LASC Index Astartes the Thunder Coyotes

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Index Astartes

<<Coyote Head superimposed over lightning bolt>>

The Thunder Coyotes Space Marines Chapter

<<Space>>

Founded in the tumult of the Ultima Founding and the initial forays into Imperium Nihilus with the Indomitus crusade, the chapter was established to anchor the fringe of a sector in the southwestern Ultima Segmentum. A nearby chapter that controls and patrols the sector is rumored to believe that these new marines are Inquisitorial watchdogs and slaves to the High Lords of Terra, and thusly unreliable. Time will tell how these two chapters interact.
As part of the Indomitus crusade before being established on Qoslomoya, the marines who would become the veterans of the Thunder Coyotes participated heavily in anti-Chaos operations, as well as skirmishes against various forces swept up in the warp and deposited in the path of the crusade. Including in this count were some very lost Tau that made excellent target practice for the guns of the battlebarge Howl of Jaghatai, which would become the flagship of the Thunder Coyote's fleet.


Qoslomoya is a forested world, curiously untouched by most modern technology. The people there are lost in the early stages of world exploration and colonization, and are by all accounts Feral and uncivilized. It was left alone and deemed not worth the effort to colonize, and any orders otherwise were lost in the endless mountains of Imperial paperwork. However, following the start of the Indomitus Crusade, the Primarch Guilliman ordered it colonized and given to an Ultima Founding chapter, as it was situated in a prime defensive location to reinforce the newly-reclaimed sector and its beleaguered Imperial Guard and Firstborn Astartes chapter, the Dawn Blades. It was done as the Primarch ordered, and Terminus Station, the Thunder Coyotes fortress monastery, was constructed at the peaks of the giant mountain range known as the Spine of the Diyiai running down the middle of the planet.


The Thunder Coyotes are quickly mastering the art of drive-by annihilation and shadowwork operations, and have quickly begun to modify their equipment accordingly. Of note are their modified Repulsors and Impulsors, which have had their transport bays and turrets replaced with heavy guns and long-range missile launchers, thusly turning them into self-propelled artillery. Their 1st Company has quickly become known for a disproportionately large number of skilled marksmen, especially ones that are capable of assassinations and eliminations that go unnoticed until the target falls dead.


As the Thunder Coyotes are adept at stealth insertions and operations, they employ a disproportionate number of Vanguard in their ranks, so much so that on occasion perhaps a third of their chapter is deployed as Vanguard Companies. The chapter also tends to not favor more heavily-armored and slow units, but when pressed they can and do deploy Aggressor and other Gravis units--exceptions are Inceptors and Suppressors, as they are both highly mobile and highly destructive. These units are, due to chapter practices, often the veterans of warfare who know just how to apply such powerful forces.


The Thunder Coyotes are primarily secular, as all Ultima Founding chapters are. However, as recruitment of the Qoslomoyan native humans picked up, the planet's belief system slowly entered the chapter. The native name for spirits and gods, Diyiai, was quickly subsumed by the Imperial cult, with preachers and missionaries telling tales of how the Diyiai were aspects of the Emperor and his sons, especially glorifying Jenkshi, spirit of the woods and hunt, as the Primarch Jaghatai Khan, primogenitor of the Thunder Coyotes and a patron of the planet.

The Winter Count:
The Winter Count is another tradition of the Thunder Coyotes brought forth by the Qoslomoyan recruits of the chapter. As described by one recruit, “It’s how the tribes mark important events. Everyone tells the elder the most important thing that happened that year, in their opinion, and then the elders choose a few that are of great importance and hold a vote on it. The one the tribe chose is inscribed on hide and then placed with the others.”
Seeking to bring in elements of Qoslomoyan culture, to bond with both the planet’s people and with each other, the nascent Chaplaincy chose to implement the ‘winter counts’ as a method of recording chapter history. At the end of each solar year—approximately halfway through the year of the Imperial standard calendar—each squad creates a winter count, and entered into its history. These are then submitted to the company, where a company-wide vote is taken on which winter count will be the company’s official one of record (of note is that oftentimes many squads in a company will choose to record the same event, or otherwise be synonymous with each other. In this case often the vote is a matter or artistic taste and imagery). Thusly chosen, each company’s work is put to a chapter-wide vote, where a replica of the chosen count is created and hung in the Hibernation Hall, the forge-chapel where history, both living and dead, is kept. It is a great honor for a squad’s winter count to be chosen as the chapter’s reckoning of history, and they are honored with the Frosted Moon award for that year, which they may wear on their armor until their deaths.

