Index Astartes: Denizens of the Deep

[Minigiant]

Okay I need help with Titles. Now senior astartes have titles like Master of the Watch

 

Well I need 10 suitably Lovecraftian titles for my company/fleet captains

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Borrowing titles of Lovecraft's own works, we have "Haunter of the Dark", "Lurking Fear", "Challenger from Beyond", "Ghost-Eater", "Slayer of Monsters", "Night-Gaunt", "Winged Death"...

 

I thought of "Conqueror of Madness", after the story 'At the Mountains of Madness'.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Minigiant]

Those are cool, thank you

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Trying to match meanings to titles:

 

"Conquerors of Madness"= Veterans (1st Company), having seen the most horrific scenes the galaxy offered, and not succumbed.

 

"Winged Deaths"= Assault Marines (Jump Infantry), which is self-explanatory.

 

"Challengers from Beyond"= Devastators, using long-range weapons to challenge the enemy, while remaining beyond the enemy's reach.

 

"Ghost-Eaters"= Scouts (10th Company), having to journey far in search of the enemy's faintest shadow, sustaining themselves on those shadows (exercising their Omophagea) in the process.

 

And a new proposal:

 

"Shadows of the God-Emperor"= Honor Guards with the additional duty of monitoring their own charges for signs of corruption- and executing these Fleet Masters, Captains, Chaplains, and Librarians, if this was the case. Alternatively, garrison troops who ensure a planet does not descend into chaos and Chaos after a battle, wasting the efforts of the Denizens of the Deep.

Edited September 22, 2017 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Another idea is to use "Haunter" as an honorary title for a warlord who forced an enemy to retreat, e.g., a "Haunter of the Dark" is one who defeated a Dark (Chaos) army, while a "Haunter of the Shadows" is one who defeated a Shadow (Eldar or Dark Eldar) army.

 

Any ideas for what to call ones who defeat Ork, Necron, Tau, or Tyranid armies?

[Minigiant]

Good concept

 

Necron = Soulless

Ork = beasts?

Tyranid = Swarm

Tau = ????

[Bjorn Firewalker]

"Haunter of the Deep" or "Haunter of the Depths", for the Tau's skin coloring, or the fact their vanguard are Water Caste diplomats?

 

"Haunter of the Hives" for the Tyranid Hive Mind? (I thought of "Haunter of the Blood", for the genetic taint they bring, but that might be confusing.)

Edited September 23, 2017 by Bjorn Firewalker

[Minigiant]

Haunter of the Mind for Tyranids

[Bjorn Firewalker]

A "Haunter of the Tombs" is one who defeated Necrons (after the xenos' "tomb worlds").

[Minigiant]

In company order:

 

Chapter Master Atreus Phanes

Lurking Fear Damon Neoptolmus

Chief Librarian [NAME], Great Dreamer

Captain [NAME], Conqueror of Madness

Captain [NAME], Challenger from Beyond

Captain [NAME], Haunter of the Mind

Captain [NAME], Slayer of Monsters

Captain [NAME], Night-Gaunt

Captain [NAME], Winged Death

Captain [NAME], Haunter of Tombs

Captain Okeanos, Haunter of the Dark

Captain [NAME], Ghost Eater

Captain [NAME], Lurker at the Threshold

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Suggested name for the Chief Librarian: Georgius Tothe, after a man whose mind was abducted from his body, and the alien who trapped that mind in its own. Robert E. Howard's contribution to the story is awesome: instead of wallowing in despair (as occurs all too often in certain stories), the human-turned-alien makes the following decision:

Memory, deep grooved in Tothe's [the alien's] brain, was stirring in him- shadows of the knowledge Tothe had. Carved deep in the physical tissues of the brain, they spoke dimly as implanted instincts to George Campbell [the human mind trapped in the alien's body]; and his human consciousness seized them and translated them to show him the way not only to safety and freedom, but to the power his soul, stripped to its primitive impulses, craved. Not as a slave would he dwell on Yekub [the alien planet], but as a king! Just as of old barbarians had sat on the throne of lordly empires.

