'No Impediment to Progress' – The Gatebreakers

[jaxom]

I wouldn't have thought about putting a MkV helmet on a chaplain, but it works really well.

[BadgersinHills]

Chaplain looks incredible - A head turn does wonders for that already good model. Love your stuff as usual.

 

By the way I saw k0rdhal's post on Instagram with his Necrons having a claviger-mace! Now that sounds sinister. 

[hushrong]

I definitely want to copy your MkIII upgrade from the primaris torso! I already loved using your terminator tutorial so would not mind making more big marines!

 

And the MkV helm on that chaplain looks fitting. Studded and rugged as a battle chaplain should be!

[Torbenos]

Out of curiousity, what chapter tactics do you imagine for the gatebreakers mechanics wise? One of the first founding ones? Or two custom combinations?

[Sandalphon]

All coming together @apologist! Look forward to seeing what else you do with the indomitus set :)

 

Consistently inspirational.

[Xin Ceithan]

I definitely want to copy your MkIII upgrade from the primaris torso! I already loved using your terminator tutorial so would not mind making more big marines!

 

And the MkV helm on that chaplain looks fitting. Studded and rugged as a battle chaplain should be!

This. Definitely this!

[apologist]

I wouldn't have thought about putting a MkV helmet on a chaplain, but it works really well.

Alongside mark II, Heresy plate is a favourite of mine. Always looks brutal.

 

Chaplain looks incredible - A head turn does wonders for that already good model. Love your stuff as usual.

By the way I saw k0rdhal's post on Instagram with his Necrons having a claviger-mace! Now that sounds sinister. 

And not just any claviger; but Monstrance, most revered and holy of all. How did Uridimmu manage that, I wonder... 

 

...furthermore, what did the Gatebreakers get in return?

 

 

I definitely want to copy your MkIII upgrade from the primaris torso! I already loved using your terminator tutorial so would not mind making more big marines!

And the MkV helm on that chaplain looks fitting. Studded and rugged as a battle chaplain should be!

 

The Mark III torso was easier than I thought it would be. 

I ended up using a spot of greenstuff, but I think it could be done purely with knifework and poly cement.

 

Out of curiousity, what chapter tactics do you imagine for the gatebreakers mechanics wise? One of the first founding ones? Or two custom combinations?

 

Beyond a bit of musing, I haven't really thought that far. I think something that captures their hit-and-run/void assault preferences would be fitting, but I don't know. I guess I'll have to buy the Codex at some point and make a decision! IF you've got any thoughts, I'd be very happy to hear them.

 

All coming together @apologist! Look forward to seeing what else you do with the indomitus set  Consistently inspirational.

Too kind! :)

Indomitus is very tempting, but I really want to get through the following batch first:

 

Once that's complete, I'll have a solid core of troops and can start playing with leaders and elites. I've got a solid plan for the bladeguard, in particular.

[Brother Dallo]

I take it you’re aware that the new Marine codex is dropping in October? Probably worth holding off buying the codex until the new one drops, to save you some money.

 

In terms of rules, White Scars might give you the mobility you’re looking for?

 

Dallo

[jaxom]

 

Out of curiousity, what chapter tactics do you imagine for the gatebreakers mechanics wise? One of the first founding ones? Or two custom combinations?

 

Beyond a bit of musing, I haven't really thought that far. I think something that captures their hit-and-run/void assault preferences would be fitting, but I don't know. I guess I'll have to buy the Codex at some point and make a decision! IF you've got any thoughts, I'd be very happy to hear them.

 

That's definitely a perk of a DIY chapter; you can play around with your options and see what feels right. Reading and seeing what've you shared with us, my immediate reaction was the successor chapter half tactic that let units advance and ignore the penalty to firing Assault weapons (Rapid Assault) and then one of the close combat oriented half tactics.

