'No Impediment to Progress' – The Gatebreakers

[apologist]

A nice surprise! 

Edited June 29, 2020 by apologist

[jaxom]

Internet famous! But seriously, well-earned. I was looking over your site last night and it's a great resource; the care and amount of investment in each article/post was quite clear.

[WAR]

Congrats man

[apologist]

Thanks both. A productive weekend saw the first marines completed, marking and bases and all; so I'll be sharing those over the next few days.

 

+++

 

+ In Which We Witness the Gatebreakers +

 

 

"Do I look like I give a–?" his last words were mercifully cut off by another cacophonous round of firing that took the front of the building opposite out in an enormous plume of white smoke. Barbari's acolytes both ducked further into cover. The pulverised rock was in the air; laying a shroud over everything. Halm didn't much like that image. As the tense moment stretched, she tried to hear past the ringing in her ears. No movement – but Halm knew better than to trust her eyes and ears in this place. Dust hissed down outside, an occasional large ping marking a larger piece of rubble coming to rest.

 

Half-crouching, she scuttled over to Brunski, her companion's face screwed up in an almost comically intense stare as he tried to spot enemies – or anything – through the thick cloud. She reached out to tap him on the arm, and he looked at her. God-Emperor, she thought, suppressing an hysterical snigger, we look like albino lapids. Both the acolytes were covered in the white dust of the alien city, their eyes pink and sore. She pinched her nose, noisily snorting out the dirt.

 

"Look," she started, "let's just get back to the Gatebreakers." Brunski opened his mouth to reply just as another doppler-shifted whooping broke the silence. She saw his eyes crease as he tensed just as the impact came. Closer this time. The entire road surface rippled, the fabric of it turning fluid under the sudden strike.

 

Even from this distance, the two were thrown to the floor. Halm's wrist struck a piece of furniture on the way down, and she lost her grip on her pistol. Cursing, she peeped over the improvised cover, then froze as she saw silhouettes emerging from the weird white gloom. 

 

Stalker-forms.

 

Long-limbed, pallid, and inhumanly tall and thin, the Sabactes were clothed in a semi-transparent sheen. Their multiple backwards-jointed limbs picked through the rubble carefully, whisper-rifles sweeping back and forth like a hunting-snake's head. One carried some form of fluted, ribbed contraption hinged over its curling back – Halm presumed that had been the source of the whooping barrage. 

 

The lead Sabact's flat, adze-like muzzle turned, and it stooped to peer under the partially-collapsed awning. Halm dearly wished she hadn't dropped her pistol. For a moment, the thick white stonedust making her still more statue-like. Her eyes flicked left, to the shadows, where Brunski was easing his rifle to his shoulder, slowly.

 

Ever. 

 

So. 

 

Slowly.

 

The next moments stayed with Halm for a long time. Rows of small, puckered pits in the creature's muzzle flared in a peristaltic ripple, and it emitted a thin screech that ran right through Halm's spine. A fraction of a second later, Brunski's lasbolt caught it in one shoulder, sending it staggering and its own shot wild. Halm leapt forward, grasping desperately for her lost pistol as the other Sabactes whipped round with barking, breathless yelps. Brunski was yelling, his modified rifle shouldered and burping fire. The air still hung with white dust.

 

Then it moved. From the dust emerged massive figures – shorter than the Sabactes, but many times broader. The warriors toted thick, black, brutal-looking boltguns, but they weren't firing them. More howling doppler-shrieks echoed in the near distance, but the Gatebreakers were intent. Pushing through and into the Stalker-forms, arm-long blades came up, slitting and scattering alien limbs. Great gauntlets closed on gelid flesh, puncturing and holding while more sweeping, disembowelling bladestrokes swept in.

 

It was over in less than four seconds. Perfect. The Sabact's yellow-and-purple ichor was vivid against the pervasive white dust, painted in great arcs across a startlingly wide area. 

 

Halm remained sprawled, chest down in the rubble. Dumbfounded, petrified, she only realised she hadn't reached the pistol when one of the marines stepped forward and nudged it towards her with his boot. His head was bare, one bloodshot eye puckered up in a livid bruise that was obvious despite the deep tone of his skin. Their eyes met for a moment, then he looked back to his squadmates. Odd static, on the edge of hearing, pattered back and forth. She closed her mouth, forcing herself to calm. Comm-clicks, that's all.

 

Brunski stepped forward, his lasrifle pointedly aimed to the ground. He was as wide-eyed as Halm, He hooked his free hand under her armpit and helped her up. The marine – Primaris, Halm reckoned by his armour – turned back, and gestured with three fingers.

