Moritaureans

[Destecado]

This is still very much a work in progress. I have yet to generate an IA, but I did want to post some of the basic concepts behind the background of the chapter, as well as a picture of the chapter livery and icon.

The initial inspiration for this chapter came from reading and commenting on Andrew J’s Auroch Chapter. That set the wheels in motion, but I am hoping to generate a chapter that is very different from the Aurochs and the Minotaurs as well.

Background

The Moritaureans are Xenos / Monster hunters.

Monster hunting, as a vocation, factors prominently in the history of the Chapter’s homeworld. Beastmen and other unnatural creatures had plagued the world for generations. Over time, small groups banded together to hunt down these creatures. These hunters generally applied their monster hunting services for a fee. While never truly considered a respectable profession, monster hunting proved to be a lucrative trade.

The chapter symbol is inspired by the manner in which these hunters collected their bounty and marked their offices. Hunters cut off the heads of the monsters they killed and brought them back as proof, to collect their money. Before the coming of the Imperium and suppression by the Inquisition, monster hunters would display the head of a monster or a clever replica in front of their places of business, to advertise their profession to prospective clients.

Although they were forced to go underground, many of these hunting societies continued to operate. Some even found work within the Inquisition. The nascent space marine chapter similarly recruited from the children of these hard-bitten monster eradicators. The chapter icon and name (rendered in low gothic) is derived from a highly successful group of hunters who were renowned for their skill in dispatching some of the larger and more deadly varieties of beastmen, like the dreaded Taurgadon (giant Minotaur –like creature).

I’m still deliberating the source and nature of the beastmen and other creatures that infest the homeworld. I’m also on the fence if they should be an ongoing problem or something that has been all but eradicated. I‘m thinking that the problem has been made manageable, but that every once in a while there are “flare ups” of monster / mutant activity.

Color Scheme

I’m leaning toward using Black Templar rules if I ever get around to fielding a Moritaurean army…so many other projects, so little time. The rules set will be the same, but the reasoning behind the rules will be different from the Black Templars.

Running towards the enemy – (failed leadership test)

For someone to have no fear in the face of what we encounter, they would have to be a complete idiot. For all of the changes that have been wrought upon us, we are still human. The instinctual urges to flee or fight still have hold over us. We must acknowledge our fears, but not let them overtake us. While others flee, we run towards the danger…I’m aiming for the mentality of a first responder.

Neophytes are similarly sent into the field to test and temper their abilities under the watchful eye and guiding hand of veteran hunters (marines). The Moritaureans treat their ‘work” as a vocation. The training of new recruits is more like an apprenticeship…or from the prospective of the veteran hunters, a mentorship. Within some companies and squads, the relationship is like that between a knight (the veteran marine) and his squire(s).

C&C most welcome. More to come…

[Conn Eremon]

This reminds me a lot of pre-Heresy Caliban, filled with knightly orders that ride out and slay the Chaos-infused beasts that roam the land. I would suggest looking into them for some more inspiration or use of their geneseed.

 

Actually, Caliban as it is described could be a great source of inspiration. For instance, you're unsure about how you want the beasts to be represented in the present. Taking a page from Caliban, you can have humanity on this world being holed up, and constantly under threat. Then, this new Chapter descends from the heavens for whatever reason. Maybe it's on its founding crusade throughout this region, or perhaps the High Lords ceded the rights to the new Chapter from the start. Regardless of why the Chapter arrives, it does. And it sees a hardy people getting by in a harsh death world, perfect for recruits. The Chapter sets up its fortress-monastery, and culls the beasts back only so much as is needed to keep them from dominating. Their use as a constant danger is too useful to be completely eradicated.

Alternatively, the Chapter arrives, and burns the beasts down. Completely. Reminiscent of the Lion's crusade on Caliban, the Chapter hunts these beasts down and puts them to the sword. But there's that one impenetrable great forest. The entire Chapter could march through it, burning all, and still the forest would stand, and the beasts would pour forth. So the Chapter sets up shop outside the forest, overlooking it, or perhaps even within it. The mortals ring it with bastions to keep them holed up, but it's not a perfect defense.

 

Just a couple ideas you can use as you see fit.

 

One thing I'm not so sure about is why these monster hunting groups would be looked down upon, or would have to hide from the Inquisition. What cause for contention would there be between the Imperium, its Inquisition, and those who hunt these beasts?

[Destecado]

This reminds me a lot of pre-Heresy Caliban, filled with knightly orders that ride out and slay the Chaos-infused beasts that roam the land. I would suggest looking into them for some more inspiration or use of their geneseed.

 

Thank you for your comments. I have yet to select a geneseed strain for the Moritaureans, so the Dark Angels might work as a progenitor.

 

 

Taking a page from Caliban, you can have humanity on this world being holed up, and constantly under threat. [/color=lavender]<abridged>[/color] Regardless of why the Chapter arrives, it does. And it sees a hardy people getting by in a harsh death world, perfect for recruits. The Chapter sets up its fortress-monastery, and culls the beasts back only so much as is needed to keep them from dominating. Their use as a constant danger is too useful to be completely eradicated.

