The Iron Sentinels

[Dragonkin Arenis]

So this is a project which has been on the backburner for a while, but I wanted to get some feedback on a Chapter that was first created for LamenterMarine's 'Your Emperor Needs You' project, which itself has been inactive for a while. The project focusses on the "what-if" scenario that the next (27th) Founding took place in the late years of M41, and tasked volunteers with creating a new chapter for the challenge.

My original concept was that I really wanted to emphasise the 'Prussian' aspect of the Imperial Fists, and ultimately settled on simply basing the Chapter on Napoleonic-era Prussia. This influenced my choice of colour scheme (below) - search "Prussian Infantryman" in Google image search, and you find that the majority have dark blue coats with red cuffs, epaulettes and other gubbins, with white trousers and/or puttees.

Here, you can see how I attempted to implement these colour choices into the Chapter's scheme. The main bulk of the miniatures I paint shall be part of the 3rd Company.

Also in the scheme above, you may notice the asymmetry I have chosen to go with as far as the pauldrons are concerned. Honestly, I prefer it to having both shoulders looking the same, and it references the Prussian flag quite nicely, with the black eagle on a white background.

Anyway, below is the framework I came up with, which gives the basic idea of what I've got going at the moment.

Chapter Name:
Iron Sentinels

Founding:
27th Founding ( M.41 )

Progenitor Chapter:

Excoriators

Geneseed Origins:

Imperial Fists

Chapter Color Scheme:

Predominantly Navy Blue armour, with White greaves and left pauldron insert; company colour displayed on left pauldron rim; squad designation symbol picked out in white; Sergeants wear white helmets; veterancy shown by red stripe on helmet

Chapter Symbol:

Symbol depicts a black eagle with wings displayed and elevated; gold/yellow beak and claws when stylised

Speciality:
Defense and Attrition Fighting; Trench Warfare; Devastator Squads

Battle Cry:
“Not one step back!”, “Do not lose.” or “Hold the Line!”

Purpose of Founding:

Chapter was founded in order to garrison the Fortress World of Mazovia, a planet in the Hohenzoll Subsector, in anticipation of future incursions by Tyranid Hive Fleets and Chaos warbands, to name a few.

Geneseed Stock:

The chapter's geneseed is derived from that of its Progenitor, and as such suffers the same defect in the Catalepsean Node known as The Darkness; manifesting itself as a wretched palsy, slackness of the jaw, tremor of the limb and a blankness of the eye. It is described as a sleeping wakefulness or a living nightmare by those who have experienced it; those afflicted relive one of Dorn's darkest moments, the loss of the Emperor.

Chapter Master: Jacobus Bauer - former 4^th Company Captain of the Excoriators; undoubtedly an expert at defensive warfare and a brilliant tactician, Jacobus favours stationary units of Sternguard and Devastators over Assault squads and mobile Tactical squads. Oddly, he also ensures all under his command have extensive knowledge of both bolter and bayonet drill.

So with all that in mind, please feel free to give me some C&C - I'll be returning at some point to add in some "special" characters and formations that I have brewing up somewhere.

And if you're interested, the link to my Army Log is in my signature, should you wish to take a look.

[Olis]

 

Speciality:

Defense and Attrition Fighting; Trench Warfare; Devastator Squads

 

 

I'd personally switch out 'Trench Warfare' with something like 'Siege Warfare' (which would also usurp "Defense and Attrition Fighting" and make it redundant). Trench fighting is something the Guard does, not Space Marines. Their time is too precious to bother with trench warfare and the overall tactica doctrines that most marines generally hold to predispose them towards less static strategies. Sticking in 'Siege Warfare' avoids the issue as it doesn't necessarily mean anything to do with static earthworks.

 

 

 

 

Battle Cry:

“Not one step back!”, “Do not lose.” or “Hold the Line!”

 

 

 

These phrases don't really have the gravitas for a Marine's battlecry, do they? They sound very much like something Guardsmen shout. I notice this chapter descends from Dorn, so why not include a reference to him here?

 

 

Purpose of Founding:

Chapter was founded in order to garrison the Fortress World of Mazovia, a planet in the Hohenzoll Subsector, in anticipation of future incursions by Tyranid Hive Fleets and Chaos warbands, to name a few.

 

Chapters are created to do more than just look after one world - it is more likely that they would be responsible for a vast swathe of space more or less the size of a sector, considering the rarity of astartes. There's nothing wrong with them taking the Fortress World as their homeworld but it's quite limiting to have them created to just garrison it.  

 

 

Chapter Master: Jacobus Bauer - former 4^th Company Captain of the Excoriators; undoubtedly an expert at defensive warfare and a brilliant tactician, Jacobus favours stationary units of Sternguard and Devastators over Assault squads and mobile Tactical squads. Oddly, he also ensures all under his command have extensive knowledge of both bolter and bayonet drill.