 

"Extraction awaits rearwards, Adepts. Three hundred yards." 

 

Another marine loomed behind him. Slightly shorter, slighter – but still head and shoulders above Brunski, a powerfully-built man – Halm's adrenaline-shocked brain tried to focus, to process, and wondered whether the other was Astartes or Primaris. Was there even a meaningful difference now? 

 

Whatever he was, the Primaris' helm was grilled and pugnacious. His armour was battered, but all the damage was old. Where the Primaris was covered in scrapes and dings and Sabact-ichor, the only thing that made it clear the other marine had been fighting was the same shroud of dust as his comrade.

 

"To put it another way, adept," his strange accent garbled the word – or else the honorific was intentionally being mocked – "Your presence here is no longer welcome."

 

+++

Edited June 29, 2020 by apologist

[apologist]

+ Barbari Kill's Notes – Markings of the Gatebreakers +

+ The Chapter symbol is a mace, with five points. It's a figurative representation of the Chapter's intentions – a brutal, direct weapon of war. The points symbolise the Chapter's multiple companies and ability to work more independently. Further, the handle contains an orb above the weapon's grip. This symbolises Terra, and the God-Emperor – it is he that directs the Chapter. The ball of the mace, figuratively distant from Terra, represents Andocrine. +

 

 

+ The Gatebreaker's Chapter symbol, on Eo Daur's pauldron. +

 

 

+ It's a blunt image, and one that it quite at odds with both the Chapter that I have found here on Andocrine and their would-be Primaris successors. Despite the ready access to the warrior-monks and the extensive material I have gathered on the ephemera of the Chapter, our research has revealed little of value on the Chapter's capabilties or intentions. +

 

 

+ Member-Ordinary Blessings-be Miriode shows a typical left pauldron. +

 

+ It's not even as though things are consistently different. On consultation with my Primaris warders, some things are straight from the book – the Codex Astartes, that is. Tactical markings are scribed on the rear shoulder pad as one might find on a hundred Chapters across the Imperium – but they're accompanied by odd weapon badges. Halm assures me that such markings aren't without precedent; but her digging is going further and further into the past without revealing anything relevant. If it is a known Astartes marking, it hasn't been used in Millennia. +

 

 

+ Member-Ordinary Tening Gyal bears a IX strikeforce plate on his forearm +

 

+ Other markings hint at a organisation unlike that of their Primaris support. Scipius' men are organised in strict squads and companies; you can tick them off like toy soldiers, each one in the right place. +

 

+ Sho's forces, meanwhile, seem quite bemused by this – their fluid approach appears to revolve around temporary Strikeforces, with very little integral formal organisation beyond that. These strikeforces are gathered by officers – though on whose authority or by what agency I do not yet know. + 

 

+ I have many questions for Sho – and for Scipius, too. And yet, I understand that this is a fraught and strained moment of meeting for the two Chapters. I have no desire to prevent an alliance – an alloying – from forming, and delicacy must therefore, for now, be my watchword. +

 

+ [ADDENDA][APPENDNOTE:] No word yet from Taiwo. Has the man received my missive? +

 

+++

[apologist]

The dreaded triple post! 

 

Don't think it's breaking any rules to do three in a row, but just wanted to dive in to do my happy dance about the Crusade Rules a bit here. Bit sad that they've been revealed/spoiled as they have (as it's nice to have a proper bells and whistles reveal), but from what I can gather it's looking like my plan – Gatebreakers accompanied by Inquisitor, Rogue Trader and similar dramatis personae is going to work. 

 

I'm really looking forward to seeing how the army develops; and now we've got a proper release date and confirmed size (50 power level), I've got a deadline and a target. Quick rundown, then:

 

+++

[+Overview of the army+]

• Taiwo, Rogue Trader 
• Barbari Kills, Inquisitor
• Scipius the Unworthy, Gatebreakers Master
• Oto Yeng, Gatebreakers Claviger-Gentle 
• Squad of Gatebreakers – Primaris marines with auto bolters
• Squad of Gatebreakers – Primaris marines with auto bolters
• Squad of Gatebreakers – Primaris marines with bolt rifles
• Squad of Gatebreakers – Primaris marines with astartes chainswords and heavy bolt pistols

The bold stuff is complete. To this core, I'm planning to add a handful of other characters – a banner bearer, for example – Land Raider, Whirlwind, guard platoon and some form of Ecclesiastical presence – perhaps a squad of Sororitas as a bodyguard to a missionary.

 

Not sure how close this is to 50 power level, but I think most of that can fit in. It may be that it's a slow-grow force, and I can gradually add new elements over time. All of this seems to be built into the Crusade style of gaming, so I'm delighted.

Edited July 2, 2020 by apologist

[BadgersinHills]

Good stuff! I'm looking forward to building up my own narrative army, as well as seeing your army grow. :) :)

[Torbenos]

Are the odd weapon badges mentioned in the writing some we can see on the miniatures and I am just blind? Or do those refer to the strikeforce symbols mentioned in the photo.

 

All looks great, of course.

[apologist]

Good stuff! I'm looking forward to building up my own narrative army, as well as seeing your army grow.

 

Thanks BiH – and likewise. What are you planning?

 

Are the odd weapon badges mentioned in the writing some we can see on the miniatures and I am just blind? Or do those refer to the strikeforce symbols mentioned in the photo.

All looks great, of course.

 

Hey Torbenos – yep; the weapon badges are at the front 'corner' of each marine's right shoulder pad. You can see one on the green pauldron of Member-Ordinary Hong Qin here – it's the black and white circular thing.

 

[apologist]

+ Culture seed: Naming Gatebreakers +

 

When deciding on names for the Gatebreakers, I wanted to reflect a couple of critical points about the Chapter:

• The names should distinguish the new Primaris marines of Chapter 333 and the 'ascended' original Astartes. 
• The names should reflect a variety of cultures, as the Gatebreakers' pool of recruits is drawn from multiple worlds. This helps to imply the culture and background of the army without making things explicit.
• The names shouldn't be so varied that there's no sense of place. 

To help with the first point, I decided that the new intake of Primaris marines should have a typical Romano-greek naming convention. Such names are skirting on clichéd, but having something recognisable helps to make the contrast clear.

 

The Astartes' – that is, the old Chapter – names were drawn from two main pools: Far Eastern (Tibetan and Han Chinese) and West African (Yoruba and Igbo). I didn't want this to be tokenistic, so I've applied the same 'futurising' elements I do to European-themed names by tweaking elements. John, for example, is quickly converted to Ion; and likewise Tenzing becomes Tenxing. To me, this helps with suggesting linguistic drift and also (hopefully) avoids any unintended consequences, like accidentally naming a Space Marine after a real person!

 

To stick with the third point, the vast majority of the names are from these three main groupings. That seems sensible – after all, particular intakes of recruits are likely to end up in the same part of the Chapter as they'll be trained and learn to fight together. However, I've also seasoned these with a few one-off names from completely different cultures; representing odd survivors or recruits that – for one reason or another – are on their own.

 

+++

 

Anyway, there's the theory for you. The following is an image-dump of the finished marines with their names and ranks. Member-Ordinary denotes a 'battle-brother', while Member-Cardinal is equivalent to a squad leader or sergeant. 

 

+ Member-Ordinary Akinwande Akinyemi +

 

+ Member-Cardinal Amdu Tsang +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Ion Mariusc +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Song Wen Fo +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Tenxing Gyal +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Eo Daur +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Gbenga Duroti +

 

+ Member-Cardinal Edojah Etinite +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Blessings-be Miriode +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Zhangsui +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Cymon Saturnine +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Odibo Ghene +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Hong Qin +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Coln Brecce +

 

+ Member-Ordinary Tsoltin Milarepa +

 

Painting and developing this Chapter has been a treat, and it's a real pleasure to have the group finished. I hope you like 'em – would love to hear which one's your favourite, and why.

Edited July 3, 2020 by apologist

[BadgersinHills]

 

Good stuff! I'm looking forward to building up my own narrative army, as well as seeing your army grow.

 

Thanks BiH – and likewise. What are you planning?

 

Space Wolves and Mechanicus goodness, growing as a narrative opposite to my Chaos force

 

Got ninja'd by you, haha. I do like more Asian names in sci fi, makes it seem more universal in magnitude.

Edited July 3, 2020 by BadgersinHills

[jaxom]

Ion, because it actually looks like he’s bringing the bolter into his shoulder to appropriately use the forward grip.

[apologist]

Ion, because it actually looks like he’s bringing the bolter into his shoulder to appropriately use the forward grip.

Glad that came across! I was trying to get the new intake to look more modern-world military; but more cautious and ‘tactical’ looking, for want of a better word.

[Torbenos]

Eo Daur obviously stands out as the most distinct of them all with his armour, which lends itself to a lot of character when contrasted to the rest. But I would say Hong Qin is my favourite, the Primaris chest piece looks really imposing with the aquila removed. There is something really solid and industrial about it, makes the marines in question come off as no nonsense. The pose also is lovely, it's popular to try and catch a marine mid reload but difficult to do. And I think you've done it well. He comes of as very calm and collected to me, which evokes a feeling of experience. Marines calmly reloading in the midst of battle.

