A new chapter from the 26th founding (a DIY WIP)

[Omega Striker]

Okay, so I am a long time lurker, first time poster. What could possibly bring a shadowy lurker like myself into the light? A desperate need of help with naming a DIY chapter.

 

That's right, that's my great crisis.

 

I have this marvelous idea for a chapter, but right now it's all jumbles in my head. Over the course of a few days (or centuries, you know how the Imperium works) I am going to try and clarify my ideas about this chapter. Nobody has to respond or comment right away, because I am going to be making little additions between classes and other little tidbits.

 

The meat of the idea is this:

 

There is a new chapter of space marines. (duh)

They are fifth-generation Iron Hands gene-seed (Iron hands -> some lame chapter -> other lame chapter -> another lame chapter -> The DIY guys this thread is about)

They have an affinity for plasma weapons, and are very mechanical.

They break up the 'iron father' idea for something slightly different: Keeper of the Body (techmarine+apothecary), Keeper of the Mind (librarian) and Keeper of the Soul (chaplain)

They are fleet based, but do stay in one sub-sector (just a personal imaginary place of mine, to give backstory, will work on later.)

They (jump infantry) have augmented legs instead of jump packs (inspired by a random bit of coolness I found on the interent one day, see here.)

I have talked to others at my local store about some rules modifications for the tabletop, but I will definitely post those last here.

 

 

I will have to break each of these incredibly complex blips into the depth and quality that the DIY guides ask for, so bear with me. I will try and elaborate more, but right now I gotta get going. I am gonna leave these up here, and read if you like, and comment if you absolutely must, but this is the first tip of a WIP that I am going to get out of my system eventually.

 

Kindest regards, fellow Astartes,

Omega Striker

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

You could try calling them the Purifiers.

[Ace Debonair]

They are fifth-generation Iron Hands gene-seed (Iron hands -> some lame chapter -> other lame chapter -> another lame chapter -> The DIY guys this thread is about)

 

I'm puzzled. Why fifth generation?

And why are three of the preceding generations lame chapters? ^_^

[Olis]

You could try calling them the Purifiers.

 

Didn't you say that in another thread?

 

Oh, Omega, I like the generation idea but I'd nerf that to third gen - at least there's precedent for that. Not quite so sure on the uber-augment legs vis-a-vis assault infantry, it sounds like something that would need explaining to every new opponent you get... :huh: Might be cool for a character though...

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

Yes, I did. For months, I have been trying to get someone to use Purifiers, ever since a naming thread filled with things that shall not be mentioned. As you may have guessed, I have failed so far.

[Olis]

If at first you don't succeed and all that? :huh:

[Omega Striker]

Okay, again I have just a few minutes to do a bit of elaboration and thankfully some interested parties have taken the time to comment. I will try to answer these few questions and maybe elaborate afterwards.

 

First Up:

 

Ace Debonair Posted Yesterday, 03:34 PM

 

QUOTE (Omega Striker @ Apr 21 2011, 07:31 PM)

They are fifth-generation Iron Hands gene-seed (Iron hands -> some lame chapter -> other lame chapter -> another lame chapter -> The DIY guys this thread is about)

 

I'm puzzled. Why fifth generation?

And why are three of the preceding generations lame chapters?

 

That's related to my design process. I came up with a second generation chapter that I did not like, so I abandoned it. Later I came back to the idea and decided to start fresh from a successor chapter of the second generation chapter. I didn't like where that one was going either. Designated Lame Lords, because that's what it turned into, kind of a satire on the "my marines are the uber-best ever, they're so awesome they make the emperor cry" kind of satire. So that's the second and third generation. The fourth generation, I was trying to make a space marine chapter that abandoned the Imperium for the greater good in the Tau empire. I thought I was on the right track, but then I found the B&C forums here and read the DIY guides and realized that I was still being ridiculously cliche and that it couldn't happen the way I had it set up. So scratch the fourth generation. The fifth generation I am making now is kind of a lessons learned chapter for me, because I have the junk mostly worked out of my system and what little remains I am hoping you guys (my readers) find and help me eliminate. I am still working on a semi-defection to the Tau empire, but it will be a lot more devious, and still loyal to the Imperium. So there are five because that was how I made them. The others were lame because I did not have quality design involved. Does that answer your question?

 

 

Secondly:

 

Olisredan Posted Yesterday, 07:00 PM

 

Oh, Omega, I like the generation idea but I'd nerf that to third gen - at least there's precedent for that. Not quite so sure on the uber-augment legs vis-a-vis assault infantry, it sounds like something that would need explaining to every new opponent you get... Might be cool for a character though...

 

Actually, I don't mind the explaining. I have made conversions before, and I am looking for a place that sells at least some kind of bionic legs for miniatures. I have found a few on the web, but I can tell my opponent that the jump troops just have cooler legs that everybody else. It's nothing too arduous, I just keep to the codex, and if they forget, I will tell them again. And the nerf to third generation is all good. Do you know of a second-generation Iron Hands chapter that would be semi-cannon to use as a parent chapter?

 

And lastly:

 

Chapter Master Ignis Domus Posted Yesterday, 02:11 PM

 

You could try calling them the Purifiers.

 

Interesting. I have thought more on the name, but how can we tie "Purifiers" into the two ideas I want to control the name of my chapter, i.e. "Dragons" and "Especially refined and high quality plasma coolant that naturally augments a mostly cybernetic space marine" Dragons of Purification? Dragons of Purifying Plasma Coolant? Just plain "Purifiers" seems a little lacking to me, because I am a "what it says on the can" kind of designer.

 

 

 

Now for a little bit of blurbing about the chapter.

 

The defining thing about the chapter is that they found a STC plasma coolant. It's near magical, and since they are Iron Hands derived, I figured they would share it with the Mechanicus, who would be a decent amount of grateful, and build a whole lot of stuff with the new enhanced plasma cores (ships, basically, with weapons and vehicles that are a little faster or something, details figured out and debated later) Can any of you more experienced B&C members help me understand what impact finding an awesome plasma coolant would have on a chapter/their wargear/their vehicles/their associations with the AdMech?

