[Iron Gauntlet 2017] IA: Knights Defiant

[Brink]

Origins: Part of the 22nd founding of the Adeptus Astartes, The Knights Defiant have always fought with an unwavering determination that cannot be stayed except by direct order. Much like their Progenitor the Venerable Imperial Fists the Knights Defiant refuse to retreat from most any battle and much less one on their own territory. 

 

History: During the first centuries of service the Knights Defiant remained largely within their own star with few exceptions. It was during this time when Venerable Roland came to power as the first Chapter Master raised from the home planet of Eysines. Under his guidance the Knights Defiant became more aggressive and eventually this cost them dearly. During a particularly bloody Campaign in Ork held space near the Eysines System Venerable Roland was struck low by the Warboss Urgak this caused House Ferox to fly into a fury unseen by the chapter as they pursued vengeance against the Warboss Urgak who had injured their Master. This ended with House Ferox facing almost complete destruction against the Ork horde as they Recovered the body of Venerable Roland they discover he was alive although barely. House Ferox had suffered greatly at this point but due to the intervention of House Wayland the Knights Defiant had recovered Venerable Roland and some of House Ferox. Upon the flagship, The Sword of Eysines Venerable Roland was entombed inside a Contemptor Dreadnought chassis. In the aftermath of the battle that laid Venerable Roland low House Lord Wayland ascended to Chapter Master and Rebuilt House Ferox and upon its return to full strength he renewed the Campaign. Under Chapter Master Wayland the Ork horde was suppressed to only a singular planet now Known as the Cage to the Knights Defiant who now use it as a training ground for aspirants. This is all that is recounted of Venerable Roland who is the only Astartes privy to the knowledge of the Chapter’s beginning due to a rebellion within the Chapter Librarium where Chief Librarian Dordalus and a majority of the Epostolaries turned to chaos and stole with them much of the Chapters lore.  Considering this the Chapter has ruled the only loyal Epostolary remaining to assume the burden of the entire Librarium and the task of hunting Dordalus and reclaiming the Chapters lore.  Now Epostolary Naram is under direct watch of the Reclusiam always and during battle he must remain near a Chaplain or a House Lord always should he turn. Considering Primarch Robute Gulliman’s Indomitus Crusade and the reinforcing of front line chapters with Primaris Astartes. The Knights Defiant were sent an entire company of Primaris Astartes due to no updates on troop strength reaching Terra or Gulliman. As such the Knights Defiant have a total strength of 1,100 Astartes during the final days of the Indomitus Crusade.  However, the Knights Defiant haven’t taken kindly to the Primaris Astartes and have thus kept them entirely separate from the Great Houses. Since receiving reinforcement the Knights Defiant haven’t deployed and therefore the Primaris group hasn’t experienced combat and is distrusted by the Chapter until their worth has been proven. 

Homeworld: Eysines is a planet capable of maintaining human life and was first colonized during the Great Crusade.  During its colonization progress, it was found to be quite rich in minerals required for manufacturing of Astartes vehicles and weaponry. Eysines had its own Imperial Army regiment founded for self-defense and transportation of minerals to the Blood Angels for use in the 9th Legion.  Eysines remained largely unaffected by the Crusade until the Horus Heresy began and Eysines was invaded by the 8th Legion for the resources present. When news of the reached Baal the Blood Angels sent one of its Fleets to recover Eysines and in the following campaign a majority of the population had been killed off in the fight between the Astartes. Once the Night Lords had been repelled it was determined Eysines was too damaged to be considered a priority during the Heresy and was thus forgotten and the remaining population recovered over the course of the next 7,000 years. The inhabitants of Eysines regressed severely due to the catastrophic fighting that occurred on the surface and has now re-emerged as a pre-black powder society reminiscent of medieval Terra.   Eysines people have organized themselves into a semi democratic society in which the head of one of the 8 Great houses assumes complete autonomy over the sovereign for the next year. The process by which this is chosen is directly correlated to the aspirant selection games that the Knight Defiant host each year to search for possible neophytes.

