IA: Knights Valiant notes

[PorridgeMeister]

NOTE: these bare-bones notes are what my rather sporadic brain has been brewing for several months for my DIY Chapter, the Knights Valiant. These are specifically intended for participants of the Liber Astartes Campaign so that they may get a rough flavour of the Chapter. However, by no means, should only said people should reply to this; so any C&C is welcome. :P

 

Obviously, these notes are not intended to be a complete IA and are certainly not final. As the weeks go on, more stuff will be uploaded - this is also

 

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Origins:

- Founded in the Fourth Founding.

- Founder: Captain Artir Lyyons of the Fifth Company of the +Under Consideration+ Chapter

> said founder had huge impact on the nature and character of the Chapter. the rest is mostly WIP ATM --- will be ready to be uploaded soon

 

History:

WIP

 

Homeworld:

- called Mengelwyr in the tongue of the natives and subsequently the Chapter.

- feral world

- largely covered in giant forests and rough seas

- natives live in underground communities deep in the forests

> therefore the Chapter have unusually strong bonds both internally and with their brother Chapters, but can be reluctant to accept help from non-Astartes unless they have earned the respect of the Knights

- in times of strife, the groups are united by their chiefs and form militia companies referred to as the "Gallows" or "Gaels" in the native language

> this gives their name to the terminator-elite of the Chapter

- the Fortress-Monastery of the Knights is in the giant mountainous plateaus to the far north of the planet

 

Gene-heritage:

- haven't decided on this at the moment - several possibilities: (can you guys tell me what you think?)

> Ultramarine gene-seed (through the Sons of Orar)

> +REDACTED+ gene-seed (through the Storm Wardens)

- purities/impurities of the gene-seed depends on which one I choose (obviously).

 

Organisation:

- Organised according to the Codex.

- There are ten companies, but the Veteran Company is not numbered - the Second Company of other Chapters is referred to as the First and the Third as the Second etc.

 

Combat Doctrine:

- Generally tries to adhere to the Codex Astartes in terms of combat doctrine.

- Has a preference to close-ranged combat where the Knights can prove their strength

> (if Storm Warden successors they use armoured assault tactics as well)

- Veteran Company

 

Beliefs:

- WIP

 

Notable members:

- Artir Lyyons, First Master (will be covered in the Origins fluff - dead)

- Chapter Master Cerin Maglos (dead); WIP ATM

- Ancient Kalgak, of Kuis Stretch fame (for his story, tune into BBC Radio 4 the Liber Astartes Campaign - alive; entombed in Dreadnought)

- Grand Chaplain Fergas Nils (alive); re-kindled the spirit of the Chapter after the de-moralising Third Corvantis Conflict

 

Heraldry:

- two uniforms:

> battle colours - dark blue trimmed with a lighter blue

> ceremonial colours - Cadian green with gold trimming (for exact green look at avatar)

- Chapter symbol/emblem: under consideration, but will definitely feature a sword

[Nemesor]

Hi there. I guess you're shooting for a Celt-Knight fusion sort of theme? Couldn't help but notice my own surname being very similar to your first master's, and my name is Irish.

 

I don't see anything wrong with Lyyons having a big impact on the character of the Chapter, to be honest, so long as you execute it right. The whole homeworld bit looks okay, couldn't really criticise that til it gets fleshed out a bit more.

 

As for their gene-heritage, it's a tough one. If you go Guilliman via Sons of Orar, doesn't that mean that Lyyons would have come from the Sons of Orar too? If that was the case, wouldn't he have made them very codex-adherent? From what we can gather they're very close to their Ultramarine forefathers, so I can't see them being very divergent.

 

That said, Storm Wardens seem to be thematically pretty easy to relate to your Chapter, and I'm sure their unknown gene-seed won't be a problem. Plenty of other Chapters don't seem to know where they come from. For example, the Blood Ravens. The Storm Wardens have an examplary history, and I see no reason why the High Lords would refuse to create successors from them based on what we know of the Chapter.

 

Your organisation isn't too divergent to draw suspicion, but it has a little flavour, which is good. The preference for close combat is again workable, and adds to the overall feel of this Chapter. Being Storm Wardens successors doesn't necessitate using identical tactics, though. Armoured assault would only really be heavily favoured by those with an extensive armoury.

 

My main question is why have two colour schemes? And when are they displayed? You have to remember that Astartes are very superstitious about their armour, and repainting for example is feared to insult the machine-spirit, plus there's the matter of practicality. Why not use just one colour scheme, combine the two, or have one used for veterans/captains, and the other for everyone else?

 

Otherwise it's looking good so far, and I look forward to seeing you flesh this out, with time and effort this looks like it could become an interesting article.