Creating own chapter, need to bounce ideas off people

[Chaplain_Alarus]

My custom Chapter is called the Bone Reapers, they specialize in siege and heavy support tactics, and are heavily anti-Necron and anti-Psyker. They usually don't deploy too much infantry, since their numbers are low, only around 500 men. They also don't use too many Terminators. They get one additional heavy support choice, but one less fast attack choice. All Armor saves are invulnerable against anything with the Necron trait, due to decades of specialized training. Also, they cannot include Librarians in their army, but their Chaplains may have Power Stakes. They get additional stuff to Razorbacks (they can mount more weapons), and each tactical squad may substitute one assault weapon with a heavy weapon. They hate the Necron because, while they do not share the Iron Hands' love of technology, they do share their hatred for those who defile and abuse it, i.e. the Necron and Orks.

 

Whaddaya think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Other opinions? I need help developing them, and I have an extremely limited budget at the moment.

[sonsoftaurus]

Hi, welcome to the B&C! :)

 

The B&C is blessed with a whole forum devoted to such custom chapters - the "Liber Astartes" section. Post this idea over there, and you'll doubtless find lots of customization nutters happy to help develop this idea. :D

 

BTW, like the "Bone Reapers" name.

[Commissar Molotov]

It depends - if you're going to be bouncing around special rules, that ought to go in the 'Homegrown Rules' section. If you want to discuss the background, the fluff, that belongs in the Liber.

[ironloki]

I'll whock this other to Liber as they can help you with your fluff as this isn't an army list :D

 

Good luck with it

[st.germaine]

Having gone down that road back in my early days with 40k, I would suggest that you steer clear of special rules. Unless you have a group that is prone to allowing this type of thing, you'll just get frustrated at not being able to use it. Besides that, it's unlikely that you will ever be able to use it outside your group. You have several good ideas in your initial comments. Lay your ideas out in list form. Take another look at the traits and see which ones can be directly accounted for by existing traits. Look at what's left and see if any of the existing traits come close to what you're trying to do. Then look again at what's left. With any kind of luck you'll find that you really don't need what you can't do within the system and you'll have been able to maintain the flavor of what you were trying to do. The plus side is that you'll be able to use it anywhere you may go.

 

Some things will have to go. The extra weapons on the Razorbacks can be represented using the VDR system. The problem is that the VDR system hasn't been upgraded for version 4. Some people still allow its use; others do not. One thing that you really need to cast onto the rubbish heap in this process is the invulverable save versus Necron technology. To my knowledge there is nothing like this anywhere else in 40k (if I'm wrong, someone please point it out) and something like this really seems over the top. Necrons vs marines is a pretty balanced battle but you're proposing giving your side an invulnerable 3+ save. That really takes the balance out of this battle regardless of what cost you might be able to develop for it.

[Ferrata]

They usually don't deploy too much infantry, since their numbers are low, only around 500 men. They also don't use too many Terminators.

Easy enought to do by the Rules, just take fewer Infantry Units.

They get one additional heavy support choice, but one less fast attack choice.

Tried looking at thw Iron Warrior rules? Otherwise, either take "Honour Your Wargear" to make more "Heavy Support

[Chaplain_Alarus]

Thanks for the input, everybody. Instead of the Invulnerable save vs. Necrons, they have Preferred Enemy: Necrons. Also, I'll take Honor Thy Wargear and Have Faith in Suspicion. Thanks, everone.

[Commissar Molotov]

Preferred Enemy: Necrons.

 

Which isn't a trait in the Codex. If you're going to throw around home-made rules, you really ought to go over to the Homegrown Rules forum. They can help you balance your rules, or tell you why your rules unbalance the game. We're here for the background of your army.... which hasn't really materialised yet. :ph34r:

[Chaplain_Alarus]

I know that Preferred Enemy: Necrons isn't an actual trait, but there is a trait that gives a Preferred Enemy, I just forgot what it was called.

 

Now then, on with the Chapter's background: The Bone Reapers were founded 33 years ago by a promising young Iron Hand officer named Ondorai Alarus. He and several dozen Marines left the Iron Hands ranks and built a stronghold in the mountains of Sirius VII. They rallied everyone they could to their ranks, and soon had a force nearly 1500 men strong. They built starships and set off around the galaxy, aiding their brothers in countless battles. Finally, Ondorai was killed in a last stand against a vast contingent of Necron. His son, Heylon, carries on his legacy, even though the Chapter's strength has been cut to 1/3.

