Design your own chapter

By The Glen, in Deathwatch

Simple enough, just give a basic history and details and any special rules about your space marine chapter.

Steel Dragoons

Colors: Grey/Silver

Banner: Half MkIV helmet, half skull

Motto: On a one way ticket to midnight

Founding Chapter: Iron Hands

Concept: Armored mobile force

History:

Steel Dragoons are a highly mobile chapter, relying heavily on their vehicles to deliver justice to the Emperor's enemies. Their chapter is reviled by the Adeptus Mechanicus due to their refusal to turn over a STC template fragment found during a crusade. The AM have stopped supplying Tech Marines to the Steel Dragoons, who have responded by committing what would be tech heresy by building and repairing their own vehicles and weapons. As a result of this schism the Steel Dragoons are equipped primarily in the MkIV Maximus armor. Due to their possession of the STC fragment their 1st Company is equipped entirely with Terminator Armor.

Wrath of Corax

Colors: Black/White

Banner: Cyberhawk

Motto: From the skies

Founding Chapter: Raven Guard

Concept: Boarding action specialists

History:

The Wrath of Corax is a fleet based Space Marine Chapter. The bulk of their tactical marines were wiped out in a trap by a treacherous Planetary Governor. With the bulk of their crowd forces lost upon landing, the Chapter evacuated their brothers and responded by cooking the planet's atmosphere off through orbital bombardment. The damage was done but the Wrath of Corax adjusted. While they can fight in planetary assaults the chapter has specialized in orbital engagements, boarding actions and ship to ship combat. Few enemy ships can survive when a boarding pod from the Wrath of Corax breaches.

Screaming Geckos

Colors: Bright Green/Silver

Banner: Angry looking Gecko head

Motto: There's no kill like overkill

Founding Chapter: Unknown

Concept: Heavy weapon obsessed maniacs

History:

The Screaming Geckos are borderline unstable, their solution to everything is the maximum amount of firepower. The chapter is notorious for its use of heavy weapons, no Space Marine chapter uses more suspensors than the Geckos. Their morale tends to be contagious, while other chapters question their sanity, nobody questions their effectiveness. It is not uncommon to see entire squads of Screaming Geckos armed with heavy weapons firing in to masses of Xenos, all of them laughing at the slaughter. Legend has it one of their chapter masters actually used a pistol gripped heavy bolter, but that is probably just tall tales.

Funny you should post this as I've been working on a Successor Chapter to the Dark Angels to have fighting alongside my Cadian 82nd Special Task Group.

Chapter Name: Order of the Ascendant Blade

Founding Chapter: Dark Angels

Colors: Dark blue plating, with dark green trim along the pauldron rims, and a dark green marker with the campaign badge on the left kneepad.

Insignia: As their founding Chapter, a winged blade.

Bonus: Order+of+the+Ascendant+Blade+color+schem (The color scheme I'm working from, as it stands now).

History of the Chapter:

The Order of the Ascendant Blade is a relatively new founding, being created upon the insistence of the current Dark Angels Grandmaster, Azrael. As one of his predecessors did before him in the creation of the Disciples of Caliban, he petitioned for a Successor Chapter to be founded and the Order of the Ascendant Blade was born. The Order was tasked with, as the Disciples before them, hunting a very specific member of the Fallen. The Fallen's name was Arkanos, and was finally cornered by the Order on Cadia during one of the many incursions led by the Traitor Legions.

Arkanos was captured when the Alpha Legion warband he was accompanying fell afoul of the Kasrkin of the 82nd Special Tasks Group running a final operation against an Alpha Legion sponsored cult near a forward operating base in the polar regions. Upon the arrival of the Alpha Legion force, the 82nd immediately called in support, which incidentally arrived in the form of the Order's "Brotherhood of the Shattered Blade", a rough equivalency to the Dark Angels' infamous Deathwing.

With the completion of their assigned task, the Order has begun to work more and more outside of the Segmentum Obscurus and are even now operating with the 82nd Special Tasks Group in the Eastern Fringe fighting a two fronted war against the Tau and Tyranid, respectively.

For the use in creating Chapters:

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/List_of_Space_Marine_Chapters

This is a list of the chapters named by Games Workshop in official texts, and does not include any "home grown" chapters, though it does include the Chaos Marine Legions and Renegade chapters.

NOTE: This list includes 237 Loyal Chapters, discounting destroyed or missing chapters, which leaves another 763, give or take a few, unamed.

Few of these 237 chapters have a lot of background material on them, but most have just name and maybe a color scheme and absolutely nothing else on them in fluff. You can easily pick one of them and just make up rest.

This article is invaluable for anyone creating their own chapter, especially for avoiding the worst pitfalls.

Well worth the read.


schoon said:

This article is invaluable for anyone creating their own chapter, especially for avoiding the worst pitfalls.

Well worth the read.

I agree with most of the points in that article. Most. gui%C3%B1o.gif

If you've ever read the DIY chapters on B&C you will perhaps understand why I would absolutely refuse to let players invent their character's chapter. The names are awful, and the back stories... babeo.gif

schoon said:

This article is invaluable for anyone creating their own chapter, especially for avoiding the worst pitfalls.

Well worth the read.

That is an excellent set of articles!

I'll have to dig up the two Chapters I worked on (Iron Eagles: my own & Celestial Lions: I read a terrible conclusion to the chapter so wrote my own).

I had invented my own when playing Dawn of War back in the day (started as just another DoW colour scheme, slowly worked into a chapter with a small background and theme in my head), called the Hands of Fire ( thinking of a new name to incorporate Fire, but none I like so far).

I read the above articles as well, and got some more ideas, but not fully developed yet. Here are the basics.

Colour: Dusty-orange armour, with dark red shoulder pads, knee pads and backpacks (might upload the colour scheme I did on B&C Space Marine painter later)

Homeworld : A Volcanic Death-World (I wanted to use the name Tartarus from Greek mythology, but Dawn of War already has that apparently).

Their homeworld is the closest planet to their sun. The second is a Forge World that makes the majority of the chapter's wargear, in an arrangement that allows the Adeptus Mechanicus stationed there access to mining on designated regions of the chapter's homeworld. The third planet is a Civilised World (basically an 'Imperial World' with a few million inhabitants, but not the population for a Hive). The fourth is an Agri-world that the system used to get the majority of their food from, but has since been lost (see below).

Tactics and Equipment: The Hands of Fire are located in the Segmentum Tempestus, near the border of the Segmentum Ultima. That particular region of space has a large number of Ork worlds, so the Hands of Fire were formed to fight the Orks. As such, the majority of their troops carry flamers to deal with small incursions as fast as possible, and melee-specialists to counter the Orks' own melee-heavy forces. They lack in Scouts and light vehicles because of the violent nature of their homeworld.

The majority of their soldiers wear newer models of armour (Mk.7 and 8) because the chapter is only 300 years old (part of the most recent Founding), and for the same reason lack Dreadnoughts (particularly Venerables), Veterans, and other older equipment seen among other chapters.

History: As mentioned already, the Hands of Fire were formed shortly after 700.M41 during the latest Founding (I haven't yet chosen their founding chapter, but mostly thinking Imperial Fists or Salamanders) in order to combat Orks in the region. Most of their conflicts took them into nearby systems, but their own was mostly untouched for most of the last 2 1/2 centuries.

In the late 8th Century, an Ork Rok and several other craft crashed into the system's Agri-World, destroying a fair portion of the world's production capabilities, and the Hands of Fire reacted quickly to end the Ork threat. They had underestimated just how quickly this particular group of Orks were able to expand, and their forces on the planet were hard-pressed and forced into a fighting retreat. The chapter's Devastator reserves held the landing zones while the rest of the chapter's marines stalled the Orks long enough for landing craft to evacuate the survivors, but over 1/3 of chapter's fighting forces were lost. In the end, the chapter opted for Exterminatus to prevent the Orks from spreading through the system.

Without their own Agri-world to sustain them, the system went through a temporary famine until an arrangement could be made with nearby systems, with only the Hands of Fire themselves left untroubled by the lack of food (Space Marines can eat just about anything, and they had almost 400 less mouths to feed). This caused some strains in the relationships between the inhabitants of both the Civilised World and Forge World, and due to the public backlash, the Hands of Fire have suffered by having a lack of willing recruits to replace the chapter's losses.

Most recently, the Hands of Fire have also been involved in minor engagements with the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan, which is passing through nearby systems. The chapter's tactics make them well-suited to dealing with smaller infestations, but they lack the numbers to hold against a full invasion.

Other Notes: Due to the fact the Hands of Fire were formed to fight Orks, they try to second what troops they can to the Deathwatch whenever the opportunity presents itself. Many of the chapter's few Veterans, in fact, are those who have since returned to the chapter from the ranks of the Deathwatch, able to further the chapter's knowledge in fighting their foes.

Kerrahn said:

I had invented my own when playing Dawn of War back in the day (started as just another DoW colour scheme, slowly worked into a chapter with a small background and theme in my head), called the Hands of Fire ( thinking of a new name to incorporate Fire, but none I like so far).

I read the above articles as well, and got some more ideas, but not fully developed yet. Here are the basics.

