New Article - Hawk Raiders

[HawkWolf]

Hawk Raiders Lore

 

 

 

Hawk Raiders are a loyalist chapter with unknown origins but believed to be created during the Badab War.

It’s rumoured that they are a successor chapter or either the White Scars, or Space Wolves. Some believe possible both as they show traits of both chapters only the Raid Master knows the truth. 

 

Hawk Raiders rain from the large Feral world of Antakya on the boarder of the Ghoul Star System, this planet has large forests with trees reaching hundreds of feet high, canyons expanding as far as the eye can see and mountains so high they almost reach the plants orbit, Antakya population is made up of hunter gather tribes from which the Hawk Raiders recruit from. Antakya is mainly famous for its dangerous predators that roam the planet and are considered as some of the most dangerous in the galaxy, the most dangerous being the Thumbak Hawk from which the Hawk Raiders symbol comes from, the Thumbak is very large, the size of a Primaris Marine or bigger and extremely quick it’s known to swoop down and attack fully grown humans with ease, before flying the body away to its nest to feast upon it. 

 

The Hawk Raiders are famous for their Hunter/Raider fighting style, often using stealth and ambush tactics mobilising jump packs to leap down into enemy positions. Hawk Raiders prefer using melee style combat with pure savagery, chopping and hacking their enemies down with their famous chain & power axes. Hawk Raiders are also known to collect trophies of the enemy dead, such as tusks, horns and scalps, displaying them on their armour as signs or their victories and prowess in battle. Hawk Raiders also take pride in their hunting ability’s, tracking their prey across some of the most hazardous terrains waiting to get that perfect time to strike. Their battle cry represents this “FROM THE SKY WE HUNT”. Due to these Hawk Raiders are often deployed behind enemy lines attacking supply lines, reinforcement convoys or to hunt down a particular target such as the enemy commanders. Hawk Raiders don’t use tanks or artillery weapons as they find them too slow and noisy and go against their fighting style. 

 

Most of the imperium see the Hawk Raiders as strange or with mistrust due to their odd culture. Like the native population of Antakya, the Hawk Raiders believe that whatever dies returns to nature, and in order for humanity and the Imperium to survive, nature must be preserved and protected, this is one of the reasons why the Hawk Raiders hate incendiary weapons like flamers, and Hive Cities. They strongly believe that the Emperor understood the importance of nature and how life cannot continue without it, there also extremely secretive like the fact they don’t remove their helmets and show their faces to non-chapter brothers and the location of their fortress monastery on Antakya being unknown to the imperium, due to this the inquisition suspect them to be mutants refusing to show there deformities, but this is purely superstition as there is no evidence of this.

 

 
 

There armour colours are Bone, black & red, the main body is bone, pauldrons and backpack are black. There chapter insignia in red sits on the left shoulder, squad insignia in red on the right shoulder and company insignia in red on there right knee.

 

The current chapter master, or Raid Master as they go by is Khunak Fal, he was appointed Raid master after his predecessor Hutya Secrcan was killed whilst protecting their most holy site on Antakya, The Emperors Forest from an Ork invasion after they tried to set it on fire. Khunak and the rest of the Chapter especially hates Orks so often their crusades focus on hunting down Ork war bands. 

 

Hawk Raiders don’t follow the Codex Astartes as it doesn’t follow their teaching or tactics but have excepted Primaris surgery from which the whole chapter has now undertaken, knowing it will improve their hunting abilities. 

 

Chapter layout 

Chapter Master - Raid Master

Chaplain - Sharman 

Liberian - Keeper 

Apothecary - Healer

Tech marine - Tech Hawk

 

A Squad aka Hunt Pack is made up of 5 to 10 warriors, commanded by 1 Sargent aka Chosen.

A Platoon aka Raid Party is made up of 2 to 3 Hunt Packs commanded by 1 Lieutenant aka Band Chief.

A Company aka Tribe is commanded by 1 Captain aka Chief. The true numbers per Tribe are unknown but believed to be higher than the standard company size due to the Hawk Raiders not following the Codex Astarties. 