[Commissar Molotov]

I know that Preferred Enemy: Necrons isn't an actual trait, but there is a trait that gives a Preferred Enemy, I just forgot what it was called.

 

It does give preferred enemy, but not to Necrons, or Tau. It's only allowed for Tyranids, Orks and Eldar.

 

Now then, on with the Chapter's background...

 

The most recent founding, the twenty-sixth, occured in 738.M41. That means that the youngest chapters in the Imperium are two hundred and sixty-one years old.

 

Why were the Iron Hands chosen? They're not your typical successor fodder, what with being stubborn, recalcitrant and generally intolerant of Imperial authority. You mention that he and his brethren 'rallied everyone they could to their ranks' - which sounds rather like they were asking marines to ditch the Iron Hands and join the party in the new chapter. That doesn't really work.

 

Why does your chapter have more than the 1,500 battle-brothers?

 

Also, remember that state of technology in 40k. You can't build a starship just like that... they take decades, centuries to build - especially without the assistance of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

 

Also, you'll find there's serious debate as to whether a Space Marine can actually father children - circumstantial evidence suggests that marines are rendered sterile by the chemotherapy they're subjected to.

[Chaplain_Alarus]

It does give preferred enemy, but not to Necrons, or Tau. It's only allowed for Tyranids, Orks and Eldar.

Oh... I was told by a Games Workshop employee that I could take Necron as a Preferred Enemy...

 

The most recent founding, the twenty-sixth, occured in 738.M41. That means that the youngest chapters in the Imperium are two hundred and sixty-one years old.

Oops, sorry. I never knew that.

 

Why does your chapter have more than the 1,500 battle-brothers?

A friend of mine told me that all the Second Founding chapters had more members than the original ones, so I decided to give them more than 1000 members, because all the original chapters had 1000 members.

 

Also, remember that state of technology in 40k. You can't build a starship just like that... they take decades, centuries to build - especially without the assistance of the Adeptus Mechanicus.

Wow... You'd think that it'd take less time to build things in the 41st milennium, especially considering that a modern space shuttle takes less than a year to complete. If they had the same building technology and methods, an interstellar ship would probably take a decade, if that.

Also, you'll find there's serious debate as to whether a Space Marine can actually father children - circumstantial evidence suggests that marines are rendered sterile by the chemotherapy they're subjected to.

Oh... I forgot about that when I was typing it. I meant to include a bit that said Heylon was Ondorai's foster son, but I didn't have time, since I was rushed at that time.

[Ferrata]

Oh... I was told by a Games Workshop employee that I could take Necron as a Preferred Enemy...

Codex says you can't. Employee's are known for not talking the whole truth.

 

A friend of mine told me that all the Second Founding chapters had more members than the original ones, so I decided to give them more than 1000 members, because all the original chapters had 1000 members

Again, don't trust word of mouth. The Original Legions had over 1000 Marines, but these where broken down at the end of the Hersey to Chapters of 1000 Marines. Since then, only a very few chapters have dared break the codex and go over that limit, the Black Templars and the Space Wolves are the most famous. I would strongly suggest against making your chapter more than 1000 marines because it will really become a downer on your chapter.

 

Wow... You'd think that it'd take less time to build things in the 41st milennium, especially considering that a modern space shuttle takes less than a year to complete. If they had the same building technology and methods, an interstellar ship would probably take a decade, if that.

Technology and Science have lost their way and have become nothing more than Superstition and Rituals, more of a religion than a science. If they did not bless everything, they probably could pump ships and armour at high rates, but that is not how the 40k World works.

[utilityzero]

Here's a quick idea, something I came up with after reading what had already been stated. They're deffinately not codex, but it can all easily be represented by legal rules and there is nothing that should make them suspicious themselves. (Bonus points to anyone who can figure out the one event I couldn't properly explain in the history. Note: I said couldn't, not didn't.)

 

The Bone Reapers were part of the 26th Founding and the date of their founding must have indeed been a fortuitious day for they have been in near constant contact with the most vile of affronts to the Ommnissiah, the Necron, since the day they set foot on their homeworld of Karnac. Only days after the young chapter master Ondorai Alarus set up his field headquarters and began surveying for a site on which to construct their fortress monostary, sightings of Necron warrior constructs were reported by the local populace who had finally overcome their fear of the newly arrived Astartes and come forward with this information.

 

The reports were disturbing to say the least. Villages and cities across the planet were apparently subject to nightly terror raids by the vile xenos who apparently conducted slave violent slave raids. Their primary targets were apparently psyckers, specifically those with the so-called 'pariah' gene.

 

Although the aliens' reasons for wanting such prisoners were unknown to Ondorai, and he had a healthy hatred for un-registered mutants such as the ones being taken, he could not allow the trespassing of filthy xenos on one of the Emperor's worlds. He ordered imediate combat patrols to stem the alien tide and recon units were dispatched to search for the alien stronghold. At the same time, local civilians were enlisted to begin constructing the Tower of Skulls, the new home of the Bone Reapers.

 

But Ondorai underestimated the extent of the alien infestation. The xenos were not invading Karnac, they had been here eons before the first arrival of human settlers. Their dark tomb cities stretched for miles upon miles under the surface of Karnac. The Bone Reapers were young and understrength and even a full chapter of space marines would have been hard pressed to fight such a threat. Still Ondorai considered himself honor bound to cleanse his new homeworld or die trying. He died during one of the many purges he lead during his short time as chapter master.

 

His successor Heylon was more pragmatic. Under his leadership, construction of the fortress monostary was discontinued in favor of a number of smaller installations which dot the surface of the planet. But space marines do not hide behind walls. These bases are mostly garrisoned PDF troopers and the marines only used them as rally points and resupply bases for their extensive combat partols.

 

Heylon's leadership has been inspirational. Not only has he been able to contain the xeno menace, but his recent reorganization has allowed the chapter to begin offworld operations in addition to their duties on Karnac.

 

While a young chapter like the Bone Reapers will rarely have a large body of veteran marines to call upon, nearly every trooper in the Bone Reapers has been seeing constant action since the chapter's creation. So while they still can't afford to field a full company of veterans, they still possess an able cadre to act as squad leaders and training instructors.

 

The chapter is still understrength and unless the Adeptus Mechanicus were too agree to breed further gene-seed for the chapter, this will likely remain true. Currently the chapter is organized into 6 understrength companies, 4 of which are nominally battle companies, though their actual organization is not uniform and based more upon their individual areas of responsibility than a pen and paper roster.

 

The first company is a specialized formation, in many ways akin to a veteran company. Their primary mission is to perform deep penetration raids into the catacombs. This is extremely hazardous duty but those who have survived these missions have formed the core of the chapters veterans and they have developed in a unique way. Because the planet of Karnac is mostly barren desert and the clostrophobic catacombs themselves are often devoid of substantial cover, the marines of the Bone Reapers have been forced to learn how to best maximize the protection their armor offers. Veterans of the Bone Reapers often wade into enemy fire, shrugging off impacts. In addition their primary enemy, the Necron are not in any way stirred by battlecrys or trophies, so veteranBone Reapers go into battle silently, inspiring awe in their battle-brothers, and fear in the enemies they have faced off world.

 

The last company, nominally the 10th company is a the training company. But their role is slightly different from other chapters. They not only train young scouts, but order intiates as well, so their numbers are made up of tactical squads as well. The reason for this diviation is that the 10th company does not fight on Karnac, they are the chapter's 'crusade company' if you will. It is they who carry the fight to the other foes of the Imperium and ensure that the chapter is prepared to face other opponents, not just the hated Necron.

 

Another notable chapter trait is their distrust of psykers. This can be attributed to the Necrons' preferance for psyker prisoners. Although they can not help their birth, the Bone Reapers have come to think of them as co-conspirators and hate them almost as vehemently as the Necron themselves.

 

Traits:

Uphold the Honor of the Emperor (To represent the unique abilities of the 'first' company.)

Scions of Mars (To mark them as Iron Hands successors.)

Aspire to Glory (They are 26th Founding after all.)

Have Faith in Suspicion (Since they don't trust psykers.)

 

Anyway, this should at least give you an example of the sort of thing they're looking for here in Liber I think.

[Chaplain_Alarus]

Dude! That's friggin awesome. Thanks a ton. I'll go with it. It's way deeper than anything I'd have thought of.

[utilityzero]

that... wasn't, really the point of all that