Collaborative Chapter Creation Project II

[Commissar Molotov]

The Liber is an oddity in the B+C. Most forums on the board have a core community of posters who contribute to make the place more welcoming - somewhere you want to return to. The Liber is far more disparate. It serves as a melting pot of ideas that some frater dip into and then leave as soon as their urges are satisfied. This is even more the case since the fourth edition Codex: Space Marines. Sometimes it seems the Liber's function is to help people flimsily justify their killer trait combination with a smattering of fluff. But this shouldn't - must not - denigrate in any way the committed few who return to the Liber day in and day out for very selfless reasons - to help other people, to improve the sense of community here on the board.

 

The Liber is a very vital part of the B+C, a resource that cannot be matched on any 40k forum. Writing is an art that deserves to be cultivated here just as painting, converting and modelling are. Those of you who have been around the Liber for a while will remember the original Collaborative Chapter Creation project, spearheaded by Ferrata - this project culminated in the Imperial Castellans IA article, and showed just what the Liber can do as a community - and that's what this project is about; an attempt to foster a sense of community. Everyone can participate, from hardened Liberite veterans through to those just passing through.

 

So, what's the project about? Well, following the example set by Ferrata, the objective is to take a chapter named by GW. It's possible they may have a colour scheme; they may have a few short mentions in official GW publications. Equally, they may not. The Liber then works together, throwing ideas around to create an IA article of comparable quality and length to official GW literature. Something we can all be proud of.

 

What do I hope to achieve? Well, I hope to improve activity in the Liber, I hope to create something interesting that people are proud to participate in. Obviously the ideal situation would be if someone chose to collect an army of the chapter we create. It might also give some of the newer Liber-ites an insight into how experienced DIYers go about chapter creation.

 

The initial stages of the project will focus around:

• trying to ascertain who's interested in participating in the project,
  
• attempting to choose a chapter
  
• and then brainstorming general ideas that can be expanded upon.
  

Keep in mind that different posters will have different opinions. Don't come to the project with an idea close to your chest - everyone has to be willing to compromise. This project isn't the end of the world; it's something to inspire and illuminate, but above all, it's something enjoyable. There will hopefully be later CCC projects; plus, if you like an idea that's not included, why not create another DIY chapter? :rolleyes:

 

Our best initial resource is the Space Marine Chapter Gallery. Have a browse and see if there's any chapters that you especially like; don't just look at the colour scheme. Try to look at names, also. See if any give you any ideas.

 

Here are a few chapters that might interest:

 

(Please note that these are not hot-linked from GW - Please don't break board rules in the furtherance of this project!

 

Angels of Fire

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/Brother-Librarian/Damage%20Inc%20stuff/AngelsofFirethumb.jpg

 

Doom Warriors

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/Brother-Librarian/Damage%20Inc%20stuff/DoomWarriorsthumb.jpg

 

Imperial Harbingers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/Brother-Librarian/Damage%20Inc%20stuff/ImperialHarbingersthumb.jpg

 

War Bearers

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v696/Brother-Librarian/Damage%20Inc%20stuff/WarBearersthumb.jpg

 

 

 

I hope this sparks your imagination and prompts you to reply. Let me know via here or PM if you have any questions, queries or problems. :D

Edited July 8, 2006 by Commissar Molotov

[Ferrata]

For those who have entered this thread, and then went "Urgh?", here are some useful links from the First Project.

 

The Original Thread

The thread where it all began. I suggested a number of chapters (like Molotov has done) and we went about discussing possible (loose) themes for each chapter, just going on the name. I'm not sure how many of the original ideas found their way into the final article (it was so long ago), but this is a very important stage as it really sets the tone for the rest of the project.

The Poll

This is something I would strongly advise against. Actual polls lead to a number of blind votes, random people coming in and going "I'll go for choice A". While I am happy that the Imperial Castellans got chosen, I think a better system would be a worded poll where people reply their vote, this will remove a number of the blind votes.

