IA: Night Angels

[Zynk Kaladin]

Alright, I have a feeling I am getting closer and closer to refining the Origins of the Night Angels. I think I have everything I wanted in my origins nailed down well enough to fit within this crazy universe of WH40K. Of course, minor details will need to be tweaked...

 

This question is still up, too:

 

Would Lord Admiral Quarren (dude who commands the Imperial fleet against the 13th Black Crusade) seek or accept advice from a chapter master on fleet strategy/tactics? I'm assuming he gets input from a lot of officers, but would Astartes fall under this too?

[NightrawenII]

Would Lord Admiral Quarren (dude who commands the Imperial fleet against the 13th Black Crusade) seek or accept advice from a chapter master on fleet strategy/tactics? I'm assuming he gets input from a lot of officers, but would Astartes fall under this too?

On GW site, there is BFG article about Third War of Armageddon in pdf format. In there is description of interaction between human admiral and High Marshal Helbrecht of Black Templars. You should read it.

[Zynk Kaladin]

I did not find that exact article (I'll keep searching later, though), but I did learn how badarse the Black Templars are. Grimaldus and the Hight Marshal are real Astartes. I am very interested in their fluff now.

 

Other than that, I learned Space Marine naval battles are geared more towards boarding actions, which obviously makes sense. I always pictured them fighting a short ranged combat ship to ship battles as well. I think I have a more firm grasp on what roles Astartes play in boarding actions. My Night Angels have a "rule the skies" mentality so I would like to apply that to space as well. As such, their chapter master and master of the fleet are excellent fleet strategists and would be able to contribute much to the fleet battles of the 13th Black Crusade. Now how to apply this in a cool and meaningful way against Abaddon's forces... hmmm...

 

Of course the Angels descended on Cadia; their mission is clear. But explaining a fleet engagement that shows the tact and skill of my chapter is going to take some more thinking.

[Zynk Kaladin]

More edits... and pretty headers! If the picture's colors look not very blended please tell me. I did some photoshop work on my laptop and I forgot the pictures always look terrible, for whatever reason, on a different screen. I'm away from my desktop now so I can't check and fix it :P

 

I'm probably going to take out the Organization section as I near my final draft.

[InquisitorHayn]

I was browsing your IA and throughout the reading, I think the one thing that struck me the most is how starkly it resembles an old western film. Good guys and bad guys. Good guy can't help but save the damsel in distress, even though it puts him in a perilous position. But he's going to win anyway.

 

I like the Angels theme and there's nothing wrong with nobility but, in the grim darkness of the far future, they're just not very believable. Too much black and white hides the human element of the story which, being humans, is what readers relate to. Now, I'm not saying you should change your whole setup. I just think that you need to add a little grey here and there. Maybe the Night Angels have made some questionable choices in the past. Maybe, and incredibly likely, their close resemblance to the Night Lords has an effect on the perceptions of outside organizations. Perhaps once, in an attempt to save a world that had been previously ravaged by the Night Lords, a city's populace turned on the Night Angels in fear and panic, forcing the Marines to lay waste to the confused mortals in self-defense.

 

I think many of us love the image of knights in shining armor but, in reality, the coolest and most relatable are more like the Magnificent Seven. Dirty, fearless and self-serving, with a hint of hero buried underneath.

[Zynk Kaladin]

I know exactly what you mean and this grey area which works so perfectly is a problem I often have trouble addressing, which is why I'd make a terrible author. I thought I did enough with the slaughter of millions of Imperial citizens under the "Dawn of the Night" section, something that has both haunted the Night Angels and inspired them to be the "good guys". Maybe I just wasn't convincing enough or it wasn't bad enough to effect the chapter so greatly...

 

I do need to spice it up a bit. Slaughtering millions of citizens in fear of Chaos was a pretty lazy way of approaching this situation. Though I definitely still have trouble with the grim darkness motif of 40k. Maybe it's just my personality, but I can't fathom a galaxy without even some minute ray of hope. Even in WH40k there's still hope so long as one pure of heart human remains; at least in my opinion. I'm too optimistic.

 

I appreciate your thoughts.

 

As a side note, I read your IA before and didn't have much to add to it. I really liked it.

[CKO]

I like the Night Angels but it seems like something I have seen before, one of those chapters that changes its ways because of a defeat theme.

[CKO]

I like the Night Angels but it seems like something I have seen before, one of those chapters that changes its ways because of a defeat theme.

[InquisitorHayn]

As a side note, I read your IA before and didn't have much to add to it. I really liked it.

Thank you, Zynk. You are far too kind.

 

And I think I may know something that might help. The problem is not that 40k is devoid of all hope. Far from it. In fact, hope and honor and glory and all those fluffy things are what keep the galaxy from being torn apart. The Imperium of Man, in many heavily exaggerated ways, is like our own world and I think if you look at it in those terms you will see that the grey exists everywhere.

 

For instance, take a major metropolitan city of your choice. Bright, shining capitols of industry and commerce. In order for them to function, thousands and even millions toil day in and day out with the reward of maintaining their current existence. Some are perfectly happy with this. Others are not. Your everyday Imperial citizens.

 

So many people in one place invariably means there is an elevated level of criminal activity. Theft, poverty, murder, and all number of unspeakable things occur in the dark places where even law enforcement fear to tread. Hive Gangers.

 

Citizens who live their everyday lives in the midst of bitter war between opposing forces that have little concern for them. Select peoples of the Middle East and southeast Asia are living in the grim darkness of the now.

 

And yet, there are numberless beautiful and wondrous things in our imperfect and conflicted world. There are also men of honor who fight evil for the sake of good.

 

So, you see, the best writing is not something that must be created from air. It is drawn from life itself. Here. In our world. The challenge we face as authors is to stop filtering the world down to what we wish it to be. That world cannot exist, or else it would. It is ours to combine all the elements of life into an epic tale as the weaver turns many strands into an elaborate tapestry. Many pieces toward one purpose.

 

You and I, friend, we'll get there. It just takes practice.

[Zynk Kaladin]

I couldn't have said it any better even if I tried and thank you for the kind and inspirational words. I'll try to apply some more thought to rereading your IA; the angel in me feels honor-bound to improve yours as well. ;)

 

I'll keep this theme in mind when I gloss over my IA with more grey. I'd like to mind dump some ideas:

 

My next step is to think of something that would effect my chapter more negatively. Since the home world was ruled by an aristocracy (before the young fleet captain executed the nobles and took power) under one powerful ruler, I can picture rampart corruption and injustice to the common citizen for many millenia. This is at odds with Night Angels doctrine and I can see many of the chapter's achievements with the common citizen undone by their arrogance. From an Astartes perspective I can see how they can relate to and respect an Imperial soldier but have a hard time understanding the strife of a normal life. I suppose it's like a constant struggle for the Night Angels to do good until they finally are finally on the road to getting it right in the 41st millenia at the start of the downfall of mankind.

 

I like the Night Angels but it seems like something I have seen before, one of those chapters that changes its ways because of a defeat theme.

 

I'm sure plenty of other 2nd rate IAs like mine in particular took this lazy approach and perhaps the others were much smarter about it. Now that I think about it, I have a vague memory of a few others with the defeat theme. I admit I'm not very original and a good portion of my ideas are "borrowed" and remolded to fit my needs. Regardless of my rambling, I'm glad you like my chapter!

[Zynk Kaladin]

More edits as noted in the first post. Nothing big.

 

I am having trouble finding interesting ideas to make my chapter more "grey". The Night Angels are an angelic and noble chapter friendly to the Imperial guard and Navy and bearers of all those good feelings for the average Imperial citizen... great, happy feelings.

 

My "grey areas" so far seem to be:

 

1) their troubling past with mass executions of people for fear of Chaos taint

2) their arrogance due to their "royal" nature (sticks up their butt type arrogance)

 

I think I have capitalized on the "white" aspects of my chapter making the "black" aspects harder to nail down. I'm at a loss for ideas. InquisitorHayn gave me a pretty good idea, thanks! However, can I get some ideas on how to make my chapter more believable or better yet, strategies to approach making a chapter more "grey" and believable? I'd appreciate it.

[InquisitorHayn]

Are you still working on this? I was out of the game for a while, but I read through the changes you made and I think it's definitely coming along. The early sections are a little too heavily focused on Atreidus, I think, but the hatred and paranoia are definitely intriguing.

 

Cheers!

[Zynk Kaladin]

Are you still working on this? I was out of the game for a while, but I read through the changes you made and I think it's definitely coming along. The early sections are a little too heavily focused on Atreidus, I think, but the hatred and paranoia are definitely intriguing.

 

Cheers!

 

Good that you dug this up from the dark tombs of Liber. Recently I've been itching to reform my IA because I have a much more interesting tonal shift in my chapter that I've been dissecting. Also, I've finally decided to use Sanguinius's gene seed to spice up the angely part of everything.

 

Basically, the theme is Angels and Daemons. Not actual daemons, but a darker, more psychotic side of the Night Angels. For example, I'm thinking of having Night Angel servitors or cherub like things look like this.

 

The more angelic-leaning astartes of the chapter seek to inspire Imperial citizenry through noble deeds on the battlefield. These guys are pious, dutiful, noble and all the other aspects that make up a "good" space marine. Generally, they are more cool headed and grounded in complex strategy and doctrine compared to the other side of the chapter. In short, think Ultramarines, Blood Angels, etc.

 

The more "daemonic"-leaning astartes of the chapter seek to bring death wherever they are pointed and let loose. These space marines are monstrous in close combat and down right crazy. Think Flesh Tearers.

 

I'm pressed for time so my explanation isn't sufficient right now. But the Night Angels have an inner struggle of whether they want to lean "good" or lean "bad".

[ChaptermasterDemon7]

Very nice IA you have. Seems both of us are working on our IAs.

[Zynk Kaladin]

Very nice IA you have. Seems both of us are working on our IAs.

 

Thanks man! I'll be on Liber more often so I'll drop some comments or ideas in your IA if you still need feedback. :D

[InquisitorHayn]

Sounds like a cool new plan. And making familiars that look like those daemons is an awesome idea. Can't wait to see what you do.

[ChaptermasterDemon7]

I am going to need feedback for mine, since I am on version 4 of the Blood Guardians.