The Accipiters. (Formerly the Shadow Falcons.)

[Ekim_Trub]

THE ACCIPITERS

CHAPTER NAME: ..............ACCIPITERS.

FOUNDING: .................. THIRD.

CHAPTER WORLD: ............. NONE, FLEET BASED. CHAPTER OPERATES WITHIN SEGMENTUM PACIFICUS.

FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........ THE VENATOR REX.

GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ... RAVEN GUARD.

KNOWN DESCENDANTS: .........NONE.

"attack, re-deploy, then attack again"

Raised as part of the Third Founding, the Accipiters were created as a reaction force and tasked with aiding the defence of Segmentum Pacificus from the ever-growing Xenos menace and the increasing number uprisings and rebellions in the region.

Originally led by Commander Sorryn, formerly Captain of the Raven Guard's Third Company, chosen for his extensive knowledge of strategy and tactics, pragmatic attitude and natural leadership abilities. It was Sorryn who moulded the Accipiters into the Chapter they are. Sorryn was well known to favour rapid deployment via Gunship, but when he took command of this new Chapter, he saw the opportunity to evolve this into a Chapter wide doctrine, and schooled the Accipiters in the use of Air Assault Tactics.

Coupling this doctrine with a seemingly innate marksmanship ability this young Chapter quickly earned themselves renown, and would find themselves in great demand amongst the outlying worlds of Segmentum Pacificus whose isolated position often found them the attention of many foul Xenos threats. As well as aiding these beleaguered Worlds, the Chapter was often found to be called upon to act as escorts to the numerous Explorator Fleets of the Adeptus Mechanicus operating within the Segmentum.

Although, the Accipiters do not appear often within Imperial records, they have a long history defending the Worlds along the outer edge of Segmentum Pacificus, even venturing into the darkness of the Halo Stars in order to protect the Imperium.

Like most Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Accipiters do not regard the Emperor as a God, but do offer him reverence as the pinnacle of humanity and as both the founder and master of the Imperium. Instead, it is their Primarch, Corvus Corax, whom they place their hearts and souls in, offering him reverence for the great warrior, tactician, General and hero he was. There is also a growing belief within the Chapter that he shall someday return to gather together his sons and once again lead them in battle against the forces of Chaos after several of the Chapters Librarians had visions foretelling it.

As the Accipiters bear the geneseed of the Raven Guard, and they too suffer from the problems associated with it, such as a missing Mucranoid and Betcher's Gland. However, in the Accipiters, the mutation to the melanchromic Organ has become more advanced.

This means that instead of it taking years for a Marines skin to fade to snow white, and his hair and eyes to darken to coal black, it only takes a matter of a few weeks. However, this is not seen as a curse by the Chapter, but instead as a blessing- for it lends them all the appearance of their beloved Primarch.

The true size, strength and capabilities of the Accipiters fleet is not recorded, but they are known to possess at least 3 Strike Cruisers as well as their vast and ancient Flagship, the 'Venator Rex', a ship capable of housing the entire Chapter if required to.

Believed to date back to the hallowed days of the Great Crusade, the 'Venator Rex' houses numerous hangars and flight decks as well as a vast array of bombardment and defensive weapons. This allows the Chapter to quickly deploy its myriad of Gunships in order to swiftly secure victory.

Like all sons of Corax, the Accipiters are patient and analytical, striking only when they have determined an enemy's weakness with speed and precision. They regard themselves as the masters in the use of air assault tactics, believing no other Chapter is capable of matching their expertise and skill in fighting from Gunships.

Typically, an Accipiter assault will be carried out in four waves. The first wave will see the deployment of Storm Talons and Storm Ravens to establish air superiority, closely followed by vanguard Infantry Squads being deployed by Storm Ravens to secure a landing Zone for the next wave. The third wave is deployed via Storm Eagles and Thunderhawks, and consists of further Infantry Squads used to support their brethren already deployed, then if required a fourth wave of Thunderhawk Transports will deliver armoured units to the battlefield. All the while, the Gunships will provide close air support and remain in close proximity in order to re-deploy or extract the Squads as the need arises.

Once on the ground, the Accipiters will always seek to gain a swift victory, advancing on their enemy all the time whilst utilising their trusted Bolters and precise marksmanship to eliminate any who oppose them. Often their Squads can find themselves without armoured support if for some reason their Gunships are unavailable to provide air support, so to combat this, they regularly deploy fast moving Land Speeders to provide the needed support.