The Building Process

This thread has been pruned number of times, but in the end a core group ended up putting a large amount of effort into the project, not because they said they would or they felt the ought to, but because they ended up falling in love with the Castellans :rolleyes:. Maybe this is something Molotov will try and avoid, hoping to get a large community into the project over a small few.

The Near Finished Article

The Finished Article

 

I will try and track down some good chapters to suggest, although most have been suggested here or in the original project.

[Darrell]

I really wish I could have been part of the Liber when the Imperial Castellans were being done, but I came on kind of late for all that. I always like being a part of big projects, and this certainly qualifies. :rolleyes: I think it would be a great opportunity for all of us to brush up on our creative skills, get wheels churning, and maybe spawn who-knows-how-many seperate ideas off this. Maybe I'll even come up with some of my own, God knows I need them. :D

 

One Chapter I've always wanted to see fluffed out were these:

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v653/nfjbs/77.jpg

 

The Storm Giants: One of two officially mentioned (If only potential) successors of the Salamanders. Yes, yes, I know, any Chapter could use Salamander geneseed after the 2nd founding, but the Storm Giants are one of the only two I know officially mentioned as even being potentially of Vulkan's line. That makes them pretty unique, I think. Second, the name. "Storm Giants", doesn't that evoke a feeling of awe, doesn't it imply "Space Marine" right off the bat? Their color scheme, I've always thought, was very nice--simple, but effective. They're also relatively new (Founded M41), so this allows us to fluff them up without really digging too deeply into official canon. No wedging them into the defense of the Emperor's Palace, or explaining how they were involved in the Age of Apostasy and Badab War. It also allows a bit of a new pace, instead of designing an elaborate history inked into the history of the Imperium, we're dealing with Marines relatively new who have to make a name for themselves in the midst of more famous Chapters that came before them. We also know they at least participated in one official war, that of the Third War for Armageddon, in which the Storm Giants sent 5 Companies.

 

I honestly have no ideas of what direction they could be taken, but then wouldn't that be the point of the project? :P

 

I think they're definitely good candidates for a good fluffing.

 

Regardless of what Chapter we choose, though, I hope we can bring a good, steady crowd to the Liber. We don't exactly get the most attention of the forums, and as Molotov said, fluff is every bit as deserving of respect as modelling or painting. Being able to create your own, unique army has always been an appealing point of Warhammer 40K and Space Marines in particular, so why not make up a great story for that model you spent three weeks working on?

 

I would be ecstatic to know someone collected an army because of the fluff we generated for it. Even if it's not official, it is pretty much the ultimate thumbs-up on the project, isn't it? Getting people so interested they actually want to play some no-name army buried in various obscure references instead of the ilk of the Ultramarines or Blood Angels, a writer of Warhammer 40K fluff could hardly ask for a better compliment.

 

I'm eager to see where this goes.

[Cpt_Tiberius]

I'd love to hop on the band wagon (and possibly provide a few images as well...) I was involved a bit with the first one and thought it was a great idea.

 

Here are some optional chapters that I thought had some potential (and zero fluff AFAIK)...

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/Cpt_Tiberius/79.jpg

Storm Warriors

 

Probably a codex chapter judging by the pauldron trim. I thought a more "normal" chapter might be interesting this time around. Plus I think they have a cool name and a no-nonsense heraldry.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/Cpt_Tiberius/28.jpg

Black Wings

 

I've always wondered what the story was behind these guys. Plus it would be interesting to see if we could reign in our desire to automatically make them a BA successor based on their chapter badge.

 

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v650/Cpt_Tiberius/22.jpg

Angels Porphyr

 

Just thought they had a nice heraldry and we know they participated in the 3rd Armageddon conflict so that gives us a bit of history to work from.

 

 

As for the suggestions you guys have put forth...

 

Angels of Fire = While I'm not a huge fan of the flames as chapter badge, but I saw a few drawings from an Armageddon article that were intrigueing. They had a sword relic that looked promising.

 

Doom Warriors = Another good choice, Heraldry hints at a "blitzkrieg" style of warfare possibly.

