IA: Emerald Tigers - May 29th Update; See 1st Post

[Conn Eremon]

Emerald Tigers

 

Origin

"We will never know how much was lost. So much of what we have done and once were, as important a part of ourselves as what we are now, is now gone. All that's left for us is to exact equal vengeance upon those who took this from us. We shall destroy them. And then we shall forget them." Librarian Myrddin Wyllt, overseeing the reconstruction of the Chapter's Librarium

 

The Emerald Tigers were formed during the 7th Founding from the legacy of Guilliman, around a cadre of an older Chapter, the War Consuls. Their first action once combat ready was to participate in a crusade to reclaim the worlds lost to the Imperium by the ferocity of the Emperor's Ire, a sector-wide warpstorm that had been raging for nearly a century. The Emerald Tigers found themselves facing a Sector at the very verge of being overrun. Creatures of the Warp and Traitor Marines wearing the panoply of the Emperor's Children cavorted and rampaged across the worlds and in the depths of space, playing with what was left of the weak and desperate mortal populations. Though a true enemy now stood before them, their joy over the bloodshed only seemed to grow to a higher pitch when the Crusade met the Chaos incursion head on. Though an arduous struggle, the Imperium was ultimately successful when the final dissipation of the warpstorm cut off reinforcements to the traitors. The Emerald Tigers re-tasked themselves with the defense of the Erinn Sector, deep in Segmentum Pacificus. With the approval of the High Lords, they took for themselves a homeworld within it that had particularly impressed the young Chapter on its continued resistance to the corruption of Chaos. The Emerald Tigers have remained in the area for millennia, on constant patrol for the ever-constant resurgence of Traitor Marine activity and the presence of insidious xenos. 

 

It took nearly three thousand years before the Emerald Tigers were able to finally cast out the Emperor's Children Warband, who called themselves the High-Born, led by the Chaos Lord Mogh Nuadat. Three thousand years of war, of hunting them down from world to world. It was Chapter Master Conn Eremon, their most revered hero, who finally hammered them down. The headstrong Chapter Master never gave them respite, even when his own Chapter needed it more. Whenever the High-Born went to ground, he would tear the world apart until there was nowhere left for them to hide. His crusade of extermination lasted three centuries. It began at the Brosnachian Fields, where the Chapter destroyed the fleets of the Rogue Trader Sampate and burned the extensive roots the High-Born cults had taken. It continued on the worlds of Mewsauc, Govran, S'wama and Lewein, as well as battles fought in scores of other places. Everywhere the High-Born would be found, uprooted and yet, disappear. This over-extended game of cat and mouse finally met its conclusion upon the moons of the gas giant Maglena. There they found not only the Warband but their ever elusive Chaos Lord. In a duel worthy of song and saga, Conn slew Mogh Nuadat. The High-Born, for the first time since they had arrived, were finally beaten and driven from the Sector. Suffering from great wounds, Conn was interred in a Contemptor-class Dreadnought, within which he would continue to serve the Chapter as a beacon of glory and honor, a veteran of every war the Chapter had waged. Since then, the Emerald Tigers have ever stayed loyal to their Emperor and fought countless wars in this remote and otherwise relatively unprotected zone of space. From their earliest victory upon the bloody hills of Khavidan to their most recent defense of their homeworld, Tara, the Emerald Tigers have won great glories and suffered many losses with trademark adaptability, overcoming all obstacles by virtue of their fluidity.

 

Defense of Tara

"A hundred times I have been awoken. A hundred times I have been unleashed. A hundred times I have faced your kind. I will do so a hundred more, but for you this is the end." Conn the War Ender meets Tyreke, Chaos Lord of the Eyes of Tivan, in battle

 

Late in the 41st Millennium, the High-Born returned to Erinn, alongside a Warband of the World Eaters, the Eyes of Tivan. Together, the two Warbands cut a swathe across the Sector. Before the Chapter could even react, entire sub-sectors went dark. The Emerald Tigers were not slow in reaction. Such was the speed and ferocity of the attacks. Chapter Master Cormac Airt immediately mobilized the Chapter to stem the oncoming tide of heretics, daemons and Traitor Marines. Recruitment rates were doubled and then tripled as the Chapter met the foe and the attrition rates rose. Though Cormac's inspired leadership saw the traitorous advance falter, the Chapter's counter-offensive stumbled upon Buoyan. There Eoghain Mor, master of the High-Born and former Champion of Mogh Nuadat, laid a trap for the lord of the Emerald Tigers upon Buoyan treacherous glacier-continents. Utilizing powerful Warp sorceries, the traitors succeeded in isolating the Chapter Master and laying him low. The whiplash of the magic devastated the icy waste, making the land of solid ice too dangerous to fight upon and the Emerald Tigers were forced to retreat. Though Cormac survived, his body and mind were ravaged. He was transported back to their fortress-monastery, where the Apothecarion and Librarium collaborated on his treatment. In the interim, First Captain Cairbre took upon himself Acting Chapter Master. Though an accomplished leader of men, outshining all other living Captains in feats of glory, Cairbre did not have Cormac's resourcefulness or charisma. He held the line, preventing the oncoming enemy forces from breaching their defenses and spilling out onto the Imperium's unprotected worlds for a couple of years. Though Cairbre's response was laudable, it did not protect the true target of their enemy's wrath. Sub-sector Leathcuinn was, relatively, unprotected. With the bulk of their armies diverting the Chapter's defenses elsewhere, the two Warbands sent their veteran elite to lay siege upon the Sub-sector's crown jewel and homeworld of the Emerald Tigers, Tara.

 

With the great majority of the Chapter's Fleet scattered throughout the Sector, the heavy bruisers and small destroyers that burst from the Warp met only a token resistance in orbit around Tara. With the target of all the High-Borns' rage buried deep under Taran ground and the Eyes of Tivan aching to meet their foe face to face, the traitors foresook orbital bombardments and instead released their warriors upon the surface of the world. Aside from the host of combat-ready Chapter serfs, wholly unprepared to face such a foe, and the nearly inconsequential mortal armies of Tara's clans and tribes, the traitors were met by the two hundred Scouts and Marines raised in addition to the Codex norm in response to the Traitor threat, as yet unassigned to their own places among the stars. Though the traitors outnumbered the Emerald Tigers nearly three to one, the Chapter had two advantages in its favor. First was that among the Dreadnoughts that had remained on Tara was Conn Eremon, ancient High-King and the Chapter's greatest martial hero. Once awoken, his presence upon the battlefield inspired the young Marines to equal exploits as he reaped enemy lives with every strike. Their second advantage, wielding the Chapter's most ancient relic weapons, the Fire's Claw and the Hound's Blade, took the form of yet another returned hero. Though weakened still by the venomous magicks wreaked upon him, nonetheless it was Cormac Airt who led the defenses.

 

The battles that waged upon Taran soil lasted many months. Many of the world's island-continents were razed, its people gone forever. For a time, it seemed that no matter the awe-inspiring feats of the defenders, such as when Eoghain Mor fell with Cormac's claw buried within him, Tara would be doomed to fall. The defenders knew that their death knell had been sounded when Conn the War Ender, master of countless battles and warrior supreme, was cast broken from the Bones, a mountain range named for the ancient belief that it is the remains of an ancient race of giants, by the Chaos Lord of the Eyes of Tivan Warband. However, as the Emerald Tigers fought tooth and nail, viciously, within the hallowed halls of their own Fortress-Monastery, salvation finally arrived. Cairbre, finally freed from the wars that had laid siege to a Mechanicum Knight world, had struck an alliance with the Knight House Mobius and turned his forces back to Tara. In a replay of when the traitors appeared over Taran skies, Cairbre was able to force his ships past the traitor cordon and release his men and a host of Knights upon Tara. While four Companies, accompanied by a host of walker-machines, turned the tide on Tara, Cairbre and his veteran 1st Company committed boarding actions on the greater ships of the traitor fleet. Though the Defense of Tara took nearly a year, the Emerald Tigers were eventually able to push the Traitors back off their world. It cost the Chapter much. Nearly a third of the world's population remained and the war marked the death of the Chapter's most revered ancestor. With Cairbre himself gone, unable to teleport off ship in time to avoid its sudden self-destruction, Cormac Airt had risen to reclaim the mantle of the Chapter Master. As their Fortress-Monastery was rebuilt, the enemy's leadership slain or on the run, he led the Emerald Tigers back into the war that rampages still across Sector Erinn.

 

Home World

"The lands still will not green. What have they done to our world, that its scars yet remain?" Cormac Airt, Chapter Master of the Emerald Tigers once and again

 

During the First War, as the later Emerald Tigers refer to their earliest Crusade, the young Chapter marched in its entirety upon the world of Tara, a world wracked by battles fought between the two traitor forces. There the Emerald Tigers witnessed the weakened, distraught Imperial citizens remain ultimately unbroken by the atrocities they'd lived through, fighting back at their enemies at every moment through subterfuge and guerrilla tactics. When the Chapter succeeded in throwing the traitors offworld it had already been decided that the world of Tara would make an ideal center for recruitment. Following the close of the Crusade, the Emerald Tigers petitioned the High Lords of Terra for the right to claim Tara as their homeworld. So granted, the young Chapter set to work on the feudal world, creating their Fortress-Monastery as a vast subterranean network in the center of the Great Valley, an immense basin as large as the Imperial Palace. The only evidence that can be seen from the surface is a large mound, too uniformly rounded to be a natural hill or small plateau. The tribal Tarans refer to this landmark as the Great Mother, who gives birth to the giant sons of the Sky Father, the local term for the Emperor. Those Tarans more civilized than their tribal brethren, living in a feudal state, know more of the truth of its existence and are fully aware of the presence of the Emerald Tigers. The Chapter recruits from both peoples equally, nominally by keeping watch over the internecine wars and tournaments. For every child taken as a potential recruit a token of precious metal is left behind for the child's family. Among the feudal clans, these tokens are of paramount importance, being physical manifestations of their divine right to rule. In essence, the tokens act as evidence of nobility. The greatest clans, called the Companion Clans as they can trace their long lineages back to the heroic Tarans who had fought alongside the Emerald Tigers at the very beginning of their histories. The patriarchs of these clans are kings of their imminent domains, Tara's highest mortal authorities. The tribes of Tara react to the tokens less reverently, thinking them payment for the taking of their child and nothing more. These tokens exchange hands and ownership at a rapid pace. Many clans have had their position secured by laying claim to traded tokens. These clans were purged when such claims were declared fraudulent in the 39th Millennium. For the past couple decades, Tara has been attempting to mend the horrific damage wrought upon it during the unprecedented assault by an allied traitor force.

 

Since the ending days of the Defense of Tara late M41, the Taran populations have drasticaly reduced. Across its island-continents, the tribal Tarans were struck the worse and are nearly extinct. The urban Tarans suffered less than their tribal brethren, seeking more to survive than to brazenly attack as the tribes did, centering their efforts over the most important, populous cities. Many of the lesser cities were overrun, their people massacred. Enough time has passed that Tarans have begun rebuilding these abandoned shells but still the landscape is dotted with blasted ruins marking the sites of mass graves.

 

Organisation

"In our darkest time, we needed them. We would have not survived without them. Now, as dark times approach once more, we argue how to dispose of them?" 3rd Captain Tighearnan, as the fate of the 11th Company hangs in the balance

 

The organisation of the Emerald Tigers has changed in the recent centuries, as the Chapter has been forced to raise nearly two hundred additional Marines to overcome the constant onslaught of foes that had threatened to overwhelm the Chapter during the 41st Millennium. Though no longer necessary, the survivors were coalesced into a single Company and are now used to man and escort the large Starfort Exalted Wrath, a recent addition to the Chapter that had proven particularly advantageous in breaking the back of the Traitor's attack on their homeworld. The Chapter is divided on the future of the company, as the current Chapter Master has yet to decide whether it will be retained and replenished as needed or allowed to diminish over time by inevitable losses until the proper Chapter size is once more reached. The remaining ten companies are primarily Codex in organisation. The Battle Companies are ever at work hunting down and striking out at nearby foes while the Reserve Companies patrol the Sector in constant vigilance.

 

Beliefs

"We are light. We can blind and we can guide. How we choose to use our power defines us and, through us, our Chapter and the Imperium. To abuse it is to forsake everything we have ever stood for or ever will. Do not abuse it." Chief Librarian Coran Wyrdbreaker, to the fey Marines being initiated into the Druid Circle

 

The Emerald Tigers have for a long time lost their Primarch as their primary focus for reverence, shifting entirely to the Emperor. Though Guilliman remains as an important aspect of the Chapter, they view him mostly as a conduit, their connection to the Emperor through their genetic inheritance and on equal terms with the Chapter's own ancient heroes. This shift in focus is one of many visible clues as to how much of the Chapter has been shaped by their homeworld. 

 

Combat Doctrine

"It has ever been our way to challenge ourselves to further feats of brilliance. What worth is there in repeating the same successes over and over? Once was proof enough that it could be done; twice perhaps if to prove the first was no mishap. But to have committed countless feats, each unique and independent of the other, is something to be proud of. Versatility. Adaptability. No enemy of Man ever strikes the same and nor shall we. Stagnation in battle is death. Predictability is death." Sergeant Daithi to his scout squad

 

The Chapter has pride most of all in its mutability and adaptability. Rather than providing the same, static face to the enemy in each encounter, the Emerald Tigers has learned the hard way that only by approaching war differently each time can they take the enemy by surprise. The hunters of the tribesmen know full well that they are not the greatest predator of the forests and change themselves constantly, sometimes through drastic measures, to disorient any would be attackers. As the Emerald Tigers are isolated from any potential aid and can be outmatched at times by their myriad foes, they have adopted this as their creed. The rich and robust tomes that is the Chapter's copy of the Codex Astartes which details multiple potential military responses for virtually any potential situation. As a general preference, the Chapter will by its own preferences choose an unused method of attack or defense before falling back upon a previously used gambit. They have been known to go against such preferences often when opportune. They do not allow themselves to get lost in the fervor and heat of battle. They remain constantly aware for the perfect moment to strike with utmost ferocity, whether when striking from unawares or already locked in combat, the Emerald Tigers strive always to end conflicts quickly and decisively.

 

Gene-Seed

"War is in our blood! Feel its rage burn within! Let it overwhelm you as it sustains you with its hate! Let it fill your soul! Let yourself go within it, as you spill it from your enemies!" Chaplain Siobhan, leading the Uineil Clansmen in defense of their land

 

The Emerald Tigers were founded upon the gene-seed of Roboute Guilliman and they have kept their genetic legacy as pure as it began. The Chapter keeps careful watch over the Tarans for prospectful recruits, though they do make such individuals easy to find. As the taking of a family member increases a clan's social standing, many capable boys are trained from a very young age to impress the watchers with strong arms and quick minds. Great tournaments are held with regularity, as the youths show off their skills and prowess in competitions against one another. Among the Taran tribes, life is less orderly. A child that can fight in tournaments is a child that can fight for his tribe's survival and will participate in the everlasting wars between tribes and the two great cultures. Despite the Tara's brush with Chaos so long ago, the purity of faith and mind of Tara's denizens kept them pure of body as well. Though an ever-present problem for any Imperial world, Tara's mutant birth rate is very low and harshly dealt with. The Emerald Tigers have been blessed with such purity, allowing the Chapter to rapidly recuperate from the many severe losses it has taken over its lifetime.

 

Battle-cry

"We live! They die!" A chanted call and return used first at the Defense of Tara.

Edited March 23, 2015 by Conn Eremon

[Rylanor]

First Welcome brother!

 

Well... Here it goes. I'm currently working on a chapter of my own so here are some of the comment I got that might apply along with my own thoughts

 

The space wolves have no successors due to their gene-seed. They were trying to fix when the Thousand Sons came and destroyed their work. So I would go with either RG or UM.

 

Second: in my opinion the color scheme is a bit hard on the eyes. (no offense intended)

 

Third: the number of companies is fine. The codex dictates 10, but there are plenty of chapters with more and some with less.

 

Other than that it looks pretty good to me, but there are other B&C members that know more than me and they can help you more

 

 

Rylanor

[Conn Eremon]

First Welcome brother!

 

Well... Here it goes. I'm currently working on a chapter of my own so here are some of the comment I got that might apply along with my own thoughts

 

The space wolves have no successors due to their gene-seed. They were trying to fix when the Thousand Sons came and destroyed their work. So I would go with either RG or UM.

