Hellbenders

[SilentJester]

This is my first attempt at really trying to create a Chapter, and the story components that surround them.

To those of you who have more experience in this sort of this, I would very much appreciate any feedback that you have to offer.

Thank you for taking the time to look at this.

 

Hellbender Chapter

 

Origins

The Hellbenders were founded in M37 (Salamanders 22th Founding) to secure the region of space known as the Cephei belt, and specifically as an attempt to pacify the Hadrian Worlds before the Grey Slayers (legion of Chaos) completely destabilized the Imperial presence found there.

 

From the start, the founding was plagued by setbacks. There was an initial shortage of valid geneseed, a higher than anticipated number of failed recruits due to suspected espionage by an unknown source. As a result, the chapter had not reached full Codex strength before the start of the Cephei Crusade. In addition to beginning the crusade understrength, the majority of long ranged assets allocated to the chapter never re-emerged from the warp while in transit to the Hadrian worlds. This coupled with the constant grind of fighting within the close confines of the dense habs and industrial sectors located throughout the Hadrian worlds, the Hellbenders were unable to prevent the region from falling out of Imperial control. In mid M39, the Cephei belt fell to the Grey Slayers.

 

Later History

In M40, the Hellbenders, this time supported by elements of the 258th Mechanized Infantry battalion, returned to the Cephei Belt in what was known as the 2nd Cephei Crusade. This time the supported Hellbenders saw success after success slowly driving the Grey Slayers to the outmost fringes of the Cephei belt, though at an unusually high cost to the chapter.

 

It was during this crusade that the Hellbenders chose to adopt portions of the 258th’s combat doctrine by altering the 6th company to be an armor company. In addition, the Hellbenders use a larger number of dreadnaughts to support the veteran and battle companies in order to offset the unusually heavy losses that the Hellbenders have been taking since the 2nd crusade began.

 

Recently, elements of the Hellbenders chapter deployed alongside Inquisitor Callis of the Ordo Hereticus, with elements from Legio Ignatum, and Delta Company of the 258th Mechanized Infantry battalion, (Desert Jackals) during the fall of the nearby forgeworld of Boötes VII. The Hellbenders are presently supporting the Inquisitor Callis and Legio Ignatum in tracking down the Grey Slayer fleet that attacked the system, as they believe that several engines may have been captured from the Titan foundries.

 

Home World

The surface of Solway Firth, the main world of the Hadrian system and homeworld of the Hellbenders, is a re-purposed world. Once a budding Imperial world, the first colonized in the Cephei Belt, Solway Firth had dense habs and industrial sectors covering the entirety of the equatorial band of the planet.

 

Solway Firth suffered greatly from the repeated the raids of the Grey Slayers during the first Cephei Crusade and was left abandoned. In mid M40 after the Grey Slayers were driven from the Hadrian Worlds, the planet was again recolonized. Solway Firth was repurposed this time as an agri-world, taking advantage of the near perfect climate, rich and fertile plains, and numerous waterways that cover much of the planet. Now, much of what Solway Firth exports are foodstuffs (read rice like grain) grown in artificially irrigated fields. In areas where the water is naturally occurring, there is virtually no cultivation and the inhabitants avoid those areas with extreme prejudice.

 

Solway Firth is home to an amphibious apex predator the natives call the hellbender. This predator often times reaches lengths in excess of 30 feet, and weighing in at over 3000 pounds. They are crocodilian in appearance and behavior, complete with jaws that can crush steel. Their bones are significantly stronger than those of humans, as they are not based on calcium. They have a sense of smell better than that of a dog, vision akin to humans, and very acute hearing. Study of the hellbenders brain shows that while not fully sapient, they are not far off. The hellbender is at least as smart as gorillas. Hellbender claws are not just weapons, but exert enough traction for the creature to sprint up river banks, rocky cliffs, and nearly anything inbetween. Though it is not a true amphibian - it cannot breathe water - it does possess an integral snorkel enabling it to move undetected beneath several feet of water. Its cardiovascular system and musculature give it strength and stamina far beyond that of humans and that is without its primary evolutionary advantage: A super-oxygenated blood supplement.

 

A hellbender can, on demand, release a chemical supercharger into its blood that does to it what nitrous oxide does to internal combustion engines - enable short bursts of speed in excess of a hundred miles per hour. This is the primary trait makes the hellbenders so dangerous - and the key to their destruction. The supercharger, when used, generates large amounts of waste-heat that warm up their bodies so rapidly they effectively "cook themselves" and will die after using it if they do not immediately return to the water to cool off.

 

The hellbender life cycle is similar to that of terrestrial frogs –a juvenile state that resemble a small to medium sized alligator gar, and the adult state that resembles a large crocodilian. Like certain species of frogs, hellbenders change gender over the course of their lifetimes. The juvenile gars are male, while the adult hellbenders are female. Interaction is unnecessary as the hellbenders continually lay their unfertilized eggs in the water for the gar to fertilize. And like many species of frogs, they are cannibalistic - if no other prey is present, they will eat their own young.

During the first Cephei Crusade, most of the animals on the planet were destroyed. Among the few surviving species on the Solway Firth were the gar, and thus the hellbenders. Cannibalism became the rule instead of the exception, only the fastest juvenile gar survived predation by hellbender females to become adult hellbenders themselves, and this drove the species to evolve at an immensely accelerated rate. This resulted in the incredible predatory abilities of the hellbenders.

 

When the colonists introduced terrestrial fish into the ecosystem, they provided the hellbenders with an additional food source. Where once there were only one or two hellbenders in a region at any given time due to their territorial behavior pattern, dozens of gar now became hellbenders.

In the past, colonists only exterminated the adult hellbenders which resulted in no check at all on the gar population. Within a relatively short period of time, the gar becomes hellbenders. So, instead of a few dozen hellbenders, there are now thousands. The fight between the colonists and the hellbenders is no longer a hunt - it is a war.

 

While the life of a farmer is not the ideal environment to find space marine candidate, there is another section of the population on the planet which attracted the notice of the space marines. In the equatorial regions where the massive hab cities once dominated Solway Firth, no attempts at cultivation of the land are attempted. The hellbenders reach even greater size here than in other parts of the world, due to regular equatorial flooding, and easy access to the plentiful prey that have made the ruins their home. A hardy few of the population make a living by combing these ruins, recovering the seemingly endless supply of salvage found there. These scavengers must be alert for attack at all times, and prepared to fight off the tremendous beast if one should attack. A master of the ambush, the hellbender is a ferocious close quarters opponent, with slashing claws, a mouth big enough to swallow several men whole, not to mention its tremendous bulk flailing around. These scavengers who dare the hab ruins are tough folk though, and make excellent recruit stock for the Hellbenders space marines.

 

Beliefs

I'll figure this out later.

 

Combat Doctrine

Hellbenders are urban combat specialists preferring to fight amongst the close quarters found in the habs, industrial sectors, hive worlds, and forge worlds found across the imperium.

 

The Hellbenders, much like their namesake, are ambush specialists, preferring short-range firefights, and taking the battle to the enemy. However, due to their low numbers, they realize that heavy support is often necessary to offset this disadvantage. The chapter, while still understrength, still possesses the standard allotment of vehicles for a full 1000 marines. The Hellbenders have arranged their excess vehicles into a heavily mechanized 6th company based on the 258th Mechanized Infantry battalion combat doctrine, having exchanged many of their transport vehicles with Mars for more heavily armed and armored ones. The 6th, also known as Dingo 6, is often deployed to support the veteran and battle companies. Many of the vehicles in the 6th company have been retrofitted (read customized) with heavier weapons, as the Hellbenders are well aware that a liberal application of heavy support often times offsets their limited numbers.

 

In addition the reconfiguration of the 6th company, the Hellbenders also maintain a much larger compliment of Dreadnaughts than other chapters. It was found early on in the second Cephei Crusade that heavy vehicles are not always an advantage in the shattered landscape of the cities and industrial sectors that the Hellbenders are often deployed to. To counter this loss in heavy support, Dreadnaughts (which are significantly more nimble in the ruined urban landscape) are often deployed in numbers alongside the veteran and line companies.