 

I’ve given more thought to the background of the planet.

 

I have always liked the imagery of the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz (by Walter M. Miller Jr.) The novel is set in a post apocalyptic United States that has been devastated by nuclear war. The story spans thousands of years and describes the slow rebuilding of civilization.

 

What about a planet that was at one time a hive world? During the Age of Strife a prolonged war nearly wiped all life from the face of the planet. Nuclear, chemical, biological and mystical weapons were used in the conflict. The crumbling hive cities lay all but abandoned. Small colonies of humanity fought to survive in the shadows of the ruins of their once great civilization.

 

The abandoned spires slowly decay. Plants takes root and over time blanket the superstructure in vegetation. Age and disrepair cause collapses within the enormous structures. This natural settling leaves many areas of the old hive crushed under tons of rubble or inaccessible. There are still miles of corridors and chambers that wind through the bowels of the mountainous ruins.

 

The small pockets of humanity grow over time. As the population grows new settlements are founded and humanity begins to spread across the planet once again. The wilderness that they encounter is not empty. Monstrous creatures, twisted hybrids of man and animals stalk the wilds. Given such a background there could be multiple explanations for the creatures that infest the planet.

 

1. They could be mutants cause by the pollutants spewed by the hive cities before the fall of civilization. Similarly the nuclear, chemical and biological weapons used in the war may have caused further mutations, which flourished in the fall of society.

 

2. Beastmen could be animal human hybrids created as servants before the war or as expendable shock troops during the conflict.

 

3. Fear and the struggle to survive may have caused some to turn to the worship of dark gods. The ruinous powers reveled in the destruction. Their corruption seeped into the land, twisting all who inhabited these places of power.

 

There are other possible explanations, but those are a couple off the top of my head. My thought is that there are still areas where such monstrous creatures or the corrupting forces of chaos hold sway. This could be within the dim warrens within the old spires or possibly areas that are so polluted and toxic, that no living thing can survive there or remain untainted.

 

 

One thing I'm not so sure about is why these monster hunting groups would be looked down upon, or would have to hide from the Inquisition. What cause for contention would there be between the Imperium, its Inquisition, and those who hunt these beasts?

 

The sums of money that could be made from hunting attracted all sorts of people. Part of the reason for the growth of hunting societies (hunter guilds) were to weed out the unscrupulous charlatans and mad dog killers who had given the profession a bad name. Faking a monster attack to extort a bounty from naïve townsfolk or killing competing hunters and blaming their deaths on the monster was a far from rare occurrence.

 

As to the Inqusition suppressing such societies, I guess it all depends on what they were hunting and the extent of the knowledge of the arcane. The inquisition tries to suppress knowledge of the ruinous powers. Some of these creatures are far from natural. Warp taint is a real concern. Say the hunters are hunting a plague zombie, and while they are taking it down, it bites or claws several of the hunters. There is the strong possibility that the “curse” would be spread to them as well.

 

For the Inquisition it is about containment. When that fails it is about concealment; covering up or destroying the evidence. Zealous Inquisitors might try to shut down what they viewed as dangerous amateurs, while those (inquisitors) with more radical views might try to harness their knowledge and manpower.

[NightrawenII]

Well, Destecado.

 

I would say, don't give the planet too much thoughts, this is article concerning Chapter of Emperor's Finest, not planet. Thinking too much introduces all sorts of (crazy) problems... believe me, I could write entire essay detailing Lomechusan geography, ecosystem, anthropology and theology, but my average joe-reader really doesn't care how to marry a girl on such planet. :)

 

Hmmmmm, I forgot what I wanted to say next and I'm typing this just to remember... Oh, yes. If you look for non-w40k inspiration, then there is Claymore manga/anime. It's very similar concept, with many parallels to Adeptus Astartes, just the protagonists are... girls. :)

 

 

~NightrawenII.

[Conn Eremon]

I would suggest not making it a Chaos influence. This is a homeworld to a Marine Chapter after all, and while many Chapters are perfectly content in keeping their recruitment pools stuck at the 'feral' stage, I just can't see any being willing to put up with anything Chaos-related. I like the idea of these bestial fellows being the mutated remnants of what were once servants or cannon fodder. It would certainly give a good reason for Inquisitorial mistrust, as I doubt many of their agents would find such a practice acceptable behavior, and they might keep tabs on the planet to make sure it doesn't happen again. And the visual of a Hive world being reclaimed by nature and humanity being knocked back to a medieval or earlier stage is a good one. Cliched, yes, but a good one in my book.

 

Much as I tend to agree with Nightrawen's advice in other threads, I have to disagree now. In many ways, the world that a Chapter bases itself off of and recruits from has a major impact on the Chapter itself, and both can be inextricably connected. This might not always be the case, such as for fleet-based Chapters or Chapters with multiple recruiting worlds, but with some Chapters it is what most defines them. If you want your Chapter's homeworld to be as important to your Chapter as, say Fenris is to the Space Wolves or Nocturne is to the Salamanders, then it is a very important thing to focus upon. In those circumstances, focusing on the homeworld will in turn better define your Chapter.