The Hibernation Hall:
Here slumber the Dreadnoughts of the Thunder Coyotes, watched over by vigilant Techmarines and the Chaplain’s order. New initiates, as part of their training cycles, come to the Hibernation Hall to learn from the Winter Counts hung from the rafters, as well as hear stories of war from any Dreadnoughts who may be awake at the time, rare it may be. Those recruits who are fortunate enough to learn from the wounded come away with a harder temperament, forewarned of the dangers of battle, and the horror that awaits them on the inside of a vita-fluid coffin.
Here also in the Hall are held feasts, commemorating important events of the chapter’s history, including the Feast of the Born Coyote--which celebrates the chapter’s founding in the Qoslomoyan winter--the Feast of the Emperor Ascendant, Sanguinalia, and other holidays deemed important. The Feast of the Born Coyote is a massive celebration of the year's deeds, and is also the time of voting for that year's Winter Count, though due to the demands of war this is oft by proxy. Every tenth year, the entire chapter gathers, and the Grand Count is selected, reflecting the greatest campaign waged over the past decade. The victory is celebrated by the whole chapter with much song and brotherhood, and a massive fire is lit for the hearth that dominates the head of the hall.
The Festival of Tears
The haemolacria that the Thunder Coyotes possess is a curious condition, but one that is celebrated as a gift of the Emperor. The Festival of Tears is the last rite of ascension into the chapter for new battle-brothers, though every marine will partake at one moment or another beyond their own induction. After being awarded their power armor, each new Primaris will join their newly assigned squad of new Primaris. Each marine will bring forth their tears, and deposit them into an earthen mug unique to each squad. Once it has been filled, the squad partakes as a seal of brotherhood, a blood oath to aid each other until death. For this reason, veteran squads of Thunder Coyotes are smaller than their newer counterparts, and often take up assignments and squad designations that require fewer and fewer marines, such as Aggressor squads, vehicle crews, and Eliminator squads, among others.
Those who are the last remains of their squads are those considered for officership, seen as lucky enough and strong enough to survive whatever war sought to throw at them. When a new officer is elevated, he fills the cup with his own bloody tears for his successor, then drinks of his predecessor. This ritual is accompanied by a reaffirming of the oaths that each squad swore upon creation.


As sons of the great Khan, the Thunder Coyotes have adopted his lust for the hunt, though they tend more toward the stalking aspect of its bent. The gene-seed itself is remarkably pure, and its organs free of mutation, as all Primaris seed is, though there is one oddity. A curious twist of genetics between the Khan's gene-seed and the Qoslomoyan DNA has led to haemolacria in the Thunder Coyotes, causing them to cry tears of blood, and can almost do so on command. This, however, is mostly harmless and has become ingrained in the chapter's warrior cult (indeed so much so that it has been incorporated into their armor) so it is not a problem that the chapter's leadership is particularly inclined to solve, when the Apothecaries are focused on integrating the Qoslomoyan people into the chapter as a whole.


"Strike from the Night!"
*Unintelligible Howling*

USING A Thunder Coyotes ARMY IN WARHAMMER 40,000

The Thunder Coyotes use the Expert Marksmen and Stealthy Successor Chapter Tactics on the battlefields of the 41st Millennium


/end

Notes and admin:
Here's what I've got so far. I will be looking to expand this later, but autosave's gone wonky and at least this way it's saved (plus I need to work out a color scheme in the next day or two).
EDIT: I'd also like to report broken formatting. Either that or I've no idea how to do it correctly.
9/8/19: addressed some concerns about Qoslomoya, and added a little to the chapter cult section.
9/16/19: added information on the Winter Count, the Hibernation Hall, and created color schemes (to be added later).
9/18/19: expanded information on the Hibernation Hall, and described the chapter badge (to be added later).
9/23/19 added information on the Festival of Tears, and the importance of the haemolacria to the Thunder Coyotes
10/6/19: added color scheme, and technically have a chapter symbol (though it may be updated at a later point, because I can't draw).
10/7/19 updated format

[Dosjetka]

Tried to fix your formatting for you. When you copy/paste BBCode, you're better off clicking the icon in the top-left corner of the post editor interface, pasting the contents, and then clicking on the same icon again.

[Ace Debonair]

My first thoughts are: what makes Qoslomoya a suitable world for the Thunder Coyotes to recruit from?