 

Emperor's Hawks = I believe they starred in a BL short story, that would give us a jumping off point. Has anybody read it? I know they were on the cover of the book (Adrian Smith painting)

 

 

Imperial Harbingers & Storm Giants = These are both DIY armies created by GW employees (Pete Haines & Jim Butler respectively) so I'd prefer not to step on there toes as I'm sure they already backgrounds developed.

 

War Bearers = Cool name and cool chapter badge and not much else, so plenty of room to play.

Edited July 8, 2006 by Cpt_Tiberius

[Grimdarkness]

I'd Love to help in any way i can the first two chapter's that came to mind for me where the doom eagle's i just like that where already dead outlook they have and would like to know way.

 

and the emperor's hawk's (i think that's the name given) who are featured in the bringer's of death book of sort stories.

 

Should prove interesting.

[Cpt_Tiberius]

I'd say definitely no to the Doom Eagles as they have featured in several stories so have a decent base of fluff already built. I'd prefer a more obscure chapter for greater creative freedom. No offense to the Doom Eagles as I absolutely love their look and feel. :(

[Ferrata]

I agree, you want a chapter with little fluff (maybe a paragraph max) or, the preferable way, nothing at all. An ideal chapter is one with no fluff but with a striking name, a name which really suggests something. One chapter that could prove intresting is the Black Guard, a second founding Raven Guard successor which has no other fluff for them (and are even forgotten by GW on their SM Gallery), they don't even have a symbol.

[Apemantus]

How to paint Space Marines has some interesting looking chapters, I like

 

Tauran

Iron Fists

Star Dragons

Dark Sons

 

There are a few others but I like the colour scheme and names of these

[Heru]

Ones that interest me personally

 

Tauran

Fire Lords

 

Both from the Index Astartes. Then there is

 

 

The Black Guard, always liked to wonder about them, seeing as they are practically a blank canvas.

 

Edit: While watching tv, someone used the words Black ops, and instantly my mind went to the Black Guard, it made me think that maybe the Black Guard would fit comfortablly as the Space Marine equivilent of the Special Forces, fast and deadly, yet designed for stealth.

 

 

I'd also suggest the Black Panthers (colour scheme) but then they aren't GW official...

Edited July 8, 2006 by Heru Talon

[Darrell]

Storm Giants are a GW DIY? Where did you hear about that? I've been looking for information on these guys forever and haven't found anything.

 

I looked up some more possibilities:

 

Storm Callers - (I had originally created a Chapter called Storm Callers for my Ash Bringers DIY, the name only, as a Space Marine Chapter that fell to Chaos. The Ash Bringers replaced them, a slight similarity in name, and when the Storm Callers emerged from the warp some time later all heck broke loose when they found out they'd been replaced).

 

Rainbow Warriors - I've been looking for information on these guys, and only found that they haven't been mentioned since 1st Edition. The name peaked my interest, and their color scheme is a little whacky. Some people have suggested they were destroyed by the Sisters of Battle, but I've found nothing to support this except a picture in Rogue Trader.

 

Can't believe Storm Giants are a DIY, arrrrrrrrgh!

[Heru]

There was a picture in Codex Armageddon with the Storm Giants, a Vindicator, Tact Squad and Captain painted by Jim Butler so I'm assuming they're his - never liked their colour scheme personally.

[Commissar Molotov]

I'm going to come out and say no outright to the Doom Eagles and the Emperor's Hawks (along with any other chapters to feature in GW short stories). Some of them already have excellent fiction accompanying them. Si Spurrier's Doom Eagle fiction is particularly engaging - but that's not the purpose of the project. Please keep that in mind from now on. :wink:

 

Imperial Harbingers & Storm Giants = These are both DIY armies created by GW employees (Pete Haines & Jim Butler respectively)

 

Imperial Harbingers aren't the same as the Harbingers - the Harbingers are the chapter from the Piscina Campaign that come from the Black Planet and served in the 13th Black Crusade.

 

To be honest I don't like the 'Tauran' - they're a chapter that don't fit with the naming conventions of the Space Marines at all. I'd like to avoid them.

Edited July 8, 2006 by Commissar Molotov

[Severus6]

Ahhh,...the Stone Hearts come to mind. I believe all they had was single paragraph penned to their name.

