Shadow Wardens WIP

[Tiberius Cato]

Hail brothers!

I thought I would get an IA going to compile my thoughts, and the information graciously given to me by a few of you already. Thus far this is all I have, and suggestion on additions and criticism or welcome!

Shadow Wardens

Founding: 9th Founding, 530.M34

Progenitor Legion: Raven Guard

Known Descendents: None

Homeworld: Anaria

Allegiance: Loyal

Brother Aldarion, 3rd Company, 1st Tactical Squad

[clearfloat][/clearfloat]

Origins of the Shadow Wardens

The Shadow Wardens were created in the 9th Founding to counter the Eldar threat in the Valaris Sector in the north of the Segmentum Tempestus. After driving the Eldar from the region they were designated to be a standing force to guard against any future incursion by the Eldar. In 960.M39 the chapter homeworld, Anaria, had been attacked by an Ork Waaagh emerging from a space hulk. The Orks had managed to invade other planets nearby to Anaria and remain a threat to the chapter to this day.

Organization

The Shadow Wardens are largely Codex compliant, however they forego the use of certain heavy weapons, and devastator squads. The main reason stemming from the population the chapter recruits from. They believe weapons like missile launchers and Plasma cannons generate too much noise and make it difficult to move through cover and remain hidden. Instead, they have a variation of a scout squad which is called a stalker squad. It function like scout squads do, but it is the first instance in where the marine is equipped in full power armour.

Homeworld

The Shadow Wardens' homeworld is named Anaria. The world is covered by many large forest, wide plains and plateaus near the planet's two oceans. The population of Anaria are extremely reverent of nature and the wilderness that surrounds them. Whenever the must clear trees to construct new buildings they perform rituals to show thankfulness to the spirits who provide them with the trees they are harvesting. Hunting is also very ritualised amongst the Anarian population. As with the clearing of land, whenever an animal is killed thanks is given to nature spirits who have provided the animals for the people to hunt and eat. It is this hunting based society that founds the chapter's combat doctrine.

Combat Doctrine

Already being well versed in stealth and quiet movements, the chapter's main tactics are to use guerilla warfare. They strike from the shadows catching enemies off guard and use long range sniper fire to provide support fire when they need to advance. When necessary the chapter takes to bikes and assaults enemies with hit-and-run tactics, rushing into enemy formations, getting a few hits or rounds off, and retreating to regroup and make another assault.

Geneseed

The Shadow Warden's hail from the Raven Guards. Their geneseed has undergone a few mutations however. As the battle-brother ages his eye colour and hair colour will turn various shades of grey, white or black. Also, the more slender features of the Anarian recruits remain evident in the Astartes, making them a bit more graceful and handsome than their bother chapters.

Beliefs

The Shadow Wardens venerate the Emperor as the God of the Hunt. They believe that he has selected them to be his chosen hunters to hunt the most exotic of game, the enemies of man. As such, they collect many trophies from fallen enemies, ranging from skulls and assorted limbs, to the weapons and armour of the enemy. Many of the trophies are displayed in the fortress- monastery of the Shadow Wardens to display their prowess of hunting the various xenos species.

Misc.

The chapter is greatly under strength, possesing only 400 battle brothers. Due to the geneseed being rejected by many of the recruits bodies and a large number of brothers being lost to the Deathwatch. Initially the chapter was more than happy to send many brothers to service with the Ordo Xenos, but in recent times the relationship between the two has become strained. In the past century, 73 marines have left the service of their chapter and elected to remain with the Deathwatch as black shields. As such, the chapter believes that within the hypno-indoctrination of Shadow Warden's being seconded to the Deathwatch that they are being made to desire a permanent position with the Ordo Xenos. The chapter withholds it's geneseed from the Imperium because they believe they are not working for the Emperor and see that there is roots of heresy in many organisations.

[Harlan Skorus]

The Shadow Wardens were created in the 9th Founding to counter the Eldar threat in the Segmentum Tempestus. After driving the Eldar from the region

 

Could probably do with some explaining - it kinda sounds like you're saying they drove the Elder entirely from the Segmentum Tempestus. The Segmentum Tempestus is a big place. :P Maybe they cleared a certain system/sub-sector/sector? Maybe a certain craftworld?

 

 

they perform rituals to show thankfulness to the spirits who provide them with the trees they are harvesting

 

 

I am fuzzy on the specifics of it, but that sounds a wee bit like heresy. At the very least I would think this is likely to cause friction between planet/Chapter and the Imperial Cult/Ecclesiarchy, which is something you might wish to draw upon when fleshing out said Chapter - might want someone more versed than myself to confirm the specifics of how this would be treated/seen, though.

 

Also, the more slender features of the Anarian recruits remain evident in the Astartes, making them a bit more graceful and handsome than their bother chapters.

 

As a suggestion, the Ossmodula controls bone growth in the Space Marines. Marines are generally modified to be tough and rugged and built like walls, so this might provide a in-universe reason for them retaining slender features?

 

That's all I have for now - an interesting start, curious to see how this will develop.

[Aegnor]

Agree re a segmentum being too large an area. Make up a sector within the segmentum.

 

The nature worship would be fine with the Ecclesiarchy so long as the Emperor was prominently in there. Maybe they revere him as a god of hunting, and see the Wardens as his chosen hunters. Worship of the Emperor is extremely varied and often grafted into existing world religions.

 

So long as the tithes are paid and the Emperor is given due prominence, lots of variation can fly under the radar.

[Conn Eremon]

Regarding the "heretical" beliefs:

 

Space Marine Chapters are powerful bodies within the Imperium, however they are not all created equal. There are also those, particularly of the Inquisition and Ecclesiarchy, whose far greater political power equates to having more military power than most Space Marine Chapters.

 

The most prominent Chapters, such as the First Founding and other ancient, revered Chapters, are strong enough to weather any storm other Imperial factions might unleash. The Dark Angels and Space Wolves prove that.

 

But they are the rare breed. They are the exception, not the rule. The Sons of Malice did the same thing that the Space Wolves have done, but they were declared traitors and excommunicated. And they did worship the Emperor in ways that would have otherwise been considered an acceptable deviance.

 

Quite simply, your DIY, really every DIY, should fall far more onto the Sons of Malice side of the spectrum of power than the Space Wolves side. Meaning that members of other Imperial organizations have the potential of breaking your Chapter. But that doesn't mean they do or will, it is your DIY after all.

 

What I would recommend is to let this show in your DIY. If they have beliefs that run counter to accepted ideologies, then show in the article how this causes problems. Either the Chapter doesn't hide anything, and there is friction between them and other Imperial groups, or they do hide it, and the friction is internal, brothers chafing at having to treat their beliefs as something shameful. Or however you want to play around with it.

[Tiberius Cato]

I really like that idea of the Emperor being the God of the Hunt and the Wardens his chosen hunters. I'll have to use that :)

[Aegnor]

Cormac - there can be a big difference between the superstitious beliefs of natives, which can be very basic indeed, and what the chapter itself believes, which will usually be a bit more orthodox, albeit retaining some of the flavour. Example is the Space Wolves.

[Tiberius Cato]

So I was thinking of having the natives worship the Astartes as hunters who have been elevated to demigod status for their skill and wisdom and the Emperor being the God of the Hunt, who sends his chosen to hunt the most exotic game which are the enemies of man. I think this woould be great because their fortress-monastary could be filled with all manners of trophies, like a warboss' head, a carnifex's claw, or the helmets of Eldar Dire Avengers!

[Conn Eremon]

Aegnor: I agree with the point I think you are making. I wasn't trying to tell ArcticPaladin that "this is what I see of your DIY, so acknowledge it," but more "Since the topic came up, here is some general informatiom you might want to consider if you feel it is applicable."

 

ArcticPaladin, are you by chance familiar with the Erl King? It is an old elf legend, Germanic I believe, that could tie in very, very well with this new hunter theme. In truth, these elves are more akin to Tolkien's goblins, but it could merge very easily to flesh the Chapter out and make it more varied and fresh.

[Tiberius Cato]

I have not heard of it but I will have to check it out when I return from the store, I got super excited and am about to run out and pick up a tactical squad to paint! :D 

[Conn Eremon]

Having read the Wikipedia page for the Erlking, it seems that the popular image I have of this figure, which I always knew was likely "off" being a character in an urban fantasy series, is more based off of Herne the Hunter.

 

But still, both seem like appropriate sources if you're looking for additional themes. I'd recommend it, as using a single theme has some pitfalls, and can lead to two dimensional, over-themed results. Not always, but it happens.

 

Aegnor: I was thinking on this a bit more, and I felt that a distinction might be made. While the point you made was accurate, and while the difference might be plain to see for us, the readers, and in-universe the Space Marines and their recruitment pool, to someone in-universe but outside  the Chapter/Recruitment Pool, it might not be a noticeable one, or it might not matter at all. All it takes is for one influential, powerful Imperial to take a look at some practices that he or she could feel are heretical in nature for some strings to be pulled and the Chapter to become embroiled in a scandal they might not able to escape from, no matter their true innocence in the matter. Example, the formerly loyal Sons of Malice. A single Inquisitor bore witness to a ritual that wouldn't have been out of place in a number of other Chapters, but her ignorance of that still saw her condemn it and act accordingly. The Chapter defended itself, and that defense saw them declared excommunicate traitoris by the High Lords themselves, forcing the Chapter to betray the Emperor in truth in the name of survival. While the Space Wolves have battled against Inquisitors and Ecclesiarchs alike, their standing in the Imperium allows them to do so without fear of the kind of retribution that would seem them destroyed or made renegade. Few Chapters can say the same, and little room among their number for a DIY that meets the general standards of the Liber.

 

But again, this is just a general DIY information thing that I don't believe applies specifically to ArcticPaladin's DIY, and if he requests it I'll drop this part of our conversation.

[Tiberius Cato]

It's interesting to hear the debate, I must admit. It provides two sides of information that could be useful to my IA.

[Aegnor]

Agree with everything you've said Cormac. Guess it's part of the reality of life in the grim dark far future. The Imperium is incredibly diverse and due to distance and lack of easy communication, individual planets basic variations of religion and behaviour can be extreme. At the same time, at pretty much anytime, a range of actors could come along and condemn you to death and/or suffering for what is an inescapable part of the human condition in that environment. You can't avoid taking part in behaviour that might get you burnt as a heretic, often because you are ignorant of the alternatives.

 

For the Marines emerging from such a. environment, assuming their intent is to be intensely loyal, part of the solution would be a degree of reserve and closeness around outsiders who might misunderstand their practices - which will again feed into the "elf like theme".

[Tiberius Cato]

With the belief being deeply ingrained into the chapter, I think it would be necessary to have some degree of reclusiveness because of how different it is from the "main" Imperial belief. IIRC, it works out even better because the Raven Guard generally do not interact with outsiders.

[Tiberius Cato]

I don't know if you're familiar with it Brother Cormac Airt, but Herne reminds me of the Daedric prince Hircine from Skyrim. I may look to that aswell for inspiration.

[Conn Eremon]

I am, though from Oblivion rather than Skyrim, and that could make a nice theme (especially if they do go renegade, but I don't think you want your boys to do so).

 

In fact, Tamriel could make an excellent source of inspiration for the home world, to provide that contrast between the home world and the Chapter. A Tolkien Chapter, recruiting from an Elder Scrolls world, peppered through with references to the Erlking, Herne, and preferably others.

 

Now, what I'd do (or would try to do), is to take all these sources of inspiration and comb through them. Try to find a small number of things from each that you most want to use for your DIY. Try to keep that number small, so only those things most important to you make it in. Make a list, and try to reword it as basically and simply as you can. When the new list says everything you want from those sources of inspiration, but on its own shows no hints from what it was based on, then you know you are golden. Apply it to your Chapter, and flesh it out.

 

Or not, if you want your Chapter's theme to be more obvious, whatever this subforum's general bias against that, then go for it. I myself flip flop all the time. I think my Emerald Tigers and Imperial Dragons (the second of which I really want to volunteer for Chapter X :p ) have obvious themes, but I rather feel that my Eyes of Tivan has adequately hidden the fact that it was inspired from the fairy Summer Court of the Dresden Files book series.

[Aegnor]

Sorry to be spamming your thread AP, but another idea I had about your guys. In Tolkien, the orcs were elves captured by Morgoth and twisted into horrible parodies of their original form. In Raven Guard lore, they have a history of their geneseed being manipulated and producing monsters. There is a bit of commonality there that might give you some room to do a homage to both ideas.

 

Maybe the issue with the Wardens geneseed is that it often fails to take properly, and those in who it fails become twisted monsters - not as mighty as a Space Marine, but stronger than a normal man and possessed of only a low animal cunning rather than their original intelligence. M

 

Your chapter, not wanting to slay those who had tried to become their brothers might instead abandon them on the homeworld. These monsters might, due to a malfunction of the albino tendencies in RG geneseed, tend to avoid sunlight, staying the caves and darkest forests of your planet. They might be the subject of fearful legend among the population - cave dwelling goblins who will attack unwary travellers and steal babies.

[Olis]

Sorry to be spamming your thread AP, but another idea I had about your guys. In Tolkien, the orcs were elves captured by Morgoth and twisted into horrible parodies of their original form. In Raven Guard lore, they have a history of their geneseed being manipulated and producing monsters. There is a bit of commonality there that might give you some room to do a homage to both ideas.

 

Maybe the issue with the Wardens geneseed is that it often fails to take properly, and those in who it fails become twisted monsters - not as mighty as a Space Marine, but stronger than a normal man and possessed of only a low animal cunning rather than their original intelligence. M

 

Your chapter, not wanting to slay those who had tried to become their brothers might instead abandon them on the homeworld. These monsters might, due to a malfunction of the albino tendencies in RG geneseed, tend to avoid sunlight, staying the caves and darkest forests of your planet. They might be the subject of fearful legend among the population - cave dwelling goblins who will attack unwary travellers and steal babies.

 

Or trolls. Trolls do a lot of lurking. 

[Aegnor]

:-O

[Captain Juan Juarez]

Y'know you could actually work the Black Rage in if you went back to Blood Angels seed, utilising the myths of the Wild Hunt - also referenced in said popular urban fantasy. Instead of joining the Death Company they become part of the Wild Hunt where the Marines afflicted live only to run down and slay their prey.

 

Equally, you could probably work a similar idea in to the Chapter as you have it currently with a smidge of work.

[Olis]

:-O

 

Come now, brother. I wasn't suggesting you were a troll. :P

[Tiberius Cato]

The idea of the geneseed not taking properly is very interesting. Perhaps for those who do not become full fledged Astartes are released to live in the wild, as you stated, and as time passes they become increasingly hostile to the chapter because they believe they did not do everything they could have to ensure the process would be successful. Also, their features could become deformed from issues in the progenoid being incredibly unstable. So in effect, they could be the anti-faction to my chapter. It's a bit Dark Angels-y I know, but I woke up about 10 minutes ago and that was the best I could think of.

Nonetheless, great ideas brothers! I appreciate them very much :)

[Teetengee]

Well, elves typically have an anti-/dark faction version opposed to them so that seems like it would not be too strange.

[Tiberius Cato]

I have just thought of something brothers. Since my chapter loves stealth and recruits from a hunter-ruled population, it would be logical that they very rarely use heavy weaponry. That is, nothing loud and explosive. I think heavy  bolters heavy flamers would be fine and multi-meltas as well, but that's it. No missle launchers, plasma cannons, or lascannons. That being said, the next logical step would be to not have devastator squads. In place maybe they would have a "Stalker" squad, which is essentialy a a power armoured scout squad ( I would use tactical squad rules for them, just use bolter and bolt pistol to emulate scouts), which I think would be a really interesting deviationfrom the all mighty Codex Astartes.

[Teetengee]

Are lascannons terribly loud? Seems like a heavy bolter would be louder. Still the idea of stalker squads rather than devastators seems to have merit.

[Tiberius Cato]

Very true, I think i might swap the lascannon with the heavy bolter. i just played a round of Capture and Control in Space marine to test the loudness of the various weapons and the lascannon wasn't as bad as I thought, it also would be a viable sniper weapon for sitting up on a ridge and picking off enemy vehicles!