The Sons of Rurik!

[Gulag]

IA OUTLINE MATERIAL, A Work In Progress:

The Sons of Rurik

Gene-Seed: Unknown, severe degradation and genetic drift, only Imperial Fists and Raven Guard can be eliminated as the Sons of Rurik possess a full set of functional organs and implants.

Founding: Unclear - Sometime during M36 predating the 21st Founding, origins and history unclear due to cultural memes and practices

History: Also unclear, much of it is shrouded or distorted by Chapter's preference for mythbuilding and heroic epic sagas as opposed to factual recording of events. Events listed will be those corroborated by other Imperial institutions with attention paid to divergences or disagreements.

Homeworld: Shum-Gora, frozen and unpleasant place, remote, sparsely populated

Fortress Monastery: The Farm, formerly High Security Prison Reformatory No. 6, mostly underground

Colors: Red Ochre with Adeptus Battlegrey backpack

Specialization: Lightning strikes, overwhelming violence, assault and counter-assaults, raids

Organization: Non-Codex Chapter - don't use typical squad makeup or maintain a scout or veteran company.

OLD NOTES

THE SONS OF RURIK!

The chapter legend holds that the entire chapter arose from a single legendary marine - Rurik

naturally everyone says that a single marine cannot give rise to a whole chapter and naturally the Sons of Rurik tell everyone else to go fly into a star.

When it comes to the rare Inquisitorial investigation into their history, it is stymied by the fact that the Chapter does not keep factual accounts of their history

but instead poems, myths, and highly embellished stories that they insist are utter fact and completely true as is

Something that's implied and/or outright stated to happen all the time in 40K, yet is rarely actually shown

So that even when someone can find a real event in the Chapter's history that matches up to recorded events, many of the details aren't the same

certain Chapter heroes are present when they weren't and vice versa

chapter achievements are overblown

chapter strength over or understated

Just like in your average historical chronicle

This is attributed to a cultural meme where the Chapter's librarians aren't historians, they're storytellers

and the myths and stories of the Chapter are used to entertain, to tell moral stories, to train and to boost morale

so the chapter history is unreliable at best, has some gaps in it where things were 'misplaced'

not lost, just misplaced

it will return when the time is right - part of the Chapter's mythos beliefs

fallen Chapter heroes will return, either from the dead or reincarnated in new recruits and marines

And quite in line with a good few legends among first founding Chapters

and regarding the Emperor

Since the Chapter's genesis is the legendary Rurik, the Chapter does not venerate a single primarch

which further clouds their origins since the Chapter studies the works and philosophies of all the First Founding chapters and their Fathers

Thus making their origins even harder to trace

and it means that the Chapter has written records or materials from various other Older Chapters

the Sons have crusaded with Black Templar

Dropped from the sky with Blood Angels

etc.

Just as how the original legions exchanged members, the Sons have had single members or squads or even companies fight with many other chapters

Thus we get cross connections that make the (visible) history of the Sons a lot more threedimensional than that of most post-First Founding Chapters

and there's precedent for that among the post-Heresy Chapters as well

like the Mentor Legion

and with a long enough history, cooperation either intentional or incidental will happen

A few Chapter Masters have tried to honor Rurik by finding his Chapter of origin

so they've gone and tried talking to any chapter that meets the very slim details they have about Rurik

of course, the Chapter's mythbuilding works against them here because they don't have a lot of hard facts to work with

so none of the Chapters they've been able to work with have given them a conclusive answer

But given the chapter's hot temperament and genetic issues they've got an admittedly long list of potentials, the favorites being:

Rokath of the Blood Angels

Morik of the Iron Hands

Rukhan of the Marauders

Ro'kir of the Salamanders

Rudd 'Black Tongue' Karik of the Space Wolves though this last one, while the most similar is widely held as the least likely considering the quirks of Space Wolf genetics

Regardless their origin, the Chapter's geneseed is a hot mess

lots of quirks, flaws and strange functions

it gives the AdMech headaches and resulted in the Sons being put on a "No Successors Ever" list

it's also so mutated/derived that it's impossible to determine which Primarch it was ultimately derived from

the only really clear gene markers are the ones common to almost every single loyalist geneline

only the Raven Guard and Imperial Fists can be strictly ruled out

Considering the RG's usual schtick as having the most awful geneseed imaginable

the RG geneseed is so distinctive that it can be clearly distinguished as unlike the Sons

"Horribly mutated, albeit in clearly different ways"

Not Dorn. Not Corax. Could literally be any of the other seven.