Later...

With that globe [the aliens' god] in his hands he would be king of Yekub. The worm men [aliens] would dare deny him nothing, when he held their god as hostage.

Imagine someone holding a crystal ball- with Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh all trapped inside, and powerless- while the Chaos Marines from the nine Traitor Legions are forced to wait hand-and-foot upon him. That is beyond merely punching out Cthulhu.

[Minigiant]

Suggested name for the Chief Librarian: Georgius Tothe, after a man whose mind was abducted from his body, and the alien who trapped that mind in its own. Robert E. Howard's contribution to the story is awesome: instead of wallowing in despair (as occurs all too often in certain stories), the human-turned-alien makes the following decision:

Memory, deep grooved in Tothe's [the alien's] brain, was stirring in him- shadows of the knowledge Tothe had. Carved deep in the physical tissues of the brain, they spoke dimly as implanted instincts to George Campbell [the human mind trapped in the alien's body]; and his human consciousness seized them and translated them to show him the way not only to safety and freedom, but to the power his soul, stripped to its primitive impulses, craved. Not as a slave would he dwell on Yekub [the alien planet], but as a king! Just as of old barbarians had sat on the throne of lordly empires.

Later...

With that globe [the aliens' god] in his hands he would be king of Yekub. The worm men [aliens] would dare deny him nothing, when he held their god as hostage.

Imagine someone holding a crystal ball- with Khorne, Nurgle, Tzeentch, and Slaanesh all trapped inside, and powerless- while the Chaos Marines from the nine Traitor Legions are forced to wait hand-and-foot upon him. That is beyond merely punching out Cthulhu.

 

 

That sounds absolutely crazy, and fricking awesome!

 

Will require subtlety for sure, think it maybe possible though

 

Edit: I dont think I can use one of the four major chaos gods though, I dont know how it could be possible without him being too mary sue

Edited September 25, 2017 by Minigiant

[Minigiant]

So I have began work on my biggest ever project, creating a rules legal custom codex

 

http://68.media.tumblr.com/aedf19a4402e9d4fb108b6c03dea38c0/tumblr_inline_ows59ujElO1tb1qq6_500.png

 

So far I have got a majority of the content down into a word document; 29225 words, and 79 pages. This does not include rules yet.

 

What I am dong in essence is lifting all background, images, graphics, and names, and replacing them with my own chapters equivalents. Leaving only the relevant rules (They are too be an Ultramarines army). There will be one custom special character, and a few forgeworld rules thrown in for good measure.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

For the Chief Librarian's backstory, how about a scene in which he saves the Denizens of the Deep fleet from a Tyranid ambush, by telepathically linking with the Hive Mind, making the Hive Ship hallucinate that it's alone and surrounded by Space Marine strike cruisers. The Hive Ship ends up shooting at its own escorts, destroying them and allowing the Denizens fleet to easily destroy the now unescorted Hive Ship.

 

Afterwards, the Librarian falls into a coma, and sleeps for 13 months. But when he wakes up, he declares himself ready to fight again, willing to pull the "link with the Hive Mind and make it hallucinate" trick again- fully aware this may destroy his own mind- if it will bring the Denizens victory.

[Minigiant]

That is an interesting route, I will add it to the datafile on him, when I finally get round to writing that bit up

 

Anyone else reading this @Bjorn Firewalker has been helping a lot behind the scene and has written this awesome scene for me

 

927.M41- The Traitors' Hands Strike, the Maiming of Atreus Phanes, the Death of Fleet Master Dagan, and the Conquest of Atlantis

 

The Primarch's Fist- personal transport of the Fleet Master of the Inquiliana Abyssi, a Thunderhawk gunship converted into an assault ram- crashed through the rose window of the Temple of the Emperor Awakening. The anti-personnel mines lining the window frame, intended to kill any Assault Marines passing through it, merely scratched the assault ram's paint as they detonated.

The Forces of the Faithful waddled towards the Primarch's Fist- the hideously mutated soldiers were no longer capable of a human gait- only to become ash when the assault ram's magna-melta fired.

