IA: The Shenandoah Knights (WIP)

[Sergeant Lowe]

The Shenandoah Knights

Devastator Marine of the 4th Company<br />


Origins

Still working on the rewrite for this section

The force that become known as the Shenandoah Knights chapter started out as one of the many Chapter Keeps of the Black Templars but due to a warp storm that erupted around the Victoris system in the latter half of the 41st millennium, this meant that they were cut off from the Imperium for nearly three centuries. When the storm hit, the Battle Barge 'Shenandoah' was in the system to collect a contingent of neophytes as the crusade it was part of had suffered heavy losses and was in dire need of an influx of new recruits to bolster it's numbers.

What emerged after the storm finally abated was a force that had grown in size to nearly 500 Space Marines and had developed it's own identity during the isolation. Marshall Waddell who had been leading the crusade now had a dilemma on his hands - did they re-join the Black Templars or did they go it alone.

He called a council of the ship's senior members to discuss the dilemma now facing them. The council went on for many hours and there was much discussion some of it quite heated at times, for there were those who believed they should return to the fold while there were others who believed that they should go it alone. Throughout the long hours of discussion, Waddell sat quietly, listening to the views put forward by the council members.

It wasn't until the discussions died down that Waddell finally stood to announce his decision, which was that they would remain autonomous from the Black Templars.

And thus the Shenandoah Knights were born.


Home World
The Shenandoah Knights claim the Victoris system in Segmentum Pacificus as their home and maintain chapter keeps, all of which bear the title of Knight's Keep, on the two inhabited planets in the system, these are Port Philip and Amazonia. Prior to the Shenandoah Knights claiming the system it had a proud military history and had provided many regiment for the Imperial Guard, some of which are still in active service.

Port Philip is a civilised world that borders on being a hive world (think something like Mega city 1 from Judge Dredd). The planet's surface is dotted with large cities that cover hundreds of kilometres. The planet has no central governing body instead each of the great cities governs itself and there is a constant struggle for resources between the cities and this has at times ignited into open warfare.

Amazonia is a Feral World, it is unclear of how this came about as many of the earlier Imperial records have it as being similar to it's neighbour Port Philip. However the planet's oral legends do include stories of great ball of fire that all but destroyed life on the planet and is called The Great Death. There are those Imperial historians who believe this is a reference to a meteor strike . The planet's inhabitants have been reduced to the level of nomadic hunters that now follow the great herds through the ruins of the old world which is what they call the time before The Great Death. There have been attempts the other planets in the system to bring the populace beyond this level but they are strongly resistant to this and the only technology they taken to with any type of acceptance is that of weaponry as this makes hunting easier. The planet has only eight permanent structures on the entire surface; these the seven Basilicas of Eternal Light which are the only outward representations of the Imperial church and Knight's Keep

Organisation
The Shenandoah Knights maintain many of the traditions of their parent chapter, one of which is that the chapter is still fleet based even though they claim a system as their own, if not a single world. Another is that the Grand Master of the chapter bears the title of Marshall; it is believed that this a show of respect to the position of High Marshall in the Black Templars and that there can one be one High Marshall. This belief has been reinforced at times when the two chapter have worked together, as they have always acceded battlefield command to the Black Templars

They follow many of the tenets set down in the Codex Astartes but break from it in a number of ways, the most obvious is in how they organise their companies. Rather than having four battle, four reserve, a veteran and scout company, the chapter instead has six battle companies and three veteran companies, these are broken up amongst the chapter's three squadron, which is what they call their fleets and each is named after the battle barge that is it's flagship. Each fleet is led by a Castellan who leads the fleet's veteran company and two company masters. The only fleet not led by a Castellan is the first which is led by the chapter' Marshall. It seems that the rank of Castellan is merely to show that they are of subordinate rank to the chapter's Marshall for they hold many of the same powers that he does, with the exception that they cannot call the chapter together to fight a crusade.

Another is that the chapter has no suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armour or Terminator armour to give it the more common name. The chapter's records show that the force that formed the nucleus of the Shenandoah Knights didn't posses any and the chapter was formed with them. But what was done out of necessity has now become Tradition.

Combat Doctrine

Due to being a fleet based chapter that seldom comes together in one place, each crusade has developed it's own idiosyncrasies but the one thing that is prevalent in all reports on the chapter is that they prefer ranged assault with a predilection towards massed bolter fire.