 

EDIT: On reflection, however, I could concede that this is merely how I prefer to do this and how I prefer letting my Chapter's character show. Thinking on the Chapters I've created, I realize that I always use their homeworld as the reason behind who they are and how they act/think. When creating a new Chapter, I pick a theme or themes, and apply it to a 40k world or region, and through that world, or worlds, create a Chapter based off of it. Almost all of my Chapters are dominantly defined by their homeworld(s), rather than their heritage or deeds. While I still say it has merit, I shouldn't have flouted it so arrogantly as a superior way, as it's just my way.

[Destecado]

I would say, don't give the planet too much thoughts, this is article concerning Chapter of Emperor's Finest, not planet. Thinking too much introduces all sorts of (crazy) problems... believe me, I could write entire essay detailing Lomechusan geography, ecosystem, anthropology and theology, but my average joe-reader really doesn't care how to marry a girl on such planet.

 

Even if such details don’t make there way into the IA, which I was never intending that they would, it is still important to flesh them out. The generation of fluff beyond just the small details found in an IA is important for both writing fiction and for the purpose of using the world in an RPG setting. As a fiction writer and RPG game master, such details need to be considered to achieve an internal consistency, within the larger narrative. A world has to feel lived in. Understanding the nature of the world assists in creating believable and compelling characters and environments.

 

 

Hmmmmm, I forgot what I wanted to say next and I'm typing this just to remember... Oh, yes. If you look for non-w40k inspiration, then there is Claymore manga/anime. It's very similar concept, with many parallels to Adeptus Astartes, just the protagonists are... girls. :lol:

 

Not familiar with the manga/anime, but I’ll check it out. Thanks.

 

 

I would suggest not making it a Chaos influence. This is a homeworld to a Marine Chapter after all, and while many Chapters are perfectly content in keeping their recruitment pools stuck at the 'feral' stage, I just can't see any being willing to put up with anything Chaos-related.

 

Fair enough. I’ll have to give it further consideration. One of the things I have been considering is building on the idea of the tunnels and chambers in the ruins of the hive cities. Nobody is really sure how far down into the crust of the planet they go. There are also stories that there are things below, which love in the darkness and continue to extend the tunnels. Give the protracted nature of the war, which cause the initial fall of civilization on the planet, there could also be all manner of secret bases and fall out shelters waiting to be discovered or accidently unearthed. I am reminded of the catacombs of Mars.

 

 

I like the idea of these bestial fellows being the mutated remnants of what were once servants or cannon fodder. It would certainly give a good reason for Inquisitorial mistrust, as I doubt many of their agents would find such a practice acceptable behavior, and they might keep tabs on the planet to make sure it doesn't happen again. And the visual of a Hive world being reclaimed by nature and humanity being knocked back to a medieval or earlier stage is a good one. Cliched, yes, but a good one in my book.

 

My intent was not to leave the world at a feral stage of existence. Yes civilization crumbled, but over several thousand years humanity and civilization have reestablished themselves. But like the real world, not all areas share in these advancements or benefit from comparable levels of cultural development. There are still frontiers, blighted areas of the planet where people eek out a marginal level of existence.

 

You asked in your initial post, why being a professional monster hunter might be looked down upon. I gave some reason in my previous response, but additional reason might also depend on the level of technology and “maturity” of the local culture. In big cities, such a profession might be viewed as quaint or anachronistic or at worst, just a couple of rungs up from being a ‘professional vigilantly” or paid killer. The larger percentage of the populace might view such individuals and unnecessary. Such a “job” should be handled by local law enforcement or government authorities.

 

Probably not having seen many they don’t have an appreciated for the nature of the profession or the specialized knowledge it requires. Such knowledge generally falls well outside the training of your local beat cop. There might be more respect for such individuals in communities living closer to the ragged edge. Here, monsters are not just quaint stories from the past. They are all too real.

 

 

Occlusion Zones and the Nethers

 

Even though humanity and civilization has rebounded (still looking for a good name for the homewolrd) the landscape still bears the scars of its tumultuous past. It is known that the remains of the hives are a breeding ground for all manner of vial creatures. Several times it has been suggested that these “festering pustules of corruption” should be wiped from existence by a lance of fire from orbit.

 

Both the Moritaureans and the Adeptus Mechanicus have argued against taking such drastic measures. The Adeptus Mechanics still hopes to recover archeotech from the bowels of the hives. Several expeditions have been made into the “Nethers”…the term used to describe the vast tunnel systems beneath the mounded ruins of the old hives. The Moritaureans argue against such a drastic course of destruction, because it is unknown what weapons still reside within the depths of the ruins. An orbital strike may cause a chain reaction of the vast reactors once used to power the mountainous cities.

