WIP: Dark Swords

[SickSix]

This is a rough draft of the background for my DIY DA successor chapter. Please let me know what you think.</p>

Dark Swords

Origins

The Dark Swords are believed to be founded in during the 36th millennia. They claim to of the 20th Founding but there are no records to substantiate this. Their geneseed was pulled from the honored 1st Legion, the Dark Angels. The Dark Swords have close ties with their progenitor Chapter, however, they consider their sins absolved by the destruction of Caliban. The Dark Swords feel very far removed from the events on Caliban, but still feel it is their duty to capture the Fallen when called to do so.

They are often found on patrol in their Strike Cruisers near the Halo Stars in Segmentum Obscurus. They have also aided in containing the Eye of Terror many times. However, it is rumored that most often the Dark Swords are fighting an unknown Xenos threat that heralds doom from beyond the Halo Stars. It has been suggested that this unknown enemy is what has shaped the chapter's style of warfare.

Homeworld

The Dark Swords make there home on Paleon, a mountainous mining world on the edge of Imperial space. The planets wealthy live in beautiful mountain top city-fortresses. Meanwhile the true heart of the planet lives hundreds and even thousands of meters underground. Millions of miners toil away in the dark to produce the minerals and ores needed by nearby industrial planets and the forge world Krondus. The Dark Swords have no trouble finding hardy recruits in the mines of Paleon.

Dogma

Like most Space Marines, the Dark Swords consider the Emperor their gene father and the greatest man to ever live. Lion El'Johnson is their spiritual liege and they revere him as the greatest tactician to ever live, and strive to live up to his standard. Like their progenitor chapter, the Dark Swords don't get along well with those outside the ranks of the Unforgiven. Despite being able to field a large amount of armored vehicles and ancient technology, their relation ship with Mars is strained at best. This is believed to be due to their refusal to share any of their knowledge with the Mechanicum.

Organization

When orginally founded the Dark Swords reflected their progenitor chapter. The 1st Company, the Darkwing, being able to field it's entirety in coal black painted TDA. The 2nd Company, the Razorwing, deployed on bikes and speeders mirroring the Dark Angel Ravenwing, until the events of Anigma and The Lost. The remainder of the chapter was made up as the Codex Astartes prescribes.

Tactics

Outside of the 1st and 2nd companies, the Dark Swords almost exclusively engage the enemy with overwhelming ranged firepower. They tend to field as many tactical squads as can fit on the field, and rarely use specialized troops other than Devastators. The tactical marines are usually backed up by Predators or Vindicators when possible. A Nova Marine sergeant once was heard speaking of the Dark Swords preference for big guns, citing a battle against the Eldar where he witnessed three Dark Sword Line Breaker squadrons fielded on the same battlefield.

The Lost

In 001.M41 the entire 1st Company deploys to a remote system previously shrouded by a warp storm for five thousand years. The Dark Swords were answering a request by the Supreme Grand Master to get to the system and try to capture a Fallen that was reported there before the system fell under the shroud of the warp. The Dark Swords 1st Company made their warp jump out of the Paleon system, and were never heard from again.

The Dark Swords recalled the entire chapter, some companies left allies on the field of battle, not knowing, or caring what happened after their departure. The Razorwing was deployed to the target system, Anigma, immediately after the Fortress Monastery declared the Darkwing lost. As the other companies returned to the home system they were tasked with searching the entire system to look for the Blackest Night, the Battle Barge of the Darkwing.

Nine weeks after the 2nd Company had departed, a signal was received calling for immediate reinforcements. The remainder of the battle companies were dispatched to aid the Razorwing. When the reinforcements arrived in Anigma their ships were immediately assailed by debris. There were no clear lanes of travel in the system. Pieces and parts of ships of all sizes and orbital platforms littered the system. Weak signals made it hard for the 2nd Company to be pinpointed but they were found on the 4th planet. Their Strike Cruiser was adrift and most of the company was in a desperate fight for survival on the planet's surface.

When the 4th made landfall, they found that the Razorwing had been reduced to fighting on foot. The planet was infested with a techno-chaos cult that had heretical technology that eventually brought down every bike and speeder the Razorwing had. The 4th wanted to join the fight but the Master of the 2nd demanded that the 4th evacuate the remaining members of the Razorwing and then blast the planet from orbit with the aid of the other ships in system.

After some reluctance on behalf of the 4th Master, the survivors of the Razorwing was evacuated and the ships of the 3rd, 4th and 5th companies bombarded the planet into oblivion. There was no sign of the 1st and the debris in the system made it nearly impossible to find evidence if it had been there. The Dark Sword forces stayed in system long enough to get the Razorwing strike cruiser warp capable and then they quickly jumped out to the closest Imperial system.

