IA: The Corsairs

[Magos Kasen]

Ooook, not sure this is ready to share, but hey, feedback is always welcome as I keep fleshing this out and changing things...

 

+INDEX ASTARTES+

 

++THE CORSAIRS++

 

"Rapto! Rapto et Meto!"

 

+Origins+

The Corsairs emerged from the tumultuous, war torn era of the 35-36th Millennia, part of a large expansion in space marine chapters that occurred at this time, and for the last 5,000 years have roamed the Imperium, a constant, vigilant presence patrolling the void. The details of the Corsair's early years are shrouded in uncertainty, with the exact details of their founding and parent chapter unknown to the modern chapter. The first records of the Corsairs position them as a new chapter, only just at operational strength, deployed as part of a larger crusade force in Ultima Segmentum in early M.36.

 

+Homeworld+

As a fleet based crusading chapter, the Corsairs have never held a homeworld from which to base themselves and draw recruits. The fleets of the Corsairs have ranged far and wide across the galaxy, with frequent extended deployments around the Eye of Terror, Maelstrom and the Halo Stars. More recently, the remnants of the chapter have joined the Indomitus Crusade waging war along the frontier of the Cicatrix Maledictum and into the Imperium Nihilus beyond. Without a regular source of recruits, and with their chapter practice of keeping a high influx of neophytes to replace the steady losses they suffer, the Corsairs have always recruited aggressively from local sources wherever they are deployed. Feral worlds, hive world slums and youths captured during battle with pirates and raiders are all regular recruits for the chapter, with a preference for aspirants that display heightened aggression and lack of self preservation instincts. The wide selection pool means that the Corsairs hail from a hundred different worlds and cultures, with individual marines often retaining idiosyncratic behaviours, speech patterns or fighting styles inherited from their original culture and not obliterated by the induction process of becoming an Astartes.

 

+Combat Doctrine+

The Corsairs have established themselves as void warfare specialists above and beyond even more other space marine chapters. In this role, they have remained a fleet based chapter, never settling on a single world or within any one sector. Over the years, contingents from the Corsairs have found themselves involved in countless major Imperial campaigns and offensives, however their preference for void warfare means that often, they play little to no part in the final battles and victories on the surfaces of the worlds being fought over, and they receive little acclaim for their service. A lack of fame has not resulted in a lack of respect, however, for among those chapters and regiments they have fought alongside there is a recognition of the bloody sacrifices the Corsairs make to keep supply lines open, to cut off enemy reinforcements and to capture orbital stations and deep space fortifications that less specialised forces would struggle to replicate.

This method of warfare necessitates a focus on short ranged firepower, with the chapter favouring assault bolt rifles and bolt carbines, as well as short ranged weaponry such as flamers and meltaguns. Unlike some aggressive chapters, the Corsairs do not put undue emphasis upon melee combat, preferring to overwhelm their foes with devastating close range fire rather than charge into enemy gunfire themselves. 

Despite primarily serving in void and zone mortalis battlezones, the Corsairs have always retained the tactical flexibility of any space marine chapter, being able to deploy flexible fighting forces suited for the kind of combat they are engaged with. Over their history they have fought in sieges, trench warfare and open field battles, just with less frequency than a standard chapter. 

 

+Organisation+

The Corsairs are in most regards a Codex adherent chapter, however their approach to warfare and the high attrition rates of the Zone Mortalis actions they specialise in have necessitated a few deviations from the standard template of the Codex. The two most notable of these are the larger than normal 10th Company kept by the chapter, and division of the chapter into strike forces that cut across standard company lines. 

While the chapter does field a codex-standard 10 companies, their command structure is significantly different. Individual companies do not have the usual command staff attached to them, instead each cruiser and battle barge in the chapter is commanded by a Fleet-Captain, and staffed with a complement of apothecaries, techmarines and other specialists, as well as landing craft and armouries. Individual captains select the forces that join their vessels on campaign from amongst the companies of the chapter as a whole, with individual squads requisitioned as needed. 

