Index Astartes : Carrion Lords

[Ratboy1664]

'Dolce et Audacia' By stealth and daring - motto of the Carrion Lords

ORIGINS:

The Carrion Lords were founded in 738.M41 as part of the 26th founding. The reason for their creation was the advance of Waaagh! Garaghak, which at the time was threatening the whole of the Forsarr sector in the Segmentum Tempestus. Worried about the increasing strength of the Waaagh! the Segmentum commander desperately petitioned the high lords of Terra to form a new chapter to help re-take the sector.

The Raven Guard offered to train the new chapter on the condition of the chapter being created using Raven Guard gene-seed, insisting that only their shared genetic blood should be shed in defence of the sector of their chapter's home world. The Carrion Lords were born.

HOME WORLD:

The Carrion Lords have no home world and are instead a fleet based chapter, due to the mobile nature of their role and the current instability of the sector. The fleet itself consists of numerous strike cruisers which are crewed mainly by chapter serfs with usually only a single company of marines and their equipment on board. These fast, agile ships have a full complement of thunderhawk gunships and can deploy the entire company within twenty minutes of arriving in-system. Due to their close links with the Raven Guard and the use of the same forges on Kiavahr, the Carrion Lords are lucky enough to also have the secret reflex shield stealth technology of their parent chapter incorporated into their strike cruisers.

COMBAT DOCTRINE:

Recon and guerrilla warfare specialists. The Carrion Lords know that the orks are too numerous to be taken on in a frontal assault, that is a job for the Imperial Guard, but they do launch raids to intercept and destroy any smaller ork warbands moving into the sector to link up with Waaagh! Garaghak. Other common operations are raids on prominent ork personnel and positions. The chapter operates in small numbers, often behind enemy lines for prolongued periods at a time and as such company commanders have a large scope for independent actions.

ORGANISATION:

Being a fleet based chapter that is spread out across an entire sector the Carrion Lords are forced to recruit wherever and whenever they can, which over the years has seen the chapter reduced to five full battle companies as they cannot replace battle casualties quickly enough.

The chapter differs from the codex in that each company is organised as follows to allow for the greatest tactical flexibility.

1st squad: 10 x vanguard veteran assault marines
2nd squad: 10 x tactical marines
3rd squad: 10 x tactical marines
4th squad: 10 x tactical marines
5th squad: 10 x tactical marines
6th squad: 10 x assault marines
7th squad: 10 x assault marines
8th squad: 10 x devastator marines
9th squad: 10 x devastator marines
10th squad: 10 x scouts

Each squad is led by a sergeant and each company is led by a captain. This organisation only applies when a company is not at war for training and re-supply purposes. It also provides the structure for promotion within the company, with marines being promoted up through the squads until the veteran elites form the vanguard. During operations the company captain will select his strike teams from any of the marines available as he sees necessary to complete the mission. When on operations the marines will not display any rank, company or squad insignia to deny intelligence of chapter disposition to the enemy.

The chapter does not possess any suits of terminator, centurion or dreadnaught armour, and the majority of vehicles used by the chapter are rhinos, land speeder storms and stormravens. Each team leader is allowed to equip his team as he sees fit to achieve their mission from the chapters armouries, but the armouries themselves are quite limited in choice of weapons to reduce the numbers of different types of ammunition required and thus prolonging operational status by reducing the need for re-supply.

Current chapter dispositions:

1st company: Status active. On board strike cruiser Lelantos, engaged with Speedlord Vagracka's Blitzboys around the captured hive world of Forsarr. Commanded by captain Blair Mayne. Fighting capability 83%.

2nd company: Status inactive. Wiped out when the strike cruiser Holler was destroyed by the ork space hulk 'Da Iron Ork' re-materializing from the warp next to it during the evacuation of Thoria III. Captain: awaiting appointment. Strike cruiser: under construction at naval base of Bakka. Fighting capability 0%.

3rd company: Status active. On board strike cruiser Summanus, engaged with Gursk's Snakebite Braves around the ork infested feral world of Ogrolla. Commanded by captain Pietro Billiere. Fighting capability 78%.

4th company: Status inactive.

5th company: Status inactive. Currently refurbishing on hive world Praetoria after prolonged combat on Magdelene IX. Strike cruiser Modi 64% operational. Commanded by captain Matteo Robathan. Fighting capability 29%.

6th company: Status inactive. Currently recruiting and training on feudal world of Solstice. Strike cruiser Skadi 96% operational. Commanded by captain Cristiano Grylls. Fighting capacity 18%.

7th company: Status active. On board strike cruiser Libitina, engaged with Big Mek Buzgob around the occupied industrial world of Kastorel IX. Commanded by captain Rafi Fiennes. Fighting capability 67%.

8th company: Status active. On board strike cruiser Oscines, engaged with Blackfingas Death Skulz around the paradise world of Viridios Prime. Commanded by captain Joique Denaro. Fighting capability 89%.

9th company: Status inactive.

10th company: Status active. On board strike cruiser Alites, engaged with Nazgrads Killa Konvoy around the ork held forge world of Minos V. Commanded by captain Loris Westmacott. Fighting capability 77%.


BELIEFS:

The Carrion Lords believe that the Emperor is humanities saviour, a psychic being of incredible power but not a god. As servants of the Emperor (and not the imperium) they therefore see themselves as servants of humanity. They respect human life.

GENE-SEED:

Raven Guard. No mucranoid gland or betchers gland.

BATTLE CRY:

None, the chapter motto is 'Dolo et Audacia' or By Stealth and Daring.

 

CAPTAIN MAYNE:

 

Currently active on the now lost hive world of Forsarr, Captain Mayne participates in many night raids deep behind enemy lines in the industrial wastelands of what were Gelix and Tornil hives, where his 1st company wreak havoc by destroying many enemy aircraft of Speedlord Vagracka’s Blitzboys clan. Captain Mayne has pioneered the use of stripped down rhino APC’s to conduct surprise hit-and-run raids, particularly on enemy airfields. It is claimed that he has personally destroyed up to 100 Blitza-Bommers. His first successful raid was at Gelix spaceport where the orbital loaders were sabotaged and Speedlord Vagracka’s personal Killa Kroozer in low orbit was destroyed.
Captain Maynes greatest success so far is to keep the huge army of Speedlord Vagracka trapped on Forsarr, denying their close support aircraft from future invasions on Imperial worlds. Speedlord Vagracka is so incensed with Captain Maynes consistent harassment of his forces that he has promised a brand new Blitza-Bommer (a red ‘un) and a sack of teef to the Ork who brings him Maynes head.
The supreme confidence that Captain Mayne inspires as a leader stands out. There is abundant evidence of the affection and respect in which he is held. But it is his unique ability to convince men, caught in the tightest grip of battle, that all will be well, which shines through. Tough, hardened soldiers, officers and NCOs, have quite independently used the same word: 'No matter how black things looked, once Captain Mayne appeared, it was ‘victory’.' Some have referred to his ability as being that of soldierly genius.

[sitnam]

I like it so far, but it can use some work:

 

1. Where are the other five companies?  Are they deployed piecemeal to other warzones?

2. I'd rethink the bit limiting them to power armor and Rhinos. I understand wanting to stick to theme, but it not only limits their chances against major threats. Also, whilst the likes of Terminators and Land Raiders aren't exactly great for a guerilla force, Land Speeders, Storm Eagles, and Storm Talons are.

3. I was going to comment on the paint scheme but it didn't look to bad in your example mini. It does fit the theme well, and is a whole lot more practical then garish Imperial Fist yellow. Some could argue though it is a lazy scheme.

[Dosjetka]

I find it strange that a successor of the Raven Guard would let their numbers fall so low. The Raven Guard themselves are masters of stealth and sudden strikes mixed with millennium-old pragmatism which usually minimises losses, even during long campaigns. If the Carrion Lords are so close to their parent Chapter, how come they have not adopted a similar mentality?

 

Oh, and the Raven Guard are not known as the XIXth Legio any more, so I'd remove that from your text.

 

Also, why the different organisation? The usual Codex layout is tried and tested, and even kept by the Raven Guard who basically do the same thing as your Carrion Lords, so why would it need to be changed? And why would the Chapter not have any vehicles except for Rhinos? Again, the Raven Guard may have less vehicles than other Chapters due to their combat doctrine, but they still have them in sufficient quantities to be able to deploy them if a situation requiring them arises. Remember, Space Marine Chapters are above all flexible fighting bodies, despite their various (and sometimes extreme) specialisations. I do not believe that such a young Chapter would allow themselves to differentiate from the regular and millennium-old pattern that has been used by countless Chapters since the Second Founding.

 

The rest is pretty good, though lacks flavour. What makes the Carrion Lords tick? What's the motivation behind their actions? In essence, why do they fight? Is it for the Emperor or is it more for their own glory, under the cover of fighting for Mankind's master?

 

Hopefully this will help you develop your Chapter a bit more, answer some unanswered questions and give the whole thing a bit more "meat on the bone".

[Ratboy1664]

Gents, thank you for your comments, I hadn't thought about the other companies but I will now! Also I agree that just rhinos is a bit too odd and I will sort that out when I research what these new fangled flyer things actually can and can't do. Hopefully some of the other points will be covered as I flesh out the fluff (fluff out the flesh?) and I think it is going to be important for me to highlight the differences between the Carrion Lords and the Raven Guard going forward. Much love

[Lord-Captain Cepinari]

Two things.

 

First, "Carrion Lords" sounds more Chaos than Imperial, at least to me anyway.  Very Nurglish.

 

Second, a color scheme that can use the same photo for the "before" and "after" pics is a bad color scheme.

[Ratboy1664]

Okay I have edited my IA to change some glaring flaws, again thanks for constructive C+C it is invaluable. I think that the next thing I should do is provide a campaign report for one of the inactive companies to add some flavour. This will take a while methinks as writing comes as naturally to me as rugby does to fish. Much love

[Ratboy1664]

An attempt at a short story.

 

After action report of Brother Camilo, 3rd company, team 2-5.

 

Team 2-5 consisted of Sergeant Greville as team leader, Brother Farran as assistant team leader and Brothers Takavesi, Frye, Leppelman and myself. Our mission was to insert tactically by two land speeder storms, locate the Ork Warboss Gursk, who according to intelligence was in the area and was guarded by a group of his elite Ork Nobz, called his Snakebite Braves, eliminate him and extract ourselves from the area as quickly as possible.

 

We departed our forward staging post at last light and flew for forty two minutes over uninhabited areas and jungle until we reached landing zone Echo Alpha that Sergeant Greville and Brother Farran had picked out on an observation flight the previous day. Once the LZ was sighted the speeders banked sharply and came in at almost full speed. At three feet off the ground we jumped, and in an instant the land speeders were gone. The LZ was an open area on top of a steep mountain, covered with grass about three to four feet high and the tree line starting thirty meters to the south. To the north was a straight drop-off. The only direction an enemy attack could come from was the south and that was the only way we could go. We sprinted to the wood line and set up a defensive perimeter whilst Sergeant Greville established comms with Captain Pietro Billiere. After waiting twelve minutes without moving we heard several shots to the south. Sergeant Greville notified the Captain that we definitely had Orks in our area of operations and that we had heard several shots below us. The team waited another twenty one minutes and heard more shots down below. We decided to investigate.

 

As we moved through the woods Sergeant Greville was on point with Brother Frye walking his slack. Brother Leppelman was third, then myself, Brother Takavesi and Brother Farran provided rear security. We moved down the steep mountain very slowly, being sure to not make any noise and it took three hours and fourteen minutes for us to manoeuvre down the mountain in triple canopy jungle. Below us wood was being chopped and we could smell the smoke from fires. We moved out to the source of the noise.  After three hundred meters Sergeant Greville froze and barked 'Orks!' over the net and we all stopped. Ten Orks moved from our left to our right, not five meters from where Sergeant Greville was. They never spotted us and continued on their way. At this point we knew we were in the middle of an Ork base camp and proceeded with even more caution, but at least we knew our intel was good. Several of the Orks carried axes and the others had some form of home-made bolter that looked new. Within ten minutes three more small groups passed us.

[Ratboy1664]

I am in the process of adding a short story to give my chapter some colour (post no 7) but I have never written anything before so I would appreciate some advice. From my time in the military I know that there is almost a second language that people use to differentiate themselves from civvies with. I get a little bit of a sense of this with the HH books but have I gone too far? I think a small group of soldiers isolated for long periods of time from the Imperial machine would quickly adopt slang into their vocabulary as part of the brotherhood forged from shared suffering. However space marines are not human, they are trans human so do you think this would still happen? C+C most welcome.

[NightrawenII]

I am in the process of adding a short story to give my chapter some colour (post no 7) but I have never written anything before so I would appreciate some advice. From my time in the military I know that there is almost a second language that people use to differentiate themselves from civvies with. I get a little bit of a sense of this with the HH books but have I gone too far? I think a small group of soldiers isolated for long periods of time from the Imperial machine would quickly adopt slang into their vocabulary as part of the brotherhood forged from shared suffering. However space marines are not human, they are trans human so do you think this would still happen? C+C most welcome.

The Space Wolves use gothic only when they talk to outsiders, otherwise they speak fenrisian.(source: Lone Wolves) That being said, you are writing Index Astartes, not compendium of short stories.

 

ORIGINS

The Carrion Lords were founded in 738.M41 as part of the 26th founding. The reason for their creation was the advance of Waaagh! Garaghak, which at the time was threatening the whole of the Forsarr sector in the Segmentum Tempestus. Worried about the increasing strength of the Waaagh! the Segmentum commander desperately petitioned the high lords of Terra to form a new chapter to help re-take the sector.

- Nay, the Waaagh! Garaghak was officially designated as Waaagh! in 999.M41; long after the 26th Founding. (And the Imperium's responce was typical one; sending the existing Chapters to deal with it.)

 

ORGANISATION

When on operations the marines will not display any rank, company or squad insignia to deny intelligence of chapter disposition to the enemy.

- Orks don't care. Also, very few people in W40k-verse know the organisation of the SM Chapter.

 

BELIEFS

The Carrion Lords believe that the Emperor is humanities saviour, a psychic being of incredible power but not a god. As servants of the Emperor (and not the imperium) they therefore see themselves as servants of humanity. They respect human life.

- Why?

 

______________________________

Okey, as it stands now, the premise for the Chapter doesn't work and the rest is... bland.

IF you want to create a interesting Chapter, think first of theme/concept. Not military doctrine, if possible; space marines are warriors and fighting is what they do by default. It's always more interesting to see why they fight rather than how they fight.

 

 

~ NightrawenII