 

There could also be untold quantities of unused munitions from the long war. An orbital strike could cause a massive detonation spreading toxins and mutagenic agents over large areas. Unvoiced in public, but just as important, to the chapter, is the importance of having a renewable source of “training material” on which Moritaurean recruits can practice their skills. Forays into the “upper reaches”, the upper parts of the tunnels systems within the dead hives are an integral part of the Chapter’s training regimen.

 

Overlooked by both organizations (the Chapter and AM), but just as important for the local populace who inhabit them are the communities living on the lower slopes of what is locally know as the Maw…(some background below)

 

This is the name locals have given to the caved in remains of a hive city, on the largest continent in the southern hemisphere of the planet. The central spire collapsed down through the hive city, twisting and tearing metal as it fell. A cavernous gap opened between the sloping sides of the hive city. The accumulated wreckage at the bottom of the pit prevented the flanks from of the hive from caving in. Seen from a distance the remains of the hive city resemble gaping jaws rising out of the earth.

 

The settlements on the slopes of the dead hive were originally shanty towns and encampments of nomads and scavengers, existing on the detritus of the hive city. The ranks of these communities swelled as refugees fled like rats from the dying city. The nomads did not suffer such interlopers lightly. The fleeing refuges were viewed as any resource to be plundered. Nomad raiders attacked refugee encampments and were in turned attacked by militias of displaced hive gangers.

 

Attrition and a common foe (the monstrous creatures from the ruins of the hive) eventually lead to alliances between the warring factions. These united communities grew over time, some eventually becoming large metropolitan centers. Many of the raw materials used to build these cities came from materials recovered from the Maw.

 

“Recycling” building materials for new construction is a long human tradition. Marble from the Acropolis in Athens was taken to build other structures, as were blocks from the pyramids in Egypt. The cities and towns built on the slopes and the area surrounding the maw would be similar to towns and cities built on the flanks of volcanoes.

[Andrew J]

Destecado glad to see you put this up! Sorry it took so long to get back on and comment. Just saw it today.

 

Anyway reading through I came up with a few ideas.

 

Your planet reminds me of transylvania for some reason and towns in that region could be a good name for your world while giving it a similarly "exotic" feel. The area also has a long history of violence and war, which seems to fit your theme so far and if I am not mistaken has a large population of gypsies which would fit the profile of the survivors of your post apocalyptic world. Transylvania. Just scrolling through quickly I like Mures, Arad, Bihor, Oradea. If you scroll down you can look at all kinds of names for regions, towns, cities of history. Also Wallachia borders it and its a part of Romania which could also help out.

 

I get the mental picture of a vast wasteland, maybe covered in scrubbrush or emaciated trees. Thinking about it it reminds me of Lord of the Rings in Mordor. No real cities left in the world only ranging bands of nomads like old american indian tribes of the plains following their food source. For the Moritaureans to let this go on maybe they have their monastery in the poles or the mountains and rarely ever intereact with the nomads. Or maybe offplanet would work. Moon or another planet in system that is not viable for life but would work for the space marines.

 

I love the beastmen idea and the monsterhunter idea. I like the 2nd idea posted earlier about shock troops. My first thought was maybe a rogue group of scientists decided to start experimenting mixing animals with human DNA and that during the war they became the preferred model of warrior for their ferocity or something. Anyway after the war the mutations became prevalent and they evolved into ever more frightening creatures.

 

I also agree with Cormac about the homeworld having a large influence on the chapter.

 

Keep it up! Look forward to see what you come up with next!

[Destecado]

@ Andrew J:

 

Thanks for the comments. I like your idea about Romania. I actually ran an RPG campaign in an unrelated game system (cyberpunk) based in Romania, so I have a large amount of source material I can use. One of the prospective names that I was considering was Crisena. I just wasn’t sure if it should be the name of the planet or a geographical region. Using your idea, I could possibly model it after the Crișana, a geographical and historical region divided today between Romania and Hungary, after the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

 

I get the mental picture of a vast wasteland, maybe covered in scrubbrush or emaciated trees. Thinking about it it reminds me of Lord of the Rings in Mordor. No real cities left in the world only ranging bands of nomads like old american indian tribes of the plains following their food source. For the Moritaureans to let this go on maybe they have their monastery in the poles or the mountains and rarely ever intereact with the nomads. Or maybe offplanet would work. Moon or another planet in system that is not viable for life but would work for the space marines.

 

While there are zones that are still wastelands, civilization has returned over the many thousands of years of the planet’s timeline. The war was pretty far back in the history of the planet, during the Age of Strife. The war and collapse of society lead to widespread de-urbanization, as refugees fled the failing hive cities. Cities rely on vast influxes of resources, food stuffs, fresh water, power, etc, to continue to function. Some resources are more vital than others. If you can disrupt the supply of any of these critical resources, you can bring a city to its knees, hence the effectiveness of siege warfare.

 

The problem was that the heavy pollution in the atmosphere and a compromised biosphere made surviving outside the protection of the hive cities extremely difficult. The resulting die offs of the population and the loss of technological knowledge created a long dark age, but eventually the situation stabilized and began to head in the other direction.

