"We Stand At the Gate" - The Terminus Guard

[ElectricPaladin]

Hi everyone. I'm the amazing hobby mayfly known as ElectricPaladin. You might remember me from my other WIP threads, including my Knights of Blood, my Sisters of Battle, and my Salamanders... and here's another one! Whee! Why is the side of my head sticky?

 

Anyway, the point is that I like to start things. Sometimes I even finish them! And I like to post about them, because I've gotten to the point that I'm no longer ashamed of my hobby ADHD (probably because I'm not ashamed of my IRL ADHD either... :D).

 

For the longest time, I've been a stickler for the established background. My very first project was a made-up Tau colony... and I got bored with it pretty fast. On the other hand, my armies that are based on "real" background elements and established chapters and conflicts have kept my interest for a lot longer. This, however, is my first time trying to make up my own chapter... and I think I really like it. The brainstorming process - with the help of my brothers here on B&C - was fun and rewarding, and I've found some awesome bits and inspirational art to help in realizing my vision (literally - it came to me in a dream) for the chapter.

 

As always, comments and questions about my painting, modeling, and fluff writing are welcome.

 

Enough introduction - let's get to the fun stuff!

 

• • •

 

Chapter Name: Terminus Guard

Chapter Motto: "We Stand at the Gate"

Chapter Colors: Bone and red; exposed mechanical components are given a brass finish.

Chapter Icon: A skeletal hand on a crimson field.

Founding Chapter: Imperial Fists

Founding: The Terminus Guard were born in the years between the 23rd and 24th Foundings, though they are usually assigned to the 23rd thanks to their role as “sentinels” of their homeward and sector.

Descendents: None

Homeworld: Ossuary

 

• • •

 

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[deathspectersgt7]

Look forward to seeing what you do with this. I've seen those pads somewhere.

[Dolchiate Remembrancer]

I love the concept and scheme! Can't wait to see more!

[ElectricPaladin]

Let me tell you a little more about the strange world of Ossuary, the home of the Terminus Guard...

 

• • •

 

Ossuary is a night-world, one side tidally locked to the system's sun, the other shrouded in eternal darkness. The Ossuarians were forced underground by this arrangement, but they managed to thrive, building huge underground galleries and vaults. The planet Ossuary never rediscovered Warp travel, in part because of the near-constant Eldar corsair raids, stunting their space travel; they only managed to colonize two of their system's planets, and these "colonies" were much more armed outposts, intended to provide an early warning of approaching xenos raiders

 

The Ossuaries owed their freedom and survival to the practice of Entombment, an early variant of dreadnought technology. Entombment provided Ossuary with an elite force of "undead" soldiery who were ruthlessly dedicated to protecting the living loved ones they had left behind. Although not the equal of an Astartes, these warriors were extremely durable in close combat and capable of firing heavy weapons accurately on the move, both of which gave them a fighting chance against the xenos raiders, especially when backed up by the considerable might of Ossuary's living soldiers.

 

In the long years of Old Night, Ossuary developed a culture of ancestor reverence. Although Entombment was acknowledged as burden - the least available evil - it was also a great honor to be related to a warrior who had sacrificed his or her very humanity to take a stand for Ossuary. In deference to the sharp senses and enhanced reaction times of the Entombed, Ossuarian culture became quiet and reserved, with a preference for muted tones. Similarly, the Entombed were cursed with hideous visages, which they hid behind decorative faceplates; living Ossuarians adopted a culture of masking, wearing elaborate masks and veils that denoted their social standing, family, and profession.

 

Luckily for the mortals of Ossuary, the task force sent to bring the planet into Compliance was composed primarily of elements drawn from the Salamanders, Death Guard, and Ultramarines Legions, and led by Mortarion himself. Early vox-intercepts indicated that Ossuary was a good candidate for peaceful induction into the growing Empire. After a brief show of force, the task force was able to encourage Ossuary to sign a treaty that favored the Empire, including full transfer of technological advancements and STCs. Ossuary was more than happy to cease the foul practice of Entombment - which they had come to see as a burden rather than an honor - especially when Mortarion agreed to leave behind a small detachment of Astartes to deal with the xenos raiders.

 

The problem of the Eldar corsairs was not fully resolved when the Horus Heresy began seven decades later, however, and in the chaos of those dark years, Ossuary returned to Entombment, reawakening their old defenders and creating more as needed. Once again, their dark technology served them well, and Ossuary became a beacon of hope and stability as the galaxy burned, absorbing refugee populations from several nearby systems. This "hybrid vigor" increased their cultural and physiological durability, helping the planet to survive the centuries to come before they were eventually rediscovered by the Imperium. It also brought with it elements of the Imperial Cult, which helped Ossuary to once more integrate peacefully with Mankind's larger society.

 

This time, however, the situation was much more fraught. The Imperium of Man had become even more intolerant in the years since the Heresy, and Entombment amounted to vile necromancy and tech-heresy. At the same time, Ossuary was tactically important, being located near several Webway gates (the source of their ongoing trouble with xenos raiders) and their undead legions presented enough of a military threat that the most optimistic projections were of a protracted war that ended in Exterminatus and a lengthy and expensive rebuilding process to make the planet useful once more.