Although the Accipiters heavily favour this style of warfare, the are still Adeptus Astartes and will utilise any tactic required in order to secure victory in the Emperor's name.

The Accipiters are to all intents and purposes a Codex Chapter, structured into ten Companies as it dictates. However, they have expanded the structure of each Company to better suit their own requirements.

Every Company now permanently maintains a Recon Squad, a Squad of Veteran Scouts who help gather intel for the Company and operate as saboteurs and skirmishers. The inclusion of this Squad to the Company Structure enables them to operate as independent battle forces without the need of Chapter support for extended periods of time.

It is also of note that the Chapter's Forges are still capable of producing mk.IV 'Maximus' Power Armour, and that they only seem to possess Tartaros-pattern Terminator Dreadnought Armour- presumably favouring it because of its enhanced mobility over other patterns. Both of which are no doubt gifts of their long-standing relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Also of note, is that the Accipiters are known to favour the deployment of all their Scout Squads in full Power Armour, preferring to offer their Battle-Brothers the protection it offers over Carapace Armour.

A two-part call and response between the Commander and Troops is used by the Accipiters as their battle-cry, clearly stating their loyalty and lineage; "For the Emperor!","For Corax!"

[Ekim_Trub]

Hopefully the above post will make for a solid base for my Chapter. The current idea I am looking to use to expand the IA is based of a post made on another forum that caught my interest: 
"The Librarian, on the other hand, is the keeper of many secrets. They are Intelligence Officers of a sort, but not in the usual sense. The Raven Guard know many secrets of the Imperium. Where other Chapters, even from the First Founding, have forgotten much of the technology from the days of the Crusade, the Raven Guard remember, and they watch, especially for those lost things that could be dangerous in the hands of Chaos. That's the whole reason why Shrike shows up in Hunt for Voldorius. Khan is hunting a demon, but he really doesn't know the history of the being he is chasing. Shrike knows of the Bloodtide, and just how dangerous it is. He's focused on ensuring it doesn't fall into the hands of Chaos, and all other concerns are secondary. It is the Librarians who cull and curate this ancient knowledge, and who piece together clues from what they see from mission to mission, with fragments of knowledge, to realize when there exists a threat, and to raise it to the attention of their Captain to be dealt with."

This is a snippet from a much longer post that I aim to use to help inject some character into the Chapter.

The current idea is to have them given a clandestine tasking by the RG upon their founding to seek out lost tech/info that would be devastating to the IoM in the hands of Chaos and return it to the Ad Mech if safe to do so, or destroy it if so needed. I feel this is a good way to explain their regular service alongside the Explorator Fleets and also why they chose such a fast moving combat doctrine.

[Donkey Kong]

Luckily for me, there's not a lot here; easy to read and make sure I haven't missed anything. So, let's get started.

 

Heading/ Origins

 

Formatting is a little off on the tidbit next to the picture up top. It's not a big deal, but it should be something pretty easy to straighten out. I don't think it matters grammatically, but the quote lacks finality i.e. "attack, redeploy, and attack again." instead of the current "attack, redeploy, attack again."

 

I decided to google "Sorryn" to see if it was an actual name because it just looks off to me. When the first thing up is "did you mean: sorry" followed by Instagram and then, I think, song lyrics, I can't say it's not original, but I'm a fan. I'd recommend you drop an R from his name, unless I'm mistaken and you don't want to pronounce it like [soar-in], in which case, ignore me.

 

 

Coupling this doctrine with a seemingly innate marksmanship ability this young Chapter quickly earned themselves renown as a surgical strike force, and would find themselves in great need amongst the outlying worlds of Segmentum Pacificus whose isolated position often found them the attention of many foul Xenos threats

 

To "find themselves in great need," at least to me, implies that the Chapter needs something, not that others needs the Chapter as you're trying to say. They should be finding themselves "in high demand" or something like that. If you want to keep the wording, I'd rearrange the sentence. Something like: [worlds of Segmentum Pacificus] "found themselves in great need" of [this then young chapter], elaborate where you see fit.

 

Finally, Segmentums are big. Even Pacificus which is notably smaller than the rest, a single Chapter will not have the manpower to adequately defend an entire Segmentum, and defending the outer rim of it is even more foolhardy since it requires covering more space which is even more spaced apart. It's too ambitious a mission, and makes everyone involved look foolish if they're charged with defending it.