 

The culture is still very divided. Peace and cooperation exist under the auspices of the Moritaurean Chapter. The government pretty much stays out of local politics when at all possible. They have their dealing with the various governments and as long as the various local governments don’t rebel and meet their tithes, they don’t get involved. They act more as referees…keeping all sides in check and playing by the rules.

 

My thought was to have the chapter’s main fortress being somewhere between the Rock of Gibraltar and Minas Tirith. The fortress is carved into the very rock of the planet and overlooks the planet’s main starport. In addition to this primary citadel, the chapter also maintains smaller keeps in the capitals of the various nations across the planet. These serve both a diplomatic and tactical function.

 

I love the beastmen idea and the monster hunter idea. I like the 2nd idea posted earlier about shock troops. My first thought was maybe a rogue group of scientists decided to start experimenting mixing animals with human DNA and that during the war they became the preferred model of warrior for their ferocity or something. Anyway after the war the mutations became prevalent and they evolved into ever more frightening creatures.

 

I can’t remember if the Fluff from third edition is still canon, but there was a journal entry at the back of the 40k rulebook about the stone men (possibly the precursors of the Adeptus Mechanics) and the Iron Men (possibly sentient Artificial intelligences) they created to help mankind expand across the galaxy. Anyway, I’ve always thought that there had to be other competing science at work or possibly something used prior to the perfection of the men of iron.

 

The creation of various ab-human subspecies might have been created for this purpose. Ogryn are a possible example. They are large, super strong, and resilient. Mentally, they display the intelligence of a pet dog, and are just as loyal and trainable. Did these traits just come about or were they genetically engineered to be that way? I don’t want to go too far off on a tangent, but I can definitely see one or more factions manufacturing hybrids to fight for their cause.

[Conn Eremon]

I can’t remember if the Fluff from third edition is still canon, but there was a journal entry at the back of the 40k rulebook about the stone men (possibly the precursors of the Adeptus Mechanics) and the Iron Men (possibly sentient Artificial intelligences) they created to help mankind expand across the galaxy. Anyway, I’ve always thought that there had to be other competing science at work or possibly something used prior to the perfection of the men of iron.

 

The creation of various ab-human subspecies might have been created for this purpose. Ogryn are a possible example. They are large, super strong, and resilient. Mentally, they display the intelligence of a pet dog, and are just as loyal and trainable. Did these traits just come about or were they genetically engineered to be that way? I don’t want to go too far off on a tangent, but I can definitely see one or more factions manufacturing hybrids to fight for their cause.

 

That's still canon as far as I know, but what you wrote isn't very accurate to what I remember of it. The Stone Men and Iron Men are both artificial intelligences. Humanity created the Stone Men to serve, and used the Stone Men to create something beyond humanity's capabilities, the Iron Men. The Iron Men warred while the Stone Men served, and Humanity thrived. If I recall correctly, things like the Titans are actually leftover Iron Men, or possibly related to them in some way, modified so that a human is in command. Imagine an age where Titans were the basic infantry units. Golden Age indeed.

 

Likewise, Ogryns were not manufactured. They were just normal humans convicted of crimes and sent to prison worlds. These prison worlds were invariably of a certain gravitational type that caused the humans who lived and thrived on these worlds to evolve into Ogryns. Same for the Ratlings and dare I say it? Squats.

 

That isn't to say, of course, that humanity didn't have the capability at the time. It's said that the first settlers of Fenris were modified for their new world, so there is that.

 

Or I could be full of it and someone will post quotes proving it. There is always that as well.

[Destecado]

@ Cormac Airt:

 

The excerpt is really ambiguous. I can remember several threads from Warsear and The Anargo Sector Project (backing the day) that devolved fairly quickly. As far as I’m aware GW has never given any insight as to the nature of the stone men or deigned to explain or expand upon the original passage. Since we seem to agree, that the modification of humans and the creation of other organisms were well within the capabilities of Dark Age of Technology humans, I don’t think we need to become bogged down in the whole Stone Men / Iron Men issue.

 

Your mention of the first settlers of Fenris being modified for their new world, made me remember another aggravating ambiguity from the Horus Heresy novels. “There are no Wolves on Fenris; yet another topic open to speculation and debate. :)

Still, for our purposes, the technology existed and allowed for the creation of what latter generations would term monsters.

 

I was hoping to add other types of “monsters”, in addition to those genetically engineered variety. I wanted to have zombies and undead. As has been pointed out before, it would be best to avoid having the planet tainted by chaos. There are however other ways to create shambling corpses. One possibility is to introduce a faction that was affected by a bio-weapon that attacked the blood.

 

A small group of researchers were able to find a way to slow the progress of the weapon, but they were unable to cure it. In order to maintain themselves, they require regular transfusions to flush the toxins from their system. This requires a stable supply of uncontaminated blood. Using the technology at their disposal they reanimated some of their dead to bring them transfusion subjects.