 

Combat Doctrine: The Knights Defiant fight in a manner like that of the Black Templars preferring blade and strength to overwhelm the enemy at close proximity. However, the Knights Defiant also make extensive use of Razorbacks and Land Raider Redeemers as the primary mode of transportation instead of rhinos. The use of whirlwinds is also quite prevalent among the Knights Defiant to cover the approaching Astartes.  

 

Chapter Culture: During a meeting with the Black Templars that’s long since been forgotten the Knights Defiant have also taken up the quirk of chaining weaponry to their armor during Crusades as a form of devotion to the Crusade.  Astartes within the Knights Defiant also tend to inscribe oaths of combat or faith upon their power armor during times of distress and sorrow as well as upon the Day of the Emperors Ascension.  Unlike Most chapters an Astartes in the Knights Defiant are recruited into the same house they fought for in the Eysines Tournament and will remain in that house exclusively unless they ascend to Chapter Master in which they no longer belong to a House but to Eysines. This is shown in the way Battle Brothers address each other e.g. (Brother Lucas of Auxilus).

 

Any ​Constructive Criticism is appreciated. Thanks for looking!

Edited July 14, 2017 by Brink

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Some words should be capitalized, e.g., "Great Scouring". Grammar, punctuation, and spacing between paragraphs (remember, tabs disappear when pasting writing from *.txt to *.html documents) also need proofreading.

 

This is good work, otherwise. Roland as a Venerable Dreadnought is a nice touch- will his profile have WS 6?

[joschlumpf]

What´s missing in the moment would be how they fight (Chapter tactics). Espacially, how do the houses work together with every House having other fighting priorities.

 

Oh and making a Techmarine a Chapter Master is a nice idea :)

[Dizzyeye01]

First off, what made the chapter decide to rename companies into Houses? Was it influence from their Homeworld?

 

Second, what made the chapter master end up being a tech marine as well? It does also put into question where the loyalty of the chapter master is since tech marines have the duel loyalty between the Chapter and Mars and it could be seen as Mars trying to get their own private chapter (which has been attempted before and the chapter was discovered early on then forced to commit to the same vows as any other chapter does.)

 

Apart from those two points, you just need to write up the rest of the sections such as geneseed and so on. You're off to a good start, just keep that motivation going and you'll do fine :)

[Brink]

Ok here to address some of those questions. First I would like to create Character Profiles and my own Chapter Tactics but as of right now that is a no. Second I'm currently working on how the Houses work with each other but I have decided that House Ferox is essentially a bunch of Sternguard with some standard Veterans and Vanguard being minimal. Houses Iuris and Auxilus are essentially the Chapter Reserves and rarely leave the system unless the whole might of the Chapter is required. As for the general fighting style I want it to be a sort of shock assault style that uses Whirlwinds and Stalkers to suppress while Land Raider Redeemers and Razorbacks drop off the Astartes. Third a Former Chapter Master was a Techmarine and only occurred once within the chapter I decided it would be a neat tie in to have a former chapter master forge the Sword wielded by current and future chapter masters. 

 

Thanks for helping. Any more help is appreciated!

[Boldthreat]

I like the idea of neophytes being sent to each House based upon their personal qualities.  I would like to see that expanded on.  How are the recruits assessed?  Psychic Screenings?  Divinations?  Is there potential progression from one House to another?  I imagine the Houses would have great rivalries and histories that could really add character.  

 

Are you planning different Heraldry for each respective House?  How independent are the houses from each other?  This is what is really standing out to me about this Chapter, and I want to read more detail about the character and demeanor of each House and understand the dynamics of this situation.  