 

Second: in my opinion the color scheme is a bit hard on the eyes. (no offense intended)

 

Third: the number of companies is fine. The codex dictates 10, but there are plenty of chapters with more and some with less.

 

Other than that it looks pretty good to me, but there are other B&C members that know more than me and they can help you more

 

 

Rylanor

 

Thank you. When I get back from work tonight I'll look at your work and try to provide the same.

 

As for your points:

1) I'll try to make it more clear later tonight what I meant by their geneseed. Basically, they ARE an Ultramarine successor. But, they don't know that. They have never genetically proven who they come from, and so they look towards the two founding legions they most closely match in culture and tactics as their possible progenitors, the Raven Guard or Space Wolves. They are definitely not a successor of the Space Wolves.

 

2) I am very attached to the color scheme, though I admit it isn't quite what it looks in DoW I and II and suffers for it. I'm open to suggestions, but I am attached.

 

Thanks for the look over.

[Rylanor]

First Welcome brother!

 

Well... Here it goes. I'm currently working on a chapter of my own so here are some of the comment I got that might apply along with my own thoughts

 

The space wolves have no successors due to their gene-seed. They were trying to fix when the Thousand Sons came and destroyed their work. So I would go with either RG or UM.

 

Second: in my opinion the color scheme is a bit hard on the eyes. (no offense intended)

 

Third: the number of companies is fine. The codex dictates 10, but there are plenty of chapters with more and some with less.

 

Other than that it looks pretty good to me, but there are other B&C members that know more than me and they can help you more

 

 

Rylanor

 

 

Thank you. When I get back from work tonight I'll look at your work and try to provide the same.

 

As for your points:

1) I'll try to make it more clear later tonight what I meant by their geneseed. Basically, they ARE an Ultramarine successor. But, they don't know that. They have never genetically proven who they come from, and so they look towards the two founding legions they most closely match in culture and tactics as their possible progenitors, the Raven Guard or Space Wolves. They are definitely not a successor of the Space Wolves.

 

2) I am very attached to the color scheme, though I admit it isn't quite what it looks in DoW I and II and suffers for it. I'm open to suggestions, but I am attached.

 

Thanks for the look over.

 

1) Now I get what you mean. Though for the sake of your background it would be better to elude to this fact and not just blatantly say it. It adds a bit of mystery..... :down:

 

2) As for your color scheme I completely understand your reasoning. Seeing as though your chapter name includes tiger I might go for a quartered or halved paint scheme.

 

 

Rylanor

[Conn Eremon]

I don't want to stretch the page or anything, so I'll just post this link which leads to a screenshot of DoW:DC FoK, which is much closer to what I have in mind on the color scheme.

 

While I have utilized one of the alternate paint schemes for the Imperial Dragons, I'm not partial to the halves and quartered versions. That being said, I'll play around with it. You never know.

 

As for the progenitor issue, I'll keep that in mind when I start writing drafts for the IA. I just wanted to provide the barebone essentials to people and see what kind of responses I got. If people just utterly despised it, I'd scrap it in favor of another of my chapters. I intend to make Imperial Dragons and Golden Guardians at some point. If there's a Chaos version of IA, I'll make Winter Court and Summer Court as well. The Chaos names are WIP and not what they'll end up being called.

Edited December 14, 2011 by Cormac Airt

[Hrvat]

I think it is a nice paint scheme, especialy the not in your face green and soft red.

 

I will add more when I will have more time. Seemes decend from just scaning it apart from the obvious use of Space Wolf G-S.

 

 

Cheers

[Rylanor]

I think it is a nice paint scheme, especialy the not in your face green and soft red.

 

I will add more when I will have more time. Seemes decend from just scaning it apart from the obvious use of Space Wolf G-S.

 

 

Cheers

 

Actually he addressed that in one of his comments. They are actually UM descendants, but they don't know that, so they are going off of their own traits to figure out who they are.

 

Rylanor

[Conn Eremon]

Thank you for that, Rylanor. I will, however, still take into account that the possible SW Geneseed is frowned upon (understandably so, as they're not a Lost Company or the Wolf Brothers), and when I get around to trying to write an appropriate IA for my Emerald Tigers I will try to make it much more clear all the doubts they have for their geneseed. Basically, boiled down to "Well, we act a lot like the RG and SW, but . . . we have none of their geneseed deficiencies and we have no proof beyond 'acting like them.' Maybe they tried make our geneseed more pure, and succeeded?"

 

To put it in perspective, I'll explain how I got the ideas for this based off of rolls through a dice program using the Rites of Battle supplement to the Deathwatch RPG:

Rolled a d100 for progenitor Founding Legion: Got Space Wolves

Well that's just . . . No, they only had one successor Chapter, I'm going to re-roll

Accidentally roll 2d100 by misclicking: Get Ultramarines and Raven Guard

Okay, I'll go with Ultramarines since they were the first roll

Roll a d10 on Genestock purity: New Generation

An attempt to breed out flaws in the Ultramarines geneseed? That makes zero sense.

Proceed to roll results through Rites of Battle that tend to be more in line with both the Raven Guard and the Space Wolves

Well that's just uncanny right there. Well, the Ultramarines would not like us. We're way, way too different. Maybe I'll put their geneseed origins in utter doubt, no records. The other two progenitor legions I rolled, matching so closely to the rest of my rolls, will be the perceived origins of the Emerald Tigers, with the New Generation Genestock purity result used as the explanation for how they could be their origins and yet have none of their genetic flaws (bleached white skin, black orb eyes, black hair/Rapid body hair growth, elongated fangs, the Wulfen curse).

 

 

I rather like the idea of them no longer knowing for sure who they're descended from, because it gives them the opportunity to honor and venerate past Chapter heroes more than the Primarchs, since they don't really know which one is theirs. I am using Raven Guard and Space Wolves as the possible origins because the dice gods showed how much they loved me in three ways: One, rolled them before rolling an acceptable Progenitor. Two, have those two discarded Progenitors match the remaining rolls for my Chapter, creating an almost melding of the two. And three, the fact that those two discarded Progenitors are my favorite Chapters in 40k.

 

I haven't seen anyone dismiss the Space Wolves entirely yet, just the idea that my Chapter might actually be descended from them. So I'll keep it as it is, but try to reword it sometime to make it more clear that they are not a successor Chapter of either the Raven Guard or the Space Wolves.

[Conn Eremon]

First post has been edited. I am working on the IA for the Emerald Tigers, and will post what I have so far as I finish each 'chunk.' The first one, the fully origin of the Emerald Tigers, was longer than I meant it to be, so I'll post it first and finish the Origin category later.

 

A quick question I have is, I wrote in it that the Crusade was for the Mag Lena Sector, but I'm not sure if I have that right or not. Do Marine Chapters get entire Sectors as their home turf, or is it Subsectors? I'll change it accordingly once I know

[Conn Eremon]

Apparently adding the IA style of posting was not a good idea, as I can't seem to simply edit it. I'll try to correct it when I finish my additions.

 

Just posting to show that I'm still working on this, and I am still looking for feedback.

[Conn Eremon]

Okay, so I finished off Origins (for now, as I can't think of anything else to add), and did most of the Homeworld. I'll add in more about the wildlife later.

 

Please, tell me what you guys think!