 

 

1st Tribe is a veteran Tribe made up of specialist jump packs warriors, these Hunt Packs are the most elite of all the Hawk Raiders, they are expert hunters and skill fighters at ambush tactics, they are known for using winged jump packs, wearing hawk beaked helmets and wielding power weapons.

Due to their skills often, they are deployed on specialist missions, in small hunt packs or part of a larger campaign.

 

Hunt Packs

Sky Hunters - (Bow & Arrow) Silent Long-range experts, wielding power bows.

Sky Raiders - (Single Wing) Close quarters experts wielding power axes and spears.

 

Fleet

1 Battle Barge – Tribe Flag ship

2 Strike Cruisers

2 Hunter Destroyer Escort Ships

2 Nova Frigate Escort Ships

2 Gladius Frigate Escort Ships

 

 

 

2nd Tribe is made up of specialist hunt packs, these hunt packs are generally use for hard hitting assaults or attached to other battle tribes as specialist units.

 

Hunt Packs

Dead Trees (Dead Tree) - Specialist Terminator unit, experts of melee combat and used to kill large enemy targets. Also used as bodyguards.

Totems (Totem Statue) - Dreadnaught’s.

Stallion Riders (Horseshoe) - Specialist Motorbike unit, experts at hit and run tactics.

 

Fleet

1 Battle Barge – Tribe Flag ship

1 Strike Cruisers

1 Vanguard Light Cruisers

2 Hunter Destroyer Escort Ships

2 Nova Frigate Escort Ships

2 Gladius Frigate Escort Ships

 

  

3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th Tribes are the battle tribes, the main arm and fighting units of the Hawk Raiders, each tribe is made up of various hunt packs or raid parties.

 

Hunt Packs & Raid Parties

Raiders (2 Arrows opposite directions) - Infantry unit using long range bolsters.

Assault Raiders (Arrow pointing downwards) - Close range infantry unit, using chain axes and bolt pistols.

Jump pack Raiders (Arrow pointing upwards) - Jump pack units with both close- and long-range weapons.

Savages (Deer Skull) - Close quarters melee fighting unit. Used for quick ambush attacks.

Bisons (Bison Skull) - Terminator units, mix of both long range and close quarters.

 

Fleet per Tribe

1 Battle Barge – 3rd Tribe only

2 Strike Cruisers

2 Vanguard Light Cruisers

2 Hunter Destroyer Escort Ships

2 Nova Frigate Escort Ships

2 Gladius Frigate Escort Ships

 

 

7th Tribe is a special pilot tribe, that train all the Hawk Raiders pilots and attach them to other tribes as air support units. 

 

Hunt Packs

Storm Talon Pilots 

Thunder Hawk Pilots 

Nephilim Pilots

 

 

 

8th & 9th Tribes are support tribes made up of young fresh recruits passing there Hunting Trials. Generally used as battlefield replacements for the other battle tribes or used for reserve support units.

 

Fleet per Tribe

1 Strike Cruisers

2 Hunter Destroyer Escort Ships

2 Nova Frigate Escort Ships

2 Gladius Frigate Escort Ships

 

 

Hawk Raiders Recruitment and Trials.

They recruit new Aspirants from the many tribes of Antakya, the ceremony starts when each tribal chief selects a child from there tribe and travels with them to the holy site of Emperors Forest, here they are greater by the Raid Master and Chief Healer of the Chapter. Each tribal chief will present their chosen child, from here the Chief Healer will examine each child to see if they are genetically suitable.

 

Once the children are selected there first trial is called The Hunt. Armed with just a knife each child must venture further into the Emperors Forest and hunt one of the many predators that lurk in the forest, each child must have a successful hunt and return with a trophy as proof of their hunt. This displays there hunting skills, aggression and combat skills. Those that survive which many don’t are then taken to the Chapters base to start their new lives as Aspirants.

 

After a few years of training and some implant surgeries they face the next trial called The Mind of Lost. They are taken to the Lost Canyons, well known for being vast and difficult to navigate. Armed with just a simple axe and 1 bottle of water, they must navigate for days or even weeks through the Canyons to the other side, all the while surviving the harsh climates and the constant threats of being hunted by beasts that call the canyons home, this trial often leads to many loosing there way and perishing to the climate or being hunted and eaten alive.

 

 

The next trial aspirants must face is called the Soul Trial, aspirants are taken to the Cave of Souls, there the aspirants smoke a native herb to Antakya which has huge hallucinogenic properties, after smoking it they must venture into the cave and meditate for 5 days, if the aspirants come out of the cave mentally stable they pass, those that don’t are lost forever in the caves never to be seen again.

 

The last and final trial for the aspirants is called the trial of Hawks, aspirants must travel on their own to the mountains of Prey, there with no equipment they must climb through and get to the top of the mountains, to locate a Thumbak Hawk nest, there they must wrestle one and win without dying, once they’ve won the Thumbak will reward the aspirants by plucking 2 feathers from its wings, from there they will climb back down and travel back to the chapters monastery and present the feathers to the Raid Master completing their final trial.

 

Next, they will be given their new Chapter name and accepted into the Chapter as a battle brother and will join either the 8th or 9th Tribes.

 

 

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[Brother Hellion]

Rather pleasing read. The color scheme is nice blend of contrasting colors and I love the use of Western American tribal nation icons for company and squad markings. 

 

There are some nitpicks that would need to be ironed out such as spelling and grammar (see below example)

On 3/8/2025 at 7:28 PM, HawkWolf said:

canyons expanding as far as the eye can see and mountains so high they almost reach the plants orbit,

what would be a better sentence would end like "reach the planet's stratosphere." which is the next layer up in the atmosphere.

 

Overall, its a nice loyalist chapter to the B&C forums and I hope you get the chance to build this army on the tabletop.

[HawkWolf]

Brother Hellion

 

thanks for the feedback, I’m dyslexic so my grammar and spelling are always poor.

 

glad you enjoyed the read and the chapter, I’ve posted my first painted Hawk Raiders in the Honoured primaris marine bit if you fancy a look.

[Brother Tyler]

Agreed, it was a very enjoyable article to read; and it's great to see a new member [to the community, though clearly not to the hobby] jumping in with this kind of work.

 

One nitpick from a content perspective:

 

The article says that the Hawk Raiders are believed to have been created during the Badab War. That war took place 901-912 M41. However, the 26th Founding took place [starting?] 738.M41 whereas the subsequent founding, the 27th, or Ultima, Founding, took place almost a century after the 26th (though one could argue that it had been taking place for millennia, I suppose). It's always possible that the Chapter may have been created outside of the normal founding structure, possibly as an amalgamation of two (or more) Chapters that had been reduced to severely under-strength and untenable levels or as a secret, and perhaps unauthorized, founding (much like the Steel Confessors and Exorcists). Assuming you want to stick with the Chapter being created during the same span of time as the Badab War, I personally favor the amalgamation route, but it's your Chapter.

 

Two nitpicks from a readability perspective:

 

You have manually formatted your font to be white. This works fine in the dark B&C theme (which it is clear that you use). However, members that view the site using the light default theme will see white text on a white background - meaning they won't see any of your text. I recommend that you go through and unformat the text color. That way, the site software will render it in the color appropriate to the theme so that all members can see it.

 

The images are a bit large, and I suspect they don't have any titles. The size isn't a huge issue, though I typically reduce the size of the images in my own posts/articles (members can simply click on them to see the full-size versions). The lack of titles is problematic for those members that view the site using screen readers (yes, we do have multiple members with vision impairment and they often use screen readers). You can fix either/both (size and titles) by double-clicking on the images and making the adjustments in the dialog box that appears.

 

To be fair, this is the kind of stuff I really need to advise via a best practices article. These are things that we've learned the hard way, but we haven't done a good job of spreading the word to everyone, so it's understandable that people will run into these pitfalls.

 

Overall, though, it's great to see this kind of content, especially from a new member. I look forward to seeing more about this Chapter, as well as other content you submit to the site in the future.