Army idea, Vengeance Task Force, need help with details.

[mysteriousmaskedmystery]

So, I have an idea for a Heresy Era army now that I like, but I'd like to see what others think.

 

Basically, I want to create a sort of elite, hunter-killer force that would be more or less unique within its legion.  I haven't yet determined which legion I want to use, that's part of what I'd like to hear from you guys, but the idea will be the same, basically a single company made up of veterans and specialists who were created after the outbreak of the Heresy to hunt down especially hated traitors, especially enemy Astartes, and at least in concept, traitor Primarchs.  Sort of a Seeker squad writ large.  This will most likely be a loyalist project, but I'm open to other ideas and interpretations.

 

The quick and dirty version of the fluff for the unit is as follows:

 

A yet to be named legionary, for now we'll call him Sharkman, starts out as a normal line legionary, part of the initial batch from terra, initially training as his squad's vox operator he soon proves to be an exceptional warrior, even among astartes.  He comes to see war as hunting, only he hunts targets that shoot back.  He volunteers for service in a recon squad where he learns many of the tactics and ideals that will come to characterize his brand of leadership.

 

Rising to command his own recon squad, he is a vocal advocate of the formation of so-called, 'seeker' squads and helps begin the program in his legion.  He eventually rises to section command, as a lieutenant, and his unit develops many of the practices and procedures that will become standard among the legion's recon and hunter-killer formations.

 

At the outbreak of the Heresy he is inline for a promotion to captain, and with it, company command, a move which will most likely take him from his chosen form of warfare and force him to adopt a more conventional style of command and more conventional tactics, something he dreads.  The Heresy however gives him a chance to avoid this fate, as the legion's command structure is thrown into disarray and its ranks heavily depleted.  Thought officers are in short supply, so to are companies to command.  But the survivors of the first few battles soon become a hardened, embittered group that seeks vengeance upon their former allies and brothers.

 

In this time of uncertainty, when the legion is trying to reform, fight for its survival and strike back against its tormentors all at once, he envisions a company of elite, specialized warriors who can operate outside of the legion's larger organization and take the fight to the enemy where he least expects it.  He makes many vocal pleas for the formation of such a unit, telling anyone who will listen, but it falls mostly on deaf ears until by chance the Primach himself notices him and grants permission for him to form such a unit.

 

He chooses his warriors only from veterans of the early battles against the traitors, ensuring the proper mindset and motivation, as well as bringing together a group of toughened survivors who have already honed their skills against the most powerful foes a legionary has ever faced, other legionaries.  He works quickly to gather his first squads together and forge them into a tight-knit fighting force.  The men he chooses have in many cases been seriously affected by the experience of betrayal and discipline infractions, relatively rare throughout the legion, are common in his command.  But he chooses to ignore them when possible, preferring to nurture the aggressive, insular mindset being adopted by his new company.

 

Although his warriors are already veterans, he trains them extensively in the time he is given, forging them into a coherent fighting force with the specialized skills needed to undertake its assigned task, destabilizing the traitor legions through rapid strikes against enemy leadership, materiel and infrastructure.  Above all he trains his men to operate in a more clandestine manner, avoiding habits and tactics already associated with his legion, repainting their armor in camo schemes or even assuming the colors of other legions when needed.  No trick is too dirty or underhanded, only the mission matters.

 

They go on to great success, operating against the traitors in numerous theaters, often deep behind enemy lines, where they are not prepared to defend against such aggressive tactics.  His company cooperates with other legions, sometimes with their knowledge, and sometimes without it.  Initially they also work to feel out other loyalist legions, ensuring they are not about to turn traitor as well.

 

In the end Sharkman's abrasive attitude leads to eventual censure so that at the time of the second founding, he is not chosen to command one of the new chapters, his company is disbanded, and he dies as a competent but unremarkable line captain.

 

As for an actual army list or even a theoretical unit structure, I'm still working on that as well.  I have ideas for the units overall makeup, and that includes a praetor so that they can make use of drop pod/aerial assaults or eventually, to field the entire company as a single force, mostly likely with veteran tactical squads as their core.  But mostly in envision them working as small detachments with a more conventional force, so, a few tactical squads with recon, seeker and veteran squads in support, with a vigilator leading them.

 

As for their legion, I have two ideas at the moment that appeal to me, but I'm far from settled.  Obviously the Raven Guard come to mind, this fits their mentality anyway, and with their decimation on Istvaan, it would be fitting that after the raptor's debacle, they'd be looking at other options for striking back.  Also, I imagine they will have additional stealth capabilities that other legions won't give me, plus, they will be in the next book, so I won't have to use place-holder rules for too long however, I think I could get away with using Raven Guard rules with any legion, as long as they were painted differently than standard legionaries, hence the use of camo or fake markings.

 

My other idea is Ultramarines, for several reasons.  Calth would have left them bitter, and wanting revenge on those who betrayed them, especially the Word Bearer and World Eaters, so a special task force meant to go and kill the leaders of those legions might fit, and I like the idea that the commander is sort of an outsider who clashes with the more conventional thinkers in his legion.

 

So, if anyone bothers reading all this, and has something to contribute, I would love to hear it.  I really am looking for a few people to sound ideas off of, and to give me their own ideas so I can come up with something usable.