 

Beliefs

Your Chapter Cult is one of your most important sections for describing the character of your Chapter. Right now it's wasted on simply describing their view of the Emperor and Primarch. Your Chapter lacks a homeworld, so this section has to be the one that unites them. What do they all do? Where are prospective neophytes recruited from if you don't describe it in your fleet section? What unites them as brothers? Etc.

 

Gene-Seed

Short, sweet, and to the point. Nothing to add here except I would suggest linking the change in appearance to the Chapter Cult. I've never liked writing this section myself, so unless there's a particular amount of deviance, I don't have anything more to say.

 

Fleet

 

The true size, strength and capabilities of the Accipiters fleet is not recorded, but they are known to possess at least 3 Strike Cruisers as well as their vast and ancient Flagship, the 'Venator Rex', a ship capable of housing the entire Chapter if required to.

 

A Battle Barge can comfortably deploy three companies of space marines (assume 110 marines per company when you add specialists, that's 330 marines). The Black Templars battle barge The Eternal Crusader is the largest ship in the Black Templar fleet and can only accomodate twice as many marines as a normal battle barge.

 

Venator Rex is massive and I don't understand why.

 

Combat Doctrine

Part of me feels as though stating that a Chapter specializes in surgical actions is redundant, like those who write about their chapter specializing in drop pod assaults.

 

The three or four wave plan works, so no complaints. It seems a little foolish to constantly rely on a single strategy, but there's enough room for variation within it that it doesn't really matter. Also, Wave 4 seems completely unnecessary, especially if air superiority has already been secured. I'd throw in land speeders, and a possible line about the chapter preferring them to slower tanks.

 

 

Although the Accipiters heavily favour this style of warfare, the are still Adeptus Astartes and will utilise any tactic required in order to secure victory in the Emperor's name. Even going as far as to openly regard the Codex Astartes as nothing more than a comprehensive guide to warfare rather than the Holy Tome other Chapters see it as, believing it open to both interpretation and expansion.

 

​Waking up an ancient Dreadnought for every operation feels like it should be a crime. But, that's up to you.

 

These sentences feel like they contradict. "Codex is fine. Codex is just a book." I'd honestly just drop the second sentence, or incorporate it in the first. Also, it's assumed that the codex does leave room for interpretation and expansion. A book cannot last for as long as the codex astartes has without being more like Sun Tzu's The Art of War instead of whatever other authors may imply to be a "If X, then Y" children's answer book to any real life scenarios.

 

Organisation

So, they're codex, except they do stuff that codex chapters already do?

 

Every Company now permanently maintains their own Squad of Company Veterans to augment their strength and aid in training their Brothers. Whilst each of the four Line Companies also maintain a Recon Squad at all times, thus enabling them to operate as independent battle forces without the need of Chapter support for extended periods of time.

 

So, every company has a veteran squad, implying reserve companies have veteran squads which does not work because the reserve companies are new initiates in the codex by default. Then each of the line companies maintain recon squads because reasons. In saying "line companies," I think it should be safe to assume that your Chapter has the 1 Veteran 2-5 Line 6-9 Reserve 10 Neophyte split. So, considering how codex chapters already split their first and tenth companies to work alongside their line companies, why do these differences matter? The only one I can think of is that the recon squads are veterans.

 

 

Also of note, is that the Shadow Falcons are known to favour the deployment of Recon Squads in full Power Armour, preferring to offer their Battle-Brothers the protection it offers over Carapace Armour.

 

The who? Oh right, name change! You have plenty of room to say what a recon squad is, what they do, etc.

 

The lines about Maximus armor and Tartaros suits are probably something that fits better in the back of your mind than any particular section in the Chapter. A relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus should be something for the Chapter Cult, including the content of your second post.

 

There's definitely room for improvement, but I can't fault the foundation. Best of luck.

 

EDIT: Ugly quote formatting and removing a sentence that was copied by mistake. No content changed.

[Ekim_Trub]

First of all, thanks for replying means a lot that you took the time to do so. Secondly, if my responses seem like a ramble, I apologise (I am trying to answer on a dodgy wi-fi connection).

Headings/Origins:
I tried to fix the coding- however, it just won't work for me. :(
I missed a word in the quote, so will sort it.
The name Sorryn is a rip off of Korryn and pronounced 'Korr-in', but I may change it as I'm not that attached to it.

Indeed the grammar is confusing, I'll edit it when I can.


As for Segmentum Pacificus, they were tasked with "aiding" in its defence, not solely tasked with it.

Beliefs:
The Chapter Cult is still a WIP, so bear with me.

Gene-seed:
Not sure how I would link that to the Chapter Cult, but will look at it once that is completed.

