Black Lions

[Brother Arcturus]

Im new to both the hobby and B&C, but wanted to make a succesor chapter to the astral claws. Is there any advice that anyone could offer? I've read the DIY guides but am unsure where to start. so far all I have is a color scheme (White power armour with gold details, with a black lions head as the chapter insignia) and general idea of how I want them to fight (Lots of armored support and big guns. )

[Messor]

Well, what always helps me get rolling with things like this is getting an organization outlined. Brother Tyler is compiling a number of handy templates that can direct your efforts; that link goes to the Index Astartes variety(my personal go-to format). At any rate, brainstorm some ideas for the usual sections. Working on homeworld? Consider what type of terrain you might like them to specialize in(or there's fleet based), give them a world where they can learn it. Want to hammer out their origins? Just look at some of your other favorites for inspiration. Two of the Chapter's I'm working on are based on video games.

 

Once you know the things you want them to have, whether origins, beliefs, combat doctrine, its easier to work towards. The lions sound like a brash and noble bunch. Brainstorming and spitballing ideas will help you tack down the ribbon till you get it in the shape you want.

[Brother Arcturus]

The Black Lions

http://images.wikia.com/warhammer40k/images/d/d5/Tiger_Claws_Icon.jpg Chapter Symbol CHAPTER NAME: ..............The Black Lions FOUNDING: ..................19th Founding [871 M.35] CHAPTER WORLD: .............Valos/Eastern Fringe FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........Unknown GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...Unknown (Astral Claws) KNOWN DESCENDANTS: .........None

History

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Homeworld

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k115/Quothe_the_Raven_Nevermore/planet_zps9d6460e6.png

Valos, homeworld of the Black Lions

The home of the Black Lions, Valos, is a world of glassy black mountains and shallow seas teeming with life.

Headquarters

Beliefs

Organization

Combat Doctrine

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[Dosjetka]

Welcome to the Liber!

 

Good start :sweat: You've got a name, a gene-seed and some core ideas. Now to start off, what's their homeworld like? Maybe look at some pictures from games and/or films to help you along with visualising the landscapes/people.

 

That's all for now because I'm on my phone and in bed, but I'll try and post some more in-depth stuff tomorrow :lol:

 

Good luck!

 

Ludovic

[Brother Arcturus]

Yeah, i've spent the past couple of days brushing up on the badab war (Will feature heavily in their history) and looking for a Maelstrom world that caught my eye. End result? The forge-world of Angstrom. Could easily explain their large amounts of tanks and heavy armor/weapons. Could this work? As always, thanks for the advice

[Dosjetka]

Let me quote two parts of the DIY Guide which explains why I personally don't think it's a good idea.

 

Seperation of Power

Well, for me, the seperation of power is an integral theme to 40k. The Horus Heresy provided a telling eample of what can happen when one man gains too much power. Those lessons were only reinforced by Goge Vandire's excesses during the Age of Apostasy.In the wake of the Heresy, many of the Imperial organisations have been hobbled. The Space Marines have lost their extensive fleets. The Imperial Army was divided into the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Navy. So on and so forth. So how would the High Lords of Terra act at the Adeptus Mechanicus gathering their own Space Marine Chapter? Whilst we tend to be blasé about our little plastic men, you need to remember that a Chapter of Space Marines is a ferocious, near-unstoppable force. It could give the AdMech huge, huge advantages - and in the Imperial, the various political factions are often squabbling, trying to stay on an even keel.

 

*snip*

 

Home Sweet Home

One thing I wanted to address was the issue of homeworlds. From time to time I see DIY Chapter whose homeworlds are forgeworlds. Arguably it's not impossible, but it would (to my mind) be unlikely. That stems from the seperation of power, again. It's basically rubbing the Imperium's nose in it that your Chapter and the AdMech are bosom buddies. But also, Forgeworlds are already ferociously protected. The Adeptus Mechanicus are insular and paranoid, distrustful of unpredictable 'organics'. There are legions of Skitarii, all manner of weaponry and the like. Space Marines aren't really best used as defensive forces.

 

I think some DIYers do it to justify their wonderful tech levels. But another option would be to have your homeworld near a forgeworld. The Forgeworlds need food, after all, and some forgeworlds sit at the centre of a network of planets - mining colonies for resources, agri-worlds for food... it's entirely possible to be near a Forgeworld and to be part of that 'web'. You'd be close enough to enjoy quick resupply, but far enough away to cause problems.

But if you want to roll with it, then go ahead :P

 

Cheers,

 

Ludovic

[Messor]

Aye, Forgeworlds have never made good homeworlds, but as suggested in the second quote, perhaps a pair of planets, the forgeworld and the agri-world that supplies it. You'd tanks, and the tough, hardworking populace to use as recruiting pool.

[Brother Arcturus]

A fair point I suppose... :lol: Well in the fluff i've seen the forgeworld is actually Angstrom II, so I could set up their Home world as Angstrom, and state that it's a nearby Knight world. The original purpose I had for it being the Forge world was that in the fluff I was going to have them be a member of the warders that remained loyal to the imperium and decried the actions of the Mantis Warriors, and was under siege by the rest of the seccesionist for most of the war. (Until the loyalist broke through and pushed them back) ;)

[Dosjetka]

The thing is, you can't really insert your own fluff into the official fluff like that, especially since the Badab War is well documented and there's no mention of your Chapter. Makes it all a bit odd. Also, why would a successor of the Astral Claws stay so near to their parent Chapter when the whole area is heavily patrolled and guarded by three Chapters?

 

Ludovic

[Brother Arcturus]

Hmm...damn, don't really have an answer for that one. I was kinda trying to have it be a minor part of the war to justify why no one had ever really heard of them, while still having them be well connected to the area. Maybe have it be that they were given Angstrom as a home world as a reward for they're actions in the war? Don't know if i'm just grasping at straws here but I really liked the idea that they sort of replaced the claws as guardians of the maelstrom. Thanks for the C&C guys though, really appreciate it, even it pokes giant holes in my fluff. The best laid plans and all that...

[Olis]

Don't know if i'm just grasping at straws here...

 

Without trying to sound mean, yes you are. It'd be better all round if you picked somewhere else to be stationed, like near the Core Worlds or north of the Eastern Rim, instead of picking somewhere well known. It'll pay off in the long run. :)

[Brother Arcturus]

Alright, after much dithering about over it finally changed the locale of the home world to the eastern fringe. Now to get around to the actuall fluff.