 

Are you planning on detailing the early history of the Chapter?  Is there a potential dark secret here?  I am not sure I want you to specifically answer that, as the reader I want to enjoy subtle hints and let my own imagination fill out that void.  I very much enjoy the new Horus Heresy stuff and how fleshed out it has become... but I miss that feeling of when the Horus Heresy was myth and legend with half-truths and 10,000 years of interpretations clouding the truth.  Somethings should stay hidden, but we still need a reason to read it and care about it.  That could be out in left field... but I must admit I am intrigued  buy this Roland Character and the secrets he "could" be hiding... or guarding... 

[Brink]

Boldthreat thank you for your kind words. At the moment I am currently working on the combat style of the chapter and how each House fits into that. I do however, plan on giving each house it's own unique heraldry due to the Codex Astartes stating that a chapter should change it's icon every so often to keep the enemy confused and I want to expand on that idea with a chapter that has 8 different Crests. As for the early history that is on the back burner for now but I plan to expand on it with Venerable Roland being the only member who knows the true history of the chapter. 

 

Keep the comments coming they really help!

[Boldthreat]

Boldthreat thank you for your kind words. At the moment I am currently working on the combat style of the chapter and how each House fits into that. I do however, plan on giving each house it's own unique heraldry due to the Codex Astartes stating that a chapter should change it's icon every so often to keep the enemy confused and I want to expand on that idea with a chapter that has 8 different Crests. As for the early history that is on the back burner for now but I plan to expand on it with Venerable Roland being the only member who knows the true history of the chapter. 

 

Keep the comments coming they really help!

 

You are very welcome.  I look forward to seeing you expand on what you already have here.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

For an Imperial Fists descendant, the Knights Defiant sure act like Space Wolves. (Nothing wrong with that, in my opinion.)

 

Besides the usual Leman Russ variants, will you design and kitbash your own? Maybe a "Leman Russ Charger" as an Assault Transport with Access Points replacing the hull and sponson-mounted weapons?

[Brink]

Thanks again Bjorn for some insight. I plan on doing some models later on and see what I can come up with then. As for acting like Space Wolves wasn't really what I'm gunning for (Side note not too big a fan of the Wolves) I wanted to try and come up with a unique fighting style that was aggressive but able to change to defense quickly which was why I like the idea of Land Raiders and such.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I thought up the Leman Russ variant for a Space Marine Chapter that needed Assault Transports, but initially lacked Land Raiders.

 

The vehicle will share the Razorback's Transport Capacity (six), its inability to transport Bulky and Very Bulky models (Terminators and Centurions). It will have AV 14 (Front), 13 (Sides), 11 (Rear); plus a Demolished cannon, Executioner plasma cannon, or Exterminator autocannon; plus sponson-mounted heavy bolters (I'm changing my mind about side Access Points).

 

It'll be an ugly thing, resembling something the Orks will assemble from scrap metal; but if you need Land Raiders, yet have none, I hope it'll be an acceptable substitute.

 

Do you think "Leman Russ Stormer" is a good name? Maybe "Ironwolf assault tank"?

[Brink]

Hello again I've started creating an idea on how the 8 houses work together in combat and which have rivalries and which work well together. So first i how the work with one another I want Ferox to perform a sort of overwatch role where they aren't the farthest away but can provide covering fire from a close to mid-range distance while Wayland maintains the Whirlwinds and Stalkers and any other chapter vehicles but in combat they are the artillery support. House Impetus will be the close range specialist with Vanguard assault squads and with a high focus on extreme shock tactics and House Motus will house the Land Speeders, Bikes, Storm Ravens, and any other vehicle that isn't associated with House Wayland. House Taedas isn't a combat deployed House unless absolutely necessary as it is the guardian House  of the Chapters Reclusiam and provides Chaplain recruits. House Janus is the only fleet based House and it's job is to patrol the systems around the chapter homeworld and engage as necessary. Houses Iuris and Auxilus are very similar in composition and resemble an average Astartes company with only one notable difference being House Iuris is charged with hunting and or capturing and imprisoning any rouge Astartes from the chapter and are usually only deployed in that scenario. 

 

Moving on to Rivalries. House Wayland and Motus are extremely competitive with each other and often have honor duels between company champions upon meeting. Houses Iuris and Auxilus have the largest rivalry due to their unique position that places them near each other at almost all times; However, Iuris and Auxilus don't perform duels but rather compete for condemnations while deployed actively with one another. Houses Ferox and Impetus are noted as working extremely well with one another as they complement each other with close range and long range combat. House Taedas is generally looked upon as the most secretive House and doessn't support any rivalries or combat preferences with the other Houses. House Janus is noted as being completely indifferent towards all Houses treating each as an equal house of battle brother which is due to their nature of almost never seeing the rest of the chapter. 

 

If anyone has any ideas to help me improve I would love to hear them!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Clarification is needed. From your description, some Houses are specialized, e.g., House Motus maintains all of the Chapter's fast attack vehicles; some are more conventional by necessity, e.g., House Janus, which must maintain some of its own fast attack vehicles, because its relative isolation from the others means Motus' support isn't guaranteed for the moments Janus needs it.

 

Does each House maintain its own armory and motor pool, like an Iron Hands Clan-Company? Does the Chapter maintain a centralized armory and motor pool, like a Codex Chapter, but the Techmarines distribute the vehicles according to certain biases, asking, "Why would you need a Land Raider? It's too slow to serve your needs!" if House Motus' Captain asks for one as a command vehicle?

 

Personally, I think such overspecialization will hurt the combat effectiveness of your Houses. You can organize them like Iron Hands Clan-Companies, and say House Motus DOES maintain Whirlwind artillery tanks, but the House tends to leave the vehicles aboard their strike cruisers when they enter battle, due to the Captain's bias for fast attack; likewise, House Waylaid has its own Land Speeders, but the fast attack vehicles never see battle with the House, due to its Captain's bias for artillery support.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

As for House Taedas, it should have some purpose beyond guarding the Reclusiam, or other readers (including myself) will wonder, "If its Marines don't deploy in combat, then what are they good for?" Maybe say the House takes the most religiously faithful recruits, and trains them to serve in other Houses as Honor Guards, for faith makes them willing to sacrifice themselves for a Captain or the Chapter Master?

[Brink]

Thanks for your insight Bjorn you are quite remarkable in your ability to help. If you don't mind I quite like your idea of House Taedas being the most faithful and providing Honor Guards. As for the overspecialization after reading over my previous work more thoroughly i'm afraid I have to agree so I will be working on that. 

[Badass_Spaz]

Please excuse my rambling here concerning your Chapter it's just the whole Houses idea stirs my imaginative cogs to know end!

 

- If or when you begin contemplating the Knights Fortress Monastery, may-haps me thinks a fuedal or colonial concept. Think great cathedrals or military bastions representing each house. Dozens, if not hundreds of bridges extends towards a center spire intersecting the circular pattern of House Cathedrals bastion. At this central spire, House lords conviene with one another concerning inter chapter relations, joint operations, answering distress beacons; Astarte's things. Not to say there's strife between the houses or grievances, think more as the central spire being the communication hub while the Company Houses themselves act as mass training and arming facilities... Just food for thought.

- Training Reserves- mutants and monsters discovered off-world are captured and released into planet side ruins. Neophytes would hone their skills in these reserves. Sometimes creature would require great feats of strength and courage while other might require a gentle, slightly stealthier approach. More another miscellaneous idea then anything else.

Those two idea's immediately burst into my head after I read through your Chapter. Yea, it's not incredibly helpful but later on down the road, if you're still chipping at the Chapter, you might consider them. You could also build on the Training Reserves, possibly dropping in POW for Neophyte's to hunt. Add a flare of grim dark, that would.

