Index Astartes: Astral Reavers 2.0

[Donkey Kong]

Astral Reavers Chapter Heraldry, Image by

Codex Grey

Space Reserved for Index Astartes: Astral Reavers; Chapter Details in Post 2

[Donkey Kong]

Index Astartes: Astral Reavers

Death Heads

 

Founding Chapter: Ultramarines

Founding: Third Founding

Known Descendants:

Chapter Master:

Homeworld:

Fortress Monastery:

Colors: Green, with red and brass

Specialty: Voidborne combat, ship-to-ship battle and boarding action

Strength:

Battle Cry:

 

Archenemy: Emperor's Children

Mission:

 

Origins:

 

I. Founding

   A. Third Founding 001.M32

   B. Training Cadre

      1. Ultramarines Successors

II. Chapter Master Caphon

 

Born into service at the height of the Age of Rebirth in the Third Founding, the Astral Reavers stand alongside a numbered few as a manifestation of Imperial might at the turn of the millennium in M32, charged with carrying on the Imperial legacy, and beginning a tradition of Imperial military expansion with each subsequent founding. Unique in their standing, the Third Founding Chapters represent the first true expansion of the Adeptus Astartes presence in the galaxy since the First Founding Legions in the earliest days of the Great Crusade.

 

Built upon a base of Terran hopefuls as the Legions had before them, the Astral Reavers drew both their gene-stock and their first mentors from Primarch Roboute Guilliman and his Thirteenth Legion Ultramarines.

 

Timeline

Battle of Calth 007.M31, Horus Heresy

Great Scouring 012.M31

-005 years after Calth

Second Founding 021.M31

-009 years after Great Scouring

-014 years after Calth

Battle of Thessala 118.M31

-097 years after Second Founding

-106 years after Great Scouring

-111 years after Calth

First Black Crusade 781.M31

-760 years after Second Founding

-764 years after Great Scouring

-769 years after Calth

Third Founding 001.M32

-220 years after First Black Crusade

-980 years after Second Founding

-989 years after Great Scouring

-994 years after Calth

 

Thessala is the battle in which Roboute Guilliman is mortally wounded by Fulgrim. Thessala is going to assume a larger role in the Chapter's origins.

 

Caphon [...] stands as one of the most influential figures from the chapter's early history, a veteran of [...], and the Astral Reavers' first chapter master.

 

Following [...], Caphon adopted a death mask, a [...] skull on the face of his [...] helm. This death mask would go on to unite the Astral Reavers as a chapter as the chapter's first heraldry. The tradition lives on in the Chapter as newly initiated reavers earn their first death mask alongside their power armor. When Caphon found the Chapter's homeworld, he adopted the world's monster as his chapter's heraldry, and took on a kraken helmet similar to this in an event that Astral Reaver Chaplains would go on to recognize as the first ritual Changing of Faces. The death mask and the ritual both play a part in the chapter's title: Death Heads.

 

Alliance with the Adeptus Mechanicus [...]

 

Homeworld:

 

Timeline

Pre-Imperium:

-Golden Age of Technology, colonization.

Great Crusade:

-Peacefully integrated into the Imperium of Mankind.

-World is found civilized. Cities and towns are fairly dependent on the oceans and interconnecting systems of waterways i.e. rivers, deltas, etc.

Hours Heresy:

-Loyalist, invaded by heretics. Loyalists destroy their world's polar ice caps, flooding the land below them and achieving a pyrrhic victory at a terrible cost including lost cities and infrastructure, lost towns, lost farmland, and many more dead loyalists and innocents than traitor invaders.

-Chaotic corruption in the oceans may be the genesis of sea monsters including the Chapter's heraldic kraken; left intentionally vague.

Great Scouring:

-Lost the ability to communicate with the rest of the Imperium. World is assumed destroyed. Etc.

 

+/- 1,000 years

 

Astral Reavers find the world:

-Water has receded and the ice caps have reformed. Peoples have moved back to them.

-Islands of dry land exist, but they are few and far between. Warlords and the wealthy live on dry land; Some have the foundations of small cities. Farmland is valuable.

-Shanty like towns form suburbs, built on platforms of logs or scrap metal.

-Some peoples have moved to settle the "old city" which has started to resurface. Some warlords fight against them to expand their territory.

-Some peoples have moved back to the ice caps where they live in the cold tundra.

-Conflicts aside, the world is one that manages to impress Caphon with their history and ability to survive.

Redemption and reformation:

-Astral Reavers Adeptus Mechanicus allies come to the world and begin great works.

-Cities are industrialized and improved.

-Shanty town suburbs are improved (Pacifidlog Town, Hoenn Pokémon).

-Great Dam City is built (Vekta City, Vekta Killzone).

-Caphon adopts the Kraken helm in the first recorded Changing of Faces.

-Chapter Fortress Monastery [...] is built [...].

-Orbital shipyards are constructed.

-Numerous sources for recruits including city nobles and gangers, islanders, and more tribal peoples.

 

Caphon is credited with almost all of the world's newfound beauty. While much of the world's culture can still be found in its architecture and its reliance on the oceans, Caphon and his Adeptus Meachanicus allies provided the resources and manpower needed to return the world to its former glory and win over its people in the process.

 

Other inspirations:

Venice, Italy

Dachang, China

Ahto City, Manaan and Theed, Naboo Star Wars

 

Cultural Influences:

European Colonial powers: Britain, France, Spain

Asia: China, Japan

Islanders: Carribbean, Hawaii, Philippines

Other: Italy, Greece, Eskimos

 

Chapter Organization:

 

Chapter veterans hold the title Black Spots, a living manifestation of [...]. Black Spots wear their title in two ways: The first, and more literal, is represented as a single black circle between the lowermost tentacles of the heraldic krake. The latter is more symbolic, attributed in part to both the Codex Astartes and the chapter's ritual Changing of Faces, in which the newly inducted Black Spot shifts the color of his helmet from green to white as an acknowledgment of his veterancy, and, in turn, the color of his second face from white to black. Astral Reavers seconded to serve in the Inquisitorial Deathwatch are often Black Spots. In adopting the black and silver armor, their second faces shift back to white, and each marine may elect to have a black circle anointed on the forehead of their second face.

 

From what I've read of the Horus Heresy series on the Word Bearers, I really enjoy how names that are simply translated have a deeper meaning. The Brotherhood of the Knife in Know No Fear is called the Ushmetar Kaul, which translates into Low Gothic as “sharp edge by which false reality may be slit and pulled away to reveal god." While I don't want to ape the idea in its totality, I think it would be interesting if the Black Spot had a deeper meaning.

 

Apothecaries/ Chaplains/ Techmarines

 

Fleet:

 

Chapter Fleet

Numbers:

-[...] Battle Barge(s)

-[...] Strike Cruiser(s)

 

Nausicaa

-Chapter flagship

-Classification:

 

Reaver ships are modified to incorporate additional boarding systems, including magnetic grapples which anchor Reaver ships to their targets and batteries of boarding torpedoes.

 

Combat Doctrine:

 

The Astral Reavers train their brothers to excel in zero gravity combat

including

-boarding actions

In fighting within the confines aboard enemy ships, Astral Reavers are conditioned to excel in close quarters combat, an attribute that has historically translated well to performing in urban warfare.

Reavers often conduct boarding actions with the express purpose of capturing enemy ships intact. Once a tactic used to bolster the Astral Reavers' own fleets, these ships are now more often traded to the chapter's allies in the Adeptus Mechanicus.

-boarding repelling

-orbital combat

 

In this environment, Astral Reavers are equipped with a specialized harness, not unlike a traditional jump pack, that allows them to maneuver with greater precision and control. In more convention land warfare, Reavers favor mobility over armor. Tanks and other heavy vehicles are often forgone in favor of bikes, land speeders, and aircraft. It is not unheard of for entire Astral Reaver host to deploy with nothing more than jump packs.

 

Just as threatening as the Astral Reavers' marines themselves is their mighty fleet. While the Chapter does not exceed Guilliman's Codex restrictions on manpower, the Astral Reavers' true strength is heavily bolstered by an army of serfs and Adeptus Mechanicus allies. Officially charged with manning and maintaining the Chapter's fleet, the Reavers regularly accompany Explorator fleets and fight alongside their ally Skitarii and Legio Cybernetica forces.

 

Astral Reavers make use of weapons better suited for their specialty in voidborne combat. These weapons are designed for close quarter combat, possessing a high spread or rate of fire. Others are chosen for their ability to avoid inflicting collateral damage aboard Reaver vessels and their intended spoils.

 

-Flamethrowers

-Gravity guns

-Lascutters

-Shotguns

-Storm bolters or output equivalents like Sebastian's Delvan pattern assault boltgun

 

-Assault cannons

-Heavy boltguns

 

-Boarding shields

-Demolition charges

-Fusion bombs

 

-Net fighting for capturing enemies and interrogating them for information to intercept enemy fleets

 

Chapter Cult:

 

The Changing of Faces is one of the Astral Reavers' oldest traditions, with origins reaching back to the Chapter's first contact with [...], and perhaps even farther back to Chapter Master Caphon's first death mask in memoriam. A short time after [...], Caphon [...] a [...] skull on the face of his helmet. When the Astral Reavers were first founded, they did not have any heraldry. Instead, Caphon's chapter adopted his skull face as their mark. Reaver Chaplains later interpreted Caphon's adoption of the Kraken helmet and heraldry as a “Changing of Faces,” phasing out the human skull in favor of rebirth as a fearsome sea monster. The ritual is now one of personal growth for the Reavers. Each initiate, upon entering the Chapter, earns his first Second Face, a bare human skull, representing him. In the ceremonies following battles, battle brothers who believe they have proven themselves in the battle tell tales of their victories. Their feats are judged in the company of their brothers, and, if deemed worthy, the faces of their freshly vanquished foes are fused with their own to create the next. The first ceremony earns brothers the title Death Head. Venerable Death Heads have faces incorporating many foes, cumulating in a single visage, more fearsome and terrifying than any individual enemy of the Imperium. Chapter Captains have the Kraken helmet, replacing their second face with the kraken, which has its own symbolism—The Chapter Incarnate, etc. I'll settle on something eventually.

 

Second faces are often asymmetrical, giving them a quasi chaotic quality while also ensuring for my storytelling purposes that almost every Reaver has a unique second face.

 

In unwelcome company, Astral Reavers will not take off their helmets.

 

Astral Reavers take trophies from battles, including bones and trinkets as well as more valuable technologies. Reavers who believe their findings are of value share their trophies with their brothers, and present them to Reclusiarchs, Techmarines, and Librarians to determine their worth. True treasures, Imperial relics and rare xenos technologies, earn their claimer praise and prestige. However, more often than not, they are rejected by the Chapter's specialists, and, in turn, their claimer, in shame. Other Reavers may continue to use their idle findings to entertain their brothers with their stories. To some other Chapters, the Reavers' trophies are seen as worthless at best, and, under the most extreme circumstances, even heretical.

 

Astral Reavers believe in the cleansing properties of their home world's waters. Chapter Serfs use the water to clean armor for the Reavers. The Astral Reavers use anchors as symbols of faith. A Chaplain's Crozius, a Librarian's Force Weapon, or a Thunder Hammer may be crafted to resemble one.

 

Notes:

-Nyxborn Triton example of an anchor as a weapon.

 

Astral Reavers and tattooing:

-Marines have ink tattoos (often black tribal patterns).

-Marines use ruddy red markings on their armor.

-I still need to establish a reason for both patterns, what they mean, and why marines get them.

 

Notes:

-In old China, tattoos were used to mark the faces of criminals and slaves.

 

Gene-Seed:

Primarch Roboute Guilliman, XIII Legion Ultramarines Gene-Seed

Pure Gene-Seed near identical to the Ultarmarines legion with few signs of genetic mutation or decay

 

Quotes for the IA:

-“I do not care what loathsome place bore you, or how you came to my fleet. I will make a Reaver of you, or you will die trying.” Intended for Homeworld.

-“I've always felt that Gulliman intended his words to be interpreted less as laws, and more as... guidelines.” Intended for Combat Doctrine. Also, the PotC reference is always a welcome reminder of the Chapter's roots.

-“Mine is the face of a hundred monsters. But, I am mightier still.” Intended for Chapter Cult referring to the Second Face. I still like what the quote is trying to say, but it feels a little too cryptic as it currently stands. Expect rewording for the final IA.

 

Dramatis Personæ:

Chapter Master Caphon [...]

-Astral Reavers first Chapter Master

-Deceased

Caphon still needs a surname. I'm looking for something Greco-Roman that does not resemble the typical Reaver names.

 

Captain [...] Thussaud, Second Company

[thew-sad]

Thussaud plays a mentor role, one of the older and more wise individuals in the Chapter's leadership, with his most notable students being Captain Roca Filo and Chapter Champion [...].

He has a well kept full, short and trim beard.

 

Captain Roca Filo, Fourth Company

[row-ka fee-low]

Roca Filo is one of the youngest Captains in the Chapter's history. He is Thussaud's pride and joy, and for many within the Chapter, their hope for the Reavers' future. Attentive and quick to learn, Filo is wise beyond his years, and has the skills to match.

 

Chapter Champion [...], First Company

Arrogant and headstrong [...] is one of the Chapter's best, and he knows it. An excellent fighter, but a poor leader, [. . .] has been condemned to stand as the Chapter Champion for the rest of his life.

[. . .]' most defining trait is that he has never had a Changing of Faces. While most all Reaver initiates are eager to tell their tales and undergo a Changing of Faces, [...] is content to ignore this ritual, and enjoy both his faces—"the definitive pinnacle of martial prowess,” if only to himself.

He needs a name.

 

Brother Li Jon Okipiet, First Company

[lee jon ocky-peet]

Li Jon is a Deathwatch Veteran created for Silver Phoenix's Deathwatch Challenge. Silver Phoenix has the creative freedom to do what he will with the character.

From what I've had to say about him, Li Jon is a runt of a marine (standing about 7' compared to the marine average 7'6''), and a brawler—one of the best in the Chapter. His preferred load out includes a power fist, a lightning claw, and a storm bolter.

Provided Silver Phoenix doesn't go and kill him off, and I can work out the timeline, Li Jon may have a rivalry with the current Chapter Champion.

Depending on when Silver starts, Li could be one of my first "Asian" characters.

Oh, and just in case anyone goes looking around, I promise I had no idea that this character existed until long after I created Li Jon.

 

[...] "The Face Stealer", First Company

A venerable Reaver with a number of Second Faces

Possibly a Chaplain or a Librarian

 

-ssaud [sad] or [saw] is a common suffix in [...] names.

I am considering having several noble houses who contribute potential recruits to the Reavers, Thussaud belonging to one of them. -ssaud is derived from the French name Tussaud [tu-saw]. In an acknowledgement of my amalgam of cultures, names have a variety of pronunciations.

