IA: Imperial Hunters (LASC 2021)

[Dosjetka]

Outline/skeleton (note that most of the content below has been randomly generated using the Deathwatch RPG Chapter Creation tool):

Battle-Brother Kolos Novosad, 6th Company (Reserve)

History:

• 26th Founding (M41);
• Created to join the Adeptus Praeses around the Eye of Terror;
• Sent to stand in for the destroyed Black Consuls;
• Figure of Legend: Chapter Master (stalwart enemy of the servants of Chaos, slew a Daemon Prince);

Home World:

• Home world: Feral ice planet;
• Maintain distant rule, preferring to keep their stock as "pure" as possible;

Gene-seed:

• Ultramarines gene-stock, but inexplicably altered;
• Scions of Mars (close to the AdMech, affinity with tech) -> perhaps the AdMech are keeping a close eye on their genetic test-subjects, in case something goes wrong?
• Lost zygote: Oolitic kidney -> all Marines are less resistant to toxins, but lack of the oolitic kidney can also lead to implant malfunction/rejection and organ failure;

Organisation:

• Followers of the Codex Astartes;
• Favour close combat, relentless;
• Quick reaction is the hallmark of this Chapter;
• Nominal Chapter strength;

Combat Doctrine:

• Favour strength and cunning;
• Chapter Friends: Imperial Guard raised from a specific world;
• Chapter Enemies: Eldar Corsairs (specific group);

Beliefs:

• Revere the Emperor above all;

Battle-cry:

• "Forward, for the glory of the Emperor!"

Name, Heraldry, & Livery:

• Chapter name adjectives: Sable, Fiery, Omega, Brothers, Millennial, Mailed, White, Bloody, War, Imperial;
• Chapter name nouns: Marauders, Brothers, Sons, name of its Chapter's home world, Hunters;
• Heraldry: raven, chalice, talon, clenched fist, sword;
• Livery: orange & dark pink.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Does the loss of the oolitic kidney make the Marines more dependant on augmetic organs- and thus, the Tech-priests responsible for their manufacture- to filter toxins from the Marines' bodies?

 

Was the Chapter

secretly founded with Emperor's Children gene-seed

? Pink is considered a feminine color, and

associated with Slaanesh worshipers

.

 

Why use such bright and clashing colors? Does the Chapter planet have a creature bearing such colors, as a warning it's venomous and/or poisonous, and the Marines' adopted the colors to warn enemies what fate awaits them (ironic, considering the Marines' vulnerability to toxins)?

[Gamiel]

? Pink is considered a feminine color, and

Not in all culture or ages, it was seen as a masculen colour for a long time in Europa for example. 

 

associated with Slaanesh worshipers

.

By that logic could you not use green since it's associated with Nurgle, or red since it's associated with Khorne

[Doctor Perils]

It's certainly a surprising colour scheme but it does actually work quite well. I'd perhaps call it a "magenta" rather than dark pink, if that can alleviate any ascendency fears? I do think the stone-coloured Aquila works well with the scheme, it adds a welcome bit of desaturation to an already pretty busy colour scheme :)

 

Do you think the "Hunters" section of the name might come from recruitment practices on their feral world, or from their combat practices (persueing the Corsairs for instance), or are the two inextricably linked? Or perhaps something else entirely, like the founding chapter master happened to like hunting mega-deer and ultra-rabits in his spare time?

Any particular element of their history making them paragons of the Imperium to merit the title "Imperial" in their name?

[Gamiel]

Any ideas about Chapter culture, naming tradition, quirks, or such? How has stationed near the Eye of Terror as part of the Adeptus Praeses affected them? What's their relationship with the rest of the Adeptus Praeses?

 

 

 

Maintain distant rule, preferring to keep their stock as "pure" as possible;

This ^ could be becouse of this:

Ultramarines gene-stock, but inexplicably altered;

Also, could see "preferring to keep their stock as "pure" as possible;" leding to a distain of mutants and/or abhumans and an unwillingness to work with them, maybe openly hostile toward them, no matter how loyal they are.

 

 

Lost zygote: Oolitic kidney -> all Marines are less resistant to toxins, but lack of the oolitic kidney can also lead to implant malfunction/rejection and organ failure;

Could see this leading to them having more than normal amount of apothecaries

 

 

Chapter Friends: Imperial Guard raised from a specific world.

Any idea which IG regiment? 

 

 

Revere the Emperor above all;

Do they belive the Emperor is divine or do they "just" venerate him as more than a man but not a god?