 

I think I need some more info on Segmentum Ultima, because that is where they will be fleet based, although I still want them to have kind of a sub-sector where they hang around a bit. I have a made up one in my head with the following planets in it: two agri-worlds, a forge world, a hive world, three feudal worlds, and an ecclesiarchy world (church world?). This gives a few places to recruit from, a supply center that is in good favor, a place to get better than average chaplains (or chaplains that just work with the ecclesiarchy really well, that's not set in stone), and a broad enough space for a chapter to call home while still being fleet based. The four major threats would be a nearby Eldar Craftworld, orks on the three feudal worlds, a few imperial bureaucrats (maybe corrupted by chaos?) and the Tau empire a medium hop, skip, and a warp jump away, with maybe a tyranid splinter fleet every now and then. Does this seem like a good backdrop for a sub-sector?

 

I have been thinking of many things, but the founding date I want to be the latest founding, so they will only be 300 years old or so, still on their first Chapter Master, who was led to the STC on his "vision quest" for starting a new chapter. ( I kind of wanted to incorporate the native american coming of age ritual thing to influence the first chapter master finding this plasma enhancing "gift", and start off the chapter with a decent relationship with the AdMech and a certain sub-sector that the Master was led to, and this seemed like a good way to do it). Since they are all about the biomechanical, I thought it would be an extra part of the magic that the plasma coolant is stable enough to be circulated through the bodies of my marines (in their blood would be cool, but we can just make a secondary circulatory system to pump the stuff around and cool their various mechanical parts).

 

I will talk about modeling and a cool idea for a land raider conversion later, but right now I have to go, so think on my words, wise counselors of the interwebs, and let me know how close I am to staying on the straight and narrow, or if chaos has already consumed my soul and I just need to die.

[Ecritter]

Note on chapter names.

 

Please do not fall into the same trap as many DIY writers as well as GW themselves when coming up with the name. Most, if not all, chapters are named at their inception at the latest. That means long before they have any great battles, develop any interesting traits, or anything else. Few chapters ever change their names also.

 

With that in mind, pick a name based on parent chapter, homeworld, color scheme, etc.

 

EDIT:

 

Known Iron Hands Descendants: Red Talons, Brazen Claws, Sons of Medusa

 

So it would seem that they are commonly either named after hands, talons, claws, etc; or after homeworlds. Take that for what its worth.

[Olis]

Damn it, beaten to the punch. Curse you Ecritter! <_<

 

Although, really, I'd say kudos - you've said everything I was going to.

 

@Omega Striker

As for line of descent I'd go: Iron Hands -> Red Talons -> Your guys. Why Red Talons? Well, they're obscure enough for people to not know alot if anything about them. Which beautifully sets you up for artistic licence. Legitimate yet totally contradiction free back history ready for you to mould. :huh:

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

I'd actually stick with direct Iron Hands descent. For some reason, I have the feeling that GW or Forge World might flesh them out a little more, and make anything you've written probably wrong.

[Olis]

I'd actually stick with direct Iron Hands descent. For some reason, I have the feeling that GW or Forge World might flesh them out a little more, and make anything you've written probably wrong.

 

But that's what the delete button is for... :lol:

[Omega Striker]

Alright, boys, I hope you are ready for the fleshing out of the century. This is a wall of text that takes no prisoners, and is probably the longest post I have ever made anywhere on the internet. Buckle up and keep you grenades out of your pants, because this might get dangerous! :P

 

To start:

 

I kind of/sort of have a name: Adamantium Dragons. I kind of like it, but I think there is room for improvement. I thought about Order's Purifiers, but it just seems like a gimmick to get purifiers in. Sorry, Ignus Domus, I don't think that it will work here. You wiould probably have to get a sallies-derived chapter to be your Purifiers.

Comments and criticism and psychoanalysis please!

 

I read in Octavulg's Octaguide to DIY that there once was a genuine Index Astartes, which thing I did not know before. He gave a basic outline of Origins, Home World, Combat Doctrine, Organisation, Beliefs, Gene-seed and Battle-cry, which gives me a genuine place to start with this IA article. However, there is much that needs to go into the outline, so I will not start writing the article yet. I still need to describe things generally, right?

 

So here goes an official unofficial outline!

 

Origins

 

Iron hands -> Red Talons -> Adamantium Dragons (adamantium because of the emphasis on technology and cybermodification, and dragons because of the large populations of big angry lizards that are on the top of the food chain on the planets in the sub-sector)(yes I went third, sorry to fans of direct descen)

the first chapter master, a (former) company captain of the Red Talons, that liked ranged warfare, chosen to be new C. M.

Went on a 'vision crusade' with a few buddies

Found STC plasma coolant on a dead world while fighting some orks and the local dragons

The Mechanicus liked the new stuff, the new C. M. felt his quest was fulfilled, and decided to settle in that sub sector, but still felt being fleet based was best.

they recruit from several nearby feudal worlds, have a forge world and shrine world, with a small Inquisition fortress on a hive world, Ultramar is not close, but still reachable, they fight Orks, Eldar, Tyranids, and Tau (maybe)

 

Home Fleet and Sub-Sector

 

Here I have a description of the space fleet, and a few blurbs about the nearby Imperial Worlds, right?

I need to look into something like an Imperial Navy FAQ and learn about stuff like ship tonnage, does anyone know where to find any?

I have a general description for some of the planets, but where can I learn about Imperial tithes and planetary govenors and such?

The planet breakdown is: 1 Forge, 1 Shrine, 3 Feudal, 1 Hive, 2 Agri, 1 Relic (this means destroyed civilization with cool loot, right?), and several (about 10?) dead worlds (orks and Eldar fool around there, is that okay by fluff?)

They have the 'big gun' ships that rarely go anywhere, mostly medium ships for usual 'only space marines can save us' stuff, and then a couple really fast frigates for special/emergency delivery.