Except Russ *of course*

Some may even suspect a Traitor Primarch as source

but again *impossible*

"that would never happen"

The practice of forming so-called Walking Dead units leads some to point fingers at the Blood Angels

They become like ghouls, with skin peeling off and attack with claws and teeth like beasts

"These Walking Dead guys that the Sons burn to ashes rather than let the outsiders ever see sure are like Death Companies..."

The lost origins of the sons are the following choices:

Space Wolves Successor,

Blood Angels/Space Wolves Chimeric Gene-seed

Traitor Gene-seed

Shady 13th Founding experiment

Cursed Founding freakshow

Pick your Heresy!

[Gulag]

I should mention that I am looking for the usual discussion/suggestions/criticism/people-being-mean-to-me process.

[Octavulg]

Just as how the original legions exchanged members, the Sons have had single members or squads or even companies fight with many other chapters

Thus we get cross connections that make the (visible) history of the Sons a lot more threedimensional than that of most post-First Founding Chapters

and there's precedent for that among the post-Heresy Chapters as well

like the Mentor Legion

and with a long enough history, cooperation either intentional or incidental will happen

 

A) The Mentors are quite unique (and were specifically founded for this purpose).

B) This feels like you're trying to make your chapter cooler by associating them with all the cool chapters.

 

Regardless their origin, the Chapter's geneseed is a hot mess

lots of quirks, flaws and strange functions

it gives the AdMech headaches and resulted in the Sons being put on a "No Successors Ever" list

it's also so mutated/derived that it's impossible to determine which Primarch it was ultimately derived from

the only really clear gene markers are the ones common to almost every single loyalist geneline

only the Raven Guard and Imperial Fists can be strictly ruled out

 

I'd just go with a lot of mutation (as in degradation). Seems less like improvement. Also a very logical consequence of trying to pass on medical procedure in a chapter that doesn't get this whole "records" thing.

 

Not Dorn. Not Corax. Could literally be any of the other seven.

 

MOre to the point, the Raven Guard and Imperial Fists are the only ones who are missing specific organs. Though, of course, some successor chapter lines may be missing organs as well.

 

 

The practice of forming so-called Walking Dead units leads some to point fingers at the Blood Angels

They become like ghouls, with skin peeling off and attack with claws and teeth like beasts

"These Walking Dead guys that the Sons burn to ashes rather than let the outsiders ever see sure are like Death Companies..."

 

The lost origins of the sons are the following choices:

Space Wolves Successor,

Blood Angels/Space Wolves Chimeric Gene-seed

Traitor Gene-seed

Shady 13th Founding experiment

Cursed Founding freakshow

 

Honestly, I don't think you need these elements. The other elements are plenty interesting on their own. Also, a chimeric geneseed seems like a 13th or 21st founding sort of thing (I don't think there are any examples which aren't one of those two).

 

Though, really, I don't think having a special geneseed origin makes the idea any better. If anything, it weakens it. I'd almost find it neater if they turned out to be Ultramarines than if they turned out to be something special.

[Gulag]

A) The Mentors are quite unique (and were specifically founded for this purpose).

This feels like you're trying to make your chapter cooler by associating them with all the cool chapters.

I am actively trying to fudge their origins by connecting them in passing to various other chapters.

I'd just go with a lot of mutation (as in degradation). Seems less like improvement. Also a very logical consequence of trying to pass on medical procedure in a chapter that doesn't get this whole "records" thing.

Not quite sure what you're getting at here.

More to the point, the Raven Guard and Imperial Fists are the only ones who are missing specific organs. Though, of course, some successor chapter lines may be missing organs as well.

Bingo. They're missing organs that the Sons have. Thus they're the only two genelines that can be crossed out wholesale.

Honestly, I don't think you need these elements. The other elements are plenty interesting on their own. Also, a chimeric geneseed seems like a 13th or 21st founding sort of thing (I don't think there are any examples which aren't one of those two).

Though, really, I don't think having a special geneseed origin makes the idea any better. If anything, it weakens it. I'd almost find it neater if they turned out to be Ultramarines than if they turned out to be something special.

