The Shadows Of Terra

[King Willy]

The Shadows Of Terra

"From The Shadows We Come, As He Is Ever Vigilant Over Our Souls, So Shall We Be Ever Vigilant Over Our Bodies, NEVER REST! NEVER FAIL!"
Porius Firazas first words to all Intiates

Founding - Twenty Third Founding, M39
Gene Seed - Corax of the Raven Guard
Chapter Master - Porius Firaza
Homeworld - Aladozzra in the Aladozzra Sub-sector, northern edge of the Eye Of Terror
Fortress Monastery - Respite
Main Colors - Grey, Green
Specialty - Chaos Hunting, Ambush tactics, Medium Range Firefights.
Battle Cry - Never Rest, Never Fail.
Estimated Strength - Roughly 921, including Dreadnoughts.

History

Founded In M39 to reinforce an area of heavy chaos infiltration shortly after the start of Abaddon's tenth black crusade.
The Aladozzra Sub-sector was hit hard by attacks caused by Alpha Legion units in the highly volatile but valuable sector, due mostly to the forge-world Grumanius Major and the powerful variant wargear it produces. Due to this the Alpha Legion planned to sabotage and capture Grumanius Major and turn the weapons produced there against the Imperium.

Little did the Alpha Legion know that The mechanicus had finished the Founding and establishment of the Shadows of Terra, intel told that the chapter had only it's commanders and the partially constructed Fortress Monastery. When they struck the major planets of the Sub-sector, Grumanius Major, the Death World and homeworld of the Shadows Of Terra, Aladozzra and the hive world of Luthas with it's powerfully equipped and well trained Imperial guard regiments, they were faced not just with above averagely equipped guardsmen but with the fresh faced Marines of the Shadows.

The Intial battles were brutal both forces specialize in ambush tactics, though the fluid battle tactics of the Ex-Raven Guard Captains helped to give the Shadows of Terra an edge against the under-trained under equipped cultists that made up the bulk of the alpha legions force. The Battles reached there peak upon Aladozzra when the main space marine force of the Alpha Legion attacked the Fortress Monastery.
Upon the ash and volcanic planes of Aladozzra battle raged between the Alpha Legion and the Imperial forces, Four whole companies pulled back to defend their home, the 1st,2nd,3rd and 10th, along with the Grumanius 203rd and the Luthas 2nd imperial guard regiments. The battle ended in a titanic battle between Lord Olmanis the Silver, commander of the Alpha Legion force and the Chapter Master along with his four captains, deep within Respite, the name of the Fortress Monastery.

After the Aladozzrain Purge, The Shadows of Terra began a rapid securing of the sub-sectors assets, slaughtering Chaos Marine Warbands riding on the coattails of the alpha legions attacks, they proved quite adept at discovering the hidden bases of the Alpha Legion due to a quirk in the chapters Librarium, especially in those Librarians that hailed from Aladozzra which allowed them to sense the warp presence of creatures.

They have currently taken in the footsteps of their founding chapter and begun a rapid decentralization of their command structure, companies now fighting all around the Eye of Terror and even other parts of the galaxy, especially areas of high interest to the Inquisition, suggesting that they work alongside them very closely.

The Battle For Mordacais Strait

Mordacais Strait is a small, mountainous Feudal World found galacitc north of the Eye of Terra, very close to the Aladozzrian Sub-Sector, here the Shadows of Terra found a small but deadly warband of Chaos Renegades who had begun to influence the primitive natives and started to slowly turn the planets population into Chaos worshippers and hoped to create a beach head for further attacks on the imperium.
At first the Shadows of Terra sent only a few squads from the Forth Company to contain the nascent threat, but things quickly escalated into a full scale crusade when it was discovered that the 'small' Renegade army was in fact the notorious Chaso Space Marine warband, The Traitor Kings.

As more and more Chaos Space Marines began to appear in the battles with Renegades and Cultists the Shadows began to funnel more resources till the entire 4th was planetside and stuck in a brutal skirmish war among the valleys and mountain ranges. The 4th are known as the Forlorn and specilized in mechanized infantry warfare, which proved useful in the natural alley ways that snaked through the mountains, but made bringing the quick moving, hit and run specilists, that the Traitor Kings were, into large enough battles to strike a serious blow.