 

These animated dead are more like servitors than real zombies. The brains of the animated dead are replaced with simple logic engines, which allow them to follow simple commands. Unlike typical zombies, the bites of these did not cause the victim to become zombies themselves. There was however a high risk that the animated corpse could transmit diseases and given the state of medicine, when these things were a problem, there was a high risk fatality.

 

My though is that these “Death Lords” were a regional phenomenon, so not all areas of the planet had ‘zombies” and ‘vampires”. The “Death Lords” were eradicated with the coming of the Imperium, but superstitions persist in the affected areas. Locals also react badly to the presence of servitors, which bear a strong resemblance to the descriptions of the servants of the “Death Lords”. (I need to come up with some other name than Death Lords).

 

 

Chapter Keeps

 

In my previous post I had indicated that in addition to their mountain fortress, the Moritaureans maintain keeps in the capitals of the disparate nations on the planetary surface. These Castuary Keeps, rise like gothic pillars, towering over the surrounding cityscape. I’m picturing something like the tower or Isengard (from LotR), but rendered in the gothic style. Ranks of gargoyles festoon the ledges and overhangs of the tower.

 

The visages of the gargoyles on the outside of the structure are harkens back to the display of the heads of monsters in front of the establishments of hunters (to advertise their trade). The heads of the gargoyles also serve as mounts for sophisticated optics, hidden within the eyes of the statuary. The mouths of the statues also conceal weapons systems that can be used to defend the keep.

 

The towers are also modeled after older structures, which served to illuminate the city at night, making the streets safer from crime and attacks by monsters. The design of these moonlight towers are modeled after a type of real world lighting system used in the late 19th century. They are are almost like landlocked Lighthouses…but they also serve as the local administrative offices and recruiting centers for the Chapter in the various nations.

[Andrew J]

I like where you are going with this. It is starting to feel very steampunkish, almost like a 40k version of Van helsing. I would be careful with the zombies and vampires thing though. That seems to be a sensitive subject in 40k. Zombies are immediately tied to Nurgle and vampires to Blood Angels, Flesh Tearers, Night Lords etc. It does seem as though beastmen have not been taken too much by one of the chaos gods. Maybe Khorne followers or something but no specific Traitor legion seems to have gone the beastmen route. Maybe look into other mythological monsters? Greek mythology has a whole bunch of horrific creatures which WHFB tends to draw from. Also other medieval monsters could work too. Either way I think as long as you explain it well you should be ok.

 

I think I was getting a really specific image for the world. Your ideas seem to work better for a whole world and not just one region. I really like the chapter keeps idea as I used it myself. Your description of them works well and really paints a specific image.

[Conn Eremon]

You may like to use feral servitors as a replacement to the undead. In the Mechanicum novel in the Horus Heresy series, literally swarms of them can plague an area, and while they wouldn't be undead or zombies, they would have many of their characteristics. Slowly decaying bodies that show little to no mental activity, with the mindless drive to kill.

 

It'd work great with the ideas you've had so far. Before they delved into human genetic modification they delved into human bionic modification. Prototypes, even, and the bestial ones are the end-product. The only thing you'd have to worry about is how to make them an ongoing threat. Perhaps some sort of malignant code prevalent in this world's machinery causes a high number of servitors to go feral.

 

Up to you though, of course.

[DarkLiege]

Well, reading a few of these posts. I continue to see the world more and more like the game, Monster Hunter. You could have guilds/ outpost outside of the cities, instead of having squads how about making it similar to the Iron Snakes organization. They marines could recruit from these outposts as it provide good recruits. What I mean by having the whole organizations similar to the Iron Snakes is that they get to chance to pick their own team they want to form.

 

As for the Homeworld, it kinda remembers me of the show, Life After People. The Show is about what happens to the world if, by chance, Humans suddenly disappear from the earth. Check it out, might just give you some information on how to improve/further develop our homeworld.

 

As for the whole zombie thing, I like Cormac Art's Idea of using feral servitors. To develop his idea a little further, making them go rouge like in the movie IRobot with Will Smith. That might kinda fit in to what you want or not.

 

These are my advice. Hope you like these suggests i made. :)

 

-Dark

[Destecado]

You may like to use feral servitors as a replacement to the undead. In the Mechanicum novel in the Horus Heresy series, literally swarms of them can plague an area, and while they wouldn't be undead or zombies, they would have many of their characteristics. Slowly decaying bodies that show little to no mental activity, with the mindless drive to kill.

 

Feral servitors would definitely work better and be more fitting for the grimdark feel of the 40k universe. These modern day prometheuses or Frankenstein monsters if you will are not raised by arcane force or unknown agency, they are consciously produced and put into service by man. Adding to the monstrous quality of such creations might be fact that they are not all vat grown. It could be that their creators used the bodies of convicted criminals, prisoners of war and when resources were running low, their own dead…No use wasting good meat.