 

Given Names:

A: Adnot (FR)/ Adrien (FR)/ Aime (FR)/ Alastair (EN)/ Ames (FR)/ Andre (FR)/ Alphonse (FR)/ Ancelin (FR)/ Astor (FR)/

B: Basile (FR)/ Bastien (FR)/ Blaise (FR)/ Briant (FR)/ Bridge/

C: Camille (FR)/ Cedric (EN)/ Claudio (SP)/ Clement (FR)/ Clotaire (FR)/ Corbin (FR)/ Cyrille (FR)/

D: Damien (FR)/ Demi (FR)/ Didier (FR)/

E: Edmond (FR)/ Elie (FR)/ Emile (FR)/ Esme (FR)/

F: Felix (FR)/ Frery (FR)/

G: Gael (FR)/ Geoffroi (FR)/ Goddard (FR)/ Guillaume (FR)/ Gwenael (FR)/

H: Henri (FR)/

I: Igance (FR)/

J: Jacques (FR)/ Jean (FR)/

K: Kai/

L: Lafayette (FR)/ Lisle (FR)/

M: Marrok (FR)/ Miguelo/ Mika/

N: Narcisse (FR)/ Nicodeme (FR)/ Noel (Fr)/

O: Olivier (FR)/ Onesime (FR)/

P: Paschal (FR)/ Pepin (FR)/ Percival (FR)/ Pierre (FR)/ Pons (FR)/

Q: Quincy (FR)/

R: Rainier (FR)/ Raoul (FR)/ Raulf (FR)/ Raymundo (SP)/ Regis (FR)/ Remi (FR)/ Roux/

S: Sacha (FR)/ Sebastien (FR)/ Simon (FR)/ Stephane (FR)/

T: Tanix (FR)/ Theodore (FR)/ Thierri (FR)/

U:

V: Vivien (FR)/

W: Wei (CH)/

X: Xio (SP)/

Y:

Z: Zhi (CH)/

[Dosjetka]

Cor, this is a blast from the past! Haven't seen you around in a while KHK and I look forward to my in-depth read of your article tomorrow (it's getting a bit late now). There is however one small thing that I noticed that you may want to have a look at:

 

-Chapter Master Caphon, see Dramatic Personae below

Shouldn't that be Dramatis Personae instead? :P

 

Anyway, it's good to see some of the Liber veterans come back to these halls :tu:

 

EDIT: As for the coding/editing, it's been a pain in the arse for a while now, and there's no real solution to it for now. From what I've gathered, whenever Brother Argos gets better after his various and numerous operations, he'll be able to fix things. For now, we wait, and pray to apease the forum's Machine Spirit and the wrath of Nurgle.

[Ferrus Manus]

Holy mother of god!! That's one long post.

KHK??? err who? ;)

Nice to see you around again mate.

It's kinda late now, but I'll go through it section by section throughout the week and post every day.

As an aside, after seeing that image by CG at the top I went hunting for the ones he did for the Perditia (Gehenna) campaign we were working on. I'm pretty busy right now with work and the Liber Campaign but once things settle down perhaps we could look at restarting it? (granted we might have to replace one or two people who aren't around anymore)

[Donkey Kong]

Thanks for the replies, guys! It's good to be back.

Cor, this is a blast from the past! Haven't seen you around in a while KHK and I look forward to my in-depth read of your article tomorrow (it's getting a bit late now). There is however one small thing that I noticed that you may want to have a look at:

-Chapter Master Caphon, see Dramatic Personae below

Shouldn't that be Dramatis Personae instead?

Anyway, it's good to see some of the Liber veterans come back to these halls

EDIT: As for the coding/editing, it's been a pain in the arse for a while now, and there's no real solution to it for now. From what I've gathered, whenever Brother Argos gets better after his various and numerous operations, he'll be able to fix things. For now, we wait, and pray to apease the forum's Machine Spirit and the wrath of Nurgle.

On Dramatis Personae: See EDIT 3. You win this time Ludovic!

On coding/editing: Yeah, you're not kidding. formatting this thing is a nightmare.

Holy mother of god!! That's one long post.

KHK??? err who?

Nice to see you around again mate.

It's kinda late now, but I'll go through it section by section throughout the week and post every day.

As an aside, after seeing that image by CG at the top I went hunting for the ones he did for the Perditia (Gehenna) campaign we were working on. I'm pretty busy right now with work and the Liber Campaign but once things settle down perhaps we could look at restarting it? (granted we might have to replace one or two people who aren't around anymore)

Nice to see you too, Ferrus. Sorry about the shock, crap just seems to pile up whenever I write. It probably doesn't help the people reading if I tell them most of that is about how I came to my conclusion, including stuff that I've thrown away in the process.

I'm down for giving the campaign a whirl again, although I think I was calling it Nuviath by the time it started to crash. I'm pretty sure my inability to lead anything at the time was probably why it failed anyway, so hopefully that has changed. Best of luck with the Liber Campaign. I'm probably staying out of that one for the time being. I'll be watching, maybe participating as a bystander. For now, I'm still afraid it will end up being a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

I'm not going to lie to either of you: I am so glad that this hasn't been getting replies while I've been formatting.

[Dosjetka]

If you don't mind, I'm going to be doing this like Ferrus and post my thoughts in a section-by-section-type of way. So first, the Chapter Origins:

 

* about the age: I honestly think that it's a bit of a stretch. As an alternative, maybe you could consider dumping Caphon into a Dreadnought chassis of some description? Whatever you decide to do, it's not a major problem or anything;

 

* about ships and Mechanicum friends: in my mind, the AdMech would need a pretty good reason to hand over extra ships, even to an ex-Legionnaire who fought to save the Imperium. And I also believe that the AdMech aren't the type to give things in advance unless they have to. So, with that in mind, maybe you could play with your Chapter Master's pragmatism and shrewdness (both Ultramarine-y traits) and make him have to deal with a small fleet until he's able to secure more fleet assets. This, in my mind, can be done in two ways: 1) capturing enemy vessels and repurposing them for Astartes/Chapter use. We've seen that some Chapters do this and I could see Caphon ordering his Chapter to do the same. 2) Caphon could prioritise AdMech requests for aid and/or send parts of his Chapter away to escort Mechanicum exploration/reclamation fleets. I think that the latter would have to be well thought-out because it would rob the Chapter of part of its strength and fleet, but will benefit the Chapter on the long term in terms of material gain and firm, powerful allies (which could then put them at odds with another one of the Imperium's power-hungry organisations).

 

Anyway, that's all from me for now. I'll read through the Home World section later on and post my thoughts about it in a similar fashion.

 

EDIT: Edited for clarity and to correct the auto-correct :rolleyes:

[Ferrus Manus]

 

Origins:

-Third Founding

-Ultramarines successors through White Consuls Chapter

-Chapter Master Caphon, see Dramatis Personæ below

-Crusading Chapter, continuing the Great Scouring

 

All fine.

 

 

The Third Founding begins on 001.M32—placing it close to a thousand years following the Battle of Calth (007.M31) and the Great Scouring (012.M31). The Astral Reavers' first Chapter Master was Caphon, an Ultramarine from Calth, a veteran of the Battle of Calth during the Horus Heresy and the Great Scouring

 

So he's at least One thousand years old? Err, that's very old for a non-BA. Could he not just be a blood relative of someone who fought on Calth, wants to avenge etc... ?

 

Also, replying as I read means I didn't see the paragraph below this one. So now I know you know, but my point still stands ;)

 

Though, I do like Ludovic's suggestion of the dreadnought angle.

 

Homeworld tomorrow! I oh so love that section.

 

 

[Donkey Kong]

Okay, note to self, MultiQuote is some kind of deceptive monster from the depths of Internet hell. It looks so convenient, and then it sneaks its way into your post and ruins your formatting. It's such a clever ruse! And never again.

 

I don't think I've realized how short my Origins section is. I shouldn't be surprised. Last time, the majority of my Origins was a synopsis on Caphon with a character summary and a brief list of conflicts or warzones he'd seen including Calth, Terra (Heresy) and Sebastus IV (Scouring; Iron Cage Incident). I think it's fair to say that readers can "get" most Chapters by reading their Origins, Combat Doctrine, and Chapter Cult. In that respect, I've got one or one and a half out of three. That's horrible either way. So, I should probably get around to fixing that. I wonder how...

 

Oh look, commentary!

 

If you don't mind, I'm going to be doing this like Ferrus and post my thoughts in a section-by-section-type of way. So first, the Chapter Origins

 

Honestly, I think I prefer this method. It lets me tackle one section at a time and I can keep my edit log clean for just a little longer.

 

* about ships and Mechanicum friends: in my mind, the AdMech would need a pretty good reason to hand over extra ships, even to an ex-Legionnaire who fought to save the Imperium. And I also believe that the AdMech aren't the type to give things in advance unless they have to. So, with that in mind, maybe you could play with your Chapter Master's pragmatism and shrewdness (both Ultramarine-y traits) and make him have to deal with a small fleet until he's able to secure more fleet assets. This, in my mind, can be done in two ways: 1) capturing enemy vessels and repurposing them for Astartes/Chapter use. We've seen that some Chapters do this and I could see Caphon ordering his Chapter to do the same. 2) Caphon could prioritise AdMech requests for aid and/or send parts of his Chapter away to escort Mechanicum exploration/reclamation fleets. I think that the latter would have to be well thought-out because it would rob the Chapter of part of its strength and fleet, but will benefit the Chapter on the long term in terms of material gain and firm, powerful allies (which could then put them at odds with another one of the Imperium's power-hungry organisations).

 

Agreed. AdMech allies are a narrative endgoal, at least by the end of the first century for the sake of the Homeworld. I'm actually not sure on the Ultramarines relationship with the AdMech in the time period. I'm personally a fan of the idea of the Mechanicus and Imperium having a symbiotic relationship, even though every other author seems to want to give them an ulterior motive whenever they show up. In Know No Fear, the Mechanicum has a large presence on Calth, and considering how Ultramar is supposed to be an Empire of 500 Worlds at the time--I'm not sure how that works with the current background, but if Abnett writes it, it's near gospel to me--so I wouldn't be surprised to learn that at least some of those are Forge Worlds under the Ultramarines protection.

 

This is almost all for the sake of getting the Reavers the Nausicaä. Last time around, the Nausicaä was a large ship that saw the brunt of Horus' attack on Terra. I imagine her now as a ship set for salvage that Caphon requested to be refitted for his Chapter. One large ship may be more or less reasonable than having more ships depending on your point of view, but it is an alternative option.

 

I agree with the Reavers starting off by taking enemy ships for their own use. Hilarity ensues when the Chapter realizes it's spending more effort retrofitting clunkers and then turning around to protect them instead of getting actual use out of them, possibly motivating their relationship with the AdMech to get rid of junk for resources they can actually use.

 

I like the idea of Caphon trying to build friendships, but that requires AdMech interest in their help.

 

Any ideas for enemies Caphon could make in building his alliance with the AdMech? I hadn't thought of it before, but the Reavers never really had internal enemies, and the only external hatred was given the broad category of "traitors."

 

Alright, both of you don't like Caphon being over a thousand years old-which makes sense. Personally, I've always felt that the leaders of training cadres should be veteran sergeants. Captains felt like they should have a much stronger connection with their Chapter. Dreadnoughts don't make much sense to me considering their periods of hibernation.

 

What I can say in my defense is that Caphon is from an age when marines were thought to be functionally immortal. Albeit, the Great Crusade is only supposed to have been 200 years, which doesn't really mean much. Ferrus brought up the conflict with one of the Blood Angels' defining characteristics. Unfortunately, it's one of the traits that I've never understood. How are genetics supposed to make you live longer if you're throwing yourself into the same fights as every other space marine?

 

The point is rather moot from both perspectives, I think. I don't want Caphon to be a dreadnought, and Caphon doesn't have the same weight of character to me unless he has endured this sort of endless conflict: The Heresy, The Scouring, The First Black Crusade.

 

One thing that I seem to have missed for a while is that Caphon is going to be a leader in the first founding to introduce new chapters, or at least for the Ultramarines. The Ultramarines were already organized into Chapters during the Great Crusade. When the Legion was divided, it was divided into these chapters that already existed. That should let me add something interesting to the Origins section, I think.

 

Thanks for the commentary, guys. I hope you'll enjoy the Homeworld. It was certainly my favorite to write.

[Dosjetka]

Maybe the easiest solution then is to shift them to Second Founding? It would solve your age problem and Caphon could maybe have ties from during the Heresy?

[Donkey Kong]

Isn't that something that you just don't do? What happened to the days when the Second Founding was off limits and sacrilege for the Liber Community?

Besides, you've taken away my brain child of two minutes ago by making them one of the first Chapters to have what most individuals recognize as a Founding. Both my mind and Origins Section are barren, Ludovic!

In all honesty, I'm not a fan of sticking a Chapter into the Second Founding. I still remember when the Soul Drinkers did it, and a large part of the online community wasn't happy about it then. I like the idea of being a pioneering Chapter in this way a lot more than being one of the only Chapters formed directly from the division of a Legion.

It would also mean that I would probably have to shoehorn my Chapter into the First Black Crusade as well, and then deal with all of the chaff that comes with that. A lot of people place their IA Chapters in certain regions of the galaxy to give them specific enemies to fight. I suppose that's one part of writing made easier for people who actually play. I don't even know where my Chapter's homeworld is anymore, and then I'd probably be stuck on the wrong side of the Eye of Terror, vying for attention with every other faction in the area, most of which are GW Official to boot!

[Heru]

Isn't that something that you just don't do? What happened to the days when the Second Founding was off limits and sacrilege for the Liber Community?

GW retcons happened, they decided to turn the Legions into 100,000+ marines sized bodies, and the Liber had to accept it.

[CantonWC]

Hello

I enjoyed reading this Chapter back when it was the Death Heads, so I will see if I can chip in a few words from time to time.

There's a lot to cover so I guess I will edit this post over and over.

-----

First off I will say that I liked the name Death Heads way better. Sounds more badass. Reavers sounds a little Chaosy.

I don't know whether I should be proud or embarrassed to say this—I've been working on and off on the same IA for close to five years now

Well, better than me. The Dark Swords have been going on six years now, and I've barely written anything substantial down, lolz. It's all in my head, you see.

Isn't that something that you just don't do? What happened to the days when the Second Founding was off limits and sacrilege for the Liber Community?

Besides, you've taken away my brain child of two minutes ago by making them one of the first Chapters to have what most individuals recognize as a Founding. Both my mind and Origins Section are barren, Ludovic!

In all honesty, I'm not a fan of sticking a Chapter into the Second Founding. I still remember when the Soul Drinkers did it, and a large part of the online community wasn't happy about it then. I like the idea of being a pioneering Chapter in this way a lot more than being one of the only Chapters formed directly from the division of a Legion.

I understand you. If you're not aware, there was a recent retcon by the arch heretic that guy Matt Ward in the Grey Knights Codex. Now about 400 Chapters worth of Marines survived the Heresy. So now a 2nd Founding Chapter is plausible.

I will agree with you that utilizing the 2nd Founding still carries a stigma for some, including myself.

The Astral Reavers are a Third Founding Chapter with the Ultramarines Gene-Seed related through the White Consuls Chapter. The Third Founding begins on 001.M32—placing it close to a thousand years following the Battle of Calth (007.M31) and the Great Scouring (012.M31). The Astral Reavers' first Chapter Master was Caphon, an Ultramarine from Calth, a veteran of the Battle of Calth during the Horus Heresy and the Great Scouring, and one of the first White Consuls following the Second Founding (021.M31). Dates from Lexicanum.

This is where time becomes an important factor. Caphon is going to be over 1000 years old following my timeline; I can't avoid that. The only factor I am undecided on is whether Caphon should be a neophyte or an initiate at the time of the Battle of Calth—the difference of about a decade to half a century. This is more important for establishing Caphon's character than to the Chapter as a whole, even though Caphon's hatred of traitors is one of the Chapter's more defining characteristics. Caphon will interpret the destruction on Calth as a failure either way, and he is going to achieve degrees of respect in veterancy in the Great Scouring no matter what. For now, this debate can wait—at least until I get around to finishing Know No Fear and have a better understanding of Calth.

Okay. I will agree this is problematic.

My feeling on the subject is that anyone that's 1,000 years old starts to infringe on the Blood Angels, since that's one of their unique traits. And Grimnar too, I guess, because he's about 700 for whatever reason.

My feeling is that at best, the average Space Marine will live to maybe 500 before he dies on the battlefield or just dies (you never hear about Space Marines dying of old age, but it HAS to happen, otherwise the concept of lifespans, and the Blood Angels having unusually long lifespans, would be completely pointless).