 

Organization

To the extent that their numbers permit, the Hellbenders follow their parent chapter's Codex variances with the exception of 6th company. The Hellbenders are currently arranged into 7 companies of 12 squads. The first company (Blank) field veteran squads and terminators, 2nd company (Blank) is a standard Salamanders-style battle company, 3rd company (Blank) is a standard Salamanders-style battle company, the 4th company (Blank) is a standard Salamanders-style battle company, but currently at half strength ,and 5th company (reserve) is presently unused due heavy continuous losses being suffered by the Hellbenders. The 6th Armored company (Dingo 6) is currently at full strength and 7th (Blank) Scout company is currently over strength at 15 squads.

 

Gene-seed

Salamanders gene-seed (needs fleshing out)

 

Battle-cry

Strike fast, Strike hard.

 

Color Scheme

The Hellbender’s colors Mechrite Red body, Chaos Black Shoulders, Yellow Helmet, and Shoulder Piping.

[fivepointedstar]

I've alway thought of making a chapter called Hellbender, just because its a bad :lol: name.

[SilentJester]

Looking for feedback regarding this first attempt at creating a Chapter. I am hoping that those of you who have more experience in this sort of thing might be able to help steer me in a direction that will lead to a great DYI chapter.

 

Thank you for your time.

[Destecado]

Welcome to the forum SilentJester.

 

Your Chapter concept has potential, but at the moment it’s a little bit schizophrenic. You also spend the bulk of the IA discussing the chapter’s namesake (the hellbender) rather than the chapter themselves. This isn’t to say that the Hellbender isn’t interesting. It should however be detailed under its own heading, rather than as a description of the home world.

 

Also, if the Chapter did not secure Solway Firth until a second war was fought, thus never actually being from Solway Firth, why were they named after a predator on that world? Were they called something else before they took the world?

 

 

The Hellbenders were founded in M37 (Salamanders 22th Founding) to secure the region of space known as the Cephei belt, and specifically as an attempt to pacify the Hadrian Worlds before the Grey Slayers (legion of Chaos) completely destabilized the Imperial presence found there.

 

I’m a little confused as to what the Cephei belt is. You call it a region of space, so I’m guessing that it isn’t an asteroid belt in a single star system. Is the Cephei belt related to the Cepheus constellation? It might help to provide more detail about the Cephei belt and its relation to the Hadrian Worlds.

 

There is also the issue of why an untested chapter would be leading this crusade? I’m not saying that they should not have taken part in the initial attempt to secure this region of space, but were their no other space marine units available? What about Imperial guard units?

 

You point out that the Chapter was under strength when the embarked on the crusade and then suffered losses in transit. Did they not have any backup? If they were so under strength, why did they jump into the meat grinder of urban combat? Could they not have undertaken hit and run tactics until reinforcements arrived? This would seem to be fitting, since you describe them as masters of ambush tactics… unless you’re trying to say that ambush tactics emerged as an SOP after this disastrous defeat.

 

How did the Grey Slayers conquer the Cephei belt? Did they have a fleet, which allowed them to move from world to world or did they work behind the scenes to corrupt the local governments and create popular uprisings? If they had a fleet, was it larger or more powerful than that of the Hellbender’s chapter? If the Chapter was under strength for planetary assaults, would a fleet engagement have made more sence?

 

In addition to beginning the crusade understrength, the majority of long ranged assets allocated to the chapter never re-emerged from the warp while in transit to the Hadrian worlds.

 

Warp travel is dangerous and unpredictable. Vessels that enter the warp at the same time may exit the warp at completely different times. Did the Hellbenders delay their attack for any amount of time, waiting for their other ships to emerge or did they jump in head first, expecting the other ships to join in when they arrived?

 

I also don’t understand what you mean by “long ranged assets”. Are you referring to Assault Units that can deep strike or maybe heavy weapons teams (Devastator Squads)? If you are referring to armored vehicles, with long ranged weapons, then I question why the chapter would form its remaining vehicles into armored companies. Putting all their eggs in one basket had already cost them dearly.