[Conn Eremon]

I figure I should mention this, but almost all odd names you see are based off of the Irish gaelic language, but you might see three different versions of the same word all depending on the narrator in question. Should the narrator be an outsider to both the Chapter and Tara, the words will be spelled as an approximation of their pronunciation by an English speaker. For instance, tales of the traitor warband Sharu, which according to the IPA is an approximate translation of the Irish word for summer, as it would be written by someone like say, an Inquisitor, who witnessed a confrontation. If the narrator is of the Chapter, then this Warband would be called Samhradh, the actual spelling of the Irish word for summer (really freaking wacky spelling for an English speaker, considering the pronunciation). In as many cases as I can, I will use the ancient versions of the word when narrated by someone of the Chapter. In this way, I can use the modern Irish version for those not of the Chapter, but of Tara. If I can't find any Modern Irish versions, I will probably use some sort of nickname to give it more of an legend feel, like the Burned Ones. To sum up, if it's a total outsider the word will be spelled as an approximation of its pronunciation, if it's from the Chapter's viewpoint then it will be spelled as it is in ancient Irish gaelic, and if it's a Taran narrator it'll be written according to modern day Irish gaelic or nicknames based off of the definitions of the terms and my intent behind their use. The point of all this is to simulate the differences between the planetary language of Tara and Imperial Gothic. Outsiders would not speak Taran, Marines would speak a Taran language that has seen little to no change, and Tarans would speak an evolved, modern form of the Taran language. Please keep in mind that I am a native American English speaker who knows only a smattering of Mexican Spanish as the sum of my linguistic capabilities. All of the Irish gaelic words used are results of Google searches, and the pronunciation approximations are based off of what I believe the IPA is trying to suggest it sounds like. Since there are apparently many different dialects on Ireland, I generally use whatever is provided at the source I find. If I have the option, I'll choose Connaught's. If I make any errors, I do apologize. I hope I don't offend anyone by mutilating their language, and I will be happy to make any changes for accuracy's sake. Alternatively, the errors can be seen as the ways in which the language of Tara in 40k is only based off of Irish gaelic, and not an exact copy of it.

 

Gonna add some stories I wrote up, flesh out the Chapter with some old Irish myth analogues. So, some encounters the Emerald Tigers have had with the Traitor Marines, specifically the Slaaneshi and Khornate Warbands that continuously hound the Chapter.

 

The Three Trials of Cormac

'When the ancient High King Cormac slew the Fallen One, he tossed the corpse into a great sea. When the Fallen One's soul tried to escape and be born again, the ice of its soul froze the sea solid, sealing him forever so that even his name could be forgotten with time. And with the death of their leader, the band of traitors retreated to Magh Meall, that hell of hells. And for centuries, not even a whisper of the Cold Ones could be found anywhere, so that all began to believe that they were gone for good. But it was not to be, no. No. For whisper they did, eventually. And soon they found those foolish enough to listen . . . foolish ones like those who have to hear the same stories over and over when they should be sleeping!'

'No, Father! Finish the story, finish it!'

'Ahh, very well then. Where was I? Ah, yes. It had been many long years since the Cold Ones last visited the God-Emperor's realm, and the High King Cormac had grown to be an old man, but a dreadnought still in battle. You can expect no less of a descendant of our God-Emperor. So it was that when the Cold Ones incited rebellions, Tara's band of Angels flew off to crush it, the indomitable Cormac at their lead. But the rebellion had never been the purpose of the Cold Ones, no. No. They were there for old man Cormac, to exact vengeance once and for all. When the Angels landed, Cormac was the first down and the first to charge, as was his habit. A habit that cost him dearly, for the Cold Ones had been well-prepared. When Cormac charged, the Cold Ones retreated. And when the High King's Angels could not keep up with their lord, the Cold Ones cut him off. Cormac was approached by a single Cold One, Manannan, a Fallen One. Their new leader, who would become a greater bane upon us then his predecessor ever could have been. Three lies were told to Cormac from the Cold One's lips. They were terrible lies, for they were true as well. And for those truths, Cormac would never repeat them, for the power they contained. But he was High King for a reason, and not once has any of our Angels ever turned, no. No. The High King heard these lies, and spurned them, but their damage had been done. Enraged by them, frustrated by his enemy, the High King had been worked into a froth. Seeing enemies everywhere, his colossal figure thrashed this way and that. Sometimes his blows found enemy flesh, but more often than not it found the stone and metal of the city around him. When his Angels had finally fought their way to him, they found two figures alone in a courtyard. The battered and cracked armored frame of the High King surrounded by piles of bodies and demolished buildings, and Manannan, who disappeared immediately into the shadows, leaving behind nothing but the echoes of his mocking laughter. From that day on, the High King could scarcely see reason, and cared only for the deaths of his enemies. But a High King must always be more than just a warrior, and even Cormac could see that. And so he stepped down, and the Angel Gunnat rose to take his place as the new High King of Tara, our true lord and ruler under the God-Emperor's gaze. Cormac was still a warrior, though. He'd sleep for ages on end, but would always awaken for the next battle. Now off with you! Sleep, for you have your own battle with your lessons tomorrow.'

'. . . Are the Angels real? Really?'

'Oh yes, my boy. I know they are real, and I know they watch out for us and our world. Some say that before they were Angels, they were mortals like us, and they take our heroes to fill their ranks. But of that, I don't know. What I do know is that the Angels are real. You were not yet born, and I was younger than you are now, when the Fallen Angels made war upon our world, upon holy Tara. They frightened me, more than nearly anything. But when our Angels landed, met them, and beat them . . . then I was the most fearful. I tell you now, my boy, when the God-Emperor created his Angels, he crafted them whole from his terrible will to see mankind's enemies dead. That is what our Angels are, His dreadful will made manifest. Terra help us if we ever need their aid again. Now, go, no more excuses.'

 

The Death of a Dog

This accounting of the death of a Chaos Lord of a Traitor Marine warband and his . . . consort, as I witnessed it, is perhaps the strangest one I have ever had the chance to see. I and my cohorts were making headway on a Slaaneshi cult that had grown to fester on the Agri World Fand, when the cult accomplished its task of summoning from the Warp Traitor Marines and daemons. Ill-prepared for such an invasion as I was, I immediately called upon the aid of a nearby Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes, the Emerald Tigers. The world being, as it were, within their area of protection, they responded immediately and as expected. The battles were long, and I will not delve into them here. One has simply to search the archives to find my debriefing on the affair, should anyone wish to know any further on it. What is important here is of a particular moment, when the enemy had us on the back foot. I was in meeting with the Marine Captain when the camp came under attack. They came with low numbers, but so quickly struck us that we had little time to repel their attack before they were among us, killing. Their intent seemed quite clear to me, an attempt to strike at the heart of their enemy. My theory was justified when our council was struck by one of the devilish Daemonettes, and a Traitor Marine who could only have been their leader. I would later discover this traitor's name was Manannan, of the Emperor's Children Legion. I despise that name, by the way. I mean, how in the world could they still refer to them-- No, sorry. Bit off-topic there. Anyway, that is when it happened. As the pair charged across an open area, firing at us, the Thunderhawk landed upon them. Yes, upon them. Well, crashed, really. The screams of its engines had been lost in the din of battle, and so it appeared to have come from nowhere, crashing into the enemy with all the force of a . . . well, of a falling Thunderhawk. Needless to say, the pair did not survive the impact. An inquiry into the circumstances showed that the Thunderhawk had taken off and "landed" under the direction of a malfunctioning servitor. The servitor had apparently once been a failed recruit. What they called it I don't quite recall, as this particular Chapter's language bears little resemblance to the Imperial Gothic. I believe they meant that it was the dog of someones. Probably misunderstood them. It was a most peculiar moment, and even now I can't quite believe anything could ever have been so easy. What I do believe, no, nevermind. What I know is that I never, ever want to hear the sound of Marines laughing ever again. You want to talk about disconcerting . . .

 

Inquisitor Furstin von Kasimira Astrid

Ordo Hereticus

[Stanfar]

Hello Battle-brother. = )

 

Firstly i have to say that your chapter is pretty awesome on its own way and the fluff is good also, but now i have to ask this: In which Segmentum does Tara lie? If there is already answer inside the fluff to my question, then i have missed it. If its not there then which Segmentum is it or have you even decided yet? ^^ Anyhow you have made a good job creating your chapter and i am eager to read more about it. The Colouring seems fitting for them also.

 

At the end i say good job and may the Emperor guide you battle-brother. = )

Stanfar out.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Stanfar

[Octavulg]

"This is Cor*garbled* . . . Son of Art*garbled* you say is true, then *garbled*-aken world may *garbled* saved, Don*garbled* of Kannon."

-Broken vox recording between Chapter Founder Cormac Airt and Donhmac Kannon, mortal liaison with the Taran underground rebellious forces, sole remaining record of the Chapter’s founding

 

This doesn't add anything. Speaking as the guy who uses quotes like they're made of candy, I always try and have the quote provide some kind of insight into the chapter. The major insight this seems to provide is that your boys need to invest in new radios.

 

In M34, the Howling tore across the Imperium, blotting the Astronomican and throwing many of its sectors into darkness and chaos. When the Howling faded and the Imperium strove forth to reclaim their worlds, the High Lords of Terra sanctioned a new Founding of Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. The War Consuls were created from the Ultramarine gene-stock, and were given as a veteran core fifty Ultramarines, most notably led by Artinios, and under him, Septivus, Corlionus, and Kartiginos. This knowledge, like much of what follows, is no longer known.

 

"Strove" means tried. I think you want "strode".

 

The War Consuls were tasked with bringing the Mag Lena Sector back into the Imperium fold. An out of the way sector that they deemed would only require a single new Chapter and a single Space Wolf Great Company to reclaim. The going was more difficult than planned. When Mag Lena went dark, Chaos took hold. Across the Sector, world after world fell as sickened Guardsmen, PDF, and militia turned their guns on their fellow man. Like a plague, the sudden uprising spread from world to world, rapidly quelling Imperial loyalties and replacing them with pestilent faith. By the time the light of the Imperium reappeared, Mag Lena was firmly in Nurgle's grasp, in the hands of Death's Legion.

 

Despite their differences in tactics and demeanor, the two Astartes forces kept a finely coordinated assault upon the Sector. But it never seemed enough. Though they were capable of tearing through the cultist forces with little pause, like a cancer they seemed only to reappear once gone. Over the course of crusade, it became increasingly clear that to liberate the sector they'd need to cut out the enemy's diseased heart. When the opportunity finally arrived, however, the Space Wolves felt their time had come to leave the War Consuls to its own fate and glory. Having grown to half-strength by recruiting from a generation raised in war, it was deemed that they would no longer need the protective over-watch of the Space Wolves. With the rebellious headquarters confined to a single world, the War Consuls would battle alone for the first time. Or so they believed.

 

The preceding three paragraphs boil down to:

The Emerald Tigers were founded as the War Consuls in M.34,* in the wake of the Howling which had darkened the Astronomicon and thrown the Imperium into Chaos. The War Consuls were a proud chapter, lead by a former Ultramarines Captain named Artinius.** Along with a Great Company of the Space Wolves, the nascent War Consuls were assigned to cleanse the Mag Lena sector of the Chaotic darkness that had claimed it. Though they battled for years against the evil that claimed the sector, they were unable to defeat the Chaotic forces outright. This called for an attack on the heart of the corruption in the sector. Though the Space Wolves withdrew,*** the War Consuls pressed on alone.

 

* Name changes are unnecessary and just use up perfectly good chapter names. A name change is a chapter revoking its previous heritage for a new one. That's serious stuff. I'd recomend Emerald Consuls to Emerald Tigers, if you must have a change.

** Ultramarine names tend to be Roman a lot more than Greek, and even the Greek ones don't seem to use 'os'.

*** Because if there's one thing the Space Wolves are notorious for, it's withdrawing when there's still fighting to be done...

 

Deep in Mag Lena, the world of Tara spun around its parent sun. It was, to all intents and purposes, an unimportant world. Classified as an agri-world, it produced only enough to sustain itself. As such, the received little in the way of taxation and tithes, and so provided little as well. While self-sufficient, the planet called Tara was bereft of many of the Imperium's benefits, stuck permanently in a feudal state as the populace worked the lands. An easy world for the cults to take root, begin the rot, and envelop the world into its fold. So any general or tactician would believe, and so did the rebels. Calling himself the Veiled One, once known as Lord General-Militant Kaheer, the leader of the rebellious forces deemed the world of Tara an appropriate setting for an example to be made. Arriving en masse and with deadly force, Death's Legion wiped out the upper levels of the global hierarchy in a series of rapid, brutal strikes that. After a brief altercation with the world's defenses, the Veiled One received an easy victory. After presiding over some mass sacrifices in celebration, the Veiled One prepared his departure. When the dropships landed on the planet's port spire, however, a group of local loyal Tarans detonated the spire's myriad reactor cores, causing immediate destruction of over 4/5 of the orbiting fleet's planetary craft, disabling the rest. Simultaneously, an Astropathic message was beamed out into space, declaring the Veiled One baited and trapped. Seething with fury, the Veiled One ordered his substantial forces to raid across the planet's surface again and again. No matter where he turned or where he looked, however, he could never find those daring loyalists that defied him. In every forest he burned to the ground, he lost hundreds, thousands, to traps and ambushes. For every mountain steadfast he storm, his officers and champions disappeared one by one. Every captured vox spoken in a Taran-specific dialect they could not decipher. It was infuriatingly efficient, but ultimately a lost cause. Killing thousands in a force of millions can only be a futile gesture, as the Death's Legion burned village after village. With reinforcement fleets on their way, Tara was doomed to fall.

 

First, use paragraph breaks like God intended.

 

Second, you have switched perspectives. You're talking about the past like it's the present. It's confusing (alternately, you're talking about a world being conquered recently when you earlier established the sector as having already fallen). You also introduce a lot of organizations without explaining who they are.

 

Third, "Tara" is about as subtle as a brick to the head. Speaking as someone who has a Celtic chapter of his own, I find it's better to try and be at least a bit subtle about these things. Tara has a well-known meaning. Cathe, on the other hand, is something that sounds vaguely Celtic but doesn't mean anything. You're better off sticking closer to the latter than the former, IMO. Why not just call it Cormac's World or Fiann's World or something?

 

Fourth, you don't set up the situation properly. You talk about headquarters (earlier), when what you really want is to be talking about the rebellion's leader.

 

Fifth, how has this world not been conquered already?

 

Finally, all of that is basically:

While annihilating the population of the feudal world** of Tara in a glorious sacrifice to the Gods of Chaos, the Veiled One was cut off from his orbiting fleet by the destruction of the planet's spaceport.*** Though the population of Tara paid a heavy price for their defiance, they had trapped the greatest enemy of the Mag Lena sector. An Astropathic message alerted loyalist forces, and the War Consuls came with the swiftness of hounds who finally have the scent.****

 

*Introduce him earlier. He's the rebel leader, so talk about him back when you're explaining how he needs to be killed.

**Agri-worlds have 85%+ of their surface given over to farming.

*** Why didn't he just nuke them from orbit? Especially once they did that? Withdraw into the capital, blast everything else while your men clear the capital by hand. Done. Or just withdraw to the capital and wait for evac, then blast everything. Or let the Nurgly plagues do your work.

**** Pick metaphors carefully. Sharks work, yes, but you're making an Irish tiger chapter. Earthy hunting metaphors are more suitable, IMO.

 

Like a shark following the scent of an injured whale, the War Consuls seized upon the Astropathic message and appeared over Tara's skies long before the enemy reinforcements. Outnumbered though the Astartes fleet was, its surprise appearance so close to the planet itself gave them enough room to loose the initial broadsides and salvos, devastating the enemy fleet and sending it running. Not long after, drop pods rained from the sky. The Chief Librarian of the War Consuls, Kartiginos, advised the Chapter Master Artinios that the discovered mass sacrifices could mean only one thing, daemonic ascension. Where the Veiled One hid while his forces rampaged across the land, however, they could not tell. There was a network of energies somewhere on the world feeding the Veiled One, but true to his name he hid its location well. Septivus, commander of the veteran company, led his forces into the heart of the enemy, while the remaining three battle companies, filled with the new battle-brothers of the fledgling Chapter supported Septivus with coordinated assaults on primary targets. The remaining company, led by Corlionus and filled with the youngest and newest recruits to the Chapter yet, was tasked with seeking out and finding the loyalist factions on Tara. These factions were found in the Mound. A geographic peculiarity, the Mound is a perfectly symmetrical dome that stretches nearly 2,000 kilometers diameter, the sides smoothly sloping up to an apex of 6,000 meters. A throwback to the Dark Age of Technology, the Mound is filled with a warren of labyrinthine tunnel networks, their original use and intent utterly forgotten. When the loyalist forces got in touch with the scout company, this is where they were led, and where the loyalist headquarters were located.

 

I really think you're giving us unnecessary detail:

 

The War Consuls' initial assault was furious. While Chapter Master Artinius and a company of veterans hunted for the Veiled One, anxious to stop him from working any foul Chaotic magic, the bulk of the chapter's strength engaged the cultists and the Veiled One's fleet. The battle went well, and Artinius soon ran the traitor to ground in an ancient facility known as the Mound*, an unholy warren of high-tech tunnels whose original purpose is now forgotten.

 

*Seriously?

 

With local knowledge of terrain and heavily paid for intel on the enemy the battle turned from a war of attrition to an utter rout. Within a week, the end came. With the Veiled One's hideout discovered, Chapter Master Artinios personally led the veteran company in assault, with the Corlionus and his company in support. With the enemy fleet returning with reinforcements, the remaining battle companies returned to their fleet. The Astartes fleet would hold the enemy at bay while the companies committed boarding actions. Everything proceeded according to plan, but in a heart beat this changed. The returning fleet was manageable at first, but once the Astartes forces were committed, more ships entered the fray. With the Marine companies locked in conflict aboard major enemy vessels, the incoming traitor vessels bombarded and destroyed their own ships. In a sudden blaze, three entire companies of the War Consuls were obliterated. With their entire fleet in orbit, the Astartes fleet was still large enough to hold their own, but both sides seemed doomed to destroy the other in mutually assured destruction.

 

On the planet's surface, the assault proceeded well. The veteran company easily swarmed over the enemy keep's defenses, and narrowed in on the beacon of pent up energies that revealed the Veiled One and his rituals. In desperation and fear of death, the Veiled One unleashed horror after horror at the onward marching Marines, but to little avail. In rage and confusion at the failing ascension, with his Lord Nurgle turning away from him, the Veiled One gathered up the energies to assault the Marines directly. As he gathered them to his will, the Marines burst into the ritual chamber. With a single loud bark, Artinios fired his bolt pistol, Kartiginos too late to stop him. Like a puppet with its strings cut, the Veiled One collapsed. And the energies he controlled burst through like a broken dam.

 

Corlionus' company held the grounds of the keep. His recruits arrayed in a circle around the keep, accompanied by the loyalist militia, they held off the enemy vainly attempting to come to their lord's rescue. It was one such recruit that first noticed the change in the keep. Its walls grayed, then greened, then drooped. In painfully, glacially slow motion, the keep slowly fell into itself, like a body decaying after death. The combat outside the walls slowed, and then ended altogether, as both sides stared with horror or awe at the sight. It was the Marines who first recovered their wits, and with sudden ferocity stormed the witless cultists and slew them to a man. They stayed, however, for three more days. Waiting and hoping for their brethren to stumble out. None did.

 

The battle in orbit was ferocious - though the traitors were annihilated, the Consuls paid a heavy price in blood and ships. Though the cultists on the surface died easily enough with the support and intelligence provided by local forces, the battle within the Mound* was what mattered. Seismic sensors reported upheavals within, and the remaining Chapter Librarians felt the Chaotic taint ebb away from Tara's once-green fields, but the Chapter Master and his men never re-emerged.

 

*Mystery is almost always better than certainty.

 

Also: why couldn't they just be the Emerald Tigers from the outset, exactly? Nothing requires the name change - they'd still have a bond with Tara without it.

 

 

Stuff about Gullion

 

When you write a lot of detail about battles, you put the focus on the detail. That's not where it should be. Who shot who doesn't matter. Why they shot them matters.

 

I'd also make this it's own section: most IAs have a short section after Origins, and this would fit well in it.

 

Home World

 

Paragraph breaks are your friend. Also, I think you once again get too much into detail. "An emerald terrestrial world dominated by feuding clans" covers most of what you just said, and people's imaginations would probably reproduce a lot of what you have above just from that. Some detail is good, but you have too much IMO.

 

* * *

 

It's simply too long. You have 3000 words, and about half that much information. Less, even.

 

Nightrawen had a quote I quite liked about the Origins section: it's like a miniskirt. Long enough to cover things, but still short enough to be interesting. Applies to IAs generally as well, I think.

 

I'm not getting much unique character from them yet. They're very Irish, but that's mostly because of the names. What about other aspects of their nature?

[Conn Eremon]

First of all, Octavulg: Thank you. I know I haven't been keeping it on the first page, but the lack of criticism was rather disconcerting.

 

This doesn't add anything. Speaking as the guy who uses quotes like they're made of candy, I always try and have the quote provide some kind of insight into the chapter. The major insight this seems to provide is that your boys need to invest in new radios.

 

The garbling was meant to be indicative to the eventual decay of the record, and not be what was actually said. The point I was trying to get across was that it was things like this that caused a lot of the misconceptions the Chapter has about itself.

 

The preceding three paragraphs boil down to:

 

This is a problem with my writing that I am fully aware of and intend to correct. The finished IA will be extensively edited down to be more in keeping with other IAs.

 

 

* Name changes are unnecessary and just use up perfectly good chapter names. A name change is a chapter revoking its previous heritage for a new one. That's serious stuff. I'd recomend Emerald Consuls to Emerald Tigers, if you must have a change.

** Ultramarine names tend to be Roman a lot more than Greek, and even the Greek ones don't seem to use 'os'.

*** Because if there's one thing the Space Wolves are notorious for, it's withdrawing when there's still fighting to be done...

 

Emerald Tigers is there to stay. I understand what you mean about the name change, though. Prior to writing it out, I had not even thought of making it like that. When writing it, however, the idea came to me and at the time it sounded amazing. A lot of what I write tends to be like that: sudden flash of genius that more often than not turns out to not be all that genius. Part of me still kind of likes the idea of it, but I will put some serious contemplation into it.

 

Second, you have switched perspectives. You're talking about the past like it's the present. It's confusing (alternately, you're talking about a world being conquered recently when you earlier established the sector as having already fallen). You also introduce a lot of organizations without explaining who they are.

 

Third, "Tara" is about as subtle as a brick to the head. Speaking as someone who has a Celtic chapter of his own, I find it's better to try and be at least a bit subtle about these things. Tara has a well-known meaning. Cathe, on the other hand, is something that sounds vaguely Celtic but doesn't mean anything. You're better off sticking closer to the latter than the former, IMO. Why not just call it Cormac's World or Fiann's World or something?

 

Fourth, you don't set up the situation properly. You talk about headquarters (earlier), when what you really want is to be talking about the rebellion's leader.

 

Fifth, how has this world not been conquered already?

 

2: Ehh, see above. I don't like to edit my stuff until I finally finish it, mostly because I worry if I ever will finish it if I do. But once done, extensive editing everywhere.

3: Consider them . . . placeholder names. Cormac is there to stay, despite being literally Cormac macAirt without the extra 'mac.' But things like Tara, Mound, Mag Lena, Cathair, place names and such, are generally there so I can readily recall the point I intend to make of them. Once I have the finished product and such recollection no longer needs a crutch, I try to be more creative with them. This is all the more apparent with my Imperial Dragons Chapter, as it's based largely off of the Three Kingdoms Era of Chinese history, and where the world, its factions, and characters all have names that are literal copies of what they're influenced off of. Upon completion, however, I intend to name them based off of an entirely separate culture that I will attempt to meld in. What that other culture is I haven't quite decided. While the Emerald Tigers will be entirely ancient Irish, things like Tara and the Mound will eventually be given a different name. It's something I didn't mention at first, but that's because it's not something I really think about, knowing as I do that they're not permanent.

4: Noted, thanks.

5: Low priority. Out of the way, unimportant world, that the archenemy chooses to make an example of, making it a sudden high priority. Something I'll try to point out better in the IA.

 

 

*Introduce him earlier. He's the rebel leader, so talk about him back when you're explaining how he needs to be killed.

**Agri-worlds have 85%+ of their surface given over to farming.

*** Why didn't he just nuke them from orbit? Especially once they did that? Withdraw into the capital, blast everything else while your men clear the capital by hand. Done. Or just withdraw to the capital and wait for evac, then blast everything. Or let the Nurgly plagues do your work.

**** Pick metaphors carefully. Sharks work, yes, but you're making an Irish tiger chapter. Earthy hunting metaphors are more suitable, IMO.

 

*Noted

**Did I contradict that? Hm. Well, noted.

***Can't that argument apply to virtually every conflict of 40k, though? Why not just nuke it from orbit?

****Noted. I was trying to avoid a tiger hunting metaphor as I figured it'd be too over the top, but noted nonetheless.

 

The battle in orbit was ferocious - though the traitors were annihilated, the Consuls paid a heavy price in blood and ships. Though the cultists on the surface died easily enough with the support and intelligence provided by local forces, the battle within the Mound* was what mattered. Seismic sensors reported upheavals within, and the remaining Chapter Librarians felt the Chaotic taint ebb away from Tara's once-green fields, but the Chapter Master and his men never re-emerged.