Edited February 21, 2021 by Gamiel

[Urauloth]

Off to an interesting start with these guys. Is it a problem that they share a low gothic name with the Legio Solaria?

[Zebulon]

I like the colour scheme, but it does seem an odd choice for a chapter from an ice planet maybe? It looks more suitable to a tropical setting...?

 

I also wonder whether the orange parts of the armour could be painted in copper tones rather than orange, potentially?

 

If close to the AdMech would a Mechrite Red be a suitable alternative to pink? Your call though, I think the pink is just swell and is anyway a hot pink rather than the baby pink more usually associated with the Slaaneshi types.

 

What’s this “inexplicably altered” gene stock - more info please??

[Gamiel]

I like the colour scheme, but it does seem an odd choice for a chapter from an ice planet maybe? It looks more suitable to a tropical setting...?

Now, a Chapters colour don’t need to have anything with their homeworld but here are some possibilities connect the colour pink to their homeworld:

+ for some reason (chemicals, microorganisms, such) is the ice on the world pink

+ one of the more notable predators (or maybe all?) on the world is pink in colour

+ the rock that the Chapter’s fortress monastery is built of/carved into (or maybe just decorated with) is pink

+ pink is seen as a royal/divine colour by the natives

+ pink is seen as the colour of the dead and the natives see the SM as revenants

+ aurora effects on the planet are mostly pink and orange and the natives believe the Chapter/honoured dead/the Emperor lives beyond the aurora

 

If close to the AdMech would a Mechrite Red be a suitable alternative to pink? Your call though, I think the pink is just swell and is anyway a hot pink rather than the baby pink more usually associated with the Slaaneshi types.

Or maybe pink is the colour of the lockal Forge World?

Edited February 23, 2021 by Gamiel

[Zebulon]

Agreed, I guess my thinking was going back to the age old argument about camouflage; sure, Marines don’t need it, but why give up a potential advantage? Then again, perhaps despite being from an Ice Planet, they never fight there and have somehow gained mastery in desert combat.

 

Or, as you say, myriad other possible reasons for their colours. Some of those are quite interesting options by way of explanations.

[Gamiel]

Agreed, I guess my thinking was going back to the age old argument about camouflage; sure, Marines don’t need it, but why give up a potential advantage?

Camoflage is something you cover up your armour colours with, not something you can have permanent. I mean the Raptors' green colours (which so many seems to praice as camo) are worthless in any environment but forest/jungle (and only forests/jungles with green vegetation). We see them sticking out with their green armour on a Forge World board in one of the WD not so long ago.

 

We have many illustrations and at least some lore talking about how marines cover their colours in camouflage but it's a bit hard to do that in the game since then you need to repaint them for each new table, wich mean that it's just easier to have them in their main colours and say that they have camo in the story but in the game they seem with out it.

[Dosjetka]

Hello folks! :)

 

Just wanted to pop in to thank all who've commented so far on my very basic draft. I really do appreciate it. :tu:

 

Currently quite busy with work and other projects here on the B&C but I'll be sure to post an adequate reply to all of your ideas and questions by the end of next week.

 

Thanks again and take care!

[Brother Lunkhead]

Very fine outline Brother Dos

 

Livery: Orange and Dark Pink ...... the dreaded "pink" word. If I were a betting man I'd wager that if you had said "light burgundy" no one would notice. It's a good color combo and I think they compliment each other well...... It is however, uncomfortably close to the livery of one of my own chapters, so you have to change it

 

Looking forward to seeing more.

[Gamiel]

Livery: Orange and Dark Pink ...... the dreaded "pink" word. If I were a betting man I'd wager that if you had said "light burgundy" no one would notice. 

There is also cerise :P

[Dosjetka]

Does the loss of the oolitic kidney make the Marines more dependant on augmetic organs- and thus, the Tech-priests responsible for their manufacture- to filter toxins from the Marines' bodies?

 

Was the Chapter

secretly founded with Emperor's Children gene-seed

? Pink is considered a feminine color, and

associated with Slaanesh worshipers

.

 

Why use such bright and clashing colors? Does the Chapter planet have a creature bearing such colors, as a warning it's venomous and/or poisonous, and the Marines' adopted the colors to warn enemies what fate awaits them (ironic, considering the Marines' vulnerability to toxins)?

Cheers, Bjorn.

