House Gallant - New DIY House

[High Marshal Bohemond]

Ok, so below is the general outline of my DIY House:

 

House Gallant: "Acta Non Verba" Actions.....Not Words.

 

House Symbol: The Basic House symbol is A Gold Fluer de Lis on a Sky Blue field. (The Current High Queen has added her Personal Heraldry to the House Heraldry which is customary in House Gallant). Making the current livery a halved Red field with a Gold Lion and Halved Blue field with a Gold Fluer de Lis.

 

Homeworld: Antioche Primus

 

Current Ruler: High Queen Richelle de Aquitaine, the Lioness of Anjoue Qouted from the defense of ....... *****INQUISITORIAL REDACTION********** 

 

"When the Warmaster attacked holy Terra, we were there. When the vaunted Ultramarines, the Noble Vylka, and the honorable brothers of the First Legion were absent, we, House Gallant, were there. We bled there, on Holy Terra, beside the Companions, when so many others saw to their own well being. Know this my loyal knights, We will triumph because The Emperor is with us because, even at the beginning, we were with Him."

 

The Noble House of Gallant has seen its livery fly high in defense of mankind long before the Emperor of Man began his great crusade. During the rise of the Imperium House Gallant deployed regularly alongside the Legionares Astartes, specifically fighting on numerous occasions in support of the Imperial Fists and Iron Hands.  The leadership of House Gallant did come to look at the emperor as a Living God and while this went against his dictate of the Imperial Truth they never wavered in their beliefs. During the Heresy, House Gallant threw itself right into as many of the forays and battlefronts as they could. No call for aid by and Imperial world or Imperial forces went unanswered if there was a Knight of House Gallant free to fight.

 

At the Battle for Terra, High King Roland of House Gallant and his personal lance were helping in defense of the Cathedral section of the southern wall of the imperial palace. The fighting was harsh and constant leaving little time for rest and restocking ammunition let alone major repairs. Many Knights from the High Kings Lance fell during those dark days of the siege.  In the end the High King of House Gallant himself made the ultimate sacrifice to guard those defenders he swore to fight alongside. A Rever Titan and its cohort were relentless in their assault on this section of the wall and the defenders were low on resources and growing lower in numbers with each passing assault.  As it was on the 7th day of the continued assault on this section the traitor forces were dangerously close to breaching the Imperial Palaces outer defenses at this location.

 

Rolands Knight Valaint "The Pride of the Emperor" was severely damage and barely functional. Roland saw the beleaguered Imperial Fist defenders of the cathedral wall fighting with every breath they had left. Roland knew retreat was not an option and neither was the dishonor of failing in his vow. Roland's Harpoon was still functioning. He knew there was no way the defenders could hold as this titan and its support forces moved in for the final kill. As they pushed forward to the wall, he knew what he had to do to buy the defenders the much needed time to regroup. He knew he was likely no match for this titan either, even with the rest of his lance. But he stood alone, the rest of his lance had already fallen. But his vow, his vow burned in his mind, fiercely like the funeral pyres of old. Roland's determination doubled down, this section would not fail, they would not fail and they would not be defeated.

 

Roland shifted all his remaining functioning systems towards his weapons and his mobility forcing him to drop his shields. With that done he placed his VOX on broadcast both internal and external communications and proclaimed: "For The Emperor, For Holy Terra and For Mankind........ACTA NON VERBA" he charged the Titan taking heavy fire from the Rever and its ground support elements. While charging he was deliberate with his aim and lined his harpoon directly at the Revers power core area. He closed to melee ranged and fired. The Harpoon was a direct hit, it did not breach the Revers core but it did expose it. In that moment Roland knew it was time. He overloaded both his cores and detonated his titan. The explosion caused the Revers core to explode and set off a chain reaction of explosions that cripple the assaulting forces of the traitors at the Cathedral wall. To this day their is a portrait of High King Roland and House Gallants Motto "Acta Non Verba" in the hall of heroes of the Imperial Fists Phalanx. Both House Gallant and many successor sons of Dorn to include a strong bond with the Black Templars, have pledged bonds and vows of service and respect to each other. House Gallant will never turn down a call for aid from any Sons of Dorn, no matter how stretched their resources may be at the time.

 

House Gallant distinguished itself in the millennia after the Heresy. As the Imperial Faith grew in strength so did House Gallants resolve to defend the Empire. House Gallant has a very large court, boasting 15 active lances. In true faith to the Emperor and their faith house Gallant pleadged12 of these to the service and needs of the ecclesiarchy. They lances have since been tasked and deployed in defense of the 12 most critically threatened, by the rising tide, Shrine worlds of the Empire.   

 

House Gallant is known far and wide for their use of the Gallant Pattern Knight, to this point the Nobles of House Gallant even claim this Patter is named after their House. This boast by its Knights and Barons point has been rebuked and denied by the Mechanicus but the House is stubborn in their personal beliefs. The newest Knights of House Gallant must master the art of close quarters combat before they transition to other weapons loadouts. These Knights are known for their valiant and bold charges towards the Enemy. A typical Lance is made up of a minimum of one (typically two) Crusader (or Castellan) Typically a higher ranking Baron, providing range support, two Knights Errant/Paladin (depending on the mission needs) and two to four Knights Gallant. Additionally they are supported by four Squires, two Helverins and two warglaives.

 

House Gallant is also unique in that they will actively recruit and fight alongside freeblades. If a freeblade distinguishes themselves in combat alongside House Gallant, they are often offered the chance to take the Oath of fealty and become a recognized knight again and wear the livery of House Gallant, regardless of which house they originated from. Once they have taken the oath, the freeblade is made a Cavalier and given the title of the "Master of Arms". With this title comes the responsibility of deploying to the most challenging battlefronts the House is deployed to and seeking out the most threatening enemies to defeat. During this time the knight maintains all of his freeblade heraldry but does repaint their left shoulder in the royal blue of House Gallant and adds a single Fluer de Lis.  Once they have served their time as Master of Arms they are made full Knight status. In the rare occasion multiple freeblades pledge to the house, they are placed into a special unit and instead of the individual title of Master of Arms the form the Emperors Lance. All the same requirements made upon the single freeblade Master of Arms are placed on this unit. This is likely the explanation for the large number of Lances House Gallant has. House Gallant offers these freeblades a chance at redemption especially since many of the Shrine worlds they are pledged to defend are in some of the most active conflict zones in the Imperium.

 

During the days of the Crusade the House was often chastised for holding onto their beliefs of the Emperor as a Living god. But because their beliefs were insular and they never sought to impose them on other parties;  because their loyalty seemed beyond reproach; and they were always willing to throw themselves into the very vanguard of the fighting, these beliefs were often over looked but not ignored. On more than one occasion the Knights and Barons of house gallant were shamed verbally by Astartes Leaders and ranking members of the Imperium. But in spite of this shame they held true to their beliefs and their vows. Overtime after the end of the Heresy and great scouring, as the Ecclesiastic beliefs rose to replace the Imperial truth, House Gallant found itself more and more in line with the existing Imperial religion and Dogma, securing strong bonds with the Ecclesiarchy.

[jeffersonian000]

Ironically, the top sails on multi-sail ships are known as Gallants. If a ship has 3 sails on a mast, they are the “Main Sail”, “Gallant”, and “Top Gallant”.

 

I’ve been wanting to convert a Reaper “Cutlass” since the Warden kit came out, introducing us all the Gallant pattern Questoris. A pirates themed Gallant House would be historically appropriate.

 

SJ

[High Marshal Bohemond]

That sounds interesting, but I based mine off of French/English nobility and the other use of the word Gallant. But your idea seems cool as well. Plus I am well into painting and converting to change stream.

[jeffersonian000]

Since the Reaper seems to be a tertiary weapon after the Gauntlet and Titanic Feet, I’ve toyed with “Reaper Lances”, “Reaper Cutless/Katanas”, and “Reaper Lightsabers”. We all know it’s only there for the +1 Attack if you go with a Paragon Gauntlet, so why not make it thematic?

 

SJ

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Not bad. My only issue is with the following line:

It is believed that the Gallant Pattern Knight is named after this House.

As this is a House of your own creation, you risk making it seem like one of "Mary Sues" with this line. For other players to accept your House's history, it may be best to tone it down as the following:

House Gallant claims it is the namesake of the Gallant Pattern Knight, though Adeptus Mechanicus historians do not support this claim.

[Kinstryfe]

Unfortunately, the backstory hits on almost all of the warning signs of the aforementioned Mary Sue-ism. Singlehandedly saved everyone at the Seige of Terra, present on all twelve of the most important holy sites in the Imperium, so legendary that one of the primary Knight classes is named after the house. I don't want to be discouraging, but that's all stuff that begs the question: "Why haven't we all heard of this famous House before?"

 

I would tone it down a lot. The epic battle giving them their motto could maybe have happened during the Heresy but perhaps not on Terra, or maybe make their contribution less important but still on Terra. "When the Warmaster attacked holy Terra, we were there. When the vaunted Ultramarines, the Noble Vylka, and the honorable brothers of the First Legion were absent, we, House Gallant, were there. We bled there, on Holy Terra, beside the Companions, when so many others saw to their own well being. We will triumph because The Emperor is with us because, even at the beginning, we were with Him." This could also explain their respect and willingness to fight alongside the Imperial Fists, as fellow defenders of Terra, and the Iron Hands as respected warriors who themselves fought in the Shadow of the Emperor. Sometimes less is more.

 

I do like that they were early followers of the Lecticio Divinitatus, because it points at a flaw in their absolute loyalty: they worshipped The Emperor even when he expressed forbade it. I assume they are Questor Imperialis? You could even go the other way from my previous example with that. Perhaps they are more likely to work alongside Chapters like the Black Templars or newer founding Chapters who worship The Emperor as a god, instead of first founding Chapters who often don't. Templars could be good, as they are direct progeny of those on Terra. Adeptus Ministorum is also a nice choice if you're going for the pious angle. Perhaps their Knights incorporate mobile shrines, or instead of guarding holy sites they act as protectors of pilgrims, traveling with caravans and the like.

 

Instead of writing them as purely good guys, which seems to be how it's come off, maybe play with the grey areas a bit. They protect the weak as long as they are pious, but have no problem ignoring calls for aid from planets and forces that don't meet their standards. Maybe they feel a sense of genuine superiority over their history on Terra, and look down on those without a ten millennia pedigree as mongrels who must defer to their superiority. There are lots of ways to give them a bit more character by playing with their pros and cons while still having them seem like good guys. Mostly. Compared to everyone else in the Imperium at least :)

[walter h]

I am in agreement with, Bjorn,and Kinstryfe. Epic stories are often best when it starts from the mundane. The hobbit,Lord of the rings,are two excellent examples. Kirk, is not a stirling cadet. Real life examples would be ,Eisenhower, or even Churchill. Eisenhower, was sent to the Panama canal, his commander was disgusted with the lax attitude of the Academy,and began a course of instruction that made the excellent commander that he became. Just my 2 cents worth.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I’ve been wanting to convert a Reaper “Cutlass” since the Warden kit came out, introducing us all the Gallant pattern Questoris. A pirates themed Gallant House would be historically appropriate.

 

A fleet-based Knight House...

 

Let's develop this idea further. A Knight will be too large to fit in a starship's corridors, but it can still be useful in naval actions, e.g., providing covering fire to a boarding party, or engaging shuttles to defend ships from enemy boarders.

 

The House will require HUGE numbers of naval infantry, to support its mission- likely boarding enemy ships when acting as privateers (loyalists) or pirates (traitors and renegades), and exploring Space Hulks in support of an Adeptus Mechanicus or Dark Mechanicum Magos' "quest for knowledge." Use of Knights will be de-emphasized as a direct consequence, though their usefulness means the Knight suits won't be abandoned.

 

The Knights themselves will likely have modifications such as rocket engines to let them maneuver in the void, heat shields and retractable wings to let them survive atmospheric reentry. (I doubt they'll be capable of independent flight- the engines necessary to let them reach escape velocity, and fuel tanks to feed these engines, will be too large and heavy- but orbital assaults and short "rocket jumps" should let the Knights surprise their enemies.)

 

What history does the House have, to give them a naval focus instead of a Knight House's traditional land warfare focus? Let's say the head of this Knight House had a younger brother who left the House planet to become a Rogue Trader; when the head of House unexpectedly dies without an heir, the Knights choose the Rogue Trader as their new head of House.

 

The Knight Scions may receive new titles due to their House's naval focus, e.g., Gunner's Mates, Varangians, or Hippocampi. (The term "marines" will not be used, due to the chance people will mistake them for Astartes.)

 

Anyone have other ideas?

[walter h]

Did you ever see the series ,Andromeda. Wow like the idea Bjorn,and magnetic treads to work in the void. Some of what you've suggested is treading a little close to my own fluff.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Did you ever see the series ,Andromeda.

No.

Wow like the idea Bjorn,

Thank you.

and magnetic treads to work in the void.

Thanks for reminding me!

[Marshal Reinhard]

Mayhaps take the discussion of another type of Gallant Knight House to its own thread, otherwise risking to hijack this thread, which HM Bohemond made for his own personal knight house?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I'm sure High Marshal Bohemond will be able to make use of the results of my brainstorming. Does House Gallant want close ties with the AdMech, in order to justify why his Knights bear exotic weapons? (Imagine how devastating a Knight will be with the Onager's eradication beamer, twin phosphor blasters, neutron laser, and/or Icarus array mounted under its arms.) Does House Gallant want close ties with a Rogue Trader house, in order to explain how his Knights got to a battlefield halfway across the galaxy? Does House Gallant want to deploy his Knights anywhere on the battlefield that is more than 9" from any enemy models? (See the "Drop Pod Assault" rules under the Drop Pod entry, in 'Codex: Space Marines'.)

[jeffersonian000]

Void Pirate Knight House ... Freebooters!

 

SJ

[Marshal van Trapp]

This thread is giving me so many ideas for my house's fluff!

 

As for the OP, I agree with the other sentiments about Mary sueing the house. When making fluff for any DIY army you should try to avoid any major plot points. That said I like where you are going with them not being followers of the imperial truth and worshiping the emperor as a god even as he walked among them. This gives them a flaw, though loyal they technically went against the teachings of the imperium. Had things not worked out exactly as they had they could have been labelled traitors! This gives them something secret to hide but can still be proud about now.

[walter h]

@ Reinhard , may be right . We might want to start a new thread. He hasn't posted anything since his initial post ,and might be put off by ,too much direction from us. Even if it might be helpful.

[High Marshal Bohemond]

 

 

Unfortunately, the backstory hits on almost all of the warning signs of the aforementioned Mary Sue-ism. Singlehandedly saved everyone at the Seige of Terra, present on all twelve of the most important holy sites in the Imperium, so legendary that one of the primary Knight classes is named after the house. I don't want to be discouraging, but that's all stuff that begs the question: "Why haven't we all heard of this famous House before?"

 

I would tone it down a lot. The epic battle giving them their motto could maybe have happened during the Heresy but perhaps not on Terra, or maybe make their contribution less important but still on Terra. "When the Warmaster attacked holy Terra, we were there. When the vaunted Ultramarines, the Noble Vylka, and the honorable brothers of the First Legion were absent, we, House Gallant, were there. We bled there, on Holy Terra, beside the Companions, when so many others saw to their own well being. We will triumph because The Emperor is with us because, even at the beginning, we were with Him." This could also explain their respect and willingness to fight alongside the Imperial Fists, as fellow defenders of Terra, and the Iron Hands as respected warriors who themselves fought in the Shadow of the Emperor. Sometimes less is more.

Ok: Did not single handily save the siege of Terra. He saved one section of the wall from being breached when is defenders were beleaguered and his honorable sacrifice was of note to the Imperial fist defenders at that section of the wall. I will clean that up so there is less confusion. For the Gallant pattern Knight I will make a change similiar to that offered by Bjorn.

 The are staunch devotees to the Imperial faith. There are literally Hundreds of Shrine worlds. They placed their lances at the ones deemed most important by the Ecliesiarchy. But I had planned on making them more aligned with the S.O.B and the Templars along with my DIY Chapter the Argent Saints. I am not a great writer but I do like your bit here about "how we bled". 

[High Marshal Bohemond]

@Kinstryfe - I stole your qoute!

 

I am sorry guys my work schedule kept me from replying quicker but I did make some changes. And remember Knight houses are just that so they will inflate themselves a bit as well. But I have made some edits and changes and explained stuff more and will continue to do so as I fluff them out more. Additionally I love the feedback. This was originally just a draft with some basic back story, but I definately want to fluff it out and all C&C is welcome.

[walter h]

Keep moving forward,I will keep an eye on this thread.

[High Marshal Bohemond]

more updates (freeblade section) complete. May just fluff this out like and old IA article.

[Marshal van Trapp]

Much better, I'm really liking this fluff and it's making me want to do my own little write up on my knights, but I think I'll save that till I actually have some painted so I can use pictures heh (also keep me working on other projects for the time being!)

[High Marshal Bohemond]

I am makeing progress on painting them so hopefully post some pictures in the next couple days.

[Kinstryfe]

@Kinstryfe - I stole your qoute![/size]

 

I am sorry guys my work schedule kept me from replying quicker but I did make some changes. And remember Knight houses are just that so they will inflate themselves a bit as well. But I have made some edits and changes and explained stuff more and will continue to do so as I fluff them out more. Additionally I love the feedback. This was originally just a draft with some basic back story, but I definately want to fluff it out and all C&C is welcome.[/size]

Won't be the first time someone does, won't be the last. I'm glad it was suitably inspiring :)