Have a good afternoon, my good man!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Good idea on the "Training Reserves", Badass_Spaz, but the beasts being hunted should not include Orks, Tyranids, or Chaos-tainted beings- no sane individual should want what those beings would bring (especially considering an Ork propogates spores that will grow into more Orks). Worse, the Inquisition's attention will be drawn to the foul beings' presence; if they feel it necessary, they will order an Exterminatus to purge Eysines of xeno and/or Chaos-taint.

 

The Chapter should also inform the Eysines natives- the very people they recruit into their ranks- of the fact they're importing monsters to their home world. Have Chaplains walk among Eysines' people, saying the Emperor is bringing the monsters to the planet to test the worth of his people, and those who "pass the test" by surviving the monsters' attacks, will be rewarded by recruitment into the ranks of His immortal champions (the Knights Defiant); that should minimize dissent against the Chapter's actions.

Edited April 8, 2017 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Brink]

So after thinking for quite a while I've decided to rewrite how the houses operate in combat and would love to hear some suggestions. the only 2 I have set in stone will be Houses Ferox and Janus. With House Janus being the equivalent of a standard company from a codex compliant chapter so it can remain completely isolated as is its job. And House Ferox will be switched to play more of a standard veteran company role. 

 

Sorry for not posting recently I had a lot of school work. Thanks for any help!

[Brink]

Sorry if this sounds like I'm complaining but I would really like some help working out the Houses as I'm currently at a loss as for what to do. Thanks for looking!

[Dizzyeye01]

I would suggest looking at the Space Wolves Great Companies and what they specialize in if you're looking for for what  House would be good at. Things off the top of my head include a company to guard the homeworld which could be what your 9th company does. I do have to ask by what do you mean with House Janus acting like a standard battle company means for you? After all, strike forces along with companies in general are meant so that they can act independently of the other companies in the chapter, it is only that following the codex Astartes, Battle Companies hold the space marines with more experience within the chapter while the reserves hold those who have less experience on the battlefield but have proven to be full space marines.

[Lysimachus]

The above is a good suggestion. The Wolves Great Companies are a good example of how more independent battle forces work within a Chapter. While they may have slight preferences for given tactics or equipment, they are still usually a versatile fighting force able to attack as well as defend. If you over-specialise each Co. you force the Chapter into only fighting as larger groups where they can build on each other's strengths and shore up their weaknesses. (Or you end up with the Companies being split into various balanced battle groups, at which point you might as well have standard Codex Companies!)

 

The only thing I'd say so far is that you're quite focussed on the Chapter's organisation, but you haven't told us a great deal about their personality? What kind of warriors does the Chapter produce? Why the name Knights Defiant, are they particularly known for their stubbornness or refusal to be cowed? If you had to sum up their personality/attitude in one or two words, what would they be? Once you figure that out, everything else follows much more naturally!

Edited April 11, 2017 by LySiMachus

[Brink]

Thank you Dizzyeye and lySiMachus for your suggestions on looking at the Wolves great companies. As for describing the chapter [personality I would say Zealous and Stubborn and for what I would like them to be known for would be the refusal to give in much like all IF.

[NightrawenII]

The rule of thumb in the art of DIYing is to ask yourself the question 'Why?' everytime you come up with something. This way you can discern the viable ideas from these worthless. In your case the question is 'Why the Knights Defiant have the houses instead of codex companies?'

 

If you don't (or can't) find a answer, then it's liability a therefore subject to oblivion.

 

 

~ NightrawenII

[LancsHotpot90]

I think what you've got here is a good solid base to expand on. As for the why of the houses, maybe, long ago, there was an internal conflict between the companies and eventually the solution of houses was agreed upon. This could be the truth that your Venerable former Chapter Master knows of? It could certainly add a bit of spice to the chapter :)

[Brink]

So here for opinions again but I would like to consider this a possibility for why there are houses. At one point there were a collection of clans on the planet who united and created the major kingdom of the planet and through time they were eventually called the great houses and since a majority of Astartes are recruited from this kingdom they organized into houses instead of companies. 

 

Let me know what you think!