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The Destroyers - initial concepts


Draakur

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Thought I'd create a running thread for this, as a means to collate concepts as they develop towards becoming a proper IA, and hopefully garner some feedback and ideas from you all.

 

THE DESTROYERS

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Destroyers

 

I've always been very into lesser known and represented Chapters and DIY Astartes fluff, and took note of the Destroyers a long time ago in my wanderings. At a time when I was creating DIY Chapters with names like the Ether Hunters and Crimson Redeemers, the simplicity and brutality of a name like the Destroyers really stuck out to me. I never pursued them, but they always kind of stayed with me somehow.

 

The moment I saw they were finally given a colour scheme, I was captured. I've always been a vague Scars fan, and the idea of the Scars lineage aesthetic, with a more brooding, grimdark black colour scheme had me inspired. I loved it when their Chapter symbol put me immediately in mind of a hazard symbol you'd see on the side of s piece of dangerous machinery or potentially lethal bottle of liquid.

 

And with their only fluff describing them as troubled, potentially genetically dubious/unstable and having become dangerously savage over the millennia, I really liked what I was seeing.

 

There would certainly be no paragons of virtue here, and the 'noble savage' archetype was too much to hope for. The Destroyers would be more sinister and volatile in character, had begun to walk down (or perhaps were even being manipulated down?) a darker path, and were at this stage almost as much a problem for the Imperium as its foes. Marines-gone-wrong, but perhaps not at fault for it? Grimdark potential galore. So...!

 

Concepts/notes so far:

 

~WHY SO SAVAGE/GENETICALLY UNSTABLE?~

- Basically, I'm saying the =][= did it

 

- pissed off someone in the =][= long ago, which birthed a personal crusade and conspiracy by this person/these people to destroy the Chapter, ala Celestial Lions

 

- manufactured a series of events wherein the Chapter, seemingly by pure bad luck or wrong place/wrong time in a campaign, were almost eradicated (will need to figure out details). Was meant to be a clean kill but, being stubborn bastards, some somehow survived and Destroyers had to retreat and regroup over aaages. Huge blow to the Chapter (some cultural shifts during this period, need ideas), as a whole they didn't know it was engineered but some in the hierarchy suspected something was afoot, first seeds of bitterness began to grow

 

- =][= tried again but more insidious and looking towards the long game - had them hugely damaged (maybe taken to half strength) and Destroyers forced to regrow AGAIN

 

- On the voyage from Terra to the Chapter's keeps, =][= agents tampered with the geneseed stores being transported to begin restoration process - this would be the cause of the even more pronounced and dangerous savagery they have come to be known for. Once more some in the upper echelons of the Destroyers were sure after the second huge blow that things were dodgy but had no proof; the few in the chapter who are in the know keep this to themselves. This spawned the beginnings of a definite bitter and "f**k everyone" mentality where the Chapter begins to lose its way and some of its belief in their purpose (more cultural and idea logical shifts again). Some vaguely anti-Imperial sentiments and behaviours (I don't imagine the reasonings are understood by the average battle-brother) become the norm, lack of respect for rest of humanity and very self-centred now

 

- =][= guys now working on manufacturing the final scenario in the near future, where the now almost-out-of-control Destroyers will mean they will act terribly and unacceptably in the eyes of the Imperium, and ultimately be openly called out as corrupted and needing to be put down once and for all

 

~THE LOOK~

- I want a tribal aesthetic, at least in their physicality and presentation if not in their behaviour quite as much in some ways

 

- I've tossed and turned over how to do tribal side well without being cheesy or rehashing old concepts - I want something vaguely Scar-esque but still interesting and their own entity... I decided it suited them to have some really bold and striking elements that added both uniformity, and immediate character

 

- settled on the idea that they long ago assimilated a tradition from their Homeworld culture, of warriors adopting a mohawk hairstyle - various different stylings being meaningful depending on a brother's status/rank or perhaps personal goings-on at the time.

 

- Not sure if I'll keep ritual scarring or not; I'd like to but if so it needs to be different and uniform somehow

 

~CULTURE~

- I want them to have some distinctly tribal-esque peculiarities, customs and eccentricities, like the Scars capitalise on in such a cool way. Buuuut...

 

- Overall, I don't want them to just be angry Scars - while they definitely have that to them, I want them more hardy and brooding - kind of a mix of Iron Warriors in there too (ideas on how to represent or expand this would be great - it's more a feeling than a definite stance/description of them right now)

 

- in saying this I'd like there to be a culture of prizing destructive capabilities of heavy weaponry just as highly as the fury of melee. So not just Scar copycats. Might say they came from that cadre of Scars when the legion was originally split (have NO idea about 30K fluff yet so that might not work?)

 

- aforementioned "screw anyone who gets in our way" mentality and lack of willingness to work alongside anyone they perceive as lesser. Strong "might makes right" attitude. Not lacking empathy but fairly black and white attitudes towards friends/foes

 

- The shaving ceremony upon becoming a full-fledged battle brother where he would get his first Mohawk would be highly significant, etc. Any event prompting a change in a brother's particular Mohawk style would be seen similarly

 

- "In recent times it has become unofficial practise for the Warchief or Destroyer in charge to ceremonially pulverise the head of a fallen enemy warlord or commanding officer at the end of battle, under a boot, the head of a thunder hammer or even by being crushed in the palm of a raised power fist. This is done to the deafening roar of approval of his host. While a few members of the upper Chapter seniority have officially expressed disapproval towards such barbarism, no punitive measures are known to have been taken, and scholars postulate this has been simply lip service thus far, to quell fears and appease shows of concern from official parties on the decline of the Chapter as a whole."

 

 

 

Thanks for taking the time if you got this far, and if you've got thoughts let me know :)

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I saw this thread yesterday and felt that it was a shame you hadn't really gotten much in the way of attention. 

 

I certainly agree with you that the Destroyers have a great name and colour scheme. They are a Chapter that certainly immediately captures the imagination. 

 

I have to say that I'm not overly enamoured with the idea that the Inquisition are secretly doing things behind the scenes to your Chapter. It makes things unnecessarily convoluted, and detracts from your Chapter. It's entirely possible that the gene-seed could've degraded over time without anything behind the scenes affecting them. There could've been some instability from the gene pool of the recruitment, or the like. 

 

I think there remains a great potential for the Chapter, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with! 

Thanks for the reply Commissar.

 

Can understand your concerns. Is the =][= perhaps a too commonly used scapegoat? Was there anything in what I'd written that you liked the look of or was this the primary thing that stuck out?

 

My tendency is to dive in deep with stuff like this, hence the beginnings of what could be a detailed and lengthy history concept. But perhaps going broad first for a change might serve me better this time, attempting to cover every aspect of them but to a lesser extent...

I concur with the Commissar.

 

Having a chapter being persecuted by someone in the Imperium for random-seeming reasons is done to death. With 1,000 chapters out there and half the homegrown ones being screwed over by the Inquisition, how does the Inquisition find time to go after the ones they were created to go after?

I concur with the Commissar.

 

Having a chapter being persecuted by someone in the Imperium for random-seeming reasons is done to death. With 1,000 chapters out there and half the homegrown ones being screwed over by the Inquisition, how does the Inquisition find time to go after the ones they were created to go after?

Yep ok, understood. 

 

I was attempting to sort of develop or "leverage" one of the few bits of canon information we had on them in an interesting and character-developing way - but it seems I may well have gone about it poorly. I'll consider this and see what else makes sense; I'm certainly not married to the =][= involvement thing so I'm quite happy to consider alternatives :) 

 

Thanks for the feedback!

Over time it is a cliché, yes, though that shouldn't phase you. Your Chapter might be a reader's five hundredth, but if it's your first, that's what matters.

 

I just think it adds unnecessary complication to your key ideas and core concepts. People have a tendency to try to make their Chapters "special" - but it's the flaws that tell you about a Chapter. What they endure just to do the same as any other Chapter, to complete their duty in a satisfactory manner. 

 

Perhaps your Chapter, over millennia, has so zealously prosecuted their enemies that some of their gene-seed maintenance rites have slipped slightly, allowing some genetic deviance to slip in? Perhaps the unique combination of White Scars gene-seed and the DNA of your homeworld has had undesirable effects, over time?

 

It's often best to think about your key themes, the key adjectives you'd want to sum up your Chapter. Once you've done that, it's possible to move forward with your Chapter. 

I think there is definite potential in your ideas for the Destroyers. I'll add my voice to the others in saying that a vendetta of the inquisition towards the chapter isn't the most original, just as a vendetta by the ecclesiarchy wouldn't. However, as Commissar Molotov says, if you haven't encountered it before, feel free to do as you want :)

 

It does seem however that you speak of an inquisitorial plot of some sort, started because of a personnal slight - I don't think that that has been often encountered. Jumping from there, how about the Destroyers causing dishonour to an inquisitor or nobleman in ages past, and this persons entire family joins the plot - rather then an "inquisitorial plot", it would be a revenge of blood to blood, the whole noble house (that may have members in the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Administratum, high command in the IG, and potentially Marines from other chapters) joining in the project of eradicating the Destroyers?

 

 

In terms of cultures, how about looking into the Huns and Magyars? Also, black and yellow tattoos could look pretty cool in my mind...

Really appreciate the interest and replies here folks :)

 

A new concept for their slow degradation seems the way then, but I'm not being too captured by any one idea right now. It may be that I'll need to let that sit for the time being (though by all means please keep suggestions up if you have them) - do people think that would be ok? To leave this part of them open for now, while I work on other aspects of them?

 

Culturally I actually had a few interesting ideas - some of the Polynesian traditions and aesthetics are appealing to me, with some Native American influence and even a bit of Masai right now. I'm not wanting to sort of "do everything" here to the point where they don't have an identity anymore though, more just wanting to borrow small aspects from various cultures and looks I really like to create a unique end result. Does this seem plausible? Have others had good results trying this?

 

It does seem however that you speak of an inquisitorial plot of some sort, started because of a personnal slight - I don't think that that has been often encountered. Jumping from there, how about the Destroyers causing dishonour to an inquisitor or nobleman in ages past, and this persons entire family joins the plot - rather then an "inquisitorial plot", it would be a revenge of blood to blood, the whole noble house (that may have members in the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, Administratum, high command in the IG, and potentially Marines from other chapters) joining in the project of eradicating the Destroyers?

 

 

 

This could be cool if done well. Perhaps a Knight House that doesn't have enough clout to go after them directly?

 

The downside to using the Inquisition alone is that the saying "No one expects the Inquisition" is that it is no longer true. Nowadays, everyone expects them.

Ok, so some quick reference images for the foundation of the aesthetic, for both facial and general armour markings:

 

The Pawnee Native Americans (who from what I've garnered are famous for popularising the mohawk)

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HobsfJWZIiA/Vi38eVAQV1I/AAAAAAAAWio/Gdgn7Gch3LE/w1200-h630-p-nu/Pawnee-Indian-tribe-warrior-art.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ie5LqQK_K0Y/VSZoNIjFCAI/AAAAAAAAV1g/oFNChKR0Kko/s1600/Ottawa-indians-tribe-native%2Bamericans.jpg

 

Sudanese tribal markings:

http://thestorybehindthefaces.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/nuba2_traditionalfacepainting_agostinoarts.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__gWZ4LnRqwI/TSQAvjXcy-I/AAAAAAAAAD4/7qz3WSdWdz8/s1600/african%2Bface%2Bbody%2Bpaiting1.jpg

 

And with some general Polynesian (Hawaiian, Maori) influence, drawing from the simpler styles, and less of the super-intricate, curved and spiraling designs etc:

10df7ce1a5961e24b94bd916c4a34b07.jpg

http://www.apolynesiantattoo.com/wp-content/gallery/polynesian-face-tattoo/polynesian-face-tattoo-04092013-3.jpg

 

 

Remembering that this is merely the aesthetic for face and armour markings, I may not be drawing on these backgrounds to decide on cultural and traditional identity. 

 

As I said in an earlier post I don't think I want them as full on tribal as the Scars, I don't want them COMPLETELY identified by their cultural background and flavour. As odd as it might sound, I aim to inject a hardy, brutal, Iron Warriors feel into them. They'll be grumpier and more vicious than the Scars, and I want notably more bionics seen in the Destroyers than you would typically see in their forefathers.

 

+edit+

Also, Thorn, black and yellow tattoos are a great idea, I think this will definitely be a thing!

  • 1 month later...

Ok, I have had a chance to think further on the Destroyers lately, the following are the summarised results of that thinking:

 

 

Scars Influences/Similarities:

- Superstitious, philosophers; 'warrior-poet' feel still present throughout

- Homeworld practises, beliefs etc will influence the Chapter as a whole

- Reclusive and prefer to remain separate from most other Imperial organisations, forces, etc

- Conform to Jaghatai's belief in the importance of, and reverence for, psykers

 

 

Divergences from Scars

- Less free-spirited and joyful - more stoic, fierce and direct

- more balanced approach to warfare, speed is just one tool

- Ruling Council of Stormseers (I want a different name for them); see below

 

 

History and Drift Towards Savagery

- Drawn from Scars stock who felt very strongly about the tragedy of the Legion turning on itself in the Heresy, and believed unity to be paramount going forward. Scars Brotherhoods abandoned, idea of Khans moving around independently abolished, and Chapter began its life working together more cohesively than its parent Legion

 

- Always drew recruits from certain tribes or a certain continent of their new home planet (unsure why yet); purposely selective, and this lasted a long time (several Millenia).

 

- At a certain stage some leadership died off and was replaced with figures who had been fighting for change on this matter (again unsure why). Practises changed and new influences from different tribes entered the Chapter.

 

- Over time this began to create the first ever schisms in a Chapter who prized brotherhood and unity over all things. Clashes occurred, unease crept in and faith in leadership decisions dropped, some Warlords began operating more independently but out of fear of creating even bigger divides, punishments are not enacted

 

- A Big Important Thing Happens: Something terrible happens that further divides the Chapter's beliefs about their relationship with the rest of the Imperium, and ultimately about their purpose. Some become disdainful of normal humans, want to relinquish their responsibilities to them and pursue own agendas more, some see purging a certain threat as of paramount importance and want to turn all efforts to that, etc.

 

- Chapter teetering, strong personalities ready to go rogue and do their own thing. The Chapter is decried as spiritually broken, and it is decided that a ruling Council of Stormseers be put into power, and that the collective wisdom of the true-sighted would steer them forward. Upon the eve of this event where the council is appointed, they collectively suffer a joint coma-like attack, during which the planet suffers its most turbulent and destructive storm to date. No explanation is found, the Seers are not otherwise hurt and the event remains unexplained to this day. Ultimately the convening of this Council brings the Chapter back together after much effort, and they know a measure of peace for awhile after this.

 

- Seems however that from here on out, general battlefield temperament and conduct starts to escalate in savagery, and many amongst the Chapter begin to practise some of the darker aspects of the planet's warrior codes (some take to scalping and collecting of tongues, others to ritual gutting and flaying of enemy leadership and displaying them to their forces etc). Geneseed is brought into question but no impurities found. The Chapter remains from there onwards in a state of not wishing to further fracture things, so allowing the brothers to practise ritual and tradition however they please, in the interests of keeping them together but forever in opposition to the uniformity and unity they initially sought

 

- Some secretly interpret the events of the first Council night as meaning the Chapter's fate is being interfered with by the Dark Powers.

 

- The idea of this split amongst Chapter beliefs and approaches is an ongoing background issue - the Chapter moves forward in history and prospers, great victories etc etc, but ultimately exists as an ideologically fractured organisation, which is contrary to their founding core beliefs. They become known for their savagery over time and are seen as unstable by many

Without reading the bulk of your work, it appears to me that the origin story of their gene-seed is (maybe by accident) the same as the one of the Solar Hawks (my favourite White Scars- successor):

 

" The Solar Hawks was gene-seed was derived from the gene-stocks of the White Scars, who famously defended the Imperial Palace during the Battle of Terra in the closing days of the Horus Heresy. "  (--> http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Hawks )

 

Maybe it´s a mistake by the makers of the wiki. Anyone with the 7th Ed Codex, who might read and confirm that information?

 

Edit:

Have now read the first post.

From what I know from lexicanum, White Scars always had a little tendency to excessive violence and massacres from time to time.

So the Destroyers just embody that aspect to a greater extent, like the Flesh Tearers are the Blood Angels´ successors which are maybe most affected by the Black Rage. My take on it: Because their forfathers was exposed to the siege of Terra (if that piece of information is correct and not falsely taken from the Solar Hawks), haven witnessed the darkest hours and almost fall of imperial menkind, their gene-seed was exposed to an extent of psychological stress, which would lead to slow mutation over millenia towards more violent behaviour.

 

Apart from that:

1) Mohawks: Hmm, a little played out I say. Almost any race in 40k has characters or troops with mohawks or top-knots somewhere in their lines. But it would fit them none-theless.

2) The idea with the crushing of an enemy’s skull is a cool idea. It´s very symbolic. I would keep that.

Firstly, thanks for the reply!

 

Not sure I'm seeing what you are re: the Solar Hawks though? I'm seeing different text on their respective pages. The Destroyers are definitely Second Founding though yes, and therefore drawn from marines of the HH era originally.

 

I hadn't considered the psychological stress impact on the geneseed though, my general thoughts being it would have been too minor or a bit of a stretch expecting it to do so much. The BA/Sanguinius situation seems like a pretty extreme case and therefore more justifiable. Although we do have similar precedent with folks like the Excoriators...

 

What do others think??

 

1) Yep ok, I'd worried about this too to be honest. I think ultimately I'm trying to go slightly more 'cyberpunk/techno-barbarian' than straight savage like the Scars here. More cybernetic implants, maybe facial electoos of old (from Rogue Trader originally I think?) etc alongside some more typical tribal adornments and the like. Less 'stuck in the past' than the Scars. Thoughts?

 

2) I was already doubting this after I posted but I'm glad someone likes it! Any opinions on the tongue-collecting, scalping, flaying and presenting, etc?

Well on wikia it says:

 

" Their gene-seed was derived from the gene-stocks of the White Scars, who famously defended the Imperial Palace during the Battle of Terra in the closing days of the Horus Heresy  "

 

---> http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Destroyers

 

and...

 

" The Solar Hawks was gene-seed was derived from the gene-stocks of the White Scars, who famously defended the Imperial Palace during the Battle of Terra in the closing days of the Horus Heresy. "

 

---> http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_Hawks

 

The only real difference here is that Destroyers are described as Second Founding and Solar Hawks as Unknown Founding.

 

                                                                                                                             ~

 

Glad, you liked my reply. :)

Maybe focus more on the Tattoos/ Electoos / facepaint than hairstyles?

You're misreading the citation: it's the White Scars as a Legion who are famous  for defending Terra, not the individuals that later become part of the Destroyers (and possibly the Solar Hawks) :)

  • 2 weeks later...

I'd lost what felt like a coherent position on the Destroyers lately, thus I've been steering clear of this thread until the pieces started to fit better in my mind... but I've just found an influence that's absolutely perfect, so I had to post!

 

Given the show's outrageous success, people are probably already aware of them - the Thenn tribe of the Free Folk from Game of Thrones are in many ways a great fit for my concept of the Destroyers, and really I'm not sure how I didn't join these dots earlier. I'm posting from a phone so linking is hard, but this is a basic summary: http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/Thenns

 

++++++++

The similarities between the Thenns and my feel for them, as well as some differences that I like and plan to use now going forward, are as follows:

 

- grim, menacing, nearly evil countenance and demeanours. Their deeds and reputations inspire both fear and hatred equally, everywhere they go

 

- uniformly bald (I'm putting the Mohawk idea aside for now), which keeps them somewhat more primal but not in the same way as the Scars

 

- ritual scarification is still a mainstay, in keeping with Scars tradition (I didn't see them doing this before, but I like the idea of keeping it to maintain a few Scars similarities, and this alongside specific usage of electoos has a lot of aesthetic potential)

 

- quite advanced craftsmanship and arms-wise when compared to their peers (fits with keeping a tech aspect to them I want and sets them apart from the Scars)

 

- strong savage leaning, but utterly disciplined, purposeful, and all the more dangerous for it... the Thenns are much less crazy barbarians with no control, and more focussed, bloody murderers, fully aware of the brutality of their actions. Even amongst the warriors of the various Free Folk clans, the Thenns seem to stand out as highly dangerous, apex predators. This focussed, purposeful violence and their unapologetic approach to warfare and their role as warriors will say a lot about their character and attitudes towards the universe, and this will in turn heavily influence their relationships.

 

None of the Blood Angels' lamenting on the ugliness of war, or the Salamanders altruism or cooperative spirit towards the growth of humanity, or the "stoic shouldering of responsibility/duty" approach the Fists sometimes show. These guys are bred for war and slaughter - they know it, and they take to it both gladly and effectively (again, they keep something of the Scars about them here)

 

- re: cannibalism, not sure whether to keep this or not, but I can see it being manageable as long as it wasn't a strongly-entrenched, ritualistic part of the Chapter. More something done in the spur of the moment on the battlefield to terrify foes, perhaps

++++++++

 

Comments? I was quite excited when I realised these guys were the perfect base for me to move from and the "missing piece" I've been looking for in these beginning stages of crafting their identity, I'd love any ideas or thoughts people might have!

 

+edit+

Would collecting the corpses of an enemy force after a battle, then raining them down from on high on their brethren as subsequent battles ensued, be considered "terror tactics"?

Nothing you're writing stands out as something that a particularly barbaric chapter wouldn't do, debatably cannibalism since it's something we've seen before in Blood Angels successors, but there's so little written about the White Scars that it wouldn't be out of place. The problem I'm seeing is that you've got your end goal, the aesthetic, the character, but you're still dealing with a Second Founding Chapter, these guys are going to be as influenced by Chogoris, the White Scars Legion, possibly the Siege of Terra, as well as their own homeworld, or in simpler terms, the Point A and all the narrative steps that are going to lead to your Point B.

 

I'm sure I sound like a broken record at this point, but I advise against using existing material as a foundation for your IA. Normally I point to examples of other users having the rug pulled out from under them when they least expect it, but I do have a more concrete concern in this regard. Forge World's Horus Heresy series is eventually going to reach the Siege of Terra and the White Scars. This is a definitive when, not if, that happens we are more than likely going to see the proto Marauders, Rampagers, Storm Lords, and, of course, Destroyers.

The GoT influences sound very workable, in some ways quite similar to the Executioners but I like the idea of giving them a WS flavour.

 

While I can see KHK's point about using a canon Chapter that probably will get developed somewhat as part of the ever expanding HH fluff, it's also true that it doesn't have to impact too much on what you do with them as a 40k Chapter. Bear in mind that as a 2nd Founding force, that gives 10k years worth of time for them to be influenced by the culture of their Homeworld. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that by the 'current' time, it's not impossible to reason that their own culture could easily mean far more to them than the 'ancient history' of their parent Legion. Just look at the Mortifactors!

It´s probably not helping much with the chapter, but I just wanted to mention that in the Song of Ice and Fire books the Thenns are actually the most civilised of the Wildlings.

The Cannibals are actually the Ice River Clans, which those interchanged in the show.

 

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Ice-river_clans

 

http://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Thenns

Ah... I hadn't actually realised it was a certainty they'd be covered eventually in the fiction to come. THAT... is a problem - or at least I see it as one. Thanks KHK.

 

As much as I agree LySiMachus, for reasons I don't really understand myself I'm not really into steering established canon from it's course, even if there is something resembling plausibility involved in the process. Unfortunately this might be cause for me to put this on hold for now :(

 

Thanks for your help on this then, everyone - as it stands it might be time to return to another Chapter for the time being. See yall in another thread!

 

(Also, LordVelype, I hadn't known originally but it was in the article I linked above, so yes I was aware)

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