+ How to name your DIY Chapter +

[Aurelius Rex]

Thought it might be nice to get you all thinking, so how about a discussion thread about how to go about naming a DIY chapter.

 

This is a very important decision in the life of a DIY chapter, and can be a very tricky one too. What pearls of wisdom can you give to your fellows on the B&C?

 

When everyone has put in their tuppence, then we can conclude, and sticky the thread if it seems useful. :)

 

There are a number of interesting threads giving suitably Astartes names, especially this stickypost here... Link

 

To get the ball rolling, the article on chapter names in UK White Dwarf 299 suggests five basic groups, although there are many more:

 

- Elements

Iron Hands, Fire Hawks, Storm Crows

 

- Colours

Crimson Fists, Black Templars, White Consuls

 

- Creatures

Space Wolves, Black Dragons, Howling Griffons

 

- Warriors

Night Lords, Iron Warriors, Sons of Guilliman, Blood / Dark Angels

 

- Weapons

Imperial Fists, Brazen Claws, Red Talons

 

 

Now this is just the start... you could link it to the name of their homeworld, (Patriarchs of Ulixis?) or even just a suitably savage word plucked from the dictionary, like Castigators, Libators or Revilers.

 

Whatever name you choose, it should ideally represent the character of the chapter in some way, so if the chapter wears red armour, then calling them Black Knights might be odd.

 

The name can be a link to the primarch or Progenitor legion, such as the Scions of Dorn (ahem), Granite Fists or Sons or Sanguinius. 'Angelic' chapter names may work best with successors of the Dark or Blood Angels, but like with everything, there are exceptions. Mixing characteristic themes of two first founding chapters could lead to confusion, like the Wolf Fists... but that would not work on anatomical grounds too. :P

 

According to a recent post (a cookie for the one who gets the link up first) Insignum Astartes mentions that Chapters are assigned their names after the chapter has established itself a bit... I don't know if this is always the case, or if like everything there is room for wiggling, as I like the idea that the name of my chapter was assigned at the time of the founding being called... with the names of the new chapters being written in the sacred Liber Militaris Sanctus... but each to his own. :P

 

On the subject of renaming a chapter, it would be a major thing to have a chapter change it's name. There are examples of chapters that have done it - the Luna Wolves changed their name twice, but then they are all have the Mark of Chaos Undecided ;) - but chapters have histories of up to ten thousand years, and few have done it, and they value continuity and history, so consider carefully if a name change is warranted, or even adds something to the chapter history... Even a campaign where they lost 80% of the chapter would probably not warrant it, but something like them going over to the service of the Ruinous powers might be the sort of thing that they would want to celebrate with a name change to go with the new mission statement, but even then not necessarily. ;)

 

 

OK, that is enough from me... let's throw this open to the board. What are your top tips?

[Sternn]

I've been trying to come with a name for a DIY chapter for a couple days now. I think my army is going to be pretty basic, but it will rely heavily on heavy weapons. So far I'm leaning towards the Knights of Thunder or Thunder Knights or something like that.

[Aurelius Rex]

You have the thunder link to the boom of the big guns, right? Sounds like a good start. Don't be afraid to change it as the rest of your background develops and progresses. :)

 

Hopefully as it develops, perhaps this thread will give you some ideas to perfect the name.

[Ferrata]

Firstly I will state what I always state *heres groans at the back of the room*

 

"Shut Up"

 

The Main two types of Name

 

Descriptive

 

An adjective (descriptive word) followed by a noun (a thing word). Such as Blood Angels, Imperial Fists, Ultramarines.

 

Ownership

 

Something with either a "of" in or a "'s" in. Such as Emperor's Children, Brotherhood of a Thousand, Sons of Horus.

 

I personally think the second type of name is easier to create and sound better. Sometimes the first type can seem a little cheesy but can sometimes sound quite good.

 

so if the chapter wears red armour, then calling them Black Knights might be odd.

 

*Looks at Black Wings*

 

::cuss:

 

Ferrata

[ironloki]

Also basing your chapters name on your decided culture and especially religion can help. (I prefer basing fluff on existing cultures and time periods as it can provide a nice essence to you chapter and great modelling ideas)

 

For example if you create an Egyptian chapter :) , Greek chapter, Roman, Carthaginian, Germanic, Gaulish etc it can be good to have a name which is immediately associated with this.

 

This does not mean call them, Sons of Greece, or The Imperial Romans ;) but looking more at their main beliefs and dieties or perhaps something associated with the culture.