Colour: Dusty-orange armour, with dark red shoulder pads, knee pads and backpacks (might upload the colour scheme I did on B&C Space Marine painter later)

Homeworld : A Volcanic Death-World (I wanted to use the name Tartarus from Greek mythology, but Dawn of War already has that apparently).

Their homeworld is the closest planet to their sun. The second is a Forge World that makes the majority of the chapter's wargear, in an arrangement that allows the Adeptus Mechanicus stationed there access to mining on designated regions of the chapter's homeworld. The third planet is a Civilised World (basically an 'Imperial World' with a few million inhabitants, but not the population for a Hive). The fourth is an Agri-world that the system used to get the majority of their food from, but has since been lost (see below).

Tactics and Equipment: The Hands of Fire are located in the Segmentum Tempestus, near the border of the Segmentum Ultima. That particular region of space has a large number of Ork worlds, so the Hands of Fire were formed to fight the Orks. As such, the majority of their troops carry flamers to deal with small incursions as fast as possible, and melee-specialists to counter the Orks' own melee-heavy forces. They lack in Scouts and light vehicles because of the violent nature of their homeworld.

The majority of their soldiers wear newer models of armour (Mk.7 and 8) because the chapter is only 300 years old (part of the most recent Founding), and for the same reason lack Dreadnoughts (particularly Venerables), Veterans, and other older equipment seen among other chapters.

History: As mentioned already, the Hands of Fire were formed shortly after 700.M41 during the latest Founding (I haven't yet chosen their founding chapter, but mostly thinking Imperial Fists or Salamanders) in order to combat Orks in the region. Most of their conflicts took them into nearby systems, but their own was mostly untouched for most of the last 2 1/2 centuries.

In the late 8th Century, an Ork Rok and several other craft crashed into the system's Agri-World, destroying a fair portion of the world's production capabilities, and the Hands of Fire reacted quickly to end the Ork threat. They had underestimated just how quickly this particular group of Orks were able to expand, and their forces on the planet were hard-pressed and forced into a fighting retreat. The chapter's Devastator reserves held the landing zones while the rest of the chapter's marines stalled the Orks long enough for landing craft to evacuate the survivors, but over 1/3 of chapter's fighting forces were lost. In the end, the chapter opted for Exterminatus to prevent the Orks from spreading through the system.

Without their own Agri-world to sustain them, the system went through a temporary famine until an arrangement could be made with nearby systems, with only the Hands of Fire themselves left untroubled by the lack of food (Space Marines can eat just about anything, and they had almost 400 less mouths to feed). This caused some strains in the relationships between the inhabitants of both the Civilised World and Forge World, and due to the public backlash, the Hands of Fire have suffered by having a lack of willing recruits to replace the chapter's losses.

Most recently, the Hands of Fire have also been involved in minor engagements with the Tyranid Hive Fleet Leviathan, which is passing through nearby systems. The chapter's tactics make them well-suited to dealing with smaller infestations, but they lack the numbers to hold against a full invasion.

Other Notes: Due to the fact the Hands of Fire were formed to fight Orks, they try to second what troops they can to the Deathwatch whenever the opportunity presents itself. Many of the chapter's few Veterans, in fact, are those who have since returned to the chapter from the ranks of the Deathwatch, able to further the chapter's knowledge in fighting their foes.

Not bad at all. Better than nearly everything I've seen on B&C. The name sounds like an actual Space Marine chapter, and the color scheme sounds decent (you should post it). The flamer thing isn't all that original, but I like the fact that they are a very young chapter. In fact, if Deathwatch is set at the same time as the other games, any Marine seconded to Deathwatch would well be among the first, if not the first (the chapter would only be a little over a hundred years oldonly a few decades after the devastating battle against the Orks in fact). The desire to honor his young and unproven chapter in such a role could lead to some great roleplaying/character development. In addition, such a Marine might well be one of the veterans of the tragic conflictin fact you could have him be the lone survivor of an entire company which could make a very complex and haunted Astartes. If you were to decide to play a Marine from the Hands of Fire, I would highly recommend fleshing out the chapter's overall culture and personality. As it is you have more of an event-based history than a description of their overall character.

I have to say though that you have led me to reconsider the idea of player's designing chapters. At least a bit.

Message deleted. Double post.

Thank you :)

Yeah, I'm planning on doing some work later to completely flesh them out, what I posted was mostly one night's work lol

Admittedly, I don't know actually all that much about the culture of Space Marines, so going to do a bit more research before that happens.

Just for fun, I'll dig this out of my archives...