"Please clean up after yourselves- you're making a mess," said the unusually tall man in a Cardinal's robes, his skin pitch-black as a defense against the energy radiating from the uranium rods replacing the candles on the chandelier and on each candlestick.

The mutants' cremated remains scattered, like disturbed birds, as Fleet Master Dagan and his Terminator armored "Shadows" marched toward the Apostate Cardinal.

"Karl Altberg," Dagan fired his Tiamat Pattern guardian trident's mounted boltgun as he spoke, attempting to overwhelm the force field the Apostate Cardinal's rosarius generated, "you have been declared, 'Excommunicate Traitoris,'" the accompanying Terminators squeezed their triggers, but the Fleet Master's booming voice drowned out even their gunfire, "for usurping the Emperor's anointed," the force field began flickering, "violating the Decree Passive," sparks shot from the overloaded rosarius, "heresy," the failing rosarius ignited the Apostate Cardinal's robes, exposing the snapping beaks on the mutant's hips, the writhing tentacles on his legs, "and perverting the sanctity of the human form," the Apostate Cardinal erected a telekine dome to replace the collapsing force field, ignoring the smoke rising from his burning clothes, or the injuries they inflicted. "In the Emperor's name, by the authority vested in me by Inquisitor Yoshimurakana of the Ordo Hereticus of His Majesty's Inquisition," Dagan and the Terminators simultaneously thrust their tridents at the Apostate Cardinal, piercing the telekine dome and pinning the mutant to the wall, "you are hereby expelled from the Ecclesiarchy; stripped of all ranks, titles, and honors; and sentenced to death."

Lime-green ichor poured from the mouth of the thing- once known as "Karl Heinrich Ehrenstein", for the honors he won at the Battles of Heinrich's World and Ehrenstein- as he smiled.

"I accept the fate the God-Emperor gave me, as Genetor Abdul Hazred described in his book of prophecies." The Apostate Cardinal spoke clearly- an impossible feat, considering the trident prongs piercing his lungs.

Dagan started, as did several Terminators. "Where did you learn of the Magos Biologis?" the Fleet Master demanded.

The Apostate Cardinal's hands rose to grab Dagan's trident shaft, pinning it in place, as his tentacles did the same for the other Terminators' weapons. "The God-Emperor spoke to me as He spoke to Genetor Hazred- as He will speak to you upon awakening- Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"

The Terminators all sensed the "wrongness" as black ellipses- Warp portals- opened behind them.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!" a Chaos Terminator and a Chaos Space Marine- both bearing Word Bearers colors, gripping an athame with a triangular blade in one hand- chanted as they stepped through the portals.

Dagan felt a ritual blade cut through his armor like a propeller through water, allowing the Chaos Terminator to reach into his chest cavity. "Argh!" The Fleet Master backhanded the Chaos Terminator, launching the Dark Apostle across the hall. "Iacchus, you traitor!"

"Your sacrifice will awaken the God-Emperor," First Acolyte Kreios declared as he approached Captain Phanes. "He will then continue His original plan for humanity, and bless us with the energies to evolve beyond the limits of the material realm." The athame pointed to Phanes' primary heart. "Die with honor." Boom! "Argh!" Iacchus' apprentice cried when a boltshell tore out his right eye- Kreios didn't notice an Inquiliana Abyssi Terminator drop his trident to free his hands, allowing him to draw and fire a holdout pistol. Instead of cutting out Phanes' heart, the ritual blade severed the Sixth Captain's right arm.

Phanes ignored the phantom pain as he raised the power fist on his left hand- one of the [insert the name of choice here], brother to the Chapter relic the Fleet Master wore on his right hand- and turned, using the momentum to punch through Kreios' breastplate and crush the traitor's primary heart. "Go back to hell!"

The Inquiliana Abyssi Terminators' struggles freed them from the Apostate Cardinal's grips, though the latter was not dismayed. "Your blood nourishes the God-Emperor," he said as profane symbols manifested upon the ceiling, walls, and floor. "My body will serve as His vessel-" Fleet Master Dagan swung his trident around to slam the mutant- still impaled upon it- into the floor, cracking it. "Argh!"

"Squad, mount up!" Dagan ordered as his lifeblood poured out the hole his primary heart once occupied, flooding over the cracks in the floor. "Captain Phanes, you have command!" The Fleet Master reached for the Holy Orb of Antioch- a gift from a Black Templars Chaplain- at his side. "Withdraw the Primarch's Fist, and have the Trident of Vengeance conduct orbital bombardment against this position!" He armed the blessed hand grenade, and slammed it into the Apostate Cardinal's chest. The floor was unable to withstand the blow; a hole opened beneath the Apostate Cardinal and his executioner, sending them both down the void below.

[Minigiant]

This is currently mostly filler

 

"All Denizens return here after a conflict, renewing asseverations and adding any new-found wonders to their already vast hoard. Some of these pieces date back to the Great Crusade: banners carried before the Emperor himself, a piece of the First Aquila, a blackened skull reportedly struck by the Emperor’s scorching psychic energies, and thousands more."

 

I need suggestions on appropriate relics for the Denizens. The ones here are those of the Black Templars

[Bjorn Firewalker]

A quartz block- shaped into a perfect cube, not into the hexagon that the mineral naturally crystalizes into- with a pale disk somehow embedded in its center. The disk is made of an unknown substance, with cuneiform characters deeply etched in its surface. (From the xeno artifact described in 'The Challenge from Beyond'. In game, it should equip a Librarian.)

 

A copper ring, made like a scaly snake coiled three times, with its tail in its mouth and yellow jewels for eyes. (Thoth-amon's ring, which appears in 'The Phoenix on the Sword' and 'The Haunter of the Ring'. As the ring allows one to command a powerful daemon, it should be quarantined; those who attemp to wield it, subjected to summary execution.)

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The blackened skull should be that of a Daemonhost. It should be kept quarantined to minimize its potentially corruptive influence, not publicly displayed as an honorable trophy- though Chaplains and Librarians will study it, to better learn how to identify signs of Chaos-taint, and how to kill the tainted.

[Minigiant]

A copper ring, made like a scaly snake coiled three times, with its tail in its mouth and yellow jewels for eyes. (Thoth-amon's ring, which appears in 'The Phoenix on the Sword' and 'The Haunter of the Ring'. As the ring allows one to command a powerful daemon, it should be quarantined; those who attemp to wield it, subjected to summary execution.)

 

Copper Ouroboros Ring it is

[Minigiant]

Side question:

 

What forgeworld units should I include into the book?

 

So far I have for certain:

 

1. Leviathan Dreadnought

 

Anything else particularly theme fitting

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Sicaran Omega tank destroyer? (The Caestus assault ram is "temporarily out of stock".)

[Minigiant]

Update to Organisation. excluding Inner Circle section.

 

Is Inner Circle a suitable name or is it to obviously a rip off of the Dark Angels

 

Anyway here you are:

 

An outside observer would find it difficult to spot any differences between the Inquiliana Abyssi and a chapter rigidly adhering to the tenants of the Codex, such as the Ultramarines.

 

It is in the organisation of the higher levels that deviations from the Codex Astartes can first be seen. All Chapters include a number of officers and specialists who stand aside from the company organisation. In the Inquiliana Abyssi these are known as the Inner Circle. Members of the Inner Circle may be assigned to fight with a company fleet in battle, and includes the Chapter’s Void Stalkers and Techmarines.

 

The Chapter relies on a large support staff, and highly ranked members include the Keeper of Dread, the Captains; Conqueror of Madness, Lurker at the Threshold, and the Challenger from Beyond. Although each Captain is a Space Marine, there are actually relatively few Brethren in the Chapter’s support staff, and most non-combatant roles are performed by the Chapter’s Human serfs. The Chapter includes a large number of support staff that do not know the whole truth surrounding the Vault, but hold great responsibility nonetheless. Many are non-combatants of advanced age tasked with the day-to-day administration of the Chapter. The largest group of Inquiliana Abyssi Space Marines in the support staff are the Chapter’s armourers and Techmarines, who are aided in their tasks by hundreds of mono-task Servitors, and Trial of Fire survivors undergoing atonement.

