IA: Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter [IG 2020]

TechCaptain · April 30, 2020

This is my main Chapter as it is on 40k Homebrew Wiki. All my art was developed by Algrim and Achilles of 40k homebrew wiki administration. That is the source site, and as a disclaimer all the 40k stuff belongs to GW, etc. (Just to be safe, I make no claims besides being the mind behind my brews.)

Nevermind, the image extension is now allowed here. Please look there for the art.

Chapter Datafile: Bloodmoon Hunters

The Bloodmoon Hunters

Bloodmoon Hunter Brother

Bloodmoon Hunter Journeyman (Raptor School Hunters) of the 3rd Hunt Company ("Blades of Folsom"), 7th Battleline Squad.

Date:...............57.M42
Ref:................LBC//TEC7710101
By:.................TechCaptain
Re:.................Adeptus Astartes - Bloodmoon Hunters
Thought:............"The Blood of the moon looms as shadows deepen in it's red glare."

CHAPTER NAME: .............. THE Bloodmoon Hunters
FOUNDING: ..................13^TH [M.35] Dark Founding
CHAPTER WORLD: .............Aigéad Fuil
FORTRESS MONASTERY: ........Folsom's Keep and Lebenmali Star Fort
GENE-SEED (PREDECESSOR): ...Unknown (Claims to be Iron Hands, Inquisitorial Investigation Ongoing)
KNOWN DESCENDANTS: ........."NONE"

Primary Data :HQ:

Allegiance: Imperium of Man (Fedelitas Constantus)
Chapter Master: Hunt Grandmaster Shasmu Khonsu
Size Estimate: 500 to 600
Specialty: Small Unit Tactics, Assassination, Ambushes, Covert Actions, Asset Retrieval, Tracking and Pursuit Actions, and High Technology
Battle Cry: "Hunters of the lost." ; "Harvesters of knowledge."
Colours: Dusty Dark Red and Dark Grey

The Bloodmoon Hunters are a stalwart and dedicated non-codex compliant Loyalist Space Marine Chapter created during the 13^th Founding, the so-called 'Dark Founding'. Little is known of this mysterious founding as there are no reliable records that indicate how many Chapters were conceived during this Founding or what became of them. Extant records indicate that the Bloodmoon Hunters were supposedly created during this Founding around the time a recorded prophecy foretold their inception. It is generally believed that the Adeptus Mechanicus might have played a role in the creation of this Chapter, as their inception occurred sometime in early M35, during the divisive and widespread doctrinal conflict known as the Moirae Schism. The Bloodmoon Hunters were known to maintain close ties with the Archmagos of the Cult Mechanicus as well, receiving a wide diversity of arms and weaponry, including power blades and relic weaponry of the finest quality and rare, advanced patterns of armored vehicles and gunships.

Chapter History

Bloodmoon Hunter Sergeant

Bloodmoon Hunters Sergeant (Lupine School Hunters), 2nd Hunt Company ("Blood Seekers"), 3rd Battleline Squad, wearing relic Mk III Power Armour and armed with a Combi-Bolter/Melta

Suspected to be Founded in the 35^th millennium as part of the mysterious 13^th Founding, the Bloodmoon Hunters were created around a time a prophecy was recorded. "Under the Blood Moon of Harvests, Hunters of the immaterial will find not what they seek but the answer to the question unasked." During the Moirae Schism, the Bloodmoon Hunters were formed with close association to the Cult Mechanicus. The Chapter was given three missions for it's priorities. The first was to guard the warp corridor known as the Sanguis Portus. This was the only stable set of warp routes out to the Fringes of the Ishtar Subsector. This mandate would be the binding chain that kept them beyond the edge of most known centers of power. The second was to support the Fleets being sent into the far reaches of the Fringes. And Lastly the Bloodmoon Hunters were to guard the Ishtar Subsector as a whole.

Bloodmoon Hunters have stayed in the shadows for most of it's time. However, the Bloodmoon Hunters and their ways has made impacts on the Eastern Fringe as they combat various Xenos threats and worse threats of heretics that haunt the fringes. During the years leading to the Great Rift, Bloodmoon Hunters performed various hunts earning honor for their Chapter. Even with this they are little known to the majority of the Imperium, records being what they are few hear of their accomplishments.