The Fleet-Master of the Corsairs typically commands the command vessel for the entire fleet, previously the Leviathax and Herodius Nero, currently Incendiax, and will have his pick of warriors from the chapter, as well as an entire squadron of escorts and frigates. 

Due to the heavy casualties the chapter often suffers, and the tendency for individual strike forces to operate for many years with limited contact with the rest of the chapter, the Corsairs have an aggressive recruitment strategy that permits each Fleet-Captain to maintain a training cadre of initiates aboard his vessel. While exact numbers vary, the ability of the Corsairs to remain largely combat active suggests they regularly far exceed the standard number of initiates a chapter would be expected to accept.

 

+Beliefs+

Unlike many of their fellow Astartes, the Corsairs hold a pragmatic, utilitarian view of their place in the galaxy. They disdain what they see as the excessive rituals and cultish practices of many chapters, preferring to confront their role as a weapon to be used by the Imperium as it sees fit. That is not to say the Corsairs disregard entirely the traditions of the Imperium, for those that serve a practical purpose, such as the Mechanicus’ rituals to placate and maintain the machine spirits, and the canticles designed to safeguard one’s mind during warp travel, are observed with methodic adherence. While not given to ostentation or excessive ornamentation, the wearing of campaign badges and honours is a common practice within the chapter, especially among the survivors from before 999.M.41. 

There is a close relationship between the Corsairs and the Adeptus Mechanicus, dating back the earliest days of the chapter. This has proven valuable, both historically and for the modern remnants of the Corsairs, as they have enjoyed more ready access to new equipment, vehicles and ships than might otherwise be the case. In return, the Corsairs have frequently offered escorts for Explorator Fleets and gone to the defence of Forge Worlds under threat. As the Corsairs do not employ traditional chaplains, their numerous techmarines fulfil a similar role, being keepers of the chapter's traditions and cult practices.

 

+Geneseed+

The Primogenitor of the Corsairs is undetermined, a result of their obscure origins during the tumultuous M.36. Chapter apothecaries, drawing on known characteristics of their brother chapters, suggest the most likely origins lie with the Ultramarines or Imperial Fists, given the noted genetic stability of the Corsair’s geneseed. Despite lacking a stable and permanent recruitment population, the Corsair’s apothecaries report a aspirant implant acceptance rate of close to 80%, exceptionally high for any chapter. 

Despite this general stability in their geneseed, the Corsairs do exhibit one significant defect in the functions of their implanted organs. The mucranoid gland, whose secretions when activated provide marines with a measure of temperature extreme and void resistance, displays increasing hyperactivity in Corsairs as they age, eventually being permanently active without the regular attention of an apothecary. Of course, given their preference for void warfare, the Corsairs do not see this as a significant drawback. Given that there are no records of similar defects in First Founding chapters, this only clouds the question of the Corsairs’ Primogenitor. Some have suggested that, as a chapter dating from the time of the Dark Founding, the Corsairs’ geneseed may have been tampered with or manipulated. Others, including several Ordo Astartes Inquisitors, have accused the chapter’s apothecaries of working to exacerbate the flaw and ensure its prevalence. Recently inducted marines from the Ultima Founding who have joined the chapter have also begun to show the first signs of aggressive mucrenoid activity, which is sure to concern those responsible for overseeing the supply of future primaris marines to the Corsairs. 

 

 

Have at it, let me know what's good, what's bad. I'll work on updating this as I develop a more comprehensive chapter identity and history

[Kelborn]

Haven't had the time to read everything (currently at work) but my...I really like your mini and color scheme! :O

What is their chapter symbol?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Your writing is acceptable- I'm glad there's no "We is Mary Sue Marines! We is bestest!" or "Female Space Marines for social justice!!!" nonsense.