 

Combat Doctrine

 

ranged tactics favored

lots of plasma, on infantry and vehicles (Land Raider Plasmodius FTW!!!!)

keep larger squads for more survivability

companies travel together, or in half, but never smaller (5 men going to do things is FORBIDDEN! A space marine must always have his many brothers close!)

Focus on quickly eliminating the enemy at range

 

Organisation

 

1 Master of the Chapter (the Lord Adamantine), 1 Master of Soul (head chaplain) over Soul Keepers (chaplains), 1 Master of Mind (head libby) over Mind Keepers (librarians, but there are not very many, , 1 Master of Body ( head techmarine+apthecary) over Body Keepers (tech+apoth), 1 Master of Initiates (training) over scouts (derp!)

 

5 battle companies of about 150 marines each. (chapter not quite up to full strength yet, only about 750 battle-worthy marines (scouts and up) plus about 80 current initiates in various stages of 'marine-ifying')

 

1st company: all elite, hard hitting, enemy melting, it needs to die right now company, chapter master leads

2nd, 3rd, 4th companies -> regular battle companies, deployed either at half strength or full strength

5th company: training company, mostly initiates (scouts) with several veterans and dreads for teaching purposes, Master of Initiates leads

 

The Chapter Fleet also splits into five, going with each company during missions. Marines that show a special touch with spacecraft are removed from the battle companies and put into the fleet, about 400 former combat marines make up ship captains, engineers, etc of the fleet (but they do not count against the 1000 limit because they are now indirect support, right??). The fleet also boasts several graduates of the local Naval academies, part of the tithes the hive world gives to the chapter for protection. The AdMech works closely with the chapter to keep the fleet well supplied.

 

Beliefs

 

Codex Astertes is full of win, all new initiates have all of it in their memory chips

all are expected to know how to maintain and repair wargear, and create their own cybernetics (their first augments are hand, eye, and memory, the second 'gift' given from the chapter to initiates, the first being marine-hood)

As they age, they all become masters of self-repair and wargear maintenance.

Mind implants for memory enhancement (chapter master has 500 years of memories, a 'greatest hits from the chapter master and others' is given to initiates, with a complete Codex Astartes and other stuff.

A space marine must always have his brothers close! (see above, also note the Unity, below)

 

The Unity: the marines, when resting their bodies after missions, plug in to a "the matrix" like device that lets them communicate with others throughout the fleet, no matter the distance (usually small anyways) so that they can keep tabs on each other, watch for corruption, heresy (Chapter master lost some buddies to Slanesh back in the Red Talon days).

 

Initiates start producing little gimmicky devices (basically trainee stuff, toys really) to sell to planetary nobles, eventually get permission to craft their own wargear (start with close combat blades and bolt pistols, work their way up to plasma weaponry (a chapter standard, all must know and know well), armor, heavy weapons, vehicles, and eventually: terminator armor (all of which has been made by the chapter, no old suits exist, doesn't have small piece of Emperor's armor (is that a fluff no-no? Is a productive chapter a bad idea, or would the AdMech get angry?)

 

Gene-seed

 

not too much going on here, aside from eventual replacement by cybernetics

a small corruption means the eyes are the first thigns to go, so cybernetic eyes are a standard beginner's first augmentations.

pretty much all of the body, aside from a select few brain parts, are eventually replaced, making the chapter master's and other veterans' artificer armor like a small dreadnought.

 

Battle-cry (may be omitted)

 

Um, not sure, the motto could be something like "Be like a plasma gun, quite and well made, only striking out loud with a killing blow, and then a return to silence".

The marines in this chapter are quiet and reserved to outsiders, but are extremely close to their brothers, and the chapter leadership, due to the Unity.

They frequently get the hear lectures from the Masters and Lord Adamantine due to memory distribution/special lecture series as well.

Maybe something along the lines of "For my fallen brothers!" because they always remember the fallen (memory augmentation), so there is a list of people slain by Orks that they shout out when they fight Orks, same for Eldar and Nids. (is that a cool idea? I think so)

 

 

In Summary:

New chapter, just over 300 years old (or whatever since the latest founding)

Have awesome plasma weapons (due to STC plasma coolant)

lots of cybernetic augmentation (especially memory)

fleet based

have the Unity, a device kind of like the matrix, keeps everybody close

they love the ideas of order and perfection, and seek to follow them in crafting and training

make some of their best wargear themselves (not new designs without permission, just following the regular Mars patterns)

 

Okay, so there is a bunch of my ideas finally down on paper/internet forum. What do you guys think? Are there parts that need to move around? Comments and criticism, maybe even an insult to my heritage to liven things up a bit. It is a wall of text, but I think this is finaly taking off. Thanks again to everyone who reads and comments on this!

[Banelord]

They have the 'big gun' ships that rarely go anywhere, mostly medium ships for usual 'only space marines can save us' stuff, and then a couple really fast frigates for special/emergency delivery.

You go for the mobile space fortresses like the Dark angels and Fire Hawks. But I don’t know if a young chapter would have access to one. So maybe a Battle Barge.

 

 

about 400 former combat marines make up ship captains, engineers, etc of the fleet

 

I don’t think there is such thing as a former combat marine, I think they keep fighting until they die. :P

 

I think the only Marines on board would be TechMarines. I think ships are manned by Servitors and Chapter serfs. :)

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

Alright, boys, I hope you are ready for the fleshing out of the century. This is a wall of text that takes no prisoners, and is probably the longest post I have ever made anywhere on the internet. Buckle up and keep you grenades out of your pants, because this might get dangerous! :P

 

This sounds bad... How many posts have you made anywhere on the internet?

 

I kind of/sort of have a name: Adamantium Dragons. I kind of like it, but I think there is room for improvement. I thought about Order's Purifiers, but it just seems like a gimmick to get purifiers in. Sorry, Ignus Domus, I don't think that it will work here. You wiould probably have to get a sallies-derived chapter to be your Purifiers.

Comments and criticism and psychoanalysis please!

 

No, it's awful. I hate it. It's a worthless chapter. And you even spelled my name wrong. ;)

;)

 

So here goes an official unofficial outline!