 

In a way, it makes me think of one of my favorite quotes from Doctor Who…'What's life? Life's easy; a quirk of matter; nature's way of keeping meat fresh.' This could open up arguments about why the servitors become feral. It could also have implications about why the Adeptus Mechanicus prefers to use vat grown bodies for their servitors. Vat grown bodies are blank slates, tabula rasa. A person could be more than just our brain. Things like muscle memory or instinctual impulses point to something more. Who we are might be housed in our very cells; in the fiber of our being.

 

Sorry, went off on a little tangent there. But yeah, I can see fertile territory to go in that direction. We could also add to the creepiness factor, by allowing the servitors to have a self-repair function. They cannot make more of their kind, but they are programmed with skills that allow them to maintain their functionality. The need for new “parts” might also explain why they attack humans and are also seen scavenging materials. They might have some underlying directive to fix or maintain some device or facility. What this directive is need not be explained. It is just a Maguffin.

 

Some other thoughts on the servitors…My thought is that shooting them in the head does not take them down like zombies. The logic engine which makes them operational is not housed in their head. It is actually in their torso. Additional space was needed to house it and the torso is the most highly armored part of their structure. The head houses sensors and interfaces. Cutting off their heads may slow them down but to actually put them down, you need to penetrate the carapace and destroy their “brain”.

 

 

It does seem as though beastmen have not been taken too much by one of the chaos gods. Maybe Khorne followers or something but no specific Traitor legion seems to have gone the beastmen route. Maybe look into other mythological monsters? Greek mythology has a whole bunch of horrific creatures which WHFB tends to draw from. Also other medieval monsters could work too. Either way I think as long as you explain it well you should be ok.

 

Beast men are going to play a large factor in the back story. Feral servitors are also going to be included. I’m still working on other ideas. One of them has to do with the unsettling nature of being near some of the ruins where large numbers of people died. I was thinking of including ghosts or shades in some way. These could either be metaphysical manifestations or byproducts of technology that people no longer really understand how they work.

 

Metaphysical/Scientific Explanation

 

One of the theories for the existence of ghosts is that such manifestations are fields of energy, which persist in a given location (haunting sites). Physical matter including every one of us consists of complex systems of energy fields interacting with each other. Matter, when it changes states general consists of absorbing or giving of energy. I don’t want to veer to far of the topic at hand, but generally, ghost are a psychic imprint of the energy fields that made up a specific person or event.

The stronger the emotions or people involved, the potential for the field to be stronger. Most everyone is familiar with the idea of positive energy…believing in someone, sending them positive vibes, praying for them. Belief in something gives it strength, which is one of the reasons why the Inquisition tries to prevent knowledge of the ruinous powers and active worship of them. Belief is power.

 

For our purposes, investing strong emotions in a person or object can leave a residual echo of the person giving the energy behind. Artists putting their souls into art, space marine librarians enchanting/ synchronizing/forging a link with their force weapon or other objects are all facets of the same idea.

 

Anyway, one of the ideas that we had discussed when I was part of the Anargo Sector Project, an attempt to flesh out an entire Sector of the 40k universe for RPG purposes (the project started long before GW came out with Dark Hersey), was what would happen to a world on which the population had been eradicated (declared exterminates) if said world was later recolonized.

Mention was made about Obi Wan being able to sense the death of Alderaan in Star Wars (A New Hope). The world we created was a “reclamation project” by the Adeptus Mechanicus. The planet was in the early stages of being repopulated. The biosphere had been stabilized and seeding and replanting of flora had been undertaken. The population was still small and spread out. The world had once teemed with billions of lives.

 

The theory was that individuals who were sensitive might be able to perceive echoes of the dead…like when you copied over an old VCR tape ghost images from the previous recording persisted. They were not always perceptible to the naked eye, but sometimes registered subconsciously. Since the population was still very low (it was being turned into an agriworld to supply a forge world), there was not enough new energy fields (fields created by people, technology, etc.) to drown out these echoes. People began to see things or go crazy as their brains tried to make sense of “input” (stimuli) being received by these echoes.

The areas around some of the old abandoned hives are thought to be haunted. Few people go there and those that do have reported bad dreams and seeing things. Some of the stories of monsters existing could potentially be chocked up to people’s minds playing tricks on them. But since monsters do really exist, such a phenomenon would still have to be investigated.

 

Technological Explanation

 

I don’t want to go down the road of having an actual functioning artificial intelligence on the planet, but a technological explanation for such ghost could be holographic projection that are still functioning. This need not be something as sophisticated as Vox (Orlando Jones in the remake of the Time Machine) or the Red Queen from Resident Evil. It could be projected holographic advertisements, with an interactive function. It could also be as easy as sounds generated by some machinery far below which are mistaken for something organic. An alternate source, but once again the mind playing tricks on people.

 

Why add it?

 

I think it helps to darken the mood of the setting and supports the idea that sometimes the things we dream up are generally more horrific than the reality. And, if monsters don’t exist, we have a tendency to create them, either through conscious effort (the feral servitors, genetic manipulation, etc.) or as random combinations of stimuli filtered through our own self-doubt and fears, which harry our dreams when we close our eyes.

 

 

Well, reading a few of these posts. I continue to see the world more and more like the game, Monster Hunter. You could have guilds/ outpost outside of the cities, instead of having squads how about making it similar to the Iron Snakes organization. They marines could recruit from these outposts as it provide good recruits. What I mean by having the whole organizations similar to the Iron Snakes is that they get to chance to pick their own team they want to form.

 

I’m not familiar with the Monster Hunter game. Does it have anything to do with the Monster Hunter International series of books by Larry Correia? It is a very enjoyable series. Actual the MCB (Monster Control Bureau) in the series has a lot in common with the Inquisition of the 40k universe. It is suggested in the series, that hunters aren’t made, they are born. You can give someone all of the training in the world, but the true test is how one reacts to the otherworldly horrors that monster hunters encounter on a regular basis.

 

It is for this reason that MHI (Monster Hunter International) recruits from among the survivors of monster attacks. If you can keep your head, survive and not turn into a gibbering hysterical basket case afterwards, you might have the mental flexibility to pursue a career in monster hunting. I’ll take a look at Iron Snakes organization. It could be that while on crusade the chapter could locate candidates in this manner.

 

Even if these individuals don’t prove to be viable candidates to become space marines (ie. Males who are too old or women), the Chapter could still take them in to join the ranks of their support staff (chapter serfs). It is a greater kindness than leaving them to the tender mercies of the Inquisition. In many cases, they also probably have nothing left to go back to even if the Inquisition did not imprison or kill them outright.

 

 

As for the Homeworld, it kinda remembers me of the show, Life After People. The Show is about what happens to the world if, by chance, Humans suddenly disappear from the earth. Check it out, might just give you some information on how to improve/further develop our homeworld.

 

The series “Life After People” is actually based on a book by Alan Weisman, called “The World Without Us.” The book was an invaluable resource, when I and another GM in our gaming group were generating a New York & New Jersey sourcebook for an RPG campaign (set in the cyberpunk universe). It provided a lot of details that I had not previously considered.

 

One of the things that I wanted to explore with this project was non-standard hive city design. When most people think of hives, they immediately think Necromunda. I have always viewed hive cities as dystopian arcologies. The design for such mega-structures varies greatly. There will of course be the traditional necromunda hive, but I also wanted to include megacities of decaying urban sprawl similar to the conurbation of New York City and the surrounding area of northern New Jersey or the Mega Cities from Judge Dredd.

 

Another design that I was intending to use was that of a City Shaft. This would represent a single or multiple vertical shafts descending into the earth. Living Space, industrial zones, etc. would be built on the various levels branching out from the central shaft. The Mirny Diamond Mine in eastern Siberia is a real world example of the scale I am referring to. The whole is so big, it creates its own weather. The airspace over the mine is restricted after several helicopters crashed due to the strong downward airflow into the pit.

 

Given the inhospitable environment above, building underground would provide the best protection. Tunnels are currently used for habitation and industrial applications due to the isolative nature of the earth, which maintains a constant temperature (below the permafrost zone). Isolation from the outside environment would also provide protection from other factors, such as radiation, toxins, airborne viruses, etc.). They can also prevent what is in the caves from being spread to the outside environment.

 

I’m not talking Raccoon City (Resident Evil) here…although bioweapons is a possibility. Genetically modified crops destined for use in pharmaceuticals or testing new strains for human consumption are currently being grown underground. (see Cave Pharming). Growing various varieties of mushrooms in caves is also big business. One of the drawbacks is of course the seeping in of ground water…the sump in a typical hive.

 

Loss of power or failure of technology might cause the pumps draining this water to fail. The shaft would begin to fill with water, slowly forcing any remaining residents to seek higher shelter. It would most likely not fill to the top, but residents might be driven higher up or maybe out of the hive entirely by the fetid toxic miasma given off by the water. The giant cistern that the City Shaft has become is polluted with all manner of industrial chemicals and biological waste. It slowly inundated level after level of factories and merged with the effluent of algae farms and waste recycling plants. It is more like a primordial soup than a body of water. Possibly another “pool” for creating more monsters…or at the very least evolutionary mutations. :D

[Conn Eremon]

Monster Hunter is a series of a games in which you play a Hunter in a world filled with dangerous beasts, usually Dragon or dinosaur types, or combinations thereof. Everything from raptors to mountain-sized dragons, from elephant-sized gorillas to hermit crabs big enough to take the skulls of dragons as their homes, as well as antelope, woolly mammoths, dinosaur herbivores. You're generally just a normal person (aside from game mechanics like large health bars and such) who hunts these things down, and use parts of them to make gear for yourself. Like the hide of a dragon, or the bones of a dinosaur, or the armored shell of a crab, used to make armor and weapon sets. A pretty fun game if you got friends to play with. When I read about the hunting guilds, I immediately thought of this game, too, and that's why I kept reading. I'd recommend looking it up, if for nothing else to see an example of how you can model your hunter/hunter groups.

[DarkLiege]

There's also a manga that goes by the name of Monster Hunter Orage that might be a useful reference to you. Hope this helps even if its not much. :lol: