Anyone aware of any documented examples of the Space Marines in the Koronus Expanse? Which chapters, if any, have a presence ther or, more likely, have crusaded or quested there?
I'm thinking the most logical examples would be the Storm Wardens (out of proximity to the Calixis sector) and Deathwatch - but are there any other examples?
The Storm Warden supplement on the DW official site mentions them out in the halo stars so them for sure. The Deathwatch may well be out there, purging the enemies of humanity in silence. Chapters on crusade or predation patterns roaming outside the Imperium (e.g. Black Templars or Carcharadons) may well show up.
I can think of at least two examples given in various books. One mentions a RT fleet that had Space Marine support and vanished into the expanse - no mention of chapter. The other mentions a Space Marine ship of an unknown chapter turning up (I think it was at Port Wander) demanding supplies then heading off into the expanse.
From a galactic perspective Calixis is not too far from the Space wolf demesne. So they are at least possible as well!
Another Chapter with their homeworld rather close to the Calixis Sector would be the Iron Hands. As far as I can remember they also participated in the Angevin Crusade.
According to the official Dark Heresy timeline, the following chapters participated in the Angevin crusade to conquer the Calyx Expanse and turn it into the Calixis Sector: Black Templars, Tigers Argent, Sons of Medusa, and Charnel Guard... in the initial phase of the crusade. The Iron Hands did join the Angevin crusade later on. Also, note that the Sons of Medusa are an Iron Hands successor chapter.
[EDIT: Missed the Iron Hands' involvement on the first read-through the timeline. My bad.]
Cheers,
- V.
The Star Dragons, Dark Sons, and Dark Angels are fairly close as well.
Another option is the Salamanders, though they may not be nearby, they could have a expedition into the expanse to follow up on a rumor of the presence of a relic of Vulcan somewhere in the expanse.
Possibly the blood ravens following up on a rumor of their founding or other obscure knowledge
I may use one of these myself, though in my case it would be stumbling upon evidence of an expedition that went missing.
Although it is probably either a typo or a misreading on my part I seem to recall that in one of the rogue trader biographies in E dge of the Abyss it states that one of the rogue traders has occasionally provided transportation for astartes in the koronus expanse. Unfortunately I can't remember who the specific rogue trader was however i'm pretty sure it definitely wasn't Wrath Umboldt, Calligos Winterscale, Severus Trask or Aspyce Chorda.
Jonquin Saul is the one yoou''re thinking of.
Ah yes the Saul family, letting down the rest of the Rogue Traders by not being a complete heretical bastard.
It''d really suck to be a rival trying attack Saul''s ship on a day he was transporting Astartes.
Depending on how bored they were, and in how much of a hurry, it could become a very bad day for someone.
Saul''s relationship with the Astartes works even better actually as I was going to set him up as a rival and antagonist for my players. Thanks guys.
Blood Pact said:
It''''d really suck to be a rival trying attack Saul''''s ship on a day he was transporting Astartes.
Depending on how bored they were, and in how much of a hurry, it could become a very bad day for someone.
I would presume there is no hurry great enough that space marines would take time out of their travels to end some pirates which i''m reasonably sure is exactly how they would perceive anyone attacking Saul''s ship in transit. Saul is the only goody-goody RT in the canon.
RobOut said:
I can think of at least two examples given in various books. One mentions a RT fleet that had Space Marine support and vanished into the expanse - no mention of chapter.
Ah, Rogue Trader Kinker Drub you mean? His entry is on page 330 of the Rogue Trader core rulebook at the top of the page.
Perhaps more precisely, there is no mention of what chapters (yes, plural). Apparently, squads drawn from several different chapters formed the composite Astartes force. The incident described happened during the "closing months of the 40th millenium", so it's anybody's guess if any of those Astartes troops are still alive and conducting operations.
Just to touch upon other chapters that might be operating in the Expanse, it's worth pointing out that Deathwatch, its supplements and Battlefleet Koronus reveal that the warp gate to the Jericho Reach is hidden in the "missing" station of passage at the neck of the Expanse. This is a massive Imperial state secret, though.
The Imperium is funneling large numbers of Astartes through the warp gate: basically all the first founding chapters have sent contingents, together with a large number of successors - Lamenters, Hammers of the Emperor, Celebrants etc etc, the list goes on.
Basically, this means that just about any chapter you want can appear in the Expanse - though most of them are only passing through, on their way to the Jericho Reach.
lurkeroutthere said:
Saul is the only goody-goody RT in the canon.
You sure about that? I'd include Aoife Armengarde on the goody two shoes list. Admittedly, she is a bit of a diamond in the rough, but still… definitely Armengarde. And maaaaaybe Wrath Umboldt as well.
Cheers,
- V.
Lightbringer said:
Basically, this means that just about any chapter you want can appear in the Expanse - though most of them are only passing through, on their way to the Jericho Reach.
Very valid point but I was thinking more along the lines of actually pursuing operations of some sort within the Expanse itself.
To give a little bit more background my players keep encountering a Space Marine Frigate. It never answers hails, they can't identify it's heraldry and they normally lay low, try not to "wake the dragon" and wait for them to eventually move on.
Now we're reaching a point where I'm having a great "treasure hunt/chase" with a number of factions after the same McGuffin - the marines will be one of those factions, so I figure now's teh time to put a little more definition on who they are.
It does sound a good idea for a campaign. I've often thought that Marines are the one Imperial faction that tend to make RT players sit up and pay attention.
To me, the Storm Wardens would be the most logical choice, on the basis that their homeworld (Sacris, I think) is based in the Calixis Sector, and that it would seem to me logical that the chapter would want to keep an eye on potential military threats to the region. The big military threats all seem to come from the Koronus Expanse region, what with the Rak'Gol, Orks of 'Undred 'Undred Teef etc etc. If I were the chapter master of the Storm Wardens I'd have a couple of ships in the region conducting some aggressive patrols.
That said, it's a bit obvious to use the Stormwardens. A more stylish option would be to spring a bespoke chapter of your own creation on your players, especially if they know the setting back to front. Or, you could try a canon chapter with very little background: I would suggest the Charnel Guard.
The Charnel Guard seem to crop up in a lot of the early DH material, having taken part in the Angevin Crusade. I seem to get the impression (based on the fact that they also crop up in the Badab War books) that Alan Bligh created them, and that they're in effect his personal chapter. This makes sense because Alan Bligh is one of the best 40k writers, and the "Charnel Guard" is a top quality name for a marine chapter. It conjures up all kinds of ghastly posibilities as to their practices, appearance etc.
If the Charnel Guard took part in the Angevin Crusade, it's possible they have some history with the Yu'Vath, who were present in the region at the time. So that could give them some reason to be present in the Koronus Expanse, as it's known to have links to the Yu'Vath. Perhaps they'd be hunting for Yu'Vath artefacts? Or evidence that some survived the Angevin Crusade?
Nerd King said:
Sounds like your players have the right idea.
I know I wouldn't be very generous if mine made the mistake of attacking the Astartes. At least with anything less than 10 to 1 odds and a significantly bigger ship.
On the other side of the equation… Karrad Vall was a Chaos Space marine with small group of other Chaos marines with him.
peterstepon said:
On the other side of the equation… Karrad Vall was a Chaos Space marine with small group of other Chaos marines with him.
Karrad Vaul is THOUGHT to be a CSM! If you have fallen suns you find out he is something…Else.
On a somewhat related note, are there any Adeptus Sororitas convents in the Koronus Expanse or would they have to migrate from the Calixis Sector and break new ground?
There's no mention I can recall of any, but the Sororitas are a large enough force that a pious Rogue Trader could reasonably expect to have a force of them attatched to his or her fleet for a campaign of converting the heathens and striking down xenos and heretics.
Relictors… All day.
These aren't the warp tainted artifacts you're looking for Mr Rogue Trader. Move along now, nothing to see here.