I have not caught up on my reading, I'm afraid, so I'm not sure what happens at Calth.

I will offer some suggestions, from the viewpoint that anything in this IA can be changed or removed. So I'm just saying, I hope you will see clearly what has to stay, what has to be removed and what will be left on the chopping block.

1. Make them 2nd Founding. It's plausible now.

2. Caphon is not a Calth veteran, and he's the appropriate age when the 3rd Founding rolls around. If it's not necessary, I don't think he has to be at Calth. Maybe he's just a Captain, and he's been the sole survivor of way too many missions and seen too many friends get killed by the Word Bearers. That's plenty enough motivation to hate the traitorous scum.

3. Caphon is a Calth veteran. At some point he gets stuck in a Dreadnought. Pretty weird I guess, but not implausible. Caphon in this incarnation would be more like an advisor and spiritual leader I guess.

4. Do a 'Sons of Orar.' Caphon is treated as the spiritual founder and saint of the Chapter.

7/3/13

[Lysimachus]

 

Now about 400 Chapters worth of Marines survived the Heresy. So now a 2nd Founding Chapter is plausible.

 

Not to mention that the proportions of those 2nd Founding Chapters has (I think) stayed about the same, so the 23 Ultras Successors have become 230-ish? The Chapters named in the Apocrypha are now vastly outnumbered by unknowns, plenty of room to make your own!

[Donkey Kong]

  

  I appreciate the comments, guys. Please, keep them coming.

 

 

GW retcons happened, they decided to turn the Legions into 100,000+ marines sized bodies, and the Liber had to accept it.

1. Make them 2nd Founding. It's plausible now.

Not to mention that the proportions of those 2nd Founding Chapters has (I think) stayed about the same, so the 23 Ultras Successors have become 230-ish? The Chapters named in the Apocrypha are now vastly outnumbered by unknowns, plenty of room to make your own!

 

First off: No Second Founding. It's a "special snowflake" move that I refuse to make. Too much of the Chapter's appearance is dictated by material on Uft'ni that I've already written. Making them a Second Founding Chapter requires making them a Chapter within the Ultramarines Legion. It doesn't work for me, so I'll have to make adjustments elsewhere.

 

There's a lot to cover so I guess I will edit this post over and over.

 

I appreciate the thought that you want to tackle the whole thing, CantonWC, but I just don't think continuously editing this post very much is going to help. I'm editing the OP and Post 2 to let anyone new to the thread comment on the IA if they're not caught up on whatever discussion is happening. I'm hoping for this thread to go long, so checking a post on the first page probably isn't going to be a priority to me when it does.

 

I know I wrote a lot. If you feel like you'd be more engaged addressing my second post in chunks, by all means, I'd appreciate that a lot more than someone just rushing through the whole thing.

 

First off I will say that I liked the name Death Heads way better. Sounds more badass. Reavers sounds a little Chaosy

 

Aye, but Batman did not. Right now Death Heads is the Chapter's title. Reavers may be more Chaos, but Corsairs is already taken, and Reavers reflects the self-given mission better. Considering how I've already run through three or four names, I like to think that I've finally settled on one with the Astral Reavers.

 

4. Do a 'Sons of Orar.' Caphon is treated as the spiritual founder and saint of the Chapter.

 

I regularly describe Caphon as a "shell of a man." Emptiness is otherwise a part of his character. Prior to becoming Chapter Master of the Astral Reavers and finding purpose in that, it doesn't work. Caphon lacks the charisma to be a figurehead under other circumstances.  

 

Right now the Origins Section in the Second Post has been updated to outline what I wanted to achieve with Caphon as a character and a figurehead. I agree with you that Caphon is probably too old, and I think it would be easier to find a solution if I lay out my goals for you to see rather than simply stating what I have.

 

Thanks again. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it.

 

Edit: Quotes are messing with my formatting.

[Donkey Kong]

Alright, small update: I've been rearranging the second post section by section so that it's easier to get a grasp on what I'm trying to do, and hopefully make commentary and criticism easier for you to make. I've also modified the second line of my OP so that anyone new to this thread knows that the OP isn't the meat of what I have.

 

I've been keeping up with the edit log in case any of you are wondering what I've changed. I'll be trying to keep each entry there under three lines, so that doesn't get too out of control. At the same time, it should grow into a pretty fun little journal down the line.

 

Other than all of that, the Origins section is in dire need of an overhaul. Caphon really is just too old. But, on the bright side, my Homeworld section is a few points of clarification away from being complete.

 

I understand that this is a slow subforum, but I think one of my biggest problems last time I was working on this IA was that I wasn't actually working on my IA; I was almost expecting criticism to write it for me. Instead, I'm going to be working on it on my own, as well as asking you to ask me questions. A good measure of how your IA holds up is whether or not you can use information you present to form arguments in defense of criticism. That is not to say that an author should defend their work tooth and nail, but make sense of what you have, think in your answers. Sometimes those answers can find their way into the IA to add clarity or something completely new.

 

So, please, dive in and ask away!

[CantonWC]

Hello

 

Just going to write something down before I go to bed. Not sure if I have anything else to say on the Caphon character, other than as he is quite problematic.

 

But on to Home World!

 

My initial thoughts are that being fleet heavy and also having a home world is something that pulls in two opposite directions, and as you lean more one way you have to give up some in the other direction, if you follow.

 

The example I'm thinking of is the Marines Errant, who are/were primarily fleet based but tried to have it both ways by establishing a gene-seed repository on Vilamus. Well guess what happened? Huron Blackheart is what happened. Still smarting from the Badab War incident, I imagine. He lured/waited until most of the Chapter was away on crusade, then attacked Vilamus with his Night Lord allies, killed off the garrison and stole all of the gene-seed.

 

Honestly, home worlds seem to be more trouble than they're worth, in my view, but that's neither here nor there. My perspective is that there seems to be a serious danger in wanting to go on crusade while leaving behind a relatively light garrison. So then, I treat the Marines Errant thing as a sort of cautionary tale.

 

 

I never played Battlefleet Gothic, and I never really worked up the effort to flip through the rules GW posted on their specialist site. Ships are probably the one thing in 40k that I know the least about—and since this is one of my favorite IAs to work on, that's probably not excusable. If anyone thinks they can provide a link or give me a synopsis on the ships in 40k, I'd appreciate it.

 

Oooh, I think I might be able to help. My own Chapter is fleet based - no fixed base of operations = no easy target. So, I've done some research on what cool toys my Chapter will want to get their hands on.

 

Unfortunately, looking through the rules, Space Marine fleets are supposed to be pretty boring. Battle Barge, Strike Cruiser, Frigates, rapid strike vessels and that's about it. Per the division of power at the birth of the Imperium, Space Marines are not supposed to have powerful fleets so they cannot pose a threat to the Imperial Navy. Space Marine fleets are intended primarily to safely deliver their Space Marine cargo in planetary assault operations, with only frigates allowed to be pure gun boats. However it's noted that the rules can be rather fuzzy over what the 'primary role' of a ship is, so some Space Marine Chapters will have more powerful and versatile fleets than the Imperial Navy is comfortable with.

 

It is my personal belief that as you get into bigger and more powerful fleets, you start to have worse and more tense relations with the local Imperial Navy, even the Chapters that are supposed to be fleet-based and have correspondingly more powerful fleets as a necessity. At least that's the idea I'm rolling with for own Chapter. That may go double for you if you're constantly trying to capture enemy vessels for salvage. People might get the wrong idea about what you're doing.

 

 

This is also where the Astral Reavers show off their pirate roots. The Astral Reavers have a mentality fixated on reclaiming lost Imperial territory and property. In addition to planets, chief among the spoils Reavers claim are enemy ships, including both traitors and xenos. The Astral Reavers modify their ships for the purpose of conducting boarding actions with the intention of capturing ships intact, including magnetic grapples to anchor ships together and batteries of boarding torpedoes. Captures ships are then traded to Reaver allies in the Machine Cult in exchange for services including repairing ships that may have been damaged and opportunities to commission new warships from forge world shipyards. On special occasions, Astral Reavers may request captured ships to be refitted for their fleet in honor of hard fought battles.