It seems a little odd for Guilliman to randomly declare a borderline empty world as a must-have world for Space Marines - I'd assume he'd be looking for Macragge-lite style civilised and ordered homeworlds rather than barely-inhabited feral worlds.

 

Apologies if this comes off as harsh - I rather more mean to say that there's plenty of room to expand on why Qoslomoya was chosen for a homeworld, and I look forward to seeing it develop!

 

The rest of the Chapter seems solid so far. Definitely looking forward to reading more about the Coyotes!

I like the idea of the Coyotes using tanks as basically decoys while their Vanguard marines get into position for the real attack to begin. Very sneaky!

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Thanks Dos. BBC is one thing I never really learned, so having a helping hand is greatly appreciated.

 

My first thoughts are: what makes Qoslomoya a suitable world for the Thunder Coyotes to recruit from?

It seems a little odd for Guilliman to randomly declare a borderline empty world as a must-have world for Space Marines - I'd assume he'd be looking for Macragge-lite style civilised and ordered homeworlds rather than barely-inhabited feral worlds.

 

Apologies if this comes off as harsh - I rather more mean to say that there's plenty of room to expand on why Qoslomoya was chosen for a homeworld, and I look forward to seeing it develop!

 

The rest of the Chapter seems solid so far. Definitely looking forward to reading more about the Coyotes!

I like the idea of the Coyotes using tanks as basically decoys while their Vanguard marines get into position for the real attack to begin. Very sneaky!

 

Oh, not at all, Ace. You're an old hand, and this is the sort of advice I crave.

Qoslomoya is actually a rip of a DIY legion homeworld, which is a rip of Qosmalaya, which was the world originally conceived for the Thunder Coyotes a little while back (so, the planet was set back to that time and given a reasonable amount of GC-era tech and govt--10,000 years doesn't scale that well, I guess).

 

In my mind, Qoslomoya is a good choice for a marine chapter for two reasons. One, it's people are a tough race, made so by hardship. There aren't too many dangerous beasts, but it is a difficult world to live on. Forested, but very mountainous, and the tribes of the world are always at war with each other. 

Second, it's located in a strategically valuable area at the fringe of a sector in the Imperium Nihilus. Not so important when reinforcements could travel quickly, but as a border guard and a relatively-quick-reaction-force for the subsector, it is ideally located.

 

Well, the tanks aren't really a false flag, per se. They're designed for TOT barrages and strike-in-an-instant sort of attacks. They're still difficult to see, though. Beyond-visual-range fire is still sneaky, right? 

[Ace Debonair]

Qoslomoya is actually a rip of a DIY legion homeworld, which is a rip of Qosmalaya, which was the world originally conceived for the Thunder Coyotes a little while back (so, the planet was set back to that time and given a reasonable amount of GC-era tech and govt--10,000 years doesn't scale that well, I guess).

That's not confusing at all.  

 

In my mind, Qoslomoya is a good choice for a marine chapter for two reasons. One, it's people are a tough race, made so by hardship. There aren't too many dangerous beasts, but it is a difficult world to live on. Forested, but very mountainous, and the tribes of the world are always at war with each other. 

Second, it's located in a strategically valuable area at the fringe of a sector in the Imperium Nihilus. Not so important when reinforcements could travel quickly, but as a border guard and a relatively-quick-reaction-force for the subsector, it is ideally located.

Ah. The first part still didn't sound like something Guilliman would care much about, but the second part ticks the right boxes.

 

Strategic import and playing the long game (turning an empty, technically unimportant world into a home for a Space Marine garrison force for an area that might become quite important in time) sound more like the things the leader of the Ultramarines would consider.

 

 

Well, the tanks aren't really a false flag, per se. They're designed for TOT barrages and strike-in-an-instant sort of attacks. They're still difficult to see, though. Beyond-visual-range fire is still sneaky, right? 

Any attack you don't see coming is a sneak attack, so I guess so!

 

[Brother Lunkhead]

You're off to a good start with a solid foundation

 

Qoslomoya seems like a good world for a Space Marine chapter. Like any good strategist or logistician, Gulliman doesn't think linearly. Not every chapter has to be the Ultramarines (otherwise he'd probably trash half of his own primogenitor chapters and start again) and not every world has to be Macrage. I'm curious as to why it wasn't initially considered by Terra for recolonization? When first surveyed was the location considered isolated and of no strategic importance at the time?

 

You use a few terms and statements that might at first glance fit well with your overall chapter doctrine but might be too broad or ill-defined.