Recruitment
The ways that the Knights recruit on each planet varies

On Port Philip there are a set of games that are held every seven at Knight's Keep and each of the planet's city states enters a company of boys from academies. It is seen as a great honour to be chosen as a member of one these companies and an even bigger one to be accepted as a Knight. The games cover many aspect of combat but it is not always the winner who is chosen though but those who show the most promise to the Knight's Chaplains.

Whereas on Amazonia it is seen as more of a call and part of the challenge to being accepted is to survive the journey to Knight's Keep which is located in the planet's northern polar regions. Many of those aspire to becoming a member of the knights do not survive the journey

Beliefs
The people of Port Philip and Amazonia are strong believers of the Imperial Creed and as such they venerate the Emperor as the God of Man, this belief has also meant that they have a strong and close relationship the ecclesiarchy. But as you can imagine this belief has caused them to have a somewhat strained relationship with other Astartes chapters who do not share their beliefs.


Gene-Seed
The gene-seed of the Shenandoah Knights is that of the Imperial Fists and they share many of the same traits of that chapter. However there are rumours that the chapter is actually a successor of the Black Templars. The Shenandoah Knights have neither confirmed nor denied these rumours, but they are given some credence due to the fact that the chapter shares similar views on many thing as the Black Templars

Battle Cry
Still working on this part

Notable Member of the Shenandoah Knights

Marshall Waddell - Marshall Waddell is the chapter's current Grand Master, He is the second to hold the office in the chapter short history.

Marshall Bulloch - Marshall Bulloch was the Shenandoah Knight's first Grand Master and was killed in a warp accident upon the Battle Barge Sea King, which was the chapters flagship.

[NightrawenII]

Well...

- Red Scorpions

- See the Black Templars' entry in Octaguide 2.0.

- You are either fleet-based or planet-based, or are they like Marines Errant?

- They are not Codex Chapter.

 

Ahem, this is too... little. You should adopt some kind of theme - If you can describe your Chapter in one sentence then you are on good way.

 

 

~ NightrawenII

[Prefect Apollyon]

I mirror NightrawenII; Get a theme, put pen to paper (or in this case, fingers to keyboard), and see where it takes you. Crusading knights are a nice theme, done to death, but suits Astartes. You haven't given us much to go on

Maybe a Jihadist theme? Reclaiming lost territories lost to enemy crusaders? Maybe the garrison force left behind after a successful crusade, protecting worlds after they've been conquered and moving on once their defences have been established? I don't know, I'm throwing out verbal excrement right now.

What will they specialise doing? Will they, like BT's charge forward and engage in hand to hand combat? Will they be a Biker force that represents Knights? Will they be mechanised? One tip, make it slightly different to the BT's. Otherwise they'll become BT Mk.II with a different colour scheme (Boring).

If they have Crusader Squads, and their Reserves are the same as Battle Companies, they are anything but a Codex Chapter. And if this is the case, you've got to have a damn good reason for it (being a BT successor is a good reason, but any deviancy from them must be explained).

As I've found out, creating a DIY Chapter that is believable but also interesting is very tough and takes a lot of drafts. Keep at it and don't take any criticism here seriously. Everyone who posts here wants to help; some just don't realise when they're going overboard.

[Sergeant Lowe]

The point about them being codex is that they have all of the standard squads - Tac, Dev & Ass as a codex chapter would but that each company has 2 or 3 of the mentor squads, not sure on exact number yet but am leaning towards it being 2.

 

The idea behind the chapter is the wolves of the sea approach that the warships of the confederate states navy had, which I realise would lend itself more to a fleet based chapter but wanted the chapter to actually have a home world that has influenced them.

 

The idea for the reserve & battle companies stems from an idea that once a recruit has passed from the Mentor squads he will be put into a reserve company and that the battle companies draw from these squad so that they are always at full strength where as the reserves companies always seem to be at less than full strength.

[Prefect Apollyon]

Well that's a little bit more to work with.

 

Still Codex-divergent.

 

So definitely a Fleet-based chapter that recruits from a single planet. Nothing wrong with that (minus logistics). I'm going to hazard a guess you'll be using a lot of Ironclad Dreadnoughts and Drop Pods going with a Confederates navy theme?

 

You might as well stick with the standard template for Reserve Companies by the sound of it. The reason for the divergence makes no difference and is achieved just as effectively with Codex reserve Companies.