Fleet:
Not absolutely certain where I am going with the 'Venator Rex', but I reckon its going to be a purpose built Hulk.

Combat Doctrine:
Point taken on the surgical strike sentence.

Air assault tactics aren't relied upon, they are just highly favoured where their use is feasible, and wave 4 is necessary where air cover isn't possible. (Underground, inside Hives/Manufactorums etc.)

I had never thought of the awakening process for Dreads when I came up with that idea, but may just stick with it as it kind of works and prevents me from having to go down the Dreadknight style route. And I'll remove the Codex sentence.

Organisation:
The idea is that the Line Companies operate independently from the Chapter mostly, so the Company Veteran Squad is an extra Squad, as is the Recon Squad, added to turn each Company into a self-reliant battle force. Whereas in the Reserve Companies they are added to help bolster their strength and act as mentors/trainers to their Brothers.

In my head, I see the 1st Company operating alone, or supported by the Reserve Companies. The 10th Company I envision as acting in a forward role to the main body of the Chapter, and/or providing support.

The Recon Squads are highly trained specialists who act as scouts, saboteurs and skirmishers. I shall expand on them when I do my edit.

I'll get that old name changed over too.

[Donkey Kong]

Rome wasn't built in a day, and no IA was ever written and done in a week. I can personally attest to that with five years and counting on my current project. Don't sweat it, no one is rushing you.

 

Headings/ Origins all fair enough.

 

Beliefs/ Gene-Seed

In my experience, you can usually tell what an author is trying to do with an IA based on what section receives the most attention. In yours, it's the combat doctrine by a country mile. I personally cannot write a decent Gene-Seed if my life depended on it. I'll usually max out at three sentences (Points: Primarch, Parent Legion, Parent Chapter, Purity) with nothing left to say.

 

My point was that the Accipiters should be taking pride in their appearance, and should incorporate that into their culture, their Chapter Cult. I apologize if I was talking in circles in my criticism, that's all I was trying to say.

 

I will highlight this though: You lack a homeworld. Your Chapter Cult needs to pick up the slack, not because I love writing Chapter Cults, but because it's the most optimal section to do so.

 

Combat Doctrine

Underground/ etc. I think it's safe to say a tank wouldn't help much in those scenarios either. I still suggest land speeders.

 

What's your goal in having a dreadnought? Think about that, what role you want it to fill, and then work from there. If you're just interested in heavy weapons, a dreadnought is nothing a devastator or terminator squad can't fulfill. If you're interested in having the ancient present, then there needs to be some sort of reason behind wanting to wake the ancient in the first place. Important missions like the ones set on helping the AdMech will fit the bill. It's all about context.

 

On Organisation, if you're acknowledging the importance of having a mentor relationship then the division just seems odd. As does the "extra" veteran squad when it can just as easily be a "squad on loan" from the First Company. There's also no reason why the First Tactical Squad in each company can't be a veteran squad.

 

Finally, if your recon squads are your scouts, and presumably they're going to be jumping marines since they're in power armor and need to get around quickly, what does that make your neophyte company? Are they still scouts, and if so, why when there are clearly better trained scouts present?

 

Please don't interpret my commentary as prodding, I want to make you think. You are not obligated to justify your reasoning, but this is your time to be creative, come up with answers to my questions, have more details for your IA, and, if you're really thinking about it, you might come up with something new that you want for them along with way.

 

Personal experience, a good IA stands up to someone poking holes, and you're doing fine.

[Ekim_Trub]

Wow, your questions have really got me thinking more in depth about my Chapter, thanks.

Beliefs/gene-seed:

An idea I had regarding their appearance, is that it has made them slightly arrogant, as they believe it has elevated them to almost on equal standing with the RG themselves, for they bear the most resemblance to Corax himself (or at least they do in the least time.)

Still really not sure what I want to do with the Chapte Cult, so will have to think on it a while longer.

Combat Doctrine:
I think the vision of a Tactical Squad deploying from a Stromraven whilst being supported by a Dreadnought blinded me to the bigger picture.
After taking a step back and thinking about it, it makes more sense for them to use Landspeeders, and only deploying Dreadnoughts when really needed.

Organisation:
Again, "rule of cool" clouding my thoughts, as I have always liked the idea of a Company Veteran Squad since I first seen it in the Dark Angels Codex years ago. What I feel would be a better approach, would be to have a "First Squad" who operate as Veterans.