As the war grew in intensity, the Shadows called in support from there brothers in the 8th Company, Known as the Horsemen due to their skill at fast attacking biker and land speeder assaults. With the fast moving support of the 8ths vast land speeder fleet at hand they were able to sniff out the main bases used by the Traitor Kings and planned there assaults accordingly.
The first bases were easily taken, the Traitor Kings had yet to sneak the bulk of there forces onto the planet and the biker squads, who had quickly learned how to navigate the high altitude terrain, were able to perform lightning attacks directly into the heart of each base, often involving spectacular leaps from the mountains into the low lying valley strongholds.

But such danger simply emboldened the Traitor forces and the Traitor Kings numbers swelled with fresh, blood-thirsty reavers including squads of Khorne Berzerkers from various warbands who saw the escalating war as a chance to practise their bloody trade, along with this came the Lord of the Traitor Kings, Lord Mallius Birthfallen, a powerful man blessed with the tactical acumen of the Sons of Guillimen. With his abilties brought in the tide turned once more in favor of the Chaos forces and the Shadows found the enemy bases reinforced with not only more Chaos Space Marines but the brutal daemon engines of the Dark Mechanicum and the terrible masters of battle that were the World Eaters Berzerkers.

Pushed to the edge once more Hunter-Captains Hasif Garmled of the 4th and Gortic Tartovsky of the 8th turned to the aid of the Imperial Guard, in particular the Luthas regiements from there home sub-sector. The Guard Regiments moved quickly, Lutharian regiments famed for their skilled logistics and mastery of Artillery, arrived to bolster the Astartes planetside, first gainint air and space superiority and landing heavy artillery on the ground, General Ormantis Kulexis proved himself immediately by ordering the first base to be reduced to rubble before his units even landed which he succeded with by bombarding a large chaos Base built into the mountains with vendetta gunships and finally an orbital barrage that shattered the fortress and much of the mountain it hid under.

The final battle began in earnest, Lord Mallius, always the arrogant man, ordered his men to prepare for battle in his personal fortress, The Throne of Anguish under the largest mountain on the planet, his men mustered in there greatest numbers almost 5000 astartes strong supported by 7000 human and alien renegades, he even brought to bear the formidable power of the Chaos Reaver Titan Coruptis Noctis, deep in the shadowy and fog swept valley the roars of the blood hungry and damned echoed out into the world, the primitive populace scattered in fear to hide in the hills and pray the daemon knights would not stumble upon there hiding place.

Contacting the Shadows, Lord Mallius laid the challenge to meet in open warefare, which they accepted with gusto and they to mobilized for war gathering all they could to fight the power that corrupted the planet, 1943 astartes stood shoulder to shoulder across the entrance to the valley, bolters locking in disciplined synchonisation, the mewling tide of Chaos began it's advanced as the thunderclap of auto fire from assault cannon and autocannon began, meanwhile General Kulexis moved his men into position behind and above the astartes lines using the hills to cover there advance and protect against the the big guns of the Chaos force while he set up Manticore and Basilisk units deep behind the line, Lemen Russ battle tanks then advanced to lend there Battlecannons to the bombardment.

Renegades died in there droves as they charged the 800 meter crossing between the lines, the Reaver was found to be ineffective against the heavy bombardment as the Lemen Russ Vanquishers turned lascannon and battle cannons on it, though it did not fall, it was forced back behind the walls of the fortress. Meanwhile the Chaos Space Marine forces began to slow there own advance throwing the Renegades into the meat grinder, caught between the teeth of Bolter fire, Artillery and the slow build up off guardsmen fire the Renegades were reduced from 7000 to a mere 1200 before they hit the Astartes lines. The Chaos forces were broken, dismayed and trapped in the killing field the Traitor Astartes pulled back to the fort under cover from the Fortress guns that had so far stayed silent, the heavy Autocannon fire prevented a full scale advance and pushed the Imperium forces out of the valley in a matter of minutes, to make matters worse the Titan began to fire out the gate across the valley.

Turning to the guardsmen, the Imperium forces made there way up over the cliffs, though only the infantry could move with reliable cover from the large guns which had a limited arc and had only to contest with smaller anti-aircraft towers firing low along the cliffs and the heavy weapons of the Titan which were limited in there movement within the partially underground Fortress courtyard. As the Tactical and Assault marine squads lead the charge along the cliffs. The landspeeders moved round the hills to assault from the rear of the fortress flying high and diving down on the courtyards, acting as spotters for the artillary to launch a few well placed incendiary rounds to flood it with clensing fire as well as taking pot shots at the rear of the slow moving titan that was unable to track the agile fighters while in the cramped conditions.

With the battle in the valley all but won the Infantry then approached the fortress walls, Assault Marines with melta bombs breaching the walls or setting up flares for breach with artillary fire, armour was still impossible to bring to bear as the Forts guns could destroy a squadron of Lemen Russ battle tanks in one Salvo and the Titan was still stalking near the entrance though now it pulled back trying to plug the breaches, even as Land Speeder squadrons with bike support swarmed it. Within the walls though, Astartes fought Astartes with the fury of angels at war. Among them was the redoubtable forms of 4th Hunter-Captains Hasif and 8th Hunter-Captain Gortic, slaughtering deep into the complex as they chased after the retreating Lord Mallius, who laughed and taunted as they went.
As the battle reached it's climax, the Titan finally fell as the courtyard was finally claimed every meltagun and lascannon in the Space Marine force turned it's fire on the beast when the landspeeders got a lucky shot that with a trio of Typhoon Missiles that puncture the armour of the Vulcan mega bolter, without it's formidable anti-infantry weapon the Marines took the chance and poured fire into the joints of the legs and torso, with a deafening groan the corrupted god-machine fell to the earth, its form falling back into the Fortresses main gun as it staggered to reorient itself, it gave one final keening roar before embeding itself in the fortress and collapsing the main gun, which detonated with a mighty shockwave that shook the valley, by some miracle of the emperor the titans plasma reactors did not detonate thus the Space Marine forces were able to swarm into the underground complex.

What they found drove the human Guardsmen with them insane, the entire fortress had been desecrated by the Traitor Forces, every inch covered in blood and entrails, forming vast and intricate patterns along the corridors and ancient dining rooms. the Hunter-Captains let out the call for Chaos Space Marine blood and the Space Marines wreathed every inch of the building in flame, yet not a trace of the Chaos Space Marine forces was found, only a message written in the blood of a pair of young noble born boys was left deep with in the Fortress, We Played The Night Game Here And Were Found Wanting, We Shall Have To Try A Rematch.

Even now the Traitor Kings play a dangerous game with the Shadows of Terra, hounding them all around the Eye of Terra and probing there defenses.

Beliefs

More then a few of my brothers on Deliverence were quietly happy to see me leave, theologoical... differences
High Chaplain Caius Semiani commenting on the cause of his prosthetic arm

At it's core the chapter retains the beliefs of it's parent chapter, strike hard and like lightning. A simple but effective belief, out of combat they are highly disciplined, meticulous in their rituals and training ensuring that, despite the somewhat rebellious attitudes of the Raven Guard they maintain the discipline that allows them to fight extended campaigns far from their brothers, chaplains and chapter.
But even so early into their history, as the chapter begins to chose it's own recruits and forges it's own destiny, traditions from their recruiting worlds have slipped into the day to day life of the chapter, gone is the title of Shadow Captain to be replaced by the Title Hunter or Tracker, representing role of a leader in Aladozzrian society as the provider either as the Hunter who makes the killing blow or the Tracker who aids the hunter. Hunters are those Marines of rank within the battle companies and the Trackers are those who lead the reserve companies.
This tradition suits the Shadows of Terra perfectly, each a superb hunter of heretic, xenos and mutant. And those who were once called themselves Shadow Captain and sergeant take pride in the somewhat archaic titles of Hunter Captains and Hunters respectively.

They Venerate the Emperor as any other Space Marine chapter would, as Father and Commander, with the only difference being they see his death as his own personal war against chaos, free of his physical body he can fight the warp proper. The Chaplains enforce this with a passion leading there brothers in prayer, adding their prayer to the Emperors spiritual power as they lend their body to his physical power. This goes against the beliefs of the Raven Guard, the reason is not fully known why such a sudden change in religious doctrine, many theorize it being due to the Captains and Chaplains that were chosen to found the chapter being of a more religious nature, something that put them at odds with there brothers in there founding chapter.

Despite the chaplains fervor and religious educations, each marine maintains the personality of the planet they were recruited from. Aladozzrains have a jovial, if naive, personality, laughing and joking any chance they can get, they are often the first to the front, never disheartened by the situation and wanting to get into the fight as quickly as possible.

The Marines of the Forge-World Grumanius Major tend to be the opposite, a dour group of stubborn pragmatists, they do things by the book only changing when a more efficient plan has been tested and accepted, they also tend to show an amazing aptitude for technology, happily modifying the wargear of there brothers without there consent.

Finally from the hive world of Luthas comes the most imperial of Marines, raised in the culture of the Imperium of man, these simple but highly religious marines a fewer then their counterparts, often they take on the most dangerous missions, seeking to venerate the emperor in the fires of battle.
Tradition dictates that chaplains only recruit from the planet they were born on and thus three different forms of recruitment have begun to occur.

Being a chapter able to recruit from three vastly different worlds has caused the chapter to become a melting pot of ideas, each marine becoming steadily more philosophical as they absorb the differing views of the marines around them, this manifests in a much more relaxed and bohemian(for space marines) environment that makes them more human then other chapters.

Homeworld

Aladozzra is a violent and temperamental world, it's surface a constantly shifting sea of volcanic rocks and earthquakes. The inhospitable environment makes for strong native stock, prime candidates for Space Marine recruitment. The environment is fill of massive super fauna, most a docile but there immense size means they will often rampage through a city of settlement without notice of the destruction they cause. Rather then grow angry and depressed the people welcome these rampages as in there wake they draw up the small subterranean organisms that they feed upon as well as hidden pockets of the minerals that the 'Men who wear Wrappings of Metal', the folkloric name for the Adepts of The Mechanicum who regularly monitor the movements of the super fauna and openly trade with the miner inhabitants of the planet for the rare and unique metal.

Respite is the fortress Monastery on Aladozzra, Respite is a massive complex built deep within the largest Volcano on the planet, so hidden is the Fortress that space based scans would fail to detect it and those who approach it on foot would spend years searching the hundreds of lava caves and never find one of the many hidden entrances.
Inside respite is a vast complex of tunnels that snakes around the central lava vent spreading out like roots through the rock, thousands of small tunnels and large runways push through to surface hidden beneath lava trails, rock formations and geysers, each a secret and naturally guarded secret. As one travels deeper they would arrive at vast atriums ,kilometres beneath the surface, packed full with defensive structures cared for with religious fervour, hanging out over the pool of magma sits docking platforms capable of fitting a battle barge and launching it vertically out of the volcano. Continue past this still and you will enter the Shadows, almost pitch black corridors and bunkers were those who live within the monastery live and train, both humans and astartes bunking side by side. The Shadows hides the chapters secrets, the darkness is disorienting and the maze of corridors can lead to dead ends of traps, only those who have walked the corridors there whole life know the right paths and the many secret passages that turn a three hour walk into ten minute stroll.

Those who travel outside the protective walls of the native compounds will find themselves surrounded by perpetual storms of Ash and scalding heat, making travel harsh even when following the cooling lava flows. Such travel is easy for those experienced in the wastes ways, or those with access to power armour, which makes the fact that an entire society of young children and teenagers eke out a nomadic existence in the Ash, moving from settlement to settlement, trading, stealing and occasionally bartering for what they need.
This culture has stretched into the Shadows Of Terra as many Aladozzrian Marines come from these Child Tribes, as any child able to survive in the harsh lands of the Ash Wastes is more then adequate for Testing and possible recruitment.

Doctrine

If you plan your shot before you fire you will always hit, plan your battle before it starts and you will always win
Ash-Hunter Jasif Massin

Created to fight a war of subterfuge and misdirection, the Shadows of Terra a masters of Information Warfare. Long before a battle is entered the Shadows will have planted false information using a vast network of human contacts spread throughout the galaxy, leaking or feed false information on the movements of not only the Shadows but also any other allied unit of interest in the coming conflict.
Not all information the leak is useful some is clearly faked, though this to is often used to confuse the enemy, using this they trade for information of possible threats to the Imperium, often information on Chaos Cults and Renegades though sometimes Xenos Infiltrators and spies.

Due to this Info War the Shadows of Terra are more informed about enemy movements allowing them a brief advantage in battle and allowing them to dictate the flow of battle by organising their battle plans accordingly, a simple feint pulling enemy fast movers into kill zones, ambushes prepared at an enemies proposed camp or simply allowing the enemy to attack unimportant targets to disorient and confuse.
The greatest advantage though is Knowledge of all the forces involved in a conflict, allowing the Shadows Of Terra to plan and dismantle key members and command structures within an enemy force, something they are incredibly efficient at.

This was evident in the Kordallian Purge were a cult of Tzeentch worshipping psykers attempted to revolt against the imperial commanders such a situation was something the Shadows were designed for, they were able to follow the initial movements of the group as they tried to gather followers. This culminated in infiltrating a single psyker into the coven who then acted as a conduit to allow the Chapters Soul Seers, the shadows name for librarians, to see the entire meeting, the leader of the coven detected this easily and panicked, ordering the psykers death, who eagerly fought against the heretics, sacrificing himself.
The leader then ordered a purge of his ranks, this did not go over well with is subordinates who quickly turned on each other, as the coven degenerated into violence the Shadows struck, quickly and decisively the 3rd company lead by Hunter-Captain Torgundus Rex flooded the catacombs they were hiding in purging with blade and bolt, even the psykers powers were no match for the quick blade of Hunter-Captain Rex and his Lieutenants.
The Battle ended within hours of the meeting, the psykers own power turned against itself because of the nature of traitors and their army crushed in small skirmishes were the enemy could not coordinate and bring their numbers to bear.

In the Small war, individual marines a formidable, each a skilled marksmen armed with some of the finest weapons built by man, Aladozzrian-Pattern Bolters a capable of far tighter accuracy at higher rates of fire, which allows even a newly implanted scout to far shot onto shot with perfect accuracy 90 percent of the time, these marvels of technology a found all through the armouries of the companies and allow strike forces an unparalleled ability to fire upon the enemy with much greater rates of fire then could be found with the standard Godwyn-Patterns.

In close combat the superior quality of Grumanius Majors forges shows through the variant weapons available to the Shadows. Most common is the sharper Monomolecular Combat blades used by most Astartes, which has been tempered with a metal unique to Aladozzra called Basanite, this makes the blade much stronger and keeping the blades edge for much longer. When used with a chainsword Basanite is also used to plate one side of the blades housing as well as the chain that pulls the teeth, allowing the chainsword to be used as a more effective parry weapon or operate at much higher speeds.
Power weapons a less responsive to Basanite, whose unique hardness also seems to disrupt power fields causing them to lose power or shutdown completely, this caused Aladozzrian Smiths to develop a number of alternatives, though standard power weapons a still available most often in smaller single blade forms such as power knives and power sabres with power fists being less common and Lightning claws only found in Assault, Command and Vanguard Ranger squads.

Gene-Seed and Recruitment

Using Raven Guard gene-seed is a difficult prospect for a Chapter the notorious break down of the gene seed means stockpiles a low at the best of times, like the Raven Guard new recruits must wait for implants to be sent from Terra most of the time, causing training to be long and arduous but to compensate most Shadows never stop training as they wait, even with no implants many Aspirants can be found in the scout companies having proven their skill without the genetic enhancement. As the chapter has come of age and the scout sergeants rotate the training has become harder and harder creating one of the me most intense training regimes of any chapter, one that usually ends with a young human male fighting alongside young astartes Scouts.

This makes recruitment a very important matter for the chaplains as they must ensure that the strongest humans a selected not only to survive the training but that will be able to accept the gene-seed without rejection and the resultant death and loss of the precious heart of the chapter. The Chaplains there for are the most calculating and pragmatic of Astartes, watching for those who show the potential, selecting those who a strongest and searching the information networks for any word of outstanding individuals.

Tradition has constrained them somewhat, a self-imposed difficulty, were by all the actions of the Chaplains must adhere to strict rules and protocol, these rules are different depending on what planet the Chaplain is from, these rules were formed on the basis that the best individuals on each planet will go through the same or at least similar paths in life and as a result recruiting the ideal candidates can be streamlined.

This doesn't mean that they sometimes recruit from those who deviate from their guidelines but such individuals a scrutinized particularly hard and if they a found lacking then the chaplain who recruited is often forced to perform some form of penitence for his failure.

Organisation

The Shadows use the standard codex organisation of ten companies but the structure of the companies was altered early in their history, despite having a full complement of 1000 astartes, the shadows had only 230 fully trained marines spread throughout the chapter as a result the captains and veterans where forced to restructure the companies, rather then have the usual battle and reserve companies, every company was given a specific specialization according to the skills of the captain in command.
For example the 2nd Company was designated the Destroyer Company and full with those devastator squads that specialized in Plasma and Melta weapons while the 3rd specialized in assault with jump packs and so was designated the Striker Company.
The 1st company was the exception to the rule, due to the independence of the sergeants in the veteran company the vanguard and sternguard were found all across the companies often against the orders of the first captain, though he himself was given free rein to deploy as he wished by the chapter council.
This birthed the Ranger Veteran units that were famous for their tracking and hunting skills and would be found deploying in secret alongside the main battle companies then appearing without notice to strike at the heart of the enemy often shoring up the weakness of the company, such as Vanguard Rangers fighting in the Devastator and Long Range support companies.

This remained as the chapter began to grow in strength and Astartes matured and Tactical squads increased in number though they maintained the specializations they were renowned for and instead as the organisation became more conventional the companies were reorganized to allow them to function independently.
The major differences comes with the disposition of the Devastator, Assault, Veteran and armoured support, each company retains it's early moniker and specializations but with a greater number of tactical squads.

The companies are as follows:

1st Company "The Rangers", Veteran Company - 9 Squads spread among the other companies in a combined Vanguard and Sternguard role, 1 Squad for Terminator missions. Company Colour: Obsidion/Black

2nd Company "The Destroyers", Devastator Battle Company - Two ten man Devastator squads armed with a mixture of Plasma weapons and melta Weapons, 6 tactical squads armed with melta and plasma weapons, 1 Veteran Ranger squad specializing in Vanguard Roles with emphasis on jump pack assaults. Company Colour: Ash/Grey

3rd Company "The Strikers". Assault Battle Company - 2 Ten Man Assault Squads armed with flamers and Jump Packs, 6 Tactical squads armed with multiple weapon loadouts for individual squads and Razorback Transports, 1 Veteran Ranger squad specializing in Sternguard roles armed with specialized ammunition. Company Colour: Sandstone/Bone

4th Company "The Forlorn". Mechanized Tactical Battle Company - 8 Tactical Marine Squads armed with Heavy Weapons and Rhino Transports, 1 Veteren Ranger Squad with Sternguard Roles armed with Specialized Ammunition, 3 Predator Destructors. Company Colour: Basalt/Dark Grey

5th Company "The Indominatable". Defensive Tactical Battle Company - 6 Tactical Marine Squads armed with multiple weapon loadouts for indiviual squads and Razorback Transports, 2 Devestator Squads armed with Heavy Bolters, 1 Veteren Ranger Squad specializing in Sternguard Roles with Specialized ammunition and Heavy Bolters, 2 Predator Annhilators. Company Colour: Ruby/Red

6th Company "The Vengeful". Drop Pod Reserve Company - 6 Tactical Marine Squads armed with close assault weapons mounted in Drop Pods, 1 Assault Squad armed with Plasma Pistols and Jump Packs, 1 Veteren Ranger Squad specializing in Vanguard Roles armed with Power Weapons and emphising Jump Pack assaults. Company Colour: Diorite/White and Dark Grey

7th Company "The Immortal". Reserve Tactical Company - 8 Tactical Marine Squads armed with Bolters mounted in Rhinos, 1 Veteren Ranger squad with Vanguard Roles armed with close combat wargear and Rhino transport. Company Colour: Gold/Yellow

8th Company "The Horsemen". Fast Support Company - 5 Tactical Marine Squads trained for Bike and Land Speeder deployment, 3 Assault Squads trained For Bike Deployment, 1 Ranger Veteren Squad specializing in Sternguard role armed with Specilized ammunition and Bike Deployment. Company Colour: Sapphire/Blue

9th Company "The Brutal". Siege Support Company - 4 Tactical Marine Squads armed with Long Range Anti-armour weapons, 1 Veteran Ranger Squad specializing in Vanguard role armed with Jump Packs and Meltabombs, 2 Predator Destructors, 2 Predator Annhilators, 4 Vindicators, 1 Land Raider. Company Colour: White

10th Company "The Ash Warriors". Scout/Initiate Company - 7 Scout Squads armed with multiple loadouts, 1 Scout Biker Squad armed with short Range anti-tank weapons, 1 Veteran Ranger Squad specializing in Sternguard roles armed with specialized ammunition.

Uniform and Notable Individuals

The standard colour scheme is grey to match the perpetual ash that falls on Aladozzra with Green shoulder pads and knee pads with the Companies Colour being painted on the trim the shade of green varies depending on the company with the 3rd,7th and 9th using a brighter green while the 6th uses an almost black green, scouts deviate from this standard but having grey fatigues and dark red armour.
The reason for the scouts altered colour scheme stems from their founding when the Captain of the Tenth took a scout squad led by none other then his brother out into the wastes, they returned two days later with the brothers body blood so thick it stained his armour and the body of a Chaos Champion that had been leading the Alpha Legions Chosen in raids against Aladozzrian Settlements.