 

A 24 fan, perhaps? I think adding in such an obvious reference to a tv show is quite jarring and breaks the immersion. My advice is to either 'mutate' it into something much less recognisable or to change it entirely so that this chapter has it's own identity rather than one that's partly 'borrowed'.

 

Hope this helps.

[Dragonkin Arenis]

First of all, thank you for replying.

 

As far as the speciality goes, I really wanted to present it as a sort of bastardisation of the Imperial Fists' and Iron Warriors' specialities. I also wanted to harken back to the trench warfare of WW1 as the major theme of the Chapter's fighting style, and play on the idea that these marines, whilst trench-fighters, would be brought in to bring a (relatively) swift end to a particularly long conflict, or to take point on the defence of the most important parts of the battleline. Thanks for the input here, though - I'll give this some more thought and work something out.

 

Looking back on the battlecries, I admit they seem a little... Well, dull, for Marines. I'll be honest, in the headcanon they've had very little time as a fully operational Chapter, and therefore haven't had chance to form their own battlecries, hence they're borrowed a few from their progenitors, the Excoriators. I'll look into this, for sure, as it does seem more Guard-y.

 

I'll be honest, I haven't described the reasons for their founding (or the fortress world itself) very well - the whole Chapter doesn't garrison the planet, but there is definitely a Chapter presence there, backed up by PDF regiments taken from the rest of the system.

And something else I hadn't described very well, is the fact that it is not just the fortress world that they defend, it is the entirety of the Hohenzoll Subsector, which includes the planetary system that Mazovia is a part of.

 

Now, onto the Chapter Master. I was not taking the show into account when I gave him that name, and I honestly have never watched it before, so I did not see the link between him and the main character of 24 until somebody else on the forum told me so. Back then I felt I had justified keeping the name, on account of my ignorance of 24, but now I see that's just not going to cut it. Not going to be too hard to make up a new name, after all.

 

Thank you for the advice - it's given me something I can work with to make the Chapter better.

[JeffTibbetts]

Bayonets! I want to see them all over the place! 

 

Okay, I don't really see a problem with them being defensive and holding the line. As you say, they can operate as hardened points in a guard line, holding the most important points. I think it's kind of cool. 

 

I also really like asymmetry, and I think a nice dark blue will look really cool with the white as long as it doesn't get too Pre-Heresy-World-Eatersish. 

[Lysimachus]

Okay, I don't really see a problem with them being defensive and holding the line. As you say, they can operate as hardened points in a guard line, holding the most important points. I think it's kind of cool.

It is quite cool, but the problem is that because the Astartes are so rare and so specialized it doesn't make sense for them to be used to man defences that regular Guardsmen could. Compare it to using SAS/SEALS/whatever to man guard posts - it's a waste of their training, equipment and experience. Not to mention that with Marines, they'll come in, achieve their mission, then be heading off to another planet entirely.

That said, I think the OP has the right idea of making them siege/trench (and maybe urban) specialists that are brought in to end dragging conflicts quickly.

Colour scheme is nice... yeah, not much else to say there!

I like the first warcry, 'Not one step back!' obviously works in defence, but also in attack i.e. 'once we go in we don't stop until the job is done' kind of thing. Very Fist-y!

[Olis]

Being defensive is all well and good, but holding the line is generally a job for lesser mortals, really. Marines are intended to be akin to a rapid reaction force/strike force and manning a line wastes their potential. Granted there would be exceptions to the rules but marines, for the most part, are an offensive asset. They are the hammer and the Guard is the Anvil.

 

 

Edit: Damnation! Beaten to it by Strike Captain Lysimachus.

[JeffTibbetts]

I dunno, guys. It all depends what they're holding the line AGAINST... That, to me, is what makes marines great. You can defeat daemons with guardsmen too, but that doesn't mean marines aren't the best tool to use sometimes. Besides, the comparison with SEALS and whatnot doesn't totally hold up because even with the best equipment and training, they're no more durable than other troops. Marines are. By a long shot. It makes them really good at defense. They are a rapid strike force, sure, by and large. That doesn't mean, in my opinion, that they are wasted in defense. They are versatile, and can cover all sorts of things. Some marines specialize more in one thing than another. Blood Angels still have their Devastators, and Dark Angels have assault marines. So, these guys can be really good at one thing and that doesn't mean they can no longer do anything else. 

 

The enemy will always have line-breaker specialists, and it makes an awful lot of sense to have someone really tough to hold the lines as well. In fact I've always thought that's really what the Fists were really good at anyway... 

 

Dragonkin, can you expand on their role and shed some light here? 