 

What I wish to see more of is the Chapter's history. What specific battles have they fought, against which enemies? Is there an enemy they hate above all others? A specific ally with whom they swore oaths of brotherhood, e.g., a Skitarii legion or a Knightly House? Do they have a fierce rivalry with another Space Marine Chapter, loyal (e.g., the Corsairs are trying to outdo the Dark Angels and prove they're better at void warfare, or Corsairs challenge Space Wolves to honor duels whenever their Marines meet) or traitor (e.g., the Corsairs HATE the Red Corsairs, and will abandon their current deployment, leaving their allies in the lurch, whenever there's an opportunity to fight Huron Blackheart's forces)?

[Magos Kasen]

Thanks guys :)

 

@Bjorn, yeah, I still need to do a lot to flesh out the history of the chapter. Part of the issue is that a lot of what I have is post-999, when the chapter is almost destroyed. So I still need to fill in the five thousand years before that.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Is there a Corsairs equivalent of Bjorn the Fell-Handed, i.e., a Dreadnought who knows much of the Chapter's history (though far younger than the Space Wolves legend), and who is ritually awakened every few centuries so he may tell the younger generations what must never be forgotten? Maybe a Librarian Dreadnought ('Codex: Blood Angels' does state they're immune to the senility that befalls most Dreadnoughts) who tells of how the Dreadnought chassis was acquired, either salvaged from a space hulk or gifted by the Blood Angels?

[Magos Kasen]

Actually, yes, to an extent. Being a chapter with both high attrition rates, close ties to the AdMech, and a need for armoured support outside normal tanks, the Corsairs do field a high number of dreadnoughts. The majority of these ancients, like so much of the chapter's resources, were lost with the opening of the Great Rift.  Naturally those that remain are highly valued for their wisdom and guidance as the chapter rebuilds. 

I'm also considering having the chapter dreadnoughts be involved in selecting the new chapter masters for the Corsairs. 

[Minigiant]

So first I have to say I love the model, looks great. As Kelborn stated, would like to know what their chapter symbol is

 

 

 battle with pirates and raiders are all regular recruits for the chapter, with a preference for aspirants that display heightened aggression and lack of self preservation instincts. The wide selection pool means that the Corsairs hail from a hundred different worlds and cultures, with individual marines often retaining idiosyncratic behaviours, speech patterns or fighting styles inherited from their original culture and not obliterated by the induction process of becoming an Astartes.

 

 

Overall it all looks very good, just this bit has me a bit worried

 

If they are doing battle doesnt that mean they are criminals? Night Lords recruited criminals. If they use psycho indoctrination to remove thier past life then remnants of their past life transferring into the Corsairs would not happen. What I think I am saying is I think you can only have one not both. Now my fleet based chapter uses 40k style press-ganging, maybe that is a way of you getting both and keeping the them. Press-ganging orbital stations, freebooters, rogue traders etc

[Magos Kasen]

Thanks guys, sorry I forgot to put up a pic of the chapter symbol. Don't have a fancy graphic, but here's one of the models:

 

 

As for their recruiting practices, they're perhaps a little less degraded than the Night Lords were, but I see them as rounding up any survivors of a boarded pirate vessel - not chaos, just your friendly local freebooters pillaging Imperial shipping - and any kids/teens that are left will basically get separated out for evaluation while the rest get vented out an airlock. The corsairs take a dragnet approach to aspirants, with a much higher turnover rate of marines compared to a more traditional chapter, which might only lose a handful of marines each year to combat.

 

That said, I think your suggestion works well too. I might modify that text to portray a more balanced picture, since I don't imagine that the majority of recruits come from prisoners - the usual feral worlders and hive ganger juves make up the majority. 