 

Re: oolitic kidney, I think it'll be a mix of artificial replacement organ and chemical anti-toxins added to their armour alongside its usual stimm/combat drugs supply.

 

Re: pink, I couldn't decide on which colours to pick for my Chapter so I randomly generated two. Orange and pink were the resulting choices.

 

 

? Pink is considered a feminine color, and

Not in all culture or ages, it was seen as a masculen colour for a long time in Europa for example. 

 

associated with Slaanesh worshipers

.

By that logic could you not use green since it's associated with Nurgle, or red since it's associated with Khorne

 

Indeed, pink is associated with femininity in our culture but I'd like to think that in the 41st millennium Space Marines can wear any colour and still look fabulous.

 

It's certainly a surprising colour scheme but it does actually work quite well. I'd perhaps call it a "magenta" rather than dark pink, if that can alleviate any ascendency fears? I do think the stone-coloured Aquila works well with the scheme, it adds a welcome bit of desaturation to an already pretty busy colour scheme

 

Do you think the "Hunters" section of the name might come from recruitment practices on their feral world, or from their combat practices (persueing the Corsairs for instance), or are the two inextricably linked? Or perhaps something else entirely, like the founding chapter master happened to like hunting mega-deer and ultra-rabits in his spare time?

Any particular element of their history making them paragons of the Imperium to merit the title "Imperial" in their name?

I'm fine with calling it dark pink because that's what it is.

 

As it was a bit of a random choice, I didn't really consider where it came from. That said, your suggestions have gotten the wheels turning. They are named that way because when the Imperial Tarot was consulted at the moment of their creation, the seer told the future Chapter Master to be proactive in rooting out Chaos forces in and around the Eye of Terror and to avenge those responsible for destroying the Black Consuls. And since their Chapter Master is a staunch supporter of the Imperium, he decided to name his Chapter the Imperial Hunters to strike fear in the hearts and minds of their foes. Something like that.

 

Anyway, thanks for popping by and dropping some questions and suggestions, mate!

 

Any ideas about Chapter culture, naming tradition, quirks, or such? How has stationed near the Eye of Terror as part of the Adeptus Praeses affected them? What's their relationship with the rest of the Adeptus Praeses?

 

Maintain distant rule, preferring to keep their stock as "pure" as possible;

This ^ could be becouse of this:

Ultramarines gene-stock, but inexplicably altered;

Also, could see "preferring to keep their stock as "pure" as possible;" leding to a distain of mutants and/or abhumans and an unwillingness to work with them, maybe openly hostile toward them, no matter how loyal they are.

 

 

Lost zygote: Oolitic kidney -> all Marines are less resistant to toxins, but lack of the oolitic kidney can also lead to implant malfunction/rejection and organ failure;

Could see this leading to them having more than normal amount of apothecaries

 

 

Chapter Friends: Imperial Guard raised from a specific world.

Any idea which IG regiment? 

 

 

Revere the Emperor above all;

Do they belive the Emperor is divine or do they "just" venerate him as more than a man but not a god?

Re: culture and quirks, not quite yet. I'll have to look at which other Chapters are part of the Adeptus Praeses and see where I can use them to inject some variety into my own Chapter.

 

Re: purity, the idea of keeping their human stock as pure as possible because their own gene-seed isn't was definitely on my mind. I'm not sure they will necessarily hate abhumans in their entirety but they will likely look to cull (likely indirectly) any on their home planet to avoid any further genetic complications.

 

Re: increased amount of Apothecaries, aye that could work nicely. I don't see them as being as fanatical about their purity or so worried about their missing zygote as to essentially copy the Red Scorpions and have the same abundance of Apothecaries but perhaps two or three per company instead of the standard one? To be honest, I'm not even sure what the ratio is in Red Scorpion companies so perhaps I'm closer to them in terms of organisation than I think I am!

 

Re: Imperial Guard regiment, no not yet. Open to suggestions if anyone has any.

 

Re: the Emperor, I think I'll settle with them venerating the almost-deceased chap. It's not something many Chapters do as far as I know and could be an interesting facet of their character.

 

Thank you for your comments and suggestions, Gamiel!

 

Off to an interesting start with these guys. Is it a problem that they share a low gothic name with the Legio Solaria?

Cheers, and no. Or at least I don't have an issue with that. Besides, given the scale of the Imperium, it shouldn't be all that odd for different organisations to have similar or even the same names.

 

I like the colour scheme, but it does seem an odd choice for a chapter from an ice planet maybe? It looks more suitable to a tropical setting...?

 

I also wonder whether the orange parts of the armour could be painted in copper tones rather than orange, potentially?

 

If close to the AdMech would a Mechrite Red be a suitable alternative to pink? Your call though, I think the pink is just swell and is anyway a hot pink rather than the baby pink more usually associated with the Slaaneshi types.

 

What’s this “inexplicably altered” gene stock - more info please??

Re: colour scheme, while a Chapter's home world primary climate can influence its colour scheme, it doesn't necessarily have to: Nocturne is a volcanic wasteland and yet they wear green armour; Macragge is a rather arid and mountainous world, and yet the Ultramarines are blue.

 

Re: replacing orange with bronze, I appreciate the suggestion but am happy with keeping it orange.

 

Re: gene stock, I haven't yet ironed out the details. The basic idea was to have a Chapter whose gene-seed has been experimented with by the AdMech and so they have made sure the Chapter is on good terms with the local Forge World so that the AdMech can run tabs on the Chapter and whatever they've experimented with. Perhaps I can hint that these experiments might have some connection with Cawl's Primaris program and, shortly before the events of the Cicatrix Maledictum unfold, the AdMech effectively cut ties with the Chapter as they are not useful to them any more (the Primaris project is successful and being rolled out), leaving them vulnerable in the face of Chaos' Legions.

 

Anyway, cheers for popping by, Zebulon. :tu:

 

 

I like the colour scheme, but it does seem an odd choice for a chapter from an ice planet maybe? It looks more suitable to a tropical setting...?

Now, a Chapters colour don’t need to have anything with their homeworld but here are some possibilities connect the colour pink to their homeworld:

+ for some reason (chemicals, microorganisms, such) is the ice on the world pink

+ one of the more notable predators (or maybe all?) on the world is pink in colour

+ the rock that the Chapter’s fortress monastery is built of/carved into (or maybe just decorated with) is pink

+ pink is seen as a royal/divine colour by the natives

+ pink is seen as the colour of the dead and the natives see the SM as revenants

+ aurora effects on the planet are mostly pink and orange and the natives believe the Chapter/honoured dead/the Emperor lives beyond the aurora

 

If close to the AdMech would a Mechrite Red be a suitable alternative to pink? Your call though, I think the pink is just swell and is anyway a hot pink rather than the baby pink more usually associated with the Slaaneshi types.

Or maybe pink is the colour of the lockal Forge World?

 

Some good ideas, I'll keep them in mind. Thank you!

 

Very fine outline Brother Dos

 

Livery: Orange and Dark Pink ...... the dreaded "pink" word. If I were a betting man I'd wager that if you had said "light burgundy" no one would notice. It's a good color combo and I think they compliment each other well...... It is however, uncomfortably close to the livery of one of my own chapters, so you have to change it

 

Looking forward to seeing more.

Cheers, Lunkhead!

 

Which Chapter of yours has a similar colour scheme? I'll be sending an Inquisitorial Purgation Detachment their way ASAP: there can only be one. :devil:

[Gamiel]

 

Re: increased amount of Apothecaries, aye that could work nicely. I don't see them as being as fanatical about their purity or so worried about their missing zygote as to essentially copy the Red Scorpions and have the same abundance of Apothecaries but perhaps two or three per company instead of the standard one? To be honest, I'm not even sure what the ratio is in Red Scorpion companies so perhaps I'm closer to them in terms of organisation than I think I am!

I was not thinking of the Chapter's idea about purty when it come to the Apothecaries but since they lacked Oolitic kidney are they not as resistant against toxins, which means that may need to have more Apothecaries who detox them against stuff that normal marines would just ignore.

 

 

 

Re: the Emperor, I think I'll settle with them venerating the almost-deceased chap. It's not something many Chapters do as far as I know and could be an interesting facet of their character.

You can do some fun stuff with this regarding their relationships with other and their culture if you want. Something that could be combined with their Scions of Mars stuff is that they also fully see the Emperor and the Omnissiah as just different names for the same being (unlike some AdMechs and members of the Ecclesiarchy) and combine ecclesiarchal and AdMech religious rituals in their worship.

[Gamiel]

Regarding their role as part of the Adeptus Praeses: how do they try to fulfil that role? Do they have fast ships and Navigators that are masters of the "near" space, at the cost of their versatility to navigate outside of their known areas? Are a squad (or more) of Marines stationed on the strategically important worlds within their protectorate? Do they secund lone Marines, or squads, to the ships of the local Imperial Navy? Do they send inspectors to all the worlds within their protectorate to see that the PDF:s are well trained and equipped and their fortresses are being kept fully functional? Do they only send a fixed number (or percent) of their Chapter to conflicts outside of Adeptus Praeses space? Do they have hunt/kill teams that they send out to take care of smaller warbands that have come out of the Eye? Do they help with rebuilding, at least the defences, after conflicts have damgade worlds within the Adeptus Praeses space?

 

------------------------------------

 

Have they adapted any of the barbarian ways of their homeworld? Or is this a case where the Chapter culture have very little to do with their recruitment stock's culture?

 

Actually, do you have any thoughts about their recruitment stock's culture? If not, and it might be of interest (if it's not of interest could you just ignore to give them any real culture), do I suggest looking at Inuits, Yupik, and  Aleut. Maybe also the people from Tierra del Fuego, Sibiria, and the Sámi.

 

 

Re: the Emperor, I think I'll settle with them venerating the almost-deceased chap. It's not something many Chapters do as far as I know and could be an interesting facet of their character.

You can do some fun stuff with this regarding their relationships with other and their culture if you want. Something that could be combined with their Scions of Mars stuff is that they also fully see the Emperor and the Omnissiah as just different names for the same being (unlike some AdMechs and members of the Ecclesiarchy) and combine ecclesiarchal and AdMech religious rituals in their worship.

There is also the possibility that this will lead to some conflicts with other Chapters that don't venerate him as a god. And possible kinship with other Chapters that do.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Gamiel

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Regarding their role as part of the Adeptus Praeses: how do they try to fulfil that role? Do they have fast ships and Navigators that are masters of the "near" space, at the cost of their versatility to navigate outside of their known areas? Are a squad (or more) of Marines stationed on the strategically important worlds within their protectorate? Do they secund lone Marines, or squads, to the ships of the local Imperial Navy? Do they send inspectors to all the worlds within their protectorate to see that the PDF:s are well trained and equipped and their fortresses are being kept fully functional? Do they only send a fixed number (or percent) of their Chapter to conflicts outside of Adeptus Praeses space? Do they have hunt/kill teams that they send out to take care of smaller warbands that have come out of the Eye? Do they help with rebuilding, at least the defences, after conflicts have damgade worlds within the Adeptus Praeses space?

All good points.

Have they adapted any of the barbarian ways of their homeworld? Or is this a case where the Chapter culture have very little to do with their recruitment stock's culture?

This is a great opportunity for worldbuilding! I proposed justifying the Chapter's bizarre colors, by claiming one of the Chapter planet's native animals is poisonous or venomous, and is so colored as a warning to would-be predators. Let's have the Chapter planet's people wear such colors on the hunt, as they learned predators would not take the initiative (attack first) against them, as the beasts assume they'll be as poisonous or venomous as the animals whose colors they wear. As bright colors are USELESS as camouflage, the Chapter planet's people must rely on expert observation and tracking skills to find prey, and long-range attacks (bows and arrows, single-shot rifles, etc.) to kill prey from beyond reach of the prey's senses.

 

Naturally, the Chapter will adopt these traits. Add the Vindicate Temple's Exitus sniper rifle to the armory, or create your own special weapon, e.g., a single-shot rifles chambered for autocannon shells, granting the Chapter elites the ability to kill from 72" away?

[Gamiel]

Interesting idea brother Björn, just two-ish points:

 

 

As bright colors are USELESS as camouflage,

Not if the enviorment is made up by bright colours, which is not that unusuall based on how people often paint xeno-terrain

 

And to quote myself from eariler: 

 

Agreed, I guess my thinking was going back to the age old argument about camouflage; sure, Marines don’t need it, but why give up a potential advantage?

Camoflage is something you cover up your armour colours with, not something you can have permanent. I mean the Raptors' green colours (which so many seems to praice as camo) are worthless in any environment but forest/jungle (and only forests/jungles with green vegetation). We see them sticking out with their green armour on a Forge World board in one of the WD not so long ago.

 

We have many illustrations and at least some lore talking about how marines cover their colours in camouflage but it's a bit hard to do that in the game since then you need to repaint them for each new table, wich mean that it's just easier to have them in their main colours and say that they have camo in the story but in the game they seem with out it.

 

So it's just strange to think that a Chapter's colours are suposed to be camo since they are expected to fight in all manner of environments. 

[Gamiel]

 Re: Imperial Guard regiment, no not yet. Open to suggestions if anyone has any.

Could be a Imperial Guard regiment that's from one of the fortress worlds that's part of the Adeptus Praeses area. 

[Dosjetka]

I really appreciate and am humbled by all the attention this has been receiving but equally feel really bad for not having/taking the time to respond to all the comments. :sweat:

 

I'll try and fix that over the next week or so, but no promises!

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I'll try and fix that over the next week or so, but no promises!

Unless you can match Dan Abnett in skill, writing a cohesive IA will take time. You might as well take your time, patiently write, proofread, rewrite, and re-proofread this; no sane person wants to be known as "Matt Ward II".

[Trokair]

While this is only an outline some thoughts if I may.

 

My first comment is actually in relation to the chapter colours, much like others have pointed out I can’t help but wonder why such a bright scheme is chosen, and is there any connection to native fauna or flora that would help tie in/justify it. I see that you selected the colours at random (or diced them even) though a justification may or may not come in time.

 

Re-genetic purity, if they are part of the Chapters guarding the Eye, would they fear a higher rate of mutations due to Chaos seepage? Maybe some failure in their first few years has caused them to adapt a more cautious approach.

 

Most cold climate human cultures (as far as I know) have a strong hunter element to them, and given their name seems like a natural connection. On a tangent, maybe they are Imperial Hunters because their hunting grounds are the Kingdoms above the sky as opposed to one of the regions on the planet that the locals might refer to.

[Doctor Perils]

 

I'll try and fix that over the next week or so, but no promises!

Unless you can match Dan Abnett in skill, writing a cohesive IA will take time. You might as well take your time, patiently write, proofread, rewrite, and re-proofread this; no sane person wants to be known as "Matt Ward II".

I don't think Dos' is refering to a finished IA, I think he's mainly referring to the necessary elements for the Liber Astartes Swap Challenge ;)

[Brother Tyler]

I actually like the color scheme. While our modern sensibilities most often associate pink with femininity, this is neither universal nor timeless. One has only to look back to the 18th century to see pink in use in military uniforms. It doesn't stand to reason that a galaxy-spanning empire set thirty-eight thousand years in the future would cling to the same conventions and mores, with different cultures on different planets likely having diverse conventions with regard to color. All that said, I'm reminded of rainbow sherbet.

 

As far as rationalizing some explanation for the choice in colors, I don't think that's necessary. Rogal Dorn came from the ice world of Inwitt, yet the VIIth Legion didn't change to some color representative of that planet (as far as we know). Instead, they chose a bright yellow. The Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes fight in every climate we can think of - camouflage in their basic livery isn't a factor (except for those Chapters that actively adjust their schemes to match the environments in which they operate, such as the Raptors). The old quote from Carab Culln of the Red Scorpions is applicable:

 

Camouflage is the colour of fear ... I have no need to hide from my foes .. I have no fear of death. My colours I wear openly, they proclaim louder than any words, "I am proud to live - I am proud to die."

This would make for a striking army on the tabletop.

 

Synthesizing something logical from what is essentially a collection of randomly determined elements can be very challenging. I look forward to seeing how this develops. I wouldn't expect everything to be explained in detail - in most cases the results can speak for themselves.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

While our modern sensibilities most often associate pink with femininity, this is neither universal nor timeless. One has only to look back to the 18th century to see pink in use in military uniforms.

Can you name examples of the actual use of pink in real-world military uniforms, as opposed to unintentional use, i.e., red uniforms whose colors faded?

As far as rationalizing some explanation for the choice in colors, I don't think that's necessary.

But it can be fun, and it'll add a lot to the Chapter's character. For example, red is so strongly associated with heroism in Japanese culture, the team leader will always wear a red uniform in Power Rangers and related Super Sentai shows.

 

What can pink symbolize? The brain, such that the Chapter planet's people consider it the color of wisdom, and scholars wear pink robes to show how learned and wise they are?

The Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes fight in every climate we can think of - camouflage in their basic livery isn't a factor (except for those Chapters that actively adjust their schemes to match the environments in which they operate, such as the Raptors). The old quote from Carab Culln of the Red Scorpions is applicable:

 

 

Camouflage is the colour of fear ... I have no need to hide from my foes .. I have no fear of death. My colours I wear openly, they proclaim louder than any words, "I am proud to live - I am proud to die."

Well said. Edited April 2, 2021 by Bjorn Firewalker