Chapter Name: Crimson Lions
Gene Seed: Crimson Fists
Founding #: 10; 101873M35
Fleet-Based
Home-Vessel: Spelaeum Leonis

ORIGINS

By the time of the 10th founding, the dire need for additional Space Marine chapters had already eroded any established tradition of founding on a specific day or year. Though the High Lords of Terra had envisioned the 10th founding as a return to the early tradition of founding on the first day of the millennium, necessity dictated otherwise. The founding fleets spread from Holy Terra into the winds of the Empyrean on the awkward date of 101873M35, over a century before originally envisioned, not even on Emperor’s Day.


Unfortunately, though the day was without celebrations or fanfare within the Imperium, it did not go unnoticed by the Ruinous Powers. Tipped off by heretic informants, and desirous of the vast quantities of equipment, material, and gene-seed, the Alpha Legion, led by the champion Clanaeus, cast a net for the fledgling chapters, hoping to catch one still in transit to their homeworld.


The founding fleet of the Crimson Lions made for the Rho Pardus system in the Ultima Segmentum, where they would establish their fortress monastery on Pardus Tertius, a mountainous, forested planet inhabited by hardy, primitive warrior clans. Fate dictated otherwise. Thirty-nine days out of Terra, while dropping from the warp to confirm their course at the starless nexus of Evastor, the Asp-class destroyer Cerastes encountered a squadron of traitor Contravenor-class scout ships, and though it destroyed one and damaged another, two escaped to make their reports. Commodore Vitnolo, commanding the Imperial Navy escort, and Brother-Captain Turso knew that it was only a matter of time before the main force of the enemy relocated them and attacked. Their prescience and forethought saved the fleet from the ravening maw of Chaos.


The attack finally came as they prepared to enter the warp from the Aranicus system, home to a naval logistics depot where the fleet had just taken on supplies. As the fleet raced to a viable Warp point, the Lunar-class cruiser Actius fought a desperate rearguard action against the forces of the archenemy, buying the time to transit. The flight cost them dearly, and few ships escaped without damage, limping into the shipyards of Sarconus, trailing atmosphere and debris. Many, particularly mass-freighters carrying forges and foundries, would never move under their own power again.


The Yard-Master, Arch-Magos Teoma, inadvertently suggested a solution when he claimed that the sorely damaged founding fleet looked more like a space hulk than anything from the holy forges of Mars, upon which one of his attending Navis Magos suggested constructing a hulk from the damaged mass-freighters. Historians have theorized that the only reason Teoma approved the venture was because he was sure of its failure, and wished to punish his errant subordinate, but the amalgamation of three damaged and one sound mass-freighters proved remarkably resilient. Thus, they forged the core of the Spelaeum Leonis, and it has served as the chapter's home ever since. Chapter artificers have added to it considerably in the intervening millennia, from ferrocrete armor slabs to epic gothic carvings to minor elements of trophy vessels taken by the chapter in combat.


HOMEWORLD


The monastery-barge Spelaeum Leonis is as much of a homeworld as the Crimson Lions know. It has grown ever larger and capable over the centuries, but one element has never changed: its slow speed, both in real space and the Warp. The chapter selects the Master of the Fleet for a keen strategic mind, for he must analyze the surrounding sectors and recommend the best course for the Leonis, both to meet the needs of the Imperium and the chapter.


RECRUITING


The roaming course of the monastery makes consistent recruiting difficult, though the Master of the Fleet attempts to plot courses that pass likely recruit worlds. The chapter prefers to recruit from (Imperial or Crimson Fists). The difficulty in maintaining a regular flow of aspirants has led to a slight variance in their implantation process. The chapter strives to maintain a small pool of recruits that train and receive hypno-therapy prior to any gene-seed implantation. Occasionally an aspirant will grow too old or prove unsuitable during this process, and those are typically handed over to the Schola Progenium. As required to maintain chapter numbers, the best of the waiting aspirants begin gene-seed implantation. The additional therapy is thought to increase chances of success, and tends to produce a wiser, less reckless scout.


BELIEFS


The 10th founding was a transition period for many new Space Marine chapters. The concept of the Emperor's divinity had already gained widespread acceptance throughout both populace and Adeptus Terra, though not yet amongst the Adeptus Astartes. The duality of belief for the Crimson Lions reflects this transitional period.


Like many other venerable chapters, they look at the Emperor as a father, albeit an extraordinarily gifted one. However, they also see him as the living vessel for human divinity, a Divine Avatar to borrow a Thorian term. Though many outside the chapter have difficulty reconciling these two views, with the exception of some members of the Inquisition, they view it as an innate duality in the Emperor's physical and Warp manifestations.

Appears I can't edit my older posts after a few days, so here's the (hopefully working) link to my B&C Painter colour scheme for Hands of Fire.

smsbeta.php?bpe=a31d1d&bpj=333333&bp=a31

www.bolterandchainsword.com/smsbeta.php

I added in the Mk. 8 armour through Wargear options, as well as adding the white right-shoulder trim signifying he's a part of the 1st Company Veterans (the kind who would join the Deathwatch).

Kerrahn said:

Appears I can't edit my older posts after a few days, so here's the (hopefully working) link to my B&C Painter colour scheme for Hands of Fire.

smsbeta.php?bpe=a31d1d&bpj=333333&bp=a31

www.bolterandchainsword.com/smsbeta.php

I added in the Mk. 8 armour through Wargear options, as well as adding the white right-shoulder trim signifying he's a part of the 1st Company Veterans (the kind who would join the Deathwatch).

Soft armor should always be black. That aside I think it's pretty nice.

I put together a basic chapter for my group's Rogue Trader game. Dark blue, black, and bone highlights.

Chapter Name : Harbingers

Gene-Seed : Dark Angels

Symbo l : Winged sword top-left, skull against stars lower-right.

Founding : largely irrelevant, but some time in M36.

Homeworld : Tybal Majorus/None (see History)

Long story short, Tybal Majorus was a Naval world gifted to the Harbingers for their part in the Belasian Crusade, they've always been more focused on space warfare (boarding actions and the like) than other chapters, their Companies were used to operating for decades at a time without contacting Chapter Command, then one day in M38 the Inquisition asks "hey do you guys know what your fourth company's gotten up to? yeah well we do and it's this." Conquered their own little fiefdom out on the far side of the Eye of Terror, building up some nasty pirate fleet action.

The Inquisition pronounces the Harbingers Excommunicate Penentia; their homeworld is appropriated by the Inquisition, they are forbidden from initiating new recruits, and their Fortress-Monastery is forfeit until such time as they atone for their failure. The Harbingers are tasked with bringing the Fourth Company to heel, and by the end of the century the Skull Reaches have been crushed with extreme prejudice, with Captain Amael of the Fourth killed in single combat with Chapter Master Scyllus. Only problem: while the Fourth Company's battle barge was utterly destroyed in the purge, a few smaller craft escaped.

Normally, after such a show of repentant fury a Chapter feels justified in asking their penance declared completed, and if their parent chapter's willing to take their side generally the Inquisition lets the matter drop. Unfortunately for the Harbingers, in all such cases the Dark Angels back the Inquisition's stance fully: the task is not complete until every last one of the traitors have been killed.

So, for the past two thousand years, the Harbingers have been scattered across Segmentum Obscurus, hunting down any rumors of particularly charismatic or effective chaos-affiliated raiders. They do not announce their arrival, and they do not flaunt their successes. The only indication that the Harbingers are operating in a subsector is that at some point two extremely well-maintained Space Marine strike cruisers entered it, acknowledging no hails. The only indication the Harbingers have left is civil war among the local criminal element, as loyal Imperial citizens toast the mysterious death of one of the most feared pirates in the sector.

Strategy

The Harbingers, unlike other Space Marine chapters, focus on space warfare almost to the exclusion of ground operations. They make extensive use of Rhyne-Pattern Thunderhawks, commonly referred to as Voidhawks for their optimization for void combat at the expense of reduced handling in atmosphere, and their boarding teams frequently utilize devices referred to by those unlucky enough to have faced them as "mantles of fire." Functionally speaking, mantles of fire are nothing more than non-weapons-grade flamers bolted to the shoulders of a Harbinger boarding team by tech-marines, designed not to scorch the enemy but instead to burn away the oxygen supply of a given chamber.

The basic unit of Harbinger operations is the five-marine Boarding Squad; one melta-and-flamer wielding Breacher, one heavy-bolter-wielding Devastator, twobolter-wielding Tactical, and the commander, who is given some leeway in weapons selection but frequently wields a jump pack, bolt pistol, and power sword. A standard boarding operation will feature only five, but a decapitation strike may feature as many as twenty; in this case, a full Assault or Devastator squad may join. (depending on whether the target vessel is intact enough that the Devastators may need to render it less so, or whether it is destroyed enough that jump packs may be required to clear damaged sections of ship.)

In any space engagement, the Harbingers will attempt to disable the enemy's heavy weapons batteries from range, then launch a salvo to shields timed to allow a voidhawk team to either cripple important subsystems in anticipation of a decapitation strike or designed to scatter disaster response teams to assist in a decapitation strike.

The Harbingers will attempt to avoid ground engagements, but if obliged to defend land-bound territory their mechanism of choice is orbital strikes followed by deep striking into enemy command positions; they have very few atmosphere-capable Thunderhawks, and prefer not to risk them.

Ze Pollack said:

I put together a basic chapter for my group's Rogue Trader game. Dark blue, black, and bone highlights.

Chapter Name : Harbingers

Gene-Seed : Dark Angels

Symbo l : Winged sword top-left, skull against stars lower-right.