 

I guess it depends on who you treat with. Some Mechanicus adepts might decry anything to do with Chaos tainted or xenos vessels and want them destroyed on sight, others might be interested in studying them.

 

The one major example I can think of would the be Night Hag, the supremely badass flagship of the Executioners during the Badab War. The Executioners captured it from a Rogue Trader that went... rogue. The Mechanicus then cleansed the vessel of taint, and in return they got to access the 'data tabernacle' and make off with certain relic technologies.

 

 

Uft'ni

 

I can see you put a lot of thought into the home world section. My one bit of advice at this time would be to keep it light, just a summary hitting all the important points of the home world. I'm probably guilty of this too, but as it is there is going to be a lot of details we put into our Chapters that we will regard as important background, but not important enough to put in an IA totalling 3-5,000 words. As IA's get longer and longer the writer needs to be increasingly deft with his writing or risk losing the attention of his audience. Witness all the IA's that get buried because of the soul crushing blow-by-blow accounts of battles or massive narratives that are just a pain in the ass to read.

 

I think that as an IA gets longer and more detailed it might be necessary to put it in a different format altogether, namely a big PDF file where the writer can get into as much detail as he likes for each section. An IA is meant to be a summary or snapshot.

 

 

Sadly, even with all of these ideas, I still have no idea where I would want the Chapter's Fortress-Monastery to be: Underwater, the Dam City, on an island, on the moon, etc.

 

It should be a submersible fortress. Cause that's cool.

 

Hope that helps.

[Ace Debonair]

By the space between the Emperor's eyebrows, that's a long read!

 

I wish I had more to add, but I've only got a suggestion for the fortress monastery - perhaps it is built out from the base of the dam, a long, long way below any level the general public are likely to access? You get the nice symbolism of the Chapter being literally built into the foundations of the city and a kickass underwater headquarters all in one!

 

Heck, you could make it a vast, sprawling complex that looks and feels at first glance like it was built into the ruins of a sunken city.

Or you could go further and actually have it built into the ruins of an old Uft'ni from before the flood, it's flooded halls and toppled pillars a constant reminder of the Chapter's early history.

[Captain Juan Juarez]

My favourite Pirates In Spaaaaaaaace!

 

I don't know where to start reading; I'm a rebel ignoring the beginning.

 

I will say that I like the Dramatis Personae though and I promise to read more as long as I don't forget the website exists.

[Dosjetka]

Finally, I've got some C&C to give. I don't have much time, so I'll be as brief and to the point as I can be (and I already apologise for any bluntness).

It is my interpretation that the first marines at the time of chapter foundings, aside from the training cadre, are Terran. This is neither here nor there, it's just a clarifying point for my own reference.

Why would they be Terran? Does it add anything to your Chapter's backstory?

I will probably include Ludovic's idea in which the Reavers initially took ships for their own use, with the added fact that tugging around what amounts to scrap metal with engines and guns does more harm than good for the Reaver fleet. After all, the first ships that the Reavers capture will not be taken with the same care they will later use, and will be in much worse condition.

Perhaps the Reavers can specialise in capturing ships without inflicting any structural damage on the ships/engines/other important bits? It would be a nice quirk and twist on the relatively common "my Marines are great at boarding ships".

Even though Uft'ni is still scarred from a war that may be many millennia old in the 40k universe, I think it's important that the world has some majesty to it: Real world cities with old, sea faring roots like those in the UK, Spain, and Italy, as well as fictional ones like Theed, Naboo and Ahto City, Manaan from Star Wars, and

At the same time Uft'ni also has islanders, and may have various floating cities—whether they be large ships converted into towns or something more like Pacifidlog Town in Pokémon—although how the latter would work probably needs some more thought put into it. They could be built on top of tide pools, or act as the city “suburbs,” I guess? Towns that move up and down with the tides have a strange appeal to me, and I think they look a lot better than houses built on stilts.

Perhaps the "richer" areas of each town/city could be on solid ground/atop the submerged ruins and then the poorer parts would basically be shanty towns that float on a fragile foundation of wood/other floating material and that are just latched onto the mainland.

To clarify, almost everything technically beautiful about Uft'ni, with the likely exception of the world's own culture (which can be reflected in the architecture) and oceans, is attributed to Caphon's intervention and the aid of the Machine Cult. The world should still be a wreck when Caphon and the first Reavers come across it, especially if it's only been a century since the “flood.” Caphon should have been able to establish his relationship with the Machine Cult by then, and carry enough influence to attract his allies to building ground while simultaneously winning over the Uft'ni people. If I go with the idea of a city built on top of a dam, that will undoubtably be a Machine Cult creation and a symbol of unity between the Chapter and the Uft'ni people. I would also like Uft'ni to have orbital shipyards.

It bothers me somewhat that Caphon is central to all of the early happenings in your Chapter. Sure, he's the Chapter Master, but he has been described as a shell of a man, driven by hatred and vengeance. I'm not too sure that it would be wise to have him be the head of the Diplomatic Relations dept Maybe this can give you the opportunity to develop a few other characters who were instrumental in the founding of the Chapter and who would have been Caphon's inner circle of advisors.

First Company Veterans hold the title “Black Spots” for the Uft'ni omen of doom.

The name of your omen of doom isn't very scary. It's actually quite comical. I like the idea behind the name, but maybe you could have another name for it? The Midnight Mark? The Crimson Mark? The Obsidian Mark? The Mark of Obsidia?

Astral Reavers take trophies from battles, including bones and trinkets as well as more valuable technologies. Reavers who believe their findings are of value share their trophies with their brothers, and present them to Reclusiarchs, Techmarines, and Librarians to determine their worth. True treasures, Imperial relics and rare xeno technologies, earn their claimer praise and prestige. However, more often than not, they are rejected by the Chapter's specialists, and, in turn, their claimer, in shame. Other Reavers may continue to use their idle findings to entertain their brothers with their stories. To some other Chapters, the Reavers' trophies are seen as worthless at best, and, under the most extreme circumstances, even heretical.

The Astral Reavers use anchors as symbols of faith. A Chaplain's Crozius or a Thunder Hammer may be crafted to look like one.

I want the Reavers to incorporate Tridents somewhere into their design, even if it's just a finial at the top of a banner.

Astral Reavers have tattoos. Before we get deeper into this, here's my philosophy: Tattoos are only cool if they have significance. Sailor culture is big on ink, including the aforementioned anchor. Looking over some information, ropes indicated that a sailor was a deckhand, “H O L D / F A S T” was printed on the fingers for strong grip, pigs and chickens were printed on the feet to receive divine mercy or to remind sailors to grab onto floating livestock crates, and dragon indicated a sailor had gone to Asia, Etc. Forgive me, but I don't like most of them.

While this fits with the pirate theme you've got going, I think that all of this inclusion of pirate-y stuff in your Chapter is just too much. It's absolutely everywhere and makes them a lot more uninteresting and comes across as you being a tad lazy (though I fully realise how much time and effort you've put into this IA and respect you greatly for that), because the end up being just Super Pirate in Space (but then again, maybe I'm the only one who finds them uninteresting with such a big inclusion of pirate-y stuff). I'd much prefer if the influence of your inspiration was a lot more subtle. It's much more interesting to read (and to figure out what the author has chosen to include and how s/he's done it) and it doesn't look like your just trying to merge an ancient civilization/culture with superhuman warriors (I'm looking at you, Space Wolves).

Chapter Colors: Green/ Gold/ White/ Black/ Red:

*snip*

I haven't quoted the whole section because it's very long, but I find that you're going a bit too far into detail and tormenting yourself with questions that aren't very important in the end (for the IA, at least). Does the reader really care about the colour of the Apothecary's armour and if the helmet is a different colour from the rest of his suit? I honestly don't think so. It can be cool to have a couple of pictures depicting some of the Chapter specialists, but I think you're going a bit too far.

Thussaud

I love that name, but I pronounce it the French way, which would be pronounced Thu-saw. But anyway, epic name regardless of the way you pronounce it

This is almost all for the sake of getting the Reavers the Nausicaä. Last time around, the Nausicaä was a large ship that saw the brunt of Horus' attack on Terra. I imagine her now as a ship set for salvage that Caphon requested to be refitted for his Chapter. One large ship may be more or less reasonable than having more ships depending on your point of view, but it is an alternative option.

Maybe in exchange for repairing the Nausicaä, the AdMech demand that Caphon's Chapter provide certain services once they reach full strength? This could include whatever you like, but I think it would be a great way to start the Astral Reavers-AdMech relationship, right at the birth of the Chapter.

I regularly describe Caphon as a "shell of a man." Emptiness is otherwise a part of his character. Prior to becoming Chapter Master of the Astral Reavers and finding purpose in that, it doesn't work. Caphon lacks the charisma to be a figurehead under other circumstances.

This supports my idea of Caphon having his own bunch of advisors to help him out. He's pretty much just a merciless killing machine and would probably be overly blunt in diplomatic situations with other Imperial organisations. Sure, the Space Marines aren't going to back down from their demands, but they can't function effectively without the support of other organisations and so need to maintain smooth relationships.

* * * *

Now, I had some more to say, but the parts that I was going to comment on were posts from you and other forum users and got eaten by some foul beast, so I will stop there. Hopefully you won't hate me too much for me tearing up your text and criticising like an arse, because I really like your Chapter and I believe that you have created something quite special. It just needs some tweaking and shedding of unneeded details. But then again, sometimes heavy criticism is the only way you can go forward with things

Cheers,

Ludo

[Donkey Kong]

I have free time again!! But, that's all probably going to be over in two weeks when I back off to school, so I should probably make my time count. First things first, I hadn't realized just how far back this last reset put me. Needless to say, I'm probably going to be spending some time getting that back in order, and probably backing it up locally.

But before I get to that, I actually have commentary. So,

Hey CJJ, it's been a while! Welcome to the conversation. I still owe you for their new name.

Thanks for the commentary Ludovic. Don't worry, I appreciate blunt. I think it's a lot better than trying to dance around issues anyway.

1. The first generation of space marines from any Chapter is always up in the air. The first Legionnaires were all Terran. The Second Founding derived its marines from the remnants of the Legions. Latter foundings have a training cadre which needs to lead a population of marines until a suitable homeworld is found. Unless the homeworld is found as a suitable location before the Chapter gets rolling, but then that removes the stories of a Captain having a connection with their homeworld. It's easier in my mind for the marines to just be Terran. It makes sense to me because this is the first time Chapters are being founded this way and the only precedence before this situation would be the Legions.

As I said, it's my interpretation of foundings. GW has never really been solid on the process anyway.

2. How the Reavers capture ships isn't as much an issue as why they capture ships. The previous iteration of the Chapter was dead set on crusading. I don't even know where this one is geographically set in the galaxy. Later, when they get good at capturing ships, those traits will probably carry over. Although, I'm not sure you can capture a ship without disabling its engines. Does 40k have Ion weapons or EMP?

3. That's a solid idea for some of the homeworld. I still want to nab up that Dam City though.

4. It makes sense, but at the moment I'm terrible with names, so coming up with that is actually going to be a bigger pain for me. In addition, what contemporary purpose will they serve? Caphon does carry a lot of baggage, but he has uses as a figurehead and a role model of sorts. One of the Ultramarine Tetrachs in Know No Fear lords over Konor, an Ad.Mech. research world. I believe his relationship with the Mechanicum is built on respecting their power, and using his power to defend them either physically or politically. So, there's another thought.

Also, like me, I think the Ad.Mech. would appreciate blunt.

Caphon isn't necessarily central to all of the Chapter's early happenings, just all the ones I've written so far

5. I think trying to disguise the Black Spot as something latinized or just slightly different does more harm than good. "Black Spot" carries a fair amount of historical weight as is, and I'm quite fond of the name. It's better than the other crap I was thinking of before like "Tritons," and I don't think it's much more silly than the Iron Hands Morlocks or the Dark Angels Deathwing and Ravenwing.

6. The trophies were meant more for the tribal feel than pirate. As for tattoos, the ones that I described are historical sailor tats. I probably should have had more than a sentence on it at the end, but my point was that I don't like them. I actually like the look of most tribal tattoos, but my problem with them in contemporary fashion is that they don't mean anything. Uft'ni has tribes, so those tattoos can have meaning. I'll be using those.

I thought that the anchor as a symbol of faith was rather creative though. It's a historical representation of the cross, yes, but I thought it was a nice nod to nautical culture.

The trident is still kind of meh. They'd be nice to have, but one of the easiest things to drop.

7. On colors, probably. Still, I don't paint miniatures, I write. It sort of helps me take apart my chapter if I can illustrate them with words now. The Reavers, and another Chapter I'm rolling around in my head at the moment are actually most complete in their aesthetic appearance. I agree, it's an issue that can wait.

8. I think I derived it from a name Ace pulled from Command & Conquer. I can't remember it for the life of me though. Still, he's one of my two contemporary characters of choice alongside Filo.

9. The AdMech/ Reaver relationship could date back to some of Caphon's history as well. Either way, I agree that it should be a long term relationship. I was going to push the Nausicaa off from the Founding since it didn't make much sense to me for it to be sitting in orbit around a planet for an extended period of time. Before the last reset, I think the Nausicaa was going to be a ship that the Reavers discovered while accompanying an Explorator fleet.

I've still got no idea what class of ship the Nausicaa should be or whether she should be unique.

There's still plenty to work on here, so I've got no shortage of room for ideas and suggestions. I'll be taking apart my two posts again. Hopefully that'll be done by the end of today, and I'll have my ideas sorted out.

Thanks for the commentary!

[Ace Debonair]

I can promise with the utmost sincerity that no name I've ever suggested to you was intentionally taken from Command & Conquer. I don't think anywhere near highly enough of the series to want to mine it for inspiration.

I can't remember what I'd posted before the server wound back a few weeks, but I do remember either mentioning or seconding the idea of building your Fortress Monastery at the bottom of the damn, as some sort of huge and incredibly awesome underwater stronghold.

In fact, I'm pretty sure I suggested a sunken-city sort of feel and you shot it down, but I might be wrong.

[Donkey Kong]

You came up with the name from somewhere Ace! I'll go back through old threads to find out later.

 

Yeah, I remember. I don't think the Reavers would be hanging out in the ruins of an old city, and a big submarine is overrated. I'm just thinking weather it should be the dam city itself, but that brings up the issue of how accessible it is.

Moon base works and makes sense for a culture based on the water, but it's been done before.

 

Either way, I've basically run chop shop on my second post. Most of my useless commentary is gone, and the material that remains is what I need to have commentated on.

[Donkey Kong]

I think I've got myself a little bit of writer's block. Supposedly the cure for that is just writing, but I'd rather avoid cluttering up my second post again, so I'm just going to be writing some of what comes to mind in the space below.

 

Origins:

My origins section has most of the pieces set for me. In a nutshell:

 

The Astral Reavers are a Third Founding Chapter. [insert historical tidbits related to being the First Founding since the End of the First Black Crusade/ Other major event and how important this founding is to the continued survival of the Imperium or write on a brighter note including the Imperial Age of Rebirth].

 

The Astral Reavers First Chapter Master is Caphon. Caphon's pedigree. End on an inspirational note.

 

I can lead into the Homeworld section with various bits and pieces of the world's influences on the Chapter. I can add information about the Reavers' heraldry and its change. The Changing of Faces might feel out of place, but I can take it out if there's too much, or I can leave it there as something that readers can find out more about by reading my Chapter Cult.

 

This one really is just about ironing out the nitty gritty with Caphon and getting into the writing mood.