 

i.e name ideas which can be included into the overall chapter name

 

Roman

- Romulus, Jupiter, Neptune, Praetorians, Consuls, Tribune

 

Greek

- Hellas, Zeus, Apollo, Hades, Phalanx,

 

Egyptian

- Ra, Horus (problematic ;) ), Serapis, Vultures, Tomb, Pharoahs

 

Medieval/Knightly

- Crusaders, Brotherhood, knights, Covent, Apostles

[schoon]

I tend to atack the name battle from a slightly different slant.

 

Just as I think that Fluff should determine characteristics and not vice versa, so I also believe that fluff goes a long way in helping you with a name!

 

Close-in fighters, pick a large animal whose reputation is nasty when cornered or a weapon that's designed for that task. If lightning-maneuver is your thing, go with animals fleet of foot or wing. In short: pick an animal or other noun that goes well with your concept. Now all you need is a "modifier."

 

Pick something that goes either with their home world, or creates a link to their progenitor chapter. This can either take the form of the "noun" or "modifier." For example, a descendent chapter of the Raven Guard might use either "Raven" or "Guard" in their name, and then scrap the other word for something in line with your fluff: Eagle Guard, Blood Ravens (oops ;) ).

 

If your "noun" or "modifier" just don't sound cool enough, never fear - the Thesaurus is here! It always gives me plenty of ideas for alternate words. The Pink Bunnies not sound cool enough for you? How about Rose Hares (OK, maybe not the best example, especially as you'll be the Nose Hairs Marines forevermore, but you get the idea ;) )

 

These techniques have served me quite well over the years :)

[Brother Tyler]

According to a recent post (a cookie for the one who gets the link up first) Insignum Astartes mentions that Chapters are assigned their names after the chapter has established itself a bit...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I like Nutter Butters :)

 

I'll also add some cautionary notes on naming.

 

Chapters don't have to choose names that relate to their parent Chapter. The process of creating Chapters is still uncertain. While it's possible that the parent Chapter sends battle-brothers to form the core of the new Chapter, it's just as possible that the new Chapter is created entirely from the ground up. We also have the fact that many Chapters don't know their lineage. So there is the possibility that at least some Chapters don't even know which Chapter they are descended from, nor their gene-seed heritage. Even if a Chapter does know who it's "parent" is, the new Chapter Master might not choose a name reminiscent of that Chapter. A lot of this will depend on the new Chapter's Master.

 

Additionally, certain name elements aren't the "property" of specific first founding Chapters and their descendants. It's quite possible and acceptable for Chapters of other descent to incorporate those name elements. So a Chapter might choose the name "Fiery Wolves" and not be descended from the Space Wolves, or "Angels of Purity" and not be descended from the Dark Angels or Blood Angels.

[SCC]

Tip - Say the name out aloud

 

Seriously, a name that sounds fine in the cavernous hollow of your mind often sounds daft out loud and vice versa, the key is to find one that sounds good both inside and out ;)

 

Tip - Spelling is important

 

A bit pernickety I know but for heaven's sake please make sure you spell the words in your Chapter's name correctly, there's nothing worse than having a mispelled Chapter name like the 'Knites of Kharkol' :)

 

Tip - 40K is an imaginary world, leave the real world behind

 

This one might be a little contentious but I'm not a fan of using real world inspirations in an overwhelmingly obvious fashion like naming a Chapter 'The Spartans' or 'Teutonic Knights' and the like. Take 30 seconds extra and modify something, even just a little - 'Sons of Teutonia' is better than the original 'Teutonic Knights'...

 

Tip - Namecheck!

 

Do a quick check of Kurgan's Liber Astartes website or Captain Stern's or somewhere similar to see if your Chapter's name has cropped up before, particularly in an official GW mention. Not much worse than turning up in Liber and announcing you've named your Chapter 'Raptors' only to be told Forgeworld are just about to release a whole book about an official GW Chapter with the same name ;)

[Commissar Molotov]

you could link it to the name of their homeworld, (Patriarchs of Ulixis?) or even just a suitably savage word plucked from the dictionary, like Castigators...

 

:)

 

Your name can also be an indicator of the chapter's character. If they are indeed chosen by the first chapter master, then said master would likely chose something that would appeal to him.

[Aurelius Rex]

Hehe... wondered if you would notice, Molotov. ;) I did include a few choice DIY chapter names in with the official ones.

 

@Bro T - We don't get 'Nutter Butters' in Britain... but do have a virtual Jaffa cake. (Yum!)

 

 

All good ideas so far. Lets keep those creative juices flowing. :)

[Commissar Molotov]

Obviously naming your chapter is important. I would also agree that renaming a chapter should be a very rare thing. I doubt it would be very popular amongst many marines for their chapter to change its' name.