DidNotGetTheJoke.jpg

Its a riff on the usual DIY "Special Origins" and those things that are held in "General Wisdom" to be impossible or bad.

The Walking Dead gimmick lets me run the Sons of Rurik with either the Space Wolves or Blood Angels codices by rearranging some pieces if I feel like it by making them either Wulfen or Death Company. Also, I think the space werewolves thing is dumb and doing loyalist space zombie-marines appeals to me more.

The Sons of Rurik started out as an explicit Space Wolves successor that I fudged the details on.

As far as messed up sons of Guilliman go, I've already got one of those. Thunder Lords. Mutated UM successors who are insane cannibals in orange and gold armor. Loads of fun to be around.

[Octavulg]

I am actively trying to fudge their origins by connecting them in passing to various other chapters.

 

That may be what's intended, but I'm not sure it comes across.

 

Not quite sure what you're getting at here.

 

"Quirks, flaws and strange functions" makes it sound as if their geneseed is all special and unique, as opposed to just weird and poorly functioning.

 

Bingo. They're missing organs that the Sons have. Thus they're the only two genelines that can be crossed out wholesale.

 

You could actually say that in the thing, then...

 

DidNotGetTheJoke.jpg

 

Its a riff on the usual DIY "Special Origins" and those things that are held in "General Wisdom" to be impossible or bad.

 

Doing something badly ironically isn't really different from just doing something badly. Nor does it look any different.

 

Also, they're not impossible or bad if they help make the IA better. I don't think those options do.

[Gulag]

I am actively trying to fudge their origins by connecting them in passing to various other chapters.

 

That may be what's intended, but I'm not sure it comes across.

 

Not quite sure what you're getting at here.

 

"Quirks, flaws and strange functions" makes it sound as if their geneseed is all special and unique, as opposed to just weird and poorly functioning.

 

Bingo. They're missing organs that the Sons have. Thus they're the only two genelines that can be crossed out wholesale.

 

You could actually say that in the thing, then...

 

DidNotGetTheJoke.jpg

 

Its a riff on the usual DIY "Special Origins" and those things that are held in "General Wisdom" to be impossible or bad.

 

Doing something badly ironically isn't really different from just doing something badly. Nor does it look any different.

 

Also, they're not impossible or bad if they help make the IA better. I don't think those options do.

 

 

Cool story bro. Now then, any actual suggestions for content or developing more character in the Sons of Rurik?

[Octavulg]

Nope. When people ask for criticism and then complain when they get it, I tend to not bother any more.

[Gulag]

The Sons need a homeworld

a fleet based chapter descended from Space Wolves would either need some very very careful selection

or just die

They'd likely engage in selectively breeding their recruitment population, as well

oh yes, lots of intrusion and fiddling with the natives either through serfs or lots of "godly" intrusion

The demigods coming down from the skies to mess with mortal affairs

 

Then again, why let your pool just wander around freely in the wild?

why not keep them in a controlled environment intended to provoke the right responses?

a farm if you will

 

This planet was an Imperial prison world before it became the Chapter's homeworld and prime recruiting source

Icy, barren, habitable but unpleasant

a horrid pit even before the Sons came and claimed it as their own

One with extensive vaults and tunnel systems, I'd imagine

for the mortal inhabitants, a barely survivable hellhole

but one wired for complete sound and video monitoring

and the mortals are subject to seizure and experimentation by the astartes

supplies are kept at desperation levels to keep conflict and violence high

and sometimes the Sons come out and cull what appear to be random individuals from the mortal populace

 

this massive horrible prison-turned fortress is known as "The Farm"

"Your Fortress Monastery is known as 'the Farm'? That isn't very...intimidating."

*is about to learn the meaning of the words 'euphemism' and 'understatement'*

"Come visit, you'll have a great time."

"Your stay will be memorable for all the right reasons."

 

I could see the Chapter select a collection of suitable IG vets and giving them a 'weekend pass' with some handpicked members of the opposite sex in order to introduce new genes to prevent stagnation in the recruitment program.

[Gulag]

and we have a color scheme kids!

Red Ochre (9A150E) and Adeptus Battlegrey.

[Gulag]

Nope. When people ask for criticism and then complain when they get it, I tend to not bother any more.

 

You're aware that you are nitpicking the phrasing of some rough notes and an offhand joke, right? Not anything to do with the core concepts and details of the chapter?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The fluff is EXTREMELY suspicious, as in "Chapter that went renegade, regretted going renegade, and changed its name so people would believe it was always loyal," suspicious. Maybe you can say the Chapter is an Astral Claws successor that fought against its progenitor. I can think of some ways:

 

1. The Sons of Rurik refused to honor Lufgt Huron's request for [insert something here], resulting in accusations of heresy and an Inquisitorial investigation. When the Badab War erupted, the Sons' refusal seemed justified, and a desperate Imperium included them as one of the Chapters sent to fight the Astral Claws. To conceal their shameful past, the Sons' Librarians (with Inquisitorial approval- perfect blackmail material with which the Inquisition can bend the Chapter to its will) erased younger Marines' memories of their progenitor, while senior Marines were sworn to absolute secrecy.

 

2. The Sons of Rurik initially fought on the Astral Claws' side, but when Lufgt Huron swore allegiance to Chaos, turned against their progenitor late in the war. For this action, they were granted the Emperor's Pardon, along with the Lamenters. To conceal their shameful past....

 

3. Rurik was an Astral Claws officer who became an Inquisitorial informant, when the Inquisition decided to investigate the Chapter. He provided intel critical to the Imperium's success in prosecuting the Badab Wars, earning a pardon for him and his loyal subordinates. Despite the honor his actions could've won, Rurik felt the Astral Claws' honor was forever lost, and when offered to found his own Chapter, decided to cut all ties to its progenitor, and deny knowledge of its origins to new recruits.

[Gulag]

The fluff is EXTREMELY suspicious, as in "Chapter that went renegade, regretted going renegade, and changed its name so people would believe it was always loyal," suspicious. Maybe you can say the Chapter is an Astral Claws successor that fought against its progenitor. I can think of some ways:

 

1. The Sons of Rurik refused to honor Lufgt Huron's request for [insert something here], resulting in accusations of heresy and an Inquisitorial investigation. When the Badab War erupted, the Sons' refusal seemed justified, and a desperate Imperium included them as one of the Chapters sent to fight the Astral Claws. To conceal their shameful past, the Sons' Librarians (with Inquisitorial approval- perfect blackmail material with which the Inquisition can bend the Chapter to its will) erased younger Marines' memories of their progenitor, while senior Marines were sworn to absolute secrecy.

 

2. The Sons of Rurik initially fought on the Astral Claws' side, but when Lufgt Huron swore allegiance to Chaos, turned against their progenitor late in the war. For this action, they were granted the Emperor's Pardon, along with the Lamenters. To conceal their shameful past....

 

3. Rurik was an Astral Claws officer who became an Inquisitorial informant, when the Inquisition decided to investigate the Chapter. He provided intel critical to the Imperium's success in prosecuting the Badab Wars, earning a pardon for him and his loyal subordinates. Despite the honor his actions could've won, Rurik felt the Astral Claws' honor was forever lost, and when offered to found his own Chapter, decided to cut all ties to its progenitor, and deny knowledge of its origins to new recruits.

 

These are all nifty ideas, though i was hoping to for the Sons to have a longer history than a few hundred years. I really like #3 though, it is worth saving as its own DIY project.

 

Thanks for the feedback!

[Wulfebane]

Nope. When people ask for criticism and then complain when they get it, I tend to not bother any more.

 

You're aware that you are nitpicking the phrasing of some rough notes and an offhand joke, right? Not anything to do with the core concepts and details of the chapter?

 

You're aware no one really cares to spend their time on anyone once they hear the magical words, "Cool story bro"?

 

I like Bjorn's third concept also.

[Olis]

Before this has a chance to spiral, I'm going to ask brothers here to keep things amicable. For the record, jokes do not translate well in text. It's best to avoid the potentially snarky ones (especially memes) if at all possible, as it can and will be taken the wrong way. Now then, let's refocus on C&C, shall we?

[Gulag]

Before this has a chance to spiral, I'm going to ask brothers here to keep things amicable. For the record, jokes do not translate well in text. It's best to avoid the potentially snarky ones (especially memes) if at all possible, as it can and will be taken the wrong way. Now then, let's refocus on C&C, shall we?

 

Fair enough.

 

For the record, the Sons of Rurik were never intended to be officially declared a Space Wolves successor, of Chimeric gene-seed, of Traitor gene-seed or of the 13th or 21st foundings. Instead their origins were to be murky as well as their geneseed due to cultural tendencies practiced by the chapter.

 

Their geneseed has suffered enough mutation and genetic drift that it is impossible to accurately map its original geneline, except that it cannot be the Raven Guard nor the Imperial Fists because all of the implants and organs of a Space Marine are present and mostly functional in the Sons. However the degradation is so bad and so quirky that it is possible for Adepts to imagine that they are or could be a Space Wolves successor.

 

Since they are that messed up, I am going to do their fluff from the consideration of what it would take for a Space Wolves successor to function.

[Gulag]

Their tenuous grasp on history without firm connection to any of the First Foundings means that they do not feel compelled to follow the Codex for organization, colorations, or for any reason beyond pragmatism like keeping their chapter close to the established limits for the sake of self-preservation.

 

That isn't to say that they don't know the Codex, haven't read it and memorized it, it just means that for the Sons of Rurik it is more a book of guidelines than a book of unbreakable rules. This is a tradition that goes back to the days of Rurik who is said to have not conformed to the dictates of the Codex.

 

It is seen that Guilliman's work is no more special than the generally available wrings on the Art of War from Dorn, Russ, Sanguinius, Vulkan, the Khan, Corax, Ferrus, or the Lion.

[Midgard]

Interesting idea, but one thing seems missing - the feel for their culture. What I am getting so far is a very ruthless Chapter with little to no humanitarian tendencies, and the name suggests quasi-Russian/Varyag theme. Are you planning to develop that theme more? If you were to describe your Chapter in one or two sentences, what is the core of your concept that makes their fluff a cool story?

 

In my opinion, it is easiest to build from that "mission statement" - most Chapters are equally impacted by culture and gene-seed, and I would like to see more on their culture, not just their rather interesting view of history, but also what this Chapter is like, what is their moral compass?

[Gulag]

Interesting idea, but one thing seems missing - the feel for their culture. What I am getting so far is a very ruthless Chapter with little to no humanitarian tendencies, and the name suggests quasi-Russian/Varyag theme. Are you planning to develop that theme more? If you were to describe your Chapter in one or two sentences, what is the core of your concept that makes their fluff a cool story?

 

In my opinion, it is easiest to build from that "mission statement" - most Chapters are equally impacted by culture and gene-seed, and I would like to see more on their culture, not just their rather interesting view of history, but also what this Chapter is like, what is their moral compass?

 

Core concept: Ruthless piratical fringe-region defenders. That doesn't mean their region is out on the far edge of the Galaxy, just that their region is lightly populated but valuable for various reasons.

 

Ah, now this is a good question. Lots of early Russian/Varangian influences are just what I had in mind. Just as the early Varyag/Varangians and the early days of the Kievan Rus, the Sons of Rurik are rather piratical or mercenary in their deployments, preferring to strike swiftly and with overwhelming strength before departing as quickly. Like the late Kievan Rus, their sphere of influence is under attack from encroaching enemies: Ork freebooters and Waaaghs, various Eldar raiders, Corsairs and Dark Eldar, and various kinds of traitorous humans.

 

With few reliable local allies to call upon, the Chapter is deeply concerned with keeping the supply lines open for trade and Imperial Guard regiments from the more densely populated Imperium. These Guard regiments can dig in and become entrenched defenders where the Chapter cannot long linger, but there are never enough guardsmen and supplies to truly secure the region.

 

With a siege mentality and constant suspicion of impending invasion, the Sons of Rurik take the quickest and often bloodiest solutions to resolve internal problems, just as the last of the line of Rurik - Ivan the Terrible - did with his Oprichniki. Grudges are held, and no slight is forgiven or forgotten. Look at what Saint Olga did to the Drevlians after they killed her husband Igor and tried to pressure her into marrying their prince. Same idea.

 

Faced with the prospect of being cut off by an opportunistic, greedy or otherwise self-interested bureaucrat in the past, they even have laid siege to Imperial worlds to keep their interests protected. The Kievan Rus did this to the Byzantine cities along the Black Sea, particularly Constantinople and these only ended with the signing of trade agreements between the two, favorable to the Rus.

 

How does that sound?

[Gulag]

Oh, and in keeping with this Varangian/Slavonic theme for the Sons of Rurik - they will have their own name for the Walking Dead (those counts as Death Company or Wulfen) and I suspect Midgard might approve: Vurdalak.

[Midgard]

This is more of what I was looking for. Btw, if you really want to go with the Slavic theme, Vyrdalak is singular - plural is Vurdalaki. Another possibility is Nezhit/Nezhiti.

 

How are the Sons organized, and what keeps them around in the Imperium, considering a strained feel to their relationship with it?

[Veteran Sergeant]

Their tenuous grasp on history without firm connection to any of the First Foundings means that they do not feel compelled to follow the Codex for organization, colorations, or for any reason beyond pragmatism like keeping their chapter close to the established limits for the sake of self-preservation.

 

That isn't to say that they don't know the Codex, haven't read it and memorized it, it just means that for the Sons of Rurik it is more a book of guidelines than a book of unbreakable rules. This is a tradition that goes back to the days of Rurik who is said to have not conformed to the dictates of the Codex.

 

It is seen that Guilliman's work is no more special than the generally available wrings on the Art of War from Dorn, Russ, Sanguinius, Vulkan, the Khan, Corax, Ferrus, or the Lion.

I don't think the writings of any of those primarchs has ever been referred to as "generally available" in a galaxy where records are lost easier than keys and TV remotes. In fact, I'd imagine none of those texts, if they do exist, are "generally available" to anyone other than those Chapters and perhaps their early founding successors.

 

Though, it begs the question, if the Chapter sees all of those sources as individually valuable, why wouldn't they then understand the greater value of the work that takes all of those treatises and combines them into a more broad spectrum treatise on strategy, and how to integrate those fighting styles?

 

I think people get confused about the CA. It's okay though. So is Graham McNeill, and he writes novels about 40K. ;) Being "Codex Adherent" just means you comply with the organizational and recruiting/training rules. It has nothing to do with following the strategies of the Codex. So if your chapter doesn't follow those rules to the letter, cool. There are plenty of chapters like that. But it really has nothing to do with the second part of that idea where they read the writings of the other primarchs. A chapter can follow their own organizational doctrines while using the Codex Astartes for their combat strategies. It isn't some short form Warfare for Dummies that you simply "memorize" solutions for given problems. It's a comprehensive tome on combat strategy that requires a commander to both understand it, and then be able to apply its tenets on the evolving battlespace.

 

Since they are that messed up, I am going to do their fluff from the consideration of what it would take for a Space Wolves successor to function.

This could be challenging, and will take a lot of 13th or 21st Founding finagling, since if it could be done, it would have been done. The abject failure of the Wolf Brothers was so severe, and so total, that the AdMech officially never tried again.

 

The idea behind "The Farm" is cool, but like a lot of similar ideas, it suffers under the idea for the Space Marine creation process. Trying to inflict severe psychological trauma on children without control measures seems like it's more trouble than it's worth. After all, they have all the time in the world to indoctrinate them once they've been selected for Space Marinehood. Even a sociopathic chapter like the one you're trying to create seems like it would have a pretty solid plan for achieving the best possible recruits. Mentally unbalancing them during the most formative years of their mental development seems unwise, haha. Though, the Rogue Trader era fan in me really likes the idea, haha.

 

I think you should take a look at how you can reconcile the idea of "The Farm" with your training process, rather than your recruiting process. Make the processes you describe for "The Farm" instead be inflicted on the young recruits. If you want to adapt the idea of a controlled populace as well, that's cool too. But it might be even more sinister if it is more surreptitious and less diabolical. Might even add some depth to the chapter's personality if there is a certain amount of balance between the chapter's ruthlessness in combat and it's careful husbandry of its recruiting pool in a more subtle and measuredly malicious way. After all, it takes a lot of thought and planning to create such an artificial environment, so somebody in the Chapter's organization has been pretty heavily involved in the process.

[Gulag]

This is more of what I was looking for. Btw, if you really want to go with the Slavic theme, Vyrdalak is singular - plural is Vurdalaki. Another possibility is Nezhit/Nezhiti. How are the Sons organized, and what keeps them around in the Imperium, considering a strained feel to their relationship with it?

 

Vyrdalak singular, Vurdalaki plural. Got it.

 

As far as organization goes, I'm not entirely sure yet. I'm leaning towards a Space Wolf style set up as an excuse to use their Codex - the acute senses could be the result of someone who came out of living in a darkened horrible pit, counter-attack as a result of savage prison style fighting, etm.