 

Homeworld:

I think I did I pretty good job weeding out the nonsense here. At the same time, I don't think I've made myself doubt myself more in quite some time, and I've certainly given myself enough questions to fill a section just by answering them.

 

Here's how I think I'm going to approach it:

1. What do I want my world to do for me?

In other words, what do I need this section to accomplish for my IA.

2. What is important about the world i.e. What needs to be in the IA.

This involves picking out the chaff, which is almost done, and just focusing on the bigger picture.

 

So, with that in mind:

My homeworld needs to provide a wide selection of recruits for my Chapter.

My homeworld needs to inspire Caphon to take interest in it.

My homeworld needs to give my chapter their character.

 

I've tried organizing it in the IA, but it's still a mess from what I can see of it, and I'm not sure how to get it in order and incorporate the ideas I want to put in on top of them.

 

Right now, the broad strokes of history are there: 1. Found during Great Crusade/ Loyalist. 2. Invaded during Horus Heresy. 3. Flooded by Loyalists to achieve (pyrrhic) victory. This alone should help meet requirements for my second point.

 

Now, I want this world to have a lot of recruits, this includes cultural and environmental backgrounds. Culturally, I've hit the big three European colonial powers: Britain, France, Spain. From there, I want some of the islanders they played a part in conquering and general islanders, so the Caribbean, the Philippines, Hawaii, etc. For cultural diversity and pirate roots, I want China and Japan. Finally, for the last bits of stereotypical marine sprinkling, I want Greece and perhaps Italy. All of this needs to be shown and not told.

 

Environmentally, I want to have the stereotypical seaside towns through various old time fishing villages, port towns, and the like with children who know a hard day's work. I want gangsters who may be in the city shadows or ruling over the half sunken remains of the old world. I want the sons and nephews of powerful city rulers. All of this needs to be shown and not told.

 

Here's where I'm slamming my head between Hive World and just a Civilized one. Can all of these cultures come out of a hive or even the ruins of one? What if they're given a thousand years after a disaster? Would it be easier to achieve with a civilized world?

 

I would like the world to be semi reliant on the waterways prior to the flood so that this isn't all something that just happens, but a thousand years is a long time. The back and forth here is terrible for me, and I'm not getting anything done because of it.

 

The important point about Caphon's connection to the world I'm thinking of illustrating in having the Chapter introduce a rebirth of sorts. I could imagine the world existing in a sort of Waterworld state with a bit more dry land and a split between the "smokers" of the world and the more civilized world until Caphon comes around and helps put the world back together again. This could easily go out the window, but it would explain why the world has gone without Imperial intervention for so long.

 

Next comes Fortress Monastery. I know that I've basically been shooting down suggestions left and right to my detriment, but here's what I think I've narrowed it down to:

1. Moon Base

This is probably the most overdone option I have. The influence the moon has on the tides is poetic, but I don't think it carries itself as well. Honestly, this is probably my least favorite idea, but it's a fallback.

2. Dam City

I posted a link to the Killzone Shadowfall trailer with Vekta City, a giant metropolis area built on top of a dam. I just thought that the whole thing was beautiful and I would have very little trouble aping the idea, probably as a symbol of unity between the Chapter and world, or Caphon's pride in rebuilding the world. Now, the Fortress could be within the Dam City or beneath it or something like that. The only thing is secrecy and accessibility. How much of the public would know that this city is the Fortress? Would the Fortress use humans as a sort of civilian shield? Would it be interpreted that way even if I didn't want it to be? It's beautiful, but it carries a little too much weight in implications.

3. Hidden Island

This is also sort of overdone as it allows me to use the easy excuse of "recruits must sail to the island in order to earn the chance of entering the chapter, blah, blah, blah, my creativity is naught." Honestly, since I've yet to touch on how the Reavers recruit, this is basically going for low hanging fruit.

 

I'll have to come to a conclusion eventually.

 

Finally, the Ad.Mech. presence. Now, the easiest solution I have in mind would be pulling a Terra/ Mars. The next planet over is habitable, but barely, and capable of being terraformed. Ad.Mech. makes it a Forge World with understood protection for the Reavers in exchange for war machines and so on, some Techmarines complete their training here, everything's well and good. Low hanging fruit again.

 

Ad.Mech. presence on the homeworld itself could also be tied to the dam city. I don't want the world to be a forge world in of itself since I want to retain a lot of the natural beauty I have in my mind, but it's possible to have both.

 

Also, I wonder to what extent the Ad.Mech. would incorporate themselves. Could my homeworld have a Skitarii host? A Legio cybernetica presence? A titan legion?

 

Last but not least, where can I put my orbital shipyard?

 

And to think, I was still focusing on my homeworld chaff.

 

Homeworld EDIT: Oh yeah, this might be important. Right now the homeworld's name is Uft'ni. It doesn't sound like an appropriate name for a hive world or a civilized world, so I kind of need to pick out a new one.

I should also probably get around to deciding where my world is in the galaxy.

 

Chapter Organization:

Minus the codex duh bits and my Black Spots who are unique in name only, I actually have very little to show here. I was thinking of just running with explaining some of my specialists, with the sad realization that in all this time I haven't actually put any thought into them.

 

I don't want my Reaver Librarians to be raggedy weather mystics. That's all I know.

 

I see a lot of potential in my Techmarines playing a larger role especially if I'm going to hit the ground running with my Ad.Mech. ties.

 

Needless to say, I'm open to suggestions.

 

Combat Doctrine:

Most of what I have in mind is already in the second post. I'll probably add something about surround tactics, while not necessarily hit and run, just more of a keep on hitting. Hit and chase?

 

Chapter Cult:

I'm pretty happy with what I have in the second post. I think this one really is just a case of getting in the writing mood. Second Face/ Changing of Faces/ Trophies/ Cleansing water.

 

I'm still up in the air on the second faces issue I've given myself. In a nutshell, should Astral Reavers share their first face in the company of strangers, or just show their second face? Could the latter be a form of disrespect? The former a sign of respect? Both? Neither?

 

Finally, are the Reavers going to stay talkative, boastful, and flamboyant?

 

Minus all the Character stuff which I'll be putting on hold for the moment, I think I've given myself quite a bit to think about.

 

Final tidbit, I haven't really thought about how the Reavers would deck out one of their dreadnoughts... contemptor pattern, vampire squid power fist.... yeah.

 

So, any takers?

 

Edit: Homeworld

 

Edit 2: For fun I decided to do some digging through old versions of my IA. Aside from my horrible writing, I've managed to dig up some old trivia: I have Ace Debonair to thank for Roca Filo's given name. And I have a user who hasn't been active since 2010, sgtNACHO for Thussaud's name which is based on TES4:Oblivion character Gaston Tussaud morphed on account of my inability to pronounce his name at the time.

 

Other than that, these guys have changed. A lot. I'm sorry to say that I probably would skip over them if someone post them up now, and for that, I just want to thank everyone who stuck with me way back when and everyone helping me out now.

[CantonWC]

Oh...

 

Well it's been a while since I caught up with this thread, and some stuff went missing when the site crashed. I will try to add some comments when I can.

[Donkey Kong]

I've done a little bit of editing in the second post, and I started writing for the finalized IA in my origins section. My homeworld section is still a bit of a mess, but I think I've still got too much floating around for that to get as clean as I want it to be.

In other news, I found this while digging. It's an old pic by Heru Talon which he edited up for me to get the white scars type markings I wanted at the time.

I think it's still pretty good minus the lack of a second face that I don't think is going to work without a Mk4 or Mk6 helmet.

Color wise, I was thinking along the lines of, if Space Wolves are baby blue, I want the Reavers to be a baby green, although I'm not quite sure what that color is. My goal with it is to get a light shade of green without hitting mint. For what it's worth, I think I did a pretty good job of it. The only problems are that I made the sections between the pack and vents black because I was dumb, and for whatever reason I'm having a hard time replicating the color in the painter now.

Notes to self: Download some photo editor/ Learn to draw