 

Continuing to develop my chapter, I'm looking for ideas around their newly commissioned flagship, the Incendiax. Now, most chapters have one or two battle barges it seems. The Corsairs have previously had two, losing one several millennia ago (the Leviathax), and then losing their pride and joy, the Herodius Nero, along with much of their chapter, when the Great Rift opened and cut off the Imperium Nihilus. Lacking a flagship, as the Indomitus Crusade draws to a close they have been gifted with a new vessel as a reward for their service and as part of their efforts to rebuild.

I have a few possible ideas for this ship - firstly, a standard marine battle barge, as per the model for BFG. Seems to be a standard pattern that must be specially made for chapters.

There's also some fluff about 'battle barge' being a catch all term for Marine capital ships, including retrofitted battleships serving the planetary assault and close support role they require - so possibly the Incendiax could be a refitted Imperial Navy battleship that has been modified to meet marine needs and gifted to the chapter, a sort of sloppy seconds situation where they get something more unique, but perhaps more dated. Could allow for a unique ship with more of a history?

The third idea that I've had is to go with a Ramillies class star fort instead of a traditional battleship - the star forts are in (relatively) mass production, and frequently in possession of chapters, and provide the sort of slow-mobile operating base that a fleet based chapter like the Corsairs might find very useful, especially as they are being dispatched to a wartorn sector as part of a larger cursade - the star fort would serve as a sort of mobile command base and centre for the fleet.

 

Thoughts? Opinions? Ideas? I'll update the first post in a bit with some of the changes I've already made, thanks again for the feedback guys, it really helps :)

[Minigiant]

Haha I think you should 100% check out my Denizens of the Deep, we share a chapter symbol.

 

Also I attempted a Pirate themed chapter not long ago. Photobucket destroyed the images. They have recently been threadnomancied back to the top: http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/333742-index-astartes-night-vipers

 

It may give you ideas for your capital ship dilemma. I would personally go with Star Fort. And for a bit of fun call it Tortuga ;-)

[Magos Kasen]

I just read through your IA actually! Great stuff, and yeah, krakens ftw.

 

I'm leaning towards the star fort myself now, talked myself into it I think haha. It ties in well to the future plans I have for the chapter and their role in the crusade I have in mind. 

[Minigiant]

Oh by the way, it is a little hard to justify how a chapter does not know its lineage.

 

If you dont want to tie it to any particular primarch for gaming reasons, then make them descends from a chapter that is canon that doesnt tell you

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I wonder if the following scene occurred during a Black Crusade?

 

Death Guard Capt. to Corsairs captive: "We are brothers, sons of Mortarion and grandsons of Nurgle. Your mucrenoid is blessed with the Plague Lord's touch."

 

Corsairs traitor in Death Guard colors: "Join us, Brother Harlaw. Together, we will-"

 

Corsairs traitor (as a thrown knife buries itself in his eye): "Argh!"

 

Corsairs captive (breaking free of his chains, which he holds before him as he lunges, determined to strangle the Death Guard Capt. with those very chains): "Go back to hell!"

[Magos Kasen]

Oh by the way, it is a little hard to justify how a chapter does not know its lineage.

 

If you dont want to tie it to any particular primarch for gaming reasons, then make them descends from a chapter that is canon that doesnt tell you

Hmm, valid point. To be honest, the unknown parentage is mostly because I myself don't know. The first concept I had for the chapter put them as Raven Guard successors, then White Scars. The new canon surrounding the development of the primaris marines (which I personally love and think is great), and the idea that previous events like the dark and cursed foundings may have been part of the tasting stages, along with the confirmation that, on some level at least, Cawl was experimenting with traitor geneseed has me tempted to do a 'bastard' chapter, founded with Iron Warrior gene seed during the dark founding - I already plan on having small detachments of Death Eagles (suspected EC loyalists).

 

I know that traitor gene seed is traditionally one of the big nopes when it comes to DIYs, but the new fluff seems to provide a new, and more believable, route for them to take. Given my dudes already have a close relationship with the AdMech, it seems not impossible that could stem from their secret origins as part of Cawls vat-babies. Their cold, logical nature and high gene seed acceptance rates are little nods to this possibility.