The Master of the Razorwing, Razkael, demanded that the other three companies surrender their jump packs to him. The other company masters resisted this at first but eventually surrendered to his demands. Razkael outfitted every last remaining marine in his command with the jump packs and left the system to continue the search for the lost Darkwing.

Master Abana, of the 5th, expressed concern for Master Razkael to his brother Masters after the Razorwings departure. He noted the blood lust in Razkael's eyes and his almost unchecked anger. The other Masters agreed and decided they would keep an eye on their troubled brother. Reports would later tell of the Razorwings penchant for brutal close combat, which did nothing to assuage Master Abana's concerns.

The Future of the Chapter

The Dark Swords avoided the curse of the Fallen, however, some within the Unforgiven say they now suffer the curse of The Lost for turning their backs on the Unforgiven. The Dark Swords now search for any sign of The Lost. When not answering calls for aid from Imperial forces, every company continues the search for The Lost. The search is drawing them ever closer to the Eye of Terror, and some in the Chapter fear what they may find. Any reports of traitor terminators will draw Dark Swords like bees to honey.

The Razorwing

The Razorwing never stopped their incessant search long enough to refit back to the traditional Ravenwing load out. They continue to run as pure assault infantry launching swift and brutal attacks with jump pack and chain sword. The temperament of the company changed from quiet determination to near outright rage. The loss of the Darkwing and then the subsequent defeat of their company has wounded the soul of the Razorwing. They have added a dark blood red to their armor to honor those that fell in the search for The Lost and to symbolize their blood lust for revenge against the forces that took the 1st from them.

[Astral Pathfinder]

1) homeworld : how does an agri world provides warriors for the chapter ?

-agriworlds are often a part of a more complex system and produces food for the hive/factory worlds around.

 

The only thing i can think of is that this food is made from the meat of huge colonies of big and dangerous beasts but, well...

 

2)that said, i really like the color scheme and blade-themed army.

 

3)Mars is far away from any imperium edge, and quite the opposite of the halo stars (I got the same problem with my diy) so I suggest you pick up a closer forge world.

 

Hope it helps.

Again, that said, I like the shape of your DIY.

 

Edit: Which codex do yo use ? DA geneseed but it sounds more like you're playing BA codex, with razorwing beeing the death cie. Am I wrong about this ? ;)

[SickSix]

Great points and questions!

 

1) Honestly I hadn't put a whole lot of thought into it. I will change that up.

 

2) Thanks.

 

3) Good point, I will look for a cannon forge world or make up a new one closer to the region.

 

 

 

4) I will be playing the DA codex mostly. However I will be building a 30 strong assault force to represent the Razorwing, which I will play as BA allies or its own army sometimes.

[Octavulg]

From the DIY Guide

"An agri-world has "no less than 850 parts per 1000 given over to the cultivation of crops, hydroponics, animal fodder or animal husbandry". Although no official GW chapter has an agri-world home world, they are not necessarily unsuitable - a hardy group of ranchers or herdsmen might make excellent recruits for a Chapter. They have between one million
and fifteen thousand people - suggesting that life will either be very hard or that it will be very easy, depending on the technological development."

 

Plus, there's the possibility of horrific sea beasts. 

[SickSix]

Ok, changed the Homeworld, removed references to Mars, and use 'the Mechanicum' and a local forgeworld 'Kronus'.

 

Also added a Tactics section.

[Uaronain]

 

 

I like the color scheme but it does remind me of the marines malevolent, I am a fan of black and
yellow in general though.

I like the idea of a mining world that is much like a hive
city where the rich and affluent live high above the dregs of society and also
where the real work is done. It is clearly an imperial world.

 

What do you have in mind for symbols?

 

What were they tasked with when created? The high lords of
terra had a job in mind when they created the Dark Swords, I think that in your
home world section you hint at guarding the area around the halo stars and
perhaps need to move that to the origins?

In Dogma/beliefs you don’t really say what they think of their
Progenitor chapter’s founder. Do they revere him etc?

 

 

 

 I like the chapter, I will think about a crossroads where they and the Steel vamguard could cross paths :)

[SickSix]

Uaronain, on 12 Feb 2013 - 21:15, said:

I like the color scheme but it does remind me of the marines malevolent, I am a fan of black and

yellow in general though.

Well the Marines Malevolent are all yellow with a bit of black. So kind of the opposite. And I hate the Marines Malevolent. They are honorless dogs! LOL

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I like the idea of a mining world that is much like a hive

city where the rich and affluent live high above the dregs of society and also

where the real work is done. It is clearly an imperial world.

Yes, that works much better. The mountainous world, I just pulled from my first (failed) attempt at a DIY chapter LOL.

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What do you have in mind for symbols?