 

You confuse me...

 

Iron hands -> Red Talons -> Adamantium Dragons (adamantium because of the emphasis on technology and cybermodification, and dragons because of the large populations of big angry lizards that are on the top of the food chain on the planets in the sub-sector)(yes I went third, sorry to fans of direct descen)

 

I still think the Red Talons will be fleshed out just enough to kill this. It happened to me with the Hawk Lords.

 

Found STC plasma coolant on a dead world while fighting some orks and the local dragons

 

STC's are incredibly rare, and when they are found, it's a momentous event. The people who found an STC to make knives were made governors. I doubt that we wouldn't have heard of this one.

 

The Mechanicus liked the new stuff, the new C. M. felt his quest was fulfilled, and decided to settle in that sub sector, but still felt being fleet based was best.

 

Sounds fine.

 

they recruit from several nearby feudal worlds, have a forge world and shrine world, with a small Inquisition fortress on a hive world, Ultramar is not close, but still reachable, they fight Orks, Eldar, Tyranids, and Tau (maybe)

 

Just in case, make sure you never, ever say system. That would mean something like a solar system, with all the worlds orbiting around one or more stars.

 

Here I have a description of the space fleet, and a few blurbs about the nearby Imperial Worlds, right?

 

Right.

 

I need to look into something like an Imperial Navy FAQ and learn about stuff like ship tonnage, does anyone know where to find any?

 

The source of all things space.

 

I have a general description for some of the planets, but where can I learn about Imperial tithes and planetary govenors and such?

The planet breakdown is: 1 Forge, 1 Shrine, 3 Feudal, 1 Hive, 2 Agri, 1 Relic (this means destroyed civilization with cool loot, right?), and several (about 10?) dead worlds (orks and Eldar fool around there, is that okay by fluff?)

They have the 'big gun' ships that rarely go anywhere, mostly medium ships for usual 'only space marines can save us' stuff, and then a couple really fast frigates for special/emergency delivery.

 

So, do you have any 'normal' worlds, other wise known as 'civilised'?

Check the Space Marines section in the link I gave you. It gives you the types of ships.

 

ranged tactics favored

lots of plasma, on infantry and vehicles (Land Raider Plasmodius FTW!!!!)

keep larger squads for more survivability

companies travel together, or in half, but never smaller (5 men going to do things is FORBIDDEN! A space marine must always have his many brothers close!)

Focus on quickly eliminating the enemy at range

 

Make sure you don't go overboard with the plasma. It's a relatively rare technology. Also, having half or larger companies only is highly inefficient. When you only have around 1,300 marines, you need to use them in small quantities. Also, ten marines can complete almost any normal task, especially since they often have the aid of Guard/PDF.

 

1 Master of the Chapter (the Lord Adamantine), 1 Master of Soul (head chaplain) over Soul Keepers (chaplains), 1 Master of Mind (head libby) over Mind Keepers (librarians, but there are not very many, , 1 Master of Body ( head techmarine+apthecary) over Body Keepers (tech+apoth), 1 Master of Initiates (training) over scouts (derp!)

 

This isn't necessary. Maybe mention the names in background or somesuch place.

 

5 battle companies of about 150 marines each. (chapter not quite up to full strength yet, only about 750 battle-worthy marines (scouts and up) plus about 80 current initiates in various stages of 'marine-ifying')

 

When was their founding? Also, why to they vary from the Codex Astartes?

 

1st company: all elite, hard hitting, enemy melting, it needs to die right now company, chapter master leads

2nd, 3rd, 4th companies -> regular battle companies, deployed either at half strength or full strength

5th company: training company, mostly initiates (scouts) with several veterans and dreads for teaching purposes, Master of Initiates leads

 

Again, why the variation?

 

The Chapter Fleet also splits into five, going with each company during missions. Marines that show a special touch with spacecraft are removed from the battle companies and put into the fleet, about 400 former combat marines make up ship captains, engineers, etc of the fleet (but they do not count against the 1000 limit because they are now indirect support, right??). The fleet also boasts several graduates of the local Naval academies, part of the tithes the hive world gives to the chapter for protection. The AdMech works closely with the chapter to keep the fleet well supplied.

 

First, see my comment on ten marines and everything. Next, there is almost no such thing as a former combat marine, let alone 400. Most fleets are staffed by serfs. Check this out. It talks about chapter organisation, as well as why there are more than 1,000 marines.

 

Codex Astertes is full of win, all new initiates have all of it in their memory chips

 

I don't think they would use memory chips, let alone on initiates. If you remember, even the Iron Hands don't get augmented much at that stage. Also, marines have a perfect memory, if I remember correctly. ;) You could try the teaching machines like the Space Wolves have.

 

all are expected to know how to maintain and repair wargear, and create their own cybernetics (their first augments are hand, eye, and memory, the second 'gift' given from the chapter to initiates, the first being marine-hood)

As they age, they all become masters of self-repair and wargear maintenance.

 

Fine, except for the cybernetics creation bit. Good cybernetics are really hard to make.

 

Mind implants for memory enhancement (chapter master has 500 years of memories, a 'greatest hits from the chapter master and others' is given to initiates, with a complete Codex Astartes and other stuff.

A space marine must always have his brothers close! (see above, also note the Unity, below)

 

See the memory chips thing.

 

The Unity: the marines, when resting their bodies after missions, plug in to a "the matrix" like device that lets them communicate with others throughout the fleet, no matter the distance (usually small anyways) so that they can keep tabs on each other, watch for corruption, heresy (Chapter master lost some buddies to Slanesh back in the Red Talon days).

 

This does not seem possible...

 

Initiates start producing little gimmicky devices (basically trainee stuff, toys really) to sell to planetary nobles, eventually get permission to craft their own wargear (start with close combat blades and bolt pistols, work their way up to plasma weaponry (a chapter standard, all must know and know well), armor, heavy weapons, vehicles, and eventually: terminator armor (all of which has been made by the chapter, no old suits exist, doesn't have small piece of Emperor's armor (is that a fluff no-no? Is a productive chapter a bad idea, or would the AdMech get angry?)