 

In an effort to reduce the 'no one knows anything' handwavy nature of this explanation, I may position them as 'alleged' Silver Skulls successors, because even if there's no official confirmation, there's no way to my mind that the SS aren't at least partially derived of loyalist IWs. 

[Minigiant]

 

Oh by the way, it is a little hard to justify how a chapter does not know its lineage.

 

If you dont want to tie it to any particular primarch for gaming reasons, then make them descends from a chapter that is canon that doesnt tell you

Hmm, valid point. To be honest, the unknown parentage is mostly because I myself don't know. The first concept I had for the chapter put them as Raven Guard successors, then White Scars. The new canon surrounding the development of the primaris marines (which I personally love and think is great), and the idea that previous events like the dark and cursed foundings may have been part of the tasting stages, along with the confirmation that, on some level at least, Cawl was experimenting with traitor geneseed has me tempted to do a 'bastard' chapter, founded with Iron Warrior gene seed during the dark founding - I already plan on having small detachments of Death Eagles (suspected EC loyalists).

 

I know that traitor gene seed is traditionally one of the big nopes when it comes to DIYs, but the new fluff seems to provide a new, and more believable, route for them to take. Given my dudes already have a close relationship with the AdMech, it seems not impossible that could stem from their secret origins as part of Cawls vat-babies. Their cold, logical nature and high gene seed acceptance rates are little nods to this possibility.

 

In an effort to reduce the 'no one knows anything' handwavy nature of this explanation, I may position them as 'alleged' Silver Skulls successors, because even if there's no official confirmation, there's no way to my mind that the SS aren't at least partially derived of loyalist IWs. 

 

 

That sounds good. I use Iron Snakes for most of mine, a well known but rarely DIYed about chapter that is an unconfirmed Ultramarine successor. I get a lot to toy with, with that Gen-seed

[Magos Kasen]

Ok, I'm heading away for a few days so probably won't have a chance to reply much or to continue working on the Corsairs until next week, but here's part of the more comprehensive chapter history I'm working on. I've nearly filled in the post-999.M.41 stuff, bringing the chapter 'up to date', and then I'll go back and try to add a more sparse overview of the five thousand years before that lol.

 

Late M.35/Early M.36 - Founding of the Corsairs, successor to the Silver Skulls

 

999.M.41 - The Herodius Nero, along with multiple other cruisers and frigates and almost seven whole companies of the Corsairs are deployed to the Cadian Sector as part of the defence against the 13th Black Crusade. In the wake of fall of the Cadian Gate, these forces were either destroyed or driven into the Imperium Nihilus, and no contact has been made with them in the intervening years. 

 

001-012.M.42 - Reeling from the opening of the Great Rift and the the ensuing maelstrom of warfare, chaos and confusion that resulted, the surviving Corsairs begin to regroup. The bulk of the chapter is centred on the cruisers Raptorus Metos and Commodorus, which formed the strike force led by Fleet-Captain Sardoth Navbo. They weather the Noctis Aeterna in the Basila system, defending the local population from demonic predations as the massive warp storms roll across the glaxy.

 

012-014.M.42 - The remnants of the chapter begin to refit and prepare to the return to active combat, a fresh intake of recruits takes place from the Basilan population, beginning rebuilding efforts. Navbo’s forces rendezvous with the cruiser Mortus Rationem at the forge world of Omnichalos.

 

015-017.M.42 - As the bulk of the remaining Corsairs remain defending the Omnichalos Sector, Acting-Fleet-Master Navbo and a small, handpicked honour guard depart for Holy Terra aboard the Latroxinor. At the centre of the Imperium delegates from the chapter negoiate with the Magisterial houses of the Navis Nobilite, eventually forging a bargain with Ersine Household to supply navigators for their future endeavors. The surviving members of House Nerthrama, the former Navis-House for the Corsairs, are united with the Ersine Household via a number of marriage pacts. While on Terra, Navbo petitions the Adeptus Mechanicus on Mars for access to a portion of the tithed gene-seed the Corsairs had provided over the past millennia, however despite the close ties between the Corsairs and Martian authorities, this request was denied.

