Exiled Fleet/DIY questions.

[Ekim_Trub]

I have been revisiting the Index Astartes for my DIY Chapter and have a encountered a few questions, so thought I would come seeking some answers from those more knowledgeable than myself.

 

1: How would an exiled force (such as the Carcharadons) become a ratified Chapter in the eyes of the Imperium?

 

2: Presuming the exiled fleets would have the capability to manufacture power armour, vehicles and munitions for themselves- would it be possible for them to acquire the knowledge to create mk.VI instead of mk.IV power armour?

 

3: Due to them operating away from the Imperium, (and hailing from a more technologically advanced) would it be possibly for them still have access to things such as jetbikes?

(Maybe due to interactions with Rogue Mechanicum/Mechanicus?)

 

4: Would a Chapter operating outwith/on the outskirts of the Imperium have the resources/power to create a successor Chapter? And would they be given the gift of Primaris? (Or denied it for the time being?)

 

Thanks in advance.

[seriade]

Primaris were given to whomever needed them at the time.  Carcharadons have nothing really keeping them away from things other then the fact that they were basically ordered to do something and are still doing the same order after 10k years.  The main reason for them and the red scorpions was to push the new mark 4 marine box set at the time so that all the stuff that forgeworld makes can be used in 40k.

[MajorNese]

2: Presuming the exiled fleets would have the capability to manufacture power armour, vehicles and munitions for themselves- would it be possible for them to acquire the knowledge to create mk.VI instead of mk.IV power armour?

Up until MK VII was developed during the heresy. If the chapter was exiled after the heresy and had no contact with the imperium since then, all but MK VIII and X are fine. Carchadons were exiled during the heresy (before MK VI was invented) to operate far out of the imperium, unless they come back (for the Badab war for example) they would have no source for newer designs. Carchadons looted one of the secessionist chapter homeworlds, that's how they could have gotten limited numbers of newer suits of armour, and maybe the designs to produce them. But most of their wargear stocks are still older marks.

[Ekim_Trub]

So, if I stick with the idea of my Chapter originating from an exiled fleet, I am best to go with mk.IV armour.

 

(Unless I can think of a way for them to acquire the knowledge to creat mk.VI.

[robofish7591]

You could always throw a couple suits in and say they were given to the fleet to test before they were exiled.

[Ekim_Trub]

I was hoping to use mk.VI extensively, if not exclusively, so will have to think of a way to explain them having it.

 

Would the Techmarines of that era have had the ability/skills required to break down, analyse and then create their own armour from a suit or two??

[robofish7591]

I would just do whichever mark of armor you would be happier painting and working on.  If you choose mk IV, but every time you look at your army you wish they were in mk VI then you may not be as excited to work on them.  It is your hobby, you should choose the models that you like the best.  

[Ekim_Trub]

I will definitely have them in mk.VI, but my brain needs some way to justify it in the fluff, lol.

[MajorNese]

I was hoping to use mk.VI extensively, if not exclusively, so will have to think of a way to explain them having it.

 

Would the Techmarines of that era have had the ability/skills required to break down, analyse and then create their own armour from a suit or two??

Question is - what's the fluff/timeframe behind the exiled fleet? Carchadons were exiled before MK VI was even invented, but if your DIY fleet was exiled during the Scouring, chances are they still got equipped with MK VI. Lots of losses during that time due to heresy-related bolter wounds, and with MK VI as the superior design at the time, all replacements will be equipped with it. As long as you keep to that theme (throw in lots of Calth/Prospero box bits here and there, don't use MK VII/VIII), MK VI will work. If the chapter got exiled later, MK VI will work, but not using newer marks would be weird.

 

Considering the "find one, make thousands"...no one but maybe high-ranking magii is inventive enough to reverse engineer such a sophisticated piece of equipment, as Astartes wargear is a rather complicated matter. It's 40k, most wargear designs deteriorate over time because despite still manufacturing it on existing production lines, they still have no clue how they could replicate the exact same process elsewhere, or how it really works. Either get it through official, cog-worshipping channels or started exile with it, other ways for that much usage are unrealistic. No one just happens to find a chapter's worth of suits of one mark, goes into exile for a few millennia, and happens to find even more when the need arises. And there's always need.

 

As for the chapter creation, that's rather easy. Astartes are a valuable resource, and not to be wasted if not absolutely necessary. There's a reason why the Deathwatch uses blackshields, a.k.a. "exiled, maybe sketchy guys". The Sons of Medusa are an example of not officially founding a chapter, but ending up with enough loyal marines exiled from their original chapter to create a new chapter. Successors of exiled, fleet based chapters seem unlikely, as they are usually thrown into combat when in sufficient numbers, instead of chilling on their homeworlds. Primaris...unlikely. They'd have to have contact with the Indomitus Crusade, or a chapter which had. Depending on the circumstances and destination of their exile, both could be a problem.

[Ekim_Trub]

In regards to the timeframe for being exiled, I believe all the exilement was done in the 5 years prior to Isstvan V, which means they would of been sent away before mk.VI was put into full production.

 

As for the "find one, make thousands" approach- I was thinking that the Techmarines/Mechanicum of 30k were a lot more free thinking/knowledgable amd maybe they could of figured out how to do it. (I think I read somewhere the Alpha Legion stole some mk.VI and developed their own variant of it.)

 

And for Chapter creation, I may go down the route of the Fleet began to call themselves a Chapter & over time, due to only being seen sporadicly, the just became a Chapter in the eyes of the Imperium.

[MajorNese]

Exile or penitent crusades are common ways to get rid of chapters that might have done something wrong, or corrupted. When looking at the Abyssal Crusade, the cause can be rather generic ("Oh, a warp storm came by your homeworld"), so no, that's not limited to the timeframe. Except you explicitly want Carchadons, not a DIY chapter that got exiled in general. Which of those do you want?

 

Techmarines were slightly more free thinking in 30k than in 40k, but re-engineering stuff didn't work even then. They could invent new stuff, but that was rarely a healthy option to be near those creations. Also, Alpha Legion didn't reverse engineer MK VI - they infiltrated the factory complex responsible for power armour production, after receiving news that the factory was flagged down to change to a new design. Steal original plans, build it exactly like the official factory.

[Ekim_Trub]

I don't want the Carcharodons, I was merely using them as an example because I wanted my DIY Chapter to have originated from one of the other Nomad-Predation Fleets that Corax exiled from the Legion.

[MajorNese]

In that case, it would be hard to justify using mostly MK VI, because it was just not invented at that time. The exile was during the great crusade, even MK4 would be limited back then. Effectively a heresy army, unless they routinely return to rearm, instead of doing the whole fleet-based deep space extermination the Carchardons do.

[Ekim_Trub]

Ok, so mk.VI is off the table unless I change their origins and if they hang around long enough they become an "official" Chapter.

 

And thet may have had old tech at one point but it will be unusable/unrepaitable now, as they will not have sired a successor nor have gained access to Primaris (yet).

[seriade]

Use whatever you want you make up the story of your troops.  One additional fact it is possible to have your marines depart their homeworld enter the warp and arrive  at the planet in distress before the distress call was actually sent.

 

But if you use mk 4 Betrayal at calph box sets are easy to get and it also allows you to use mk 6 as veterans to allow for the armor to represent the rare and elite status of those troops.