Idea For Successor Chapter

[Claws and Effect]

What if one of the Terran-bred Crusades Corax sent off to the Eastern Fringe got lost in the Warp and subsequently ended up crash-landing their Battle-Barge on a random planet?

 

What if they got reduced in number through attrition on that planet and decided to enter stasis pods for a few thousand years?

 

And what if they were subsequently discovered by one of the successor chapters in the area, like the Death Spectres or Knights of the Raven?

 

How different from modern Raven Guard would those guys be? Would there be enough divergence to justify splitting them off into a separate chapter?

 

Just a random idea I had that seemed like a cool thing to explore. As far as I'm aware none of the other original Legions have any splinter groups that could potentially still exist other than the 13th Company of Space Wolves.

 

I'm just spitballing ideas here. Feel free to chime in if you have any helpful insights or ideas as to how something like that might happen.

Edited September 3, 2016 by Realityburn

[Olis]

I think, for added divergence, it could be a lost task force from before Corax. Splinter Raven Guard that were sent away by Corax is an idea that is explored in canon (the Carcharadons Astra) and in DIY Chapters. A little detail that's different can mean everything (or nothing). 

 

And stasis pod idea needs refining. Maybe they managed to ping off a mayday but knew help would be a long time coming (like, really, REALLY long - as in several years), just that it took much longer than expected.

 

You could characterise them as the Raven Guard equivalent of the Consecrators, with a prominent use of old equipment.

[Claws and Effect]

How about the last group of Terran-born Raven Guard sent on a forgotten Crusade right as the Horus Heresy kicked off? (Just prior to Istvaan V)

 

Sent away specifically because Corax didn't trust the Raven Guard that had served directly under Horus' command. And it turns out he is right not to, as a mutiny is what causes the Crusade to be lost in the Warp and crash-land in the first place. It seems some of them had been going to the Warrior Lodges against Corax's wishes.

 

Loyalists win the ensuing battle, with numbers reduced to somewhat more than a 40k chapter.

 

After their nap, they decide to go back to their pre-Corax roots and become specialists in desert combat as well as the stealth and ambush tactics. (Xeric means "adapted to dry conditions", and the "Asiatic dustfields" is another way of describing the present day Middle Eastern desert.)

 

Color scheme of black and desert tan. Rename themselves the "Night Ravens" after Bjorn the Fell-Handed remarks that their combat style is somewhat similar to the pre-Heresy Night Lords. Or some other name if I think of one I like better that describes them better.

 

Lots of skimmers, fewer jump packs than Raven Guard, and a significant amount of Heresy-era equipment. Including a few Contemptors that actually fought in the Great Crusade. Very few Librarians.

 

Thoughts?

[Olis]

How about the last group of Terran-born Raven Guard sent on a forgotten Crusade right as the Horus Heresy kicked off? (Just prior to Istvaan V)

 

Sent away specifically because Corax didn't trust the Raven Guard that had served directly under Horus' command. And it turns out he is right not to, as a mutiny is what causes the Crusade to be lost in the Warp and crash-land in the first place. It seems some of them had been going to the Warrior Lodges against Corax's wishes.

 

Loyalists win the ensuing battle, with numbers reduced to somewhat more than a 40k chapter.

 

Aside from the warrior lodge bit, I think your previous idea had greater merit.

 

However, rather than being a debbie-downer, I will elaborate. I think having a group sent away immediately prior to the Heresy would work better if it wasn't Terran Raven Guard (all of whom were either dead or exiled after the Gate 42 battle). Raven Guard from Deliverance would make more sense.

 

The mutiny amongst the group that's been sent away (or at least that's how I'm reading it) feels forced. The group is aligned with Horus. Why would they suddenly fracture (during warp transit no less)? Would they not simply go to Horus? Corax might not want them but there's always the Warmaster to fight for (before and during the Heresy). This, of course, leads to the conclusion that they would either die in the Heresy or become disillusioned and break away, becoming Black Shields.

 

Once Black Shields, how would they redeem themselves in the eyes of the Imperium to the point where they are constituted into a Chapter formation and allowed the right to be a Chapter, recognised by the Imperium? Any number of things could qualify them but my point is, the logical progression of how I see the idea you've put forth doesn't quite follow. 

 

After their nap, they decide to go back to their pre-Corax roots and become specialists in desert combat as well as the stealth and ambush tactics. (Xeric means "adapted to dry conditions", and the "Asiatic dustfields" is another way of describing the present day Middle Eastern desert.)

 

Perhaps as a way for them to erase the past (whatever the preceding story may be) they would prefer to live as they did when they were the 19th Legion, rather than the Raven Guard. Forget Corax, forget the loyalist Legion, forget Deliverance. They are their own masters, loyal only to the Emperor. This would mean they do not recognise the Raven Guard as their predecessors, which could mean that rather than having Raven Guard gene-seed (or unknown gene-seed), the entry would merely say ++OMITTED++.  

 

Color scheme of black and desert tan. Rename themselves the "Night Ravens" after Bjorn the Fell-Handed remarks that their combat style is somewhat similar to the pre-Heresy Night Lords. Or some other name if I think of one I like better that describes them better.

I thoroughly recommend dropping Bjorn. It's a terrible name-drop than detracts from the point of the DIY Chapter and having background about them. Night Ravens sounds like a decent enough name, but don't have them emulate the Night Lords. Maybe they do similar things, maybe they are cruel, but don't make the comparison (it's another name drop). You need to focus on what the Chapter is and does - how they behave and fight - rather than saying who they are like. 

 

Lots of skimmers, fewer jump packs than Raven Guard, and a significant amount of Heresy-era equipment. Including a few Contemptors that actually fought in the Great Crusade. Very few Librarians.

 

Any particular reason for few Librarians?

[Claws and Effect]

 

 

Aside from the warrior lodge bit, I think your previous idea had greater merit.

 

However, rather than being a debbie-downer, I will elaborate. I think having a group sent away immediately prior to the Heresy would work better if it wasn't Terran Raven Guard (all of whom were either dead or exiled after the Gate 42 battle). Raven Guard from Deliverance would make more sense.

 

The mutiny amongst the group that's been sent away (or at least that's how I'm reading it) feels forced. The group is aligned with Horus. Why would they suddenly fracture (during warp transit no less)? Would they not simply go to Horus? Corax might not want them but there's always the Warmaster to fight for (before and during the Heresy). This, of course, leads to the conclusion that they would either die in the Heresy or become disillusioned and break away, becoming Black Shields.

 

Once Black Shields, how would they redeem themselves in the eyes of the Imperium to the point where they are constituted into a Chapter formation and allowed the right to be a Chapter, recognised by the Imperium? Any number of things could qualify them but my point is, the logical progression of how I see the idea you've put forth doesn't quite follow.

 

The mutiny amongst the group happened because not all of the group was aligned with Horus. Only some, but Corax didn't know that. All he knew was that he didn't trust the Terran-born legionaries who served with Horus, so he wanted them occupied elsewhere while the remainder of the legion went to fight him.

 

Corax actually assigned them a plausible mission instead of just saying "Go away". Some of the men sent intended to complete the mission to the best of their ability to prove their trustworthiness. The mutineers attempted to take over and reroute to join Horus, killing the Navigator in the process. Hence crash landing on a planet completely on the other side of the galaxy from where the fighting was occurring. 

 

 

 

Perhaps as a way for them to erase the past (whatever the preceding story may be) they would prefer to live as they did when they were the 19th Legion, rather than the Raven Guard. Forget Corax, forget the loyalist Legion, forget Deliverance. They are their own masters, loyal only to the Emperor. This would mean they do not recognise the Raven Guard as their predecessors, which could mean that rather than having Raven Guard gene-seed (or unknown gene-seed), the entry would merely say ++OMITTED++

 

I wanted them to actually be loyal to Corax and wanting to prove they are trustworthy. They still think of themselves as loyal Raven Guard, and were a bit shocked when they discovered how much things had changed while they were in stasis. Good idea there though, they know who their Primarch is but keep that information to themselves.

 

 

 

I thoroughly recommend dropping Bjorn. It's a terrible name-drop than detracts from the point of the DIY Chapter and having background about them. Night Ravens sounds like a decent enough name, but don't have them emulate the Night Lords. Maybe they do similar things, maybe they are cruel, but don't make the comparison (it's another name drop). You need to focus on what the Chapter is and does - how they behave and fight - rather than saying who they are like.

 

Yeah, that was the part I'm the least set on including. If I include Bjorn recognizing their combat style I might do it in a fanfic story instead.

 

 

 

Any particular reason for few Librarians?

 

With Corax not being in favor of their use, I figured the Raven Guard would have fewer of them than other chapters to begin with. The majority of the ones sent on this mission were on the mutineers' side, having been thoroughly corrupted. Fewer than 10 were among those put into stasis, and their new home planet just doesn't have many potential psykers. And even fewer of those are suitable to become Space Marines. Was going to give them their own desert-related set of powers and maybe include a special rule limiting how many can be taken in a given army.