Well due to my use of DV mini's they will use the DA symbology, but the sword will be painted black or really dark grey.

Quote

What were they tasked with when created? The high lords of

terra had a job in mind when they created the Dark Swords, I think that in your

home world section you hint at guarding the area around the halo stars and

perhaps need to move that to the origins?

I will move that bit of text. I actually saw that when I went back to make the last changes.

Quote

In Dogma/beliefs you don’t really say what they think of their

Progenitor chapter’s founder. Do they revere him etc?

I will think about that. I did leave that bit out.... Hmmm

Quote

I like the chapter, I will think about a crossroads where they and the Steel vamguard could cross paths

PM inbound, I have an idea.

[Octavulg]

The Dark Swords are believed to be founded in during the 36th millennia. They claim to of the 20th Founding but there are no records to substantiate this. Their geneseed was pulled from the honored 1st Legion, the Dark Angels. The Dark Swords have close ties with their progenitor Chapter, however, they do not consider themselves 'Unforgiven'. The Dark Swords feel very far removed from the events on Caliban and unlike the Angels of Absolution, feel they have nothing to be absolved from. However, they will answer the call to hunt Fallen if called upon to do so.

20th Founding was M35.

 

The Angels of Absolution already feel they have nothing to be absolved from, IIRC.

 

Feeling you aren't Unforgiven and having a close relationship with the DA seem like mutually incompatible ideas, at least to some extent.

Like most Space Marines, the Dark Swords consider the Emperor their gene father and the greatest man to ever live. They tolerate the Ecclesiarchy only when necessary. By all accounts the Dark Swords have a neutral relationship with the Inquisition. It was surmised that the chapter must have a good relationship with the Mechanicum due to the high number of armored vehicles and rare vehicle variations observed by an inquisitor while the chapter was fighting a large Whaagh on Praxis III.

Why, regarding the INquisition and Mechanicus? Also, the DA have terrible relations with pretty much everyone and have all kinds of shiny stuff.

When orginally founded the Dark Swords reflected their progenitor chapter. The 1st Company, the Darkwing, being able to field it's entirety in coal black painted TDA. The 2nd Company, the Razorwing, deployed on bikes and speeders mirroring the Dark Angel Ravenwing. The remainder of the chapter was made up as the Codex Astartes prescribes.

Outside of the 1st and 2nd companies, the Dark Swords almost exclusively engage the enemy with overwhelming ranged firepower. They tend to field as many tactical squads as can fit on the field, and rarely use specialized troops other than Devastators. The tactical marines are usually backed up by Predators or Vindicators when possible. A Nova Marine sergeant once was heard speaking of the Dark Swords preference for big guns, citing a battle against the Eldar where he witnessed three Dark Sword Line Breaker squadrons fielded on the same battlefield.

Why? And, also, why does it really matter?

The Dark Swords recalled the entire chapter, some companies left allies on the field of battle, not knowing, or caring what happened after their departure. The Razorwing was deployed to the target system, Anigma, immediately after the Fortress Monastery declared the Darkwing lost. As the other companies returned to the home system they were tasked with searching the entire system to look for the Blackest Night, the Battle Barge of the Darkwing.

Wouldn've made more sense to do that, y'know. First. To FIND the Fallen, and all.

The Dark Swords avoided the curse of the Fallen, however, some within the Unforgiven say they now suffer the curse of The Lost for turning their backs on the Unforgiven. The Dark Swords now search for any sign of The Lost. When not answering calls for aid from Imperial forces, every company continues the search for The Lost. The search is drawing them ever closer to the Eye of Terror, and some in the Chapter fear what they may find. Any reports of traitor terminators will draw Dark Swords like bees to honey.

First, stealing supplies from the Blood Drinkers doesn't really seem necessary. I don't think jump packs are THAT hard to come by.

 

Second, this takes a long time and doesn't seem to actually change that much about the chapter - you don't discuss what effect this has on the chapter that much, focusing on what it's done to their weapon loadout. Weapons are boring. People are interesting.

 

* * *

 

What are you trying for with this chapter? What interests you? What do you want?

[NightrawenII]

Uhm, guys. I don't want to burst your bubble, but... Halo Stars are the stars around the perimeter of galaxy. So guarding the area around Halo Stars is... yeah...

The Dark Swords feel very far removed from the events on Caliban and unlike the Angels of Absolution, feel they have nothing to be absolved from. However, they will answer the call to hunt Fallen if called upon to do so.

Hmmmm... We are abstinent, but we still drink booze whenever we want?

[SickSix]

Octavulg, on 13 Feb 2013 - 00:36, said:

20th Founding was M35.

That seems hard to do since the 19th was in M36.

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The Angels of Absolution already feel they have nothing to be absolved from, IIRC.

They just believe their sins were absolved by the destruction of Caliban. But I changed it anyways.

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Feeling you aren't Unforgiven and having a close relationship with the DA seem like mutually incompatible ideas, at least to some extent.

See the entry for Angels of Absolution. But as I said above, I have reworded it a bit anyways.

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Why, regarding the INquisition and Mechanicus? Also, the DA have terrible relations with pretty much everyone and have all kinds of shiny stuff.

True. Changes made.

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Why? And, also, why does it really matter?

Describing how space marine chapters fight seems pretty damn important considering that's what differentiates them on the table top. Why do we have to know the Raven Guard like hit and run tactics, or the Salamnders like close in fighting with flamers and meltas?

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Wouldn've made more sense to do that, y'know. First. To FIND the Fallen, and all.

Sorry, I really don't know what your on about here.

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First, stealing supplies from the Blood Drinkers doesn't really seem necessary. I don't think jump packs are THAT hard to come by.

True, changed it.

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Second, this takes a long time and doesn't seem to actually change that much about the chapter - you don't discuss what effect this has on the chapter that much, focusing on what it's done to their weapon loadout. Weapons are boring. People are interesting.

Um, this pretty much explains why they don't field terminators, and why they don't field traditional Ravenwing. Seems pretty important when someone asks 'Wait, if these are DA successors, where's your Deathwing and Ravenwing?'

 

Also, to your last statements. That's a matter of opinion. I find weapons, vehicles and machines highly interesting.

[NightrawenII]

20th Founding was M35.

That seems hard to do since the 19th was in M36.

The lexicanum is wrong. Every material since ever place 21st Founding prior to Age of Apostasy and start of AoA is placed around beginning of M36.

Also, to your last statements. That's a matter of opinion. I find weapons, vehicles and machines highly interesting.

*looks at the header*

Oh, for a moment I thought that I confused this DIY thread with topic about space marine equipment.

[Octavulg]

That seems hard to do since the 19th was in M36.

Seriously?

Read this.

Also, Messor, weren't you going to post my new timeline up a few weeks ago?

See the entry for Angels of Absolution. But as I said above, I have reworded it a bit anyways.

The Angels hunt the Fallen out of solidarity and self-protection. Why do you do it?

Also, as you pointed out, the AoA at least think they did something wrong at one point. Your guys think this isn't their problem at all.

Describing how space marine chapters fight seems pretty damn important considering that's what differentiates them on the table top. Why do we have to know the Raven Guard like hit and run tactics, or the Salamnders like close in fighting with flamers and meltas?

Why as in "why do they do this". The fighting styles you mention grow organically out of the character of the chapters. Yours doesn't.

Sorry, I really don't know what your on about here.

Some military organizations send in the scouting force, THEN the heavy hitters. As opposed to the reverse.

Seriously - a system is a big place. Chasing him down would be an obvious Razorwing thing (especially since a Fallen might be able to slip out from a Warp Storm). Them not going along at all is weird.

Um, this pretty much explains why they don't field terminators, and why they don't field traditional Ravenwing. Seems pretty important when someone asks 'Wait, if these are DA successors, where's your Deathwing and Ravenwing?'

Except you could cover that in a paragraph:

The Dark Swords' First Company has been informally demobalized since their loss under mysterious circumstances. Due to a loss of equipment against the Chaotic forces thought to be responsible for the Darkwing's* disappearance, the Razorwing has largely utilized jump packs instead of the more traditional bikes.

*Again, REALLY?

Also, to your last statements. That's a matter of opinion. I find weapons, vehicles and machines highly interesting.

A bolter is a bolter. A Dark Sword is not a Dark Angel is not an Imperial Fist. Lots of jump packs is lots of jump packs. An obsession with the sky is character.

All kinds of chapters have weird formations or weapon preferences. Those aren't intrinsically interesting. It's reading a weapons list. And most people don't read TO&Es for fun. If you're the exception, great. But focusing on your chapter's weapons loadout over their character isn't going to be as interesting to most readers as if you instead told us about the aspects of your chapter that lead to those choices (not the events - the things about the chapter's psyche and beliefs).

Not to mention that weapons loadout can be inferred from character. Character's harder to infer from weapons loadout.

[Messor]

Aye, though the first couple of times I tried, tables were being corrupted in the process, possibly because of the ongoing update. Perhaps it's more steady now, I'll have a look.

 

edit: everything appears to have taken, though at the moment its still a quote. I'll change that and put some kind of annotation .

[Octavulg]

Just steal the stuff in the code tags from later in the thread. Replaces the whole article.

[Messor]

Nossa, I'd quite forgotten about that.

 

edit: right now I'm seeing(or not seeing) one misplaced underline tag. I assume that was just the date of the 21st founding?