Heralds of Justice

[Sir Crispy]

I really enjoy reading everyone's IA articles, so I thought I'd post one that I've been kicking around for a while. Let me know what you think and what you'd do differently. In particular, I'm not that well versed in my Imperial history, so I haven't nailed down a founding or their "stomping grounds" so to speak. So I'd like some advice on dates and places that would work based on what I have so far.

 

Thanks!

 

Name: Heralds of Justice

 

Founding: XXth (maybe 18th or so? Something kind of recent but old enough to have developed an exemplary record. Perhaps soon after a notable but recent apostasy)

Geneseed: Ultramarines

 

Origins:

The Heralds of Justice is a 18th founding chapter created to physically combat the violently spreading corruption on far-flung worlds of the XXXXXX sector in Segmentum XXXXXXXXXXX. These worlds had been battered by wars attributable to heretical clergy, daemonic cults, witchcraft, and xenos induced uprisings. Calling on the military arms of the various Ordos to respond to each new threat as it arose was unacceptable as the time required mounting an expedition would allow the corruption to fester and mature into an epidemic. The High Lords of Terra believed that the constant presence of a stern and zealously watchful eye capable of ripping the metaphorical heart out of any growing corruption would dampen the lusts of any would-be cult leaders in the sector as well as put down those rebellions and incursions that formed. The Heralds were trained as a fanatically pious military able to execute these mission parameters.

 

In their quest to fulfill their mission, the Heralds of Justice quickly embarked upon a crusade against the most entrenched cults of the sector. Unfortunately, general military consensus agrees that the chapter may have been too hasty in its engagement with the enemy. Although successful in their campaigns, the fledgling chapter was strained as it attempted to grow to full size while replacing its losses. Most historians believe the Heralds should have instead dealt with smaller threats in the beginning, graduating to larger threats as the chapter grew and matured. This rash action on the part of the Heralds has haunted them to this day as the chapter has rarely taken a pause from its mission in order to catch its breath and recuperate. In their defense, their training mandates that anything less than constant vigilance would be a failure.

 

In their zealotry, the Heralds began to expand their mission parameters as they searched out new worlds to bring back into the light of the Emperor. They began appearing unannounced in existing war zones, utilizing their strategic ability to identify and collapse supply lines and key installations to turn the tide of existing conflicts and allow their embattled fellow chapters to fight on favorable terms. Several centuries of noble yet unremarkable service followed as the Heralds of Justice proved their worth through surgical strikes against those that would corrupt the Imperium.

 

However, the Heralds of Justice came under the scrutiny of the Inquisition when a report began circulating regarding an alleged Herald hit-and-run attack on the power plant of a small Iron Hands installation that had been holding off an Ork invasion of the colony world Detrium VII. Faced with certain defeat, the Iron Hands were forced to withdraw, and the Orks razed the planet. Not satisfied with the initial evidence against the Heralds and believing the incident to be an isolated error, Inquisitor Crispus of the Ordo Hereticus delved deeper. To his dismay, he found more circumstantial evidence of raids by marines fitting the Heralds' description, raids either directly against various Imperial forces or which ultimately led to Imperial defeat at the hands of others.

 

When confronted with these allegations, the Heralds neither confirmed nor denied them, but instead claimed that all their actions had been simply the result of following direct orders from the Emperor himself. Investigations of astropathic records did show that the Heralds were receiving psychic communications from somewhere within the vast halls of the Imperial Palace, communications that closely preceded alleged attacks. Unfortunately, the exact originator of these communications could not be determined, and any attempt to probe deeper led to obfuscation and insurmountable bureaucratic red tape within the Palace.

 

Not discouraged by this dead end, Inquisitor Crispus turned to the examination of the worlds and forces that were affected by these alleged raids. He discovered that a significant minority of these victims were either already under suspicion by some branch of the Inquisition or at least should have been had their corrupt actions been brought to the attention of the appropriate Ordos. However, most were considered uncorrupted and did not seem to fit a pattern.

 

Believing the Heralds to be unwitting pawns in some larger plan, Crispus refrained from declaring the chapter Exterminatus, hoping to use the chapter to draw out their mysterious instructor. Currently, he is closely watching the chapter and the bureaucracy on Terra, hoping to discover the source of their orders, whether they be machinations of the High Lords, daemonic manipulations, or even direct commands from the Emperor Himself.

 

Homeworld:

The Heralds of Justice have no homeworld on file and are generally believed to be fleet-based. However, they appear to send resupply requisitions at a significantly lower rate than other crusading chapters, and their power armor suits have minor non-sanctioned cosmetic changes. These facts have led some within the Inquisition to conclude that the Heralds do maintain a hidden chapter forge.

 

Organization:

The Heralds of Justice follow the Codex Astartes for the most part. However, due to their focused combat doctrine, some significant divergence from the Codex has developed. In particular, the chapter maintains a radically expanded assault capability at the expense of relying on very little vehicular armor. The vehicles they do maintain have been modified such that they can more readily be dropped near a targeted hot zone. In addition, the chapter is considerably undermanned and does not field the full ten companies laid down in the Codex. Notably lacking are the standard reserve companies, necessitating that every new marine receives a baptism by fire through immediate service in a combat-ready unit upon donning their power armor.

 

Combat Doctrine:

The Heralds of Justice focus their combat doctrine on lightning raids against the enemy's perceived weak points, denying the enemy the ability to bring its full weight against the weakened chapter. The chapter has often been known to make these raids while its enemy is already engaged in battle. The destroyed weak point would then lead to the target's fall by the hand of another.

 

The Heralds prefer to make a grand entrance when taking to the field of battle. They often suddenly appear in the midst of enemy formations and installations to the accompaniment of blaring fanfare and flashy explosions that tend to confuse and demoralize the unsuspecting enemy. Although using stealth rather than causing disorder could accomplish their mission specialty, the Heralds believe their approach is just as effective and lets the enemy understand why they were defeated because the Emperor commanded it.

 

Beliefs:

The Heralds of Justice believe they are receiving direct orders from the Emperor. In their eyes, their actions bring justice to those that would corrupt the Imperium. Since the Emperor can see and know all, following His orders is always the correct path, even if the positive results of those actions are not readily apparent.

 

Appearance:

The Heralds armor is silver that has been polished until it shines like chrome. Shoulder pads, kneepads, and greaves are painted red which has been similarly polished. They often wear tabards or cloaks of pure white. Their chapter symbol is a white set of scales on a red background. Of particular note are the chapter's minor cosmetic changes to their armor. The standard shoulder plates have been replaced with a more segmented version. When the environment allows, they often wear modified open-face helmets while at the same time covering their faces with red or white veils. It is unknown why they have modified their armor in such a manner, although some suggestions include cultural customs picked up during their crusades or manufacturing concessions due to the inability to create proper equipment.

 

Battle Cry:

No standard battle cry. However, their assaults are often accompanied by trumpeted fanfare.

 

EDIT: Found a couple of typos. D'oh!

[Librarian- Melechor]

Wow! Nice work! I really like what you've got going. The emperor thing, though probably un-true, makes a great backround for them, and it adds a little mystery to your IA as well. Keep it up! :wub:

[Nash Trickster]

Crispus refrained from declaring the chapter Exterminatus

I think you mean Excommunicate, the Exterminatus is the fact of virus bombing a planet to destroy all life :P

[Sir Crispy]

Oops! Yep, I don't know why I wrote exterminatus. Brain fart...

 

Thanks

[Ferrata]

A very nice article, which I only have two minor quibbles with. First, I would replace the Iron Hands with a random chapter, just because I think it's better to have very limited conections with "real" chapters. Having the Iron Hand's attacked doesn't really add to the chapter, so attacking "Pink Zebra's" will have the same effect. Secondly, I would say they have traced the source of the emission to central Segmentum Solar. I'm not entirely sure if the Imperium is that good at tracking physic emissions to the exact origin, so maybe a broad area would be better and give you more to work with.

 

Thirdly, write more!

 

Good Work ;)

 

Ferrata

[Sir Crispy]

Iron Hands was a semi-random choice based on an actual kill team scenario where the Heralds knocked out a powerplant guarded by an Iron Hands player. I'm a little on the fence about this one -- on one side, choosing the Hands was really just a nod to (or a jab at) a fellow player, so it really doesn't matter. On the other side, I like to incorporate the results of actual games in my fluff, and I think having minor ties to actual chapters is no big deal. Now, if I had said they whipped the snot out of the entire Iron Hands chapter, that would be way too much.

 

But I see where you're coming from on this, and I really have no preference to keep it. If removing the Iron Hands reference is the general consensus, then consider it done.

 

I also see where you're coming from on the transmission thing -- there probably isn't something like a psychic GPS. However, I have a problem with broadening it that much. I feel I need a fairly direct tie to the Palace. Like Librarian-Melechor pick up on, I'm trying to go for the idea that the evidence is pointing to the Emperor having a direct hand in directing the chapter, but that such a situation *has* to be impossible. The inquisitor investigating the chapter is in a tough spot. Could the Emperor give the chapter orders? To say "no" is to blaspheme the omnipotence of the Holy Emperor. But surely he isn't sending the orders. The inquisitor has to walk a razor's edge to get to the bottom of this mystery without upsetting the Ecclessiarchy. There's a story in the making there...

 

And yes, as Melechor said, it probably isn't the Emperor directing them, but I doubt I'll ever uncover that mystery. Its one of the defining traits of the chapter.

 

Anyways, I need some ties back to the Imperial Palace. Considering that the Palace is roughly the size of a continent (or something like that), the source of the transmissions could still be from anyone, but "Imperial Palace" just screams "the Emperor did it!" without nailing it down completely.

 

What about changing the paragraph in question to something along these lines (the changes are in itallics):

 

"Investigations of astropathic records and the interrogation of several Imperial servants revealed that the Heralds were receiving psychic communications from somewhere within the vast halls of the Imperial Palace, communications that closely preceded alleged attacks. Unfortunately, the exact originator of these communications could not be determined, and any attempt to probe deeper led to obfuscation and insurmountable bureaucratic red tape within the Palace. "

[Ferrata]

But I see where you're coming from on this, and I really have no preference to keep it. If removing the Iron Hands reference is the general consensus, then consider it done.

Cutting links with offical GW chapters is just a personal preference of mine, and doesn't really matter as long as you don't go too far with it.

 

Personally, I would go for something more along the lines of

 

The chapter seem adament that their signals are being sent by the Emperor, and judging by the astropathic records and the interrogation of several Imperial servants, this is entirely possible for the source of the signals.

 

This basically say's it comes from the Palace, without actually saying it. It is a very nice hook though :ph34r:

 

Ferrata

[Sir Crispy]

Thanks for the ideas. They've helped me look at the story from a different direction.

 

On a different note, the motivation for creating this chapter is twofold. First, the Heralds are currently just a kill team, and I'm not sure they'll expand much further. Because of this, my games with them always involve a small strike team (except when I play the brute squads, but then I play a different army.) Also, I wanted a better way to justify all the marine-on-marine battles that happen due to the prevalence of marine players. I'm tired of the usual "they got into a misunderstanding and it got out of hand." I wanted something more akin to the Inquisition's reasons. In this case, it is a marine chapter that believes they are operating on a mandate above even that of the Inquisition and who have made a calculated decision to take out another (probably loyal) Imperial army in order to accomplish it's goals. This is nice in that it doesn't automatically infer that the other chapter is under suspicion as it would if being attacked by Witch or Daemon Hunters. The Heralds may be attacking you to cause the real heretics to fall (as in the Iron Hands situation).

 

I have another question. Does any part of my description suggest a particular part of the galaxy for my chapter to be based? Are there parts of the Imperium that tend to fall into heresy more readily?

[Race Bannon]

The West and South have more Ecclisastical stronghold than the North and East. Several Sisters Convents are in the south. Macarius pushed farthest to the West.

 

Coincedence?!

 

Also, if you want heresy then it's to the West (read: Eye of Terror). If you want Xenos go East. :lol:

 

These are not abolutes.

 

B)

[Commissar Molotov]

The Eye of Terror (and the Segmentum Obscurus) is to the North...

 

But yes, Race is pretty much correct for the most part. The Convent Sanctorum is on Ophelia VII in the Segmentum Tempestus and Macharius did indeed push out into the Segmentum Pacficus in the galactic West. The Tau and most of the Tyranids can be found to the East, and Orks are everywhere. The Eldar skulk around in the background too.

[Sir Crispy]

I'm following most of what you're saying, but I'm not sure what the implication of Marcharius going west is. Is he the Imperial Guard general that sort of recently conquered a bunch of systems in the name of the Emperor?

[Commissar Molotov]

You can find information on Lord Commander Solar Macharius here.

[Sir Crispy]

Cool, thanks. The civil wars after his death could be a good tie-in to the Heralds' creation if the timeframe is close enough (like around one or two thousand years ago). Any idea on when this guy lived? That article didn't specify.

[Commissar Molotov]

I can't find you an exact date, but with my research I've found something that might inspire you.

 

Taken from the Inquisitor rulebook, available for free at the Specialist Games website:

 

'...The start of the 41st Millenium was a time of spiritual and physical rebuilding for the Imperium. A great conclave was held on Gathalmor, at Mount Amalath, where military, religious and political leaders and dignitaries gathered in their thousands to swear once more their oaths of loyalty to the Emperor and Mankind. It was this gathering that spurred Macharius to his conquest of nearly a thousand worlds, and during this time there was a swell of optimism within the Inquisition that everything was once more proceeding as the Emperor had planned, in contrast to the widespread pessimisim that pervaded before and after the Reign of Blood and Plague of Unbelief.'

 

It's worth noting that hundreds of Space Marine Chapter Masters attended the Amalathian Conclave.

 

That's at the start of the 41st Millenium... now, the only confirmed founding near then is 738.M41, near the end of the millenium. (That was the twenty-sixth founding). It's reasonable to presume that a founding might have occurred near the beginning of the millenium. Perhaps your chapter was swept in this Pro-Imperial fervour and the positive feeling that things were finally going the Emperor's way? (Note: The conclave at Mount Amalath was before the First War of Armageddon, before the Tyranid Hive Fleets, etc... :devil: )

[Sir Crispy]

Hmmm. More to think about. Using this as a hook for the chapter's creation would make the chapter a bit younger than I originally had invisioned, but its still pretty compelling.