 

*Mystery is almost always better than certainty.

 

Of all the edits you've done, I have to say I like this one the best, and will be the most likely one I use. Thanks.

 

Also: why couldn't they just be the Emerald Tigers from the outset, exactly? Nothing requires the name change - they'd still have a bond with Tara without it.

 

No reason. Like I said earlier, just a sudden idea. War Consuls was one of the 20 Chapters that I created using Deathwatch's Rites of Battle. Like about 16 others, it was just when the book had first came out and I thought the Chapter Creation rules were a lot of fun, but the Chapters would never see the light of day. This was just an odd way letting it have some sort of life.

 

When you write a lot of detail about battles, you put the focus on the detail. That's not where it should be. Who shot who doesn't matter. Why they shot them matters.

 

I'd also make this it's own section: most IAs have a short section after Origins, and this would fit well in it.

 

Yeah, it's a readily admitted fault of mine. I will note the idea of adding a short section after Origins.

 

I'm not getting much unique character from them yet. They're very Irish, but that's mostly because of the names. What about other aspects of their nature?

 

Something I know, and is in my head, but hasn't been written down yet. But I will. Especially now that the thread got some interest, I will be kicking myself in gear to finish writing it. Hopefully the Combat Doctrine and Beliefs sections will answer this question once written.

Edited March 20, 2012 by Cormac Airt

[Octavulg]

First of all, Octavulg: Thank you. I know I haven't been keeping it on the first page, but the lack of criticism was rather disconcerting.

 

Not to beat a dead horse, but part of that may be the length. ;)

 

The garbling was meant to be indicative to the eventual decay of the record, and not be what was actually said. The point I was trying to get across was that it was things like this that caused a lot of the misconceptions the Chapter has about itself.

 

I thought it might be that, but I really think there must be a better way of getting that across. My initial impulse is something along the lines of:

Oh, it's here somewhere. We just can't find it. -Codicier Haakon O'Toole, Chief Archivist of the Emerald Tigers

 

But I think that's probably not the best idea. ^_^ Still, I'm not sure a lack of information is best presented through dialogue.

 

This is a problem with my writing that I am fully aware of and intend to correct. The finished IA will be extensively edited down to be more in keeping with other IAs.

 

Write it brief the first time and the finished IA will happen that much sooner. ;)

 

Emerald Tigers is there to stay. I understand what you mean about the name change, though. Prior to writing it out, I had not even thought of making it like that. When writing it, however, the idea came to me and at the time it sounded amazing. A lot of what I write tends to be like that: sudden flash of genius that more often than not turns out to not be all that genius. Part of me still kind of likes the idea of it, but I will put some serious contemplation into it.

 

I think you misunderstand. I meant change War Consuls to Emerald Consuls, so they stopped being Consuls and started being Tigers.

 

As a rule, this is why I outline things first. Gives me plenty of time to discover how terrible my ideas are. ;)

 

3: Consider them . . . placeholder names. Cormac is there to stay, despite being literally Cormac macAirt without the extra 'mac.' But things like Tara, Mound, Mag Lena, Cathair, place names and such, are generally there so I can readily recall the point I intend to make of them. Once I have the finished product and such recollection no longer needs a crutch, I try to be more creative with them. This is all the more apparent with my Imperial Dragons Chapter, as it's based largely off of the Three Kingdoms Era of Chinese history, and where the world, its factions, and characters all have names that are literal copies of what they're influenced off of. Upon completion, however, I intend to name them based off of an entirely separate culture that I will attempt to meld in. What that other culture is I haven't quite decided. While the Emerald Tigers will be entirely ancient Irish, things like Tara and the Mound will eventually be given a different name. It's something I didn't mention at first, but that's because it's not something I really think about, knowing as I do that they're not permanent.

 

Personally, I prefer to figure out the names from the outset so I don't get mixed up. I'm easily confused as-is. :P

 

*Did I contradict that? Hm. Well, noted.

 

Well, you talked about them being feudal and having forests and such to hide in. Leaving aside considerations of just how agri-worlds would work, infighting pseudo-Irish guerilla clans don't seem compatible with hyper-scale agriculture.

 

Also, the populations of agri-worlds tend to be tiny. I suspect they're intended to be more crew than inhabitants.

 

***Can't that argument apply to virtually every conflict of 40k, though? Why not just nuke it from orbit?

 

1) There's something they need onplanet.

2) Nuking it will be ineffective for some reason.

3) It will be quicker to kill everyone the old fashioned way.

4) It will be more efficient to kill everyone the old fashioned way.

5) They like killing things up close and personal.

 

Of all the edits you've done, I have to say I like this one the best, and will be the most likely one I use. Thanks.

 

They're as much to prove a point as to be used. Though I was rather pleased with that one.

 

No reason. Like I said earlier, just a sudden idea. War Consuls was one of the 20 Chapters that I created using Deathwatch's Rites of Battle. Like about 16 others, it was just when the book had first came out and I thought the Chapter Creation rules were a lot of fun, but the Chapters would never see the light of day. This was just an odd way letting it have some sort of life.

 

Then make them into a chapter, you silly thing you!

 

Seriously. It's far too good a name to throw away on a one-shot appearance early in a chapter's history.

 

Yeah, it's a readily admitted fault of mine. I will note the idea of adding a short section after Origins.

 

Work on your readily-admitted fault, then. :D Try for "Baby shoes for sale. Never worn." over Ulysses, y'know?

 

Something I know, and is in my head, but hasn't been written down yet. But I will. Especially now that the thread got some interest, I will be kicking myself in gear to finish writing it. Hopefully the Combat Doctrine and Beliefs sections will answer this question once written.

 

They usually help a lot, for all that people tend to write them later. They really are where personality comes to the fore.

[Conn Eremon]

Then make them into a chapter, you silly thing you!

 

Seriously. It's far too good a name to throw away on a one-shot appearance early in a chapter's history.

 

All twenty? Dear God, no. It'd be a pain to write, and a pain to read, I'm sure.

 

I have been thinking of ways to accommodate some of my ramblings here, though. For instance, War Consuls turning into Emerald Tigers is an admittedly silly thing. That was kind of its point, really, but enough with it.

 

War Consuls is a pretty good name for an Ultramarine successor Chapter, but I'll change it so that rather than my Chapter being founded from the Ultramarine Chapter specifically, they're founded from Guilliman's geneseed as stored in Mars. By virtue of circumstance, strong codex adherence, and renown, the War Consuls would be the source of the training cadre, the initial Chapter Master and temporary officer core. From there, things proceed much the same.

 

*** Because if there's one thing the Space Wolves are notorious for, it's withdrawing when there's still fighting to be done...

 

Forgot to respond to this, but what I had intended to portray was that the Space Wolves were literally just passing through, and took part at all only because they're Space Wolves who wouldn't pass up such an opportunity, but were a welcome, albeit temporary, ally. I'll try to make it more clear, or simply edit out their inclusion entirely.

 

Hello Battle-brother. = )

 

Firstly i have to say that your chapter is pretty awesome on its own way and the fluff is good also, but now i have to ask this: In which Segmentum does Tara lie? If there is already answer inside the fluff to my question, then i have missed it. If its not there then which Segmentum is it or have you even decided yet? ^^ Anyhow you have made a good job creating your chapter and i am eager to read more about it. The Colouring seems fitting for them also.

 

At the end i say good job and may the Emperor guide you battle-brother. = )

Stanfar out.

 

I only now realized someone other than Octavulg had posted, my apologies. Thanks for the interest, and as far as your Segmentum question goes it is currently Pacificus. I say currently because I only really chose it for no real reason other than that I live next to the Pacific Ocean and have no attachment to it.

[sponsra]

I admit I haven´t read the background and all the posts, but I would like to comment on the colors. Many people seem to suggest to tone it down -i would say the opposite. I like the way it looks on your avatar -pea-green and flourescent orange. Very old school gw with bright colours that almost hurt your eyes :tu:. Valejo has flourescent orange in their range, and I think it would fit nicely with a brighter and not so "military" green

 

:tu:

[Conn Eremon]

I admit I haven

[Conn Eremon]

Emerald Tigers

 

Origin

The Emerald Tigers were formed during the 7th Founding from the legacy of Guilliman, around a cadre of an older Chapter, the War Consuls. Their first action once combat ready was to participate in a crusade to reclaim the worlds lost to the Imperium by the ferocity of the Emperor's Ire, a sector-wide warpstorm that had been raging for nearly a century.