 

Considering the chapter master choosing the chapter's name, I would have to admit that I don't think the chapter master would just pick a name that he fancied, or liked the sound of, or got out of a hat. I imagine it would be after many days of meditation, or consulting the Emperor's Tarot. Thusly, the Emperor chooses the name, not the Chapter Master. (Or else the Chapter master could just say "The Sons of Me.")

 

As such, the name has been chosen by the Emperor, and changing the name would be going against the Emperor's will. The way around this is the chapter master/librarian getting a vision to change the name, but still I'm not sure on this.

 

The Luna Wolves changed their name twice, but for very different reasons. They became the Sons of Horus because the Emperor renamed them to honour their warmaster. They became the Black Legion because Abaddon commanded them to do so after Horus' body was stolen by the Emperor's Children. They repainted their armour black to symbolise their shame in failing. However, Abaddon favours an autocratic style of leadership, where those that disagree find themselves dead.

[st.germaine]

Regarding color names... as has already been pointed out briefly a color related name does not have to indicate the armor color; it can but doesn't have to. The previously mentioned Black Wings are a good example. Their armor is half black/half red and the Black is clearly a reference to the chapter symbol instead of the armor. The White Panthers are another GW chapter where the color references the symbol more than the armor. The best example is the Red Scorpions - the only red on their armor is their chapter symbol (this only applies to their current incarnation not the oft pointed out camo scheme from the RT days). I went this route with my Golden Scorpions, quarterly green and black with a gold scorpion as a symbol.

[DraXaus]

Animals, such as Wolves, Hawks and Tigers can relate their nature onto the Chapter. For Example, my chapter the "Siege Wolves" uses the wolf, as they are siege masters of the animal kingdom. Wolves will surround their pray, and look for weakness in the animal. This kind of stand off can last for awhile, but not often dose it. The ensorceled animal will mostly likely make the fist move on the wolves, giving them the opportunity to strike. The Wolves will then rip at the animal's flesh, trying to pull the animal down where they may begin eating. The animal is usually alive while this is happening.

 

In turn, this is how my chapter behaves. Ensorceling the enemy until weakness is found, then applying massive force on that area until the entire area is overran by the space marine chapter. This also plays in perfectly with their gene-seed, the Imperial Fists, as they are also siege masters.

 

What I'm saying is. Not only be using its name, but also its attributes as well. It will at least define your chapter, but that's just my opinion. You don't have to be like the animal you're using as your symbol.

[Daeothar]

Right...

 

For the Fiery Lions, I took a part from Dutch history; the Lion Rampant, which is (with assorted atributes) the coat of arms of the royal family. The same family is called 'Van Oranje', which means from Orange, which is a region in France.

 

The lion was an obvious part but Orange Lions did not have a suitable ring to it. Fiery Orange is the colour closest in the GW range though and Fiery sounded rather cool. So the Fiery Lions were born.

 

As both elements needed to be represented in the chapterbadge, I doodled with flames and lions until I got a symbol that combined both in one logo; the manes are also a flame, as is the tongue...

 

I knew I had to base the chapter on Dutch history so took the Golden Age as inspiration even though this is not visible on the outside (no powdered wigs, no frilly lace or huge buckles on their boots). It is recognizable in the fluff though.

 

Because of the name, I now had to form some of the chapter's behaviour on it, hence the predeliction for close combat and hotheadedness.

 

In short, creating the Fiery Lions was something of an organic process in that the badge, colorscheme, fluff and combat doctrine were all created at the same time, influencing eachother as I went along. So there's no distinctive seperate parts really; they're all an integral part of the same creative effort.

 

The one thing I should have been more keen on is the possibilities of corrupting and twisting the chapter name into something altogether funny but annoying at times too. Proving SCC's point about pronouncing the name and playing around with it some before making it final.

You know.

You've laughed about it.

That's right, (thanks Steve) it's the Fiery Loins... :wub:

[Commissar Molotov]

Well, despite what Aurelius might have you believe, I didn't pick 'Castigator' out of a dictionary. I first actually saw it (in a GW sense) on the Emperor's Champion sword-blade. It said "Dei Castigator".

 

After thinking about it, the idea of marines intent upon punishing those they deemed to be going against the Emperor's will stuck with me. The strict emphasis on purity carried itself throughout the creation process, and gave them what I think is an interesting character. Of course, most chapters think they're bigoted and dangerous...

[Ferrata]

The Wings of Death is pretty much a simple name. After going through several different idea's for DIY chapters (including one where I got my username from, and a chapter dedicated to Cypher), I decided I wanted to do a fast attack, death obsessed army. Mainly because firstly my friend was starting a shooty SM army, and I thought the static battles would be boring and before I had played (and dropped) IG and Tau, both shooty armies. So that was fast attack and close combat down. After always having a slight intrest in the fallen angels (not 40k version) I had an image of a marine with wings, thus the wing part came around.

 

As for the name and how it relates to my chapter. Even now they are less death obsessed then first imagined, they still have a lot to do with death & a slightly morbid view on the universe. They are getting slightly less fast attack.

 

Ferrata

[Race Bannon]

What's in a name? Everythng. It has been my mantra here when I try to help someone in Liber.

 

But I do not think that the name needs to be tied to the Chapter function or style.

 

I.e. Meta-Marines ::cuss: or Imperial Stars

 

Yeah, it is cool if it does though (Blood Angels). But would the Space Sharks be more or less ferocious than the Space Wolves? Does it matter? C'mon, Space Sharks.

 

Like SCC suggested ... say it ... "Space Sharks". :) :D Yet it's official GW stuff.

 

In my opinion, the Chapter comes before the name. And the name should be anything you want it to be. So if you want the "Snicker Regiment" you will get that from people who hear it ;)

 

For my own DIY I just ripped it from FASA because, dagnabit, it sounds super cool to me. And that was enough.

 

EDIT - corrected reference

[Sternn]

Ok... I've changed my mind about my original name idea (Thunder Knights... ) and decided to go with the "Quantum Knights." :D

 

Now, to start working on the color scheme. :)

[Grand Master Belial]

For my own DIY I just ripped it from FASA because, dagnabit, it sounds super cool to me.  And that was enough.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

FASA names would make good Marine Chapter names

Timberwolves

Mad Cats

Vultures

Black Rhinos

Annhilators

Tarantulas

Elementals (Oh boy, this is just asking for it. <_< )

Goshawks

Jagermechs

Sunderers

Uziels

Orions

Warhawks

 

::cuss: :angry: :D ...too much Mechwarrior 2-4!

 

Many of the above names follow many of the naming conventions listed previously. However, there are a number of unique names in there to provide a potential DIY creator some ready made names that have a fighting connotation to them.

 

Belial Out

[Ferrata]

:ot: Whats FASA? :ot:

 

Ferrata

 

Cheers Bro-T

[Brother Tyler]

FASA was the game company that published Battletech and the games related to it. The names he has listed are those of the 'mechs from the games. It was basically a skirmish-level wargame that focused on giant robots ('mechs).

[Grand Master Belial]

FASA was the game company that published Battletech and the games related to it. The names he has listed are those of the 'mechs from the games. It was basically a skirmish-level wargame that focused on giant robots ('mechs).

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

:ot: I would almost hazard a guess that it was a rising star the same time as Games Workshop. While GW's has risen, FASA has fallen and has been bought by WizKids. Now they are a Heroclix line that pales to GW and their former glory. You can still find FASA stuff at some gaming stores but it's quickly becoming more rare.

 

Belial Out.

 

[NOTE: If this is contaminating what would be a very fine thread. I will delete these posts for the betterment of B&C]

[Aurelius Rex]

Back on topic, in a discussion about this thread with Refuse, he made the good point that numbers can be useful.

 

The pre-heresy legions seemed to number their Grand Companies (about the size of a chapter nowadays as far as I can tell) and so you might find Chaos forces described as the 29th Great Company, 4th Cohort or the 17th Legion of Fear.

 

This is admittedly a chaos thing, but a good example is Sleepwalker's chapter, the 920's, Link who were unlucky enough to get devastated even before they got properly established or assigned a proper name. You occasionally hear that a chapter like the Mentor Legion was given the number 888 or such, well these guys take it to the next level.

 

I would not recommend that people create a rash of number chapters, (dreading the inevitable '49'ers' chapter now... <_< ) but thinking about a chapter number as well as a name might be a nice characterful nugget of background.

[neosonichdghg]

I actually had some fun with my name. My chapter is the Red Dragons, which is one of the most generic and boring names I could think of. However, it describes a really unusual and really rather heretical chapter. I'll come up with some reason why they were originally called that, but in the beginning it was just to be ironic.

 

Anyway, just remember that the name of your chapter can be an excellent opportunity to play around with images. Even ones that surprise people or make them think (always a good thing).

[Son of the Third Eye]

I enjoy screwing around with words with occultic and religious significances.

 

Omen Guard, for example, is my Chapter's name.

 

By picking up a random bible or occult book, you're bound to find interesting words.

 

Sons of Golgotha

Fists of Valhalla

Faith Weavers

Doom Prophets

Black Apostles

Crucifiers

Knights of Kabbalah

Sin Eaters (Sineater is a real word, actually, or more specificly, a profession)

Disgruntled Postal Workers

 

You see where I'm going with this.