I have been mulling over the Recon Squad/Scout Company issue, and I think I may just have the Recon Squads as Veteran Scous who are permanently attached to the Line Companies. As for the Scout Company, I think I am going to go down the route of them all using Power Armour unless necessity dictates otherwise- as I am not keen on the idea of armour-less Astartes, and if the RG can sneak about in theirs, why can't their Successors?

[Ekim_Trub]

Something I would like to incorporate and what inspire the Chapter's clandestine tasking from their Primogenitor is the this post on another forum which perfectly sums up how I envision the Captains, Chaplains and Librarians of my Chapter operating. (Credit to RavenNoviceTK as it was his post.)

 

"The Raven Guard are known for several things. They're pragmatic and intellectual. They're tactically adept, and are predisposed to avoid casualties, moreso than most other chapters. They're also highly disciplined, and have a strong sense of duty. They fight with an almost clinical detachment, always analyzing and seeking the opponents weakness, choosing their fights and fading away when an encounter does not serve their purposes. But they also have something of a darker side, and it comes in a couple of forms.

 

Raven Guard have a tendency to brood. Their strong sense of duty leads them to take their failures on in a personal way. You see this in the way Corax is said to have purged the abominations himself, and the way he feels he has let the Emperor down after Isstvaan. You see it, too, in Shrike's exchange with Kor'sarro in Hunt for Voldorius. This has the potential to lead a Raven Guard down a very dangerous path, into heresy or depression, or perhaps worse, into making riskier and riskier decisions.

 

It is this dark aspect that the Chaplains protect against. They remind a Captain that he has more than one duty. He has a duty to the men of his Company, to care for them, and to never spend their lives uselessly or needlessly. He has a duty to the Imperium, and it's citizens, to protect them, to ensure their safety, and their freedom. The Chaplain helps the Captain to balance those duties, and to use them both as levers to prevent that darker side of the Raven Guard nature from moving to the fore. When a Captain starts taking more dangerous risks, the Chaplain reminds him of his duty to his men. When a Captain slips into a despondent state, having failed to achieve an objective, and thereby having to watch the destruction of a world, or even a sector, the Chaplain reminds him that, even though those worlds have fallen, there are more citizens in the next sector, and they, too, are relying on that Captain to keep them safe, even if they don't know it, and to spur him back into action before it is too late.

 

The Chaplain serves a similar function to the men of the Company, as well, reminding them of their duty to serve to their utmost, even unto death, on behalf of the citizens of the Imperium, ensuring that individual marines don't spend too much time brooding over their personal failures, as well as keeping an eye out for those taking heavy risks they don't need to take.

 

The Librarian, on the other hand, is the keeper of many secrets. They are Intelligence Officers of a sort, but not in the usual sense. The Raven Guard know many secrets of the Imperium. Where other Chapters, even from the First Founding, have forgotten much of the technology from the days of the Crusade, the Raven Guard remember, and they watch, especially for those lost things that could be dangerous in the hands of Chaos. That's the whole reason why Shrike shows up in Hunt for Voldorius. Khan is hunting a demon, but he really doesn't know the history of the being he is chasing. Shrike knows of the Bloodtide, and just how dangerous it is. He's focused on ensuring it doesn't fall into the hands of Chaos, and all other concerns are secondary. It is the Librarians who cull and curate this ancient knowledge, and who piece together clues from what they see from mission to mission, with fragments of knowledge, to realize when there exists a threat, and to raise it to the attention of their Captain to be dealt with.

 

Both of these positions deal with knowledge, and with analyzing the facts at hand. However, where the Captain turns his analytical skill towards the prosecution of battle and the defeat of the enemy, these two have a different focus in front of them. The Chaplain's focus is the Company itself, watching for marines gone astray from their duty in any way. The Librarian's is outward, following the information, and piecing intelligence reports together with the vast knowledge of the Raven Guard to identify threats and risks. This split of focus is complementary, and, like so many other things about the Raven Guard, requires discipline and focus on the part of all three officers.

 

This is linked, as well, to the autonomous nature of the Raven Guard companies. A Captain is given a longer leash in the Raven Guard, because they have this complementary analysis going on, their own discipline backed up by that of two other officers, at all times, and the threats they face are in many cases beyond what even other Astartes go up against, because only the Raven Guard know the secrets of things like the Bloodtide."

[Ekim_Trub]

Seem to have really hit the wall with the Chapter Cult, so bear with me please. Also struggling to find a way to incorporate the above post into the IA, so I am considering using a sidebar (or two).