 

The Emerald Tigers and the fighting men of the crusade found themselves embroiled in a long-standing war between two Traitor Legions, the bloodthirsty World Eaters and overstimulated Emperor's Children. Though an arduous three way struggle, the Imperium was ultimately successful when the final dissipation of the warpstorm cut off reinforcements to the traitors. The Emerald Tigers re-tasked themselves with the defense of the Sector, deep in Segmentum Pacificus, taking for themselves a homeworld within it, with the approval of the High Lords, that had particularly impressed the young Chapter on its continued resistance to the corruption of Chaos.

 

The Emerald Tigers have remained in the area for millennia, on constant patrol for the ever-constant resurgence of Traitor Marine activity and the presence of insidious xenos. In that time, the Emerald Tigers have ever stayed loyal to their Emperor and fought countless wars in this remote and otherwise relatively unprotected zone of space.

 

From their early victory at Khavidan to their most recent defense of Tara, the Emerald Tigers have won great glories and suffered many losses with trademark adaptability, overcoming all obstacles by virtue of their fluidity.

 

Homeworld

During the First War, as the later Emerald Tigers refer to their earliest Crusade, the young Chapter marched in its entirety upon the world of Tara, a world wracked by battles fought between the two traitor forces. There the Emerald Tigers witnessed the weakened, distraught Imperial citizens remain ultimately unbroken by the atrocities they'd lived through, fighting back at their enemies at every moment through subterfuge and guerrilla tactics.

 

When the Chapter succeeded in throwing the traitors offworld it had already been decided that the world of Tara would make an ideal center for recruitment. Following the close of the Crusade, the Emerald Tigers petitioned the High Lords of Terra for the right to claim Tara as their homeworld. So granted, the young Chapter set to work on the feudal world, creating their Fortress-Monastery as a vast subterranean network in the center of the Great Valley, an immense basin as large as the Imperial Palace. The only evidence that can be seen from the surface is a large mound, too uniformly rounded to be a natural hill or small plateau. The tribal Tarans refer to this landmark as the Great Mother, who gives birth to the giant sons of the Sky Father, the local term for the Emperor. Those Tarans more civilized than their tribal brethren, living in a feudal state, know more of the truth of its existence and are fully aware of the presence of the Emerald Tigers.

 

The Chapter recruits from both peoples equally, nominally by keeping watch over the internecine wars and tournaments. For every child taken as a potential recruit a token of precious metal is left behind for the child's family. Among the feudal clans, these tokens are of paramount importance, being physical manifestations of their divine right to rule. In essence, the tokens act as evidence of nobility. The greatest feudal clans are called the Companion Clans as they can trace their long lineages back to the heroic Tarans who had fought alongside the Emerald Tigers at the very beginning of their histories. The patriarchs of these feudal clans are kings of their imminent domains, Tara's highest mortal authorities.

 

The tribes of Tara react to the tokens less reverently, thinking them payment for the taking of their child and nothing more. These tokens exchange hands and ownership at a rapid pace. Many feudal clans have had their position secured by laying claim to traded tokens. These feudal clans were purged when such claims were declared fraudulent in the 39th Millennium. For the past couple decades, Tara has been attempting to mend the horrific damage wrought upon it during the unprecedented assault by an allied traitor force.

 

Organisation

The organisation of the Emerald Tigers has changed in the recent centuries, as the Chapter has been forced to raise an additional two companies to overcome the constant onslaught of foes that had threatened to overwhelm the Chapter during the 41st Millennium. Though no longer necessary, the additional companies are now used to man and escort the large Starfort Exalted Wrath, a recent addition to the Chapter that had proven particularly advantageous in breaking the back of the Traitor's attack on their homeworld.

 

The Chapter is divided on the future of the companies, as the current Chapter Master has yet to decide whether the companies will be retained and replenished as needed or they should be allowed to diminish over time by inevitable losses until the proper Chapter size is once more reached. The remaining ten companies are primarily Codex in organisation.

 

The Battle Companies are ever at work hunting down and striking out at nearby foes while the Reserve Companies patrol the Sector in constant vigilance.

 

Beliefs

The Emerald Tigers have for a long time lost their Primarch as their primary focus for reverence, shifting entirely to the Emperor. Though Guilliman remains as an important aspect of the Chapter, they view him mostly as a conduit, their connection to the Emperor through their genetic inheritance. This shift in focus is one of many visible clues as to how much of the Chapter has been shaped by their homeworld.

 

Combat Doctrine

The Chapter has pride most of all in its mutability and adaptability. Rather than providing the same, static face to the enemy in each encounter, the Emerald Tigers has learned the hard way that only by approaching war differently each time can they take the enemy by surprise. The hunters of the tribesmen know full well that they are not the greatest predator of the forests and change themselves constantly, sometimes through drastic measures, to disorient any would be attackers. As the Emerald Tigers are isolated from any potential aid and can be outmatched at times by their myriad foes, they have adopted this as their creed.

 

The rich and robust tomes that is the Chapter's copy of the Codex Astartes details multiple potential military responses for virtually any potential situation. As a general preference, the Chapter will by its own preferences choose an unused method of attack or defense before falling back upon a previously used gambit.

 

They have been known to go against such preferences often when opportune. They do not allow themselves to get lost in the fervor and heat of battle. They remain constantly aware for the perfect moment to strike with utmost ferocity, whether when striking from unawares or already locked in combat, the Emerald Tigers strive always to end conflicts quickly and decisively.

 

Gene-seed

The Emerald Tigers were founded upon the gene-seed of Roboute Guilliman and they have kept their genetic legacy as pure as it began. The Chapter keeps careful watch over the Tarans for prospectful recruits, though they do make such individuals easy to find. As the taking of a family member increases a clan's social standing, many capable boys are trained from a very young age to impress the watchers with strong arms and quick minds. Great tournaments are held with regularity, as the youths show off their skills and prowess in competitions against one another.

 

Among the Taran tribes, life is less orderly. A child that can fight in tournaments is a child that can fight for his tribe's survival and will participate in the everlasting wars between tribes and the two great cultures.

 

Despite the Tara's brush with Chaos so long ago, the purity of faith and mind of Tara's denizens kept them pure of body as well. Though an ever-present problem for any Imperial world, Tara's mutant birth rate is very low and harshly dealt with. The Emerald Tigers have been blessed with such purity, allowing the Chapter to rapidly recuperate from the many severe losses it has taken over its lifetime.

 

Battle-cry

"We live, you die!"

Edited April 10, 2013 by Cormac Airt

[Messor]

Just a couple typo/grammar nitpicks:

The greatest clans are called the Companion Clans as they can trace their long lineages back to the heroic Tarans who had fought alongside the Emerald Tigers at the very beginning of their histories.

 

The Chapter keeps careful watch over the Tarans for prospective recruits

 

The shift between clans and tribes I found confusing. Are the clans also the feudal inhabitants, or are they another group altogether? If not, I would refer to them consistently as the feudal, or more civilized.

 

I love that battle cry, very entertaining.

[Conn Eremon]

Keeping my tenses straight is an ongoing flaw, I do apologize.

 

Tribes and clans are separate, with the clans being the primary social-extended family unit of the more civilized Tarans. The tribes are the comparatively uncivilized Tarans. Two distinctive groups of people. Perhaps if I kept saying 'feudal clans' it`d be more clear.

[Messor]

Aye, at least for me, it would be make the associations much clearer. On my first read through I got the impression that it was the less civilized tribes that highly prized the precious metals, and then it suddenly was someone else.

[Conn Eremon]

I want the icons to be deeds of noble blood, evidence of an Emperor`s Angel in the family line. Which would be only important to the feudal clans. Granted, it`s only evidence of a son`s potential. They`ll never know whether their son ever succeeded the many trials, but they have no knowledge of such things.

 

To the tribes, it`s little more than payment.

Edited April 9, 2013 by Cormac Airt

[Octavulg]

Y'know what's awesome? Paragraph breaks.

 

Most stuff seems pretty minor. Any points you're concerned you're not getting across?

Edited April 10, 2013 by Octavulg