed by "The actively crusaded for 9,800 years and now it's the 41st Mellenium", is a 100 years really that long?

As for the not subtle thing, in the background Space Marines don't do subtle. That is why names like Flesh Tearers and Imperial Fists work so well - they tell you what they do on the tin. They aren't called the 3rd Regiment of the Callidion Pike Regiment, 4th Division because that doesn't sound scary. Sparticus is a real life person and the mention of him really rips the reader from the 40k millienia back to the 3rd.

 

Ah, hadn't actually thought of it in that context. Good point.

[Ecritter]

As GHY said, it may be enough to just touch on the aspects of what a Spartan is ... and how your marines mirror this. Its been said to me on other subjects that this is the M41 or really M42 now, and who would really remember 'the Spartans". The Ultramarines are 'Romans in Space' but they never really come out and say it, but we get it from the fluff.

 

EDIT:

 

That is if Spartans is really what you're pushing for, since Sparticus was a Roman slave and not a Spartan.

[Grey Hunter Ydalir]

Jokes aside, why should it be subtle?

 

Because Sparta, all references to it, ancient history and any cultural relevance it once held as a place in our ancient history has long been forgotten by the time the 41st millennium rolls around. They don't even know what happened to the earth with any reliable accuracy before the Rise of the Emperor, how do you think records of ancient Sparta survived? So far as I am aware, it's anecdotal references and snatches of paragraphs here and there from incredibly isolated pieces so far removed from their original context as to be utterly nonsensical.

 

Though beyond that, far far, far beyond that problem is that it breaks the readers suspension of disbelief. I read 'Sparticus' and I either think of the Roman slave Spartacus, or Sparta and I am instantly ripped out my immersion within the 40k universe and dumped back into mundane reality. It's too obvious and as I said, breaks the suspension of disbelief terribly.

 

Willing Suspension of Disbelief.

[Firenze]

Making it subtle in terms of theming a chapter is important. UMs are roman, hinted at but there. Some, like the BTs and SW are a little less so, but never openly jump and shout 'IM KNIGHT TEMPLAR/VIKING!!'

 

Keeping it subtle is fun to write too. In my own chapter DIY I attempted to mix in some shaolin, oriental bits in. I didnt realise it till I read over it.

 

 

And on using GW chapters/characters; dont, or at least stay away. I once made the mistake of making my CM punch Calgar. That was a nice arguement.

[Blacklight]

When it comes to using GW chapters and characters, I have a slightly different view. You can use them, IMO, to a degree. That degree being that you don't make the character/chapter think and or do something. So, if you want to have your chapter interact with, say, the UMs, don't have your character punch Calgar in the face. Direct contact is a no-go. If you want to have them fight alongside the Ultras, however, I think that's perfectly acceptable. So long as your hand isn't really controlling the GW character or chapter, you're fine in my eyes. It's when you say something like, "The Ultramarines decide to leave Ultramar with [chapter name] and settle a new system" that the suspension of disbelief gets broken and you break any events GW has already established.

 

Having the Ultramarines participate in a battle alongside your chapter, however, I don't think is out of reach. Just say that they fought with them, and don't use any dialogue. Keep it vague when referring to the Ultramarines and then put all the detail in when you're talking about your chapter. That way, you're not stepping on any GW toes, but you still have that sort of influence in your IA.

 

Not sure how readable that all turned out to be, but... hopefully you get the gist ;)