[Cryptix]

Hey, it's nice to see some more representations from my native culture! Will some of the Librarians be akin to babalawos in Yoruba religion, offering divination and contact with the ancestor spirits to chapter command?

The colors of the gatebreakers even match those of Orunmila, Yoruban Orisha of divination and patron of the babalawos.

Edited July 4, 2020 by Cryptix

[Brother Dallo]

Always nice to see this thread updated.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Dallo

[Lucerne]

I take it the look of the metal is down to the same oil glazing as the armour? :)

[apologist]

Eo Daur obviously stands out as the most distinct of them all with his armour, which lends itself to a lot of character when contrasted to the rest. But I would say Hong Qin is my favourite, the Primaris chest piece looks really imposing with the aquila removed. There is something really solid and industrial about it, makes the marines in question come off as no nonsense. The pose also is lovely, it's popular to try and catch a marine mid reload but difficult to do. And I think you've done it well. He comes of as very calm and collected to me, which evokes a feeling of experience. Marines calmly reloading in the midst of battle.

Thanks Torbenos. Once finances allow – after Indomitus! – I'd like to do a few more conversions from the Plague Marines. The army was intended to be a balance between 'built as intended' Primaris and more involved conversions, and I think I've earned some time at the chopping benches after this batch :)

 

Hey, it's nice to see some more representations from my native culture! Will some of the Librarians be akin to babalawos in Yoruba religion, offering divination and contact with the ancestor spirits to chapter command? The colors of the gatebreakers even match those of Orunmila, Yoruban Orisha of divination and patron of the babalawos.

Hey Cryptix – ah, cool to know! I had been looking into babalawos, but was afraid of it coming across as tokenistic if I went too close to the source, as it were. I'd like to have some hints of the world from which the marines with Yoruba-themed names originate – for personal interest and world-building, if not hing else – so I'd very much appreciate your thoughts, if you have a mo?

 

Having said that, the Chapters' Gnostics – something we'll look at soon, but essentially a combination of a remodelled Librarius and fleet commanders – do include some psychics; and it'd be cool to hint at the babalawos' divination, even if it's not explicitly stated. What I mean by that is that the Chapter is a melting pot of very different cultural groups, so I'm keen to have elements of each, all subsumed within the – deliberately fantasy – world of the 40k galaxy.

 

Always nice to see this thread updated.

Cheers, Dallo. 

 

I take it the look of the metal is down to the same oil glazing as the armour?

Actually, that's much simpler – it's simply Gryphonne/Seraphim Sepia sloshed on alongside Leviathan purple wash. Applying them togehter – that is, wet-in-wet – gives a lovely rich neutral. There are some areas that are more yellow, or more purple; but where they mix, the colours mingle and neutralise to produce a dark.

[apologist]

Using the Core rules that GW released via Warhammer Community, I took the Gatebreakers out for a test game, which you can read on + Death of a Rubricist +:

 

+ The Fall of Djaih Principal +

 

If you can't (or don't want to) click through to my blog, here are some highlights!

 

 

 

 

[apologist]

Received a very kind gift earlier in the week, so have been sprucing up a Land Raider to fit into the Gatebreakers. Knowing it was on the way, I'd made an order with Zinge Industries for some hatches and bits, and attached these too. The Zinge hatch fitted nicely, and I think it works well as an example of the sort of variation that you'd get in the 41st Millennium; a minor tweak added by a particular Forgeworld, or owing to inferior replacement parts after battle damage was sustained. Adding such differences inherently personalises the kit and starts to suggest character and history.

 

 

I would dearly love to add some modern sponsons, from the Sicaran or Land Raider Proteus kit, as I think the guns are the weakest part of the original design. Unfortunately I've thus far been unable to source any, so in the interests of getting on, I've retained the originals. If I do ever find a set for a decent price, I'll likely revisit the tank – another fringe benefit of being happy to work with second-hand stuff is that you tend to get a lot happier to treat your own work in the same way!

 

The remainder of the process was simple. I pinned the notoriously flimsy and floppy lascannon sponsons, and drilled out the barrels. In terms of updating and greebling, I covered the other hatch hole with doors pinched from a Chimera, and added modern auto-launchers and a searchlight.

