General DIY Discussion on Knight Houses and Freeblades

[Conn Eremon]

I'm putting this topic here because I'm specifically wanting to discuss what people's ideas are in incorporating Knight Houses into their DIYs, or creating DIY Knight Houses. A fluff discussion, not related to the mechanics or the models, and specific to DIYs.

 

At first, I was going to make this thread to see what the community thought of my ideas. While I will still use this thread as a soundboard for my own ideas, I figure the Liber might be better served having a broader discussion for everyone to get into. So while I will start it off with my own ideas, and welcome discussion and C&C on them, this thread's main purpose isn't my own DIYs. Instead, consider this a general discussion on Imperial Knights, as it pertains to our own DIYs, of any type. So share your own ideas, or thought processes, and so on.

 

Personally, I've always loved 40k Knights. Though they appeared and disappeared long before I joined the hobby, in my own way, when I discovered them I was hooked. Sadly, there was very little I could get my hands on that could give it relevant, current fluff. So I didn't have enough to conceivably make my own mark on them, and create my own DIY House, at least not by the standards I set myself. I still incorporated them into my primary DIY Chapter, the Emerald Tigers, as rescued saviors. Thanks to recent aid they received from the Emerald Tigers, they were willing to walk upon the Chapter's home world in defense against invaders. That's all I had for them. No names, no House, just "Knights were here, they were instrumental and . . . stuff."

 

With the new Codex released, I've got a lot of ideas going around in my head. Freaking love the new fluff they've put out for them, and I intend to make three different DIYs for each of the three main types of Knights. I think I will use the Freeblades for the Knights in the Emerald Tigers' lore. Since I want the attack, led by two traitor Warbands, to be something that truly and utterly devastates the Sector (think Black Crusade or Tyranid Hivefleet, just scaled down to specifically affect a few sub-sectors only), and since my original lore for them is that they received aid from the Chapter, I'm going to have their home world be attacked and destroyed. The Knight Houses of this as yet unnamed world are almost entirely destroyed, and those few survivors are only able to get away thanks to an assault led by the Chapter's . . . can't remember, but I think it was the First Captain/Acting Chapter Master. These Knights declare themselves Freeblades, and swear to die in battle against the traitors that killed their home.

 

I'm at a loss on what to do after the traitors are dealt with, though. Do I have these half dozen Knights die in the process? Do they go full Freeblade and leave the Sector in search of more enemies? Or, and though I saw no precedent for this in the Codex, this is my favorite option, do I have them settle and form a new House? It's certainly what the Chapter would urge them to do. But would you guys consider that lore-breaking? Like I said, there's no precedent for it in the Codex, it only talks about Freeblades swearing to fight until they die, but it also describes them as having oaths that could conceivably end in their favor, just that it hasn't happened yet. Like a Freeblade that swears to rid his world of invaders could do so, and what happens then? Is he still a Freeblade? What if he had a dozen suits with him, with the same oaths? Why couldn't they then form a new House around themselves, once the oaths that made the Freeblades have been fulfilled?

 

For the Imperial-aligned Knight Houses, I intend to use the Song of Ice and Fire (the name of the book series that the TV show Game of Thrones is based off of) roleplaying books. They've got some great rules on creating Houses for the setting, much like Fantasy Flight Games' Rites of Battle for Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes. These Houses, of one Knight World, will be aligned with the Imperium and have relations with my as yet unposted Chapter, the Sovereign Knights, who are also loosely based off of George R. R. Martin's setting. Don't have much for them, outside of the huge importance they place on politics (which is apparently just plain normal for Knights). One thing I noticed in the Codex was the political use they can put, in the example given, third-born sons to, by sending them to the Mechanicus for training. Since these Knight Houses will have ties with the Sovereign Knights, I'm thinking that maybe they send some of those sons that will not ascend to become Nobles to the Chapter. Most, and it's only a small number to begin with, become serfs that aid the Chapter in the mechanical and technological areas, but every now and then these boys may be selected as potential recruits to the Chapter. It's rare to see, barely ever more than a handful serving the Chapter in this way at a time, but there has been one instance in the history of the Chapter where a son of the Imperial Knights rose to become Chapter Master. Which probably made a lot of other sons of the Lion nervous.

 

The Martian-aligned one I have absolutely nothing on right now. I know they will be on the Fabricator General-sanctioned expeditionary force that the fleet-based Iron Hunters Chapter, also as yet unposted, is accompanying, but other than that, nothin'.

 

Anyway, like I said, I'm including my own ideas here to get a discussion started, but I also want to hear what other people are thinking about. Are you going to be incorporating some into your DIYs, or creating your own DIY Houses? What are your thoughts on the DIY aspects of the Knights? Maybe if we can get a nice, lengthy discussion going, visitors planning on making their own DIYs will find their jobs easier using this sort of like a guideline of do's and don't's.

[Olis]

I would be very interested in creating my own Knight House but, first and foremost in regards to Knights, I need to get the model and create a Freeblade. Considering my heavy leaning towards the Mechanicus at the moment, I would be inclined to involve them quite to quite a large degree in any fluff I dream up.

 

As for the DIY aspects of Knights - I think there's endless possibilities out there, much like for Space Marine Chapters. It's very much an exploration of character and perhaps the creation of, well, either is something everyone can stumble with before picking up and running with a good theme.  

[Rift Blade]

Very happy to see this thread. Hoping the discussion will help firm up my own ideas. I want to do a Knight house allied/aligned/part of the Space Wolves. They both value honour, both believe in combat deciding things & both will do what they feel is the right thing to do instead of what "should" be done. Seeing as I'm lucky enough to have a Knight world pretty close to Fenris, it will make my fluff a little easier I think. I also have to research through anything I can find on the old Adeptus Titanicus game from which the Knights are introduced game wise for any ideas. I'm also hoping that Forge World will do some things for the Knights seeing as the Codex mentions other patterns of Knights such as the Castellan, Crusader & the Lancer.

 

I'm leaning right now towards a lesser house that the Sons of Russ have saved their Hold in some way & feeling hounour bound to return the favour, much to the amusement/annoyance of the Sons of Russ. Say a single Knight or 2 considering themselves seconded to the Wolves till someone can perform a heroic enough deed to repay the Wolves.

[Samitte]

I will keep off getting a Knight untill such time they make the option for either a Castellan or Crusader which are said to be the more heavily armoured kind with more pewpew. But forming the fluff around it will be a time consuming process if my DIY Chapter is any indication so a thread like this sure is nice.

 

As to some of your own questions, without having read anything but the Lexicanum page on the topic. The idea of a Freeblade (or small band even?) ending up somewhere in the Milky Way with its mission complete could end up settling and forming their own House. Eventually they could seek ties with either faction or remain a Freeblade. Though I do think it would be hard to justify their operation if its more then 1 Knight, hence seeking ties.

 

Depending on and how many different variants we'll end up having I toyed with the idea of having either a Freeblade House that became Mechanicus aligned in the way discribed above, or a  band of Freeblades swearing allegiance to a Knight Lord (or sonething). Only thing thats certain is the name, House Babylon. And their ties to my Sons who are based on a Feudal world which would be an excellent place for the Knights by the way it is starting to take shape.

[The Acid Dog]

Having a displaced house of Knights who eventually settled on a new world was one of the ideas that I tossed around in the Freeblade stage. I don't remember where I read it (I may even be imagining things) but I could have sworn I read about a Knight becoming a Freeblade and later being accepted into another House once his oath was fulfilled.

Anyway, I don't consider your idea to be lore-breaking. In fact, the remnants of a house becoming Freeblades, fulfilling their oaths against all odds, and then once again taking up the heraldry of their old house and building a new home for themselves among old allies who stood by them sounds, well, pretty knightly. Another thing that comes to mind is the Oathsworn of House Hawkshroud who are essentially Freeblades, but once their oath is fulfilled they're permitted to return to their House, where they are received with great honor. Having them be "not-quite-Freeblades" might be just the kind of "fluff-shenanigans" you need to get away with your idea.

As for myself, I settled on a kind of Bretonnia in Space, with Knight detachments leading hordes of peasant-Guardsmen to war in glorious crusades. The result is House Desrosiers and I posted up a picture of the current head of the household, Comtesse Simone, here. I'm using a theme inspired by Couronne, Bretonnia in WHFB.

My current plan is to have the Comtesse, two Knights Errant of the same house who will be a sister/brother duo of enthusiastic "big game hunters" (and will be played in concert with each other, especially against LoW), and another Knight Paladin, themed after Mousillon, called, "Merciless, Last Loyal Scion of House (unnamed)." The idea is that the house fell to heresy, and this knight was the only one to resist temptation and take up arms against his former house. It was he who broke the siege of the house's fortress-city from the inside out, impossibly slaying every other remaining knight of the household before opening the gates to House Desrosiers. Now the knight only leaves the fortress to warn away trespassers, and more recently to silently offer service in House Desrosiers' crusades. Strangely, the knight has been reported to be in more places than one at the same time, and has been been reported as killed in action many times. In spite of this, he still serves the Emperor. He'll be the "Freeblade" among my Imperial Knights.

[Alkana]

I've had an idea for a Knight House since the rumors started flying. I had hoped to use one in my Chaos army, but you all know how that goes.

 

What I have so far:

House Bahaya was formed by Periclus, a noble from Terra who stowed away aboard a colony ship to avoid an arranged marriage. En route to the planet Noxos, he made allies with the Tech Priests aboard the vessel, informing them of his titles, but neglecting to mention the reason he was on the colony ship to begin with. By the time they had reached their destination, he had secured a position as a Noble worthy of leading a Knight House. Over the years, House Bahaya have hidden the secrets of Periclus and proven themselves to be amongst the most valorous and loyal Knights of their world. Though they fight for the planet's king, they keep away from political affairs as much as possible, preferring to settle any disputes through contests of skill. When psykers began emerging on the world near the beginning of the Age of Strife, the king put many of them in positions of power. Though other Houses on Noxos raged against the king's decision, House Bahaya instead shut the gates to their fortress, answering only to the requests of the king.

 

When the Age of Strife ended, and the Imperium found Noxos, the Emperor seized the multitude of psykers, nearly half of the planet's small population, and imprisoned them aboard his Black Ships to be shipped back to Terra. Noxos was destabilized as a result, since the royal family and most other high-ranking officials were comprised nearly entirely of psykers. A new king was appointed by the Emperor before he departed, but this new king did not have the sworn loyalty of the Knights. War broke out almost immediately after the Emperor had left the system. The king and other Imperial officials were put to the sword, and the Knights fought amongst themselves for supremacy. Eventually, one House established dominance and became the new rulers. As their tradition demanded, House Bahaya swore fealty, but the gates remained closed even during this time of peace. The long isolation of Old Night had made them paranoid and disconnected from the rest of their world. Noxos remains a part of the Imperium, but the constant abduction of psykers irks the populace, who are still told tales of the amazing Sorcerers that led the world's Golden Age.

 

Another psychic renaissance occurred in late M41, after the Black Ships fail to arrive for many centuries. House Bahaya is gifted more land and power to reward their long history of service to the crown. However, the Knights soon learn of the treachery behind the planet's sudden surge of power when an Imperial war-fleet arrives in retaliation for the king's destruction of the Black Ships sent to claim the planet's psykers. War rages across the world, and now House Bahaya must choose either to side with the Imperials, or to remain loyal to the king.

[Dolchiate Remembrancer]

Hey Cormac!

 

Thanks for this thread!

 

Can I ask though, what is Song of Fire and Ice? I have never heard of it and would like to have some material to try and build my Imperial Aligned Knight House.

[Rift Blade]

Ok. After some more thinking(actually--waking up at 3 in morning to go to the bloody bathroom)-came up with this. A Free Blade house of Knights being hidden by the Wolves from the Inquisition. Why? Cause they had the gall to survive the 2nd War of Armageddon when the Inquisition was sadly attempting to expunge any record of the Great Enemy's Incursion on Armagaddon. The House is fiercely loyal to the Wolves & fights for the Imperium but mistrusts almost all Imperial Institutions for the Inquisition's  attempted murder of the surviving Guard & other forces that fought on behalf of the Imperium on Armageddon. It's an honour thing that Knights will never forgive until they feel the great wrong done on Armageddon is righted.

[Aqui]

Hey Cormac!

Thanks for this thread!

Can I ask though, what is Song of Fire and Ice? I have never heard of it and would like to have some material to try and build my Imperial Aligned Knight House.

"A song of fire and ice" is a series of novels by George RR Martin which have formed the basis of the tv series "A Game of Thrones"

[Conn Eremon]

Sent a more detailed description about the book series, show and role-playing game to him as a message, to avoid derailing the thread.

 

@Rift Blade: There are one question that idea will need to answer in order for it to be more believable, at least for me.

 

Why would the Inquisition even want to do that to a Knight House? They aren't some Imperial Guard regiment that can be purged from existence, or a Space Marine Chapter that willingly expunges memories from its battle-brothers to avoid the spread of corruption. These Knight Houses are more rare, and, in my mind, to an Inqusitior's perspective, more rarefied. I would think the Knight Houses would have less to fear of such a thing happening than the Space Wolves themselves.

 

Though personally, I'd suggest a different battle as the origin than the Second War of Armageddon. The incidents surrounding the conclusion of that battle are very well known, and slipping the Knights in there is a bit lore-breaking by my sensibilities. However, creating a new incident could fix that. Another battle where the Inquisition was involved, wanted to purge the combatants of both sides, and where your Space Wolf Great Company stepped in.

[Rift Blade]

Valid argument Cormac. And I agree that a Knight House would seem to be to valuable a resource to waste that way but I was looking at from the point of view that a the Knights would not keep quiet about the Great Enemy, the Inquisition might deem it a necessary evil. Part of it was creating the background for that kind of grudge/honour thing for the Knight House.

 

By the way, like the background you came up with. looking forward to seeing more. 

[Alkana]

 

Cause they had the gall to survive the 2nd War of Armageddon when the

Inquisition was sadly attempting to expunge any record of the Great

Enemy's Incursion on Armagaddon

You're thinking of the 1st War, if you wanted the one with Angron and the Wolves. The 2nd and 3rd were Ork invasions by Thraka.

[Rift Blade]

I stand corrected. Thks.

[Sergeant Lowe]

Some of the ideas on here are quite interesting and I may pinch a couple for my own house.

 

Also would it be considered lore-breaking if the knight world had connection to a space marine chapter in the form of there being a chapter keep on the world.

 

My thinking behind this is that my chapter's home world is in the same system as the house's and that they have developed a close relationship even to the point that the chapter has a keep upon the knight's planet.

[Plague Angel]

As someone who doesn't have the Codex, and isn't necessarily planning on getting it any time soon (though I might be tempted if all the hype dies down and they still seem just as cool to me as they do now, just trying to avoid impulse buying) --

 

I know, inevitably, I'm going to see a Knight or two painted to match someone's Chapter, and I know I've seen posts here suggesting people are planning to come up with schemes that are at least close. What do you all think the actual feasibility is of a very intimate relationship between a Knight House and a Chapter? Could it even be something as close as the Chapter using the House world for recruitment? Or maybe just a semi-permanent alliance?

 

Or is that more the realm of Freeblades, deciding to stick with the Astartes for reasons of their own?

[Conn Eremon]

GuardsmanLowe, I could see such a keep having the purpose of a diplomatic embassy. A very, very small presence, perhaps even only occasionally present, that serves to maintain close ties.

 

Plague Angel, Knight Houses are as fiercely independent and proudful of their heritage as Space Marine Chapters are. And most are far older than even the nine of the First Founding. So to me, I can't think of a good reason why a House would adopt the colors of a Chapter. Any more than I could see a Chapter adopt the colors of a Knight House.

 

That doesn't mean they can't be painted the same colors though. If the colors are simply liked well enough that someone wants to Painter more than just their Marines with that scheme, go for it. There needn't be a fluff rationalization. The two needn't be connected in some way. They just happen to have the same colors.

 

As for the intimacies of a relationship between Chapter and House, that is something that would vary wildly I'm sure. But however someone envisions it, I would suggest they remember what I said above. If you couldn't see a Chapter doing it, then neither would a Knight House.

 

And would a Chapter provide manpower to another group for the sake of shared oaths and alliance? Yes, we have examples. The Space Wolves provide a Wolfblade detachment to a Navigator House, that House provides Navigators. The Ultramarines' Honour Company at Cadia.

 

So, I think a Knight would too. They already do with the Mechanicum, exchanging lesser sons that eventually return as mechanics. So, I am entertaining the idea of a Chapter who has shared oaths with a Knight World to accept recruits in a similar manner. Lesser sons are sent to the Chapter, though far from a steady flow, where they serve as serfs who care for Chapter equipment. And, rarely, if deemed appropriate, to ascend as a Marine of the Chapter.

 

The Emerald Tigers are going to have a strong relationship too. Freeblades who lose their home world will be offered a place on a world the Chapter has an alliance with. More a Hive World than a Forge World, it nonetheless provides for the Chapter in all the necessary ways. The Knights have a new home that matches their needs, and the Chapter gets a strong guardian to watch over their forges. Not to mention all of the ways the Mechanicum will now be willing to upgrade this world, when they become aware of its heightened importance, to their way of thinking.

[Grotsmasha]

I will be starting with a Freeblade based on a 40K-ified version of my favourite childhood comic book hero. I have a rough draft in my head, I just need to put it to paper to see if it works well enough. Then, eventually, I'll be doing a 30K house to fight alongside my HH Era Dark Angels.

 

Cheers,

Jono

[Rift Blade]

Well, there is always the three way relationship between the Iron Hands, the Mechanicus & a Knight House. All 3 have something in common to lesser or greater degree.

[Conn Eremon]

Bit of a thread necromancy, I thought I'd bump this back up since I've gotten around to expanding on the lore of my own DIY House, and I thought I'd see if anyone else had done something interesting with a Knight House.

 

At some point after my last post here, I started noticing a lot of people utilizing the (real or imagined) histories of their own ancestry as the basis of their Knight House. Basically, imagining if their family had lived on into the far future as one of these knightly dynasties. It seemed like a cool idea, and I ran with it myself.

 

Sadly, my family name is Welsh, and essentially means that my ancestors lived next to a source of water when the name stuck and continued down the line regardless of occupation or location. Simply having the same last name as me doesn't mean there is any familial connection between us at any point down our family tree. Like the Smith name.

 

But my connection to this name is through my great-grandfather, who was adopted into it. Checking out my grandfather's notes on exploring his pop's true parentage, I decided to use the family name he had been born into, which is McClure. Exploring it, I found a Scottish Clan of that name, sept to the McLeod Clan. I probably have no connection to this clan of Highlanders, but it would very easily suit my purpose.

 

So my Knight World will have a 'royal' family based upon the McLeod's, and have multiple nobility lines connected to the McLeod's sept clans, notably the McClures. But I also like to insert something I like from outside of 40k into my DIYs. The Emerald Tigers, for instance, are a combination of my love of Irish history, tigers and a particular shade of green. The Imperial Dragons are born from my love of a particular moment in Chinese history, the Three Kingdoms era, an interest I've had since reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms and playing the Dynasty Warriors games. For my Knight Houses, I decided to go with Raymond E. Feist's Riftwar Cycle series. A Song of Ice and Fire will be more reserved for my Knights Sovereign Chapter, though I do intend for there to be a connection still. I also love the Highlander movies, so they are an obvious and automatic addition.

 

So this is what I got: 

The planet's name is Dalriada, and it is ruled by scions of the House conLod, the royal family of Dalriada. Lesser families of varying importance are the Miklurs, the Mikuaigs, the Mikrimmons and Mikrailds, among others. The Knights of this world are ancient, revered things. But they are also poorly understood in these later ages. Well-kept and tended to, but not without quirks. Prominent among them being the power of the amalgam-spirits at their cores. Every pilot of a Knight, no matter the world, must battle their armor's soul for dominance, but battles of this sort fought in Dalriadan engines are harder than most. It is very easy for the souls to take command of the human within, which has caused no small amount of trouble for Dalriada. But it has bred a nobility noted for its strength of will and fortitude, for such are needed to survive and continue the familial lines. None prove this more than Donagh conLod and Conchur Miklur. These warriors lived ages ago, in separate times, living and dying as legends even then. But the souls of these warriors lived on, as all pilots do, in the hearts of their engines. But where others become fragments of a whole, the wills of Donagh and Conchur dominated even in death. The souls that inhabited these Knight-chassis before and after are swallowed by these powerful identities, and even the living pilots quickly begin to exhibit their traits and thoughts. And so Donagh conLod, Hero of the First Gateswar, and Conchur Miklur, Ravenson of the Saviour King, are, effectively, immortal.

 

The influence of the Riftwar Cycle, besides the appropriation of 'con' from its conDoins, will reveal itself in these Knights' most sworn enemy, the Eldar. The Knights will be in open conflict on multiple occasions with the Eldar, fighting upon worlds that their Webway Gates open up onto, hence the 'First Gateswar' above. Interestingly enough, Feist's setting has elvish races very similar to the Eldar, Dark Eldar and Exodus Eldar of 40k, though Feist's setting has even more. The ones that are most 'Eldar' like are even called the Eldar, though both originate in the 80's and likely got their origin from the same source, Tolkein, rather than one from the other. However, I don't intend to link Feist's elves with 40k's, I just want to appropriate the repetitive wars Feist's setting suffers against multiple worlds through rifts, portals or gates that link them, and it was either Eldar Webway Gates or rifts into the Warp. The former attracts me more for the Knights.

 

But anywho, that's just a slight summary of what I currently have for my Knight House(s), and of course some C&C is welcome. When I'm more satisfied with it, I'll write something up, probably using the existing House articles in the codex as a base, and post it as a separate thread. I just wanted to add some meat to this post, provide some examples of how I'm going about things, and see what everyone else is up to.