Blazing Skulls

[DanielTheGreat]

Blazing Skulls:

Theme: Fire and Machines

 

Geneseed: Iron Hands chapter geneseed

 

Founding: 18th Founding

 

Chapter Symbol: A skull wreathed in flame

 

Chapter Colors: Black with red flames as trim

 

Homeworld: A research world of the mechanicus

 

Planet: Planet Lothar in the North-Western part of the Segmentum Obscurus

 

Combat Doctrine: Believe that ranged fighting is much more damaging to the moral and numbers facing them in close-combat. Ranged fighting is preferred, but hand-to-hand is inevitable. Land raiders and devastator squads are used for heavy support while infiltration, deep-strike, and drop-pods are used to get into close combat.

Organization:

 

Advantages:

Scions of Mars

Trust Your Battle-Brothers

 

Major Disadvantage:

Eye to Eye

 

Minor Disadvantage:

Death Before Dishonor

 

Belief System: Because of their roots in the Mechanicus, they believe both in the Machine God and the Emperor. Techmarines are glorified and many of them become champions of the chapter. Believe in the capability of machines, but do not replace limbs without reason. The Emperor gave them their bodies for a reason. They have created a compilation of all the beliefs of the chapter and every soldier is required to carry one. According to their customs they burn all dead brethren on large pyres. They believe that the only way to truly rid a place of taint is to scour it with the cleansing fires from the Emperor. They also believe that fire shows the weakness of the chapter in that flesh can burn. Because of the weakness of flesh there are are always quite a number of gravely wounded individuals after battle. In order to honor the chapter and Emperor these warriors are entombed into the war-vehicles of the chapter. For centuries to come they are able to drive and man the guns of the chapter. In this way it is also ensured that there is never an idle marine on the battlefield.

 

Fluff:

On a quest for more knowledge the technoarchaeologists of the Adeptus Mechanicus came across an ancient scroll referring to what they thought was an STC on planet Lothar. They landed on the planet only to discover that it was infested with daemons from the nearby Eye of Terror. Beating a quick retreat the mechanicus troops were called in to help retrieve the precious STC. However, the STC was found to be incomplete. In the process of studying it they found hints of more facilities on the planet and developed an outpost to further explore the planet. As the research started to revel more pieces of the STC the mechanicus were forced to throw more and more manpower into keeping the research going on the small outpost. In desperation they called up the High Lords of Terra to create a new chapter that would protect the planet from chaos and would venture out in raids against the Eye of Terror. Squads of daemonhunters were first sent in order that the crisis might be contained. When that failed the High Lords released the mechanicus to create the chapter. Recruits were gathered from the nearby moons of Lothar and the chapter was born. Techmarines were quick to become glorified in the new chapter due to the Iron Hands geneseed and reliance to the mechanicus in the early years of the chapter. However, due to the use of the mechanicus ordinance the chapter never fully recognized the value of fast attack. To make up for this the chapter picked up techniques from the roving bands of daemonhunters. They learned to use their bolters like pistols and stopped retreating from any sort of battle.

[schoon]

A fairly solid start, but a few points:

 

You might want to consider making their CC weapons choices flamer-heavy, in accordance with their beliefs.

 

If the STC was corrupted, what are the AdMech still studying there that couldn't be studied elsewhere? In other words, there needs to be a very good reason for continued occupation. The High Lords don't station entire Chapters on a planet without a very good reason. 1000-ish Marines are a huge resource.

 

...and on that note, there's nothing other than proximity that would keep the research station safe. Space Marines are completely independent after founding.

 

From where does the chapter recruit? Where else have they campaigned? How has their relationship with the AdMech (both the station and in general) changed over time? ...

[DanielTheGreat]

The reason for the chapter was because there was no real proximity to the AdMechs. They were fighting a losing a battle to keep the planet and any other information still on it.

 

To go out on a limb I could incorporate an immensly strong magnetic field around the planet that the AdMechs are still studying. They cannot exactly take the entire planet back to mars. :P However, that is just because I cannot think of anything else at the moment. Might even say that the magnetic poles keep changing. Maybe the AdMechs could think that they might be able to figure out a way to incorporate a natural forcefield into other planets/ships.

 

I was going to have the chapter recruit off of small moons close by, just another source of medieval recruits. ^_^

 

I also wanted the AdMechs to have some production lines to go with their research. That way they could study, understand, and start building. Gives them a reason to stay in touch with the chapter. Not only could they have something like the Iron Warriors with the oaths, but the marines could also be the guinea pigs for their new technological advances in weaponry and defence.

[schoon]

You may be trying to integrate too many things into one ball.

 

Combining an AdMech research station with a prototyping facility and a Space Marine testing relationship is a bit much. The AdMech is very jealous of new technology, and would be unlikely to give it up to anyone but fellow followers of the Omnisiah.

 

Here's a few alternate ideas for your consideration:

 

The STC data found was incomplete as opposed to corrupted. It offered hints of lost tech, and other finds at the sight implied there had been other facilities on the planet. The AdMech have established an outpost to study what's already been found and to search for more.

 

Instead of having this be your chapter's home planet, perhaps it's a place where they are simply providing assistance in defense against attackers. This also helps with their "recruiting problem."

 

Just some thoughts...

[+Daemonbane+]

Wow I like it its a good story, well done

[DanielTheGreat]

Point taken and fluff modified. I still want the chapter to be on Lothar with the AdMechs though. I want it so that they almost rely on each other. The AdMechs need protection and the marines need connections with a forgeworld and speedier reapairs.

[Daeothar]

By using the AM, you could very easily introduce some trace elements of a former Necron presence on the planet as opposed to an STC, broken or not. The massive machines of the Necrons could be the source for the polar reversals you mentioned.

 

A shift in a planet's magnetic field or even a complete polar reversal is a massive event that causes equally massive upheaval in said planet's crust. I'm talking about massive seismic and vulcanic activity and tectonic shifts.

 

Not very pleasant to say the least.

 

That could be where the fire in your chapter's iconography comes from. The AM are determined to recover whatever technology is causing this for their own ends (perhaps fueled by commands/suggestions whispered to the techpriests by what they believe to be the Omnissiah, on Mars? Innuende and conspiracies, secrets and

such; always good fluffy-stuff...)

 

Its close proximity to the Eye may be what spurs the 'Omnissiah' to use the AM instead of its own forces (i.e. Necron raiding parties), since the Warp is anathema to thema dnits presence can clearly be witnessed on Lothar. Perhaps that's even what triggers the machines to go haywire?

 

The chapter is there to bolster the defenses. The fact an entire Spacemarine chapter is present is testimony of how high up in the AM organisation the decision to go to Lothar has been made.

 

Perhaps the chapter used to have a different homeplanet (but with the same strong AM ties) but has been charged with providing such a substantial force to the AM teams on Lothar they decided to pack up and change their homeworld, at least for the duration of their assignment (which probably will last for hundreds if not thousands of years). The fact that Lothar and its moons yield such low amounts of suitable recruits means they need to be extremely resourceful when it comes to personnel management as you suggested.

 

Keep it up; nice fluff you have going there, I'm curious to see where you'll take it. B)

[DanielTheGreat]

I definately like your idea about the necrons having something to do with what happened. :blush:

However, I cannot see an entire chapter uprooting itself and moving to another homeworld. Even at the behest of the AdMechs I do not think that they would be happpy to move. The only reason I can see for an entire chapter to move would be if their homeworld was destroyed or tainted. Somehow I dont think that it would be tainted seeing as chapters tend to keep and eye on their homeworlds (to my knowledge).

 

Oh and I am aware of the consequences of a seismic shift. I got stuck sitting through enough movies about it in physics. ;) Never thought that information like that would ever come in handy. :) That would be one crazy machine.... the ability to change the currents in a planet would be hard to come by. I wonder if they would have any reason to do this though... Maybe an experiment? I'm not sure, but I don't think the necrons care about being subtle. So I could probably rule out research to destroy a planet indirectly. Is there any reason why you would want the poles to change like that? Besides large scale radiation research... lol. I dont think food is going to be growing well on Lothar. :P

 

I guess the other way I could go is that the machines were keeping the pole reversals from happening and as soon as the necron presence diminished they stopped working correctly and are no longer compensating for the erratic behavior of the planet.

 

P.S Sry about any ramblin it has been 48 hours+ without sleep. Im just trying to not use the keybord as a pillow.

[Daeothar]

Okay, then how about this? An explorator team landed on Lothar and found the enormous machines deep within the planet's crust. Maybe some subtle Omnissiah influence, as suggested before, put them there. They started to fiddle with it (definitaly not intended by the presence on Mars) and somehow malaligned the machine to the extend the ploar reversals started to take place. Not only that, but it appeared to be doing something to the Warp as well, maybe calming it down greatly in the direct area?

 

Anyway, this changing the nature of the Warp locally got some very unwanted attention from forces in/around the Eye.

 

Therefore the AM, which already had a great hand in the creation of the Blazing Skulls and had requisited their help on numerous occassions, arranged for the entire chapter to be mobilized to safeguard Lothar from the increasingly active Chaos forces seemingly moving towards the system.

 

The AM clout was so big, they had the Blazing Skulls mothball their fortress monestary and move all their equipment and facilities to Lothar on, what they were told, a temporary basis. The Blazing Skulls might not have liked it but the additional boost in the amount and quality of equipment assigned to them seemed a better deal than to stay and suffer from being cut off from supplies alltogether.

 

Not that the AM told them this would happen but insinuation is a powerful tool...

 

So the Blazing Skulls are not all that happy with their current position but as of now are unable to change it much. Meanwhile, the Chaos threat seems to grow by the year and the fresh recruits the AM supplies them with to replenish losses might not be all that they seem... (cue mystery music here)

 

So the Blazing Skulls' connection with the AM is a two sided sword as they now seem to be besieged from the outside as well as from within, while being far away from their home, on a planet that seems to be getting more unstable by the year.

 

As to what the recruits are, I suggest nothing too serious; maybe some youths very thoroughly ingrained with an undying loyalty to the AM that cannot be erased by whatever training, indoctrination and hypnotherapy the chapter can throw at them? A nice plot to create some tensions within the chapter itself, as the original marines, becoming veterans, see the chapter shift slowly to being a puppet of Mars. Suffice to say they do not like that one bit...

[schoon]

A small difficulty in that Space Marine chapters are pretty much comletely independent after their creation, so the AdMech wouldn't have much of a threat, insinuated or otherwise.

 

And while possible, it's unlikely that a SM chapter would pack up entirely frolm their monastery; much more likely they'd send a force while still leaving enough at home to take care of business.

 

I also like the Necron touch; makes things much more interesting :tu: