[IRON GAUNTLET 2017] +Index Astartes: The Desolators+

[Draakur]

Love the scheme, not sure why but I would definitely pick that out as a WS Successor scheme (over any of the other gene lines, I mean). The dark grey and bright yellow make for a great contrast!

Nit picks: I'd colour the ears to match the rest of the head, and make the face pipes and joints on the backpack the same colour as the soft armour joints (funnily, it actually shows more on a SMP image than it does on an actual mini, where I wouldn't bother!).

Chapter badge looks good too, although I think I'd probably stick to the classic shape WS stylised lightning bolt as a reference to their forebears? You could also try the bolt in white to make it pop against the black and the yellow?

Cool, great to hear.

 

The ears and face pipes were actually an accident, which I only realised a few minutes ago - they are meant to be, as you described, the same colour as the soft armour. I think you're right about the lightning bolt, the double jag was really more of an after thought that I wanted to float for opinions. I'm open to other thoughts but I'm leaning that way too.

 

Re: the white/yellow bolt, I'm having trouble picturing the white to be honest, but I'll certainly try it when I actually put the logo together properly.

 

All round, very nice though (and you're a lucky, lucky :cuss to get ADB to mention them too!!! :D )

Truer words were never spoken, brother :lol: Talk about right place at the right time! I'm assuming that's all it was. I'm incredibly grateful :)

 

@Commissar Molotov, Kelborn and Minigiant:

Thanks for the support guys, truly. Next step will be putting up the finished drafts of the first few sections I've been pondering about and working on over recent months. Il keep the grey pack in mind and try it tomorrow too, thanks Kelborn.

 

===

 

I find myself in an odd situation here now. Does what I write about the Desolators become sort of semi-official, in a weird way? Because that can't be right, none of what I'm writing here is actually going to be in any of the books themselves, and hasn't been sort of "signed off on" by A D-B. Only the name has that honour. How bizarre :s :lol:

 

I'm reminded that there have been other fan Chapters that were made official before, does anyone know the process whereby their lore got developed??

 

+edits+

Added stuff and fixed Guinness World Record for typos attempt.

Edited October 15, 2017 by Draakur

[Commissar Molotov]

 

I find myself in an odd situation here now. Does what I write about the Desolators become sort of semi-official, in a weird way? Because that can't be right, none of what I'm writing here is actually going to be in any of the books themselves, and hasn't been sort of "signed off on" by A D-B - on,y the name has that honour. How bizarre

 

 

The only thing that's 'official' is what AD-B includes. If it's only the name, then it's only the name. And there would be nothing stopping any other hobbyist from reading the name and creating their own Desolators Chapter, inspired by what AD-B says. 

 

Which puts the onus on you to make a Chapter that's worth the name, I guess. 

[Draakur]

 

I find myself in an odd situation here now. Does what I write about the Desolators become sort of semi-official, in a weird way? Because that can't be right, none of what I'm writing here is actually going to be in any of the books themselves, and hasn't been sort of "signed off on" by A D-B - on,y the name has that honour. How bizarre :confused::lol:

 

 

The only thing that's 'official' is what AD-B includes. If it's only the name, then it's only the name. And there would be nothing stopping any other hobbyist from reading the name and creating their own Desolators Chapter, inspired by what AD-B says. 

 

Which puts the onus on you to make a Chapter that's worth the name, I guess.

That was the only logical conclusion yes, was trying to wrap my head around it but of course it couldn't be any other way. And as you say, multiple different people can and do take singular mention, official Chapter names and adapt them in their own ways all the time.

 

I have my work cut out for me, then :)

[Minigiant]

 

I find myself in an odd situation here now. Does what I write about the Desolators become sort of semi-official, in a weird way? Because that can't be right, none of what I'm writing here is actually going to be in any of the books themselves, and hasn't been sort of "signed off on" by A D-B. Only the name has that honour. How bizarre :s

 

I'm reminded that there have been other fan Chapters that were made official before, does anyone know the process whereby their lore got developed??

 

I think the aim has to be to get the end product onto the Lexicanum. See Shadow Haunters for example. It gives the name, and explains how the background is unofficial and links to it. (AKA this topic)

[Draakur]

Yep I guess that would make sense. I'm more than happy with just a name anyway, as any of us would be here I'm sure. Content to just develop my own interpretation of the Chapter in the unofficial capacity the rest of us do :)

[Brother Lunkhead]

The color scheme looks great!... I was partial to the yellow and grey from the get go. I think the color placement is well balanced. As to the chapter symbol, looks good. Although I would also favor the addition of the WS lightening bolt.

[Draakur]

Thanks Brother Lunkheads :)

 

Just to be clear, when people say the traditional WS lightning bolt, do they mean a double-jag one? Rather than a single jag (which would be like a Z turned on an angle)?

 

I couldn't quite remember, double checked and realised the WS original bolt is actually what I'm referring to as a double jag here: https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/e/e2/WS_Shoulder_Plate.png/revision/latest?cb=20160306102920

 

Is that what people are saying they think would look best? Or do you think you'd rather a single jag:

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSkpGBT0tbx9CVsIAU0venB0ZJyzsPw2FLIPi_HMSI_8UzXktwaO1kEHarg

[Lysimachus]

Oh, sorry, mistook what you were saying, thought you meant a double bolt as in two bolts joined together striking to either side (like you sometimes see combined with an Aqulia?).

 

If we're just talking about variety in the shape of a single lightning bolt then I think either works equally well, pretty sure I've seen both used for WS...

 

 

edit: although looking back, the double jag seems to be more official/common so I'd probably go with that!

Edited October 23, 2017 by Lysimachus

[Draakur]

So, just when I was on something of a roll, life presented me with a challenge (relationship ended with the mother of my child) that by necessity absorbed a lot of my time and threw me off my hobby motivations for what little extra I had left over. But! Here we are, best foot forward, I live to fight another day, and so on.

 

As is usually the case, despite not actually posting content and visual progress in here, this project is never far from my thoughts. Again, with the potential (nothing was actually confirmed so I guess it's possible this won't happen, but I'm hoping it will) for A D-B to be legitimising my Chapter, if in name only, I want to flesh these guys out and to have a readable IA sooner rather than later. I almost feel obligated to make them the best they can be not just for myself, but for you guys here too... to squander such an opportunity really would be a slap in the face to every die hard DIYer and Liberite who ever dreamed of having their creations made canon.

 

So without further ado, here is what I have so far. It is absolutely too wordy in many parts, and is not my best writing. I guess that's what drafts are about though? I've looked too hard at it for too long and need fresh eyes guys. Have at it.

 

======================

Index Astartes: The Desolators

======================

 

ORIGINS

Amongst the havoc of the X age, as the Imperium's sway over Segmentum Tempestus had been steadily waning throughout the course of centuries, one by one great bastions of man's glory, culture and industry were being lost to xenos colonisers encroaching from beyond. The Imperial administration, ever distracted by its own agendas and mired in politics, realised all too late what had begun to occur. A horrifying reality came to light - whole sectors of Imperial territory were teetering on the edge of collapse. Utterly invaluable, but unsustainable due to crippled infrastructure and lack of resources, nor able to be adequately defended with the Imperial war effort over-committed in a thousand other pursuits, overwhelming urgency took hold. In an act of pure desperation, the High Lords of Terra announced the X founding of the Adeptus Astartes.

 

The Founding now of utmost priority, the High Lords placed emphasis on the creation of Chapters of fierce and unrelenting dispositions, and the Desolators were a product of this intention. Descended from the lineage of Jaghatai Khan, the Desolators were sired via the Destroyers Chapter. An ancient and fearsome brotherhood of warriors, boasting a proud and decorated history tracing back to the days of the Horus Heresy itself, the Destroyers' war record and reputation over the millenia as staunch defenders of the forces of man, though at times troubled, was of singular honour and beyond reproach.

 

They were deemed ideal candidates from which to draw and mould these warriors, and it was Uldin Khan of the Destroyers, a warrior of inspired tactical prowess, a true hunter's guile, and unique interest in mankind's relationship with the warp, that would lead the first training cadre and take up office as the Desolators first Chapter Master.

 

Uldin, a warrior mystic in the ways of Jaghatai Khan and the people of Chogoris, also spent time in scholarly pursuits, and took great interest in his Primarch. He had always held a strong fascination for him, and Uldin had made emulating the Great Khan in life and as a warrior ever one of his guiding principles. Both this and the other various beliefs and idiosyncratic elements of his disposition would come to heavily influence the Desolators and their growth as a Chapter in their formative years.

 

Upon creation the Desolators would be ordered directly to sector X, in a trial by fire to blood themselves on the overwhelming presence of dark eldar pirates that had claimed these worlds for their own purposes. Great hopes had been placed upon the Chapters' shoulders since even before their inception. Their purpose was to be brutally simple: go to these lost frontiers, bring the wrath of the Emperor's light with you, and retake that which rightfully belongs to the kingdom of man.

 

HOMEWORLD

-Drosmyr

-feral planet, mixture of mires and swampland, semi-mountainous terrain, and broad plains. Lightning storms and resulting major fires/floods keep the people nomadic

-tribal but highly organised people, lead by shamanic caste who are also mighty warriors (muscle wizards), value placed on both a warriors skill and his insight equally

-ritual cannibalism prevalent throughout, belief system places this and associated practices at heart of Homeworld culture

 

BELIEFS

As permitted and even encouraged by Uldin in the Chapter's early history, many of the Drosmyri peoples' esoteric beliefs have been upheld and fully incorporated into the Desolators Chapter cult, primary amongst which is the significance of a warriors spiritual health and vitality. His spirit and vital essence can be harnessed via the ritualistic cannibalisation of a warrior's corpse, and this belief heavily informs traditional practices in the Chapter.

 

The ritual cannibalising of an enemy warrior is commonplace, specifically his brain and heart, an act symbolically laden with power and opportunity, granting a warrior a fraction of his enemy's life force and enhancing his spiritual potency. Consumption of an ally's essence is also permitted under certain circumstance, and is considered a great honour both to the fallen and the consumer, marking the passed as too valuable to yet leave the Chapter, and the consumer as being enhanced and made more spiritually potent as he "houses" his fallen brother. Great authority and respect is accrued in these processes, influencing a warrior's standing both formally and informally within the Chapter, and such matters greatly influence relationships, decision making and politics amongst the Desolators .

 

-Taught not to fear the Warp, inducted into its nature early and to fully understand their own and mankind's relationship to it. Etc. Belief that psykers are near-divine and occupy spot of natural authority among man, leading to ultimate respect for and deference to Librarians (Kolduns) and their quasi-leadership of the Chapter

 

While the Chapter cult in no way casts the Emperor as a god or an image of perfection, he is understood to have been the ultimate leader of mankind and its most gifted psyker. Furthermore and perhaps unusually amongst the Adeptus Astartes, His immense psychic power is seen as being of central cosmic significance, in a sense being a fulcrum on which the infinite skeins and balance of fate and reality turn. The Kolduns' ritual communion with him in their many and varied mystic practices heavily influence the Desolators positions on both how and where to wage war, and how to conduct internal Chapter affairs.

 

While in no real sense a form of worship, this sovereign status of the Emperor in the Chapter's belief structure is considered near enough to approximate much of the Imperial Truth and therefore acceptable by Ecclesiarchal standards, and thus the Desolators' more unsavoury beliefs and practices go largely ignored.

 

While the Emperor is revered as mankind's greatest leader and the paragon of psychic potential, it is their Primarch Jaghatai Khan they revere as the ultimate warrior. This makes for an unusual position amongst Astartes, and one that has more than once caused friction between themselves and other Chapters throughout their history. The influence of this devout reverence for the Khan can be seen in a myriad of ways across the Chapter's behaviours. Every trait Uldin saw in the Khan he sought to emulate in kind, and he passed this goal on, both he and his brothers striving in their way to exemplify all they see as great in the Warhawk.

 

 

GENESEED

 

Drawn from the genestock of the Destroyers Chapter, the Desolators share the lineage of Jaghatai Khan. It has come to pass that, in recent millenia, as the geneseed stability of both the Destroyers and the Desolators have come under increasing concern and suspicion, the wisdom of this choice has come into serious question.

 

-live 10-20% longer than typical Astartes, potential quirk

Edited January 13, 2018 by Draakur

[Zhiv]

If you think that's wordy you ought to see some stuff I've written

 

I think it's pretty solid - what I would like to see is a brief mention of dreadnoughts as White Scars and their successors deal with them in unique ways. Also, the peer-cannibalism kinda intervenes with the whole dreadnought concept. Also apothecaries, how do they fit in? Do they help in the ritual or merely tell Brother Bob that Joe's now good for consumption since they've recovered the glands.

[Draakur]

Still a hell of a lot to add, this is only part of it. Have to cover organisation (specifically explaining just how sovereign Kolduns are and how this effects Chapter decision making and approach to warfare), more details on beliefs, some history (most notably their big move away from chartered Imperial space, then their return after the mass visions of their great quest to come) and pivotal campaigns, need the whole Homeworld section obviously which will be integral to the IA and explaining how they've become who they are, and little stuff like apothecaries as you said, etc etc...

 

Still, glad you think it's solid :)

 

Any other thoughts given this is just the start?

[Gamiel]

Any other thoughts given this is just the start?

If you are still taking thoughts I would like to say that:

- I like the point based presentation in the first post, gives people a good overview of the Chapter and its ways.

- Since you have said that you were inspired by (among other things) Nordics and Slavs could you have that the Chapter has a sauna culture, maybe some of the more ritualistic/important cannibalism needs to be done in a sauna (saunas are seen as somewhat mystical in at least Russian traditions). This could lead to that most squads carry around all the equipment needed to create a sauna for when they need one.

- Regarding cannibalism could you maybe look upon the Trudvagn RPG one of the religious faiths in that is about binding worthy souls (animal, human and monster) to you by eating them and making trophies out of their bones/skin. There is also WHFB/AoS's Ogres/ogors who have some cannibalistic magic.

- Since they have respect for psykers, maybe the Kolduns have psykers as “koldun-thralls” that helps them with their magic?

 

 

 

Public displays of cannibalism is reason enough to be excommunicated.

A bit late to comment I admit but I would like to at that I don't think that since we have IG regiments whose inuniverse description mention them as cannibalistic and without any mention about having to excommunicated them.

Edited November 1, 2020 by Gamiel