 

Selling stuff is probably not a good idea. Plasma weaponry is made on forge worlds almost exclusively, as are vehicles. Terminator armor is almost impossible to make, even on forge worlds.

 

not too much going on here, aside from eventual replacement by cybernetics

a small corruption means the eyes are the first thigns to go, so cybernetic eyes are a standard beginner's first augmentations.

pretty much all of the body, aside from a select few brain parts, are eventually replaced, making the chapter master's and other veterans' artificer armor like a small dreadnought.

 

Turning marines into robots with brains is not done, even in the Iron Hands.

 

Um, not sure, the motto could be something like "Be like a plasma gun, quite and well made, only striking out loud with a killing blow, and then a return to silence".

 

Plasma obsessed, are we?

 

Okay, so there is a bunch of my ideas finally down on paper/internet forum. What do you guys think? Are there parts that need to move around? Comments and criticism, maybe even an insult to my heritage to liven things up a bit. It is a wall of text, but I think this is finaly taking off. Thanks again to everyone who reads and comments on this!

 

I'm a bit rusty, so I've probably missed a bunch of stuff.

[soddinnutter]

I really like the idea of a shared mind.

 

Maybe they all have built in transmitters and they line their bones with something to act like receivers. Maybe after a time the communication becomes deeper than sending each other messages and they start to develop a radio based telepathy.

 

Maybe they become dependent on this not-quite-hive-mind and become depressed when isolated, making the scouts the few exceptions. Scouts being the only members of the chapter that can endure extended solitude without developing problems.

 

Semi-hive-mind is good. It offers the chapter the same protection from chaos as the Tyrannids have.

 

battle-cry could be something that can not be heard with organic ears. people holding radios and possessing cybernetic replacement ears on the other hand could describe it as sounding like someones made an ancient modem angry and then given it too many combat stims.

 

I would ditch the "STC! I haz it!" thing. If there was an STC of that magnitude discovered by a 26th founding, third generation chapter then the Sub-sector would be saturated with Skitarii, Titans and suspiciously well armed ships from the Explorator Fleet. Hogging STC remnants is something you can only get away with if you are extremely selfish and 1st founding.

 

The only marines who are not on front line service are those who are too beat up to kick ass. Given how a marine can recover from most things that don't leave them dead these marines are extremely rare. That's why there are serfs, servitors, bonds-men, thralls, servants, agents, specialists and assistants. many are failed aspirants and many are people the chapter employes because they are useful. Like Astropaths, Navigators and Tech-priests.

 

Would these non-astartes be linked up to the half-hive-mind? Would they look like the skitarii or hide their alterations? would they be all natural?

 

would you connect psykers to the over-mind? because that could get interesting very quick.

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

If they were linked, would that not also mean they could fall just as easily, as the taint of Chaos could be rapidly spread throughout the chapter?

[soddinnutter]

Or if one marine in the local over-mind has the strength of will to say no and reject the temptations of chaos then this strength of will can be passed on to the other brothers.

 

Any deamon would always have to beat the strongest mind, there would be no week minds to prey upon.

[Leonaides]

QUOTE (Omega Striker @ Apr 23 2011, 04:21 PM)

Codex Astertes is full of win, all new initiates have all of it in their memory chips

 

I don't think they would use memory chips, let alone on initiates. If you remember, even the Iron Hands don't get augmented much at that stage. Also, marines have a perfect memory, if I remember correctly. You could try the teaching machines like the Space Wolves have.

 

You might want to consider that the Codex Astartes is so vast that its impossible for any one person to know it all. I recall a little bit of fluff having each marine in a Ultramarine company being resposnsible for memorising a portion of it, so that the company as a whole knows it all...

 

Even the teaching engines of the SW's wouldnt work so well, since the marines dont necessarily know that they know certian information unless they activley think about it - when you're talking about advanced tactical theory, if you dont know about it, you're unlikely to think about it...

[Omega Striker]

I see conversation has dominated a few topics, so I will step in and clarify a bit.

 

In regards to the over-mind 'Unity' idea:

Actually, you all brought up good points. I especially like the 'bones as communications antennae' because I was going to describe how bones were eventually replaced with different metals over the life of a marine. This fits perfectly. I also like the 'lower morale when alone'. One of the punishments would be radio isolation (easy enough in a big box, really)

 

And yes, in order for a demon to take one soul, there would have to be a seduction or whatever of all the marines in the deployment/company/chapter, depending on how close they are together. This is one of the chapter's greatest strengths and greatest weaknesses. Initiates don't have the communication implants, but full battle brothers do, and after 300 years of getting used to it, they can read emotions/feelings/moods of their squad like a book, and of other marines in the chapter not like a book but much better that just reading body language or facial expression. The Masters of Faith and Mind are responsible for keeping everyone free from taint and keeping the unity pure, with Soul regularly sending sermons and litanies from his ship to the whole chapter, and Mind constantly aware for chaos trying to touch the minds of marines, through the bone-sense thing officially dubbed the Unity.

 

I have a couple sidebars planned for the IA, 3 for now 4 for now.

 

The first I wanted to be a brief rundown of the sub-sector that the Adamantium Dragons are in, with the local AdMech, Ecclisiarchy, and Inquision leaders blurbed about, because the chapter is actively striving to have good relations with them, it is 'new' in the Imperial sense, and wants to earn people's trust, not coast on the reputation of the Astartes in general.

 

The second I wanted to be a brief description of the 4 "masters" mentioned earlier, how the chapter master was gifted with plasma weapons, the Master of Body was the leading cybernetics expert with an almost perfectly recreated human body (but better), and Mind and Soul are both really strong and keep the unity pure. (with psyker powers/faith).