[Olis]

Besides, the comparison with SEALS and whatnot doesn't totally hold up because even with the best equipment and training, they're no more durable than other troops. Marines are. By a long shot. It makes them really good at defense. They are a rapid strike force, sure, by and large. That doesn't mean, in my opinion, that they are wasted in defense. 

 

The comparison isn't about durability - it's about the MO they adhere to in general. What I'm advocating against is static defence aka trench warfare, rather than defence in general. Sure marines can defend with the best of them but they are entirely wasted in trench warfare (hence my suggestion at the more generalised term 'Siege Warfare', which covers quite a lot more ground). Mobile defence and aggressive defence makes much more sense than manning earthworks (which you may or may not have had in mind anyway). 

[Ace Debonair]

Perhaps a useful compromise could be making the Chapter experts in defending and counter-offensives - for example luring out the enemy's strongest forces into places they can easily be killed, then turning quickly from a fairly static, cumbersome force into a fluid engine of death that systematically wipes out whatever resistance remains.

Luring an enemy into thinking they have the upper hand because the marines are on the defensive, only to be wiped out in minutes because they attacked where the Iron Sentinels wanted them to attack and left glaring weaknesses exposed.

This gives room for them to defend statically when required as a part of a greater, more aggressive strategy, so you get your defender-y marines and still keep the rapid-response-and-aggression that is the typical space marine role.

[JeffTibbetts]

@ Olisredan, yeah I think that's fair. Sorta. ;) Siege warfare covers a much broader range. 

[Dragonkin Arenis]

Thanks for the input, guys, time to get to work.

 

JeffTibbetts and Oilsredan: Thanks for your exchange here, guys - I like how each of you have put your opinions forward, and it's given me a lot to think about. Ultimately, however, I think that Ace Debonair has nailed what I want exactly - the ability to be completely solid in defence whilst still being able to swiftly annihilate the enemy because they've attacked exactly where the Sentinels want them to. This way I'm able to keep the "unforgiving static defenders" part of their psyche by making it part of their longer, more aggressive strategy, whilst still keeping the rapid assault capacity needed in Space Marines.

 

Strike Captain Lysimachus: Thanks for the help here - the analogy of using Navy Seals/the SAS to man guard posts is a good one, and something to think about. But like you said, using them in defence to bring conflicts to a swift end has a nice ring to it.

 

As far as the speciality is concerned, I'll be changing it to "Siege Warfare; Defence and Counter-Offence" which should just about cover everything that has been said regarding the subject. Opinions?

 

Returning to the problem of the Chapter Master, I have returned to my random name generator and plucked Johann Dreher from the Empyrian. My search-fu only brought up a minor German diplomat as another bearer of the name, so that base should now be covered.

 

 

Now, earlier in the thread I promised I'd shed some light on some of the "Special Characters" and formations in use by the Chapter. Chief among these must be the Captain of the 3rd Company, Captain Torben Glöckner, Master of the Arsenal.

One of the brightest stars of the initial wave of recruits from König that formed the Chapter, Torben Glöckner was among the first to be selected to be “Acting Sergeants” when he and his brothers began operations in Power Armour. He quickly proved himself to be charismatic and of sound tactical mind, which earned him a place in his Company's Command Squad, advising and learning from the Excoriator Veteran who led him. When the majority of the training cadre bid farewell to their progeny, Torben Glöckner was selected to lead the fully-operational 3^rd Company, an honour that he accepted with much humility.

 

In the short span of time he has led the 3^rd Company, his tactical prowess has earned him no small amount of honorific titles and Captain Glöckner prizes himself on being tactically adaptable to any situation, and can call on any unit he commands to perform a specific task, which said unit will execute without question. This willingness to follow their eager young Captain into battle is as much a credit to his character as it is to that of his troops; they would willingly follow him into the Eye of Terror, if he asked them to, such is the respect they have for their Captain.

 

 

 

This guy here was made back when Space Marines still had the 5th Ed. Codex - he was meant to run as a counts-as Sicarius under those rules, and since I still need to get the 6th Ed. Codex, I don't yet know whether Sicarius and the other Heroes are still in the 'dex or whether it's better to run the guy as a bog-standard Captain in Artificer Armour totting a Chapter Relic. I'll study the rules when I get a cash influx and buy the new 'dex.

 

Another character I toyed around with for a while was an Imperial Fist Chaplain Dreadnought, who will probably run a Venerable Dread if and when he appears in model form.

Honoured Reclusiarch Rankar-

 

 

Formerly a member of the Imperial Fists, Chaplain Rankar was a powerfully religious man whose interpretation of the Imperial Creed was rigid and unchanging. His strict beliefs were noticed by the Chapter's Master of Sanctity and he was promoted to the rank of Reclusiarch in mid M37. However, his faith could not protect him from being captured by a warband of Night Lords Chaos Space Marines, who broke his body and displayed him as a grisly trophy, mounted to the front armour of a Rhino tank.

 

When the Imperial Fists destroyed the warband and reclaimed the fallen Reclusiarch's body, they found him completely broken; his ribcage had been ripped open to allow the Traitor Marines to spread-eagle his innards across the front of the Rhino, and his lower legs had been cut off, leaving little for the Apothecaries and Techmarines to work with. When it appeared that Rankar had passed into the Emperor's Light, the Apothecaries prepared to harvest Rankar's gene-seed, but the body awoke and begged to be interred in a holy Dreadnought shell, so he could continue to praise the Emperor, even in death. Surprised, the Apothecaries relented and interred the Reclusiarch's body in a sarcophagus, ready to serve the Emperor once more.

Millennia later, Rankar has served with honour amongside his former brethren, leading them into more victories than he ever could have dreamed of, from the Iduno Campaign to the charnel house of Cadia during the 13^th Black Crusade. These actions earned him and the Marines who served alongside him numerous honours, but the Honoured Reclusiarch found it harder to mourn his fallen brethren in the millennia of slaughter he has witnessed.

 

 

When the High Lords began the 27^th Founding and founded of the Iron Sentinels Chapter by way of their progeny, the Excoriators, Chapter Master Vladimir Pugh assigned a small training cadre led by the Honoured Reclusiarch to accompany the marines sent by the Excoriators, lending their expertise to their newborn brethren. When the Iron Sentinels were deemed to be of operational strength and the training cadres announced their departure, the Venerable Dreadnaught elected to stay with the fledgeling Chapter and guide them in their faith, having schooled the majority of the Chaplaincy alongside the former Excoriator, Santiarch Abt. Rankar sees his new Brothers as a flock that needs a wise shepherd to guide them towards the Emperor's Light, and he has taken it upon himself to lead the Iron Sentinels in their faith.

 

 

 

What do you think of these two guys? I'm happy with them so far, and I'll expand on their stories a little more later.

 

Also, in light of some of the "changes" made here, I've decided to expand the fluff for bikers in the Chapter and include them in the Chapter roster as "Hussars". And just so I can have a little but of fun with future modelling opportunities whilst I'm at it, the 1st Squad of the 6th Company will be the elite "Death's Head Hussars", and will probably run as Ravenwing Black Knights when I decide to run the Dark Angels 'dex.

 

Until next time, folks.

[Olis]

As far as the speciality is concerned, I'll be changing it to "Siege Warfare; Defence and Counter-Offence" which should just about cover everything that has been said regarding the subject. Opinions?

Seems fine to me. An appropriate compromise.

When the Imperial Fists destroyed the warband and reclaimed the fallen Reclusiarch's body, they found him completely broken; his ribcage had been ripped open to allow the Traitor Marines to spread-eagle his innards across the front of the Rhino, and his lower legs had been cut off, leaving little for the Apothecaries and Techmarines to work with.

Now, although having his guts spread over the front of a rhino appears extreme, I'd say flay him and have his skin stretched across the front of the rhino instead. It's more befitting the Night Lords' MO. While we're on the subject of grisly torture, I think having a few of his organs removed would make his interment far more convincing. And maybe make him blind. And dumb. And chuck in a little trepanning, too.

When it appeared that Rankar had passed into the Emperor's Light, the Apothecaries prepared to harvest Rankar's gene-seed, but the body awoke and begged to be interred in a holy Dreadnought shell, so he could continue to praise the Emperor, even in death. Surprised, the Apothecaries relented and interred the Reclusiarch's body in a sarcophagus, ready to serve the Emperor once more.

Hmm. It doesn't seem quite right that he would beg for interment. He's meant to be a hero - heroes don't beg! A bloody great splash of righteous fury, despite his broken and abused body, would probably be better imho.

Millennia later, Rankar has served with honour amongside his former brethren,

And a wild typo appears! Get it! *Charges up his Volkite Caliver*

What do you think of these two guys? I'm happy with them so far, and I'll expand on their stories a little more later.

Glöckner seems a-ok, however my concerns for Rankar have been noted above. :)

[Dragonkin Arenis]

Thanks Oilsredan! Time to rip Rankar a new one!

 

Emperor's Throne, that sounds wrong on so many levels.

 

I'll be honest, I was thinking more of how difficult it is to crack open the reinforced ribcage of a Space Marine and how much more grisly it is to see organs flopping about as the tank rumbles forward. But you're right - flaying is the Night Lords' MO, and far more appropriate for the situation... That, and the trepanning :P