[apologist]

+ Castaway +

 

Not his real name, of course. Didn't share that readily, and among others I pay him the respect he's earned. Picked him up at the Core, in the Nereid-Secundus region, so a trip to the Endworlds of the Rim proved quite a culture shock for him. His pragmatism has repeatedly proved useful. A techpriest's handy to have around, but Castaway's both handy with a wrench and – more importantly when under whisperlance fire – more willing to bypass tech-canticles.

 

We met on Breccia. Little to recommend it beyond its mineral riches. Low flora, high gravity. You'd wake in a panic, stars in your vision. Breathing felt like an animal was squatting on your chest. Infinite drifts of microscopic dust necessitated airlocks and bulky rebreathers almost everywhere; and still your spit would be terracotta. 

 

The inhabitants? Homo sapiens rotundus. Kinsmen, or thronglings, to themselves. Squats, to you or me. It was an outpost, a pioneer settlement of prickly, short-tempered and belligerent people. They seemed to have picked up and internalised the oppressive atmosphere of the planet. It was pure happenstance that I'd made landfall – I'd had to abandon a starcraft following a disagreement with naval security, and my hastily-secured shuttle required some repairs. 

 

I met Castaway in the cold dock. He was a visitor too, and slightly more agreeable company than the gruff, masked Breccians. I say visitor, but survivor's probably closer to the truth. A greenskin crusade had reportedly broken over his homeworld – itself in some backwater sub called Antona Australis – and he'd found himself unable to return. 

 

 

We met as I attempted to find some way off the rock. Castaway had much the same idea, and over the local brew, Brunski, myself and he concocted a plan of sorts. Like most of my favoured acolyte's plans, it started with persuasion and ended with lasers. Suffice to say we emerged minus a shuttle, but plus a curiously handy engineer and his comrade.

 

 

+++

 

I take it you’re aware that the new Marine codex is dropping in October? Probably worth holding off buying the codex until the new one drops, to save you some money.
In terms of rules, White Scars might give you the mobility you’re looking for? Dallo

 

Vaguely aware, didn't know it had a date on, so thank you. In that case, I'll hold on 'til release. Hopefully the background will have been fleshed out by then to better suggest what's appropriate.

 

That's definitely a perk of a DIY chapter; you can play around with your options and see what feels right. Reading and seeing what've you shared with us, my immediate reaction was the successor chapter half tactic that let units advance and ignore the penalty to firing Assault weapons (Rapid Assault) and then one of the close combat oriented half tactics.

 

Certainly sounds sensible; thanks for the input. :)

[BadgersinHills]

Liking the fluff and will be interesting to see how the little collab between you and k0rhal develops the fluff of the Gatebreakers. Getting a good core of troops is one of the things I really like about the hobby, and your troops look lovely! :) 

[Xin Ceithan]

Going for tech-heresy and bypassing the sacred laws of the Omnissiah already? With those stunted abhumans?This can't end well ;)

 

Very nice, down to earth squat there! Also looking forward to what sort of terror a "whisper-lance" is!

[apologist]

Liking the fluff and will be interesting to see how the little collab between you and k0rhal develops the fluff of the Gatebreakers. Getting a good core of troops is one of the things I really like about the hobby, and your troops look lovely!

Much appreciated – and I hope to be able to share Kordhal's stuff here too (or get him to post it!).

 

Speaking of getting the core done, things are progressing:

 

This murky, dingy picture shows the next batch of components all oiled up and ready to be cleaned down. I – rather foolishly – painted the metal prior to the oil, so I suspect quite a lot of that will come off as I use the white spirit. The perils of experimentation, I suppose.

 

A close-up of the heads on sprue. Feels very odd to be painting this way, but it's still got novelty value for me, so interest is being kept up!

 

 

The wide-ranging recruitment methods mean the Chapter is hugely varied in skintones, so having them all on sprue allowed me to really have fun jumping around. Top left of the image above was built up from an ochre base (Averland Sunset) with Army Painter Mummy Robes (a lovely creamy brown-tinged white). A wash of Seraphim Sepia and some pink hints gave a nice smooth result. For the very dark skintone on the top right head here, I used a base of dark brown (Rhinox Hide) and green (Vallejo Flat Green), and added orange (Fire Dragon Bright) as I highlighted up. The fresh scarring was achieved with Vallejo Flat Red and Vallejo Off-white added to the mix. The same flat red was used to add warmth to the cheeks, nose and lower lip, too. 

 

The head on the lower left combined Averland Sunset and Rhinox Hide, and was then highlighted up with Off-white before being glazed back down with washes of Seraphim Sepia. The head on the lower right was painted over a Rhinox Hide layer, using increasingly light mixes of Vallejo Flat Red, Off-white and Averland Sunset.

 

 

Going for tech-heresy and bypassing the sacred laws of the Omnissiah already? With those stunted abhumans?This can't end well

Very nice, down to earth squat there! Also looking forward to what sort of terror a "whisper-lance" is!

Ta very much – and judging by her comrades, Barbari Kills is clearly an eminently practical woman!

[deathspectersgt7]

Love this apologist. Always get inspiration from you and Doghouse threads. Doing a crusade to retake the Blackstone fortress. Will be mixing it up with primaris and normal marines. Odds and ends characters

[apologist]

+ The Tenets of the Ten Divine Princes +

 

 

Septival and Coriolanus, Kills' attendant Space Marine bodymen, no longer looked alike. Two years of hard fighting on the nebulous frontier had seen the pair adapt to the realities of their new situation. During the counter-invasion of Munda Ostiona, Septival had been honoured by Gnostic Deacon for ferocity in the face of the brutalist Rhigim. It seemed to Kills that he wore his relic plate with a swollen chest; still more upright than before.

 

It was more than mere armour detail, though. During the brief period the Ninth Strikeforce had operated alongside the Chapter Master's own Strikeforce, in patrols of the Shin-Xiao Expanse, Coriolanus had been seconded to Sho's own force – pointedly, it appeared to the Inquisitor; as though the Master was goading her. On his return, the space marine had a slightly different air. Not openly evasive, but his words seemed more considered. Kills wondered whether she was unconsciously reacting to him differently.

 

'The Tenets, mistress? We have spoken of this before.' His head, still shorn in the style of the Core, was unhelmed. Adaptive souls, these Primaris, Haim had mused, privately. Her acolyte was right. Every day the two groups of Gatebreakers seemed to become more alike. Under the auspices of Yeng and his fellow Gentles of the Gatebreakers strange apothecarion, more and more of the Astartes were undergoing the Rubicon process. As the resulting ruinous casualty rating climbed, the Primaris were perforce integrated into Strikeforces, and then squads; rooting themselves more deeply in their adopted place.

 

Conversely, the Primaris were finding what the old Chapter had long-known – that resupply was rare and supply lines were thin. Practicality saw weapons swapped for more reliable and plentiful alternatives, and the techpriest-led forges were hard at work adapting to the new armoury.

 

'We have; and I ask again,' replied Kills to Coriolanus. 'You were a devotee of the Codex Astartes prior to your deployment. Why the change?' The space marine's face remained blank.

 

'It is no change, Inquisitor.' He replied, mildly. 'The Tenets are a form of the Codex; and can be read alongside them. More literary, perhaps, but the fundamentals of adaptat...' 

 

'I see little evidence of cross-comparison, Coriolanus,' the Inquisitor interrupted. 'Your time seems hard-spent in transcribing the Tenets.' The space marine looked pained.

 

'That is true, Inquisitor. There is, however, nothing to hide. I have long ago committed the Codex to memory, while the Tenets remain raw to me.'

 

'Agreed, mistress. The discipline of our Chapter is not competing with that of our training.' Septival put in, 'It complements and alloys with it.'

 

Kills was sceptical, but not suspicious. She had requested – and been granted – leave to study both her bodymen's nascent copies of the Tenets. They were filled merely with the aphorisms and bon mots of generations of Andocrine wisdom; long-dead sages and warrior-poets. It was hardly great literature, to the Inquisitrix's taste, but she could see its value in teaching interpretation to the indoctrinated. 

 

Kills was no monodominant. She had long ago concluded that the practicalities of Imperium meant that faith and loyalty trumped almost any trespass in style; doubly so for an entity as independent as a space marine Chapter. Alongside her historilogician Haim, Kills had read through the Tenets, and found no sinister trace of heresy amongst the prose and verse. Although the conception of the Primarchs as Divine Princes – and ten of them – had initially unnerved her, she had been reassured by their occluded relationship to the orthodox teachings of the Ecclesiarchy. 

 

In the Lay of Hayagriever, for example, the Gatebreaker's symbolist tale of a Divine Prince invariably – and gratingly repetitively – described as 'swift, secretive and powerful', Haim had teased out roots familiar to those told in the wider Imperium attributed to Corvus Corax or Jaghati Khan. The name of the first Divine Prince; Kali-Bahn, had similarly raised a smirk of satisfied recognition on the Inquisitor's face. Others were more troublesome. Chemos, the proud and quick to anger Fourth Prince, had raised concern, but Kills' concerns over the dubious associations had been somewhat allayed by the clear blending of tales of at least two different Primarchs. She would not sanction a Chapter over veiled myths – indeed, she judged that raising an alarm on such flimsy grounds would more likely highlight and spread the problem as resolve it.

 

As for the others... 'Well,' Kills had said to her acolyte, 'as much as is strange about the surface; the core has survived.' 

'Mutatis mutandis, Barbari.' Haim had agreed. 'The Gatebreakers' ways are odd, but such might be explained by cultural drift typical of their isolation.'

 

The memory reassured Kills, but she was far from equianimous. It was not the form of the Tenets that bothered Barbari; but the change in Coriolanus since his return.

 

+++

 

+ Work in progress: Septival and Coriolanus +

Ideas sometimes stem from writing, and these two marines are a perfect example. Introduced to give Kills someone to interact with in her first story, these two have played on my mind. They're symbols of Chapter 333's integration with the Gatebreakers – or to put it another way, they're 'normal' Primaris space marines who serve to introduce us to the Gatebreakers culture.

 

Being Primaris from the Core Imperium, I gave them both typical Latin-dervied High Gothic names. When I decided to build them, I wanted to blend the clean lines of the Primaris intake with some of the more rough-and-ready elements of the original Gatebreakers.

 

Member-Ordinary Coriolanus

 

To that end, Coriolanus is virtually stock Primaris, but with a substitute boltgun for his bolt rifle, and with additional charms on his belt. He has removed his helm – a reduction in battlefield discipline, but it reveals a clean, shaven head and stereotypical space marine colouring.

 

Member-Ordinary Septival

 

Septival is outwardly more integrated with the Gatebreakers, replacement shoulder and chest plates marking him as honoured – and more importantly, being visually distinct without being obviously different from other marines.

 

Both require detailing – markings, some more work on Coriolanus' boltgun, and basing – but they're nearly ready to join their brethren. I'll likely add some form of mark to indicate their status as Inquisitrix Barbari Kills' bodyguards. Perhaps an Inquisitorial I, or similar. I don't want it to be too dominant – my vision for the Gatebreakers is not opulent at all; quite grounded – so finding a simple icon is probably best. 

 

+++

+ Thought for the day: 'Cherish those hearts that hate thee// Corruption wins not more than honesty.' +

Edited August 5, 2020 by apologist

[BadgersinHills]

Lovely stuff! I like the Sanskrit references and whatnot, nice to recognise words I know in the 42nd million. :)

Edited August 5, 2020 by BadgersinHills

[Torbenos]

It continues to be excellent, of course. You write a compelling story of the less seen sides of the Imperium.

 

As for Chapter Tactics, from the current codex I mainly envision Stalwart to be appropiate with the Chapter's focus on survival and resilience, you must be to endure as they have after all. I believe in the game the trait makes it so rolls of 1 and 2 always fails to wound. 

[SvenIronhand]

Just a question, have you considered putting the Gatebreakers up on the Homebrew Wiki? Or would that reveal too much?

[apologist]

Lovely stuff! I like the Sanskrit references and whatnot, nice to recognise words I know in the 42nd million.

Ta. I'm enjoying adding it in for a richer flavour, alongside other languages. It's nice to have the whole gamut of human history to play with!

 

It continues to be excellent, of course. You write a compelling story of the less seen sides of the Imperium.

 

As for Chapter Tactics, from the current codex I mainly envision Stalwart to be appropiate with the Chapter's focus on survival and resilience, you must be to endure as they have after all. I believe in the game the trait makes it so rolls of 1 and 2 always fails to wound. 

Thanks, Torbenos, very kind. I like the sound of those; it seems to make sense. I'll likely see whether they make it across to the new Codex (as it's likely that'll be out before I have much chance to play).

 

Just a question, have you considered putting the Gatebreakers up on the Homebrew Wiki? Or would that reveal too much?

While I like to put a bit of mystery into the narrative (to reflect the Chapter's nature, and Barbari Kills' status as an outsider), there's nothing inherently secret – you can check out the Index Astartes on this very forum if you'd like a bit more on the Gatebreakers as a Chapter. I haven't heard of the Homebrew Wiki before; thanks for the heads-up.

[apologist]

+COMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILERCOMPILER+

 

+Chronostamp:ABSENTIA+

 

+SPOOLING transmission.+

 

+–re you picking this up? Respond. All channels occup–+

+–that infernal noise? Sounds like... like clockw–+

 

 

 

 

+++

 

According to the Gnostic's masterpiece auspex-organ, nothing was coming back from the gate. Quite literally. Not even static. The background radiation was utterly absent; a literal zero. Doubtless this accounted for the chill. 

 

Kills shivered. In her heated, sealed, stuffy atmosphere suit, it was quite unnecessary. However, like coughing to break a silence, it felt somehow humanising; as though introducing some measure of useless movement, of entropy, would break the hex of this perfect, disquieting order. For ordered it was, undoubtedly. 

 

Though his vox-clicks were muffled by the dead air, the Gnostic was busy. At his words, the Strikeforce coiled back in, ghosting back towards Kills and her team.

 

The monolithic structures were straight, and clean. Again, disquietingly so. These were not straight in an every-day architectural way, but suffused with an unsettling purity of geometry; as though the walls and corners themselves were manifested mathematics; avataric emblems of some unaccountably Other reality.

 

Absently, she brushed her hand against the Inquisitorial seal, concealed beneath her cloak. It felt like wax, and vellum, and familiarity. For a symbol powerful enough to end worlds, she thought, with a grin, you feel positively wholesome.

 

+++

 

Besides the Chapter markings, gunsights and tufts on the bases, the next batch of Gatebreakers are complete (hurrah). I'll hold off background and names until they are genuinely finished (looking at the Gnostic above, a bit of battle damage needs further refining, too), but I wanted to show 'em off!

 

 

 

The new intake: two are on assignation to Inquisitrix Barbari Kills, one's the Strikeforce's Gnostic (a sort of non-psychic Librarian/Lieutenant hybrid, in charge of battlefield organisation and record-keeping). The remaining four are more Intercessors to bulk out the squads.

 

 

[BadgersinHills]

Excellent. :) 

[apologist]

+ Inquisitrix Barbari Kills +

 

 

'If you have good sense, you'll quietly put this book back where you found it and creep away. You'll find more questions than answers inside – and that's exactly what got me started pulling on a thread that led to this accursed rosette.'

– Preface to Inquisitor B. Kills' Comments, 1st edition

 

'If you find, written in my obituary, that I led a blameless life, look for the footnote. I'd like it made clear that I regard being blameless as an act of cowardice bordering on deviance. Every moral agent must make account for her actions – that is, after all, at the root of the Inquisition's mission.'

 

'Oh, and make sure that I'm buried with my boots and a knife – y'know, just in case.'  

 

– Preface to Inquisitor B. Kills' Comments, 2nd edition

 

+++

 

It's always tricky making a model of a character you like, and Kills has a healthy dose of humour and punky irreverence that makes her quite refreshing for this fairly po-faced setting. On top of that, quite a lot of the narrative of my little corner of 40k revolves around a scant few characters, of which Kills is one. Clearly I had my work cut out.
 

 
Practicality and adaptation are keywords for Kills – what better companion to reflect that than a Squat? Coriolanus and Septival similarly serve to blend the Inquisitor in with the broader army.  These characters fill different spaces around the character, and start to fill things in by reflecting on her.
 
For example, I initially toyed with having Kills in long robes, but the more I built her entourage, the more I felt she needed more of an action pose. I'm considering revising the models of Brunski and Haim in light of Kills' completed model. Keeping things flexible and fluid enough to respond to changes is useful.
 
I really enjoy going all out on my Inquisitors (Unfortunus Veck is another example) and pushing my skills to best reflect the unique qualities of these exceptional individuals.  In particular, I'm very keen that these conversions fit two criteria:

• It should look like a model you could buy, rather than a conversion. While parts might be identifiable, I don't want it to be immediately recognisable as a conversion of another model. 
• It gets the character of the figure across.

I'll leave you to judge whether I've been successful!
 
 

 

The poncho is the most obvious thing here, and I think it is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of composition. It adds dynamism and movement to an otherwise fairly staid pose, and creates a sense of drama; suggesting the pistol has just been whipped out from beneath it. Secondly, it reveals something about the setting: it has a frontier feel, like a cowboy or prospector. This is backed up with the heavy boots and practical all-weather clothing. Finally, it being blown up reveals a mass of unusual equipment and pouches, which speak to Kill's self-reliance and preparedness.
 

 

Complementing the revealed pistol is the Inquisitorial rosette – Kills strikes me as the sort of Inquisitor who realises that by the time you reveal your identity, it's best to have a gun drawn too! I also liked the fact that the rosette would normally be hidden beneath the poncho; again telling us something about her character and methods.
 
The pistol is a good example of hiding the provenance of something. The stock bit is from the Primaris apothecary, but trimming away the bells and whistles leaves it as a simple, stocky, brutal-looking handgun.
 
 

It's worth noting that this is pre-greenstuff. It's been too hot to work comfortably recently, and in any case, it's sometimes nice to step back, consider the figure in front of you, and build a plan before ploughing on with putty. Having a bit of breathing space can help you see the composition more objectively.
 
I'm tempted to do some hair; perhaps something asymmetrical, to distance the head from the stock bit. At the very least I'll fill in the hole left by trimming away the back socket; and likely fill in a couple of the holes in the poncho.
 

Visible here, attached to her belt, is her extendable power maul. Besides being easily hidden, I thought this brutal club seemed much more in keeping with Kills' slightly punky character than an elegant sword. It's also a nice nod to the Gatebreakers, the army with which she is associated for this project.
 
The book, I think, is an important prop – it stops her looking too 'combatty'. She is, after all, an Inquisitor (or Inquisitrix, to use her preferred appellation), and her role is primarily investigative.
 

 

Overall, I'm really pleased with how she came together. The conversion work itself was time-consuming, but it's so satisfying when parts that you've identified end up working together well. As mentioned above, while I'm going to go in with some greenstuff, there's not nearly as much gap-filling and sculpting work necessary as I had initially planned for.
 
I hope that she matches up with your mental images from the colour text that's she's appeared in. I'd love to hear what you think.

Edited August 13, 2020 by apologist

[WAR]

Thats a very awesome dynamic pose and diffently looks like it was store bought and not made. Once shes all  greenstuffed up the minor modifications you mentioned i think she will be amazing. 

[Disruptor_fe404]

Almost perfect for my mental picture of her; in my mind she also has a ponytail to go with her 'hawk. Not sure why, it's just what I pictured while imagining her...

[deathspectersgt7]

Great model of her. It fits how I see her in your writing. Agree with Disrutor a pony tail would fit well.