dragonknight4275 Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Whoo! It's definitely been a LONG time since I posted something in here. Brings back good memories........Anyway, I'm here with the Index Astartes of my new DIY Chapter, the Knights of Baal. As the name suggests, I use Blood Angel rules for this Chapter, and I have a color scheme out figured out too. I've been working on this Chapter for about a month, and I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out. Read over it, and don't be shy to point out anything that seems weird to you. If you see any grammar mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me about those either! So without further ado, Index Astartes: Knights of Baal The Knights of Baal were created in the unstated Founding of M37 from the gene-seed of the angelic Primarch Sanguinius, along with the Disciples of Caliban of the Dark Angels. Once proud descendants of the Blood Angels with an impressive record of victories for a Chapter so young, everything changed when one of their own, Epistolary Ramses, turned the entire 2nd Company of battle brothers against the Chapter and the Imperium as a whole. The renegade company, led by the traitor Ramses, formed a warband dedicated to the four Chaos Gods. The turncoat company left a cursed stain on the Chapter’s honour, and the legacy of the future warriors who would replace the renegades was besmirched forever, or at least until Ramses and the warband drowned in a vengeful tide of their own blood. From their homeworld of Kaliux, the Knights of Baal hunt the warband, and the renegades are becoming sloppy. When the Knights find them, the fighting is sure to be bloody. Origins The Knights of Baal were formed in M37 after the Blood Angels 9th Company, led by Captain Leonatos Azakai, defended the Chapter’s fortress-monastery on Baal from the combined Chaos armies of Warsmith Haephostos and his hundred-strong host of Iron Warriors, and legions of thousands of frenzied heretics held under the binding powers of Sorcerer M’tar. Manning the formidable defenses of the fortress-monastery, the Devastator company threw back the devastating, well-planned, and well-coordinated assaults of the Iron Warriors and the unending mass charges of the heretics for weeks. However, over the course of the siege, the 9th had slowly been whittled down by the continuous attacks, until only Captain Azakai and a handful of battered warriors remained to defend the monastery. The cost to the enemy had been high, but it seemed that the defense of the Blood Angels would finally break. As the remaining forces of Chaos threw themselves at the walls of the fortress-monastery yet again, the defenders prepared themselves for a heroic last stand. It was not to be so. As the Iron Warriors and heretics charged, the entire Blood Angels 1st Company launched directly into the fray. Beset by squads of Terminators and Vanguard Veterans, the entire force was obliterated in hours. The invasion had been stopped dead in its tracks long before Haephostos and M’tar finally fell. In honour of the company’s iron will and unshakable dedication to defending Baal, Captain Azakai and the last warriors of the 9th Company were granted permission to craft a new Space Marine Chapter. It was named the Knights of Baal for its founders’ heroic actions on Baal, and Azakai swore that the Chapter that would serve the Emperor eternally when war called. Homeworld When Captain Azakai and the survivors of the 9th company were given permission to create a new Chapter, the High Lords of Terra gifted them with the beautiful ocean world of Kaliux to be their homeworld. Located in Ultima Segmentum, in a system some distance away from other Imperial planets, Kaliux neighbors a little known warp route that leads to the darkness beyond the Eastern Fringe. Explorers believe the warp route could be used as a direct path by a large Hive Fleet into the heart of the Segmentum, and from within a Hive Fleet could wreak utter havoc on nearby worlds, eventually conquering the entire region. Kaliux’s close proximity to the warp route makes them natural gatekeepers for it, and the populations of a thousand worlds rest in their hands. If a Hive Fleet or any force of Tyranids dared to use the passage, they would have to punch through a Space Marine Chapter. Records show that many of the Chapter’s deployments were responses to a Tyranid invasion or infestation, and the Knights of Baal have become masters at combating the alien menace. Because of their important duty, the Imperium is unhesitant to supply the Kaliux system with plenty of resources, in case a Hive Fleet did one day attempt to use the warp route. Together with the material produced by the manufactorums on Kaliux itself, the amount of resources provided for the Chapter and their homeworld is massive indeed. The Knights of Baal do not waste one bit of these resources, and they help to make up for the Chapter’s losses due to battle and the Red Thirst. Kaliux’s surface is mostly covered in water, but there are three huge continents that mark civilization of the planet. The one called Aquos Terra is the biggest of the three, and also an island surrounded by many miles of ocean. Aquos Terra is the perfect defensive position, so it was chosen as the site of the Chapter’s fortress-monastery. Bristling with long-ranged artillery defenses and torpedo tubes built into the parts of the island that are underwater, the fortress-monastery is all but impossible to breach. Also, in honour of their founders, the Knights of Baal Devastator company was assigned permanent defense duty of the planet and the fortress, and its warriors will never leave Kaliux except in the most dire situations. The other continents, which are connected by a thin strip of land only four kilometers wide, house the cities of Kaliux. Boasting an impressive number of manufactorums, Kaliux performs the double-role of Space Marine homeworld and industrial world. These features, and its perfect location to counter a possible Tyranid threat, make Kaliux a valuable planet indeed. Rites of Initiation The Knights of Baal are very careful in choosing their initiates, especially now after Epistolary Ramses and the 2nd Company turned renegade. The Knights of Baal select aspirants from the fierce warrior tribes of the death world Kalithrax, another planet in the Kaliux system. However, instead of picking aspirants from winners of great games and tournaments, like the Blood Angels, the Knights of Baal send a coven of warriors made up of their High Chaplain, three Sanguinary Priests, and two Librarians. This coven spends a month traveling to the different tribes of Kalithrax, selecting a handful of young men to take back to Kaliux for the rest of the Chapter command to judge. Even to be picked for further judging requires much from a man. He must be strong both physically and mentally, and completely, utterly pure in mind and heart. To determine if an aspirant has what it takes, the coven puts them through a series of unrelenting tests. The Sanguinary Priests test the aspirants physically, to see if they are fit enough for the intense Astartes training protocols, while the Librarians search their minds for any trace of a taint. Finally, the High Chaplain interrogates the aspirants, with deep, probing questions, determining whether their hearts and intentions are pure. If an aspirant is judged worthy by the coven, they will be taken back to Kaliux and inspected by the rest of the Chapter command staff. This process weeds out the weakest of the strong that were selected, leaving only a select few men that are worthy to become a Knight of Baal. The worthy aspirants are then implanted with the sacred gene-seed of Sanguinius and laid to rest for a year within great golden sarcophagi. The survivors of this final test will join the 10th Company as a scout neophyte, and only when the scout sergeants deem him capable will he join one of the mighty battle companies of the Knights of Baal. Gene-seed The Knights of Baal were created using the gene-seed of the noble Primarch Sanguinius. This means that they are also prey to the Flaw, just like the Blood Angels and their fellow successor Chapters. A disturbing fact that has been noted by the Sanguinary Priesthood is the high occurrence of the Red Thirst. The afflicted warriors suddenly succumb without warning, sometimes even in preparation for battle, and unlike sufferers of the Black Rage, the cursed warrior is uncontrollable even by the Sanguinary Priests and is forced to die an ignoble death at the hands of his brothers. Although death is more of a mercy than a shame, the Knights of Baal who fall to the Red Thirst are even denied the opportunity to fight one last battle for the Emperor and Sanguinius. However, the high occurrence of the Red Thirst is slightly made up by rarity of the Black Rage within the Chapter. Although it is a mystery why, the Knights of Baal staunchly believe that the Sanguinius watches over them and protects them from one curse while the other dominates. It is notable that the Knights of Baal Death Company rarely number higher than ten, but the executions caused by the Red Thirst usually number approximately seventy battle brothers in a year, and these do not count the temporary unleashes of the curse during battle. Organization/Combat Doctrine The organization of the Knights of Baal is the exact same as the Blood Angels, with ten companies of one hundred warriors. The Chapter’s high command includes their Sanguinary Priesthood, Reclusiam, and Librarius, while the Chapter also maintains a so-called “half company” of Sanguinary Guard and, thanks to their homeworld’s successful manufactorums, an impressive Armoury. The 1st Company is comprised of the Chapter’s veterans, some who take to the battlefield in suits of Terminator armour, while the 10th Company is the Scout Company, in which the neophytes train and get their first tastes of battle. The 2nd-5th are the backbone of the Chapter, the battle companies, and the 6-9th are the Reserve Companies, notably the 9th Devastators, which defends Kaliux. Each company contains one hundred battle brothers and is led by a Captain and his Command squad. When going to battle, the companies draw in support as needed from the Armoury, 1st Company, and Scout Company, and strike forces may consist of several squads from the different companies of the Knights of Baal. The combat doctrine of the Knights of Baal, although similar to that of the Blood Angels, has changed dramatically since when they were created. Centuries of fighting the Tyranids in the Eastern Fringe have crafted the Knights of Baal into expert xeno combatants, while Librarian Ramses’ betrayal has honed certain members of the Chapter, notably the reforged 2nd Company, into vengeful slayers of their fallen brethren, the Chaos Space Marines. In this way there are two factions of the Chapter in battle, although they are all brothers and there is no real rivalry between the two. The Tyranid hunters go to battle equipped with weapons designed to combat hordes, such as flamers and heavy bolters, while the Chaos Space Marine fighters take to the field with deadly plasma guns and short ranged melta weapons. A brilliant example of a hybrid weapon is the missile launcher, which can wreak havoc on swarms of enemy infantry with its frag missiles, and also cripple the armoured support of Chaos Space Marines with krak missiles. Other hybrid weapons in the Knights of Baal arsenal include the Vindicator siege tank, the Predator battle tanks, which can be outfitted to fight either enemy, and of course the Blood Angels’ unique fighting vehicle, the Baal Predator. Armed with assault cannons and heavy bolters, this tank can devastate entire hordes of poorly armoured foes, while the colossal flamestorm cannon armament burns through even the most heavily entrenched Chaos Space Marines, cleansing the tainted traitors with purifying flame. Beliefs Although the Knights of Baal specialize in waging war against Tyranids and Chaos Space Marines, this does not mean they are not effective against the other enemies of the Imperium. Indeed, most of the Chapter deployments have been to counter either Tyranid of Chaos threats, but the Chapter can and will take up arms against other enemies, for what are Space Marines if not versatile? The Knights of Baal strive to make other Imperial commanders, especially generals and commissars of the Imperial Guard who will one day need aid on the battlefield, believe this philosophy. Also, as the Chapter’s primary mission is one of revenge, the Knights of Baal encourage hatred and pure rage in battle, and are always eager to drown their foes in their own blood. The Chapter believes that against an enemy that is tactically and physically equal or even superior to themselves, it is these traits that will win the day. It is suspected that this belief may be the cause of the high occurrence of the Red Thirst within their ranks, but so far Sanguinary Priests and Chaplains have shown no attempt to stem this hatred in battle, although they are careful in their teachings to direct their hate and anger towards the enemy and the enemy only. Witnesses of the Knights of Baal in battle, such as Imperial Guardsmen who fought in an allied campaign with them, claim they have never seen battles as horrific and bloody as the ones orchestrated by this brutal Chapter, except for maybe the campaigns of the Flesh Tearers. The Knights of Baal use this as a terror weapon amongst foes such as orks and rebel humans, and more times than not, the Chapter’s reputation has won a war before any blood was spilled, although it is unknown whether this is a good thing for the Knights of Baal or not. Battle Cry The battle cries of the Knights of Baal vary depending on the enemy they fight. Against Chaos Space Marines, warriors are known to shout “By the blood of our brothers” as they charge, while wars fought against xenos feature cries such as “To the torch! Purge them all!” That's all! Not intended to be a quick read, although I'm pretty sure you realized that by now. So, tell me what you think in the comments below. All feedback is welcomed, especially constructive criticism, so don't be afraid. Thanks! :lol: Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commander S. Caesare Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Very nice. Think you can help me with my DIY chapter? I believe its in my blog and album's. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2845652 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ring-around-the-roses Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Great article, and well thought out, although i would back of from such strong connection with the BA, especially recruiting from their Chapter grounds. that is a BIG no no. And mentioning them as important as the Ultras and BA in combat with the tyranids is quite...risky. As is making you're your homeworld one of the Imperiums most important. Aside from all this, once again, a great article. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2845662 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonknight4275 Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Wow! Feedback already! You guys do it right <_< To Commander S. Caesare: Sure! I'd be glad to help. I love writing fluff. To ring-around-the-roses Regarding the sharing recruitment grounds, I think I will heed your wise advice and just say Kaliux has a neighbor planet that's a death world or something like that. I had a feeling that wouldn't really work out, so thanks! Regarding the importance of the Chapter/homeworld, how about i just say Kaliux is one of the main bastions of defense, and that's it? I don't want to screw the idea completely, but now that I look at it, it does seem rather unrealistic. I think downgrading it to just a bastion of defense would tone it down a couple notches, wouldn't it? Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2845669 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ring-around-the-roses Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 Acting a a important bastion would be awesome, in fact. It could be that the Chapter system guards a little known warp route that leads far into the outer darkness, and could potentially be used as a 'artery' for the main body of the tyranid invasion. So, the Chapter defends it, and they get plenty of resources from the Imperium 'just in case' to uber-beef up the system, and by proxy, the Chapter. This resource gathering could also help with the high attrition rate in the chapter, due to red thirst. Please, feel free to ignore any and all of this. Or not, whatever floats your boat and thanks for the compliment. <_< Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2845675 Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonknight4275 Posted August 12, 2011 Author Share Posted August 12, 2011 Acting a a important bastion would be awesome, in fact. It could be that the Chapter system guards a little known warp route that leads far into the outer darkness, and could potentially be used as a 'artery' for the main body of the tyranid invasion. So, the Chapter defends it, and they get plenty of resources from the Imperium 'just in case' to uber-beef up the system, and by proxy, the Chapter. This resource gathering could also help with the high attrition rate in the chapter, due to red thirst. Please, feel free to ignore any and all of this. Or not, whatever floats your boat and thanks for the compliment. :) Three words. I, love, it. That is great stuff! I'm a little ashamed to copy all this, but it's irresistable! Are you a champion of Slaanesh? ;) Thank you so much. It's things like these that make my day. Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2845810 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ring-around-the-roses Posted August 12, 2011 Share Posted August 12, 2011 You dare accuse me of such graven heresy? BOB HIDE THE SPAWN. Now where was i, ah yes, in the name of the corpse-god i... ah, this isn't working out, RUN! And thanks for the compliment 2X, i'm sure i can come up with some more ideas for ya in the morning :) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2845815 Share on other sites More sharing options...
recon0321 Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 yes could you help me with my fluff as well i could use some extra help not good at writing fluff but have the idea fleshed out...they under the title of Guillimans eagles...in the Liber...any help would be great Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2846011 Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkCrusader Posted August 13, 2011 Share Posted August 13, 2011 Wow.nice fluff there.its IAs like this that make lurking around liber fun ;) Link to comment https://bolterandchainsword.com/topic/236189-ia-knights-of-baal/#findComment-2846593 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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