Project: Crypt Wardens

[Stormgrad]

Ok so I haven't played a game of 40k in a very long time when I did play i collected Blood Angels but always wanted to create my own chapter. Now much older and looking to occupy my free time i decided to go back a hobby that once filled many a weekend with fun and friendship. 

 

First of all this project has a single aim something that will get me out of the house more and mixing with people again instead of simply living the life of a happy hermit. With that in mind there are some simple ground rules 

 

1) an Average of £70 to £100 a month on products for this Project (There maybe some 54mm Inquisitor stuff but thats more of a maybe at this point than a guaranteed thing

 

2)  Practice painting and be able to paint to a point where it looks reasonable (I actually have dyspraxia making my hand eye co-ordination often laughable) 

 

3) The Chapter must be Entirely home brew with a fun and unique background (yes people Im hoping that i can create something vaguely original) 

 

That said there are some things to bear in mind, my written English is atrocious so please bear with me I'm hoping that as I Write more things may improve to some degree. Likewise I'm hoping my painting will improve so if we can keep it to constructive criticism only. 

 

The Initial parts of the Project have been ordered and I'm hoping to start with a dry fit (complete with Pictures) soon 

 

so to whet your appetite I present for your criticism the working draft of my Chapters Index Astartes style Background

 

1. Origins: 3rd Founding Chapter Sombre and Stoic

2. Homeworld: Irkalla

Irkalla is officially classified as a cemetery world. The home to countless dead imperial heroes who died during the taking of the Sossarian Sector in the waning days of the Great Crusade . Dragged into the light of the God Emperor by the Imperial Fists and Death Guard Legions of the Adeptus Astartes and numerous Solar Auxilia support units. Irkalla was marked as an early target in the conquest of the Sossarian Sector due to its large agricultural base. However both sides recognised this importance and it was the sight of some of the most protracted and bloody conflict of the Sossarian Suppression war.

 

However after nearly two years of conflict the once verdant and lush Irkalla was turned to ruin mostly in part due to the Death Guards Indiscriminate use of Chem and Rad weaponry. Following the conflict Irkalla was a Barren and useless rock with little to offer the burgeoning Imperium of Man and so it was used to house untold number of Imperial Heroes who fell in battle in the Sossarian Sector. It was not long before the once green fields where replaced with ceramite crypts and mausoleums. Its once fertile soil, riddled with catacombs filled with the bodies of the honored dead.

 

In so doing the whole world became a mecca for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims wishing to pay their respects to lost heroes of the Imperial Crusade.It is from these Hardy and resourceful people that the Crypt Wardens recruit. Simply picking the young from whole families who made the pilgrimage ensuring that the most faithful and resolute went onto become the Emperors chosen angels of death.

 

3. Beliefs: Culture totally based around Respect and Worship of the Dead

4. Combat Doctrine: Heavy Infantry, Attrition and Siege warfare

5. Organization: Standard Codex with 2nd, 5th and 7th Companies being Permanent Siege Vanguard Formations

6. Gene-Seed: Rogal Dorn’s

7. Battle-Cry

 

 

Now with that out of the way the initial model im going to be working on (aside from a test model which might come fairly soon.) Will be a Sergeant Garadon from the Sentinels of Terra Supplement. I eventually plan on doing a counts as Kantor and Lysander as well as a host of other characters.

 

The reason for starting with Garadon is that i feel he would be a suitable HQ choice for low points games simple really.

 

One last thing I realise i mention the Death Guard don't worry this isn't going to even mildly hint at them secretly being some kind of Death Guard successors masquerading as Imperial Fist Successors 

[Athrawes]

This looks like a great start. I'm a big proponent of hombrew/DIY chapters.

 

I have a few ideas if you don't mind. I think their worship/veneration of death is a cool basis. Maybe they could view death as the only way for mortals to understand the sacrifice of the Emperor, and to (through death) commune with their progenitor/make themselves worthy of his own greater sacrifice.

 

It seems like a culture or chapter like this would field a lot of Dreadnoughts, their entombed remains of the reanimated death acting like avatars of the emperors wrath. Alive, yet not.

 

Again, great start. I'm looking forward to this!

[Stormgrad]

So Today I changed and extended the last paragraph about Irkalla here is the whole segment again for comments

Irkalla is officially classified as a cemetery world. The home to countless dead imperial heroes who died during the taking of the Sossarian Sector in the waning days of the Great Crusade . Dragged into the light of the God Emperor by the Imperial Fists and Death Guard Legions of the Adeptus Astartes and numerous Solar Auxilia support units. Irkalla was marked as an early target in the conquest of the Sossarian Sector due to its large agricultural base. However both sides recognised this importance and it was the sight of some of the most protracted and bloody conflict of the Sossarian Suppression war.

However after nearly two years of conflict the once verdant and lush Irkalla was turned to ruin mostly in part due to the Death Guards Indiscriminate use of Chem and Rad weaponry. Following the conflict Irkalla was a Barren and useless rock with little to offer the burgeoning Imperium of Man and so it was used to house untold number of Imperial Heroes who fell in battle in the Sossarian Sector. It was not long before the once green fields where replaced with ceramite crypts and mausoleums. Its once fertile soil, riddled with catacombs filled with the bodies of the honored dead.

In so doing the whole world became a mecca for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims wishing to pay their respects to lost heroes of the Imperial Crusade. Whole families make make the pilgrimage to Irkalla and it is from the children of these resolute and faithful families that the Crypt Wardens recruit finding that they make sturdy and devout initiates. The indigenous population of Irkalla are now but a shadow of their former selves, where once stout and hardy farmers stood now sickly and ashen skinned caretakers stand. There eternal duty to tend to the graves that now cover the surface of their world an endless toil.

Now with that I have nailed down my colour scheme and a plan to give them a unique look, That being to use the FW Horus Heresy Night Lords terror squad heads, I really like the look of them and I think it will make them stand out from your generic marines (even though essentially just Imperial Fists). Anyway that being said I'm still waiting on my FW Order and will be putting together a Dry fit and taking pictures to share and then cracking on with painting a test Model.

So that's the colour scheme one last thing remains the Chapters Badge

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/Stormgrad/CryptWardensBase_zpsf4452473.png

The White area around the inner Edge I actually plan on making transparent it's just white in this image to emphasize that its different because I feared it would get lost against the background of the post, so in Reality it will be the same green as the shoulder pads on the marines. I plan on investing in a decent printer (as in I haven't yet) and making my own Transfers and squad markings for this chapter, Any advice on how to accomplish this would be greatly appreciated

This looks like a great start. I'm a big proponent of hombrew/DIY chapters.

I have a few ideas if you don't mind. I think their worship/veneration of death is a cool basis. Maybe they could view death as the only way for mortals to understand the sacrifice of the Emperor, and to (through death) commune with their progenitor/make themselves worthy of his own greater sacrifice.

It seems like a culture or chapter like this would field a lot of Dreadnoughts, their entombed remains of the reanimated death acting like avatars of the emperors wrath. Alive, yet not.

Again, great start. I'm looking forward to this!

I actually replied to this earlier and I ended up replacing that post with this one because the more I thought about it the more i liked the idea you proposed. So I'm going to sit and think and write that in somehow because honestly there respect and reverence of the dead (and by extension Death itself hence why they use Skull Helms in battle taking on the mantle of Death incarnate come to grant an honourable end to one of the emperors foes - this also gives me a fluff reason to use the previously mentioned cool night lords helmets)

[disease]

good start!

 

The paint scheme though, just seems very death guard to me - not sure if intentional or not?

 

EDIT:  Fluff reminds me of mortifactors, have you checked them out?

[Stormgrad]

good start!

 

The paint scheme though, just seems very death guard to me - not sure if intentional or not?

 

EDIT:  Fluff reminds me of mortifactors, have you checked them out?

 

Ok so I Accidentally hit the back button and deleted my original post. and that sucked because I had managed to turn a simple post into a Essay. 

 

The Paint scheme and Name under went several iterations as did the entire theme of the army. the Initial idea actually had them being a Mortifactors successor created during the 21st founding using forbidden techniques to turn the already fairly feral (by most imperial standards) Mortifactors into Savage Shock assault troops to rival the Blood angels and there Ilk and the Space wolves and there kind but without the Instability of there Gene-Seed. The Second step of this process would be for the chapter to recruit from savage and Feral island dwelling canibals who's brutality far outstripped that of the natives of Posul but similar enough to them so that the Mortifactors training Cadre would be familiar enough to mold them into an effective fighting force in such a short space of time. Honestly I loved this idea, It led to me stumbling upon the Night Lords Terror Squad Helmets and i felt that these would be used on every model to show the utter ferocity and brutality with which they fought (by this point due to the nature of the 21st founding would be almost out of control). I had planned to use them with the Charcardons Chapter Tactics and had got a fair way in sketching out the basics of the idea. What stopped me from pushing forward with it and this Plog not being about them was the fact that I did want to include a large number of Vehicles and Frankly Coordinated armoured warfare seemed far outside this chapters generally employed tactics.  

 

At the same time i was working on a Paint Scheme, first thing you all need to know about me is if there is an opportunity for me to apply a vibrant and bright shade of green to a model I will. I had previously used the GW colour Moot Green on an Inquisitor 54mm Project two years ago and was pleased with its results (it worked really well with Dheneb stone as a contrasting Colour). So my first draft of a colour scheme was to use the Green as the main colour and so I started with that, however this put me in mind of some fluff i wrote up numerous years ago (ok in honesty we are talking approximately 14 years ago) for a DIY chapter named the Emerald Knights. As a adult i now realise that all that the fluff did was essentially do a crossover between the Black Templars and the Camelot of Arthurian legend. I didn't like it maybe it was just me being hyper critical of my younger self or the fact that I felt that they didn't differentiate enough from the Templars to be a distinctive DIY chapter. 

 

The Name Emerald Knights was tossed around in my head for a while longer before I decided that I would actually like to use this idea for a actual Knights household some time in the future that would deploy en masse alongside my chapter. (The idea from the start has always been to do a huge apocalypse capable force of at least 1 full company and vehicles.) 

 

However this did lead me to the Idea of creating an Imperial fists successor, At this point i started messing with the Trim on the space marine painter applying various colours to find one that worked. I Decided I liked the GW shade Incubi Darkness (what a surprise readers I picked another Green) and was set to create "Emerald/Verdant/Green/Fertile" Fistsand use the range of GW and Forgeworld parts to create an awesome army making excessive use of the Imperial Fists Icon in the Dark shade. I dived into research on the Imperial Fists most of the stuff I had read previously at various points in time and really liked the character of the Legion and the Chapter that followed. It also offered me the oppurtunity to do a Selection of "Counts As" special characters including Sergeant Later Captain Garadon from the Sentinels of Terra Supplement who i figured would be cool to include in 500 point battles as my HQ choice. The history and nature of the Imperial Fists also justified my using the Siege Vanguard Army list something that allowed me to include a large number of Heavily Armoured Vehicles. (Yes I'm aware that I can not use the Sentinels of Terra Supplement with the Vanguard army list - but all this does is give me two separate lists that I can use with the same core units increasing my options and hopefully my potential enjoyment.) 

 

However on further investigation I found that the Chapter I had created already existed in the form of the Subjugators and this caused me to want to change the colours or veer away from the use of the traditional Imperial/Crimson Fists Chapter icon. (An Icon the Subjugators also use a variation of.) At this point I was set on an Imperial Fists Successor and I had noticed that the most detailed Imperial Fists Successors each represented an aspect of the parent legions character but that one aspect was missing. The Templars represented the zeal and righteousness of the crusade era Fists where the Crimson Fists represented the supreme tacticians and expert planners as well as the stubborn survivors and finally the later formed Executioners represented cold calculated fury and anger that showed itself in the Imperial fists encounters with the Iron Warriors legion particularly at such infamous events as the Iron Cage. The Missing aspect was the Stoic Sombre Imperial Fists, One word at this point kept popping back into my mind "Castellan" it had been used to describe those assigned to command distant garrisons and was an honorific often used in the Imperial Fists and i believe still used by the Black Templars. 

 

The Sombre Stoic aspect led me to the word Death and again provided me the opportunity to use the Night Lords Terror Squad heads from Forge World (something I wanted to do in order to create a distinctive look for my chapter and because they are just cool). This led to me adding a Bone coloured Helm to the space marine painter and i found that I really liked a tri colour scheme. I extended the bone to the shoulder pads and found that i really liked the colour combination and was again reminded of the Inquisitor figure i had painted long ago. I iterated on this colour scheme and inverted it and found that the Dark Green of the Incubi Darkness worked much better on the lighter bone colour of the armour than it had on the green. The lighter green of the Moot green didn't seem right on the skull helm and so on the inverted scheme the green helm changed to match the bone of the rest of the armour. This only left the Shoulder pads as Green i decided to change the knee pads to the lighter green. I was very happy with this colour scheme and decided it would be my final version.

 

I went back to naming the chapter and i created the  Death Castellans (I also tried Castellans of Death but i wanted a punchy two word name and yes i know "of" is barely a word) which didn't sound right and so I decided to try throwing both words around in a thesaurus. I then realised that another word for Castellan could potentially be Guard I had infact in spite all of my efforts to create something unique created mortarions 14th legion right down to the colour scheme. Oh well I was fairly committed to the idea at this point and so continued on. So again i tried to name this Chapter this time I ended up at Grave Wardens and again I had created the Death Guard. I Felt that i was on the right track with the word Warden but not the word Death or Grave and so thought of other words related to that and went through several options. 

 

I ended up on Crypt Wardens however did come up with the idea of using Castellan as the formal title for the Captains and High Castellan for the Chapter Master. I also got names for two battle barges Castellan of Grief  and Mourning Pilgrim 

 

the Irony being that when i made the decision to dive back into the hobby my first pic was a force of pre heresy Death Guard before i moved on and decided that i wanted to create a 40k army (unsure how 30k armies where balanced for regular play against there 40k counterparts or even if they where balanced against other 30k armies)

[Stormgrad]

OK it's been a few days and my Forge World goodies have arrived and i Hope to be able to take some pictures and get opinions on a dry Fit of my Counts as Garadon model in the not to distant future. However as part of what I feel is the most important step of this project i have hammered out more all important background for the chapter.

 

So without further adieu i present to you the Origins of the Crypt Wardens Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes and again apologies for the tumult of grammatical and spelling errors im sure are there that i simply missed.

 

 Origins: 

The origins of the Crypt Wardens Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes date as far back as the great crusade and begin with the 28th company of the Imperial Fists Legion. Marines of the 28th Company as well as an attached contingent of Death Guard and Numerous Solar Auxillia and Mechanicum units where given the task of bringing a small interstellar empire in the Sosar Sector to heel and bringing all nearby worlds into the welcoming bosom of the Imperium. This Campaign of aggression would be known as the Sossarian Suppresion, Imperial and Sossarian tacticians immediately identified the key world of Irkalla as of the utmost strategic importance. Irkalla being an Agri world fed many of the nearby worlds and choking denying this supply to the enemy was to be the foremost goal in both sides mind at the start of this campaign. Irkalla also had other benefits at the heart of some  of the most stable warp routes in the sector and its vast wide open fields made it an ideal mustering ground for men and material as well as having the ability to feed them and so shortening supply lines.

 

So battle plans were drawn up and it wasn’t long before the 28th Company of the Imperial fists made planetfall hoping to storm the planet and crush the opposition mounting there before it grew beyond what they could immediately counter. Resistance was stiff and although the superhuman warriors of the Adeptus Astartes assault claimed a bloody toll on the defenders it was not enough. The fighting quickly progressed into a protracted and bloody siege, naval assets cordoned off the world and blockaded it cutting off outside support and reinforcements for the sosarian forces massed on the ground. However the forces already deployed where already well supplied and where on an Agri world capable of sustaining far greater numbers than currently occupied it. 

 

The war of Aggression had turned to one of attrition and it would be some two years before the bloody siege would come to an end. The Death Guard contingent eager to see an end to the war and not caring about the long term plans of the crusade unleashed a Bio Chemical weapon in an event that is now referred to amongst locals and imperial scholars as “The Black Harvest”. The virus targeted the crops that had allowed the organised and armed resistance on Irkalla to survive  and in approximately 2.5 terran standard seconds a world once green turned an inky black as the crops turned to an oily sludge that covered the planets surface before hardening into a nearly impenetrable obsidian rock . 

Almost immediately resistance crumbled and the mighty armies of the imperium walked over Irkalla’s surface unopposed, Captain Sharnhost of the Imperial Fists was furious and immediately met with the commander of the Death Guard contingent no one knows what was said but following this encounter the Death Guard withdrew totally from the Sossarian Supression Campaign. The Imperial fists however stayed behind, now down to only a quarter of their original strength having borne the brunt of the fighting both in the initial invasion and the subsequent two year long siege they began the work of fortifying and attempting to repair the damage to the now barren agri world.   

 

From Irkalla they oversaw the rest of the campaign to conquer the Sossarian Sector lending aid and support where possible and still their numbers continued to dwindled. Fortunately without their main source of food the nearby planets fell into line with a few short but bloody battles. As the Crusade moved on the 28th Company stayed helping to rebuild and fortify the Sossarian sector securing new potential Agri worlds to help sustain the now famine stricken sector. Amongst the rest of the Imperial Fists Legion Captain Sharnhost had become mockingly known as the “Castellan of Grief”. 

 

His company now deemed combat ineffective due to the extensive losses they had no choice but to simply fortify and rebuild and recruit. It is at this point that Irkalla made its transition into a Cemetery world and soon millions of pilgrims from the surrounding planets would come to the world to pray for relief from the famine and take solace in the fact that even as they starved to death the where amongst the honoured dead of the great crusade.

 

Almost two years after the events the “Black Harvest” the Imperium of man was tossed into Horus’s fratricidal civil war almost all Imperial Fists units where ordered back to the defense of Terra not among their number though was the 28th, it was deemed that the resources used in returning the battle damaged and significantly under strength company where not worth the reward and could be better put to use elsewhere. 

 

sidebar: The Death Guard contingent responsible for the Black Harvest were reportedly some of the initial forces deployed to Istvan III deemed to be a threat to the Warmasters plans of betrayal. Scholars surmise that with the deployment of the life eater virus and the ensuing battles with the now traitor legions that these loyalist Death Guard were wiped out entirely.  

 

And so it was that the  28th Company and the Castellan of Grief sat out the heresy engaged in only small scale skirmishes against minor traitor warbands and when the Emperor fell in combat against Horus it is said that they wept for a hundred days there grief at having been denied the opportunity to defend the patriarch of humanity stolen from them. For this egregious offence they laid the blame squarely at the foot of the now Traitor Death Guard Legion. Believing that the Black Harvest must of been some part of Hours and Mortarions plan to sap the Imperial Fists legion of strength and deny the 28th the honour of fighting at the Emperors side during Horus’s Assault on Holy Terra.

 

During the Events of the Iron Cage the 28th shunned the company of the rest of there legion and stood apart all but silent still consumed by grief for the loss of the Emperor they stood stoically against the forces the traitor primarch Perturabo arrayed against them. It is said that even Dorn himself commented on the Sombre and Brooding nature of the 28th saying that the title Castellan of Grief was well earned. 

 

Following the events of the Iron Cage and Rogal Dorn’s Acquiescence to Robute Guillamans desire to reform the space marine legions into smaller chapters the 28th returned to Irkalla and continued garrison the once lush world that was now fast becoming a landscape covered in Crypts and Mausoleums to famous imperial heroes who had died in the bitter fighting of the heresy. Sometime between the dates of the official 2nd and 3rd Founding the 28th were released from the Imperial Fists Legion (perhaps due to a growing mutual frustration.) and were given rights to the world of Irkalla and formed a new Space Marine chapter taking for themselves the name “Crypt Wardens” 

 

And so it was that Captain Ernst Sharnhost became the first High Castellan of the Crypt Wardens Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes.

[Stormgrad]

Ok so here it is, Sentinel (the de facto second in command of the company usually but not always the most senior sergeant) Alexus Murphy (Cookies to those who get the reference) 

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/Stormgrad/AlexusMurphy01up_zps33a1ecb7.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/Stormgrad/AlexusMurphy02up_zpsf4013627.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/Stormgrad/AlexusMurphy03up_zpsf6f9de0d.jpg

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v192/Stormgrad/AlexusMurphy04up_zps89f27131.jpg

[Dragonkin Arenis]

As a huge fan of the "siege warfare/attrition" strategy that we see very little of in the 41st Millennium, and with some wonderfully crafted backstory to boot, you have my attention.

 

The colour scheme does remind me of the Death Guard, which is unusual considering that the Chapter is meant to hate the Traitor Legion. It's not an urgent thing, but maybe that's something to look into? Some fluff reason why the Chapter has taken those colours, perhaps?

 

Whilst you are correct in the fact that each of the Legion's immediate successors represent aspects of Dorn's personality (Black Templars his zeal, Crimson Fists his tactician's mind, etc.), the "stoic/stubborn" side has been filled already by the little-known Excorators. And just to be clear, I'm not gunning you down, but the Chapter hasn't received much in the way of fluff and backstory and aren't very well known. Whilst this isn't to say that your chapter can't have the same outlook and combat strategy as the Excoriators, perhaps you can turn this to your advantage.

 

Perhaps they instead hold extremely close ties with the Excoriators, so much so that they will lend their fighting strength to them on occasion when they need more bodies to fill the gap? Perhaps there are some ancient bonds of brotherhood and a traditional feast held when they meet/ Perhaps they exchange young officers to properly train them in the arts of leadership and war? The possibilities are endless!

 

I'm curious to see what you come up with :)

[ChaptermasterDemon7]

As a huge fan of the "siege warfare/attrition" strategy that we see very little of in the 41st Millennium, and with some wonderfully crafted backstory to boot, you have my attention.

The colour scheme does remind me of the Death Guard, which is unusual considering that the Chapter is meant to hate the Traitor Legion. It's not an urgent thing, but maybe that's something to look into? Some fluff reason why the Chapter has taken those colours, perhaps?

Whilst you are correct in the fact that each of the Legion's immediate successors represent aspects of Dorn's personality (Black Templars his zeal, Crimson Fists his tactician's mind, etc.), the "stoic/stubborn" side has been filled already by the little-known Excorators. And just to be clear, I'm not gunning you down, but the Chapter hasn't received much in the way of fluff and backstory and aren't very well known. Whilst this isn't to say that your chapter can't have the same outlook and combat strategy as the Excoriators, perhaps you can turn this to your advantage.

Perhaps they instead hold extremely close ties with the Excoriators, so much so that they will lend their fighting strength to them on occasion when they need more bodies to fill the gap? Perhaps there are some ancient bonds of brotherhood and a traditional feast held when they meet/ Perhaps they exchange young officers to properly train them in the arts of leadership and war? The possibilities are endless!

I'm curious to see what you come up with

I have to agree with Dragonkin Arenis about who represents the stubborness/stoic side of Dorn, which goes to the Excoriators but I love his idea about your chapter being close with the Excoriators. And the model looks superb btw, as is your fulff!

[Stormgrad]

I too love that Idea and will whole heartedly steal it, they have other tie ins as well such as how deeply both chapters feel the loss of the emperor. The Crypt Wardens rage at being denied an opportunity to participate in the defence of Terra and the Excoriators for the failure of protecting the Emperor. I read the background for the Excoriators during my initial research however what I took from them wasn't there attitude (which I totally dig I love the idea that they fight wars of attrition and sieges as you can probably tell), But that they had a "Darkness" and separated those afflicted out into "The Santiarch" and experienced visions of there Primarch. This to me kinda felt like a Imperial Fist/ Blood Angels fusion. However that said I plan to work on the Chapters recent history and I feel this is where there ties to the Excoriators will come in. I actually have a rough idea of two periods of the Chapters history I wish to cover the first being the Sosar Expansion a period in time that will cover a campaign to grab an extra 50 or so worlds and specifically more agri worlds to counter the famine induced as a direct result of the the "Black Harvest". The Second will be the War for Hal'Aleph - This will be in a similar style to Kobrakei's fourth shrine war plog which I adore and will be how I detail the history and the units of the 2nd Compay as i build and paint the entire company into an army. The main enemy of the Hal'Aleph war will be the Death Guard.

As for the colour scheme I think that I will say that the similarity to that of the death guard was so that they would be forever reminded of the traitors that had caused them and their world such harm. I had considered changing the colour scheme and played around with it but I just rather like the original green on bone and it works rather well and again I can craft it into the Chapters Background. However one Alternative i was happy with.

Sentinel Alexus Murphy was basically inspired by all the awesome science fiction characters who also happen to be cyborgs and more specifically Robocop (the new movie was particularly good and is one of my favourite movies of recent times).

[Stormgrad]

ok folks its been a little while and although i have no new modelling done (I'm actually at my mother in laws now for the holidays) I have reworked the Chapters Origin story to work the Excorators in fully and the idea that they believe death is to be revered as only in death can you understand the Sacrifice made by the Emperor. On this note I can also see them having close ties with the Blood Angels and their successors since Sanguinus made the ultimate sacrifice to ensure his fathers limited victory. Also both have weird visions of their primarch and there could be significantly more than meets the eye about how "The Darkness" affects the Crypt Wardens. With this Rework i also decided to steer away from Second founding after some research it seems that creating such an old chapter can be difficult and generally frowned upon. This allowed me tmake them a cursed founding chapter and explain why the Excorators obviously flawed Gene Seed was being used to create another chapter. 

 

The Crypt Wardens chapter were formed during the Twenty First founding, the so called “Cursed” founding. The aim in creating the chapter was to create a force with a focus on siege warfare to be deployed as line breakers and attrition fighters in support of numerous planned crusades into the region of space known as the Halo Stars. As such the Excorators chapter was selected to provide a training cadre and the gene stock from which the new chapter was to be created. As with most chapters created during this founding the Gene-Seed was experimented on quite heavily. It is perhaps for this reason above all others that the Excorators were chosen being so afflicted with a sickly palsy that they refer to as “The Darkness”. The results of this foul tampering actually seem to have been fruitful as the Crypt Wardens display no outward signs of the affliction that blights their parent chapter. However members of the chapter are still afflicted with visions of their primarchs greatest failure, the loss of the Emperor. 

 

The Crypt Wardens first deployment was to the Teluric Crusade, to support it in claiming the Sossarian Sector. At this time the chapter was known simply as Chapter 825 and was being carefully monitored by both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Adminstratum. The increased oversight is noted as a precaution perhaps because of the extensive genetic tampering and modification done by the Magos Biologis and the explosive failures of several other space marine chapters borne from the cursed founding. Initially fighting in the Teluric Crusade had been swift with dozens of stars having been brought back under Imperial sway however the fighting became more bogged down on the agri world of Irkalla both sides identifying the world as a key strategic resource its bountiful harvest could sustain large quantities of troops and the fighting there soon escalated into a long and bloody siege. 

 

The commanders of the crusade decided to deploy chapter 825 to Irkalla in order to break the protracted siege taking place there. The as yet unnamed Crypt Wardens decided to deploy the full force of their chapter in order to quickly overwhelm and crush key defensive locations and allow other forces already on Irkalla to push through these beachheads and into the enemy forces. The first step of the plan called for massed drop pod assault in order to secure forward landing zones for the rest of the chapter. Once that had been accomplished fleets of Thunderhawks, Storm Eagles and Storm ravens descended through the upper atmosphere and deployed their cargo of men and tanks to the planets surface. An entire chapters worth of space marines mounted in Rhinos.Razobacks and a variety of Land Raiders pushed forth to the planets capital designated Bastion Primus. The force of Mass armour broke through the outer perimeter swiftly the defenders taken aback by the arrival and swift deployment of this new force. This allowed other forces as planned to push through the breach and within three hours the planet was firmly in Imperial hands. 

 

However as a last act of defiance the planetary rulers who had been backed and supported by a small warband of traitorous chaos space marines of the Death Guard Legion calling themselves the “Bile Hand” unleashed a biogenic weapon into the atmosphere. This weapon unleashed a virus that targeted and destroyed all plant matter on the world. The as Yet unnamed Crypt Wardens quickly exacted swift justice for this most heinous crime using the massed lance batteries of orbiting spacecraft to obliterate the royal palace. However the harm was already done Irkallas once fertile lands had been decimated the virus turned the crops of the world into a thick oily sludge that seeped into the soil and poisoned it before turning into an obsidian rock that formed a new crust over the majority of the planet. The People of Irkalla refer to this event as “The Black Harvest”. Following this event chapter 825 began to use Irkalla as a staging ground for their further involvement in the Teluric Crusade. They fortified it and created an impressive bastion as one would expect from a chapter with such a noble lineage. 

 

As the crusade wore on the sudden loss of this large source of food was felt on the surrounding worlds. Even on previously pacified worlds riots became commonplace brought on by the food shortage and in some rare cases outright rebellion. Chapter 825 fought tirelessly to quell the surge of unrest only to run afoul of the Bile Hand Warband on numerous occasions.  The following battles that ended in a climactic void engagement over Irkalla Minoris on the outer edge of the Irkalla system saw over two thirds of the new chapter destroyed. However it also saw an end to the threat posed by the Bile hand Warband and with their foul influence gone the Teluric crusade drew to a swift close. 

 

Irkalla was reclassified as a cemetery world and for their part in the crusade chapter 825 was given rights to it. At roughly this point in history Chapter 825 officially adopts the name “Crypt Wardens”  and their initial bastion is expanded upon and the Sepulchre of Spite their fortress monastery constructed. Meanwhile millions of honoured dead are shipped to Irkalla and the planets surface begins to be covered in mausoleums and crypts as internment becomes commonplace among the local lords and nobility of the newly formed Sossarian Sector. Irkalla also becomes a mecca for pilgrims who wish to pay their respect to fallen heroes of the Imperium. 

 

Following this the Crypt Wardens enter a period of time that they refer to as “The Rebuilding” many records from this time are lost as it spans the Age of Apostasy what is known is that for the Chapter this was a relative period of calm where they regained their strength and began to help secure and stabilize the growing Sossarian Sector fighting fairly small scale battles compared to their previous engagements. However when the Crypt Wardens emerge from “The Rebuilding” they have developed the belief that only in death can they come to understand the Sacrifice the Emperor made for humanity. 

 

In recent years the Crypt Wardens have fought valiantly on numerous battlefields maintaining a expertise for siege warcraft that befits their lineage as successors to those who fought in the defence of Terra at the Imperial Palace. However the chapters chaplains known as Santiarchs have noted a marked increase in the numbers of those within their care being afflicted by the visions of Rogal Dorns failure to protect the Emperor in his final battle with the Warmaster Horus at the close of the Heresy.

 

Thoughts and opinions are welcome i would love more feedback especially from those of you who's ideas and suggestions i have already incorporated 

[Dragonkin Arenis]

Looking good! I like the reworked fluff a lot!

 

The Cursed 21st Founding is a good way to explain why the Excoriators' gene-seed was used, and I can't exactly fault the logic behind their inclusion in the Crusade. Their rebuilding afterwards is a nice touch as well, but what happened in this time? Did the Chapter assume some of the habits of the locals? Do they have any important ceremonies or relationships with other, specific Chapters? What is their relationship with their gene-sires the Excoriators and, by extension, the Imperial Fists?

[Adeptus-Alaska]

Alexis Murphy! Kudos on the robocop homage.......

 

This looks to be a great start of a great chapter. My as of yet created DIY iron hands successor will be proud to stand with you!

 

Glorium mortis,

Prime

[Stormgrad]

Thank you both for the responses following your brilliant constructive criticism Arenis I have tweaked the fluff a little more. I promise that after New years this will become more picture heavy.  (As previously stated this is my attempt to get back into the hobby) Anyway im sat at my mother in laws next to her Christmas Tree and I know that under that tree is a whole host of supplies (actually all the paints i need to progress and a full set of brushes) 

 

anyway here is some more of that reworked background new bits are bolded 

 

 

The Crypt Wardens chapter were formed during the Twenty First founding, the so called “Cursed” founding. The aim in creating the chapter was to create a force with a focus on siege warfare to be deployed as line breakers and attrition fighters in support of numerous planned crusades into the region of space known as the Halo Stars. As such the Excorators chapter was selected to provide a training cadre and the gene stock from which the new chapter was to be created. As with most chapters created during this founding the Gene-Seed was experimented on quite heavily. It is perhaps for this reason above all others that the Excorators were chosen being so afflicted with a sickly palsy that they refer to as “The Darkness”. The results of this foul tampering actually seem to have been fruitful as the Crypt Wardens display no outward signs of the affliction that blights their parent chapter. However members of the chapter are still afflicted with visions of their primarchs greatest failure, the loss of the Emperor. 

 

The Crypt Wardens first deployment was to the Teluric Crusade, to support it in claiming the Sossarian Sector. At this time the chapter was known simply as Chapter 825 and was being carefully monitored by both the Adeptus Mechanicus and the Adminstratum. The increased oversight is noted as a precaution perhaps because of the extensive genetic tampering and modification done by the Magos Biologis and the explosive failures of several other space marine chapters borne from the cursed founding. Initially fighting in the Teluric Crusade had been swift with dozens of stars having been brought back under Imperial sway however the fighting became more bogged down on the agri world of Irkalla both sides identifying the world as a key strategic resource its bountiful harvest could sustain large quantities of troops and the fighting there soon escalated into a long and bloody siege. 

 

The commanders of the crusade decided to deploy chapter 825 to Irkalla in order to break the protracted siege taking place there. The as yet unnamed Crypt Wardens decided to deploy the full force of their chapter in order to quickly overwhelm and crush key defensive locations and allow other forces already on Irkalla to push through these beachheads and into the enemy forces. The first step of the plan called for massed drop pod assault in order to secure forward landing zones for the rest of the chapter. Once that had been accomplished fleets of Thunderhawks, Storm Eagles and Storm ravens descended through the upper atmosphere and deployed their cargo of men and tanks to the planets surface. An entire chapters worth of space marines mounted in Rhinos.Razobacks and a variety of Land Raiders pushed forth to the planets capital designated Bastion Primus. The force of Mass armour broke through the outer perimeter swiftly the defenders taken aback by the arrival and swift deployment of this new force. This allowed other forces as planned to push through the breach and within three hours the planet was firmly in Imperial hands. 

 

However as a last act of defiance the planetary rulers who had been backed and supported by a small warband of traitorous chaos space marines of the Death Guard Legion calling themselves the “Bile Hand” unleashed a biogenic weapon into the atmosphere. This weapon unleashed a virus that targeted and destroyed all plant matter on the world. The as Yet unnamed Crypt Wardens quickly exacted swift justice for this most heinous crime using the massed lance batteries of orbiting spacecraft to obliterate the royal palace. However the harm was already done Irkallas once fertile lands had been decimated the virus turned the crops of the world into a thick oily sludge that seeped into the soil and poisoned it before turning into an obsidian rock that formed a new crust over the majority of the planet. The People of Irkalla refer to this event as “The Black Harvest”. Following this event chapter 825 began to use Irkalla as a staging ground for their further involvement in the Teluric Crusade. They fortified it and created an impressive bastion as one would expect from a chapter with such a noble lineage. 

 

As the crusade wore on the sudden loss of this large source of food was felt on the surrounding worlds. Even on previously pacified worlds riots became commonplace brought on by the food shortage and in some rare cases outright rebellion. Chapter 825 fought tirelessly to quell the surge of unrest only to run afoul of the Bile Hand Warband on numerous occasions.  The following battles that ended in a climactic void engagement over Irkalla Minoris on the outer edge of the Irkalla system saw over two thirds of the new chapter destroyed. However it also saw an end to the threat posed by the Bile hand Warband and with their foul influence gone the Teluric crusade drew to a swift close. 

 

Irkalla was reclassified as a cemetery world and for their part in the crusade chapter 825 was given rights to it. At roughly this point in history Chapter 825 officially adopts the name “Crypt Wardens”  and their initial bastion is expanded upon and the Sepulchre of Spite their fortress monastery constructed. Meanwhile millions of honoured dead are shipped to Irkalla and the planets surface begins to be covered in mausoleums and crypts as internment becomes commonplace among the local lords and nobility of the newly formed Sossarian Sector. Irkalla also becomes a mecca for pilgrims who wish to pay their respect to fallen heroes of the Imperium. 

 

Following this the Crypt Wardens enter a period of time that they refer to as “The Rebuilding” In actuality it was more of a campaign of pacification bringing the fringe worlds of the newly christened Sossarian Sector into line and helping to strengthen and secure Imperial rule in the sector. During this period the Crypt Wardens most notable action was the Battle of Aleph. The Crypt Wardens fought to bring the Aleph system under Imperial control, Aleph is a system on the Fringe of the Sossarian sector containing three habitable planets and various satellites two Agri worlds and one Hive world. Still under strength the Crypt Wardens sought aid from outside sources. That aid arrived in the form of three companies and various support elements from their parent chapter the Excorators. 

 

The Excorators brought with them many great warmachines most of which happened to be relics from the great crusade. Upon the eve of the final battle on the world of Tal’Aleph the Excorators gifted some of these mighty Relics to the Crypt Wardens at a grand banquet one of these warmachines of ancient providence was the Typhon siege tank “Dorn Ascendant”. Since that conflict the Crypt Wardens have maintained extremely good relations with their parent chapter and it is not uncommon to see them fighting side by side.  After the battle of Aleph “The Rebuilding” was declared to be at an end and The Crypt Wardens began to deploy in strength to support the Draken Crusade. 

 

Sidenote: Inquisitorial sources suggest that the Excorators chapter seeks to replace their entire gene-stock with that of the Crypt Wardens the latter chapter having eliminated the darkness that maligns the Excorators an otherwise ancient and proud chapter of the Adeptus Astartes. 

 

The Crypt Wardens also maintain a Healthy relationship with the Imperial Fists chapter and frequently send representatives to attend the famed Feast of Blades. The Crypt Wardens also maintain close ties with the local mechanicum an important factor in them continuing to be highly effective siege fighters as well as generally being seen to be strong and reliable allies this is in contradiction to most other chapters formed as part of the Twenty First or Cursed Founding.  

 

In recent years the Crypt Wardens have fought valiantly on numerous battlefields maintaining a expertise for siege warcraft that befits their lineage as successors to those who fought in the defence of Terra at the Imperial Palace. However the chapters chaplains known as Santiarchs have noted a marked increase in the numbers of those within their care being afflicted by the visions of Rogal Dorns failure to protect the Emperor in his final battle with the Warmaster Horus at the close of the Heresy. 

 

 

Homeworld: Irkalla

The World of Irkalla was originally classified as an Agri world some 83% of the planets surface given over to the production of Kafallah Beans a hardy and resistant crop that was easily processed into a Nutrient paste before being sent off world. However following the events of “The Black Harvest” the planet was reclassified as a cemetery world and was used to store and honour the dead of the Teluric Crusade that brought the Sossarian sector under Imperial control. The planets surface is covered in a almost black rock like substance an aftereffect of “The Black Harvest” above that are millions of Tombs and Mausoleums arranged in neat and tidy rows. Burrowing beneath ground are many more crypts and burial vaults. Dominating the northern polar region is the Sepulchre of spite the Crypt Wardens fortress monastery, itself home to a large and opulent burial chamber as befits a chapter that so reveres their dead. 

 

The people of Irkalla are now mostly weak and servile whose sole task is to tend the massed graves, although before “The Black Harvest” they were a hardy stock and this still see’s the occasional Irkallan Native inducted into the Crypt Wardens. However most new neophytes come from the large transient population of pilgrims many of whom simply stop at Irkalla to pay their respects to many of the Imperiums honoured dead as part of a larger pilgrimage. These people are often used to hardship many having forsaken their worldly possessions and living off the charity of strangers during their pilgrimage. Many such individuals often perish and it is often up to their descendants to carry on the Pilgrimage and it is from these faithful and determined people that the Majority of the Crypt Wardens neophytes come from. This leads to a chapter where each battle brother is often from vastly different cultural backgrounds the only commonality between them being righteous faith and a deep respect for the deceased Heroes of the Imperium

 

Beliefs: 

As one might expect with a chapter whose primary source of new neophytes is a migrant population of pilgrims the average Crypt Warden is extremely faithful and respectful of the honoured dead of the Imperium. The chapter honours their primarch Rogal Dorn as one of the greatest Heroes of the Imperium and the Emperor as the saviour of Humanity. They also believe that only in death can you truly understand the sacrifice the Emperor made to defeat Horus and deliver humanity into safety. They also have a deep respect for all of the sons of Sanguinus for the sacrifice their primarch made. 

 

The Crypt Wardens greatest heroes are those that are interned within the armoured carapace of a dreadnaught caught in a state between life and death these champions of the Chapter are the closest that they can come to understanding the Emperors own sacrifice and still being able to fight the enemies of the Emperor. 

[Dragonkin Arenis]

Excellent work, I like the additions you've made. If you wish to further flesh out other details of the chapter, I've used a framework in my Iron Sentinels thread (link in sig) that might be of use. It is basically the same format as is featured in the Lexicanum and you might be able to find use of it.

 

Backtracking briefly to colour scheme, what are your plans? Will you be sticking with the Death Guard-esque scheme you originally posted, or will you be changing it? and on a related note, how does the Chapter differentiate between companies; are they strictly codex-compliant in that regard like their forebears or do they use a different method, like the Blood Angels or Dark Angels?

On that note, actually, how codex compliant is the chapter as a whole? Do they have any unique formations within the chapter, or names for certain roles within the command structure? Just some food for thought there.

 

You're doing good here, Brother, looking forwards to models and paint ;)

[Pearson73]

Sentinel's looking good, nice background too!

[Stormgrad]

Excellent work, I like the additions you've made. If you wish to further flesh out other details of the chapter, I've used a framework in my Iron Sentinels thread (link in sig) that might be of use. It is basically the same format as is featured in the Lexicanum and you might be able to find use of it.

Backtracking briefly to colour scheme, what are your plans? Will you be sticking with the Death Guard-esque scheme you originally posted, or will you be changing it? and on a related note, how does the Chapter differentiate between companies; are they strictly codex-compliant in that regard like their forebears or do they use a different method, like the Blood Angels or Dark Angels?

On that note, actually, how codex compliant is the chapter as a whole? Do they have any unique formations within the chapter, or names for certain roles within the command structure? Just some food for thought there.

You're doing good here, Brother, looking forwards to models and paint

Well for everyone just to confirm models are planned and in the works. I've actually got a plan laid out for specific squads and my whole plan is to do the entire 2nd company plus supporting units (including scouts and terminators).

As for how Codex Adherent they are, well I figure there will be a slight difference in naming conventions (Just going on the fact that there an Excorators successor and they already refer to there chaplains as santiarchs). Also I want to run a siege vanguard list however further thinking and reading has dissuaded me from doing this instead I plan on running a regular marine list split into two detachments in order to get the same effect (I figure that this will generally be allowed most places and unlike forgeworld Lists I suspect that space marines will receive continuous updates with future editions of the game) so for this reason alone I am going to say that the 2nd Company is permanently a siege vanguard formation but realistically they are not they are just using a regular marine List.

So anyway im rather to Jolly (drunk Tonight) for any real update but i shall probably work on it more later, btw thanks for linking me to that guide just reading it now.