 

The solution was to once more give Ossuary the protection of the Astartes. This time, however, the Imperium sponsored the founding of an entire chapter. As with most of the 23rd “Sentinel” founding, the records have been lost, but the Terminus Guard are thought to be of Imperial Fists descent, and extant records indicate that their training cadre were of the Excoriators chapter.

 

The culture of Ossuary had a strong impact on that of the growing chapter. Although they still lived, the Ossuraians recruited to the Terminus Guard saw a strong kinship with the Entombed that preceded them. Both were once mortal, but had been removed from the normal cycle of birth, procreation, and death in order to protect their living fellows. The natural temperament of the Imperial Fists combined with these memes to create a chapter with a strong sense of their role as servants and protectors to mortals, rather than their superiors. The Terminus Guard took on the heraldry of the Entombed, adorning themselves with skulls and corpse-imagery to make their status as the honored dead clearer. They also favored their own version of the practice of Entombment, frequently creating dreadnoughts and allowing those dreadnoughts to continue to serve in a variety of roles, including the chaplaincy and, several times over the years, as chapter masters.

 

The Terminus Guard operates out of a fortress-monastery built deep underground on the “day” side of Ossuary, accessible only by air or by a long journey through tunnels running deep through Ossuary’s crust. This leaves them in a position to protect Ossuary without ruling it; neither are the mortal rulers of Ossuary encouraged to rely overmuch on Astartes of the chapter, who are at most a day’s travel away. The fortress-monastery of the Terminus Guard is known as the Necropolis, and is a beautiful - if somewhat foreboding and macabre - series of underground chambers and passageways paneled with the bones of the chapter’s dead. The most honored heroes and foes are given reliquary shrines, some of them so old that their stories have been long forgotten.

 

Unlike most other chapter homeworlds, Ossuary is a wealthy and prosperous world, almost fully integrated into the economic and cultural network of the sector. The presence of the Terminus Guard and their fortress-monastery gives the world a somewhat grim reputation and unusual gravitas. Ossuary’s planetary governor is almost completely independent from the sectorial government, answering only to the Terminus Guard, the Inquisition, and the Emperor Himself.

 

Ossuary is still home to about two hundred Entombed, a remnant of the legion made during the dark years following the Heresy. Although nigh-indestructable, they have been decommissioned of all weaponry and serve as civilian advisors to Ossuary’s mortal authorities. The Terminus Guard will not tolerate Adeptus Mechanicus inspectors performing a true census, so the exact number is unknown. The Adeptus Mechanicus frequently accuses Ossuary (and, by extension, the Terminus Guard) of using this uncertainty to continue the process of Entombing influential Ossuarians, but they have not yet been able to prove it.

[IamJacksUserName]

Fantastic background. I look forward to seeing this chapter in miniatures!

[ElectricPaladin]

Fantastic background. I look forward to seeing this chapter in miniatures!

 

Miniatures are coming! Unfortunately, I've got to wait on a number of bits to arrive, up to and including some custom bits from Shapeways. They're a great company and I'm very glad to have access to them, but they really take their time - they aren't likely to even ship for more than a week! The first models I'll have to show are probably going to be the land raider I'm currently working on and the dreadnought I'm almost done assembling (just awaiting lascannons from Forgeworld).

 

To tide you over, let me share with you some opinions about Ossuary from the inhabitants of the wider Imperium:

 

• • •

 

"It is a foul place, rife with hereteks and bizarre tech-necromancy. To this day, I do not know why the High Lords tolerate its existence - it should have been wiped clean upon first contact! That the High Lords saw fit to give it the protection of the Astartes baffles me, even now. We need not suppress our vengeance engrams, however, because the time will come that we will be permitted to cleanse the world and take its secrets for our own."

 

- Magos Dominus Numé, Ordo Cybernetica

 

"I hear you're askin' questions 'bout the bone planet. Ossuary. If'n you buy me a drink, I'll see what I can remember for ya. It's a queer place. The folk strange, all quiet like, so offworlders like you and me stand out like a priest in a brothel only in reverse, if you get my meaning. But aye, it's worth it. If you can pay the price, there's tech-magi there - only they don't like being lumped in with the Martian priests, so mind you don't call 'em that to their faces - who can wake the dead. Me old captain Denoven went and got hisself killed, and damned if he wasn't the only one who knew how he'd hidden the take from that time we, ah, appropriated a cruiser an' sold it back to its owners at a profit. So we brings his head to Ossuary and gives it to the tech-magi, and they go in his head and bring it all out. All the account numbers and passcodes and everythin'! Cost us a pretty penny it did, but we still came out ahead. A course, you gotta be careful. There's a chapter of the Emperor's Angels what call the place home. You gotta avoid their patrols, 'cause they don't much appreciate folks like us takin' advantage of their planet's less savory types. Yeah, they're a rigid bunch, but that means that if'n you know when to move, they ain't to hard to get past. You want to know what's what? Well, that'll cost you more'n the price of a drink, mate."

 

- Huorn Gull, "Independent Operator"

[ElectricPaladin]

Okay, so I was originally going to wait until I had finished models - well, at least fully assembled - to show off, but honestly Shapeways and the USPS are taking forever to get me all of my bits, so I think I'm going to charge ahead. Also, that will give me a chance to do the other thing I was going to do: reveal more and more about my chapter's history, culture, and made-up rules as I went.

 

Without further ado... let's have a look at some minis.

 

• • •

 

Terminus Guard Librarian

 

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Outside of narrative play, my librarian will be a ML 2 librarian wearing the Armor Indomitus, wielding a Force Staff, and carrying the Shield Eternal - 200 Points. With an opponent who's willing to let me play with my craaazy made-up rules, though, I'll be bringing the following (this is a 1st draft and still under review):

 

Chief Librarian Brother Michael Amanita (250 Points)

WS 6, BS 5, S 4, T 4, W 3, I 5, A 3, Ld 10, Sv 2+/4++

 

• Wargear: Artificer Armor, Bleak Runestaff (see below), Frag & Krak Grenades, Gravecaller (master-crafted grav pistol), Psychic Hood
  • The Bleak Runestaff is a master-crafted force staff (Strength +2, AP 4). Additionally, the Bleak Runestaff grants a 4+ invulnerable save and cancels Perils of the Warp on a roll of 5+ (the psychic power is canceled as well). When the Bleak Runestaff cancels a Perils of the Warp, Michel Amanita’s player can add one die to his psychic dice pool. Whenever Michael Amanita successfully uses the Force power to give the Bleak Runestaff the Instant Death special rule, and one of his attacks causes a model to be removed as a casualty, Michael can regain a wound lost earlier in the battle.
• Special Rules: And They Shall Know No Fear, Chapter Tactics: Terminus Guard, Dark Channeling, Psyker (Level 3)
  • Psychic Powers: Michael Amanita always selects all his powers from the Necromancy discipline. He always has Revenance (and Draining Gaze, thanks to the Psychic Focus rule), but his other two powers are rolled normally.
• Warlord Trait: If Michael Amanita is your warlord, he always has the following warlord trait rather than rolling.
  • Unbreakable Faith: Michael Amanita gains the Adamant Will special rule.

 

Again, outside of narrative play, Terminus Guard librarians should generally use the Biomancy or Telepathy Disciplines. Their ability to summon the dead will be reflected with a squad or two of Legion of the Damned backup. However, when playing with a tolerant opponent... (again - this is just a draft)

 

Psychic Discipline: Necromancy

 

Primaris: Draining Gaze (Warp Charge 1/Witchfire/18’’) - The psyker’s eyes turn black and crackle with unnatural energy, draining the vitality from anyone who is unlucky enough to meet his gaze. This psychic power is an Assault 1, Strength 6, AP 2 attack. If the attack deals a wound, the psyker can regain one wound.

 

1: Sacrifice (Warp Charge 0/Special) - A psyker skilled in the art of psychic necromancy can sacrifice his own flesh and blood for power. If a player wishes to have one of his psykers use this power during the psychic phase, it must be the first power used. Once a player starts activating other powers, Sacrifice can no longer be used in this psychic phase. A psyker with this power can voluntarily take a wound, which cannot be saved, in order to add d6 dice to his side’s pool of psychic dice. This power can also be used at the start of an the opponent’s psychic phase to generate additional dice for Deny the Witch rolls. This power requires no Warp Charges and no dice rolls and is not itself subject to Deny the Witch.

 

2: Shadow Walk (Warp Charge 1/Blessing) - The psyker’s mutant mind drives himself and his allies partly into another dimension, rendering them into immaterial shades that can pass through material objects.  During the movement phase, the psyker and his unit can move up to 12’’, ignoring terrain and intervening units, though the unit must take a Dangerous Terrain test for every unit or item of impassable terrain that they move through. A unit that benefits from this power cannot assault in the following assault phase.

 

3: Ethereal Blessing (Warp Charge 1/Blessing/12’’) - The power of the Warp swirls around the psyker’s allies in the form of a gray mist, protecting them from harm. A friendly unit within 12’’ of the Psyker gains Fearless and a 5+ invulnerable save.

 

4: Ethereal Curse (Warp Charge 1/Malediction/18’’) - The psyker drives his enemies partly into a dimension of dim shadows and swirling mists. Without the psyker to guide them, they have difficulty interacting with the material world until the laws of nature reassert themselves. A unit affected by this power must make a Morale test, and treats open ground as difficult terrain until the end of the turn.

 

5: Memento Mori (Warp Charge 2/Malediction/24’’) - The psyker summons up shades of his foe’s dead. If someone is heartless enough to ignore their pleas and curses, the swirling shades give them a terrifying aura; if they give in, they are distracted with grief and fear. In some cases, the shades may even attack! The target makes a Leadership test using 3d6 (discard the lowest). If the check is successful, the target unit gains the Fear and Stealth special rules for one turn. If the check fails, roll a d6 and check the following table:

• 1 to 2) The unit is Pinned.
• 3 to 4) The unit’s Ballistic Skill and Weapon Skill are reduced to 1.
• 5 to 6) The unit takes 1d6 Strength 6 AP 2 hits with Ignores Cover.

6: Revenance (Warp Charge 3/Blessing/12’’) - Reciting the names of the dead, the psyker temporarily calls them back into the material world to fight and die once more in the form of semi-material shades. Select a friendly unit that was removed as a casualty earlier in the game and deploy it within 12’’ of the psyker as though arriving from reserves via Deep Strike. Models returned to play with this power cannot declare a charge the turn they arrive. The unit’s profile is the same as it was before with the addition of Fearless, a 5+ invulnerable save (or improve an existing invulnerable save by one to a max of 3++), and the Rending special rule for their close combat attacks. The unit still counts as destroyed for the purposes of victory points and the returned unit is removed from play at the end of the last turn of the game (before objectives and victory points are tallied). Allied Independent Characters without the Chapter Tactics (Terminus Guard) cannot join this unit.

 

• • •

 

That was a lot of rules and not much fluff - lame. Here's some more background:

 

The Terminus Guard gene-seed has never been analyzed to the ultimate satisfaction of the Adeptus Mechanicus, owing largely to unusual inconsistencies in the chapter’s tithes and their poor relations with the Mechanicus.

 

However, some conclusions can be drawn from observation of living Astartes. Like their Imperial Fists forbearers, Astartes of the Terminus Guard lack a functional Betcher’s Gland. Curiously, their gene-seed does provide a functional Sus-an Membrane, which most descendants of Dorn lack. The chapter is also known for a slightly hyperactive Ossmodula, which causes them to stand somewhat taller than the average Astartes, with heavier builds. This lends Terminus Guard Astartes strength and durability at the cost of leaving them somewhat slower and less agile the other Space Marines (though still far superior to any unaltered mortal). Although not tied to any specific mutation of the gene-seed, Astartes of the Terminus Guard display exemplary resistance to toxins, pathogens, and radiation.

 

The Terminus Guard practice of ritual cannibalism (described below) is sometimes blamed on a hyperactive Omophagea, though Adeptus Mechanicus analysis of the chapter’s gene-seed has not shown any such mutation, leading the author to believe that the practice is merely cultural. The ability of Terminus Guard Astartes to better weather being interred into a dreadnought chassis may also be related to an alteration of the gene-seed - perhaps a slight modification to the function of the Catalepsan Node - but no analysis has yet identified the specific mutation.

 

Relationship w/Codex: Compliant, but unsentimental. The Terminus Guard views the codex as a tactical guide that has survived the test of time, but not as sacred writ.

 

The Terminus Guard’s tactical doctrine can be described as one of “active defense,” taking up a good position and then forcing their opponent to come to them. This is, in part, a result of their history of conflict with the Eldar, whose speed and mobility they cannot hope to match.

 

Organizational Variance: Dreadnoughts have a special place in the hierarchy and culture of the Terminus Guard. Something about the Terminus Guard’s genetic heritage, temperament, or alliance with the tech-necromancers of Ossuary makes them particularly suited to dreadnought internment, and they degrade much more slowly than other Astartes. As a result, Terminus Guard dreadnoughts spend a much greater proportion of their “lives” awake, and are available to serve as advisors and commanders. Several times over the years, the chapter has chosen a marine interred in a dreadnought as chapter master, master of sanctity, or some other notable role; the Master of the Fleet for the past 700 years, for example, has been a variant of a dreadnought - an Astartes permanently wired to a life-support network that makes him a part of the chapter’s flagship.

 

The Terminus Guard maintains an unusually large apothecarion. Terminus Guard apothecaries are notable for refusing the aid of other chapters in retrieving the gene-seed of fallen battle-brothers after joint engagements, though they are more than willing to help their allies in harvesting their casualties. The chapter’s gene-seed vaults are extensive, and there are no records in their two thousand years of vigilance of ever calling upon Terra for aid in replenishing their numbers, even after their disastrous casualties at the hands of their ancient Dark Eldar enemies in late M38.

 

Traditionally, the chapter keeps a full two of its ten companies on Ossuary - usually the 6th and the 4th or 7th - to fulfill the function for which they were created. At any given moment, most of the 1st Company can also be found on Ossuary, with only a small number of squads seconded to other companies on deployment throughout the sector. Like many chapters, the companies of the Terminus Guard have developed monikers and operational sub-specialties over the years:

 

• 1st Company - “Ancestors” - elite formations, armored spearhead assaults
• 2nd Company - “The Reborn” - boarding and zone mortalis actions
• 3rd Company - “The Prophesied” - drop pod insertions
• 4th Company - “The Merciful” - siege defense and occupation
• 5th Company - “The Vengeful” - swift-response and mechanized deployment
• 6th Company - “The Wardens” - the defense of Ossuary and its in-system colonies
• 7th Company - “Wraiths” - fleet actions and deep void picket duty
• 8th Company - “Hungry Ghosts” - close quarters assault
• 9th Company - “The Remembered” - artillery support
• 10th Company - “Phantoms” - scouting

[deathspectersgt7]

Looking Good!!!! Shapeways orders usually take 7 to 10 days to produce then the wait in the mail. But I have had as fast as 4days at one time.

[ElectricPaladin]

Looking Good!!!! Shapeways orders usually take 7 to 10 days to produce then the wait in the mail. But I have had as fast as 4days at one time.

 

Mine seems to be taking a bit longer. I placed the order at the end of December and it's not supposed to ship until January 14. At present, only two of the four items I ordered are even in pre-production. But... I'm not really complaining. They'll get here when they get here.

[ElectricPaladin]

Let's put some more fluff and some more pictures up:

 

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This guy is the chapter master of the Terminus Guard: 

 

Note: Outside of narrative play, Master Apollyon is a Chapter Master with Artificer Armor, Digital Weapons, a Storm Shield, and the choice of using his scythe as either a Power Fist or the Teeth of Terra - 235 Points

 

Master Andrew Apollyon (255 points)

• WS 6, BS 5, S 4, T 4, W 4, I 5, A 5, Ld 10, Sv 2+/4++
• Wargear: Artificer Armor, Demarcation (see below), Eternal Warrior, Frag & Krak Grenades, Gryppus (see below), Iron Halo, Orbital Strike
  • Demarcation is a Master Crafted power scythe. However, when Master Apollyon fights using Demarcation, use the Fighting Styles rule described below rather than the profile provided above.
  • Gryppus is a cyber-familiar with the form of a large vulture. Gryppus allows Master Apollyon to reroll one failed to-wound roll per round of combat. Additionally, when Master Apollyon is fighting in a challenge, Gryppus forces his opponent to reroll one successful to-hit roll per round of combat.
• Special Rules: And They Shall Know No Fear, Chapter Tactics: Terminus Guard, Fighting Styles
  • Fighting Styles: At the start of each Fight sub-phase, Master Apollyon can chose between two different fighting styles. If he choses Penetrating Strike Style, his scythe Demarcation has Strength x2, AP 2 and is Unwieldy. If he choses Whirling Scythe Style, Demarcation has Strength +1, AP 2, Concussive, and Sweeping Blow. Only Andrew Apollyon has the strength and skill to wield a power scythe at the speed with which others wield swords and maces.
• Warlord Trait: If Master Apollyon is your warlord, he always has the following warlord trait rather than rolling.
  • Angel of Death: Master Apollyon and his unit cause Fear, and whenever an opponent makes a Leadership test to resist this Fear, they must do so on three dice rather than two.

 

• • •

 

And because just rules are boring, here's a couple more pictures and some more fluff:

 

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Relationship w/Other Imperial Forces: The Terminus Guard is frequently tasked with organizing campaigns against Eldar corsairs in the sector surrounding Ossuary, and often coordinate their efforts with detachments of the Astra Militarum, Adepta Sororitas, and Imperial Navy. This has forced the chapter to develop the skill of working well with mortals, and they have learned to be circumspect about their practice of unusual psychic powers, excessive reverence of dreadnoughts, and occasional cannibalism. They also work well with other chapters of Adeptus Astartes, though their humility and attitude of service with regards to mortals has earned them the scorn of some particularly proud chapters, such as the Dark Angels (on the other hand, it improves their relations with more humanitarian and pragmatic chapters, such as the Salamanders and Ultramarines).

On the other hand, the Terminus Guard has never had a good relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus, who still view the chapter’s creation as an unfortunate compromise. The Mechanicus resents the independence of Ossuary’s tech-adepts, who continue to practice obscure arts of cybernetica and techno-necromancy that they have developed in the years since the Heresy. This jealousy usually manifests as accusations of tech-heresy and apostasy, but the Mechanicus can only take it too far, as the tech-necromancers of Ossuary have powerful allies in the Terminus Guard. As a result, the Terminus Guard is often poorly equipped and is forced to maintain their own equipment, which has led to a closer relationship with the tech-necromancers, which in turn deepens the Mechanicus’s suspicions.

 

The Inquisition - especially those Inquisitor-Lords with ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus - has always kept a close eye on the Terminus Guard, but they have never found any solid evidence of wrongdoing. These Astartes’s zeal and resilience has earned them a positive relationship with the Ordo Malleus and their long history of battling Eldar raiders has made them valuable to the Ordo Xenos. Thanks to its idiosyncrasies, however, and dark rumors about their descent, the chapter has and will never have an easy relationship with the most staunchly Puritan Inquisitors.

 

Culture/Philosophy: The most distinctive aspect of the Terminus Guard’s culture is their attitude of service - some might go so far as to say “submission” - regarding mortals. The Terminus Guard views their purpose as protecting and serving mortals and refuses to meddle significantly in their affairs. Although the chapter wields vast potential influence in the politics of Ossuary, they wield that power very carefully and very rarely.

 

The folk of Ossuary often refer to the Terminus Guard as the “Honored Dead.” Astartes and mortal Ossuarians who are related frequently keep in touch and take pride in each others’ achievements. Traditionally, Ossuarians send gifts to “their” Honored Dead; in return, the Astartes attend family events, which lends the clan a gravitas that most can parlay into political or economic good fortune.

 

The Terminus Guard recognize Dorn as their Primarch and revere the Excoriators as their founders, but their relationship with the rest of Dorn’s sons is, in general, rather cool and stand-offish. The Terminus Guard do not participate in the Feast of Blades or share many cultural memes with their founders, save for a strong sense of duty and a talent for defensive warfare.

 

This chapter is one of the few to elevate the occasional cannibalism that all Astartes indulge in from time to time to the level of a ritual. After a battle, space marines of the Terminus Guard consume the flesh of their fallen heroes as part of a lengthy ceremony, believing that this allows them to incorporate some of the deceased’s skill and strength of character (not an entirely illogical conclusion given the power of the Omophagea). On occasion, the Terminus Guard have done mortal warriors the honor of feasting upon their corpses as well. As they lack Betcher’s Glands, the Astartes of the Terminus Guard have no easy way to digest the bones of their honored dead, which has led to the practice of making reliquaries from the skeletons of their greatest heroes, some of which are carried into battle and given all the honor and glory of a banner. Other skeletons reside in the Necropolis on Ossuary, where they are displayed in niches alongside facsimiles of their wargear (the actual arms and armor, of course, are passed on to other warriors) and accounts of their deeds.

 

Another curious custom of the Terminus Guard is that of masking. Full battle brothers do not go about with their faces uncovered. Astartes of this chapter reveal their faces only to their closest friends and confidantes, sometimes including their living relations, and almost never show their faces to the enemy. Veterans tend to wear elaborate death masks, while lesser brothers use simple hoods or cloth veils. Some chapter luminaries - the current chapter master, for example - defy this tradition, while scout sergeants generally go unmasked in solidarity with their charges.

 

Operational Specialty: Defensive and attritional warfare, heavy weapons fire and artillery, xenocidal campaigns against Eldar.

[ElectricPaladin]

It's time for the Community Cuestion Corner! I'm stuck and don't know what to add to my army next. My options are:

 

1) Tactical Squad box to paint up as... a squad of tactical marines.

2) Tactical Squad box to paint up as Legion of the Damned (I'm going to give them floating skull heads and do their whole bodies with an eerie green glow effect... it's going to be totally awesome.

3) Something else (I know that my army will include devastators, at least one rhino and at least one razorback, a thunderfire cannon...)

 

The problem with #1 is that it's less exciting, but more of a core choice. The problem with #2 is that in ideal circumstances, I'm not actually going to use them very often, because I'm hoping that most of my opponents will let me use my made-up psychic discipline (and I am NOT planning to make ghost-versions of every freaking model in my army).

 

Thoughts?

[Big Bad Squig]

This is such an awesome thread, even already!  In regards to the question, I would go with tacticals, because you can always jazz them up a bit, and it gives you a chance to decide on your scheme and make any changes to it before you move onto other models.

[Ace Debonair]

I'd definitely say tacticals, though they might appear the least exciting choice.

It's always good to work out exactly what you want from your colours before you start painting the elites of your Chapter!

[d@n]

nice work

[ElectricPaladin]

Okay, guys. I've decided to focus on basic troops. Of course, I also bought a devastator squad. It's midwinter - my self control is at an all-time low. It would have been tacs if the store had had any.

 

• • •

 

I've also been waffling on the chapter tactics. Let's discuss.

 

My original plan was this: in narrative games I'll play with my made-up chapter tactics (FNP 6+ and Stubborn for the entire army, Slow and Purposeful for Devastators, ITWND for dreadnoughts, anyone who can buy a power fist can take a power scythe instead, and a special necromantic psychic discipline).

 

That was great... but then I started thinking... and I had another, much simpler idea: use the Imperial Fists chapter tactics, plus power scythes-for-power-fists (because I've already bought about a dozen of the damned things off Shapeways), plus Legion of the Damned allies to represent "ghost marines" called up by my necro-librarian.

 

The advantage of the first strategy? It's neat and unique, it lets me use a ton of random-ass special rules I've written, and it makes dreadnoughts (slightly) better, because I think a chapter with the Terminus Guard's history would field many dreadnoughts.

 

The advantage of the second? It's simpler, the Imperial Fists chapter tactics will make the Terminus Guard better at doing what they mostly do (defensive warfare against fast-moving raiders), and converting up some Legion of the Damned "ghosts" actually sounds like more fun than psychic necromancy (especially since I can just reskin some Biomancy or Telepathy powers).

 

What do you think?

 

• • •

 

I don't want to leave you without a picture, so...

 

http://40.media.tumblr.com/47dcaca8dc53c3ae1b1d4163a2815943/tumblr_o0n8zqhUtj1rgb5qno1_1280.jpg

 

The land raider is almost done! I've just got to add contrast on the red (I'll be drybrushing Wazdakka Red and then edge highlighting with Wild Rider Red and finish up the treads...

 

By the way... how do you recommend I do the treads? My usual has been to basecoat with Warplock Bronze, then wash with Seraphim Sepia and drybrush with a little leadbelcher... but I'm not sure. I've already got a pretty complex bronzish metallic here, so maybe I should just do the treads black? Or gunmetal? What do you all think?

 

More fluff later today!

[ElectricPaladin]

Recruiting Practices: The Terminus Guard recruits exclusively from the world of Ossuary. Chapter custom dictates that they recruit only those who are already doomed to die or who are judged incapable of living a normal life: condemned criminals, terminally ill adolescents, and young Ossuarians cursed with incurable suicidal tendencies. The chapter considers transformation into an Astartes as a form of death and do not inflict it upon anyone who is likely to contribute as a mortal.

 

As a result of these practices, the Terminus Guard maintains contacts in the hospitals and prisons of Ossuary, who can funnel potential recruits to the Guard. They also frequently consult with the Ecclesiarchy, who are involved in counseling those with self-destructive impulses. When the Terminus Guard come to claim those recommended to them by the organs of Ossuary’s government, they wear crimson carapace armor and black tabards. Thus attired, they are known as “Mourners.” They accompany the acolyte as he finalizes his mortal affairs and says farewell to those he will leave behind, then take him aboard one of the black aquilla landers the chapter keeps for this purpose and transport him to the Necropolis for implantation and training.

 

The Terminus Guard also accepts acolytes who come to them, making the long and dangerous journey across Ossuary’s daylight side. Those who are determined and resourceful enough to survive the journey - and self-destructive enough to a attempt it - are usually inducted into the chapter.

 

Training Practices: Every neophyte in the Terminus Guard is assigned a full battle-brother who acts as a personal mentor. Although the scout sergeants still take charge of preparing neophytes for battle - and, later, veteran tactical sergeants will continue this process - a scout’s mentor is responsible for helping him to develop the proper character. Mentors do their best to instill their pupils with discipline, vigilance, and self-sacrifice. For the Terminus Guard, the bond between teacher and student is more important than the bonds of gene-seed or hierarchy, and students of the same mentor believe that they share a bond that makes them more than brothers.

 

The Terminus Guard relies heavily on psycho-indoctrination and hypnopedia. Neophytes spend long hours in drug-induced deathlike trances while carefully crafted memetic chants and images are introduced directly into their cochlear and optic nerves through cybernetic uplinks. Even veterans will sometimes opt to undergo sleep-trance training in preparation for unusual missions.

 

Heraldry Variance: Terminus Guard scouts generally wear carapace armor with bone-colored armor plates and dark red ballistic cloth, in imitation of the bone and crimson armor of the full battle brothers. They mark their right shoulder with the symbol of the 10th company (a roman numeral “X” in black) and their left shoulder with the symbol of their chapter in black, rather than white.

 

Full battle-brothers also wear the symbol of their chapter on their left shoulder. They mark their right shoulder with the symbols laid down in the Codex Astartes: side-to-side arrows for tactical marines, an upward chevron for devastator marines, and crossed arrows for assault marines. Most companies use variants of these symbols to distinguish squads in battle, so the Second Company’s 1st tactical squad might use side-by-side triangles, the 2nd tactical squad might use full arrows, the 3rd might use a single upright arrow, and so on.

 

In the heraldry of the Terminus Guard, the right knee pad denotes company: white for 1st company veterans, grey for the 2nd company, black for the 3rd company, dark blue for the 4th company, and dark green for the 5th company. The reserve companies are distinguished by bicolor knee pads, separated diagonally: black and blue for the 6th company, black and green for the 7th company, black and grey for the 8th company, black and red for the 9th company.

 

• • •

 

And, last but not least, a litany of the victories and defeats of the Terminus Guard (to date). If you've got a suggestion for a faction you'd like to see the Terminus Guard face let me know and I'll take it as inspiration and add it to their history!

 

Notable Campaigns

• The Tithe of Bones (ca. 620.M38) - Shortly after their formation, while still under the leadership of their first chapter master, the former Excoriator known as Mordecai Eilln - the Terminus Guard set out to make sure that the xenos raiders who had troubled Ossuary knew that the planet had new and far more effective defenders. Chapter Master Eilln tasked his young chapter with bringing him the skulls of ten thousand Eldar raiders. The Terminus Guard surpassed all expectations, bringing home twenty thousand Eldar skulls over the course of a five year campaign. This massive slaughter inspired the creation of the Temple of Silence in the Necropolis and earned Ossuary several centuries of relative peace. The Eldar raiders would eventually return, and the second time, they would not underestimate the chapter so catastrophically.
• The Cleansing of the Offyd Cluster (ca 644.M38) - Fighting alongside the Excoriators, the Imperial Fists, the White Scars, and the Dark Angels, the Terminus Guard help to suppress an uprising in a cluster of inhabited worlds near their home sector, culminating in a confrontation with the Alpha Legion, Death Guard, and other unidentifiable Chaos forces in the Offyd Cluster capitol. The young chapter learns a great deal about warfare from close contact with First Founding chapters. They also learn many of the unwritten rules that govern the interactions between chapters, including how best to respect the primacy of the former legions. The Terminus Guard suffers their first major casualties as the strike cruiser Hand of the Reaper carrying most of the the Second Company is lost to a warp storm on its way back to Ossuary.
• The Roknar IV Blasphemy (ca. 920.M38) - The Terminus Guard intervened in what appeared to be a cult uprising in the nearby Roknar system but is later revealed to be the emergence of a hidden Necron outpost. Despite the assistance of the 3rd Company of Ultramarines and a company-sized task force dispatched from the Excoriators, the Terminus Guard take heavy casualties. The chapter’s humanitarian side emerged for the first time, as Mordecai Eilln faced near-mutiny from his captains when he ordered them to retreat from the planet’s surface so an Exterminatus could be performed. Rather than weaken the chapter as a whole by displaying a lack of authority, Chapter Master Eilln experienced a “change of heart.” a Despite hideous losses, the Terminus Guard oversaw the evacuation of two thirds of the planet’s surviving citizenry before withdrawing. The Terminus Guard celebrated what they viewed as a victory, and Mordecai Eilln began his preparations to step down as Chapter Master, aware that as the Terminus Guard discovered their own identity, they would need to select one of their own to lead them.
• The Vengeance of Commorragh (ca. 937.M38) - Centuries after their disastrous defeat, the Dark Eldar returned to Ossuary while the Terminus Guard was still rebuilding after the Roknar IV Blasphemy. The xenos’s first strike nearly crippled the chapter; their victory was so complete that they were able to carry off several thousand Ossuarians. The Dark Eldar left their webway portal open behind them, a taunt and invitation in one. The Terminus Guard gathered their remaining forces and followed after. What came next can only be described as a slaughter. The Eldar were waiting. Only one in three of the brothers who entered the webway emerged, and only a handful of mortal captives were retrieved. To the eternal shame of the Terminus Guard, Chapter Master Mordecai Eilln was among those slain, destroyed by a weapon that made it impossible for his gene-seed to be retrieved. For a time, it looked like the Terminus Guard would be extinguished a mere three centuries after they were founded. The chapter was saved by the unlikely re-emergence of the strike cruiser Hand of the Reaper, lost almost three hundred years earlier. The influx of more than one hundred marines - as well as much of the gene-seed recovered from casualties of the Offyd campaign - reinvigorated the Terminus Guard, giving them a second chance at survival.
• The Reaper’s Vindication (ca 346.M39) - While responding to a distress vox from a Rouge Trader vessel, the 2nd Company strike cruiser Hand of the Reaper is ambushed by a Death Guard ship later identified as Hope’s End. What follows is an extended game of cat-and-mouse, as Hand of the Reaper and Hope’s End stalk each other through the sector, both ships slipping in and out of realspace. The Terminus Guard are finally able to outmaneuver the Death Guard and launch a boarding assault which ends with 2nd Company Captain Carthian Matthias dueling with a Death Guard chaos lord on the bridge of the Hope’s End.

[ElectricPaladin]

Check this :cuss out, guys. It's pretty much done!

 

All I've got to do is clean up a few smudges on the top (I'd have done that already, but my screaming skull exploded...) and a few other details, and then I can seal the damn thing.

 

Painting white armor is hard... but painting white tanks is INSANE.

 

http://36.media.tumblr.com/86df4478f2d81f9c0ba3b0d196bf4287/tumblr_o0rsvaI4N41rgb5qno1_1280.jpg

[The_Chaplain]

Look forward to seeing what you do with this. I've seen those pads somewhere.

Maybe you're thinking of my Confessors' pad design DSS7? Similar motif going on there.

 

Your Guard are off to a great start, the idea of morbid Fists successors just makes so much sense considering the events that have transpired durng their history as well as their traditions of things like scrimshawing their fallen's bones. 

[ElectricPaladin]

Check it out - it's finally done!

 

http://41.media.tumblr.com/aeb701886e53f03f1d8f277158ed3788/tumblr_o0wbi909R21rgb5qno1_1280.jpg

 

http://41.media.tumblr.com/1e4ce4e83f255243fea638e46ca5602c/tumblr_o0wbi909R21rgb5qno2_1280.jpg

 

http://41.media.tumblr.com/30b241ffd3f02f798cd06d3eaa20f535/tumblr_o0wbi909R21rgb5qno3_1280.jpg

 

http://36.media.tumblr.com/2f02226926159bbd3c79f1ca7180147d/tumblr_o0wbi909R21rgb5qno4_1280.jpg

 

Up next at some point:

 

http://41.media.tumblr.com/b68c7de3f7759cb97c01525ff4039c1e/tumblr_o0wbj9fMxp1rgb5qno1_1280.jpg

 

And for no particular reason...

 

http://40.media.tumblr.com/59ebdb1c89efe9676eb111aa7654a64c/tumblr_o0wbec8eY21rgb5qno1_1280.jpg

 

"Lookit me! Ima stalker."

 

"Go home razorback you are drunk."

 

"Durr! Whee!:

 

"And put that quad gun back where you found it."

[Daemon2027]

Really nice little project. I'm always impressed by people who come up with their own chapter and really fresh it out on background, rules, and build the army to.

I love the piece about the codex, compliment but unsentimental. Think that's how I'll the answer the question about my feeling towards my job from now on!

Will happily keep following this progress.

[ElectricPaladin]

Good news! My Shapeways order is coming in today. Shoulder pads and power scythes for everybody!

 

More improtantly, this means that soon I can finally start painting up some power armor units (though I'll get my scouts finished first).

[deathspectersgt7]

Great news!!!!  looking forward.

[Brother Pheidias]

Great background, great painting. Worthy successors, even if your dietary habits are somewhat... questionable ;)

[ElectricPaladin]

Great background, great painting. Worthy successors, even if your dietary habits are somewhat... questionable

Thanks! And if you ever want to join us for lunch, just drop us a line.

Anyway, my Shapeways bits (plus some other bits that arrived) have been integrated, so I've got a few finished models to show you:

Here's my chapter master, finally ready for primer (though I'm going to finish up my scouts and other core infantry units before I give myself permission to get paint on my elites):

http://40.media.tumblr.com/a5e8eb2e399717c46c0ea3a0e3490929/tumblr_o0xi7jc1Tl1rgb5qno1_1280.jpg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/8e495ea30ef9a6579e78320ccadb5b3b/tumblr_o0xi7jc1Tl1rgb5qno2_1280.jpg

Also, here's a whole new character: a company champion (who I might also use as a captain, because the model turned out so cool):

http://41.media.tumblr.com/1af62d0e28f3464e929e0721a00328fa/tumblr_o0xi7jc1Tl1rgb5qno5_1280.jpg

http://40.media.tumblr.com/af7d67fa11b330d847f5164f5035b36a/tumblr_o0xi7jc1Tl1rgb5qno3_1280.jpg

http://41.media.tumblr.com/a47830338006fbf4a9ff9af847bec033/tumblr_o0xi7jc1Tl1rgb5qno4_1280.jpg

[deathspectersgt7]

Looking Good.