 

 

Solway Firth suffered greatly from the repeated the raids of the Grey Slayers during the first Cephei Crusade and was left abandoned. In mid M40 after the Grey Slayers were driven from the Hadrian Worlds, the planet was again recolonized.

 

Why was the planet abandoned? How was it abandoned? The number of ships required to evacuate the populace would be staggering. It would be easier to use all of those ships to attack the Grey Slayers, rather than evacuate the population. Although the Chapter had been defeated, that does not mean that there were not other forces still resisting on the planetary surface.

 

They might have to fight on alone, till the Imperium could mount a new expedition to break the Grey Slayers hold on the Hadrian worlds. The population may have been decimated by the occupation. They may have also be subject to sterilization, if not outright exterminatus after the Imperium retook the world, but not knowing this, many may have elected to stay behind, to defend their homes and families.

 

 

Solway Firth was repurposed this time as an agri-world, taking advantage of the near perfect climate, rich and fertile plains, and numerous waterways that cover much of the planet.

 

So the ecosystem was unaffected by centuries of industrial output or years of constant war? Why the change to agri-world anyway? If the planet had been an industrial world previously, wouldn’t the Chapter want to get those factories back online, to build vehicles and weapons that could be used to defend the planet?

 

Where did the resources that fed those factories come from? Were they imported from other worlds? A lack of incoming resources would make it difficult to re-industrialize. You might want to consider explaining the change from an industrial to an agrarian society in more detail.

 

 

Hope this helps. Will post more later….

[SilentJester]

Oh wow! More than I could have ever asked for!

So many things to think about and expand upon now.

 

Back to the Chapter...I have things to think through, and questions to answer!!!

[SilentJester]

Text Deleted due to a double post. (sorry)

[Andrew J]

Silent Jester welcome again. Destecado is a fantastic person to help with your liber article. He has helped me a lot and gives very detailed answers. You are in good hands!

 

After reading through your article I noticed many of the same things that Destecado mentioned. A couple points that I would like to point out would be to look at your overall flow of the article. You dont mention anything about the hellbender(animal) till later in the article. It is difficult for a reader to know everything about your chapter right away. I would try to mention important things in the origins part so that people have at least an idea of where you are about to go.

 

My thoughts on Solway Firth go like this. If it was an industrial world before in the 40k universe the world is essentially useless for food production as things tend to be very polluted. I think it would be hard for the planet to change into an agriworld. Maybe you could try to explain it a little better.

 

I do like your explanation of the hellbender. You did your research.

 

Other than that good luck! I will look forward to seeing what you come up with next!

[stilettoblade]

This sounds suspiciously like a reworking of my Hellbenders outline.

 

At a glance, I see the following specific ideas/exact quotes from my chapter outline:

Founded specifically in response to a chaos threat

Initial shortage of geneseed

deployed with an Inquisitor to defend a forgeworld

believed "that several engines may have been captured from the Titan foundries"

amphibious apex predator called Hellbender

reaches greater size in equatorial regions

"hardy few" that live there who "must be alert for attack at all times, and prepared to fight off the tremendous beast if one should attack"

"In close quarters, the hellbender is a ferocious opponent, with slashing claws, a mouth big enough to swallow several men whole... not to mention its tremendous bulk flailing around."

"tough folk, and make excellent recruit stock for the Hellbenders space marines. "

overly mechanized company for extra vehicles due to understrength

specific empty/currently unused company numbers and half-strength companies

 

I think it's cool that you like my chapter outline and want to use the idea, but if you're gonna claim that this outline is your work, you might want to at least get all of my exact phrasings out of your document. You took my outline, changed the names and planets, and added some words, but it's the exact same concept and you clearly started from my text, as whole chunks are still exactly my words.

[Brother Daeger Helsir]

I'm afraid that whatever its other merits, I can't take the chapter seriously, because all I can think of when I hear that name was the Hellbender combat trucks from the Unreal Tournament games...