Loyalist Berzerkers?

[BloodWolves]

So i was reading this on a site today..

Sooooo could I somehow make a loyalist berzerker in a made up chapter??

 

"The Ultramarines are confirmed to have harboured loyalist members of traitor legions after the Heresy, rebranding them as their own to obfuscate the newcomer's past (as for why they would do such a thing, Roboute Guilliman himself is characterized as someone who abhorred the waste of any human or Astartes life. This is not surprising given rumours the Ultramarines absorbed the remnants of the two lost legions. In any case, Guilliman needed all the manpower he could get when he thought the rest of the Imperium was destroyed during the era of Imperium Secundus, so giving even legionnaires from suspect sources a chance to prove themselves was a practical solution, for which in the end he was not disappointed). Further rumors speculate that they had been doing this even before the Heresy, grooming members of other chapters in case of rebellion or even harbouring those from the Lost Legions. Among those suspected to have been absorbed are members of the World Eaters, Death Guard, Iron Warriors, and the Lost Legions. After the relinquishment of the Imperium Secundus and the breaking up of the Legions into chapters, some of these refugees founded their own chapters. So, while there are likely no descendants of other legions in the modern Ultramarines, a great many successor chapters who claim to be Sons of Ultramar may bear a somewhat darker history."

[Kinstryfe]

That quote makes a LOT of extrapolations that aren't necessarily true. And that's coming from someone who's a proponent of that theory. What is true is that in the case of Dantioch and his Iron Warriors, Guilliman was willing to believe they were loyal, and fold them in under his command. They were still Iron Warriors though and didn't identify as Ultramarines, only as clear allies of the Ultramarines and loyal servants of The Emperor. The rumors about absorbing the lost legions are just that, rumors, and have been confirmed as such by the author who wrote that bit. Keep in mind that for an Astartes, the Legion is their identity and family. Renegades to their own chapter tended to go rogue as Black Shields, but would exceedingly rarely join another chapter; they would work alongside them instead.

Now, say a loyalist contingent of World Eaters survived into M32, operating on their own, and come into contact with another chapter. Assuming they know how things shook out, they would be smart to SAY that they are of Ultramarine stock, because most chapters are, and it's unlikely to raise suspicions. So it's possible that some chapters out there are of other lineage but say they are Guilliman's, but the Ultramarines never sanctioned it, and would likely be highly offended by the notion.

On the original question, could you have a loyalist Berzerker, I would say yes in a few ways, including but not limited to...
Many chapters already basically have Berzerkers. Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Minotaurs, etc.
If it's a 30k force, a Berzerker or multiple from the World Eaters could be seconded to another Legion for any number of reasons ranging from training to diplomacy.
The odd Marine may just have a mutation that is mostly harmless but makes them go a bit off the rails sometimes. Their geneseed would likely not be passed on but, you know, they're kinda useful, so maybe it will.

[BloodWolves]

Wow.. thanks for all that. If its ok.. do you mind if I pick your brain about the lore of things.. how would I create a chapter off the Ultramarine line with Berzerker like warriors? @Kinstryfe

[Closet Skeleton]

There are plenty of canonical 'berserker' style chapters, just not World Eater style psycho-surgury ones (which World Eater geneseed alone can't produce anyway, many Khorne berserkers don't even have Angron's geneseed).

[Ahistorian]

I run a Primaris War Hound successor chapter as Blood Angels for that sweet melee +1 to wound.

[Kinstryfe]

Yeah, really, if you want Berzerker like warriors, you have a few options. Keep in mind that there's two halves to it, rules and fluff. From a fluff perspective, almost anything goes. There are certain tropes that are overplayed and may get some eye rolls; loyalists with traitor geneseed, descendants of the lost Legions, the bestest Marine chapter ever who is so loyal they could never ever have a single traitor, and so on. In this case you want Ultramarines geneseed and berserker tendencies, so it's not much more difficult than that as the overwhelming majority of chapters are from Ultramarines geneseed. They could have berserker tendencies for any number of reasons. Their geneseed could have a tendency to degrade due to the planet they recruit from, which can lead to hyperagression or insanity under stress. They could simply have developed more aggressive tactics due to their battle circumstances; boarding specialists, seige breakers, spearhead assaults, etc. Maybe they're like the sons of Dorn and just have a very ingrained culture of warrior prowess. Lots of reasons they could be close quarters specialists.

 

Rules wise, there are fewer options. You can run your Marines using the Blood Angels codex and focus on death company and other close combat units, which would probably be the closest you'll get to loyalist Berzerkers. You can run a normal space marine list with a combat emphasis, but it probably won't have as much punch. You could also play them as World Eaters with the chaos codex, as long as things are wysiwyg. You'd lose access to anything Imperium as allies, but your fluff could be for loyalists, just using chaos rules.