[Olis]

A suggestion; if you wish to have a fleet-based chapter yet still have a nominal homeworld, why not treat it like a favoured port? (Hell, you could even use 'port' in the name of the planet.) That way, you can still gather recruits from further afield but still behave like they've got a proper homeworld. ;)

[NightrawenII]

The point about them being codex is that they have all of the standard squads - Tac, Dev & Ass as a codex chapter would but that each company has 2 or 3 of the mentor squads, not sure on exact number yet but am leaning towards it being 2.

Wouldn't be easier to gather all the 'tutors' in one company, give them a 'student', form ad-hoc squad from them and sent these squads to support a battle company?

 

The idea for the reserve & battle companies stems from an idea that once a recruit has passed from the Mentor squads he will be put into a reserve company and that the battle companies draw from these squad so that they  are always at full strength where as the reserves companies always seem to be at less than full strength.

The idea of reserve companies is support and reinforce the battle companies. You could have normal reserves, nothing will change.

 

 

~ NightrawenII

[Sergeant Lowe]

I like the idea of the favoured world rather than a home world - have even thought about a name for it.

 

So here are my ideas after reading some of the suggestions put forward

- The concept behind them is that they are knights with a code of chivalry.

- they don't have Emperor's Champions.

- They are still BT successors

- due to the fact that they are fleet based and that the chapter is seldom all in the same place, each fleet has a contingent of Mentor (Crusader) squads.

- The chapter's companies has no reserve companies

- Chapter has 3 battle barges, each of which is the flagship of it's fleet. - names of the barges are Shenandoah (Chapter Master's vessel), Sea King and El Majidi.

- Founding has changed to the 26rd.

[Gorkimedes]

If they're fleet based and BT successors the chapter is probably pretty spread out. Maybe they use the world to host a feast of blades like meeting, a big event every so many years to bond these separated companies  together and recruit new members?

[Sergeant Lowe]

Have done a rough outline of the chapter

[Gripharius]

Not too much to C&C at this point, but a couple of thoughts. 

 

First, culture can be contagious.  If the majority of your recruits -- more importantly, the majority of your Chapter's leadership -- is from a single world with a dominant culture, it is likely that they may bring some portion of that culture with them.  This will usually manifest in smaller ways... naming conventions, pre-battle traditions, etc. 

 

Secondly, tradition, structure and the Codex are hard-wired into a Space Marine.  Major changes to Codex structure, such as collapsing 10 Companies into 3, generally don't just happen for the sake of convenience or simplicity. 

[Darrell]

Not a whole lot to critique at the moment, so I'll give you some general tips.

 

1. General ideas are good, but your Chapter will need a theme (or a few, related themes). Theme will be the glue that binds your other ideas together and gives them context. The Space Wolves have their viking/werewolf feel, Blood Angels have vampirism and The Flaw, Imperial Fists are stubborn to a fault, Dark Angels are a secret order of warrior monks, et cetera. Then they have smaller themes to support and give depth and finally general ideas. It's sort of like that experiment where you have to fit big rocks, small rocks, sand and water into a jar. You put the big rocks in first, which is your core theme and inspiration. Then you fill in gaps with supporting themes. The sand comes next, to finish a solid base; these are your Chapter beliefs, combat doctrines and important history. Finally, top it off with water. This will be things like historic battles, character names and backgrounds. "Minor" things that finish the Chapter off. Write ideas down as they come, because it is absolutely a good idea to keep notes even if it's not related to what you're working on at that moment. But, put them away and come back when the more important ideas are tackled.

 

2. Ask "Why?". Everyone has a reason to do what they do, and Astartes are no different. If your Chapter deviates from tradition, someone must have thought it was a good idea. Why did they do it, who agreed with them, what difficulties may have arisen, how has this affected the Chapter? Pretend you have a small child with you as you write, constantly asking "Why?" then asking "Why?" again when you explain it. Answering that question will take your Chapter out of a vacuum and place it into the grim darkness of the far future, where Astartes both affect, and are effected by, the universe around them. Even if your Chapter is absolutely Codex adherent and does everything according to Guilliman's vision, ask "Why?". Are they descended from Ultramarines? Is it a matter of practicality or tradition? What has made them so stoically adherent when others diverge to various degrees, even the Ultramarines themselves? Always be prepared to explain why your Chapter is the way it is written. Specific to your case, why would a successor of the Black Templars have no Emperor's Champion? Is it a temporary thing? Has it always been absent? Is it a lack of belief, or maybe they have received no visions? How does this affect their relations with the Black Templars? "Why" a fleet-based Chapter that has such an interest in a single world, "why" a consolidated Chapter structure? Why, why, why?