 

 

The other obvious addition is the amount of stowage. There's no real plan for this, beyond deciding you want to do it. I looked at some pictures of World War II and Vietnam War tanks to get an idea of where things would go. The original kit has big spaces – presumably for stowage – on the front near the tracks, so I filled these (it seemed likely to me that the crew would use these first, after all) with some jerry cans and crates. Liking the look, I began adding more, placing the crates in places that seemed to make sense: on the front, where the kit provides primitive extra armour; and on the top.

 

When placing the stowage, I was mindful that it didn't look too neat. That wouldn't fit with the impression I wanted to give – of a faithful old tank that has been heavily burdened with everything a strikeforce might need – and would also have read slightly oddly; as though the crates had been carefully placed, rather than heaved on top wherever they'd fit. There's also a consideration of realism. I'm never hugely slavish to this – after all, these are space knights – but you want things to have some verisimilitude. Would Space Marines really sling ammo crates on the front of their tank, or block a hatch with them? Unlikely – but I decided that the visuals outweighed that consideration. If it annoys you, then put it down to typical 40k ignorance!

 

 

Speaking of the balance of realism, you'll probably spot the candles. I wanted to get some of the general 40k insanity into the build, but integrate that with the (to the 40k mind) very practical nature of spiritualism. The addition of little shrines to the machine spirits has some visuals in common with the Roman household gods – the lares and penates; and similarly with Shintoism. Since the Gatebreakers have a mix of Far Eastern cultural referents, this seemed to fit quite nicely, tieing in lots of different threads.

 

The candles are mounted in three main places, representing different machine spirits. The principal space is the 'ruling spirit' of the Land Raider itself, and this is represented with the large cluster of votive candles at the front of the tank. I picture this being directly above what we might recognise as some advanced form of fire control system. There's a smaller one, with fewer candles, next to the searchlight; to honour the simpler spirit of this addition. Finally, the engine block has a purity seal (I think of it as a grim, dark MOT certificate) and more candles.

Edited July 10, 2020 by apologist

[SvenIronhand]

Wow! I love the lore, the sort of sinister-but-not-quite feeling it gives you. Stuff like their "holy book" being different from person to person really gives them some flavor.

[Grim Dog Studios]

Everything about these guys are brilliant. The lore is top notch, as is the paint scheme. I love how you have taken an otherwise bright and eye-catching scheme and made it suitably grimdark with the weathering.

This thread and your Blood Angels are a couple of a few threads on the forums that has finally inspired me to actually buy some Primaris marines to convert into a 40K True Scale army! Hopefully I can do them half as much justice as you have!

[Deadass]

The converted Land Raider looks neat. Good job on bringing it in line with the newer models! Are you planning something of the sort for the Dreadnought?

[apologist]

Wow! I love the lore, the sort of sinister-but-not-quite feeling it gives you. Stuff like their "holy book" being different from person to person really gives them some flavor.

Cheers, SvenIronhand – much appreciated. I always think that the models get me enthused to write, and the writing gets me enthused to build. Lovely little virtuous circle!

 

Everything about these guys are brilliant. The lore is top notch, as is the paint scheme. I love how you have taken an otherwise bright and eye-catching scheme and made it suitably grimdark with the weathering.

This thread and your Blood Angels are a couple of a few threads on the forums that has finally inspired me to actually buy some Primaris marines to convert into a 40K True Scale army! Hopefully I can do them half as much justice as you have!

Again, very kind. Good luck with the build; are you planning an existing Chapter, or one of your own?

 

The converted Land Raider looks neat. Good job on bringing it in line with the newer models! Are you planning something of the sort for the Dreadnought?

Thanks, AHorriblePerson. I'm in two minds about the dreadnought. Since he's neither a man, nor a tank, I can't decide how to treat him... like a marine, or like a vehicle?

[Grim Dog Studios]

 

Everything about these guys are brilliant. The lore is top notch, as is the paint scheme. I love how you have taken an otherwise bright and eye-catching scheme and made it suitably grimdark with the weathering.

This thread and your Blood Angels are a couple of a few threads on the forums that has finally inspired me to actually buy some Primaris marines to convert into a 40K True Scale army! Hopefully I can do them half as much justice as you have!

 

Again, very kind. Good luck with the build; are you planning an existing Chapter, or one of your own?

 

 

I'm going to be doing my own! I have been planning a DIY chapter for a little over 2 years and have slowly been amassing notes of what I want and the lore behind it. It was originally going to be a full MK VI beakie army, but think I'm going to go for a MK IV feel similar to your Word Bearers, with the shaved down torsos and MK IV Helmets/Backpacks.

 

Also, can't wait to see the next update! I saw your Marines on the Hobby Round-Up the other week, and it was great to see a B&C Members work getting noticed by the powers that be!