IA: Crimson Praetors - Summary & colour scheme [28/03]

[Dosjetka]

OK, so I have made an oath to complete an Index Astartes article by 31st May as part of the Liber Martiale/Brotherhood of Angels celebration.

According to this article, praetor indicates the man who "goes before the others" in Latin. From this, I've gone ahead and created the two key facets of this Chapter: they are ever at the forefront of battles, where the fighting is the thickest and they are also the ones who "place themselves before/in front of the others" (ie. protectors). While these traits might be common to most Astartes Chapters, I would like to push them to almost the extreme. This Chapter is constantly plunging head first into battle, revelling in the glory of close quaters combat (and so would not give as much thought to pre-battle plans as some other Chapters). They are also the sworn defenders of a particular (sub-)sector and will abandon else and return to this area if it is threatened (a bit like the Angels of Redemption and their tendancy to abandon the field of battle and their allies if they even so much as hear a rumour that Fallen are nearby).
Another twist I just thought of was to replace the Captains with Chaplains (who would hold the rank of Reclusiarch) and instead have Lieutenants who are tactical advisors/comms officers to the Reclusiarchs (so very similar to the Master of Signal in Forge World's Horus Heresy expansion).
I'd also like them to either have gene-seed of either unknown provenance or from the Ultramarines (and their successors).
Lastly, the are Crimson Praetors so they would have crimson armour. Not sure about the rest though. Perhaps a shield+sword as a Chapter badge? Whatever happens, they're going to have dedicated Breacher units.

Anyway, that's it for the moment. More on they way soon.

---

CRIMSON PRAETORS

BATTLE-BROTHER RUFUS VAKHA

CHAPTER NAME: .............. CRIMSON PRAETORS FOUNDING: .................. 23RD (SENTINEL FOUNDING; M.37) CHAPTER MASTER: ............ FIRST-CAPTAIN TIMUR ARASH CHAPTER WORLD: ............. VARDAN (FERAL WORLD) GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ... ANGELS REVENANT (ULTRAMARINES) KNOWN DESCENDANTS: ......... NONE CURRENT STRENGTH: .......... ~800 ASTARTES (HEAVY LOSSES DURING WAAAGH! BLAKTOOF) BATTLE CRY: ................ "EXCUBITOR VARDAN! AD MORTEM!"

Hidden Content

Extra/bigger pictures:

Personal notes:

• Crimson Praetor SMP Hexes: #B0000F (dark crimson), #DBB953 (brass), #f5f1eb (bone), #4e4e4e (dark grey), #a6a6a6 (silver) and #9370db (purple).

[Doctor Perils]

I like a lot of these ideas. Without sounding like the ideal of Space Marine chapters (they aren't always completely consistent), they seem to come quite close (in their capacity as protectors of humanity).

 

One thing that might be quite cool would be to expand the quantity of ranks of chaplains, as it seems weird that the Librarians would have such a structured hierarchy, but not the other specialists. In that case, you could also say that some junior chaplains sometimes take to the field leading men instead of sergeants (in a similar fashion to the Red Scorpions who are led by apothecaries) => that would obviously not be ported over to table-top, but could be an interesting concept for the chapter's fluff ?

[Dosjetka]

Thank you, Thørn! And yes, I'd like to avoid having them sound like the ideal Chapter. There'll be quite a bit of work to pull that off but I'm confident I can manage that.

After thinking a bit more about the Chaplain idea, I'm not so sure about it. It's an interesting quirk but I can't find a reason why it would be implemented. Also the Sergeants are there for a reason and their absence would more likely than not affect the Chapter in a negative way.

Anyway, I've updated the first post with the Chapter summary. It's not much but it gives both myself and potential readers a better idea what it is I want with this Chapter.

[SickSix]

I think an easy fault based on how you want them to fight is that they can be manipulated. They have a drive to be in the thick of it, and where fighting is thickest isn't always where its the most strategic.

 

With their drive to be up front and engage the enemy they could be subject to being manipulated by a clever enemy. Or they simply sometimes get into protracted fights when they could of just cut the head off Luna Wolves style.

[Ferrus Manus]

OK, so I have made an oath to complete an Index Astartes article by 31st May as part of the Liber Martiale/Brotherhood of Angels celebration.

According to this article, praetor indicates the man who "goes before the others" in Latin. From this, I've gone ahead and created the two key facets of this Chapter: they are ever at the forefront of battles, where the fighting is the thickest and they are also the ones who "place themselves before/in front of the others" (ie. protectors). While these traits might be common to most Astartes Chapters, I would like to push them to almost the extreme. This Chapter is constantly plunging head first into battle, revelling in the glory of close quaters combat (and so would not give as much thought to pre-battle plans as some other Chapters).

[...]

Another twist I just thought of was to replace the Captains with Chaplains (who would hold the rank of Reclusiarch) and instead have Lieutenants who are tactical advisors/comms officers to the Reclusiarchs (so very similar to the Master of Signal in Forge World's Horus Heresy expansion).

I'd also like them to either have gene-seed of either unknown provenance or from the Ultramarines (and their successors).

*Blows dust off post button*

Right, it's been a while since I've done this but here's a few of my thoughts.

i) Interesting fighting style. It may be the influence of the name (praetor) but this style brings gladiators (or perhaps even headhunters?) to mind. Perhaps they actively seek out enemy champions for honour duels? However, how far do they take this approach? I mean do they completely swear off long ranged weaponry, to the point that it is tactically detrimental? Also, how would they deal with swarm armies ('nids, Orks etc) where their lack of numbers would put them at a disadvantage?

ii) Maybe, but like you said, why? Again looking back at the Romans for precedent, even their generals only looked to the priesthood for oracles/ ritual sacrifices. Perhaps the Chaplaincy just plays a more obvious part in the command structure, like pre-battle sacrifices etc.. a bit like the Silver Skulls and their Librarians but with Chaplains.

Also - just because I'm kinda old school - go with Ultra geneseed. Unknown just adds more questions than it answers.

My 2 cents.

[Dosjetka]

I think an easy fault based on how you want them to fight is that they can be manipulated. They have a drive to be in the thick of it, and where fighting is thickest isn't always where its the most strategic.

With their drive to be up front and engage the enemy they could be subject to being manipulated by a clever enemy. Or they simply sometimes get into protracted fights when they could of just cut the head off Luna Wolves style.

Funnily enough, that's more or less what I was thinking of doing. We all know how manipulative the Raiders of Commorragh are... But yeah, as a more general thing, they're get caught up by their thirst for battle and fight longer (and loose more men/equipment) as a direct consequence.

*Blows dust off post button*

Right, it's been a while since I've done this but here's a few of my thoughts.

i) Interesting fighting style. It may be the influence of the name (praetor) but this style brings gladiators (or perhaps even headhunters?) to mind. Perhaps they actively seek out enemy champions for honour duels? However, how far do they take this approach? I mean do they completely swear off long ranged weaponry, to the point that it is tactically detrimental? Also, how would they deal with swarm armies ('nids, Orks etc) where their lack of numbers would put them at a disadvantage?

ii) Maybe, but like you said, why? Again looking back at the Romans for precedent, even their generals only looked to the priesthood for oracles/ ritual sacrifices. Perhaps the Chaplaincy just plays a more obvious part in the command structure, like pre-battle sacrifices etc.. a bit like the Silver Skulls and their Librarians but with Chaplains.

Also - just because I'm kinda old school - go with Ultra geneseed. Unknown just adds more questions than it answers.

My 2 cents.

Headhunters would be a tad too far onto the barbaric side of things and wouldn't fit with the image I have for the Chapter. Gladiators, on the other hand, fit the bill quite well and honour duels sound appropriate.

I don't think the Chapter would completely relinquish their ranged weaponry but they would probably re-equip a large portion of their Whirlwinds (for example) as Rhinos, Razorbacks, Predators or Vindicators. The consequence would be less cooperative Machine Spirits because they aren't fully adapted for their new roles and so suffer mishaps more often than other vehicles. And since they keep their Devastator Squads, they just equip them all with heavy bolters and missile launchers to deal with the hordes of heretics and xenos.

Having the Chaplains being as important to the Praetors as the Librarians are to the Skulls is a very interesting idea and something I hadn't thought of. Not sure about pre-battle sacrifices but a blood offering (each Marine slicing their palm/cheek and pressing that part against an aquila amulet/chest plate) and other pre-battle rituals will definitely be included!

I already have; they're decendants of the Angels Revenant who were themselves born from the Ultramarines during the 8^th Founding.