 

3. Writing a Chapter is not unlike writing a character. A Chapter has its own histories, its own traditions, its own personality. Characters within the Chapter will vary, of course, but you will have to create a solid foundation for them to vary from. Quirks and flaws make people interesting. They endear us to them, or make us hate them. You want to provoke a reaction from readers, even if it is "This guy is a complete jerk". Just as long as they want to read more. Strengths are important and make Chapters cool, but weaknesses give them life.

 

The Octaguide goes into much more detail and specific examples, and it's always a good idea to read it if you are new to writing Chapters or are stuck on an idea.

 

It's a difficult process, and everyone struggles differently. If you're like me, you'll hit a lot of stumbling blocks, dead ends and odd turns. You'll write down a lot of ideas and cross out most of them. Your Chapter might take on a life of its own, and you might find yourself heading in a completely different direction. But, when the hard work is mostly done (Your idea is never really finished), it is a uniquely empowering feeling to look at your article and say "I wrote that. That is mine."

 

Good luck, and enjoy the ride.

[Sergeant Lowe]

I have added in the chapters beliefs and gene-seed

[Prefect Apollyon]

You have enough here to write this up as a proper IA article.

 

It'll be easier to C&C if it has more structure too. The Organisation section needs to be explained; why don't they have Terminator armour? Why no squad markings? Why are the Companies organised differently? You can elaborate on these in an IA, so get on with it my dear Watson.

[Sergeant Lowe]

two reasons -

 

1. the crusade that was the force that formed the nucleus didn't have any
2. I'm not a big fan of Terminators

 

this is a technical question:

how do I change the tags, I have?

 

The main reason is that the founding has changed - They're now a 26th founding chapter.

[Prefect Apollyon]

Edit the first post. You can add tags there.

[Sergeant Lowe]

I have added in the chapter's home world.

 

I am currently trying to think of an emblem for the chapter - the two possibilities I am thinking of are that of the Back Templars one but in a different colour and the other is that of the double cross or maybe the triquetra.

[Sergeant Lowe]

finally added in the combat doctrine and have edited the homeworld entry a little.

[Sergeant Lowe]

I'm trying to expand on the Combat Doctrine section a little but can't work out how to do it.

 

What I'm thinking is a chapter that prefers ranged combat but are prone to incident where they will charge in to combat, sometimes at the worst possible time.

 

Basically the premise is that of the impetuous knight but this is chapter wide.

[Aegnor]

The Leeroy Jenkins?

[Messor]

A few things to consider:

Based on your current origins, they can't technically be a 26th founding Chapter. They can be the same comparative age since becoming an independent force, but they weren't founded. On that note, I won't (really can't) argue if they can just decide to be, but I think there's a lot more that could stand to be addressed in the origins section. What did the Black Templars have to say about this? Had they written the crusade off as destroyed after 300 years? And where did this Marshall stand when the crusade started? If he was leading it from the beginning, that makes him old. That's more an observation than anything. But the Black Templar stuff is important. Why didn't they (or weren't they able to) weigh in on the reappearance of 500 strapping marines? We already know that the Black Templars have no problem being over limit, so why would 500 extra marines be a dilemma? I'd also recommend using the word just once in that section so it doesn't sound redundant.

 

What passes for suspense/conflict in their origins now is "It took a while, but the Marshall decided to go independent." You can do a lot with that. Delve into some of the conflict. Was the crusade beyond just the leadership divided as to whether they should claim sovereignty? Were there risks or consequences?

 

Regarding their home system, I ask the same thing, why didn't the Black Templars care? Was it just not theirs to begin with (which suggest that the Shenandoah Knights saved it from something), or was it some kind of birthday present? I like the concept of Amazonia the most, though I think it could also use more development. Eight structures (the purpose of which remains unclear), ok. Possible nuclear apocalypse, ok. But there'll be some sign, one way or another, of the planet's history. Ruins, buried or consumed by the jungles? Legends or written histories about the remaining structures? And does any of this impact the Chapter? Without an impact on the Chapter, it feels like good flavor...without any food. That make any sense?

 

I hope you'll do a lot more development of the Beliefs section. Right now, it suggests that there are Knights who believe in the Imperial Creed. It's not unusual for worlds, even Astartes recruitment ones, to believe the creed. It's a different matter when the Marines themselves believe it, so if they do it could stand to be clearer. Most of what you have in the gene-seed section after "They're Black Templar descendants" would probably be better suited for the beliefs section.