Founding : largely irrelevant, but some time in M36.

Homeworld : Tybal Majorus/None (see History)

Long story short, Tybal Majorus was a Naval world gifted to the Harbingers for their part in the Belasian Crusade, they've always been more focused on space warfare (boarding actions and the like) than other chapters, their Companies were used to operating for decades at a time without contacting Chapter Command, then one day in M38 the Inquisition asks "hey do you guys know what your fourth company's gotten up to? yeah well we do and it's this." Conquered their own little fiefdom out on the far side of the Eye of Terror, building up some nasty pirate fleet action.

The Inquisition pronounces the Harbingers Excommunicate Penentia; their homeworld is appropriated by the Inquisition, they are forbidden from initiating new recruits, and their Fortress-Monastery is forfeit until such time as they atone for their failure. The Harbingers are tasked with bringing the Fourth Company to heel, and by the end of the century the Skull Reaches have been crushed with extreme prejudice, with Captain Amael of the Fourth killed in single combat with Chapter Master Scyllus. Only problem: while the Fourth Company's battle barge was utterly destroyed in the purge, a few smaller craft escaped.

Normally, after such a show of repentant fury a Chapter feels justified in asking their penance declared completed, and if their parent chapter's willing to take their side generally the Inquisition lets the matter drop. Unfortunately for the Harbingers, in all such cases the Dark Angels back the Inquisition's stance fully: the task is not complete until every last one of the traitors have been killed.

So, for the past two thousand years, the Harbingers have been scattered across Segmentum Obscurus, hunting down any rumors of particularly charismatic or effective chaos-affiliated raiders. They do not announce their arrival, and they do not flaunt their successes. The only indication that the Harbingers are operating in a subsector is that at some point two extremely well-maintained Space Marine strike cruisers entered it, acknowledging no hails. The only indication the Harbingers have left is civil war among the local criminal element, as loyal Imperial citizens toast the mysterious death of one of the most feared pirates in the sector.

Strategy

The Harbingers, unlike other Space Marine chapters, focus on space warfare almost to the exclusion of ground operations. They make extensive use of Rhyne-Pattern Thunderhawks, commonly referred to as Voidhawks for their optimization for void combat at the expense of reduced handling in atmosphere, and their boarding teams frequently utilize devices referred to by those unlucky enough to have faced them as "mantles of fire." Functionally speaking, mantles of fire are nothing more than non-weapons-grade flamers bolted to the shoulders of a Harbinger boarding team by tech-marines, designed not to scorch the enemy but instead to burn away the oxygen supply of a given chamber.

The basic unit of Harbinger operations is the five-marine Boarding Squad; one melta-and-flamer wielding Breacher, one heavy-bolter-wielding Devastator, twobolter-wielding Tactical, and the commander, who is given some leeway in weapons selection but frequently wields a jump pack, bolt pistol, and power sword. A standard boarding operation will feature only five, but a decapitation strike may feature as many as twenty; in this case, a full Assault or Devastator squad may join. (depending on whether the target vessel is intact enough that the Devastators may need to render it less so, or whether it is destroyed enough that jump packs may be required to clear damaged sections of ship.)

In any space engagement, the Harbingers will attempt to disable the enemy's heavy weapons batteries from range, then launch a salvo to shields timed to allow a voidhawk team to either cripple important subsystems in anticipation of a decapitation strike or designed to scatter disaster response teams to assist in a decapitation strike.

The Harbingers will attempt to avoid ground engagements, but if obliged to defend land-bound territory their mechanism of choice is orbital strikes followed by deep striking into enemy command positions; they have very few atmosphere-capable Thunderhawks, and prefer not to risk them.

I like it overall. Some interesting ideas going on here. A couple things stood out to me though.

First, the definition of harbinger according to dictionary.com is:

–noun
1. a person who goes ahead and makes known the approach of another; herald.

2. anything that foreshadows a future event; omen; sign: Frost is a harbinger of winter.

3. a person sent in advance of troops, a royal train, etc., to provide or secure lodgings and other accommodations.

So you see they need to be the Harbingers of *fill in the blank*, not just the Harbingers. It just doesn't sound quite right. Back when I used to play Dawn of War I had a custom scheme I called the Harbingers of Woe. Not saying you should use my idea, but I think you do need to fill out their name somehow.

The other thing is that you can't use jump packs in space or during boarding actions. In space itself, the force of a jump pack would send you flying off into the void never to be seen again. During a boarding action, a jump pack is both too unwieldy and lacks precise enough controls to be anything other than, at best, an obstacle or, at worst, a hazard.

I do like your ideas overall though.

(By the way, a chapter specializing in boarding actions would value Terminator armor more than most other chapters as, with their built-in teleport ability, they are perfect for such endeavors.)

Atheosis said:

.

So you see they need to be the Harbingers of *fill in the blank*, not just the Harbingers. It just doesn't sound quite right. Back when I used to play Dawn of War I had a custom scheme I called the Harbingers of Woe. Not saying you should use my idea, but I think you do need to fill out their name somehow.

I'm not sure I agree with this...I think "Harbingers" is a perfectly sound name for a Chapter. After all the Revilers" aren't the "Revilers of Malice" or the "Revilers of Evil." I think by giving chapters titles that sound like "The x of x" there's a risk they sound clunky, ponderous and overelaborate. I personally use a four syllable rule: any chapter title longer than four syllables just sounds too much to me.

Plus there's always the danger of cheesy alliteration:- "Harbingers of Hate," "Harbingers of Hatred," "Harbingers of Happily Handcrafted Handbags."

Lightbringer said:

Atheosis said:

.

So you see they need to be the Harbingers of *fill in the blank*, not just the Harbingers. It just doesn't sound quite right. Back when I used to play Dawn of War I had a custom scheme I called the Harbingers of Woe. Not saying you should use my idea, but I think you do need to fill out their name somehow.

I'm not sure I agree with this...I think "Harbingers" is a perfectly sound name for a Chapter. After all the Revilers" aren't the "Revilers of Malice" or the "Revilers of Evil." I think by giving chapters titles that sound like "The x of x" there's a risk they sound clunky, ponderous and overelaborate. I personally use a four syllable rule: any chapter title longer than four syllables just sounds too much to me.

Plus there's always the danger of cheesy alliteration:- "Harbingers of Hate," "Harbingers of Hatred," "Harbingers of Happily Handcrafted Handbags."

The word reviler isn't the same situation as it can be used in a more universal way. One can revile things in general. One can't be the harbinger of things in general. It's just a poor use of the word.

What's funny is that I was just on Lexicanum and found that there is already a Chapter called the Harbingers. Then again half of GWs Chapters have awkward names in my opinion (Rainbow Warriors anyone?).

I confess I went to the list and found the first name that didn't have any details on it that looked appropriately cool.

Don't jump packs have intermediate settings between "OHGODJUMPING" and off? You'd think that with the proper training the 'run at the enemy slightly faster than you could if you were just running' setting would make leaping across empty sections of ship possible.

Thinking it through, I guess it depends if jump packs are jet packs or rocket packs. Jet packs (one would presume) would require an atmosphere to work properly, whereas rocket packs wouldn't.

The very old fluff for the tactical marines described the two little globes on the back of the "normal" backpack as vents for the powerplant that could also be used as manoeuvring thrusters in zero (micro) gravity conditions. Combine these with the sealed nature of marine armour and the magnetised boots also described in early fluff and I guess jump packs aren't absolutely necessary. Marines equipped with these could travel short distances between vessels across the open void, walk around on the hull of enemy ships and cut their way in without needing jump packs at all...

Name: Couriers of Wrath
Home world: Caprica
Founding: 4th
Gene-seed: White Scars
Chapter Master: Tiberius – Guardian of the Lost

The first Chapter Master Cursor was a Captain of the Sixth Company of the White Scars. Cursor was, for the most part, an unremarkable Marine. He had no outstanding deeds or great stories that set him apart from his brother captains. However, Cursor was completely reliable, always there when needed and very humble. He didn’t seek great glory or to outshine his brothers, he wanted only to do his duty and he did it well. Cursor was chosen to lead the new chapter because of his reliability. No one doubted he would fulfill his duty to the Emperor and lead his men well. Cursor and a group of twenty marines were sent to train the fledgling chapter’s first troops. These twenty men included the Apothecary Cicurinus, the Tech-marine Canus, the Chaplain Lupus, and the Librarian Piso. These men formed his command staff and aided Cursor in leading his new chapter down its path. The Couriers of Wrath were born when, Cursor was told by the Chapter Master of the White Scars, “It will be your duty to take forth the message of the Emperor, that pain and death await those who oppose him. Let your anger and rage fuel you as you march forth.” At that moment Cursor knew that his chapter was to be the couriers of the wrath of the Emperor.

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Origins:
A Chapter of the Forth Founding, roughly the year 200.M32, The Couriers of Wrath have a long and proud history though it has not been without hardships. During the Age of Apostasy they joined with Thor against the High Lord Goge Vandire. Two full companies were destroyed during this time with the others taking heavy losses, however, they did survive. Aside from the Apostasy the Couriers have fought in many wars on many worlds including involvement in all but the first two of Abandon’s Black Crusades, loose involvement in the Sabbat World Crusades, and in the outskirt systems during the third war for Armageddon.

Home world:
The Couriers of Wrath home world is Caprica in the Segmentum Obscurus a sector away from the world of Dimmamar home of Thor. Caprica is also only three sectors from the Segmentum HQ Cypra Mundi. Caprica is the closest world to its star (its orbit is equivalent to that of Venus) and its rotation matches its revolution around the sun. This effect causes one side of Caprica to be locked in day and it is brutally hot, almost unlivable, those citizens who make this side their home are nomads. These nomads live off underground wells of water and by hunting the small herbivores that eat the poisonous plants of Caprica and the massive Cartak which eat the herbivores. The other side of the world is in permanent night and yearly for three months it is assaulted as asteroids are pulled in by its gravity from the nearby belt of iron rich asteroids. On the dark side of Caprica a living is scraped by mining the iron left from the asteroids and shipping it off world. The Couriers of Wrath fortress-monastery is located at the east equator where the two halves of Caprica meet in a perpetual twilight. Much like the Ultramarines the Couriers of Wrath are the custodians of the sub-sector, the entire region fuels their war engine; there fortress-monastery serves as a pilgrimage to the pious and a beacon of hope for the weary of the sub-sector. They have not known war within their bounds since Abandon’s 7th Black Crusade. One world in each of the ten systems they deem under their care has a fortress guarded by a single squad from the second company and thousands of Imperial Guard personally trained by those marines. From these fortress’s The Couriers of Wrath are able to administer to their systems and receive recruits from other worlds. Other worlds which boast high numbers of recruits within their ranks include Ozo Zeta, a volcanic world in the Rynhall system, and Fuaw, a death-moon orbiting a gas giant in the Lirumau Septimus system. One member that stands out is the current Chapter Master Tiberius; while a youth his family moved from holy Terra itself. They are not, however, benevolent, gracious, or kind. They are killers, brutally slaying any who oppose the Emperor’s will. But they are not mindless killers; they are poets and artists, philosophers and astronomers. They highly value their minds and prize great thinkers; even ordinary humans can find honor for their mind or faith. The Couriers of Wrath aid their sub-sector only so far as to keep it out of the hands of the enemies they face and to keep it on the path of light leading towards the Emperor.

Beliefs:
The Couriers of Wrath believe in the Emperor as the greatest and most powerful man to ever live, and that he attained godhood after his death at the moment of resurrection, and that all of the loyal Primarchs form a great pantheon. In the center courtyard of their great fortress-monastery stand the nine loyal Primarchs encircling a statue of the Emperor (Khan kneeling before the Emperor). Within their sub-sector there are ten casts; each cast is guided by a single Primarch with the Couriers, themselves the highest 1st class, being guided by the Emperor. They hold all the Primarchs equal and worship the Emperor alone as an embodiment of the one god; this is a rarity amongst the Space Marines. The Couriers often fight alongside agents of the Inquisition and have deep ties to many of the agents of the Ordo Xenos that have gone on for generation with one Inquisitor teaching his most valued pupil about the bond they share. Many Couriers in their history have fought in the Deathwatch and it is a point of pride for the chapter. The chapter’s beliefs came about as their influence expanded; each unknown world they found and subsequently pulled into their fold brought with it some form of belief in a supreme singular god who created and lead powerful cohorts. There were always minor differences in these systems but the core was the same. The idea came about that there must be some seed of truth to these systems. For two years the Couriers’ Chief Librarian Piso focused his mind on this question. He was rewarded by many visions. With the aid of Chaplain Lupus, the visions lead him to this core belief that guides the Couriers down their path.

Gene-seed:
The gene-seed of The Couriers of Wrath comes from the White Scars; that gene-seed of Jaghatai Khan. Though their belief that all the Primarchs are equal in the eyes of the Emperor means they would never show it publicly they do have a great since of pride at the fact that their father chapter fought on holy Terra in the days of the Heresy and their belief that Khan fights in the web-way to this day against the foulest of enemies. They secretly believe that Khan will return one day and lead the Couriers and the Scars and all his sons on a final battle to destroy the forces of Chaos.

Battle Cry:
“Till the Last man falls!” This has been the battle cry of The Couriers since as far back as any can remember; who said it first and why has been lost to time, but it is said by the commander of any force of The Couriers of Wrath before going into battle. The meaning being that they will fight until the last enemy, or the last Courier, falls in battle. This battle cry has lead to the veneration of the honorable Last. If the last Courier to fall is known he is given special honor amongst the chapter lore. If the chapter is unable to learn the name of the last man to fall then a place is reserved for the “Honorable Last of this battle” or “that crusade,” and so on. It is believed that the Emperor, though Khan upon his return, will one day fill the names in the reserved places in the Hall of the Last.