 

Severus6

[Grimdarkness]

Dose it have to be a loyal chapter or could we do one of the chapter's featured in the chaos codex? the doomed company of lord somebody or other the extincting angel's?

[Commissar Molotov]

I suppose if the participants wanted to do a chaos force, we could. It would depend what everyone thinks. Edited July 8, 2006 by Commissar Molotov

[Keyoz Devastrius]

I'd like to offer my help.

 

Like Ferrata I also think Black Guard seem really interesting chapter. Their name just screams villains. There is a class in D&D named Blackguard

[Commissar Molotov]

One thing I would like to emphasise is that we don't want to create a bland chapter that's simply a copy (or near enough) of the Imperial Castellans. That would suggest avoiding many of the knightly ideas. That influence was very successfully used for the Castellans, and I wouldn't want it to seem as though we're unoriginal. :wink: Edited July 8, 2006 by Commissar Molotov

[Cpt_Tiberius]

Chaos would be ok. I've always dug the Warp ghost color scheme. And the Damned company of Lord Caustos gives us an intrigueing figurehead to explore.

 

Blackguard would be interesting as we no nothing about them other than that they are a Ravenguard 2nd founding chapter.

 

Darell - I first heard of the Storm Giants in the GW article that introduced the (then new) plastic dread kit. It had a small bit where he used a couple of Heavy bolters scavenged from a landspeeder kit to replace the Autocannon.

 

One thing I would like to emphasise is that we don't want to create a bland chapter that's simply a copy (or near enough) of the Imperial Castellans. That would suggest avoiding many of the knightly ideas. That influence was very successfully used for the Castellans, and I wouldn't want it to seem as though we're unoriginal.

 

I had the same thought....

Edited July 8, 2006 by Cpt_Tiberius

[Heru]

And the Damned company of Lord Caustos gives us an intrigueing figurehead to explore.

 

There is two sentences dedicated to them in IA: Renegades.

[Keyoz Devastrius]

Ok. So its no to Death Knights.

 

As I said I wasn

[Commissar Molotov]

Most rebels will have suffered considerable losses at the hands of loyal forces, and in fact represent only the small number of survivors who escaped the Imperium's retribution. These forces form small warbands rather than company (or chapter) sized formations and may find themselves fighting alongside other Chaos forces. The Damned Company of Lord Caustos is such a force, which, having been declared Traitor by an Inquisitor of the Ordo Hereticus, based on somewhat flimsy and circumstantial evidence, only later turned to the service of Chaos in order to survive in a galaxy ultimately hostile to them. Lord Caustos and his followers now sell their services to any force that will provide them with the equipment they need to continue their very existence.

 

Further to my previous posts, should anyone wish to discuss the project with me, you can reach me on MSN at allenglishwordsarealreadytaken@hotmail.com

[Brother Scythe]

Personally I would love to help such a project. I don't post here as much as I'd like to and I think this would be a great way to both thank people for their help thus far on my War Griffons, and on top of that hopefully become a more reilable and ablebodied member of this forum.

 

Anyways while I like several of the chapter mentioned here there were 2 that caught my eye when I was looking for a chapter. The first is the Skull Bearers. these guys to me seem quite the opposite of the "Knightly" Castellans and would have alot of work to do because as far as I know nothing or at least very little has ever been mentioned about them. Plus Yellow Power Armour is ace ^_^

 

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b246/Jabeno/Games%20Workshop/Marines/12.jpg

 

The other is one mentioned here and that is the Doom Warriors. Again the opposite it would seem of the Castellan feel and a great looking army IMO. Either way I like this idea and would like to do what I can to help out.

[Zhivago]

I'd cast vote for skull bearers. The Imperial Castellans ended goody-good fellows, so next chapter might end something bit more darker. Nothing like renegade or hunted by inquisition stuff, just bit of the darker shade of gray where castellens were lighter shade of grey.

[Big Woop]

I

[ironloki]

I noticed the Skull bearers recently and I think they could be interesting as long as people avoid it becomming a watery Mortifactors due to the skull reference :lol: