Fluff Ideas

[Brother Terrus]

Alright, so my AoBR box came in, and despite some issues getting guys off the sprue (I was down some plastic cutters for a while, and a few of my precious marines have slightly messed up shoulder pads, now, figure I'll paint them as battle damage and say it was intentional. :cuss) I've been enjoying my first few games, and figured it was about time to think up some fluff. Now, I've got two different skeleton ideas going on at the moment, one that's suited to playing the army as many different dexes, because my group has *gasp* a lack of marine players, and the other more focused on being direct DA successors.

 

The first idea sets the chapter as the unknowing pet project of some fool with too much power and too little purity. Basically, during one founding, several chapters mysteriously come up short on gene seed save the Unforgiven, who do at least note that an entire chapter is rather late in their creation. In the background you've got a network of guys working for one almost Fabius Bile-esque figure splicing together gene seed to make an 'ultimate' chapter. In any case, you end up with a chapter with the skill and determination of the Unforgiven, the close range prowess of the Blood Angels, the ferocity of the Space Wolves, and all those other nice traits every chapter holds dear. At first it's overlooked, some call it good fortune, others suspect that something went wrong during the founding, but given the scope of the plot, anyone in a position to cry foul disappears, or suffers a terrible accident. The new chapter is allowed only minimal contact with their primogenitors, because there's no one better to notice what's off with the bunch than the people they're supposed to be.

 

This all goes pretty well for a while, and the group performs admirably, both furthering the aims of the Inner Circle and the mastermind behind their creation, but eventually everything in the Imperium must go south, no? At first it's small, easily silenced without even the other marines noticing, but despite the mastermind's best efforts something decidedly not possible for the Dark Angels crops up; their very own variety of the Black Rage. Some see Sanguinius and Horus, others Luther and the Lion, a few Roboute and Fulgrim, many faces they don't even rightly have names for. The odd few even see fractured combats that aren't even true memories. Fights between Dorn and Sanguinius, or Luther and Fulgrim, mass combats where all of these titanic figures clash and leave the marine much as a Blood Angel, angry and ferocious, crying at the loss of their primarch, or at the loss of identity and crumbling of their tradition. Finally, during an engagement with a group of renegade marines harboring a Fallen Angel, the curtain can't be held back, where before a marine would mysteriously answer a call to the Deathwatch or otherwise be spirited away never to return, now whole squads gave into their fury, and there was no hiding it from those eyes not meant to see. Within days the chapter was traced back to their mastermind, with a trail of dead heretics lining the purge, and the other Unforgiven swiftly mobilized to cut out the taint. None was quite fast enough, though, and a majority of the chapter as well as the remainder of the conspiracy that created them escapes with the help of the very Fallen Angel they'd been hunting, and the warbands of Chaos Marines that followed him.

 

At first they would sit in limbo, trying to decide a course of action, some blamed their creator, others vainly suggested the Imperium simply wasn't ready for such perfection as they displayed. Regardless, they had no place in the realm of the Golden Throne any longer, and the ultimate question was posed by the champions present among the older renegades. Submit to Chaos or be dogged from both sides? In the end, the leaders of the chapter broke secrecy, and told of the Fallen, a much more believable tale with one there at the time, and this proved the last that was needed to sway the Battle Brothers, at least they could tread the tradition of the legion they considered their origin. Albeit under an iron star with eight points.

 

I'll have to leave the more DA-only fluff for another time as I'm growing somewhat tired, but what do you all think of this? Is it reasonable? Is it interesting? Has it been done before? Eager to hear about your responses.

[Interrogator Stobz]

What dex would you use?

Interesting-yes. Reasonable-hell, it's 40k so yes. Done before- prolly, but it's your version so go with it.

 

Welcome to the Rock, maybe??? ;)

[Brother Terrus]

Already got a nice welcome, but another is certainly nice. And just before I head off to bed (Curse you Mountain Dew and not allowing me to go before), the intention was to be able to use them with all the Marine dexes within that fluff, so that my campaign-geared group could have a reason to explain why the same army is represented as DA one week, 'nilla the next, and so on. The whole reason for that, though is because we want to have a lot of different of army styles going on, and right now the group is painfully low on marine flavors, so in mechanical terms, lots of the other guys would like to see me playing many different sorts of marines, and I don't have the money to support a DA army (Who they're intended to be most closely related to.), and Wolves, and BA, and 'Nilla, and Knights, and Chaos. Make any sort of crazy messed-up sense?

[Grand Master Belial]

I see another 21st Founding Chapter here and they tend to end up in a bad way. As you have eloquently written out and would be a possibility.

 

As I recall the purest of the gene seeds are the Dark Angels, Ultramarines, Iron Hands and White Scars. The others have genetic mutations that would make an unholy mess of whoever they are implanted into.

 

Wolves need the Canis Helix to metabolize their gene seed, Blood Angels have their death visions, Imperial Fists are a few short, Salamanders turn black and Raven Guard go near albino white. Probably oversimplifying it, but them is the cards.

 

There is a hiccup in the mythos of 40K that has created a flutter in terms of Chapter Creation. Many traits were traits of the Primarch that were then passed down or are a part of their genetic knowledge in the gene seed. The other is the world they hail from and how it molds the citizens there before they become marines. Fenris and Caliban were both Death Worlds and though Caliban was destroyed, the Dark Angels tend to recruit from them.

 

Instead of splicing gene seed, why not have them recruit from a myriad of worlds that have the blending of the types. Artistic worlds that still have blood rituals, a death world where people live like animals or have a dogged resistance that is integral to their survival.

 

An example splicing the Wolves, Dark Angels and Dune is a desert planet that is host to great wyrms that burrow through the sand. However they are blind and can only hunt by vibration. So for a human to survive they must freeze and not move or else they would be eaten. But the wyrms are also hunted for they are the primary food source and it takes one who is a little off to dare face a wyrm in order to get at the most vulnerable part, they must attack through their mouths or else it would be protected by its impervious armor. Those who can face up to a wyrm can face up to the horrors of the galaxy and are prime candidates for this Space Marine Chapter. To mix in the Blood Angels, the blood of the wyrms is very nutritious and it has become a part of the culture that the marines will drink the blood of those they killed. For the blood is life to them, and after they become marines - knowledge as well.

 

Food for thought but it would force a rewrite as the memory plague would probably come from killing another marine and most likely one of Sanguinius's sons through miscommunication or a traitor marine where the blood holds the taint and drinking of the blood with all the memories from past victories would give them the visions.

 

Enough of me, your idea is possible and may be deemed plausible to more frater here on the boards. You might try posting it in the Liber Astartes (DIY) forum to get their reactions.

 

EDIT: I did build a Fallen Angels army that worked in a similar vein until the Blood Angels and Space Wolves Codexes came out. I would primarily use the SM, DA or CSM codex though they were originally built around the Legion of the Damned with inspiration from the 13th Company of Wolves. The basis was the Fallen are all over the spectrum and it is the leader that would declare what happens to them, be it to fight to regain honor or become a warlord on their own and setting the Imperium to the torch.

[Brother Terrus]

I'll have to think about that, Belial, I was aware that there were major differences, but I had assumed that someone who may or may not have the aid of Chaos could've successfully completed the splicing. I had entirely forgotten about the Omophagea as well, and I'd imagine that it would do wonders with blood. I'll keep your suggestions in mind, as they could definitely help out when I flesh this out to it's full extent. In any case, I'm now working on the DA-specific skeleton, and I should have that up by the end of the night! I think I might use this thread to pilot further fluffy ideas if they relate directly to the DA, though, if that would be stepping on toes, I'd be glad to move this to the Liber's DIY section.

[Grand Master Belial]

We are civil enough to allow it to stay here for a while, though a companion thread over there may be helpful to you - Two groups of people to pull from and all.