 

drive-by annihilation

This term sounds cool (sort of a ganger feel) but I'm not sure what it means. Are you referring to a tactic of destroying a foe in a single attack run? Can you elaborate?

 

shadowwork operations

This term is very broad and could describe almost anything, including an entire doctrine. Is that what you mean? Shadowwork would be a good title for your Chapter's doctrine.

 

assassinations that go unnoticed until the target falls dead.

Assassinations usually involve high profile targets (Chapter Commander, Company Captain, Governor, etc.). No matter how stealthy the kill is, it is going to be noticed and noticed in a hurry. Perhaps you mean something along the lines of stealth killing sentries or small pockets of troops in a strategic area. Can you elaborate?

 

Their gene-seed is remarkably pure, as all Primaris seed is, though there is one oddity. A curious twist of genetics between the Khan's gene-seed and the Qoslomoyan DNA has led to haemolacria in the Thunder Coyotes, causing them to cry tears of blood, and can almost do so on command.

Not remarkably pure at all. You might want to alter that statement a bit (I do like the idea of the blood tears though).

 

On the whole, looks like the makings of a very cool chapter that the Great Khan would be proud of

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Lunkhead:
Much of this is vague because it was for the most part just notes about the chapter that I’ve transcribed to an IA and the BnC.
As to your concerns:

 

drive-by annihilation

This term sounds cool (sort of a ganger feel) but I'm not sure what it means. Are you referring to a tactic of destroying a foe in a single attack run? Can you elaborate?

Yes. Appear from nowhere, destroy the enemy in one swift strike, then vanish back whence they came.
 

 

shadowwork operations

This term is very broad and could describe almost anything, including an entire doctrine. Is that what you mean? Shadowwork would be a good title for your Chapter's doctrine.

Well, I don’t recall what I originally meant, but this is an excellent suggestion. Shadowwork in this case refers to fire and fade, strike from shadow, night attacks, and such. Coyotes only come out at night. So do these guys.
 

 

assassinations that go unnoticed until the target falls dead.

Assassinations usually involve high profile targets (Chapter Commander, Company Captain, Governor, etc.). No matter how stealthy the kill is, it is going to be noticed and noticed in a hurry. Perhaps you mean something along the lines of stealth killing sentries or small pockets of troops in a strategic area. Can you elaborate?

Pretty much that, yes. No one knows the assassination is happening until it happens, for one reason or each other, whether that be methodical elimination and approach, straight-up stealth kills from half a mile away, or what have you.
No one knows what’s going on until the target drops dead. Usually it’s a precursor to something worse.
 

 

Their gene-seed is remarkably pure, as all Primaris seed is, though there is one oddity. A curious twist of genetics between the Khan's gene-seed and the Qoslomoyan DNA has led to haemolacria in the Thunder Coyotes, causing them to cry tears of blood, and can almost do so on command.

Not remarkably pure at all. You might want to alter that statement a bit (I do like the idea of the blood tears though).

Well, pure in the sense that none of the organs have a malfunction. This is just a side effect of two different bloodlines interacting. It only occurs in newly-created Primaris from Qoslomoya, not the Indomitus veterans.
Point taken about wording, though.
 

On the whole, looks like the makings of a very cool chapter that the Great Khan would be proud :tu:

Glad to hear you like them. I’m looking forward to developing them more as time goes forward.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

Something I’m adding to the Chapter Beliefs/culture section:

 

The Winter Count:

The Winter Count is another tradition of the Thunder Coyotes brought forth by the Qoslomoyan recruits of the chapter. As described by one recruit, “It’s how the tribes mark important events. Everyone tells the elder the most important thing that happened that year, in their opinion, and then the elders choose a few that are of great importance and hold a vote on it. The one the tribe chose is inscribed on hide and then placed with the others.”

Seeking to bring in elements of Qoslomoyan culture, to bond with both the planet’s people and with each other, the nascent Chaplaincy chose to implement the ‘winter counts’ as a method of recording chapter history. At the end of each solar year—approximately halfway through the year of the Imperial standard calander—each squad creates a winter count, and entered into its history. These are then submitted to the company, where a company-wide vote is taken on which winter count will be the company’s official one of record (of note is that oftentimes many squads in a company will choose to record the same event, or otherwise be synonymous with each other. In this case often the vote is a matter or artistic taste and imagery). Thusly chosen, each company’s counts are put to a chapter-wide vote, where a replica of the chosen count is created and hung in the Hibernation Hall, the forge-chapel where history, both living and dead, is kept. It is a great honor for a squad’s winter count to be chosen as the chapter’s reckoning of history, and they are honored with the Frosted Moon award for that year, which they may wear on their armor until their deaths.

 

The Hibernation Hall:

Here slumber the dreadnoughts of the Thunder Coyotes, watched over by vigilant Techmarines and the Chaplain’s order. Here also are held feasts, commemorating important events of the chapter’s history, including the Feast of the Born Coyote, which celebrates the chapter’s founding, the Feast of the Emperor Ascendant, Sanguinalia, and other holidays deemed important.

 

Hibernation Hall came out of nowhere, but hopefully these two concepts aren’t too wildly out of place for a marine chapter. Thoughts?

[Ace Debonair]

I think that could work well.

It's a suitably tribal addition without being over-the-top.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I have a color scheme for them now (albeit a firstborn scheme, because that's what the BnC painter supports, and because I don't know how to make the primaris painter work, but for it'll do.

 

The main scheme: 

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/sm/bpe=FFE133&bpj=848285&bp=FFE133&bpc=FFE133&hdt=915931&hdm=915931&hdl=202020&ey=DECE40&er=915931&pi=848285&nk=848285&ch=915931&eg=848285&sk=848285&abs=915931&bt=915931&cod=915931&ull=915931&lk=848285&lll=915931&lft=915931&url=915931&rk=848285&lrl=915931&rft=915931&slt=D03437&sli=915931&srt=D03437&sri=915931&ula=915931&lel=848285&lla=915931&lw=848285&lh=915931&ura=915931&rel=848285&rla=915931&rw=848285&rh=915931&bg=FFFFFF&rb=202020&gr=848285&grid=TRUE&wg=true&laurel=true&mk6=true&ti=848285&blt=000000&/spacemarine.jpg

 

The quieter, stealth scheme for the Vanguard Companies.

http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/sm.php?b62c=@hCmX3_hFTPP.haLvy@iaigX@@__.i1coE_iakk7_@__@@@@_@@@_@@hr3uf@hr3uf@@_@_@@_@_@iakk7._@@__.@@iakk7@iaigX@@__&grid=TRUE

 

Will edit these into main post at some point, possibly after I figure out how to make these in the Primaris painter GW provides.

 

I drew inspiration for the schemes from actual coyotes (brown and grey) with splotches of additional gray for thunder, and some yellow for lightning.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

 

The Festival of Tears

The haemolacria that the Thunder Coyotes possess is a curious condition, but one that is celebrated as a gift of the Emperor. The Festival of Tears is the last rite of ascension into the chapter for new battle-brothers, though every marine will partake at one moment or another beyond their own induction. After being awarded their power armor, each new Primaris will join their newly assigned squad of new Primaris. Each marine will bring forth their tears, and deposit them into an earthen mug unique to each squad. Once it has been filled, the squad partakes as a seal of brotherhood, a blood oath to aid each other until death. For this reason, veteran squads of Thunder Coyotes are smaller than their newer counterparts, and often take up assignments and squad designations that require fewer and fewer marines, such as Aggressor squads, vehicle crews, and Eliminator squads, among others.

Those who are the last remains of their squads are those considered for officership, seen as lucky enough and strong enough to survive whatever war sought to throw at them. When a new officer is elevated, he fills the cup with his own bloody tears for his successor, then drinks of his predecessor. This ritual is accompanied by a reaffirming of the oaths that each squad swore upon creation.

 

Thoughts? Put this together about the Haemolacria.

[Brother Lunkhead]

The Festival of Tears: I like this a lot It's very evocative and symbolic.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

 

Finished scheme for the Thunder Coyotes! With this I think I'm ready to call this complete, though I am sure I will come back to it.

[Messor]

The color scheme looks great. I'm not sure why it got resized so small, though; might want to tinker with it. The thematic elements of the Chapter blend well together. The winter count is a particularly cool concept. From a formatting standpoint, I'd suggest going over it for style consistency; same fonts, same headers and spacing, etc. to give it a cleaner look.

[Daimyo-Phaeron Lenoch]

I'm not sure either...If you click on it, it resizes just fine, but I've never claimed to be an expert on how the BnC tech bits work, so for now I'll leave it unless I stumble on something useful.

 

Formatting needs to be fixedm I agree. I have a few free days this week, with any luck I can get it cleaned up then.

Glad you like the Coyotes!