 

The third I am going to describe a battle to avenge a fallen company captain (not the battle, but the effect of loss on the Unity, and the resulting rage and butt kicking)

 

The fourth, I want to describe the one unique piece of wargear in the chapter, the Land Raider Plasmordius. Basically a Land Raider with plasma cannons on the sides and two on the top. (fluff wise, is that possible? I looked at the vehicles in the Space Marine codex and noticed that plasma cannons are not permitted on pretty much anything but dreadnoughts.)

 

 

About some other ideas:

 

The abundance of plasma weapons:

Yes, this is a little bit of fanwank for me. :wub:

I love plasma weapons, and on the battlefield I wanted lots and lots of it. But I also want the fluff to be real, too.

 

How about this: Instead of an STC (which, after some digging, I see fall into the category of mega-awesome-stupendous-Emperor-level-awesome. I am nixing that.) I will just have the chapter master receive a vision from the Omnissiah about plasma coolant on his little 'vision crusade'. He shows the AdMech on the nearest forgeworld (luckily in the same sub-sector) and they put it under review (could be tech-heresy after all!). Meanwhile, the chapter master decides this is where the chapter will start out.

 

Is that better? I think after three hundred years of making the same three patterns of plasma weapon (pistol, rifle, cannon) that he would become very proficient. He is not designing new, improved ones, or even using new materials, other than the 'vision coolant'. It's hasn't spread throughout the Imperium because it is new (300-ish years old) and the Magos-whatever from Mars (hehe, biker magos from mars! :P )on the Forge world is still debating it to death. It is common in the chapter, though. By the time marines earn their first century stud, they have tried their hand at just about every wargear the chapter has (vehicles, weapons, armor, augments, and spaceships) and most of the time a talent for one or the other emerges. Many are almost as capable of making plasma stuff as the Chapter Master. Some may even surpass him some day.

 

Also, one of the augmentations I would cover in my Gene-seed/Augments section would be a second circulatory system that moves oils, chemicals, and the plasma coolant around to keep the heavily augmented body running. This would also keep the marine's body protected from the heat generated by plasma weapons.

 

This I hope solves the two issues that keep most chapters from deploying plasma weapons in large numbers (rarity of the guns, and the heat feedback we see on the tabletop as the Gets Hot! rule). My remaining question is this: would the AdMech be okay with the chapter as a whole making most of it's wargear? The chapter started with just a few of everything, but in time the marines learned to copy the Mars-pattern tech and make their own, not better, just more of the same.

 

 

The size of the Codex Astertes:

I have never been able to pin down a size on the CA more specific than just plain 'big' or 'comprehensive' so I guess I can instead make it available in some sort of database on each ship, with marines just downloading parts of it for personal study and use. Fixed good enough?

 

The degree to which augmentations are used, and other rantings:

I wanted this chapter to have a much higher like for augmentations than even the Iron Hands. The Iron hands are only kind of crazy (compared to other space marine chapters) and I thought that much of the chapter personality would be in their implants. Let me explain.

 

When an initiate pops out of the tube a brand new space marine, I wanted him to be given the first implants right away. Due to a gene-seed defect, the new initiates eyes would begin to deteriorate almost right away, and in a matter of decades would be completely blind. The scouts gets, as his second gift from the chapter, a set of implants: one eye, one hand, and a memory chip. I wanted this to emphasize that they love the machine even more than the Iron Hands, and are more dedicated to making their bodies one with the machine (remember the Chapter Master's personal reverence for the Omnissiah, vision quest and all).

 

The initiate gets tested on his mechanical ability in several ways, in addition to all the usual tests like psyker awareness and such (psykers are pulled out of regular training immediately and given to the master of the mind for psyker training). Their augmentation skill is measured by how well they duplicate the original eye implant for their other eye. They then take a look a making bolt pistols, rhinos, basic spaceship parts, carapace armor, and other basic basic wargear. Usually a preference or special talent emerges, and the initiate usually focuses on that to the exclusion of most else. All battle brothers keep their skills sharp, and have at least some proficiency in all of these, but they eventually are drawn to one aspect or another.

 

This means that there is a little bit of a trade market in the chapter. Someone may be good at making mechanical limbs, while another is good with eye implants. They simply make one and then swap. This means that an older battle brother may have several parts from different brothers in the chapter, yet another tie to his brothers, along with the Unity and fighting and training side by side.

 

Those that prefer spaceships are assigned to the chapter fleets as techmarines, maintaining the vast fleets that make up the Home Fleet. Many are keen with vehicles, not only making parts but speaking with a vessel's machine spirit, and are expert pilots. Others make armor, sometimes spending their whole lives making a single suit of artificer armor. Terminator armor is incredibly rare, because the AdMech asked the chapter master not to make it.

 

Sometimes a particular talent does not emerge, and so an initiate is placed in the chapter chapel, care of the Master of Soul to become a new chaplain. They temper their spirits as others temper metal and focus on keeping themselves free from heresy and taint. They become very obsessed with protecting the chapter, because they have to get all their wargear from their battle brothers. This makes the chaplains opportunities to become acquainted with many, seeking out many of their brothers for augments while dispensing spiritual advice and checking for taint.

 

 

 

 

Okay, so that should be enough for now. Comment away!

[soddinnutter]

you could get away with each marine being a tech-adept if they were the sort of crazy isolationists that make the Ad-Mech look outgoing.

 

This isolationism would be a logical conclusion as the oldest commandment of the Omnissiah is 'Suffer not the machine that thinks like a man' and your chapter is approaching that from the other side.

 

That is not to say that they do not get along with the Children of Mars. They Cog-Heads might not know. All they know is that when ever they send for help its these technophiles that turn up and that's just dandy because it gives them something to chatter about. No need for them to realise that the elders of the chapter have less flesh than a prawn cracker.

 

I suppose that's the good thing about living on a space ship, you can control what your visitors see to a greater extent.

 

The Inquisition should know that something non-standard is going on. They are by nature inquisitive after all. But would that know the extent of things? And which faction would know and exploit this knowledge for personal gain?

 

Having some new weapons and vehicles derived from pre-existing STC remnants is fine. the most obvious precedent is the Land Raider Crusader of the Black Tempelars, their tech-marines came up with the idea by mixing up the designs of other tanks and the Ad-mech sanctioned it after centuries of arguments and field testing.

