Index Astartes - the Eternal Sentinels [Iron Gauntlet]

[Cryptix]

Index Astartes

The Eternal Sentinels Space Marines Chapter

Introduction
Chapter name: Eternal Sentinels
Descended from if known: White Scars
Founding number if known: 23rd
Descendants if known: None
Chapter origins:
Chapter History (notable battles etc): Battle for Idajoleti, the Massacre of Pillarview, the Perditio War
Battle Cry: We Fight for the Dead!
Notable Characters: Chapter Master Esan Aurelius
Colour scheme and Chapter symbol: Silver and Gold, Chapter Symbol an open eye over a sun cross.

Origins
The Eternal Sentinels are a Chapter of the 23rd Founding, created in order to better patrol the Ultima Segmentum from threats both without and within. Their gene-fathers are of the White Scars, and prior to their participation in the Baltus Crusade they were a fleet-based chapter. Once they took part in the Baltus Crusade, they claimed Idajoleti as their recruiting world, retiring some of their fleet to system defense. The cultures of the two planets blended into one seamless whole as the two mixed.

Home World/Homeworld
The homeworld of the Eternal Sentinels, Idajoleti, is a hive world with a hot climate, with the average temperature being 38°C, reaching up to 55°C in the summers. In response, the people of the planet, the tribal Arobruans, have developed darker skin and use a special face-paint made from the ubiquitous Aye fruit to cool themselves down. Their culture is relatively unchanged and their technology still on the low side even after Imperial contact, simply due to the fact that the hot temperatures are not conductive towards electronic dependence. The hives were built when it was noticed that the adaptability Arobruans had to scalding heat let them work effectively as slaves in Imperial ships, a constantly valuable resource.

Combat Doctrine
The Eternal Sentinels practice the art of Meji Iku, or the twin death. This applies to both personal and strategic combat style, as they elevate one trait above all - the speed necessary to slay the opponent not once, but twice, striking in conjunction to break any blockade. This strategy naturally lends itself to fast moving elements, but also durable and destructive forces that can weather enemy fire and destroy them in return. Towards this goal, the chapter's strategies include the classic "Hammer and Anvil" manuever of the Codex Astartes as a standard practice - Terminator firebases hold the line while flanking land speeders force enemy units to engage with harrying strikes.

Organization/Organisation
The Eternal Sentinels are a mostly codex compliant chapter, with the main exception being their first company - rather than being made up of veterans of the chapter, veterans and terminator-trained pilots are distributed throughout the other 9 companies. Instead, the first company is made up of the assault bike flanking force, supported by the dreadnought suits normally found in the 8th company and transported by massive Thunderhawk formations. This formation is known as the Rapine Devastation, and both respected and feared by the chapter's enemies.

Beliefs
The Eternal Sentinels believe in an Inquisition-approved blend of the Idajoletian's original beliefs and the Imperial Creed. According to the scriptures written in the Oba Iwe, all things in life have an aye, a spirit residing inside that gives it its properties. The Emperor is said to be the source of all aye, and his primarch sons responsible for spreadingbthem throughout the galaxy. As an object is used, its aye becomes stronger and inprinted with the user's personality. When a person that cherished an object with an aye dies, its soul imprint on the aye can be harnessed to empower the object. Upon further study, it appears that there is some basis in this - the time Idajoleti spent in the warpstorm in combination with remnants of the WAAAGH! energy caused a soul imprint on certain relics, psychic energy left behind by the emotions of a strong mind. This resulted in battle brothers that had been born on the planet empowering the weapons they used with their power and experiences. With practice, others could call upon these techniques in battle, boosting their battle prowess at the cost of their life span. This is a dark secret shared by the chapter, causing them to become reclusive and untrusting of other chapters, officially marking the end of their participation in the crusade until the reign of current chapter master Esan Aurelius.


Gene-seed/Geneseed and Implantation
The chapter's geneseed has had unpredicted effects when implanted in the natives of Idajoleti - they have the ability to draw upon the aye within weapons used by battle brothers before them, but not without cost: the more one uses the aye of another, the shorter their life becomes in payment. The average Eternal Sentinel has a shorter life then other space marine chapters, but this is offset by their large implantation pools - the recruiters descend to the hives every two years and select the best of the best through tournaments and trials.

Timeline
380.M38 - Chapter is approved to be founded in Segmentum Ultima. They spend the next century building up their military might.

089.M39 - The Perditio War begins as the ruling elite of Perditio are revealed to be Alpha Legion agents.

111.M39 - The Perditio War ends with the final exterminatus of the planet as the Inquisition approaches.

450.M39 - The Eternal Sentinels disappear from Imperial records.

745.M41 - The Eternal Sentinels join the first Baltus Crusade to cleanse the Ork presence.