 

I like your thought, as Aegnor so succinctly put it, of "Leroy Jenkins" sorts of attitudes. If you incorporate it as a point of interest, I'd recommend having it be a reflection of something in the culture of one of their recruiting worlds.

 

Finally, I remember when you started, you mentioned something about their inspiration. Was that Revolutionary or Civil War? Is that influence still present and would highlighting it make some of your choices clearer?

[Veteran Sergeant]

Follow tenets.  Not sure how to follow tents. Most of the ones I've put up didn't go anywhere.

 

What you've basically done is write the Gray Black Templars. Essentially, you're trying too hard to get where you want to go, and ultimately, it's not very 40K.  The Black Templars are already ridiculous cheaters who have about five or six times more dudes than they are supposed to. Why does this Crusade decide to jump ship from the Chapter? I mean, don't get me wrong. If the Black Templars don't play by the rules, then nobody can expect their own people to folow any. Given the decentralized tomfoolery of the Black Templars, they might not even notice those guys came back and are AWOL. "Those guys got lost in the Warp?  Bummer. Okay, crank out a new batch."

 

But why? Everything we know about Spess Mahreens says they're pretty proud of being Spess Mahrines. Usually if part of a Chapter goes rogue, it's because the main part went to Chaos, or something else, and screw those heretical jerks. A bunch of Black Templars just deciding not to be Black Templars anymore one day seems a bit odd. 

 

How did they just "claim" three planets? I mean, nobody might miss a feral world, but I feel like somebody would own a Forge World (hint: Mechanicus) and somebody might miss a Hive World.  Those people are going to wonder "Who are these dudes?"  While a Fleet Based Chapter might be able to roam around the galaxy saying "Hi, we're Space Marines" and nobody bothers to check their credentials ("Power armor? Check. Seven and a half feet tall? Check. I think these guys are legit."), if they just kinda show up and start squatting on a few planets claiming "Quiet Title" and changing the locks, somebody might start looking into things. Second, they might be kinda pissed.

 

Three veteran companies?

 

 

Ultimately, why isn't your Chapter just the Black Templars? That part won't make much sense. Like was suggested, there's nothing unique about the Black Templars. They don't hold some kind of copyright on crusading. If you want to be a crusading chapter, you could be any geneseed. The Chapter could just like crusading. All it takes to crusade is to start wandering around and murdering everyone you don't agree with. Most of the time, the DIYs that are a "One day we decided not to be what we used to be" don't really hold up to scrutiny. The Black Templars have a 10,000 year tradition. What's 300 years lost in the Warp compared to that? You could make your Chapter just a regular Chapter that decided to take up crusading. Maybe it's because they recruit heavily from a world that is fervent in it's faith and slowly but surely that proximity rubbed off on them. Maybe they just saw the light one day and decided they were on a mission from God (Emperor).

[Sergeant Lowe]

@ Messor - it is the American Civil War. North and South

@ Veteran Sergeant - thanks for noticing, now I know you read it. The reason for 3 Veteran companies is that each fleet has it's own, company also incorporates the Mentor squads. Plan to use Templar tactics in game, so automatically went for them but now them being Black Templars successors isn't so certain.

[Demus Ragnok]

@ Messor - it is the American Civil War. North and South

@ Veteran Sergeant - thanks for noticing, now I know you read it. The reason for 3 Veteran companies is that each fleet has it's own, company also incorporates the Mentor squads. Plan to use Templar tactics in game, so automatically went for them but now them being Black Templars successors isn't so certain.

You don't have make fluff that aligns with the chapter tactics you want to play. My DIY are Iron Hands successors and I'm using C:DA and C:BA.

[Veteran Sergeant]

@ Messor - it is the American Civil War. North and South

@ Veteran Sergeant - thanks for noticing, now I know you read it. The reason for 3 Veteran companies is that each fleet has it's own, company also incorporates the Mentor squads. Plan to use Templar tactics in game, so automatically went for them but now them being Black Templars successors isn't so certain.

You don't have make fluff that aligns with the chapter tactics you want to play. My DIY are Iron Hands successors and I'm using C:DA and C:BA.

This really needs to be added to the Octaguide, lol.

"The Chapter Tactics are arbitrary rules laid out 20 years after the inception of the First Founding Chapters. Do not feel limited in your writing by the ruleset you prefer to play with. The Mantis Warriors display no predilection towards riding motorcycles, nor do the Brazen Claws seem terribly interested in turning themselves into robots."