The Red Shields WIP

[thade]

It's been a while since I posted on my chapter; while I'm no stranger to writing, being creative in the bounds of someone else's IP is something that's been more than a challenge for me. I'll probably never write the flavor text, as it were, for my chapter...but I really like being able to answer questions when asked, and I have a definite idea of who they are and where they are coming from. Anyway, I'd like to post the current state of my thoughts on it and get some criticism and feedback to help me hammer and fold it further towards a solid, real thing. I use this background to explain why each game takes place, forming as cohesive a narrative as possible. It's a part of the fun for me.

 

My chapter are of the 7th Founding and succeed the Salamanders, but other than a preference for the Land Raider Redeemer and a few of them having the black skin (due to visiting the Sallie homeworld) they now have little in common with their parents. They have a Forgefather (a Reclusiarch) and are seeking Vulkan's relics. They believe they have found one: the Obsidian Chariot.

 

The best short description of them is actually not mine; it was a gift from one of you (from the last thread):

 

Here is my impression of your chapter. Your marines are extremely zealous and fiery, perhaps drawing strength from ritual acts of castigating their flesh or hours spent in prayer, kneeling on benches made of sharpened iron, to inure themselves against the sins of the body. Your loyalty is to the master of mankind, and in his name you march into the fires of war, choosing death before even considering the sin of retreat. You have fought against the blasphemous enemies of man and, whether wrapped in warp sorcery or xeno skin, you have found them both loathsome. You have no master but the emperor and your forge-father, and Vulkan, though a great warrior, was still just a man. In their primarch's absence, the salamanders have fallen from his crusading light, becoming less than they once were. The presence of the Obsidian Chariot proves to your chapter that the Emperor favors you, and you will use it to harry his foes into oblivion. In recognition of your many acts of heroism, facing near annihilation at the hands of the enemy, the inquisition has blessed you and your righteous wrath, declaring you a cherished weapon of intolerance which will sweep away the fell threats that seek to drown the Emperor's realm in unwholesome darkness.

 

My Chapter is on the brink of annihilation, with only 160-ish marines remaining (as well as enough support staff for one battle barge). They've been on their vengeance/suicide mission for a while, and by virtue of their Apothecarion (they always field two to three apothecaries to see them home, one way or another), their mettle, and their special ship, they have survived and started to grow. Slowly though; Scouts always die when I field them.

 

The ship is a slightly under-sized battle barge; it's very old Imperium Tech and it's machine spirit refers to itself as "bearing the faithful, wrapped in darkness": the ship has a cloaking mechanism. It's not well understood, but it still works, and it accounts for how my Chapter has survived as well as why my buddy - who fields Ahriman - has been hammering on my marines for so long. My marines are convinced they have found one of Vulkan's relics: the Obsidian Chariot. The Salamanders disagree, but want it for themselves anyway. The Salamanders also want to absorb what's left of my Chapter, given their size and the sheer unlikelihood they can be restored. My marines refuse: they would view that as fleeing the challenge they've been presented; by the Emperor, they will not fail.

 

Where they found the Obsidian Chariot (it's what they call it, whether or not that's what it actually is) I've left ambiguous; I guess I've always assumed they found it crashed on a massive space hulk that they scoured clean of demons. They got there a matter of months before Ahriman, who has hounded them for many, many centuries.

 

Before Ahriman tricked them into a pincer attack between his Thousand Sons and a Tyrannid clean-up force (reducing them to their current state) I took a GK unit as allies constantly. I haven't worked out why, precisely (other than the clear advantage of hitch-hiking on a cloaking ship). Given the frequency of the alliances, I maintain that my marines weren't all memory-wiped...but I'm not sure how well I can justify that. Currently it's a hand-waivy "they found something truly evil and just handed it over; were clearly not the slightest corrupted by it". My marines are the Malakim of 40k: they cannot fall. (At least, the ones that are still alive.)

 

Homeworld

 

Their homeworld, Eodondis Prime, was scoured clean by Tyranids. While my marines fought valiantly, an untimely arrival of Ahriman's forces sealed the fate of their world and almost their chapter. The only ship that was able to escape destruction was the Obsidian Chariot. This defeat weighs very heavily on my chapter; as such they have hunted for Ahriman since (finding no trace of him).

 

Structure

 

The only companies with enough survivors to endure are the first, second, and fourth. All others were either wiped out completely or to so few marines that those remaining where officially "transferred". Company structure has become largely irrelevant though. With so few marines, everybody knows everybody and they all work together.

 

The only non-Codex Astartes thing is how my heavy weapons teams work. No tactical squad member uses heavy weapons; instead, members of the Devastator teams in each company are allocated as needed to tactical squads. Typical tactical squad load-out is only boltguns with an occasional special weapon (most to least frequent, meltagun, flamer, plasma gun); every squad that is not devoted to heavy weapons usage carries a power fist as standard issue. My surviving techmarines are very skilled at repairing those things.

 

I use the BA codex so I can field apothecaries en masse (which makes sense for the Chapter); otherwise the only BA-centric things I use are fast Rhino chassises and occasionally Mephiston. No Sanguinary Guard, no Death Company, no Baal Predators, no Storm Ravens, no other special characters...nothing else. I field more tacticals and devastators than assault teams, and rarely use jump packs. As for the Red Thirst, it is how I account for my chapter's border-line insane bravado and zeal. They literally refuse to run, even if makes tactical sense. They are also brutal in melee, as they've been hardened over centuries of fighting Tyrannids in hand-to-hand. This is also why the Apothecarion insists on at least two of its field operatives being part of each deployment: my boys are fiery and they have to make it home.

 

Characters

 

My Chapter doesn't have a Chapter Master, per se; it's run by a council of vets. Asryndall, the Chief Apothecary, the Forgefather, Dornkirk, Zemus, and Vito.

 

I have a Librarian in Terminator Armor that holds before him a book with the names of each of the Chapter's dead (a counts-as Storm Shield). His name is Asryndall and he always has Str 10 (Sanguine Sword) and Preferred Enemy (Unleashed Rage, I think) regardless of mission type. He's felled all but one walker that he's gone toe-to-toe with...and there have been many.

 

I now have an Apothecary in TDA (a Sanguine Priest counts-as) whom I haven't named yet; he is my Chief Apothecary and is going to start seeing the field frequently. Reason being is that my Vanguard Vets have a tendency to get messed up even if they do well in a game, and as my defacto command squad, it's important that they get home.

 

My chapter's Forgefather is a Reclusiarch; the last survivor of the 6th. He has little understanding of the technology, of course (he's not a techmarine), but as the last surviving chaplain he's brought every member of the chapter closer together, successfully ridding the Red Shield's of the typical schism between the techmarines and marines proper. He's a marvelous speaker and spiritual leader, and a fanatic and vicious combatant. Every single time I have fielded him he has ended up alone, fighting something ridiculous and huge (a Dread, a Demon Prince, a full nasty unit, etc) and beating it. He also goes down the same moment his target goes down. So consistent it's funny and has given him character in my eyes. My marines have taken to calling him Vulkan (much in the same way the Salamanders refer to He'stan)

 

Dornkirk is my Mephiston counts-as. He's my chapter's chief librarian. Dornkirk's isn't a recluse by any means, but his psychic powers are so substantial it's easy to single him out on the field; he literally glows and crackles on the battlefield.

 

Zemus is a squad Sergeant, 2nd Company, and one of the few surviving members of the Chapter to have been to the Salamander homeworld (i.e. black skin, red eyes). He'd be promoted to Captain were it the case they had more marines to lead.

 

Captain Vito is the last surviving member of the 5th Company. He's a melee veteran for which I have two models. A power armor model where he dual-wields thunder hammers, and terminator armor where he dual-wields lightning claws.

 

My chapter is the Red Shields, and as such I've used a Vanguard as my "command squad" since the beginning...so I can get a decent number of Shield Bearers (guys with storm shields and nothing else) on the table. They never fly; they use the Land Raider. Typically Asryndall rides with them.

 

I have a Calgar counts-as and a Telion counts-as, both of which I can no longer use with my new Codex. In my mind one or both of them have been conscripted by the Deathwatch (just prior to the massive losses my chapter sustained). Alternatively, they're both dead...but I prefer to think of them as "away".

 

Activity

 

Despite their lack of mass, they are no less effective at small incursions and scalpel-style strikes. To that end, the Ordo Hereticus and Ordo Malleus have each taken turns making requests of my Chapter to perform various tasks. Everything from training skirmishes (games against those armies) and dangerous retrieval missions ("Go to this hot zone, drop right in the middle, and extract this thing.")

 

What began as their death knell has become their road to recovery. While not actively seeking a world to come home, they are always in the most dangerous of environments, and so they've picked up more than a few potential recruits which may see the field before long. A fortunate recent find of Salamander gene-seed stock (which they've not brought to the attention of their parent chapter) has them well on their way to growing.

 

Detachments

 

I have two general formats for my lists which account for the surviving companies.

 

1st + 2nd Company detachment have my command team (either geared at as Vanguard or Tactical Terminators...same characters, different equipment), Asryndall, and a lot of tacticals and Devastators.

 

The 4th Company detachment is often lead by their Forgefather. This detachment often involves Dreads (at least two) and jump marines.

 

The chapter has only one functional Land Raider and only one functional Vindicator. They have the parts to refit one of their five surviving Rhinos to serve as a Whirlwind in a pinch, but that's it for tanks. Detachments take them as is needed. There's only one ship, so both detachments are often involved in the same conflict...just different regions on whatever planet they're on.

 

I'm currently planning out a third detachment: a new 9th company. It will involve a lot of scouts, both on bikes and with boltguns, and Tacticals/Dreads in Drop Pods. An alpha-strike list with the BA dex...and the only jump team will be an "Honor Guard"...jump packs and plasma guns for everybody.

 

If you read all of that...thank you. ;) I hope it wasn't too painful. So...what about my chapter's back story screams "dumb", "heard it", or "unbelievable"? Thanks in advance.

 

EDITS: Added Homeworld and Activity sections.

[Hells Guardian]

I love how much character your individual characters seem to have, I have an assault sergeant who has killed about 4-5 carnifexes and so I know how personality can develop just by how the roll of the die goes. I really like the backstory and how the sallies want to absorb them due to 'recruitment levels' ;) would love to see some colour pictures of the marines on here, and maybe like some information and how they fight and maybe a short piece of writing describing a particular battle, information about homeworld would be cool too just looking forward to seeing more really :down:

[thade]

Thanks. :down: They don't have a homeworld; they're "fleet based" (i.e. one ship) and on the market for a recruiting world, as it were. I figure once I get these three scout units painted I'll figure that aspect out.

 

I've got some pics, I'll post em when I can.