The Great Rift Opens and the Noctis Aeterna cuts off the systems of the Ishtar Sub-sector from each other and the wide galaxy. As darkness descends across the Sub-sector a variety of threats threaten to see it burn in the fires of war. Corruption and Heresy surges within the ranks of the local Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus. Necrons emerge on Incendius Lux, Delta Lux, and Crucia. The Frontier Worlds erupt into chaos as House Fásacha, the Lunar Venatorii Cavalry Regiments, and Ishtar Rangers struggle to repel a tide of Drukhari, Ork Freebooter, Chaos, and Harlequin raiders. Orks from the nearby Charadon Empire emerge near the Contrador system sparking continuous naval battles. The Penal World of Contrition erupts in revolt, and Khornate cults emerge wherever Penal Regiments are stationed. Finally, the Bloodmoon Hunters chapter sees the Great Rift as the herald of the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Blood, and fervently seek to identify and defeat signs of the prophecy.

The Primaris Marines of Cawl have yet to make it as far as the Ishtar Fringe Corridor known as Sanguis Portus but rumor has it a squad of Hellbasters in Bloodmoon Hunters colors have made themselves known among the Unnumbered Sons and are on their way to join their brethren on the Eastern Fringe. As it stands The Comhairle of Fiach has yet to make judgement on the rumors nor on Primaris Marines in general. Like all on the front, they wait for proof of the abilities to survive the ends of the Imperium.

Homeworld

On the former Icy Hive World, now turned Volcanic Death World of Aigéad Fuil in the Damuterr System, a single settlement, protected by void shields exists on this world, has a burgeoning society of techno-barbaric gangs. They are allowed to commit their gang warfare in the trade city as long as they don't attack off-worlders and give a tithe to the Astartes overlords. The Techno-Barbarians use armored vehicles, and scavenge from failed recon teams and aircraft from the wastelands due to the acidic atmosphere. But the risks of these expeditions and the rapidly degrading hulls of the vehicles cause inter-gang warfare, as gangs fight for loot and intact hulls for their own craft.The hardened youth, with an experience of armored warfare and technological expertise are perfect candidates for the Astartes. The ancient hives that eked out a harsh living on the acid-rain soaked planet of Aigéad Fuil was brought into the Imperial Fold, and would be gifted to the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter for overseeing the warp routes further into the Ishtar Fringes that would become known as the Sanguis Portus, or the Blood Gate. Few others make life out of heavily processed ancient lower hives of hives whose void shields has failed over time.

Fortress-Monastery

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The Fortress-Monastery of the Bloodmoon Hunters is actually split in two. On the surface of Aigéad Fuil under heavy void shields is the Citadel known as Folsom's Keep. At Folsom's Keep Aspirants are gathered once they have made it through the trials for their initial training and indoctrination. Floating in orbit above is Lebenmali, a grand Star Fort designed specifically for the Bloodmoon Hunters and their mission to watch over the Warp Corridors of Sanguis Portus.

Lebenmali is essentially a mobile battle station. In form and scale, it is nearer a small planetoid than a conventional vessel; it is a mighty cathedral of war that dwarfs the largest Battle Barge, and wields the firepower of a formidable ?eet. The size of a large asteroid, its foredeck can dock a half dozen Imperial Navy destroyers around its circumference. The hull of the star fort is many kilometers long in cross-section with its upper surface bristling with weapons and sensorium domes. Every surface was clad in solid armor plating and every angle was covered by more torpedo tubes and Lance batteries than any Imperial Battleship could muster. Countless smaller spacecraft, repair craft and unmanned scouts orbited like supplicants jostling for attention, and the wake of the titanic engines seemed to churn the void itself with the force of their plasma fire. Its sides are studded with the maws of Macrocannons, missile clusters, Thunderhawk launch bays, and Plasma Mortars, while the spires that rise from its surface are serrated with hundreds of Defense Laser cupolas. It also features a novel variation of electromagnetic armor that incorporates a distributed array of small shield generators, which are cheaper and easier to manufacture. When the outer hull plates are hit, sensors within the armor trigger the nearest generator, creating an intense, transient energy shield effect localized on the point of impact.