 

I doubt if you would be able to get anything but grudging respect from the Ecclesiarchy. Your chapter would be worshiping the Emperor in his aspect of the Machine God after all.

 

They could be all tech'ed up because a tech-magos who owed the Red Talons big favors, as in saved a forge-world type big, agreed to go and assist the founding.

 

Just a quick thing to note, the Iron Hands gene-seed is not flawed. There have been no confirmed reports of degradation. The Flesh Is Weak thing that the children of Mannus have going is just an excuse to replace bits of themselves with metal. It's a fetish of theirs.

 

Also if they have enough brain alterations they may be able to, at will, switch off the bit of the brain responsible for pain and concisely edit their own memories. This would make them all but immune to interrogation and torture. Also if they ever fought alongside the Grey Knights then i imagine the mid-scrubbing they practice would not have worked. Which could earn them the resentment of the denizens of Titan.

 

on the recruitment world thing i would shy away from giving them clasifications like 'feudal' world and 'church' world. Feudal is the system of government and although it paints pictures of medieval in the mind it is not set in stone. The isle of Sark was a feudal state all the way up to 2008 and that was the very height of civility.

 

And 'Church' world just sounds stupid. a world with a theocratic government is a better way of putting it. not everyone can be members of the clergy. who would tend the fusion reactors, the plankton farms, the water reclamation system and be conscripted into the Guard Tithe? In the same way that Cadia, all though owned and run by the military, as an abundance of jobs that are not soldiering.

 

A Forge World is just a world owed and inhabited by the Mechanicus. They could vary as much any other world. Hive worlds don't have to be hell and look like smog covered cesspits. The locals could have taken to planting gardens of the tops of the spires and hab-blocks and such and now the world looks green and idyllic. It could be peaceful, the Underhives were never allowed to get out of hand in the first place and so they are no the lawless scum-holes that other worlds are.

 

Does the local forge world let you recruit from its labor stock? They don't have to, bear in mind, not being part of the Imperium.

 

How does the chapter view the average human? How does the average person view the Dragons?

[Omega Striker]

Okay, questions and responses, and then I blurb about sub-sector ________________ and the Chapter Fleet!!!!!

 

Okay, so a few things from soddinnutter, who had a lot of good questions, points, and comments.

 

You could get away with each marine being a tech-adept if they were the sort of crazy isolationists that make the Ad-Mech look outgoing. This isolationism would be a logical conclusion as the oldest commandment of the Omnissiah is 'Suffer not the machine that thinks like a man' and your chapter is approaching that from the other side. That is not to say that they do not get along with the Children of Mars. They Cog-Heads might not know. All they know is that when ever they send for help its these technophiles that turn up and that's just dandy because it gives them something to chatter about. No need for them to realise that the elders of the chapter have less flesh than a prawn cracker. I suppose that's the good thing about living on a space ship, you can control what your visitors see to a greater extent. They could be all tech'ed up because a tech-magos who owed the Red Talons big favors, as in saved a forge-world type big, agreed to go and assist the founding.

 

I condensed it a little to save space and summarize better.

 

Okay, all god points and incorporated into the chapter. I especially like the "prawn cracker" analogy, since yes, their "lead techmarine" (master of augmentation, technically) actually has successfully replaced everything organic in his body (a serious no-no), other chapter elders are very close to that, and that their Fortress Monastary ship is actually sentient, and talks. It started out as just a monolithically big machine spirit, but being in tune with hundreds of marines through the Unity (the ship has a secondary frame made from the same stuff their bone replacements are, was originally used to conduct the Unity through the whole ship, the ship just picked up on it, too) pushed it over the "line" between sentient and just really big machine animal spirit. So they taught the ship high and low gothic, and it kind of pretends to have a techmarine speaking somewhere, but the chapter reveres it as another gift from the Omnissiah just like the plasma vision. Hooray tech-heresy!

 

So the commandment to not make smart machines is actually being broken both ways. The Chapter knows it, the ship knows it, and the AdMech doesn't. They dance a fine line there, I know, but that actually makes some of the things I want to do in the future easier. [sarcasm] Hooray excomm'd loyalists! :lol: [/sarcasm]

 

 

Again from soddinnutter:

 

The Inquisition should know that something non-standard is going on. They are by nature inquisitive after all. But would that know the extent of things? And which faction would know and exploit this knowledge for personal gain? Also if they have enough brain alterations they may be able to, at will, switch off the bit of the brain responsible for pain and concisely edit their own memories. This would make them all but immune to interrogation and torture. Also if they ever fought alongside the Grey Knights then i imagine the mid-scrubbing they practice would not have worked. Which could earn them the resentment of the denizens of Titan. I doubt if you would be able to get anything but grudging respect from the Ecclesiarchy. Your chapter would be worshiping the Emperor in his aspect of the Machine God after all.

 

Lots of good points, Ecclesiarchy would not approve. They do fight next to each other from time to time, so there is a Canoness that has a 'bolter porn crush' on one of the company captains, but that just makes the relationship between the chapter and the ecclesiarchy that much more fragile. She wonders why he is so bionic. Lots of fights and lost limbs is the official story, but no one except one of those damn nosy inquisitors even suspects ritual augmentation.

 

The inquisition knows about the memory and other brain implants perfected by the Body Master. And yeah, the Grey Knights don't like the Adamantium dragons very much IN THEORY. The grey knights have never worked alongside them, thank goodness, or the grey knights might have gotten on to the Unity and how the chapter can communicate empathically (the grey knights would have been able to feel emotions in one marine spread to the others in a squad or company). As it is, only the Xenos-minded inquisitors are in the sub-sector, so they are relatively safe there. I could have a psyker-inquisitor show up and ask a bunch of uncomfortable questions. That may be a good plot device.

 

Again, from the comment:

 

Just a quick thing to note, the Iron Hands gene-seed is not flawed. There have been no confirmed reports of degradation. The Flesh Is Weak thing that the children of Mannus have going is just an excuse to replace bits of themselves with metal. It's a fetish of theirs.

I know, I read the table. I just wanted a genuine excuse to get the initiates to hop on the augmentation wagon. I will retcon and just say that it is a cover up of sorts, that the Master of Body and Chapter Master want all their recruits to start believing that their bodies age faster than other marines, so they augment them more. Good stuff.

 

And the last few lines:

 

On the recruitment world thing i would shy away from giving them clasifications like 'feudal' world and 'church' world. Feudal is the system of government and although it paints pictures of medieval in the mind it is not set in stone. The isle of Sark was a feudal state all the way up to 2008 and that was the very height of civility.

 

And 'Church' world just sounds stupid. a world with a theocratic government is a better way of putting it. not everyone can be members of the clergy. who would tend the fusion reactors, the plankton farms, the water reclamation system and be conscripted into the Guard Tithe? In the same way that Cadia, all though owned and run by the military, as an abundance of jobs that are not soldiering.

 

A Forge World is just a world owed and inhabited by the Mechanicus. They could vary as much any other world. Hive worlds don't have to be hell and look like smog covered cesspits. The locals could have taken to planting gardens of the tops of the spires and hab-blocks and such and now the world looks green and idyllic. It could be peaceful, the Underhives were never allowed to get out of hand in the first place and so they are no the lawless scum-holes that other worlds are.

 

Does the local forge world let you recruit from its labor stock? They don't have to, bear in mind, not being part of the Imperium.

 

How does the chapter view the average human? How does the average person view the Dragons?

 

All this will be handled in my next blurb about the Sub Sector. I thought I had the paper notes I wrote down with me, but it turns out I will have to go home before I can blurb. Sorry everyone. Just wait about 4 more hours and I can get all your concerns about the Imperial environment around the Chapter answered, and hopefully continue to get excellent commentary on my sub-sector creation.

 

Till then, loyal astartes,

Omega Striker

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

A quick thing on flawed/not flawed. Just because the Iron Hands geneseed is flawed, doesn't mean your chapter's geneseed isn't flawed. Something could happen to it in the vaults/during transport, there could be a minor defect brought out by the enviroment, etc.

[soddinnutter]

What sort of AI has the ship got, how smart is it and how much direct control has it got over its own body?

 

Could it target and fire it's own weapons on a whim? If so for what reason would a crew be needed? besides repair and maintenance.

 

Can it talk to multiple people at once whilst maintaining the automatic systems of the ship? How 'intelligent' is it? Are we talking Holly (Red Dwarf) or are we talking The Machine Overlord from the Matrix.

 

What sort of personality would it have? Helpful and slightly child-like like Sunny from I, Robot or something a little darker like GLADoS from Portal or, God forbid, Bob form Tripping the Rift?

 

Given that it's own mind could be resonating to the echoes of its brothers how would a psyker see it?

[Chapter Master Ignis Domus]

Wait, did I hear the cursed word "AI"? All AI's have been completely banned by the Mechanicus as evil, heretical things. I do not, repeat, do not, recommend this. Period. Ever. In the whole world. Never. Don't give me any 'Never Say Never' stuff, or I'll chuck a water bottle at you. :D <_<

[Omega Striker]

Oh, boy. It seems I have kicked a hornet's nest. That means questions answered. Then on to Sub sector Agarial! (again, If I have time)

 

First, in response to Chapter Master Ignis Domus (see, I can spell your name correctly! :mellow: )

 

The gene seed isn't actually flawed, but everyone thinks it is, because that is what a few of the chapter elders (Keeper of the Body, mostly) are telling everyone. They haven't been called up for gene seed tithes yet, so Mars hasn't really gotten after them, yet, either. It's just a rumor that they age faster than normal, perpetuated to get their augmentation on.

 

On to the big one, from two posters this time:

 

The AI is not an AI like any of those examples you gave. It's just a huge, smart machine spirit. And yes, it can pilot itself (but not make warp jumps) and shoot (along with target acquisition and everything else that goes with that). It can keep the ship running at optimum, with advice from several techmarines who are ship specialists.

 

I was actually planning on something like ***SPOILER ALERT!**** President Eden from Fallout 3. Able to talk, recognize faces, run a hell of a lot of sub-systems, pilot, shoot, and all that. Remember that it's "brain" is all the cogitators and stuff on a Fortress Monastary, so it can do quite a lot.

 

It still needs navigators to warp jump, techmarines to repair and care for the individual systems (organs, if you will)(kind of like white blood cells that were trained in the ways of the Omnissiah) It also needs a cover story, because it knows the creed of the Omnissiah (technically it's just stored on memory banks aboard the ship, but it can figure out what would happen if it ever decided to do it's own thing). There's also an Explorator fleet docked at the nearest forge world, so it must tread lightly and pretend to be a good ship or it and everybody on it is a goner.

 

Personality wise, it's actually somewhere between a land raider and a techmarine, because that is what it experiences the most. Quiet, reserved, angry in a fight, etc. It's a machine spirit that received awareness, and has since modeled it's personality off of the people it sees the most. It 'speaks' through servitors or other systems, and the vox channel on board the ship isn't exactly scrutinized closely to see that some comms originate nowhere. At first it was a child, but now (now being 999M41 or whatever) it would be more like a 30 year old Jew hiding from Germans. Cuz that's what it's like. The AdMech already had a "night of broken glass" with smart machines, so the ship is laying low.

 

Sorry if that comparison brings up pain for anybody, but that is a pretty darn accurate and vivid summary of the situation.

 

When non-chapter techmarines are on board, actively looking at the ship, it pretends to be a regular ship. It still has memories of when it was non-sentient, so it can fake it pretty good. But the ship is maintained curiously well, almost like the Master of the Forge can receive detailed diagnostics from the ship that pinpoint system errors....

 

Well, I spent all my time talking about the ship and didn't get to talk about the sub sector. Drat. Well, I will get on that soon. It's just harder without a laptop to call my own.

 

best wishes brothers,

OmegaStriker