756.M41 - The Battle of Idajoleti commences, wiping out the chapter’s 2nd company. They take control of Idajoleti as a recruiting world.

812.M41 - Esan Aurelius becomes Champion of the 1st company after the Battle of Pureview, in which his entire detachment was slaughtered by Eldar.

879.M41 - Esan Aurelius becomes Chapter Master, indicating a shift in power from the members that want the chapter to stay withdrawn to the younger members that wish to reconnect to the Imperium.

942.M41 - The Second Baltus Crusade is declared, Esan Aurelius becomes overall commander of Astartes forces.

Battle-cry/Battlecry/Chapter Motto
We Fight for the Dead!

USING A ETERNAL SENTINELS ARMY IN WARHAMMER 40,000

Chapter Tactics (Eternal Sentinels)
- Empowered by Death - A unit with this rule that suffers an unsaved wound or hull point reroll to hit and to wound rolls of one during their next turn.
- Estoeric Beliefs - All Armies of the Imperium treat units with this rule as Desperate Allies.
- Knowledge of the Dead - Once per game, a Librarian with this rule may immediately generate an extra power from the Ectomancy discipline when a friendly unit with Chapter Tactics (Eternal Sentinels) is destroyed within 24" of it.

[Conn Eremon]

It's a small start, but keep that momentum going if you want to get that gold.

 

Going by the name, emblem, founding and origins, it sounds like you're setting the Chapter up to stand guard over lands reclaimed from the Orks. As usual, I'm interested in what kind of Chapter culture that is developed.

[Dosjetka]

The "Chapter Origins" part caught my eye. You say they were tasked with clearing and securing worlds during a Crusade. It's not a bad idea but Space Marines are usually wielded like a scalpel, used to decapitate the enemy leadership or strike key strategic targets. They are a rare and precious "resource". Taking and holding ground is usually the task of the Imperial Guard, so it would be great to know more about why they received that task. Perhaps a young Imperial Commander who misused the Chapter's strength and power, with the Chapter not saying anything because they were still young and fresh? Also, was this Chapter created specifically to be a part of this Crusade?

 

Anyway, good luck with creating your IA. :tu:

[Ferrus Manus]

The battle cry is interesting. What ideas for their beliefs do you have, which must have influenced it?

[Badass_Spaz]

Please God-Emperor/Chaos Gods, make these Sentinals reminiscent of loyalists Death Guard. I implore you to at least indulge the Death Guard aesthetics. I'm sure fellow B&C fans can agree how awesome they were. Not only that, any mutants or heretics would endure a catastrophic outbreak of browning trousers in their ranks... Officers included. Err, I know if I met Death Guard Astartes, I would have a case of Brown Trousers. Hehe

[Cryptix]

Please God-Emperor/Chaos Gods, make these Sentinals reminiscent of loyalists Death Guard. I implore you to at least indulge the Death Guard aesthetics. I'm sure fellow B&C fans can agree how awesome they were. Not only that, any mutants or heretics would endure a catastrophic outbreak of browning trousers in their ranks... Officers included. Err, I know if I met Death Guard Astartes, I would have a case of Brown Trousers. Hehe

OH GOD GET OUT OF MY HEAD DON'T MAKE ME GET THE TALONS OF THE EMPEROR.

[Cryptix]

The battle cry is interesting. What ideas for their beliefs do you have, which must have influenced it?

Well let's see.

First off, I wanted them to be influenced by Yuroban culture. It's my tribe and I've wanted to do something with it for a long time now.

 

Second, I wanted to have a chapter with a strong mythology, of ancestor spirits and blessed weapons, and through the warp making such things reality.

 

Lastly, I wanted a chapter that represented sort of the "Old Guard" of the Astartes, those that still have the mindset of a legion.

[Badass_Spaz]

An emphasis on psykers might be something of interest. The Lexicanum provides a list of Chapter exclusive abilities; maybe do the same for your Sentinals. Different abilities might affect munitions or lengthen the teeth on chainswords. Yea, sounds like corny video game buffs but it's a start. Relic/Older weapons in the hands of a Librarian becomes that much dangerous... Or carve some runes into them. 

"Not only does this flamer fire promethium but a mystical Warp promethium that corrodes ceramite."

Hmm... No one has really done too much on relic weapons, and though I can understand it might appear snowflakey, the concept of "Blessed Weapons" with obscure abilities is nifty. There's a lot to build from that if you haven't already thought of it.

Hope this jogs the creative juices a smidgen, good sir!

[Sete]

I don't think Temperatures should reach 70.

Imagine a Hive, full of smoke, no ventilation, made of metals under a 70° heat.

They would be in a oven cooking.

[Badass_Spaz]

Kinda a useless post but I'm posting this regardless so people don't forget about you.

@Sete: A global outbreak of vicious swamp crack... The sheer terror would definitely invoke Astarte's involvement. Those disgusting inflicted would be purged by Bolter and Backhands!

Honestly, I don't think the Imperium, or anyone for that matter, cares if any population is comfortable or not. Take Holy Terra, is a polluted industrial wasteland. At that point, comfort and sanity are second to production. ALL HAIL THE GOD-EMPEROR!

[Draakur]

I'm going to have to agree that 70 degrees Celsius is far too high - let's remember that human physiology exerts a LOT of energy just to maintain a very specific core temperature, and we do not handle extremes that screw with that well at all.

 

Weaker/older people start getting heat stroke at 40ish, up near 50 you start needing very specific circumstances or comforts to keep people from getting very sick, very quickly,

[Kelborn]

Agreed and we haven't cobsidered the machines. Don't think that Cogitators and the like would enjoy such a heat.

 

Don't think that even the people of the Salamanders homeworld can't live there without some way to cool themselves.

 

Desert and/or magma? Sure. But not without the necessary means.

[joschlumpf]

I don't think Temperatures should reach 70.

Imagine a Hive, full of smoke, no ventilation, made of metals under a 70° heat.

They would be in a oven cooking.

 

 

I'm going to have to agree that 70 degrees Celsius is far too high - let's remember that human physiology exerts a LOT of energy just to maintain a very specific core temperature, and we do not handle extremes that screw with that well at all.

 

Weaker/older people start getting heat stroke at 40ish, up near 50 you start needing very specific circumstances or comforts to keep people from getting very sick, very quickly,

 

 

Agreed and we haven't cobsidered the machines. Don't think that Cogitators and the like would enjoy such a heat.

 

You all have a point there, but they could have a technology (something like a dome above their cities) to cool the air down in populated areas.

Also the human body can change to match his surrounding, just look at the Ogryns or halflings. Maybe after thousands of years an this planet, the people started to "get used to it" but have problems with less than 20 degrees?

[Kelborn]

Domes on a hot world make sense. Salamanders homeworld, Svellgard in the Fenrid system. Even the Taus Vior'la is similar.

 

But I'm not sure if a chapter would recruit from a hive world. Is there a canon chapter which does that as an example?

[Draakur]

Domes on a hot world make sense. Salamanders homeworld, Svellgard in the Fenrid system. Even the Taus Vior'la is similar.

But I'm not sure if a chapter would recruit from a hive world. Is there a canon chapter which does that as an example?

Domes or some other form of technology make for a pretty easy fix here, agreed.

 

Hoping you're coming back to work more on these guys Cryptix - I'm liking their name and colour scheme :) Nigerian skin tone, with the white traditional face paint of your people would make a stark and absolutely awesome contrast on that silver and gold plate :)

 

Re: hive world recruitment, I thought this was borderline common, actually? Well, not "common", but far from unheard of...? Will look a few things up tomorrow.

[Dizzyeye01]

If you look at Dawn of War Two, you learn that not only does the Blood Ravens recruit from a desert world and jungle one, it also recruits from the hive world as well though it doesn't give as much as the others.

[Lephisto]

I like the start of your chapter. Are you also partaking in the 2nd challenge to paint a strike force of 1000+ points? Im very interested to see a model in that scheme.

 

Just some quick questions: What is the significance of the dead to your chapter? or beliefs? Do they believe that the dead are helping them fight in their crusades?

[LancsHotpot90]

Looking forward to seeing minis for this chapter especially some bare-headed marines with the tribal face paint Draakur was talking about :)

[Cryptix]

Sorry I've been away for so long - college doesn't give me a lot of time to sit down and write.

 

You'll see more next week, when I have more time thanks to Spring Break.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The original Idajoleti colonists may have received genetic enhancements to let them survive on their new home world, the way the original Fenrisian colonists did to survive on theirs. Like the Fenrisian, though, altering the human genome may result in unforeseen side effects- 'A Thousand Sons' hinted "Fenrisian wolves" are actually heavily mutated humans- and the Eternal Sentinels may have a Wulfen counterpart.

[Cryptix]

Finished Homeworld, added some to Combat Doctrine.

[Cryptix]

That feeling when you think you're fine but then you realize this is due by May 17th and realize you're not fine at all, and then you realize you've barely even gotten any feedback done yet.

 

[bloodhound23]

I *love* your color scheme, for one, and I am excited to hear about the belief system, considering the "esoteric beliefs" rule you've mentioned.

[bloodhound23]

As to the beliefs of your chapter- you can look to number of places for inspiration, but if you're interested in animism, which it sounds like you are, then you migh be interested in taking a look at Proto-Indo-European religion and working your way either forward or backward (or just by syncretizing generally) from there.

[Cryptix]

Combat Doctrine and Organization are done.