 

A Fleet based chapter comprised of Ten Companies each led by a Denizen of the Deep Captain, who has progressed through the ranks and is a member of the inner circle. He is attended by a Command Squad, consisting of the Company’s Standard Bearer, Apothecary, and Company Champion, as well as other brethren assigned to aid the Captain in his duties. Each company includes a Void Stalker, who presides over the brother’s spiritual well-being and stirs their fury upon the field of battle.

 

Of the ten companies comprising of the Inquiliana Abyssi, the first one is unique and does not follow standard codex organisation. Instead of being compiled entirely of veterans as is the case with most chapters, it is another battle company ceremonially assigned as First Company for the current Fleet Master is drawn from their ranks. Only Veterans of the First Company will be allowed to train to wear the few suits of Terminator armour available to the Chapter. . These suits can be seen watching over you as you stand in the Chapels throughout Dimitar. Denizen Techmarines have gone to extensive lengths to return fallen suits of Terminator armour so that it may once more see battle.

 

The remainder of the Chapter is organised along Codex lines. The 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th are Battle Companies, each consists of six battleline squads, two close support squads, and two fire support squads. These four company and their fleets form the main battle lines and generally bear the brunt of the fighting. Each have a degree of autonomy and with such a variety of squads, the Companies are highly flexible and tactically adaptable. Through countless conflicts each company is able to form their own Veteran Squads that are able to be fielded in place of a Battleline squad, these brethren are essentially armed in a similar manner to a Tactical squad.  

 

Companies 6 and 7 are battleline companies, each consisting of ten battleline squads. These act as reserves which may be used to bolster the front line, launch diversionary attacks or stem enemy flanking manoeuvres.

 

The 8^th Company consists of ten close support squads. This highly mobile company is often equipped with jump packs, and is fielded in the assault role wherever a strong hand-to-hand fight force is needed to storm an enemy strongpoint.

 

The 9^th Company consists of ten Fire Support Squads. It is the most powerfully equipped in the Chapter and is used to bolster defence and provide long-range support.

 

The 10^th Company consists of a number of Scout squads; youths who have been recruited and partially transformed into Space Marines. There is no formal size for the company as the rate of recruitment is not fixed. They are the only company to not maintain its own fleet, and instead operate directly off of their homeworld. Never fighting as one coherent force; instead they are assigned to the other fleet where they can gain experience alongside their elders.

 

All of the companies, with the exception of the Scout Company maintain transports and Drop pods for each of their squads and officers. The armoury hold onto more centrally, including Land Raiders, each being allocated to individual squads dictated by the needs of their mission or requested by a Captain on the spot.

 

Many of the Battle companies and Reserve companies include a number of Dreadnoughts to remain a part of the company in which the warrior served before being interred within the metal sarcophagus in which he fights, and his presence bolsters in the company’s fighting strength considerably.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I still believe a Space Marine Chapter's 10th Company should be a Neophyte Company (see the Black Templars), as newly inducted Marines are incapable of COMPETENTLY serving as Scouts, due to a lack of experience. Perhaps each Battle Company should maintain its own Scout Squad (whose members have Space Wolves Wolf Scouts' stats)?

[Minigiant]

I still believe a Space Marine Chapter's 10th Company should be a Neophyte Company (see the Black Templars), as newly inducted Marines are incapable of COMPETENTLY serving as Scouts, due to a lack of experience. Perhaps each Battle Company should maintain its own Scout Squad (whose members have Space Wolves Wolf Scouts' stats)?

 

I fully agree, I cannot justify adding in wolf scout stats though. Only Summanus will break codex rules.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I just replaced the Space Wolves specific traits (Acute Senses) with those appropriate for the Legions my Pioneers (renamed Wolf Scouts) are descendants of- Chapter Tactics (Iron Hands) for the Steel Crusaders, Furious Charge for the Iron-hearted Angels (Blood Angels descendants).