Any hostiles who boarded the immense ship might find themselves trapped in the tight, winding corridors of the engineering and maintenance areas just beneath the hull's skin, separated from the vast ships more vulnerable areas by hundreds of automated bulkhead doors and whole sections of outer deck that could be vented into hard vacuum with the press of a control stud. Lebenmali is also home to all manner of Astartes training facilities. In vast domes, unique environments can be recreated in which the Battle-Brothers can perfect their battle drill and rehearse their missions. Some of these domes have been stocked with life forms, such as Death World flora and fauna, in order to create the most realistic training conditions possible.

Within Lebenmali are many places in which the Battle-Brothers of The Bloodmoon Hunters may hone their skills and temper their spirits. There are huge ranges housed in vast chambers where live-fire exercises and marksmanship drills can be performed in environments ranging from tangled ruins to liquid-filled tunnels or the chill of hard vacuum. Alongside these are hundreds of smaller melee and exercise chambers where new skills with blade, fist, and body can be passed from Battle-Brother to Battle-Brother. Numerous clusters of armoured fighting cages exist where Battle-Brothers can test their skill of arms against each other. There are also libraries filled with tactical treaties, past mission logs and spiritual texts for the edification of a Battle-Brother's mental faculties. For those Space Marines who are psychically-gifted Librarians, there are specialized warded and shielded chantries for a psyker to sharpen his own unique gifts in the Emperor's service.

The Armories of Lebenmali are located deep beneath its armoured hull, secured behind the thickest blast doors and internal layers of Void Shielding of the kind more commonly used to protect Battle Titans. This is the realm of metal and actinic light, of the beat of hammers and the fire of forges that arm and armor the Emperor's angels of death.

Many of the most exotic and potent weapons of the Lebenmali, however, are held within sealed vaults deep within the Lebenmali, accessible only to those who bear the secret of their opening. Vast chambers deep inside Lebenmali resembles a cathedral nave. Countless ragged, battle-scarred banners line the nave, some all but transparent with age. The high-arched, oval tunnels that make up the majority of these vaults are lined on walls, floors and ceilings with the countless polished bones, teeth and claws of slain aliens. Some fragments may be inscribed with details of a xenos type or who slew it and when, but most lie bare and unadorned in mute witness to the passing of their owners. Looping corridors connect a handful of larger sepulchres that display the bones of truly gargantuan monstrosities too big to fit elsewhere. Other macabre decorations can be found in these places too, chandeliers made of alien skulls and spines hang beside fluted pillars of chitin and bone. Tattered sheets of xenos hide hang like banners beside intricate mosaics of calcified shell. Centuries of accumulated slaughter have covered many kilometers of vaults already and the work is ever-expanding. Most Space Marines of the Bloodmoon Hunters find the Great Vaults to be a deeply spiritual, even meditative places. Here they may stand among the works of the brothers that came before them and rejoice in their triumph over the alien.

The Catacombs run throughout the lower reaches of the fortress, twisting runs of low, narrow tunnels that were perhaps once used for ducting and maintenance. Over the centuries they have been gradually converted into repositories for accumulated xenos lore. Here great tomes of dusty learning lie beside vivisected specimens and forbidden bestiaries, all sealed by eternal guards of adamantium and wards of stasis against the dark day when such foes might rise again.

To celebrate the hunting traditions of some of their Battle-Brothers, a number of large cargo bays converted into facsimiles of rugged planetary environments and they took to leading hunts through them against dangerous creatures captured for the purpose of training in the hunt. Thus, under the guise of sport and honor, Bloodmoon Hunter leaders trained their teams to hunt together with practiced zeal through frozen hells, fiery deserts and high waters equally well.

Folsom's Keep is armored and void-shielded to withstand any siege or bombardment that might befall it. Armed to repel attackers from land, air or space, its walls bristle with enough heavy ordnance to flatten a hive city. Every aerial approach to the fortress-monastery is overlooked by Icarus Pattern Lascannons, and a Macro-laser. The keep proper is dwarfed by the full bulk of the mountain, and only the very upper reaches had ever been delved into habitations. The upper reaches of The Keep feature Void Shield arrays of incredible strength. Drawing power from the Geothermal Reactors beneath The Keep the Void Shield array is capable of repelling the firepower of entire fleets, making it extremely unlikely for an enemy to attack the Keep from orbit with any hope of success. The Keep's mighty flanks bristle with massive defensive batteries capable of throwing shells, torpedoes and directed energy beams at anything foolish enough to come within range. The structure of Adamantium, granite and Ceramite bristles with linked Bolter turrets, rocket-launchers and static Plasma Cannons.

This sombre keep serves as a shrine to the memory of fallen Bloodmoon Hunters who battled the Chapter's gravest foes. Whenever an Aspirant undergoes his ordeal of initiation, he must first make a pilgrimage to this mighty edifice and call upon the spirits thy lie within. A place of pilgrimage to test the endurance of the faithful and to serve as a memorial to unwavering devotion to the Emperor.

Notable Campaigns

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Organization

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Chapter Recruitment

The gangs of Aigéad Fuil are monitored for their potential. When a likely candidates, for the Astartes of the Bloodmoon Hunters, are observed they are told that the representatives of the God-Emperor would like an audience and to bring an offering of a hide from one of the great beasts of the wastelands. Once the potential hunter has found a suitable offering and was able to defeat it, the aspirant must traverse to the great citadel of the Hunters of the Bloody Dark in the ravine and cave system that is the entrance of Folsom Keep. To accomplish this they must pass the trials of the Hunters and face the various beasts that hunt the hunters. Once the aspirant has proven capable and clever enough to make it to the entrance their final task is to hunt a group of cyborgs that are under the control of a Master while under the influence of a special cocktail of drugs meant to test the mind of the aspirants. Those able to defeat their enemies or better yet find the mastermind under these conditions are then inducted into the Chapter having proved they are cunning enough in the hunt.

Chapter Beliefs

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As a Chapter the Bloodmoon Hunters have been brought to the brink of extinction several times, but yet have managed to endure with strength when other Chapters would have been destroyed. They have a remarkably grim determination to survive, and one of the Bloodmoon Hunters' hallmarks is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and respond swiftly to the fortunes (or misfortunes) of war. This has tempered their character with a general disregard and suspicion of the mere trappings of honor and glory, favoring results by any means necessary. When faced with insurmountable odds, the Bloodmoon Hunters will change their tactics and withdraw to fight again where more prideful Chapters would perhaps chose to stand and die. The Bloodmoon Hunters value the art of concealment, and utilize secrecy and surprise as paramount weapons in their arsenal. As a result they have always cultivated in themselves an ability to see clearly through the fog of war and strike at the hidden heart of the enemy, where they can inflict the most damage and achieve their objectives, undistracted by hubris or hidebound dogma. In order to attain such a goal, the Chapter's Battle-Brothers are trained in a variety of ways that are remarkably inconsistent with most other Space Marine Chapters.

Throughout the Chapter, blind obedience is strongly discouraged. All of these Space Marines are expected to act upon their own initiative at the appropriate times. However, such actions must fit within the context of the larger battle scheme. Battle-Brothers consider unorthodox tactics during their preparation for any conflict. These include unusual deployment maneuvers and infiltration. Most times, they have go so far as to assemble ad hoc units specifically appropriate for resolving a particular tactical problem known as a Hunting Party.

All Bloodmoon Hunters brethren are bionically enhanced in some way, for even the most recently initiated Battle-Brother has had his left hand replaced with the iron-sheathed cybernetic gauntlet that marks his acceptance into the ranks of the Chapter. Within a few years of their initiation, most Battle-Brothers sport a burgeoning array of cybernetic augmentations, many of which stay hidden under their Power Armour. In many instances, these enhancements bolster the Battle-Brother's combat effectiveness in some manner, influencing the tactics he utilizes on the battlefield. At the very least, replacing organic flesh with steel and ceramics increases the body's resistance to physical trauma. Individual Bloodmoon Hunters brethren utilize a wide range of bionics that afford them capabilities beyond that of even the already superhuman Space Marines, including highly esoteric Augur receivers bonded directly to the nervous system, inbuilt weaponry, and even, in some cases, additional limbs granting the Battle-Brother the ability to carry especially cumbersome weaponry.

The exact nature of the enhancements and Bloodmoon Hunters Battle-Brother undergoes is unique to himself, a lifelong program coordinated according to the arcane counsel of the Artificers. Even within the ranks of a single squad of Battle-Brothers initiated at around the same time, there is little cohesiveness. On very few recorded occasions, Battle-Brothers with a complementary range of enhancements have been grouped together into a single squad, or else squad-mates have undertaken to coordinate their surgeries. Such squads rarely adhere to any particular pattern or standard doctrine and their composition may never be repeated again. For Augmentation Bloodmoon Hunters generally prefer to get bonded to Cyber Hawks and Hounds using them extensively.

Bloodmoon Hunters believe out on the fringe like they have been assigned, they should make use of any advantage they can. Imperial Support is limited by what the sector can provide generally. Bloodmoon Hunters in this vein hunt out any scrap of knowledge or tool that could give them an edge on the enemies of the Imperium.

All Bloodmoon Hunters who attain command has served time in all three schools and then served with Artificers. Hunt Masters are elected by The Comhairle of Fiach which is Hunt Master, the four Masters, the Master of the Forge, the Chief Apothecary, and Chief Librarian. Forge Lords at need can stand in as proxies for the Master of their Company. The three schools of Hunting make up the philosophies in which Apprentices and Journeymen learn how to hunt the foes of the Imperium. As Journeyman's skills increase he may either specialize in a school or learn from the other schools making his way up the chain of command.

In character with their basic aloofness and desire for autonomy, the Battle-Brothers of the Bloodmoon Hunters have an uncommon streak of individualism and self-reliance, for each one is born a survivor, a killer from the shadows, and the inheritor of a warrior lineage that descends from one of the Aigéad Fuil's savage death world gangs. Their aloof and autonomous ways are at odds with most other chapters. This has lead to conflicts and rivalries when they are forced into close support of another chapter. With most other Imperial organizations they would take charge of themselves and their brothers, but with other chapters they chafe under what they consider inferior tactics. Only their own veterans can hope to manage the stubborn nature of these warriors.

Combat Doctrine

Inquisitorial Note

Some Inquisitors who fight beside the Bloodmoon Hunters notice the Bloodmoon Hunters use similar tactics to ones Traitor Marines have been observed using, and have a similar obsession with hunting.

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When the Bloodmoon Hunters march into battle, they do so alongside a profusion of war machines and main battle tanks. The Chapter boasts a great number of armored vehicles and Dreadnoughts -- so many, in fact, that each Company maintains its own revered armory of battle tanks and Centurion warsuits. Bloodmoon Hunters Battle-Brothers consider it a great honor to crew one of their Chapter's venerated war machines and interface directly with their vehicles through bionic implants, their heartbeat becoming the thrum of powerful engines and their war cries the roar of heavy gunfire.

The Chapter shows a high-degree of adaptability in battle, both in terms of tactics and the weapons its Astartes employ. When an enemy counters one tactic used by the Bloodmoon Hunters, the Chapter plans accordingly, adapts, and changes strategy, enabling it to outmaneuver its enemies and catch them completely off-guard. Flexibility and willingness to adapt to their situation represents the core of the Bloodmoon Hunters' combat doctrine. As they prepare to engage their opponents, these Space Marines are always careful to identify all of their assets and utilize them to the fullest means possible. These often include assets that are not identified within the constraints of the Codex Astartes. Even when operating well within the strictures of that tome, these Battle-Brothers may choose to take measures that others might consider dishonorable.

Vanguard Hunters and Apprentices recon the enemy, the Apprentices identify ambush zones and lay traps while the Vanguard Hunters utilize devious tactics to weaken the enemy. Those of the Lupine School would harry and draw in the enemy into ambush zones where those of the Arachnid School and Artificers deploy heavy fire power. Then Raptor School Journeymen deploy and assault the enemy forcing them to flee where the hunting party then gives chase until all are slaughtered and the objective reached

Those of the Lupine school are usually deployed in Tactical Marine patterns. In keeping with their willingness to make use of every available resource, the Lupine School Journeymen often takes direct charge of any Imperial Guard units available in a given theater. Rather than deferring to the organisation's intrinsic leadership, these Space Marines deploy their members among the merely human forces and then take a direct hand in their disposition and tactics.

The Lupine School Journeymen are exceptionally well-equipped with Assault Bikes, Land Speeders, and Jump Packs. Whenever possible, these Space Marines favor the use of guerrilla tactics and ambushes to deplete enemy forces prior to a more traditional engagement. Millennia of refining their techniques has enhanced their abilities to the point that these Battle-Brothers are often able to decimate enemy forces through precision surgical strikes, minimizing the enemy forces present in future conflicts.

Many Space Marine Chapters exhibit a clear disdain for the use of concealment, secrecy, espionage, and counter-intelligence. The Vanguard know, however, that it provides a limited number of countermeasures to overcome those who would use such deception against members of the Adeptus Astartes. However, the Vanguard Journeymen enthusiastically and consistently applies these techniques throughout its battles. Deceiving their opponents as to the timing, nature, and objectives of an attack can often grant the Space Marines a significant tactical advantage. Similarly, by expertly scouting a region prior to launching an attack, the Vanguard are often able to insert their forces without their opponents realizing the number or nature of the opposing forces.

Arachnid School Journeymen are generally deployed as Devastator Marine patterns. The use of toxic gas, burning Phosphor and contaminated rad-shells does not rankle their Chapter's honor. Bloodmoon Hunter Astartes have a inherent resilience to toxins and poisons which enable them to be deployed to warzones afflicted by the most hellish and lethal conditions, be they atomic, biological or chemical in nature.

Where possible, field fortifications will be used. Arachnid Journeymen doctrine includes extensive use of fortifications to occupy the maximum number of opponents while using the absolute minimum number of troops. This in turn keeps the bulk of the Bloodmoon Hunter Marines fresh and available for assaults, and allows them to achieve superiority elsewhere.

Those of the Raptor School are generally deployed in Assault Marine Patterns. Making use of Bikes and Jump Packs the mobility and speed of Raptor School Hunters allow them to keep up with even the swiftest of foes. As the hunters that get those enemies clever enough to survive the gauntlet of the other hunters, these hounds are forever baying to finish the job. Having a long tradition of maintaining highly adept Biker units in its Companies stretching back for millennia, Bloodmoon Hunter Raptors employ rapidly moving Astartes Bike Squads known as "Iron-Blood Hunters." They are utilized principally in harrowing and running down a broken or scattered foe, and to counter-assault against flanking attacks or breakthroughs by numerically superior enemies in the field.

While part of the Iron-Blood Hunters closes with the enemy, it is the Land Speeders piloted by Raptor School Journeymen that ensure that the bike-mounted spearhead can reach its quarry. To do this requires vehicles and pilots as mobile and quick-witted as the bike formations themselves. The Iron-Blood Hunters advocate a fluid style of attack, and all its members must be ready to switch from well-rehearsed set-piece attacks to improvised breakthroughs or rapid pursuit of fleeing foes. In the Iron-Blood Hunter's unconventional composition, a single Land Speeder from their other Raptor brethren makes up part of the standard Attack Squadron, while others (up to five) are grouped into Support Squadrons that can be split as needed. This unusual doctrine has been developed because the Raptors use Land Speeders to perform a variety of battlefield roles, due to their versatile weapons loadout. The Raptors can equip their Land Speeders for light probing reconnaissance, advanced scouting, tank-hunting, seek and destroy missions, and so on as required by tactical demands.

The Artificers provide the additional manpower by following the teachings of the Cult Mechanicus in using Heavy Battle Servitors, and a selection of Chemically and Cybernetically modified criminals as Chrono-gladiators and Adsecularis with implanted explosives and vox into combat as expendable troops.

Their tactics and attitude to them are a double edged sword. Close Coordination is hard for the Bloodmoon Hunters outside their own squads and handpicked parties. Only the command and veterans are flexible enough to keep the various schools of hunting working together. Otherwise when a members of a school dominate a Hunting Party it will end as their tactics being the most often used. Further if communications between the various groups breaks down it could lead to some of them interfering with each others' plans. Loose coordination and use of individual talents are where they excel.

Geneseed

Inquisitorial Notation

Deathwatch Apothecaries noted unusual divergence in the Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed when they in service to the Deathwatch.

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Bloodmoon Hunters' know not from which Primarch their Geneseed descends from. The knowledge of their progenitor died when the veterans of the chapter were killed along with a large portion of their chapter in transit to the Eastern Fringe. When they finally founded their stronghold near the Forge World of Mjorn, they were a much weakened Chapter. The Bloodmoon Hunters' greatest mystery concerns their history and the prophecy that was uttered at their formation. A large part of the Chapter's ongoing quest into knowledge, recovering lost information, and in figuring out the prophecy of Blood.

Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed condition produces warriors with finely sculpted physiques, and finely-controlled thought processes, with psychological tendencies driven towards personal achievement and competition to prove individual superiority. Like many Chapters, the Bloodmoon Hunters also suffer from certain genetic deficiencies. The Bloodmoon Hunters' demeanor heavily reflects their combat doctrine. Generally reserved, Bloodmoon Hunters stay in the shadows until the right time to speak. When they do pitch in they tend to be very recalcitrant and terse, often condemning the more direct tactics of their fellow Chapters. Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed produced a marked tendency towards suspicion and paranoia within the Astartes of the Chapter but also was known to create Space Marines who were extremely intelligent and possessed naturally well-developed problem-solving abilities.

Many Chapters indulge in trophy taking, but the Bloodmoon Hunters have in the past gone out of their way to capture, master and utilize weapons taken. Their superior mental acuity is achieved through their sheer drive, determination and arduous training. This is because one of the unusual traits of Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes, which may derive from an unforeseen mutation within their gene-seed, is that every Hunter possesses a near-genius ability to observe, memorize and adapt to any situation. This is what makes each a Hunter of unparalleled ability, for even the smallest signs can be tracked.

The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter is highly unusual among its fellow Space Marines and its modus operandi is quite different from that of the bulk of the Adeptus Astartes. The Bloodmoon Hunters do not fight as a single force or even usually as full companies but instead second squads drawn from the Chapter's companies and make use of bonded cybernetic enhanced humans and creatures. The Bloodmoon Hunters seem to bear little respect for anyone or anything, save the Emperor of Mankind and the Fabricator Generals of the Mechanicus, for whom they have displayed fanatic and unquestioning loyalty. They tend to show no love for civility or deference when dealing with individual Imperial commanders and other Space Marine Chapters, but they have been known to show pleasure in testing their skills against worthy foes.

Primarch's Curse: Search of the Perfect Hunt

The quest for perfection in the Hunt consumes the Bloodmoon Hunters in body as well as spirit. For some it was not enough to achieve the accolade of a perfect Hunt, they thirsted to embody that perfection. For these warriors it was not enough that the Emperor had crafted their flesh, and shaped each with insight and knowledge no other could rival; their granted transhuman state was simply the beginning of an unfinished path.

Level 1 (Improvement over Flesh) - The Battle-Brother perceives his own flesh as a hindrance. Feels that to become better one must improve upon themselves with the use of Bionics. Some beneath a shell of apparent superhuman normality concealed augmented senses, modified musculature, even surgical alterations to their brain structure.

Level 2 (Obsession of the Thrill) - The Battle-Brother no longer feels like improving their body is enough, it's the Hunt is lacking. Now the Battle-Brother will set up even more extreme challenges to increase the thrill. These warriors cannot wait to prove themselves through success in their quests to seek out and slay dangerous or potent enemies and survive. Hunters at thus stage primarily hunt not for sustenance or the elimination of threats, but purely as a means of entertainment and proof of worth. As such, they will mainly attack life forms that have the ability, natural or technological, to provide them with a challenge. Indeed, Hunters will travel great distances to find worthy opponents, often drawn by intense heat and conflict.

Level 3 (Everything is Prey) - No one and nothing is enough for that perfect hunt. Seeking greater challenges will push others away and create rivalries to get the most out of each engagement. Refuses to trust allies and feels that only their closest brothers can aid. The only warriors outside of their own tight-knit squads with whom they openly converse are the Veterans, and even then their communications take place whilst out on shared patrols. Their stalkers' camaraderie remains dormant when in the presence of others not of their ilk. There is much rivalry between these warriors, as each competes to kill more of the enemy.

Notable Members

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Chapter Fleet

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Chapter Relics

Adeptus Mechanicus Observations

Adeptus Mechanicus Rune Priests compared images of Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter relics to those of pre-Heresy Raven Guard, and noted striking similarities.

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*Teorainn - A Relic Stalker Artifex Pattern Bolter fitted with a suppressor unit to dampen its sound and muzzle flash, and an optical sight to augment the users aim, use of a Dark Eye nightscope that greatly enhanced the weapon's accuracy during nighttime operations. Teorainn is engraved with sigils of disruption that destabilise a psyker's connection with the Warp. Teorainn has accuracy and power unrivalled in other Bolters of its size and integrates a Fire Selector as well as a Targeter. ''Teorainn'' fires glittering rounds imparting freezing payload as they explode deep in the flesh of their victims using unknown technologies to make it's ammunition this way.

*Eiclips Na Gealaí - A Relic Pistol that fires micro-atomic munitions that draws power from a planet's magnetosphere to form the unique ammunition as it fires. The munitions that leaps from its muzzle can reduce a man to a blackened shadow in a solar second and can cut holes in a heavily-fortified Aquila Stongpoint if necessary. The bulk of the barrel is surrounded by coils of conductive material, these coils generate an electromagnetic field oriented along the barrel. the micro-atomic munitions are sped to just short the speed of light.

*Fuilphlasma - A Plasma Pistol that was used by an Master Raknor on a now lost Agri World against the Tau. Under the leadership of Blood Warden, the Master of 3^rd Hunt Company, Blades of Fulsom, his men held the line against a massive Tau incursion in which the Master lost his life and so did most of the Hunting party. It was a pyrric victory but his heroics in sniping a TY7 Devilfish with this Plasma Pistol held the lines for Astra Militarum support turning the tide at that time.

*Síceach-Bás - A Power Sword etched with silver, hand-inscribed hexagramic wards and edged in Blackstone. The creation of this unique sword is unknown but it seems for have incorporated Xenos techniques. It has known to be drenched in the blood of many psykers and witches, it is believed this has forever made the blade a bane of those that use warp powers. Those who wield this blade seem to be immune or heavily resist the abilities of the Warp.

*Nimit - A Cyber-Mastiff bound to Master Scáth Hiachóir. A Relic of the Bloodmoon Hunters for this Ancient Mastiff has been a companion of one of the most revered Masters of the Chapter in it's history. Nimit is carefully crafted as a true terror weapon, a massively built and heavily-armored steel construct of considerable bulk. Nimit tracks, hunts, and kills any target loaded into his sophisticated spoor-identifying protocols, equipped with a pair of Gamma weapons in pods mounted on the shoulders, this formidable equipment suite is combined with an insidiously effective training regimen.

Deathwatch Service

The Bloodmoon Hunters are known to be a great source of knowledgeable Masters of the Forge for Deathwatch Outposts. Most Artificers of the Bloodmoon Hunters will spend several years in service with the Deathwatch as a matter of pride. All the Bloodmoon Hunters are trained in the ways of the priests of mars to a larger degree then most chapters by the Techmarines of the chapter. Due to this the Bloodmoon Hunters will offer their kill-team a great amount of knowledge on both imperial and xeno technological works. The relentless dedication with which a Hunter will pursue their objectives makes them ideal for the harder tasks the more humanitarian chapters would struggle to carry out.

Artificers trained as both the Spiritual keepers of the Bloodmoon Hunters as well as the Technology masters for their Chapter also provide inspiration and guidance to their Brother Astartes in the Deathwatch when they serve the long vigil. Even Bloodmoon Hunters who are not artificers find it a great honor to be chosen as the representatives to the Inquisition from the Chapter on how to hunt the Alien. Being chosen by the masters for such an honor is an aspiration for many a Journeymen.

Chapter Appearance

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Notable Quotes

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By the Chapter

"Bring on the Angels of Blood and Darkness as thy descend from the heavens to smite our enemies. Let the Wolves of war rend and tear our foes to pieces. And we of the Bloodmoon Hunters shall bring the iron and fire as our vehicles crush all that oppose us under our treads."

-Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes}}

"With iron and fire the beast shall be lain low at the hands of the Hunters whose home is under the Bloodmoon."

-Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes}}

"No fear for we are his Angels of Death and we are not weak. We stand against the xeno and the Heretic. We shall lay them low for I know myself and I know my enemy. The God-Emperor and his marines shall be victorious."
-Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes}}

"Honored brothers the xenos and the heretic shall bleed and reap only death for we will send them back into the void from which they came."

-Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Forge Lord

"Thank you brothers. I spoke only the truth as our God-Emperor made it. We as brothers shall unite for none can oppose the full might of the Imperium. The Angels of Death bring despair and destruction as only the sword can do. The guard shall be the hammer to grind our foes into smithereens with the slow tide of bodies that do not flinch at the evils of the warp. Let our sisters in arms bath the traitors in purifying fires."

-Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes

For your sins against the Emperor;