IA: Knights of Castilya WIP

[Tiberius Cato]

The Knight-Lord is the Chapter Master, I'll slide that in there real quick.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

More details are necessary regarding the "Knight-Lord". You say he "vanquished a daemon prince and defeated many champions of Chaos in his long and storied career," but why isn't this storied individual given a name? Is it because you've yet to think of an appropriate name (in which case, you should revise the description to "Knight-Lord [TBA], the Chapter Master of the Knights of Castilya,"- TBA is the acronym for "To be announced")? Or are you generically referring to all Knight-Lords, and that to attain the rank, a Captain of the Knights of Castilya must have vanquished a Daemon Prince?

 

What if no Daemon Prince has faced the Knights of Castilya for some time? Do enemies of the Imperium get assigned a numerical value, which is used when tallying each battle-brother's worth- say, killing one Champion of Khorne is equivalent to killing 100 Chaos Space Marines, or 200 Orks? Or do all Captains of the Knights of Castilya, form a committee and make decisions by democratic vote, until one of them manages to kill a Daemon Prince?

[Tiberius Cato]

More details are necessary regarding the "Knight-Lord". You say he "vanquished a daemon prince and defeated many champions of Chaos in his long and storied career," but why isn't this storied individual given a name? Is it because you've yet to think of an appropriate name (in which case, you should revise the description to "Knight-Lord [TBA], the Chapter Master of the Knights of Castilya,"- TBA is the acronym for "To be announced")? Or are you generically referring to all Knight-Lords, and that to attain the rank, a Captain of the Knights of Castilya must have vanquished a Daemon Prince?

 

What if no Daemon Prince has faced the Knights of Castilya for some time? Do enemies of the Imperium get assigned a numerical value, which is used when tallying each battle-brother's worth- say, killing one Champion of Khorne is equivalent to killing 100 Chaos Space Marines, or 200 Orks? Or do all Captains of the Knights of Castilya, form a committee and make decisions by democratic vote, until one of them manages to kill a Daemon Prince?

It was laziness on my part, my apologies. I was deciding on a name for him but hadn't picked one yet. He will have a name promptly.

 

Edit: There he now has a name, Hernan Veracruz. Also, attaing the rank of Knight-Lord is not exclusive to the slayers of Daemon princes, it is awarded to the chapter's best warrior against the forces of chaos.

So in a sense, the numerical value thing does kind of come into place. A champion of chaos is definately more merit worthy than killing say, 100 standar chaos marines.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

By the way, is bullfighting a traditional sport on Castilya? I had an idea where terms from the sport is used to designate a Marine's role in the Chapter, e.g., a "Picador" describes a gunship pilot, a "Banderillero" describes a Scout, etc. (Look up the Wikipedia articles on "Spanish-style bullfighting" and "Torero".)

[Tiberius Cato]

I know the Corrida de Toros all too well, brother. Implementing that could be a really nice idea. I'm not sure about titles from the sport being used specific positions as of yet, but I think bullfighting could be a unique initiation ritual.

 

Edit: I just had the thought that I could rework the chapter combat doctrine to be reminescent of bullfighting. Perhaps the chapter hits in multiple waves during combat; Initially scout squads make contact with the enemy and attack a portion of the opposing force, then bike/ assault squads come in and deliver a crippling blow to the force and peel off. The next wave consisting of devestator and tactical squads, with tactical squads marking higher priority targets and providing a distraction for the devastator squads to hit their targets and further cripple the enemy force. And finally, the HQ comes in with his command squad and finishes the job by eliminating the enemy leaders, preferably in duels to the death, the signature mark of the Knights being a well placed stab through the upper spine and through the heart.

[Teetengee]

Interesting.

[Tiberius Cato]

So here's my thoughts brothers:

Bull fighting is a traditional sport that has become highly ritualised and integral in the lives of Castilyans (Thanks for the idea Brother Bjorn).

As such it is an integral part of the chapter. The chapter recruits from the planets aspiring matadores, youth who have shown innate skill in the storied ritual that is La Corrida. This youth are tested in the chapter's arena against bulls genetically engineered and trained for La Corrida, unlike the standard bulls used in the event which are the product of painstakingly breeding bulls that are to have no experience in La Corrida.

 

Aspirants must face three bulls in their initiation, and perform the ritual to the presiding chaplain's standards. If the aspirant successfully completes the ritual to the chaplain's standards they move onto the next phase of the initiation process; those who fail become serfs to the chapter.

 

The next phase of the initiation is learning the Jimeta of the Astartes. Traditionally it involves learning to herd cattle on horseback; however, the Astartes teach aspirants to use specific tactics and have them develop great proficiency with an Astartes bike in order to ,in a sense, herd the enemy and ensure they stay where the Knights want them.

 

It is after this an Aspirant finally gets to prove himself on the battlefield, becoming a part of a greater whole that employs tactics similar to the way La Corrida is performed.

The Scouts will use bikes to corral enemy forces and ensure the main bulk of the chapter's forces cannot be flanked. Assault squads then come in to hit any vehicles or speedy units to slow down the enemy force as a whole. On the tail end of this, Devastator and Tactical squads make contact and eliminate heavy firepower and cull the main troops of the enemy. Then to seize victory, the mission's commander comes to the front aided by his command squad to finish the job; often prefering to engage the enemy leader in combat and artfully murder him as in La Corrida.

 

Thoughts, comments, and concerns are welcome. If this is well accepted I will have to change up the organisation aswell.

[Resarys]

Bull-fighting is a really interesting idea as an initiation rite. But there's nothing saying the bulls have to be ordinary old Terran bulls. They could be alien monsters, or each of the three bulls could be different, each more dangerous than the last.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I don't think you should test youths against genetically enhanced and trained bulls, until AFTER these youths have had gene-seed implanted. I do like the idea of training using those who've yet to see combat, as mounted skirmishers instead of scouts, as it'll take years to gain the necessary skills- the ability to move so silently and slowly, one can even fool another Space Marine's augmented senses- and keeping a Marine out of combat until he acquires these skills (which he may never acquire, as not everyone has the necessary temperament) is not possible. (That's one of my biggest complaints about the progression of a Space Marine, as Games Workshop defines it. Real-world special operations forces do not use amateurs as scouts or point men, for obvious reasons. Using Space Marines who just received their gene-seed, as Scouts- watching for booby-traps and signs the enemy is waiting to ambush the main force the Scouts are scouting for- will just get everybody killed.)

[Bjorn Firewalker]

By the way, will we see any karate bullfighters? (See Mas Oyama, a martial artist who used karate chops to break off the horns of bulls he fought.)

[Tiberius Cato]

Pitting them against genetically enhnced bulls could perhaps be the last step in aquiring the hallowed Astartes armour for an aspirant methinks.

 

I agree with the whole sending freshies into scout roles and on point, it simply isn't realistic. "Hey, kid, take this shotgun and go take point and kill those guys" Totally not going to work out.

[Lord-Captain Cepinari]

So, they're Crimson Fists who act like Black Templars.  I've seen worse Chapter concepts.

 

Also, I have the music from Don Quixote stuck in my head now.  I choose to blame you for it.

[Teetengee]

I mean, they have the same progenitor so...

[Tiberius Cato]

They're only like Crimson Fists by way of Iberian based names, and the way they're going they're not very Black Templary.

 

A chapter can be knightly without crusading around the galaxy spouting streams of blabber pertaining to zeal and remorselessness. Nothing against the Templars, but if I wanted to be like them I wouldn't have bothered with this DIY.

 

That being said, this chapter draws from Iberian (mainly Spanish) history and tradition. You bringing up Don Quixote makes me want to reread Don Quixote de la Mancha and see what themes and topics I can draw from that, even if it is a tad bit of a jab at knighthood in medieval Spain.

[Tiberius Cato]

Updated pretty much the whole thing. Comments and Criticism are welcome! Suggestion for further additions are also welcome!

[gameos7]

Really Anti-Word Bearers, so does this means they really like their chaplains? Or maybe they act as someone above of (even if slightly) what other chapters use chaplains for (I have not idea what though)? Or not at all?

 

Castilya is both the planet and the largest Kingdom right? And they are the Knights of Castilya. Does this mean that the other kingdoms dislike that the Castilya kingdom was given the honour of sharing a name with the chapter or do they act as some sort of hub or father figure kingdom, kinda like some sort of EU? Or not at all?

 

Combat Doctrine

After all this, the battle forces commanding officer takes the field and seeks to engage the opposing commander in a duel to the death. If accepted, the chapter's commanding officer taunts his opponent with all manner of faints and parries. When he is sufficiently pleased with the battle, he performs one final action, one that disarms his opponent and impales them through their heart in a singular movement.

Why?

 

Origins of the Knights of Castilya

As such, the Knights of Castilya have participated in countering every Black Crusade launched by Abbadon.

Beliefs

The Knights have participated in countering the forces of the ruinous powers and many of the black crusades

The Knights are of the 7th founding, which puts their origins sometime around M32 to M34, most likely late M33/early M34, which means they cannot have participated in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Black Crusades, probably not even the 4th. You need to change them both to something like “All but the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Black Crusades”, or “All but first 3 Black Crusades”

 

Why is the second paragraph of the Belief section a belief? Shouldn’t that paragraph be under organisation? And on that paragraph, it says “The Knight-Lord Hernan Veracruz, the chapter master of the Knights of Castilya” I thought the Knight-Lord was what they called their Chapter Master in the same way that, for example, the Space Wolves call their stuff by different names (though probably not for the same reasons) e.g. their Scouts are Wolf Scouts. You should probably say something like “The Knight-Lord (Chapter Master) Hernan Veracruz is the greatest…”

 

Beliefs

Also, the code dictates that a man's worth is not only measured through battlefield prowess, but also through mental prowess as well.

Wouldn’t “battlefield prowess” cover strategy, quick thinking, a strong will to keep fighting i.e. mental prowess. You might want it to instead be physical prowess. Also, not all Space Marines would be good writers and politicians. It’s probably better to say that they are just expert artists, because art is an extremely vague term and in effect could mean anything, which may just include writing and/or politics. “They are expected to be excellent artists both inside and outside of battle” or something like that would be a better example methinks.

 

The last paragraph in the Belief section feels, weird. The first two sentences are fine but everything after that is a short story that does showcase one of their beliefs but isn’t actually a belief. It would probably be better suited as a side box next to Beliefs.

 

Finally, the most petty of my criticisms. Chaos and Ruinous Powers are always capitalised. It’s daemon not demon. And in Organisation the sentence “The second veteran company is comprised well- rounded veterans of the chapter.” doesn’t make sense.

 

Hopefully I didn’t miss anything, but I probably did. I like what you did with the companies, especially the better veteran company in that they are all vanguard veterans (or they at least seem to be, I could be wrong).

[Tiberius Cato]

Thanks for pointing that all out, I'll fix it tomorrow.

[gameos7]

The most important things though are the Combat Doctrine duelling commander vs commander and the Founding / Black Crusade thing, the other things are things are pretty minor and may not even matter to anyone but me.

 

Except for that spelling and capitalising. Fix that up, yo.

[Tiberius Cato]

The duelling commander thing does feel strange, perhaps instead of that I make it so that the commander and his retinue take to the battlefield and deal the finishing blow to the opposing forces, or something along those lines. Also, I do want the chaplains to be much more influential than they are in other Astartes chapters, perhaps the Knights boast a greater number than most chapters aswell. I was thinking that the chaplains could fulfill their role as well as the role of a librarian. They may very well have a ranking system in their chaplaincy like that of the common librarius.

 

The chapter's actions could be determined through visions a chaplain has during meditation periods. For instance, let's say chaplain x is in the reclusiam meditating on the imperial truth and is suddenly hit with a vision of a glorious battle between his chapter and x enemy force. He consults his brothers about the vision and the agree it was a sign they must eradicate enemy x from planet whatever, less they desire to invoke the Emperor's divine wrath.

 

Any suggestions or thoughts on this idea would be much appreciated.

 

Now, some justifications (maybe bad ones at that) for certain things I've done in the IA:

1. I put "... Knight-Lord Hernan Veracruz, the chapter master of ..." is intended to show Knight-Lord is their title for their chapter master.

2. The bit about mental prowess makes sense to me, because I thought it to be slightly reminiscient of the Blood Angels, whom practice artistry.

3. I used the vague term for art because it could imply anything's I wasn't sure what specifically to have the Knights focus on. However, in keeping with knighthood I feel they would probably write prose and bard like musics.

 

That's all I have for know, I promise I'll make those changes at some point soon hopefully tomorrow.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

When dueling with Chaos Space Marines, the Knight of Castilya should forgo the theatrics seen in bullfighting, unless circumstances permit what would otherwise be a waste of time. Is the enemy Champion particularly hot-headed, and thus, vulnerable to the demoralizing effects such theatrics could have? Is he leading mortal cultists instead of disciplined Chaos Space Marines, as the latter are unlikely to allow such theatrics to affect them? Is the goal to capture an enemy for interrogation, and thus, the Knight of Castilya should refrain from dealing a deathblow until he has no other choice?