Knights Exemplar W.I.P (IIII)

[Sete]

Knights Exemplar

Knights Exemplar Chapter Champion Hathus

The Knights Exemplar were created in the 3rd Founding, after the 1st Black Crusade, using tithed Black Templars Gene-sede.

Origins of the Knights Exemplar

After the Imperium weathered Abbadons 1st black crusade, after the collapse of thousands of worlds, and the grievous loss of Sigismund, First Emperor Champion and High Marshall of the Black Templars,the High Lords of Terra, in his Honour, used tithed Black Templar Gene-Seed to create a new chapter to stand vigil over the Imperium, as Sigismund did for one thousand years.
In those times of darkness and confusion, this chapter would stand at the forefront of the Imperium defence.
Black Templar Castelan Ewald led the training cadre, this way exerting Black Templar ways and traditions upon the newly formed chapter.

Organization

The Knights Exemplar are organized according to general Codex doctrines but maintain troops, tactics and idiosyncratic traditions that set them apart from their brethren. Some of these traditions were influenced by Black Templars training cadre, others appeared as the Chapter adopted rituals and beliefs throughout their long history, such as the Paragons, their veteran cadre.
The Knights Exemplar maintain 10 companies following the Codex Astartes.

Traditions

One of the oldest traditions within the chapter is the welcoming of a space marine into the Paragons fraternity, the veteran ranks of the chapter.

The Paragons serve as an example of what every Brother in the chapter should aspire to be. They are the Elite of the Chapter, trained to use the Tactical Dreadnought armour and form the 1st company of the chapter, led by the Grand Master himself.
When Space Marines are accepted the ranks of the Paragons by the Grand Master of the Chapter, they receive Tabards, in Honor of the Imperium "Black Knight", and his constant vigilance, forever reminding them of their duty.
Utterly loyal to the Emperor, their methods can sometimes be considered brutal, for nothing stands in the way of their mission.

Their stoic and stern demeanour can be quite unnerving, but its on the battlefield they are truly feared.
They worship the Emperor as their creator, and do not offer worship to him as a divinity, but one of their secret teachings imply that the Emperor will achieve god-hood.

Revering Sigismund above all other Imperium heroes, they strive to achieve his peerless technique, and follow his example of honour and duty to the Imperium.

With the loss of the chapter world, the Knights Exemplar became a fleet based chapter, bringing righteous wrath to the enemies of the Imperium all over the galaxy.
They are also one of the Chapters known to participate in the Feast of Blades.

Homeworld

The Chapter home world was located in the west of Segmentum Obscurus in the death world of Ophiussa.
Home of many feral tribes, it provided a good recruiting ground for the Chapter.
The mega fauna of the planet, were a constant threat to the human tribes present on the planet, and their constant fight for survival created hard and stoic people.
The Chapter Keep, Haven, was built upon an island in the middle of one of the planets oceans, completely out of the reach of the natives but was destroyed by Chaos forces in the 7th Black Crusade. Due to a catastrophic event, Inquisition performed Exterminatus on the planet. How the Chapter rebuilt their numbers is unknown, but the amount of lost STC acquired by the Mechanicus in those years may offer some idea of what transpired.

Combat Doctrine

The Knights Exemplars, like their Predecessors, favour close combat and mechanized assaults. The Knights are know to charge against the enemy in unfavourable odds, their righteous rage being the turning point of many almost lost battles. Company Masters and even the Grand Master can be found in the thick of the bloody melee in every battle, leading by example, and challenging enemy leaders to mighty duels. They are part of the usually employed alpha strike tactic at enemy command, cutting of the head of the serpent in a swift attack.

Chapter History

Much of the chapter history was lost with the destruction of the Chapter Keep, but until the Sentinel founding, and after the annihilation of 70% of the chapter, their primary mission was to stand guard over the eye of terror, to be the first line of defence against the forces of chaos. Now with the Adeptus Praeses standing guard, the Knights Exemplar expanded their range of action, aiding in the fight against Tau, Orks and Tyranids in the eastern corner of the galaxy. Still a considerable amount of the chapter stands guard over the gates of hell, silently waiting for the opportunity to cleanse the stain on their honour, for the hatred for their fallen brethren runs deep, and past injuries are not easily forgotten...
The chapter also mistrusts the Ecclesiarchy, due in part because of the events that led to the Abyssal crusade. A small fleet of the Knights Exemplar witnessed the passing of hundreds of ships, unjustly judged brothers, towards their death, that for some never came. Not long enough, while the Knights Exemplar struggled to rebuild, they had to face in battle the now corrupted battle brothers they thought lost. The denial from the Administratum about these events further aggravated the suspicion towards the political institutions of the Imperium. Believing that human faith can be easily corrupted, as was the case of Saint Basillius, and used for chaos they also have strained relations with Adeptus Ministorum institutions and forces.
They also see the Minotaurs and Red Hunters with contempt due to their work with the Inquisition.

The Endless Vigil

Among the few surviving Chapter records it can be found some few references to past battles, long forgotten...
909.M32 4th Black Crusade.
The first large scale battle of the Exculpators against forces of chaos.
Facing Daemon Prince Tallomin forces, the Exculpators were instrumental in holding the tide of daemons while the ferocious warriors of the Space Wolves Chapter banished the daemon back into the warp.

***.M36 Age of Apostasy
While facing numerous chaos raids in the eye of terror, Exculpators get involved in the power struggles between the Administratum and the Ecclesiarchy. Along with the Imperial Fists, Black Templars, Soul Drinkers, Fire Hawks and brides of the Emperor they bring down High Lord Vandire.

***.M37 Green Tide
2 companies of Knights Exemplar* engage Warboss Buzzgit Waaagh.
*Among with a few survivors from the chapter keep Haven they became the remnant of the Knights Exemplar*.

811.M37 7th Black Crusade
Haven Burns.

Exterminatus on Ophiussa
Grand Master Alhreiks is interred within a dreadnought.
At the advice of the now Dreadnought Alhreiks, the Exculpators start recruiting psykers and form the 11th Company.

***.M38
Leman Russ Conquerer designs discovered.

573.M38 9th Black Crusade
First use of the 11th company on a large scale conflict with excellent results.

301. M39 11th Black Crusade
Knights Exemplar fleet destroy 4 Chaos ships that suddenly appear within Ophiussa system.

801.M41 Astronomican flickers
Grand Master Audvakr summons all Company Masters to him.
What was discussed only the Emperor knows.

874.M41 Chtonis Cleasing
Knights Exemplar uncover a Chaos cult on the planet of Chtonis.
Vicarius Tius banishes Daemon Prince Kor Megron back to the warp, and is promoted to Master Librarian, replacing his recently deceased predecessor.

932.M41 Cleansing of Urk
2 companies of the Knights Exemplar raid the planet Urk attempting to disrupt the ork forces. Noticing that the star the planet is orbiting is dying, they retreat after inflicting heavy casualties on the greenskin horde.

955 M41 Gheistos Exteminatus
3 Knights Exemplar ships aid in the destruction of the planet Gheistos.

998 M41 Third War for Armageddon.
Company Master Geberic leads his company in Armageddon.

999 M41 13th Black Crusade
Grand Master Audvakr takes with him 4 companies to aid in the defence of Cadia.

Relics

Among the few surviving relics of the Chapter, the great swords Reckoning and Requiem are the 2 most precious. They are wield by the Chapter Champion Hathus and the Grand Master Audvakr.

"Order of the Tower and Sword"

The 11th Company of the Knights Exemplar is composed entirely by psykers. Few in number they are a valuable weapon of the chapter, trained since their initiation into the 11th company to wield the powers of the warp and tactical dreadnought armour, they are a force to be reckoned with.
The 11th company has their own secret initiation rites and traditions, and answer only to the Grand Master of the Chapter.
Created at the advice of the now dreadnought Alhreiks, after the incidents that culminated in the destruction of the chapter keep Haven, they are an elite force specialized in fighting the neverborn.
The Order of the Tower and Sword is led by a Master Librarian, Vicarius are the squad leaders and Acolytes compose the rank and file troops. Since the creation of the Order, they never had more than 15 members. The difficulties of finding a psyker and the odds of him surviving the training makes every member of the Order a rarity, and only utilized in the direst of times.
They were created after a massive...
///Security encryption RHO-811///
Clearance level Omega 5
Acess Denied

Geneseed

Prayer

"I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul".

Knights Exemplar miss the Betcher's Gland and Sus-an Membrane like all the scions of the Imperial Fist Gene-Seed.
No other mutations are known.

Edited February 27, 2015 by Sete

[Stercus]

That's a really nice kitbash. I love the great sword idea, its a nice twist and gives you some cool modelling opportunities.

Have you though about maybe expanding the name a little? Having a black Templars successor simply drop the colour portion of their ancestral name feels a little flat... Maybe something like 'Steel Templars'. This would also play up to the idea of them being masters of the great swords that they use. Templars of the cold steel blade and so forth...

[Sete]

Thanks. Kinda just happened to try something and the kit bash actually worked.

I still need to work on the fluff but it was a long weekend and im tired to I just wrote down the basic idea.

About the name, thats a tough one. I previously did the Knight's of the Emperor but im not fond of big names.

And there is red white blood and black templars, so I just went for the simple thing. Steel Templars sounds nice, or storm templars, Iron templars. But it was a great tip. After a good night sleep something will definitely come up.

[redmapa]

So whats the difference between Imperial Fists geneseed and Black Templars?

[Sete]

None.But it was tithed from the BT gene seed stock. Still making them IF sucessors.

Also Steel Templars is a great name. Think will use it.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Sete

[Sete]

A bit more of my Chapter Champion

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The fluff is well written, overall. You need to clean up the grammar, however- there are instances where you use "too" instead of "to", and "some veterans have bionic arms and legs as a humbler reminder" should be "some veterans have augmetic arms and legs as a humble reminder" (emphasis mine- the term "augmetic" is regularly used in Black Library novels, and distinguished from "prosthetic" in the Gaunts' Ghosts novel 'Only in Death').

[Sete]

Ah ok thanks good suggestion. Will have another read.

Edited what seemed wrong and I think it will provide a better read overall.

English is not my mother language so please forgive my typos.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Sete

[Commissar Molotov]

A solid start on your Chapter, although perhaps you have tied it a little too closely to official events. I like the idea of the Chapter as an offshoot of the Templars, and think that the death of Sigismund is a valid reason that the High Lords of Terra might wish to commemorate the passing of such a hero. I do think that "Steel Templars" is a little derivative - perhaps you should try to look for a name that is more unique? 

 

Perhaps the question you have to consider is this - what distinguishes your Chapter from the Black Templars? How are the two Chapters different and distinct? You have chosen to have a very long-lived Chapter - one that has existed almost as long as the Imperium of Man. They will have diverged and grown distinct from their forebears. How has your Chapter distinguished itself? 

[Sete]

Honeslty I was just thinking about the chapter name.

You asked 2 very good questions that I will try to answer tomorrow.

Well for starters they fight dinosaurs ahahha.

My main focus for them is to fight chaos. I didnt want to expand much on the achivements because I dont want to overdo it. They didn't single handedly stopped a black crusade and much of their history is about standing vigil for chaos at the eye of terror. They dont crusade or are as fanatical and zealous as the Templars. Its stuff I need to think about. Well they could have won a feast of blades competition. Something will come up. :)

Edited November 18, 2014 by Sete

[Sete]

So after a good night's sleep I had a good idea.

Since they are near the eye the amount of psykers in the population should be a bit above average.

To represent this the chapter will have a terminator company led by librarians using grey knights, rules this way I can use them as allies in games. They will specialize in daemon hunting. Ofc the numbers will be limited max 10 to 15 guys, making them very precious to the chapter. So initially they didnt use psykers but after a Black Crusade and a fighting daemons they changed their ways to better respond to this new threat. So after todays work I will expand on this bit. About the name, I really cant think of anything better. :)

With the Nemesis foc I can use one HQ and one troop choice from GK. Which is awesome. Ofc I will be using normal terminators with power swords on TT and wont use any of the special equipment of the GK. Just the psyker power.

They will be like a chapter within the chapter. The Master Librarian will answer only to the grand master and they will have their own recruting methods and training.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Sete

[Stercus]

You're clearly thinking these guys through carefully, which is half the battle. Just remember that whatever name you choose, it will be the character of the chapter and the background you decide on that will make them interesting. Some popular chapters have really daft names... I mean "space wolves"? Really?

Pick something you like and stick with it. If you write a characterful piece, and make people interested in your guys, the name will seem less important.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Stercus

[Bjorn Firewalker]

According to the 6th Edition 'Codex: Space Marines', the Black Templars themselves don't know WHEN they stopped using Librarians, or WHY. You can easily claim the Steel Templars were founded BEFORE the Black Templars' "No Librarians!" policy was set, meaning the Steel Templars themselves are free to continue recruiting, training, and deploying Librarians.

[Sete]

I have a plan Updated the lore a bit hope I didn't overdo it.

Now after 2 hours I need something to eat.

I know that putting them in the high lord incident is a bit too much but I needed something to start the mistrust they have for Imperial institutions.

Hope that can be overlooked.

Re read and fixed grammar.

There is still some adjustments to be made I the lore and the grammar but im tired today. So tomorrow is another day. Now that the basic lore is established I will start working on more minis.

I decided to go with goth names to give a more dark age feel.

Still need some ranks to 7th company. Currently borrowing names from GK.

Edited November 18, 2014 by Sete

[Sete]

Another small update on 7th company. Later today I will revise for grammar.
So now that the main lore is established I will start working on my 500 points list.
My main opponent will be my heretic friend that will play Chaos.
+++ Steel Templars (500pts) +++

* Chapter Tactics
Black Templars

* Grand Master - Chapter Master
Artificer Armor, Combi-Melta, Power Sword


+ Troops +

* Crusader Squad
Flamer, 5x Initiates, Power Weapon
* Rhino
Storm Bolter
* Sword Brother -Knight
Bolt pistol, Power Weapon


* Tactical Squad
Grav gun , 4x Space Marine
* Space Marine Sergeant
Bolt pistol, Bolter


* Tactical Squad
Missile Launcher, 4x Space Marine
* Space Marine Sergeant
Bolt pistol, Bolter

Well the list speaks for itself. One assault squad with rhino and the Grand Master, 2 Tacs for support.


 

Edited November 19, 2014 by Sete

[Sete]

My first knight done.

Just noticed a few bits that i failed to paint. Good pics ahahah.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Sete

[Quozzo]

Your chapter has at least 1200 brothers across the 6 companies + whatever the 7th has. Why would the inquisition allow such power to be in the hands of a single newly founded chapter. They are not a crusading chapter either, having a homeworld, so they would not so easily hide their numbers from the gazing eyes of the inquisition.

 

Its also best to post your lists in the lists forum and your pics in the pics forum. The Liber is for fluffy fluffed fluff. (Or lore to you and me lol ;) )

[Jape]

Very interesting stuff, I like the name FWIW and the Sigismund connection is an excellent way to get around the 'BT don't have successors' issue.

[Sete]

Yes their numbers are above codex regulations but since they are rarely at full strength it must escaped the inquisition. Also there is usually 2 companies out. Thats how they escaped annihilation at the hands of chaos forces. I already have the basic idea of what happened but im no writer. Even so I will try to make a short story out of it. 7th company never had + 15 guys. Homeworld recruitment lacks psykers. I will move the list and pics for the other threads.
Jape I don't know what FWIW means lol.
Well since ADB is killing Sigismund I might take the chance to get something out of it.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Sete

[Jape]

Ah  It means for For What Its Worth, I'm hardly a expert on Astartes naming conventions.

[Sete]

Damn its so hard to get a name ahahha. But I like this one. Sounds good. But I will probably use SW rules. Counter attack and WG Battle leader as knight is awesome.

[Quozzo]

If they're rarely at full strength then why have they gone out the way to disregard the codex only to adopt a new command structure that could cause conflict with the inquisition only to not use said structure. Since the fighting companies are similar then why not just have 5?

[Sete]

If they're rarely at full strength then why have they gone out the way to disregard the codex only to adopt a new command structure that could cause conflict with the inquisition only to not use said structure. Since the fighting companies are similar then why not just have 5?

That mystical number 7.

They use the structure but constant conflict with renegades heretics and xenos takes its toll. For starters the training cadre was Black Templar, and they disregard the codex, maybe it rubbed off on them. Each company is autonomous , so the recruitment, training, and force deployment varies with each company, and more bodies in a company means more time on a campaign where they can just replace injured and tired forces with fresh reinforcements. Also for the Grand Master Election having 5 Company Masters Voting will mean there is no tie. Master Librarian has no vote on that matter. But his council is heard. Maybe they adopted this system after the near extinction of the chapter. Its one of those things that could have a lot of explanations. And the chapter should have a bit of mystery. The companies have the same standing among them, kinda like the Black Templar Marshals. Again BT training cadre influence appearing.

The inquisition may have some problems with them since they also don't go along with the Imperium institutions, but they are an ancient chapter. They may not have the standing of a 1st or 2nd founding chapter but their long history and sacrifice counts for something.

[Quozzo]

That just begs the question why the Black Templars were chosen instead of a codex compliant chapter. The Black Templars are not exactly held in high esteem, partly for obscuring their numbers. It just sounds like you want to make the Black Templars 2.0 but don't give plausible reasons for their inception, they were even called just "Templars" at one point. Having a vote not end in a draw can only be a good thing. There is no reason I can find why they are structured with 6 companies over 5 without sounding like you just intentionally wanted them to be different, Including naming two chapters which I don't believe they have ever met, but mention they don't like them. I have to admit that I like the name Steel Templars, but I think the IA needs a bit more work.

[Sete]

Sigismund. Thats the connection with BT. In his honor, after the 1st black crusade where he dies they founded a chaoter with BT gene seed stock. Maybe I should have done an ultramarines successor and have ultramarines 2.0. I have done them this way to be intentionaly different.

How are you certain they never met the other chapters?

I just listed a few examples on the timeline. Or do you really want me to go yearly? When they had Templars they were still a wip. You also have red templars, white Templars, crimson templars. Now you have steel templars.

I already gave you a reason for why they are structured like that. Longer time on campaing. Rotating troops, replacing casualties. Also I want the 7th company, psykers, to have a certain mysticism about them. Hence them being the 7th. Number 7 has a great simbolic meaning.

Also they dont follow codex structure. Why should they have 10 companies?