Chapter Master Poirus Firaza is a cold and calculating man, born on Deliverence he was recruited quickly into the Raven Guard after he was found leading a small revolt against a corrupt mine boss, rather then be executed the Raven Guard Chapter Master recruited the young man and inducted him into the scout company. From the start he proved himself an effective warrior, quickly rising through the ranks and completing his training faster then any of the Scouts in his squad, even his implants seemed to mature despite the Raven Guards damaged gene-seed.
When the Shadows of Terra was formed he was chosen to Lead them as chapter master due to his age and skill as Shadow Captain of the 8th company but also due to referral by the Inquisition, an odd suggestion indeed.
When in Battle he stands in contrast to the usual appearance of a Raven Guard Captain by striding into battle clad in the oldest suit of Tactical Dreadnought armour in the Chapter wielding a massive power sword named Immortal Honour, an ancient Relic Blade taken from the armoury of the Raven Guard while protected behind a Storm Shield crafted by the Tracker Capatin of the 8th Company.

3rd Hunter Captain Torgandus Rex
WIP C&C much appreciated

[InquisitorHayn]

After reading through, I am familiar with what your Chapter has accomplished, but I haven't the slightest clue who they are. The next step in your process should be to lay down the personality and theme of your Marines. I often find that, when creating a fictional character or group, that the best place to start is the present. Who are they? Why are they? So on and so forth. Then proceed to the past and give them a history. The future part is oftentimes the least important because you need an established foundation for those stories of what will happen.

 

Also, I'd strongly recommend reading through some of the other IAs in the Liber to see how others may have met the challenges of writing.

 

Good luck on your project.

[Race Bannon]

Raven Guard successors have traditionally been tricky due to the fluff issue of their gene-seed. I'm not saying to scrap the idea, just be guarded that you may get some push-back in some way.

 

How does a Marine become an "Ex-Captain"?

 

Also, fans of the Raven Guard Chapter can be found HERE. It may be a resource to use to help develop a successor chapter.

[Leonaides]

I think he meant 'ex-Raven Guard' captain, not Raven Guard 'ex-captain'...

[King Willy]

Yeah I'm trying to work in the reason for using Raven Guard gene seed, thinking something along the lines of Inquisition influence, a need for the Raven Guards abilities but unable to influence the chapter directly or something along those lines, either way they are going to have a closer tie to the Inquisition.

[King Willy]

Updated

Pic added

finished discription of Homeworld and begun discription of combat doctrine and wargear

[King Willy]

Updated

Added Gene-Seed and recruitment details.

Added the Uniform and Notable individuals section.

[Arkangilos]

Yeah I'm trying to work in the reason for using Raven Guard gene seed, thinking something along the lines of Inquisition influence, a need for the Raven Guards abilities but unable to influence the chapter directly or something along those lines, either way they are going to have a closer tie to the Inquisition.

 

Skill can be taught to any chapter, the Raven Guard are skilled with Stealth because that was how they were trained.

[King Willy]

And they would train the new chapter in similar tactics then they would alter as they see fit.

The general personality of the chapter seems to hold over as one chapter trains another.

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

I'm geussing that you recently read Deliverance Lost?

[King Willy]

Actually no. I'm still only up to Battle For the Abyss.

This came out of me having a series of unfortunate events that caused me to stop building up a 3000 pt Dark Eldar Kabal, one of which included a female friend of mine, homebrew boubon, high heels and a Scourge.

 

New Years Resolution to build a full battle company.

[Dark Apostle Thirst]

Actually no. I'm still only up to Battle For the Abyss.

This came out of me having a series of unfortunate events that caused me to stop building up a 3000 pt Dark Eldar Kabal, one of which included a female friend of mine, homebrew boubon, high heels and a Scourge.

 

New Years Resolution to build a full battle company.

See, the reason I said something is because Deliverance Lost features Raven Guard very heavily, and its little subtitle thingy is "Ghosts of Terra". It did not seem to be coincidence :P

[King Willy]

Added a surprsingly long story introducing the numero Uno of there enemies, another one of my libers im starting as part of a modeling project i'm creating.