The Castigators

[brother varen]

What companies do you want involved in the defense of Mutara? Or should I ask for volunteers?

 

I was thinking of taking the Defense of Mutara in stages; Deep space actions, Planetary assualts on worlds besiged by Orks, In-system actions, and assault on Mutara. I thought that maybe a small force of orks made it on Mutaran soil, not like Armaggeddon though. Maybe come up with an obective for the Orks to assault on Mutara?

 

The Castigators would attack or disable the Ork battleships first, so we would have to come up with several names for these battleships. I am not an 40k Ork player. If you know any ask if they can help. ^_^

 

With reguards to Mutara, how old is the Forgeworld? Is it heavy defended? Does it have space docks, listening posts, defense platforms, ect.? Does Mutara have any moons or an astroid field near it? Any mining worlds near by?

 

With reguards to Caphius, like you said, we need to start when Caphius was first promoted to captain. Do we know when?

[Marshal Rohr]

If it has a Titan Legion it should be decently defended.

[Commissar Molotov]

What companies do you want involved in the defense of Mutara? Or should I ask for volunteers?

 

I was thinking of taking the Defense of Mutara in stages; Deep space actions, Planetary assualts on worlds besiged by Orks, In-system actions, and assault on Mutara. I thought that maybe a small force of orks made it on Mutaran soil, not like Armaggeddon though. Maybe come up with an obective for the Orks to assault on Mutara?

 

The Castigators would attack or disable the Ork battleships first, so we would have to come up with several names for these battleships. I am not an 40k Ork player. If you know any ask if they can help. :)

 

With reguards to Mutara, how old is the Forgeworld? Is it heavy defended? Does it have space docks, listening posts, defense platforms, ect.? Does Mutara have any moons or an astroid field near it? Any mining worlds near by?

 

With reguards to Caphius, like you said, we need to start when Caphius was first promoted to captain. Do we know when?

 

I know that Caphius has been Captain since at least 749.M41, and probably a bit before that. That means he's been Second Company Captain for at least 250 years. But he's probably been Captain longer than that, given that Sicarius has been Second Company Captain of the Ultramarines for about the same time. So I'm curious as to how old you think Caphius is and how long he's been Captain.

 

(This ties into the wild inaccuracies in Space Marine ages. Cassius is described as being the oldest Ultramarine at 400 years, yet Telion has served under three Chapter Masters...? Plus then you need to figure into that the massive time distortion that would be experienced by the Space Marines, regularly travelling in the warp. That's why I'm keen not to give the Castigators' Captains biological ages, as that weighs us down in details - but it's something to bear in mind.)

 

There's not necessarily any need for us to come up with names for Ork battleships - the Castigators don't need to give them names, only to destroy them. I've a friend that plays Orks in BFG but that's not a priority just yet.

 

Mutara is a pretty well established Forgeworld, in that I imagine it's been in the Howling Stars for as long as the Castigators have been - So that's somewhere between six and eight thousand years. To my mind, the Forgeworlds are some of the most heavily defended places in the Imperium. The AdMech doesn't slack! But again you do tend to over-indulge in the details. I don't know if there are mining worlds nearby - I've stated on many occasions that I'm not going to map the Howling Stars - but I can assume that they are. I mention in this article my theories about Forgeworlds sitting at the centre of a 'web'. It's reasonable to assume that a forgeworld would require massive amounts of resources to sustain its forges and its workers. (Though if you're dark enough you could assume that the Forgeworld employs some sort of 'Soylent Green' food system).

[Ace Bronson]

I like the idea, good name and symbol.

[Commissar Molotov]

I like the idea, good name and symbol.

 

Thanks for the comment (even if it is a bit short!)

[Commissar Molotov]

I've spent the last hour or so compiling this, a complete collection of just about all the dates we have thus far for the Castigators. It's certainly the most complete timeline we have at the moment. I've broken it down by millennia so we can get somewhere with it. Perhaps it'll help. I'll be writing up the events suggested by Varen soon.

[brother varen]

Yes, Mol, I do tend to overdulge in the details alot. I'll admit it :) I only ask you all these questions in order to not exceed your vision of the Castigators :P So, please don't get anoided by my overindulgance in details ;)

 

So we have an issue with Marine ages, mainly due to Warp variences. So why not create our own system of dating. We could go by when the Inaite first enters the chapter or we could start from when he first becomes a full status battle brother. The Castigators could also be using the calendar from there homeworld. I believe there are several ways that we can approach this, but it will be down to you to chose which one you think is right. I do believe that another member of this board had stated this. This could help in making a better timeline for the Castigators. What do you think?

 

I'll go over the new Castigators timeline in the mean time. What did you think of the outline for the Defense of Mutara? Do you want to ask the other members if they would like to volunteer for the Defense of Mutara? Maybe Caphius could assign each company with an objective to accomplish?

[Commissar Molotov]

Yes, Mol, I do tend to overdulge in the details alot. I'll admit it :rolleyes: I only ask you all these questions in order to not exceed your vision of the Castigators ;) So, please don't get anoided by my overindulgance in details ;)

 

So we have an issue with Marine ages, mainly due to Warp variences. So why not create our own system of dating. We could go by when the Inaite first enters the chapter or we could start from when he first becomes a full status battle brother. The Castigators could also be using the calendar from there homeworld. I believe there are several ways that we can approach this, but it will be down to you to chose which one you think is right. I do believe that another member of this board had stated this. This could help in making a better timeline for the Castigators. What do you think?

 

I'll go over the new Castigators timeline in the mean time. What did you think of the outline for the Defense of Mutara? Do you want to ask the other members if they would like to volunteer for the Defense of Mutara? Maybe Caphius could assign each company with an objective to accomplish?

 

Well, the over-indulgence in details has, in its own way, helped shape my concepts and ideas. You just have to forgive me sometimes if I don't have all the ideas conveniently boxed and gift-wrapped for you! ;) I certainly appreciate you trying to adhere to my ideas, but I'm keen for your own. At the end of the day I can just pick-and-choose which concepts make the final-cut, so it all works out in the end. :tu:

 

The thing is that warp variance is something that'd affect all Chapters and all Marines. You can see it in Brothers of the Snake if you've read it, where the woman at the beginning and the end ages drastically whilst Priad has only been on a relatively few short missions. I don't think coming up with a Chapter-specific dating system is strictly necessary. There may be one; it might be used within Chapter records, for example - but the Imperial dating system somewhat takes into account the variance. There's a "check number" at the start of a lengthy date (for example 1393999.M41) - in this example, the first digit is the check number, which specifies how accurate the date is - the next three represent the year divided into 1000 fractions and the last three detail the actual year itself. So we can use calendar dates. For example we can say Caphius became Captain in 500.M41. It's 999.M41, but he might've only aged 200 years in those 499 years. That's one of the tricky things in the warp. It's interesting that the various Companies and forces of the Chapter could find themselves split and seperated at times. The Howling Stars are a region known as being particularly tempestuous, with violent warp-squalls and the like.

 

The biggest problem I have with the Castigators is that anything pre-M36 can't be reliably dated because we don't know the date of the fourteenth founding. We can assume, certainly, but it could be anywhere from M34 to M36 - giving us anything between 5-7000 years of history. That would affect things like when Baraquiel died. Still, the current blog timeline is the most accurate thus far. The first table details events I have details for but no time, so some of them could be moved into the intervening millennia to provide some filler. Nash Trickster's addressed the Age of Apostasy issue by saying that the Imperium can't reliably detail anything before M36, and that's likely the route I'll take. I hope very much that some day GW provides us with a canon date for the fourteenth founding. Even dating anything between the third and the twentieth would help me!

 

As for the defence of Mutara, I said Caphius could have something along the lines of 400 Marines, right? They wouldn't all be Battle-Companies. Perhaps it was the Second and the Fourth, to allow you access to multiple vessels. Then troops from the reserve companies (the eighth would be useful) and the First Company. Interestingly, the First-Captain of the time probably wasn't there, or Caphius might not've taken command.

 

We need to come up with a rough idea of when Caphius became Captain. If you can give me your thoughts, that'd be appreciated.

[Marshal Rohr]

Now that I really think about it age in the Imperium would be completely reliant on staying on one planet. There could be a date for when a Marine is inducted and what year he receives the carapace but you can really keep up with how old someone is if they travel through the warp constantly.

[Commissar Molotov]

Well, certainly.

 

Any fluff progress from either of you?

[Marshal Rohr]

Well some progression was made before finals. How Godslayer got his name is kind of humorous.

[Tyrannicide]

Well some progression was made before finals. How Godslayer got his name is kind of humorous.

Don't leave me hanging! How'd he receive his name? :teehee:

[Commissar Molotov]

I have to echo Darth Potato - if you're going to post, make it useful; if you've seen what's happened to the Knights Griffon thread you'll understand my desire to keep this thread going.

[Marshal Rohr]

812.M41: Dreadnaught Fortis is renamed Godslayer. This comes after the Third sends a suppression detachment to purge a world of a Xenos race known as the XXXXXX. The XXXXXX where a space faring race united in the service of their god, XXXXXX. The deity, who was a more than capable commander, personally led the resistance. The XXXXXX God was able to tie up the Lightbringers through an intense guerilla campaign that was causing higher than projected casualties. Through the efforts of a scout squad of the tenth under the famed Sergeant XXXXXX, a decisive strike was to be planned, one that would effectively cripple the resistance and allow for the Xenocide to commence at full pace and at its head would be Dreadnaught Fortis.

The attack was devastating, XXXXXX casualties were enormous. At the climax of the battle Dreadnaught Fortis met the god of the XXXXXX, clad in his battle suit, in personal combat. Ancient steel met Xenos tech in a titanic clash. The battle was intense and Dreadnaught Fortis was immobilized when the God use his repulsor tech to cripple Fotris’ leg joint. Bellowing the warcry of the chapter Fortis turned his Multi-Melta on the Xenos fiend and with the Emperor’s divine guidance Fortis was able to hit the power planet that energized the booster on the Xenos god’s suit causing a massive reactor overload incinerating him in a miniature thermo-nuclear explosion. The XXXXXX were devastated beyond all recovery. News of the god’s imminent demise was spread through Imperial Propaganda blimps and voxbots and the Castigators were able to cull the population that had not committed suicide within a fortnight. In honor of the Dreadnaught’s deed the Techpriests of the Chapter renamed the Elder while he was slumbering, a change he found disconcerting when he was next awoken.

[brother varen]

marshal2, like the way you are going with your characters.

 

Mol, haven't had time lately to work on them. Long hours at work. Will try to post something soon.

[Commissar Molotov]

812.M41: Dreadnaught Fortis is renamed Godslayer. This comes after the Third sends a suppression detachment to purge a world of a Xenos race known as the XXXXXX. The XXXXXX where a space faring race united in the service of their god, XXXXXX. The deity, who was a more than capable commander, personally led the resistance. The XXXXXX God was able to tie up the Lightbringers through an intense guerilla campaign that was causing higher than projected casualties. Through the efforts of a scout squad of the tenth under the famed Sergeant XXXXXX, a decisive strike was to be planned, one that would effectively cripple the resistance and allow for the Xenocide to commence at full pace and at its head would be Dreadnaught Fortis.

The attack was devastating, XXXXXX casualties were enormous. At the climax of the battle Dreadnaught Fortis met the god of the XXXXXX, clad in his battle suit, in personal combat. Ancient steel met Xenos tech in a titanic clash. The battle was intense and Dreadnaught Fortis was immobilized when the God use his repulsor tech to cripple Fotris’ leg joint. Bellowing the warcry of the chapter Fortis turned his Multi-Melta on the Xenos fiend and with the Emperor’s divine guidance Fortis was able to hit the power planet that energized the booster on the Xenos god’s suit causing a massive reactor overload incinerating him in a miniature thermo-nuclear explosion. The XXXXXX were devastated beyond all recovery. News of the god’s imminent demise was spread through Imperial Propaganda blimps and voxbots and the Castigators were able to cull the population that had not committed suicide within a fortnight. In honor of the Dreadnaught’s deed the Techpriests of the Chapter renamed the Elder while he was slumbering, a change he found disconcerting when he was next awoken.

 

And here I thought when you said it was "funny" that this false God would end up being crushed by a falling Drop Pod!

 

The thing to mention is that you can go two ways with this - either naming the sarcophagus 'Godslayer', or giving Honoured Patronus the nickname 'Godslayer'. Either way, it's good to see extra detail being applied to your force. :tu:

[Tyrannicide]

Personally I think it would be a better decision to simply name the Dreadnought sarcophagus 'Godslayer', but if not I'm not too opposed towards the other choice.

[Commissar Molotov]

That's definitely the tack I'd prefer. So that if Patronus died and a new occupant took the Sarcophagus, it would still be 'Godslayer'. It emphasises the idea that Space Marines venerate their wargear.

[Tyrannicide]

Yes, that's certainly true. It would add that much more to the Castigators long-standing traditions.

[Nash Trickster]

A bit of info you may find interesting, if only to know against whom the Castigators may hold a grudge for their parent chapter's demise: in Anthony Reynolds' Dark Disciple, there is an interesting bit of info bringing new light to what happened to the Black Consuls.

 

[...] Dark Apostle Ekodas, the craggy-faced holy leader of the 7th Company Host, who had led a holy crusade of retribution upon the Black Consuls, almost wiping the Cursed Chapter, a successor of the hated Ultramarines, from the galaxy; [...]

However, even if I doubt the Black Consuls can have been wiped out twice, there is, as you can see, no indication that it was the same event mentionned in Codex Space Marine.

There is therefore 3 possibilities:

• this event and the Siege of Hive Goddeth are one and the same;
  
• the BC were first "almost wiped out" by the 7th Host of the Word Bearers in some unnamed event and then faced another at foe who "finished the job" against the weakened BC at Hive Goddeth.
  
• the BC/WB fight can also have taken place a long time ago (which is a possibility since the next line in the book talks about another Dark Apostle who killed a Blood Angel Chaplain during the Siege of Terra) and millenia later where again brought down by another (or even the same) enemy...
  

I'd tend to go for the first option, simply because being almost wiped out twice seems a bit too farfetched IMHO.

 

Also the use of the word "retribution" is interesting IMHO, it can mean 2 things:

• either the BC stroke a blow to the WB which then called for retribution,
  
• or the WB organize(d) "retribution crusades" against random successors of the Ultramarines in revenge for their failure at Calth...
  

The first option isn't the most interesting IMO. The second one however would probably mean that the WB would see any opportunity to deal a blow against Ultramarines' successors as "too good to pass" and thus would have to be considered if you intend to have the WB play a part in any event concerning the Castigators.

Edited December 19, 2008 by Nash Trickster

[Hasoroth]

Personally I'd have the Sarcophagus have its own specific name, with Fortis' owning the title of Godslayer. IMHO a Dreadnought chassis is a mount, and the sarcophagus its rider, both would be honored and both would have long venerable histories. I'm slightly biased though, writing a short story about Dreadnoughts using a naming system with first name being the interred Marine and last name being the chassis "Trian Ironbane" for example.

[Commissar Molotov]

A bit of info you may find interesting, if only to know against whom the Castigators may hold a grudge for their parent chapter's demise: in Anthony Reynolds' Dark Disciple, there is an interesting bit of info bringing new light to what happened to the Black Consuls.

 

[...] Dark Apostle Ekodas, the craggy-faced holy leader of the 7th Company Host, who had led a holy crusade of retribution upon the Black Consuls, almost wiping the Cursed Chapter, a successor of the hated Ultramarines, from the galaxy; [...]

However, even if I doubt the Black Consuls can have been wiped out twice, there is, as you can see, no indication that it was the same event mentionned in Codex Space Marine.

There is therefore 3 possibilities:

• this event and the Siege of Hive Goddeth are one and the same;
  
• the BC were first "almost wiped out" by the 7th Host of the Word Bearers in some unnamed event and then faced another at foe who "finished the job" against the weakened BC at Hive Goddeth.
  
• the BC/WB fight can also have taken place a long time ago (which is a possibility since the next line in the book talks about another Dark Apostle who killed a Blood Angel Chaplain during the Siege of Terra) and millenia later where again brought down by another (or even the same) enemy...
  

I'd tend to go for the first option, simply because being almost wiped out twice seems a bit too farfetched IMHO.

 

Also the use of the word "retribution" is interesting IMHO, it can mean 2 things:

• either the BC stroke a blow to the WB which then called for retribution,
  
• or the WB organize(d) "retribution crusades" against random successors of the Ultramarines in revenge for their failure at Calth...
  

The first option isn't the most interesting IMO. The second one however would probably mean that the WB would see any opportunity to deal a blow against Ultramarines' successors as "too good to pass" and thus would have to be considered if you intend to have the WB play a part in any event concerning the Castigators.

 

I can always rely on you to provide me with thought-provoking info, Nash! Thanks for the post. It's funnily coincidental that the Castigators have clashed with the Word Bearers on a number of times - there's a lot of bad blood there, and if the Black Consuls fell before the Word Bearers that would only inspire the Castigators further!

 

Thanks again for the post, it's definitely given me a lot to think about. I agree they likely would hold a grudge against the Sons of Guilliman for their failure at Calth.

[ToyShip]

A bit of info you may find interesting, if only to know against whom the Castigators may hold a grudge for their parent chapter's demise: in Anthony Reynolds' Dark Disciple, there is an interesting bit of info bringing new light to what happened to the Black Consuls.

 

 

QUOTE (Dark Disciple p404)

[...] Dark Apostle Ekodas, the craggy-faced holy leader of the 7th Company Host, who had led a holy crusade of retribution upon the Black Consuls, almost wiping the Cursed Chapter, a successor of the hated Ultramarines, from the galaxy; [...]

 

However, even if I doubt the Black Consuls can have been wiped out twice, there is, as you can see, no indication that it was the same event mentionned in Codex Space Marine.

There is therefore 3 possibilities:

this event and the Siege of Hive Goddeth are one and the same;

the BC were first "almost wiped out" by the 7th Host of the Word Bearers in some unnamed event and then faced another at foe who "finished the job" against the weakened BC at Hive Goddeth.

the BC/WB fight can also have taken place a long time ago (which is a possibility since the next line in the book talks about another Dark Apostle who killed a Blood Angel Chaplain during the Siege of Terra) and millenia later where again brought down by another (or even the same) enemy...

I'd tend to go for the first option, simply because being almost wiped out twice seems a bit too farfetched IMHO.

 

Also the use of the word "retribution" is interesting IMHO, it can mean 2 things:

either the BC stroke a blow to the WB which then called for retribution,

or the WB organize(d) "retribution crusades" against random successors of the Ultramarines in revenge for their failure at Calth...

The first option isn't the most interesting IMO. The second one however would probably mean that the WB would see any opportunity to deal a blow against Ultramarines' successors as "too good to pass" and thus would have to be considered if you intend to have the WB play a part in any event concerning the Castigators.

 

This is excellent! I agree that the first option, the one where this instance and Hive Goddeth are the same thing, and think that this could bring out some interesting possibilities for our favorite Black Consul's succesor :) .

 

Perhaps, somehow the Castigators learned of the Black Consul's demise and the Word Bearers that perpertrated such a dastardly deed, and Quintillus (the Chapter Master?) declares a crusade or something, gathering as much of the chapter to him as possible to hunt this Dark Apostle that lead them.

 

Or conversely, perhaps he would bestow the honor of hunting this individual to one of the Captains, sort of like the Castigator's version of Kosarro Khan. Personaly, I like this idea, but then again, that doesnt mean much. I just think it would be interesting for them to hunt said Apostle to redeem thier parents' honor. Perhaps Lucien could be given this duty, since it doesnt seem like he has too much background material, could work well gamewise too, as he could be a Khan counts-as, minus Moondrakkan of course.

 

Then again, Lucien is captain of a reserve company, so would such an honor be bestowed on him, seeing as he isn'st really a Line captain? Or is he? I have always been confused as to the duties of reserve captains, would they still lead Marines in battle or would they just be stuck giving their squads to the Battle companies to re-inforce them?

 

Anyway, theres some thoughts, like I say, I'd like to see some more on Lucien.

 

Toyship

[Commissar Molotov]

This is excellent! I agree that the first option, the one where this instance and Hive Goddeth are the same thing, and think that this could bring out some interesting possibilities for our favorite Black Consul's succesor :) .

 

Perhaps, somehow the Castigators learned of the Black Consul's demise and the Word Bearers that perpertrated such a dastardly deed, and Quintillus (the Chapter Master?) declares a crusade or something, gathering as much of the chapter to him as possible to hunt this Dark Apostle that lead them.

 

Or conversely, perhaps he would bestow the honor of hunting this individual to one of the Captains, sort of like the Castigator's version of Kosarro Khan. Personaly, I like this idea, but then again, that doesnt mean much. I just think it would be interesting for them to hunt said Apostle to redeem thier parents' honor. Perhaps Lucien could be given this duty, since it doesnt seem like he has too much background material, could work well gamewise too, as he could be a Khan counts-as, minus Moondrakkan of course.

 

Then again, Lucien is captain of a reserve company, so would such an honor be bestowed on him, seeing as he isn'st really a Line captain? Or is he? I have always been confused as to the duties of reserve captains, would they still lead Marines in battle or would they just be stuck giving their squads to the Battle companies to re-inforce them?

 

Anyway, theres some thoughts, like I say, I'd like to see some more on Lucien.

 

Toyship

 

It's useful, certainly, but I don't want to go all out when GW might re-write the canon regarding the Black Consuls and force me to re-write my stuff. That's why I haven't made a bigger deal regarding the Black Consuls.

 

Lucien will get detailed eventually. As a reserve company Captain he would see battle, yes. I'll get around to detailing Lucien and Ramus soon.

[brother varen]

If i am correct don't the Ultramarines a battle brother Severus intombed in a dreadnought called Ironclaw from the Battle of Macragge? Personally, i like hasoroth's idea of naming the dreadnouhgts by using the first name of the intombed marine and then the dreadnought's chassis name.