 

Loyalty is a combination of having overcome their occasional issues with supply lines and the influence of their recruiting population. The prisoners were heavily subjected to the idea of inherited sin. Marines have to redeem not only themselves but all of their ancestors through loyal service and killing many, very many, enemies of the Emperor. That and they foster a lot of hate towards their enemies.

[Midgard]

Vurdalak is correct spelling for singular btw - this is what I get for typing from my phone!

[Gulag]

I don't think the writings of any of those primarchs has ever been referred to as "generally available" in a galaxy where records are lost easier than keys and TV remotes. In fact, I'd imagine none of those texts, if they do exist, are "generally available" to anyone other than those Chapters and perhaps their early founding successors. Though, it begs the question, if the Chapter sees all of those sources as individually valuable, why wouldn't they then understand the greater value of the work that takes all of those treatises and combines them into a more broad spectrum treatise on strategy, and how to integrate those fighting styles? I think people get confused about the CA. It's okay though. So is Graham McNeill, and he writes novels about 40K. Being "Codex Adherent" just means you comply with the organizational and recruiting/training rules. It has nothing to do with following the strategies of the Codex. So if your chapter doesn't follow those rules to the letter, cool. There are plenty of chapters like that. But it really has nothing to do with the second part of that idea where they read the writings of the other primarchs. A chapter can follow their own organizational doctrines while using the Codex Astartes for their combat strategies. It isn't some short form Warfare for Dummies that you simply "memorize" solutions for given problems. It's a comprehensive tome on combat strategy that requires a commander to both understand it, and then be able to apply its tenets on the evolving battlespace.

Since they are that messed up, I am going to do their fluff from the consideration of what it would take for a Space Wolves successor to function.

This could be challenging, and will take a lot of 13th or 21st Founding finagling, since if it could be done, it would have been done. The abject failure of the Wolf Brothers was so severe, and so total, that the AdMech officially never tried again. The idea behind "The Farm" is cool, but like a lot of similar ideas, it suffers under the idea for the Space Marine creation process. Trying to inflict severe psychological trauma on children without control measures seems like it's more trouble than it's worth. After all, they have all the time in the world to indoctrinate them once they've been selected for Space Marinehood. Even a sociopathic chapter like the one you're trying to create seems like it would have a pretty solid plan for achieving the best possible recruits. Mentally unbalancing them during the most formative years of their mental development seems unwise, haha. Though, the Rogue Trader era fan in me really likes the idea, haha. I think you should take a look at how you can reconcile the idea of "The Farm" with your training process, rather than your recruiting process. Make the processes you describe for "The Farm" instead be inflicted on the young recruits. If you want to adapt the idea of a controlled populace as well, that's cool too. But it might be even more sinister if it is more surreptitious and less diabolical. Might even add some depth to the chapter's personality if there is a certain amount of balance between the chapter's ruthlessness in combat and it's careful husbandry of its recruiting pool in a more subtle and measuredly malicious way. After all, it takes a lot of thought and planning to create such an artificial environment, so somebody in the Chapter's organization has been pretty heavily involved in the process.

There's a hitch to that though, as there are many versions of the Codex Astartes, and that actually reading it is not as easy as generally presumed because it was written in a language that's, well, over ten thousand years old. Idiomatic phrasing does not hold up well to the march of time. Then there's the fact that Guilliman did include a lot of military doctrines from the other Legions in his Codex Astartes, but how much did he cite sources? Did he include the sources in wholesale copy? In which case those writings from the other legions that wouldn't be available are appendices in the words of the original authors...like Sanguinius, the Lion, Russ et al. Actually thinking about this now, I would imagine that including these appendices that are literal copy-pasta from their legions of origin would practically be required in convincing the other legions cum chapters that the Codex is indeed worth a look. This could lead to some serious questions about just how well did Girlyman do with converting and understanding his brothers' works? Did Guilliman understand *their* idiomatic phrasing, terms and core concepts entirely accurately and in a way perfectly representative of their intents?

As for the Farm part, I am not sure that I follow. Could you restate that as concisely as possible?

[Gulag]

Vurdalak is correct spelling for singular btw - this is what I get for typing from my phone!

 

Totally cool, I know how the phone typing is whackadoodle. I am glad that my Russophile work is paying off!