Black Hand - Chapter (WiP)

[Bloodspeaker]

Still have a long way to go with this one. Any feedback or suggestions would be appreciated. I'll be updating as new sections get written.

 

 

 

Founding - 23rd 'Sentinel' late m.37

Successor of - Ultramarine lineage

Homeworld - Fleet-based, Segmentum Tempestus

Chapter Master - Grand Warden Tiberius Tertius Decimus

Allegiance - Imperium of Mankind

 

History

 

   A relatively young chapter, the Black Hand has had to over come much since their creation in the 23rd founding. 

The Forging

   Initially founded to push back against xenos incursions into the Segmentum Tempestus the Black Hand chapter suffered the loss of their homeworld not long after their founding. Therir, the chapters home planet, was lost when the first Grand Master pushed the chapter too fast in prosecution of their duties and left the homeworld mostly unguarded. The small garrison left on Therir was quickly overcome by the forces of Waaaargh! Mashgut and remained in the hands of the orcs until early in M.38. Although the Black Hand did recapture Therir Grand Master Tiberius was killed in battle. The second Grand Master chose to honor his predecessor by adopting his name. Ever since then brothers of the Black Hand have adopted the name of the first marine to wear a suit of power armor after becoming full brothers. The chapter has also chosen to remain a fleet-based chapter since that time, as reminder and a penance.

   During their crusades to help secure the fringes of the Segmentum Tempestus the Black Hand chapter successfully prosecuted several campaigns against the various ork war-band roaming around the area. The Black Hand space marines earned themselves a reputation as solid and implacable warriors, even for space marines. They proved capable of weathering any charge. Unusually for a chapter of the Sentinel Founding the Black Hand favor letting their foes batter themselves against a bulwark before crushing the exhausted and depleted remains of the enemy forces. By the mid-38th millennium the chapter was established within the Segmentum Tempestus and well respected within the Imperium at large.

   Tragedy struck out of nowhere. Therir, the chapters former homeworld, suddenly erupted into open rebellion against the Imperium. Shortly afterwards a large hive world within the Therir star system joined the rebellion, overthrowing it's Imperial government in a matter of days. With a heavy heart the Grand Warden ordered the chapter into a simultaneous assault on both of the rebel worlds. It was a trap. Before the cause of the rebellion could be ascertained an enormous warp storm engulfed the Therir system, swallowing the rebel worlds and most of the Black Hand chapter before dissolving back into nothingness. Devastated by this catastrophe, the remains of the chapter sought to escape the Therir system only to find a derelict space hulk heading straight for their only remaining battle barge.  The Black Hand space marines were now faced with a grim choice. They could try and escape the hulk on their battle barge, effectively allowing it to drift on into Imperial space, or they could board and hope to take the hulk from whatever was inside it. Of the two hundred space marines still able to fight, none even saw it as a choice. If the Black Hand was to die that day, it would be in service to the Emperor. The fighting on the hulk, Ark of Valour, was brutal as the orkish scum aboard had mutated due their exposure to the warp. Eventually the space marines were victorious, killing every ork on the hulk. Now down to just over one hundred brother marines, the chapter limped to the nearest Imperial system. During the weeks of warp transit still more space marines succumbed to their injuries, including the chapters only surviving librarian. Upon re-entry the entire Black Hand chapter consisted of less than a full company of space marines.

[Dosjetka]

Although the Black Hand did recapture Therir they have remained a fleet-based chapter since that time, as reminder to never again let zeal overwhelm good tactics. While this lesson may have cost them their homeworld, it is a lesson the chapter has taken to heart.

I'll go ahead and suggest a slight twist to this idea: imagine that the High Lords of Terra/Adminsitratum/Inquisiton decided that since the Chapter was incapable of holding on to Therir that they should not have the right to reclaim "ownership" of the world and perhaps even decide to hand the planet over to another, younger Chapter? They could still learn their lesson but it would make the situation much more of a sore point for the Chapter this way and give you the opportunity to have a few more shades of grey in the relationships between the Black Hand and the wider Imperium.

During this time their first Grand Warden was killed in battle. The second Grand Master chose to honor his predecessor by adopting his name.

Honour a predecessor who lost them their home world? I'm not sure that's something even Space Marines would do, to be honest, especially if you add the twist I suggested above. I think you should a) kill him off during the battle over the home world with the Orks, have him step down of his own accord, or c) have the senior officers within the Chapter (Captains, Master of the Forge, Reclusiarch and Master of the Librarius) force him to give up the mantle of Chapter Master in one way or another (perhaps he is slain in duel with one of his Captains? You could also have things happen a bit more peacefully).

Also, why Grand Warden? Where does that come from?

The Black Hand space marines earned themselves a reputation as solid and implacable warriors capable of weathering any charge.

Yeah, but all Space Marines are solid and implacable. They're designed/built with exactly that in mind. You're going to have to come up with some other words that make them different from the other 99% of Chapters out there. OR you could remove that line and just run with the idea that this Chapter isn't actually that much different from the other Ultramarine successors in character/temperament.

Tragedy struck out of nowhere. Therir, the chapters former homeworld, suddenly erupted into open rebellion against the Imperium. Shortly afterwards a large hive world within the Therir star system joined the rebellion, overthrowing it's Imperial government in a matter of days. With a heavy heart the Grand Warden ordered the chapter into a simultaneous assault on both of the rebel worlds. It was a trap. Almost as soon as the Black Hand forces made planet fall an enormous warp storm engulfed the Therir system, swallowing the rebel worlds and most of the Black Hand chapter before dissolving back into nothingness. Devastated by this catastrophe, the remains of the chapter sought to escape the Therir system only to find a derelict space hulk heading straight for their only remaining battle barge. The Black Hand space marines were now faced with a grim choice. They could try and escape the hulk on their battle barge, effectively allowing it to drift on into Imperial space, or they could board and hope to take the hulk from whatever was inside it. Of the two hundred space marines still able to fight, none even saw it as a choice. If the Black Hand was to die that day, it would be in service to the Emperor. The fighting on the hulk, Ark of Valour, was brutal as the orkish scum aboard had mutated due their exposure to the warp. Eventually the space marines were victorious, killing every ork on the hulk. Now down to just over one hundred brother marines, the chapter limped to the nearest Imperial system. During the weeks of warp transit still more space marines succumbed to their injuries, including the chapters only surviving librarian. Upon re-entry the entire Black Hand chapter consisted of less than a full company of space marines.

Ah. Right. Any chance you'd be willing to not kill off your Chapter? It doesn't really make them more interesting, in my opinion.

However, if you're determined to go ahead and wipe them out I'd suggest tweaking a few things, namely:

• How did the rebellion happen? Unless the Black Hand doesn't care at all about what happens on their own home world, this is rather uncommon.
• Who was involved in formenting this rebellion? You don't have to explicitly state who was behind the whole thing, dropping a few hints would make the story far more interesting. Perhaps, despite the protest of a number of Inquisitors and high-ranking Administratum officials, the Chapter got their home world back after having lost it the first time. Outraged and with hubris in their hearts, a small cabal of these outraged people decided to remove the Black Hand from its home world by encouraging this rebellion? It's a bit of an extreme idea but the intent is to show you just how far you can go with tweaking your ideas!
• Wait. The rebels created a Warp storm? How the heck did they do that? You just drop it as if it was the most normal thing to do when you rebel against your Space Marine overseers/protectors/masters!
• Wait. So not only do they loose their planet to rebellion and get hit by a freak Warp storm, but then they also get their battle barge smacked by a Space Hulk too? Man, they must have been horrifyingly cruel to puppies in a previous life to deserve that kind of treatment.
• Why the name "Black Hand"? And while we're at it, why "Black Hand" and not "Black Hands"?

Anyway, I hope that helps somewhat. Should be enough there for you to chew on. Also, feel free to disregard anything I've said in this post. I won't take it personally.

P.S. Please don't go with 100% Latin names. It's been done hundreds of times before and it's boring. Mix and match names from the same/different cultures and/or invent your own! Make things more interesting for the reader and yourself! That's what DIY Chapters are for!

[Bloodspeaker]

 

 

a) kill him off during the battle over the home world with the Orks

Liked this idea so i've written it in. It made sense to me for a space marine commander to do everything he can to remove a stain on his honor.

 

 

 

I'll go ahead and suggest a slight twist to this idea: imagine that the High Lords of Terra/Adminsitratum/Inquisiton decided that since the Chapter was incapable of holding on to Therir that they should not have the right to reclaim "ownership" of the world and perhaps even decide to hand the planet over to another, younger Chapter? They could still learn their lesson but it would make the situation much more of a sore point for the Chapter this way and give you the opportunity to have a few more shades of grey in the relationships between the Black Hand and the wider Imperium.

 

 I wanted it to be more of a self imposed punishment, maybe indicating that their zealous streak is still there. I just didn't write it in very well. I have cleaned up a the writing a little bit.

 

 

 

Yeah, but all Space Marines are solid and implacable. They're designed/built with exactly that in mind. You're going to have to come up with some other words that make them different from the other 99% of Chapters out there. OR you could remove that line and just run with the idea that this Chapter isn't actually that much different from the other Ultramarine successors in character/temperament

 

I see alot of fan-made chapters out there that are remarkably savage or skilled in close combat for reasons X, Y and Z...but not many that are known to be particularly tenacious or disciplined. I wanted to try and make a chapter that may have started out that way, but learned to become something more like a roman legion or a modern army than the usual barbarians or knightly orders most chapters seem to end up as.

[Dosjetka]

I see alot of fan-made chapters out there that are remarkably savage or skilled in close combat for reasons X, Y and Z...but not many that are known to be particularly tenacious or disciplined. I wanted to try and make a chapter that may have started out that way, but learned to become something more like a roman legion or a modern army than the usual barbarians or knightly orders most chapters seem to end up as.

It wasn't your idea I was commenting on, which I like, but more the words you used. They are generic to all Space Marines. As Olis likes to repeat again and again, "show, don't say". Give us an example of how tenacious/disciplined they really are instead of telling us "oh, my Marines are really tenacious/disciplined".

[Bloodspeaker]

Ok, good point. I'll try to come up with something I like that showcases this chapters tenacity.