 

018.M.42 - Upon returning to the Omnichalos sector and reuniting with the bulk of the chapter, Navbo announces that the Corsairs will join with the vast Imperial offensive being led by Roboute Guilliman, the Indomitus Crusade. Guided by its new navigators, and bolstered by a steady flow of new recruits, the Corsairs rejoin the battle for the wider Imperium.

 

036-041.M.42 - The Corsairs form part of a naval battlegroup dispatched to conduct patrols and defence of the Veiled Region. Five years of hit and run strikes against the tendrils of Hive Fleet Leviathan ensue, during which the Corsairs gain valuable experience fighting this xenos threat. 

 

064.M.42 - The Corsairs join the Black Templars in the four month long defence of a hive city on the planet Balorfrom a horde of orks in the battle of the Balor Breach.

 

075.M.42 - Sardoth Navbo, after seven decades as Acting-Fleet-Master, dies in combat boarding the ork-infested space hulk Mazzdag’s Moona. Despite the loss of their comamnder, the Corsairs boarding party succeeds in sabotaging the space hulk’s reactors, causing it to detonate in orbit and preventing the planetfall of some quarter million orks, saving the planet of Fedulos Tertia. Despite never officially holding the rank of Fleet—Master, unanimous assent by the Fleet-Captains and other officers of the chapter sees Navbo recorded in the chapter histories as such, a tacit acknowledgment that hopes of reuniting with the lost elements of the Corsairs are fading.

 

076.M.42 - At the chapter conclave to elect a new Fleet-Master, Tythos Vaharis, 8th Company champion, was selected by the council of ancients despite his relative youth and lack of command experience.While some believe Tythos is too young and brash for the role, the new Fleet-Master’s record of personal heroism assuages some doubters.

 

078.M.42 - Throwing himself into the role of Fleet-Master, Tythos leads the combined fleet of the Corsairs in an eighteen month long campaign to rid the Celestra System of the Aeldari slavers who had been preying on the Imperial citizens for decades. Tythos himself fights in three different boarding assaults, as well as the major assault upon the asteroid haven the raiders had been operating out of, which culminated in the destruction of a significant number of Aeldari ships, a structure identified by allied Ordo Xenos agents as a ‘Webway Portal’, and the extermination of several thousand Aeldari. The grateful techno-artisans of Celestra gift Tythos with their most prized relic, the mighty thunder hammer Vulgata.

 

083.M.42 - Following decades of service, the Corsairs are among a number of war-depleted chapters bolstered by an influx of Primaris marines from the Ultima Founding, presented to the chapter at the celebratory Triumph Donatus on the world of Viatorus. The Corsairs receive almost three full companies worth of new marines, and in addition, delegates from the forge world of Omnichalos announce the gifting of a newly completed Ramillies class star fort, christened the Incendiax, to serve as the flagship for the Corsairs’ fleet. 

 

084.M.42 - Lord Commander Guilliman tasks the Corsairs with leading a crusading force into the Ophidian Sector on the Eastern Fringe, to both secure the sector in the face of xenos incursions, and the investigate rumours of navigable routes through the Cicatrix Maledictum along its more stable regions near Ophidia. Thus begins the Ophidian Crusade, and the beginning of a new chapter for the Corsairs.

 

Let me know if I've made any glaring mistakes - I can't find a good timeline of any of the Indomitus era events, so I've just made up things like how long the Noctis Aeterna lasted, and stuff like that. If anyone has a list of dates for things like the salvation of Baal, etc. that would be handy. The 8th ed Rulebook only has more general timeframes, like the Indomitus Crusade lasting 'a century' etc. 

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The historical details are most welcome.