Gaming In a grim dark far future there is only war - A thread for Warhammer 40k

Just thought regarding the Thousand Sons gene-seed and the way they mutate. It seems that some Legions gene-seed has certain pull toward certain ways it mutate - f.ex. the successors to the Blood Angels who has mutations that affect their appearance often seems to just make them more vampire-like in appearance - and I was thinking, what if the reason the post-Heresy Thousand Sons often mutate in avian ways (going by their models) is maybe not because they are Tzeentch's favourites and Big T is avian (or at least it's not the only reason), maybe there is something in their Emperor created gene-code that pull them toward mutating in avian-ish ways (when they not just go full Flesh Change).

What do people think?

 

Psst, @Gamiel @LAJ_FETT



also...do Pre-Heresy Thousand Sons show any avian behaviors? I am going by very faded memories (30 years), but I always thought the warping and mutations to a particular Chaos deity depended on their behaviors and the god they favored.

 

Cool.

Don't know. They had a returning avian motive in much of their iconography and their knowledge theme do fit with both the folklore/mythological version of owls and ravens. But that's not something that has to do with their gene-seed. (But than again, there seems to be something that makes Chapters' mutation/s often fit their iconography/name - now the question is did the mutation came first and their iconography/name was made to fit that or is it something else going on... like authors thinking that it would be cool to give them somekind of gene-flaw that fit with their name/iconography).

I'm rather certain that true, but at the same time we don't see that many (any?) Khorn Berserkers with dog- or bloodletter features, that was one of the reason I begun to think that maybe there was something more going on. Another reason is that Tzeentch's and its deamons have many non-avian features that don't seems to appear on the Thousand Sons (at least not in notable numbers).

 

So another try to put up the colours of the Crimson Scourge, hope they are visible this time @Gamiel

 

Yes

 

Glad to hear it works now.

Also debating on their coat of arms, could use the regular Timurid One:



Or maybe go a bit fancier.

 

I recently found something in WH40k that puzzles me and maybe people here could help me understand. The thing that puzzles me is the Angels Porphyr Chapter.

The thing is that porphyr is a purple-red magmatic rock and well here is how the Angels Porphyr looks:


There is nothing purple, red, or purple-red about them, or magmatic rock-ish and their Chapter Symbol may give a nod to the “angel” part put I don’t see anything that’s an indication of the porphyr part.

Can anybody give me reasonable explanation for their name?

If you are planing to actually pain them do I suggest using the regular Timurid one, or a variation of it. If not can you go really fancy if you want.

 

@Gamiel re: magmatic rock, what’s that in the crest on the space marine’s chest? Maybe that could be the porphyr?

 

That's a possibility, but feels a bit strange that the only representation of their name would be that and don't explain why they would originally have been given that name.

 

I doubt I would get to painting anytime soon, modles are far too expensive, the opportunities to play too rare and the whole minature part of the hobby far too time consuming for me.

Also wondering you made some of these tables/sheets for creation of loyalist chapters. Did you make one for Chaose Space Marine warbands as well?

 

Fully understand that. I'm in the same boat

Not jet. I have begun to do DIY* Chapter concepts lists for the Night Lords and the Thousand Sons but they are more for loyalist descendent of those Legions, even if they possibly could be used for CSM Warbands. But now you have bun to make me think on CSM Warband concepts....
* Do it yourself

 

So some ideas I had on that from the top of my head:

Spoiler: Chaos Warband

Origin:
1) Splinter Force of one of the original 9 traitor Legions(would require another table)
2) Traitors from within the ranks of one of the 9 loyalists during the heresy
3) Traitors from one of the main 9 chapters after the heresy
4) Traitors from a minor chapter
5) Mix of various of the above brought together by a powerfull champion
6) Lost Scions of one of the lost 2 primachs who escaped the purge of their legions

Chosen God:
1) Khorne
2) Tzeench
3) Nurgle
4) Slanesh
5) Malice
6) Khorne/Nurgle
7) Tzeench/Slanesh
8) Chaos Undivided
9) Minor God/Demon Prince
10) Not activley worshipping (Like elements of the Night Lords/Iron Warriors and Alpha Legion)

Stance on Mutation
1) Always a blessing
2) Can be either a blessing or a curse
3) Always a curse

Home base
1) (Demon) World in the Eye of Terror
2) (Demon) World in the Malestrom
3) (Demon) World in the Great Rift
4) Fleet Based
5) Conquered Imperial World
6) Conquered Xenos World(would require another table)
7) Space Station/Asteroid hideout
8) Former Chapter Homeworld
9) Nichee of the webway

Stance on non Astartes Chaos Worshippers:
1) Only good for sacrifice
2) Use them as Canon Fodder
3) Use them as workslaves
4) Use them as agents for infiltration
5) Properly train them as auxilliary forces
6) Sell them to other Warbands for more usefull stuff

Leader of the Warband:
1) Chaos General
2) Demon Prince
3) Chaos Sorrcerer
4) Warpsmith
5) Demoninc entity
6) Dark Apostle
7) Fallen Apothecary

 

Looks good.

I would say that my lists are mostly meant to be used tighter with the kind of lists you have made, as an extra way to give it character.

Also here is my newly created CSM warband concepts lists. As with the others is it a work in progress.

Spoiler

1. Fight alongside xeno slave-soldiers.
2. The bandleader is entombed in a dreadnought.
3. The bandleader is not a CSM but a Navigator.
4. Has a vendetta against one of the Legions.
5. Distrust sorcerers and sorcery. Possibly try to capture Navigators and bound psykers to be able to do what usually befalls to sorcerers.
6. The bandleader is not a CSM but a powerful psyker.
7. Outcasts from one of the major xeno groups are part of the warband.
8. Has been infiltrated by the Alpha Legion that’s trying to use the warband for its own ends.
9. The warband was relatively recently engaged in a longer confrontation with a xeno-group. Xeno trophies are likely found hanging from the warbands armours, and xeno-tech in their hands.
10. Is still following the Codex Astartes in all possible ways.
11. Are scavenging the arms, armour and other equipment of any fallen Space Marines, friend or foe, they can find. Possibly also killing any lone /few numbered SM they encounter for their gear.
12. When attacking Imperial space do the warband always explain why they are the victims here and the Imperium is to blame for their acts.
13. They only have enough bolters and ammunition for the leaders and/or elite of the warband, the rest has to use lesser weapons.
14. Has allied themselves with a group xenos that navigate the Warp (or similar) for the warband in exchange for protection.
15. Are consumed raiders, that strike suddenly, takes all that they can and try to disappear before the fighting gets prolonged.
16. The commanders, if not all the warbands CSM, have harems.
17. The warband is mostly humans, abhumans, mutants and similar with only a handful of CSM.
18. Notable numbers of CSM sorcerers, thrall-mages, and psykers.
19. See themselves as being still loyal to the Imperium and in theory only attack xenos, other warbands, and non-Imperial planets.
20. Only the bandleader is a veteran of the Long War, all other are of later stock
21. There is a schism going on the warband between the veterans of the Long War and those who come later.
22. The warband follow the semi-cryptic sayings of a non-augmented human with prophetic visions and/or the god/s guidance. Or at least the warband believes that.
23. Allow targets a chance to give up before mercilessly attacking, and keep their end of the deal.
24. Are the hunters and slayers of Deamon Princes.

 

Some intresting ideas, tough I´m a bit unsure if CSM would accept any "normal" mortal as their leader, even if its psyker.

This is something I could see the Thousand Sons doing, also lecturing the imperial citizens to be nice to psykers in the future.

This is actually something I´ve been wondering about for a while now? Can Space Marines have sex? Cause in several cases they seem to have no sex drive and not even understand it, like Loken completly not getting Mersadie Oliton ogling him and clearly being attracked to him. But then again some books do hint at it and especially with the emperors children, like Fulgrim mentioning having been married a few times before he was found and of course The Reflection Crack'd wich is filled with sexual undertones.


One that I would add to this list would be?

Have a very strong relationship with the Dark Mechanicum, basically a mirror to the Iron Hands Chapter.

 

True, and that's what makes that interesting, how come that the warband is lead by a mortal human instead of a CSM or a Deamon Prince? There is a story there.

Ragnar Blackmane was shown feeling attraction to one or two females, after becoming a SM. And there was a volstagian SW who had some kind of puppy love feeling toward a woman (I think, it was some time ago I read that story). There is also that at least some CSM have been depicted with slave-girls/leg-cling/similar following them around, but that could just be an aesthetic question.

Since GW have not put their foot down so is it free for people to decide themselves how they want to do it, I think. And even if, if I say, SM in normal cases don't have a sex-drive so would it just be a way to show that the CSM have gone wrong in some ways if they have harems.

 

Sure, could see a mortal prophet/preacher leading them as well, or going back to my idea above a Heretekt.

Certianly, might in some cases be more about adoration/power than outright lust tough.

 

People know about those new roles GW have been talking about? The core section has been realised into the wild for free! And no longer in just High Gothic dialects but also some Low Gothic ones, like Danish and Swedish

The downloads and more info and stuff here https://www.warhammer-community.com/2020/07/02/free-core-rules-new-models-sighted/

 

So been putting another Space Marine chapter together lately, orginally just makeing a cameo in one of my recent writings I know went a bit more in depth with the chapter using the Space Marine Chapter Creation table, in addition to some of my own ideas:


The Black Sabers

The Black Sabers are a chapter of the Adeptus Astartes founded in M35 to counteract the growing number of Chaos cults and demon summoning in the Seswenna Sector. A successor chapter of the Iron Hands the Sabers tend to have a closer affiliation with the tenants of the codex Astartes than most of their cousin chapter, following the code to the letter in most instances.

The chapter puts their and the emperors honor above pretty much everything else, refusing to fight dirty and instead preferring to take their enemies head on. They also tend to avoid large massacres and despite working with the Inquisition have on multiple occasions expressed concerns about the more radical methods such as exterminatus.

Their gene stock is slightly altered which gives the older marines a more and more disturbing voice, usually a deep rasp, some members are even known to stop communicating with their voice completely and instead use binary just as the Mechanicus with which the chapter has a close relation.

Their homeworld Erian is a feral world covered in swamps and jungles. Formerly a Mechanicus world it was later abandoned after the planets promethium reserves were depleted, leaving many of the workers behind, who fell back into a primitive state that is still filled with Mechanicus rituals. They worship the machine god and their priests still compile "progress reports" as sacrifices to their deity every quarter, each year ending with the desperate hopes of the people that they will make it into yet another fiscal year unscathed so the fourth quarter of every year certainly has a fearful, apocalyptic feel to it.

The order doesn´t really interfere with these tribes at all, usually preferring the quietness of their remote fortress monastery. Aspirants who want to join the chapter have to make their way through the swamps and ruins of the refineries to reach the fortress, with this begin their first test as only the strongest and/or smartest make it.

Over the years the chapter has developed a stronger and stronger fixation on fighting cults whether they are chaos affiliated or xenos related such as geenstealers or Tau collaborators. To this end they tend to deploy their scouts a bit differently than most other chapters, having them act as undercover agents and spies in the hive cities. This also leads to the entire chapter being particularly skilled at navigating and fighting inside the close quarters of imperial cities. They are also renowned for their hacking skills and getting information's from machines in general.

Due to their specialty they often work with the Inquisition especially the Ordo Xenos and Hereticus and several members of the chapters serve as liaisons with Inquisitors from time to time.

Like most Iron Hand successors the chapter tends to prefer worshipping the Machine god over the imperial cult, tough will hide this when working with the Inquisition.

Many senior members of the chapter wear the titular black sabers instead of chainswords as their main weapons, using these blades to pass the emperors judgment on cultists and other enemies of the emperor.

 

In White Dwarf #454 do they continue the discussion about how to create your own chapter, here with the focus how to go about to make it personal and give it some kind of secrets or idiosyncrasies. They exemplify the discussion with the continued creation of the Tome Keeper Chapter that they showed the conceptualisation of in #453.

Also, @Anedon in that article do they mention that the Blood Angels quirk (which I take means the Black Rage and the Red Thirst) is a closely guarded secret.


----------------------------

By the way here are my lists for Successor Chapter specific concept based on the forbearer Legions, they are based on established stuff about the Legions' culture and things that I think fit with their themes*, f.ex so are nearly all of the Raven Guards concepts nods to E.A. Poe's stories and their adaptations. Some of the lists are notably longer than other, sometime you just get many ideas for a concept, or have many that you can reuse, and othertimes you can't come up with much. Any comments or thoughts are more then welcome. If you want to know my thinking behind some of the concepts, just ask.
* as I see them

Alpha Legion

Spoiler

1. Lots of pet snakes, some may be attack trained.

2. A Chapter which is attempting to comply with the terms of an ancient secret pact.

3. A Chapter that’s extremely secretive.

4. A Chapter that doesn’t recruit from any world, instead all their aspirants are secretly vat-grown in clone chambers.

5. A secretive Chapter with a shroud of impenetrable mystery surrounds their operations.

6. Have a kind of penitent Company within the Chapter, made up by battle-brothers who have done dishonourable acts to protect the Chapter's secret/s.

7. A Chapter who’s homeworld, recruitment world/s and ways to resupply are unknown to the Imperial authority.

8. A Chapter that communicates only when necessary and always use their own cryptic battle tongue amongst themselves.

9. Their homeworld have giant snakes, so large that they can swallow a SM whole.

10. Is allied with (or maybe the secret masters of) an Assassin Order, Guild or Death Cult.

11. Seems unable to execute a straight plan

12. Distrustful and paranoid, they lie and tell half truths about everything, others most do the same. Possibly unable to believe that others are actually telling the full truth.

13. Masters of stealth operations, infiltration and misdirection, they are arrogant in the belief that they are the ones with the secrets and lies

14. Lots of poison weapons.

15. Have secret agents all over the sub-sector in which their homeworld lay.

16. Take those they have deemed fitting to become aspirants secretly, without any warning or explanation.

17. Snake tattoos cover their bodies.

18. While very secretive and stealthy when preparing and doing missions, once the final stages are executed do they want to do it in such way that others know that they were the ones who did it

19. Fight alongside gland-warriors or other kinds of gene-manipulate auxilia.

20. Don’t have any notable company, squad or rank markings.

21. If they can get away with it do they eat the brains of fallen allied SM, so they can get their secrets.

22. Specialise in harrying and guerrilla warfare.

23. Favours the spear as the epitome of a warrior’s arsenal and the incarnate focus of his honour.

24. The Chapter’s official fortress-monastery is nothing but highly defended set design, beside the defences so is there nothing there, the real fortress-monastery is hidden.

25. Are seemingly friendly, cooperative and trusting with their allies, but have no problem sacrificing them in any way if it would lead to victory.

26. Don’t have any notable rank markings.

27. Use lots of small and/or hidden weapons, like digi-weapons.

28. Constantly use allied forces as bait.

29. Secretive and hidden, but are bitter and jealous over that they don’t get any recognition.

30. Their fortress-monastery lay in a swamp.

31. Don’t use flamer or melta-weapons.

32. Their homeworld have giant crabs.

33. Go around masked when not helmeted.

34. Recruit only from swamp dwellers.

35. Always try to find out secrets and hidden knowledge. Possibly they have hard to understand that some people are not interested in secrets.

36. A Chapter that, when it can, hires xeno mercenaries to help them fight their current enemies.

37. All battle-brothers are armed with a power-dagger.

38. Lots of skull and/or shrunken head trophies.

39. Masters of psychological warfare.

40. Ritually bath in poison, likely bleaching or miscolouring their hair and/or skin.

41. The Chapter’s battle-brothers have a tendency rather than stop discovered threat incursions the stealthy observe and allow it to grow, so they can learn its methods, and then remove it. If this has shown itself to be a really bad idea from time to time, the Chapter don’t speak about it.

42. They favour the use of long rifles, silenced weapons and stiletto blades.

43. Use whips and/or chain-weapons.

44. The Chapter has a semi-humanoid avian with two twisting antennae on its head as an advisor/jester-slave.

Insp.: Greece; the hydra;
Themes: snakes, plans within plans; need to know only; agents everywhere; secrets and lies; pirates; infiltration; “they all look the same”;
hydra = HYDRA/Marvel; secrets and lies = Scorpion clan/L5R; snakes = skurken i Conan;

Blood Angels

Spoiler

1. A Chapter that believes that only the weak fall into the Black Rage and therefor has little regard for Battle Brothers that fall into its embrace.

2. A Chapter that do not see the Black Rage as a curse but as the manifestation of their Primarch's awesome power within an imperfect vessel of the marine. They do not hide away their brothers maddened by visions of the angel, they admire them for their purity, focus, and furious desire to kill everything impure.

3. A Chapter that see the Black Rage not as a curse but as a blessing. They believe it is the first enlightenment of Sanguinius, and that overcoming the Black Rage delivers the marine to a higher plane of existence and closer to their beloved lord.

4. A Chapter that keep the Battle Brothers who has fallen to the Black Rage awake and non-sedate (if tightly strapped down) when not in combat. Their ravings and screams are faithfully recorded, since it is believed that there are prophesies and holy insights hidden in them.

5. A Chapter where only a relatively few Battle Brothers that fall into the Black Rage.

6. A Chapter where only a relatively few Battle Brothers that fall into the Black Rage but the Red Thirst is unusually strong.

7. A Chapter that suffers highly from Battle Brothers falling into the Black Rage but the curse of the Red Thirst is unusually week.

8. A Chapter that finds it easier to resist the Red Thirst if they consume raw, fresh meat.

9. Spend their time of rest in medical sarcophagi.

10. Has a strict etiquette and specific honour rituals, and by following those while approaching a brother fallen into the Black Rage are they able to calm them from their rage, even if they are still caught in their own mental reality. Any break with such observances, or if they are not done just right, will send the fallen into a outrageous kill frenzy of destruction.

11. When possible do the Sanguinary Priest (or similar) not just collect the gene-seed of the dead but also their blood.

12. Have begun to descend into charnel cults and bloody rituals.

13. Don’t have any Sanguinary Priests. What is filling their role?

14. They regularly tap the population of their Home World off blood.

15. The Chapter’s battle-brothers ritually bathe in blood.

16. The Chapter is highly mystical.

17. Fights alongside lupine-animal, like wolves, direwolves, and/or even beast akin to Fenrisian wolves.

18. The Chapter’s battle-brothers seal themselves away in vast stasis crypts when not on campaign.

19. Has nightly bloodletting and purification rituals to assist Battle-Brothers in their efforts to resist the Black Rage.

20. Believe itself to be doomed and have begun to embrace the notion that if they cannot continue then their best approach is to make certain that they leave a bold legacy.

21. Believing itself to be doomed, the Chapter’s culture is one of grim fatalism and acceptance of their fate.

22. Believing itself to be doomed, the Chapter have decided that if they are going to die they are going to do it with honour and constantly strive to act their best.

23. Believing itself to be doomed, the Chapter try to takeout so many great enemies as they can before they themselves fall.

24. Those that succumb to the Black Rage are abandoned, left to fend for themselves in combat.

25. Every 50 years the Chapter sacrificing a Sanguinary Priest; his blood is then used as one of the components to make a mixture that is used to nourish the Chapter in war.

26. Consider mirrors suspect and destroy them when given the chance.

27. Constantly tap their Chapter-serfs off blood.

28. They try to keep their hunger and rage in check by doing some form of artistic endeavours.

Insp.: Dracula; baroque; rococo; the renascence; Vampires overall; nobles death rituals mausoleums during the baroque, rococo and renascence;
Themes: the tragic hero; the monster that’s trying to show he is more than just his cravings;

Dark Angels

Spoiler

1. Feathers are used to mark honours.

2. Put war-paint on themselves and/or their armour before battle.

3. Very chivalric and noble.

4. Only the Chapter Master and his inner circle knows that the Chapter belongs to the Unforgiven.

5. Have a kind of penitent Company within the Chapter, made up by battle-brothers who have done dishonourable acts to protect the Chapter's secret/s.

6. Always try to send enough battle-brothers to a conflict so if a Fallen has to be hunted the force can split in twain – one to hunt the Fallen and one to stay to finish the original mission.

7. Fulltime hunters of the Fallen, that only enter conflicts that they believe are in the path of their hunt or if a Fallen is thought to be among the enemies.

8. A Chapter that if engaged in a conflict and traces of the Fallen can be found, only begin the hunt once the original mission is finished.

9. A Chapter whose cult is divided into a number of sub-cults.

10. A Chapter that specialized in tracking and hunting.

11. Use hunting beasts.

12. Are the feudal high-lords of their homeworld, with each company having an area as their protectorate.

13. The battle-brothers of the Chapter ritually inflict corporal mortification on themselves and their fellows.

14. Allied to a Knight House.

Insp.: monastic orders; secret societies; knightly orders; Freemasons; Native North Americans; medieval Europe; Camelot; Victorian interpretation of medieval Europe; Flying hussars; the Church keeping bad stuff members have done hidden;
Themes: secrets and what we do to keep them; the conflict between duty and honour; secrets within secrets; tarnished nobility;
Caliban = the Tempest/Shakespeare;

Death Guard

Spoiler

1. Secretly uses the forbidden Cybernetic Resurrection maletek.

2. Don’t have any Librarians.

3. Power and/or chain scythes are the symbolic weapon of office for higher officers.

4. Put war-paint on themselves and/or their armour before battle.

5. Tribal tattoos mark the bodies of the Chapter’s battle-brothers.

6. Recruit from the young fallen on battlefields.

7. Ritually bath in poison, likely bleaching their hair and/or miscolouring/scaring their skin.

8. Drink from a cup of poison, strong enough to make even SM feel ill, as part of some, or all, of their rituals.

9. There homeworld is tidal locked with only the planets dusk-band being liveable by unprotected humans.

10. Marines that have shamed themselves, are allowed to regain their honour by fighting naked until their shame has washed away.

11. Only have seven companies.

12. The Chapter’s squads are made up by seven Marines each.

13. Lots of alchemical and/or rad weapons.

14. A silent Chapter, that only speaks when it’s absolutely needed.

15. Have no fast attack units.

16. All full battle-brothers have a torc around their neck.

17. The Librarians of the Chapter take no positions of command.

18. Believes that Mankind is weak and susceptible to corruption, and therefore needs constant (and maybe harsh) guidance and leadership.

19. Have no marks of honours or deed making.

20. The Chapter expos its Neophyte Astartes to chemical agents, contaminants, deadly viral strains and venoms of a thousand different shades.

21. Masters of infantry warfare, at the cost of their ability in other fronts.

22. Their main weapons are bolter, knife, melta and flamer; around which their wargear is based, keeping supply needs to a minimum.

23. Recruit from the rad-damaged.

24. A Chapter that have the administrative right to a Abhuman World/Ratling sub-classification and possibly deploys forces of those abhumans side by side with Astartes, and/or use them as serfs.

Insp.: the gothic-genres interpretation of the Middle Ages; WHFB Undead;
Themes: gothic horror; as dislike for psykers/the warp but a tendency to overindulge when they do use it; the number seven; the barbaric Great Britain;
the barbaric Great Britain = Brand Mak Morn / Picts / Celts / Robert E. Howard’s Picts / the White Howlers/WtA /

Emperor’s Children

Spoiler

1. A Chapter that recruits solely from the aristocracy.

2. Favours the sword as the epitome of a warrior’s arsenal and the incarnate focus of his honour.

3. A Chapter that’s as dedicated to the cultural arts as to the ways of war.

4. All their power-swords are black-bladed.

5. Glory seekers.

6. A Chapter that takes great pride in their standards and each squad has a standard bearer.

7. Only use high-quality equipment, even if it means that it takes longer to resupply or repair.

8. A Chapter that’s very chivalric and noble.

9. Every battle-brother is expected to choose at least one craft or cultural art and put as much dedicated to mastering that as they do in mastering war.

10. The Chapter have been decimated many times and seems cursed to be reduced to only 200 Marines every time they have begun to really rebuild.

11. Androgynous appearance.

12. The Chapter Master is known as the War Prince.

13. Are the direct rulers of an industrial world and make certain that produce and production is of good quality and that workers have enough time of to partake in cultural arts.

14. Only the finest recruits are inducted into the Chapter, which meant that while high standards are maintained, the Chapter rebuilds loses slowly.

15. Has a strong duelling tradition.

16. Battle-brothers of the Chapter has a habit of taking particularly fine weapons from defeated enemies.

17. Has a unite, that exist outside the normal structure, made up by the Chapter’s finest swordsmen/similar.

18. A Chapter that has an unusual high amount of Apothecary.

19. A Chapter that’s obsessed with keeping their gene-seed pure. Possibly they react condescending or even hostile toward Chapters they know have flaws or mutations in their gene-seed (like the Imperial Fist, the Black Dragons, and the Sons of Antaeus), or even anybody they consider impure.

20. The Chapter’s battle-brothers practiced a wide variety of artistic endeavours alongside their martial practice and training.

21. The Chapter is masters of rapid assault and encirclement.

Insp.: Elric; baroque; rococo; the renascence; an officer and a gentleman;
Themes: rising from the aches = phoenix; mastery and perfection in what they do; renascence men; art for art’s sake; Enjoyment of culture turned into decadence; I don't just want to survive I want to live; enjoyment of the fine things in life; the pleasure that comes from perfecting your draft; sour second place; competition-driven; wanting to compete turned into envy; heralds; being the best, at any cost; warrior artisans;

Iron Hands

Spoiler

1. Secretly uses some kind of forbidden maletek, like Cybernetic Resurrection.

2. Is close to one of the esoteric, but still accepted (for now), fractions of the Mechanicus

3. Has an unusual high amount of techmarines but doesn’t seem to be any closer to the Mechanicus then most other Chapters.

4. Are the carriers of a letter of marque from the Adeptus Mechanicus Magicasts, granting them salvage rights wherever they roam.

5. Strictly follow the orthodox belief of the Adeptus Mechanicus; any machine that don’t fully follow one of the divine STC:s are considered tech-heresy.

6. Frequently partner with the Mechanicus in searching out archeotech, holy relics, and/or new sources of knowledge. This search/gather is likely often done to the point where these considerations outweigh other military factors.

7. Works closely with Xenarites Mechanicus' faction.

8. Works closely with Scions of the Iron Sphere Mechanicus' faction.

9. Works closely with Organicists Mechanicus' faction.

10. Works closely with Omnissiads Mechanicus' faction.

11. Works closely with Levelists Mechanicus' faction.

12. Works closely with Imperio-Cognisticians Mechanicus' faction.

13. Works closely with Crucible Resolviate Mechanicus' faction.

14. Works closely with Hippocrasian Sect Mechanicus' faction.

15. Works closely with Khamrians Mechanicus' faction.

16. There Techmarines are all also trained Transmechanic.

17. Their Techmarines are all also trained Reclaimator.

18. Their Techmarines are all also trained Lectro-Maester.

19. Their Techmarines are all also trained Manipulus.

20. Their Techmarines are also trained Electro-priests.

21. A Chapter that don’t have Apothecary, instead it has an position unique for that Chapter that combines the role of both Apothecary and Techmarine.

22. Their homeworld is wrecked by constant storms.

23. Specialise in harrying warfare.

24. They don’t have Iron Fathers. What have they instead filling their role?

25. Have, relatively speaking, large amounts of arco-tech.

26. An elite group of the Chapter is equipped with mirror shields.

27. Don’t replace any body parts with cybernetics after the indoctrination process.

28. The Chapter’s battle-brothers have long, red hair.

29. Are allied with a specific Forge World, which have not just affected their wargear and equipment but also the warband’s culture.

30. Have a high amount of Dreadnoughts.

31. Don’t just replace their left hand but also their whole left arm with cybernetics after the indoctrination process.

32. Any unsuccessful aspirants who failed to become Adeptus Astartes is lobotomised and turned into servitors.

33. A Chapter that don’t have any Chapter-serfs. All the tasks usually done by serfs are probably done by servitors and/or the battle-brothers themselves.

34. A Chapter that only communicate in Cant Mechanicus, and use text and/or speaker-servitors when needing to communicate with those who don’t understand that.

35. A Chapter with a high amount of servitors that they are using in the field.

36. Are guided, not by cold logic but, by furious passions and unleash their wrath upon the enemies of the Emperor.

37. Have both Iron Fathers and Chaplains.

38. The Chapter possesses extensive forge resources, allowing them to field an impressive amount of Space Marine equipment, in both number and variety.

39. Make use of Land-Behemoths.

40. Seemingly cold, logical and unfeeling, but have thought out history made decision only based on hate.

41. Cold, logical and unfeeling - up to a point; when that point have been reached they turn into savage berserkers.

42. A Chapter where all the techmarines are also trained techsorcists.

43. A Chapter that scavenge the arms, armour and other equipment of Renegade Space Marines for their own use. Maybe they even scavenge from fallen allied Space Marines and/or Chaos Space Marines. The Chapter’s techmarines are likely trained in techno-exorcism and/or they have allied tech-priests who are.

44. Large amount vehicles with long-range weaponry.

45. Follow the Iron Hands’ structure with clan-companies.

46. Follow the Iron Hands’ structure with clan-companies, but have more than ten clan-companies.

47. Follow the Iron Hands’ structure with clan-companies, but have less than ten clan-companies.

48. A Chapter who believes its vehicles are the true power of the force and their dreadnoughts the commanders.

49. A Chapter that don’t have a Chapter-Master, instead its lead by a council consisting of the Chapter’s Dreadnoughts.

50. All the Chapter’s dreadnoughts quickly lose their cold, logical and unfeeling nature and becoming nothing but berserkers, driven by their Primarchs hatred and rage.

51. The Chapter’s dreadnoughts don’t seem to mentally degenerate when awake for longer times.

52. When the battle-brothers speak they do so with a clipped, monotone, cold tone that is uncomfortably precise in detail as well as delivery.

53. Has a notable strong rage that they try to keep in check by doing some form of artistic endeavours.

54. Has a notable strong rage that they try to keep in check by crafting and/or engineering.

55. Each battle-brother is expected to refine and maintain his own armour and weaponry.

Insp.: warring Greek city states; Greek Mythology;
Themes: machine before flesh; abhorrence toward perceived weakness; a raging hatred/anger kept in check; Medusa; Gorgons; the riddle of steel; Rom the fascist and militarist; Antique Greece the fascist and militarist;
[the riddle of steel = Conan/Cimmerians];

Iron Warriors

Spoiler

1. A Chapter that scavenge the arms, armour and other equipment of Renegade Space Marines for their own use. Maybe they even scavenge from fallen allied Space Marines and/or Chaos Space Marines. The Chapter’s techmarines are likely trained in techno-exorcism and/or they have allied tech-priests who are.

2. Is close to one of the esoteric, but still accepted (for now), fractions of the Mechanicus

3. Has an unusual high amount of techmarines but doesn’t seem to be any closer to the Mechanicus then most other Chapters.

4. Are allied with a specific Forge World, which have not just affected their wargear and equipment but also the warband’s culture.

5. Any unsuccessful aspirants who failed to become Adeptus Astartes is lobotomised and turned into servitors.

6. A Chapter that don’t have any Chapter-serfs. All the tasks usually done by serfs are probably done by servitors and/or the battle-brothers themselves.

7. A Chapter with a high amount of servitors that they are using in the field.

8. The Chapter possesses extensive forge resources, allowing them to field an impressive amount of Space Marine equipment, in both number and variety.

9. A Chapter that is highly motorized, they have so many tanks and flyers that nearly every brother can drive/pilot one into combat.

10. A Chapter that uses crafts usually not seen used by Space Marines (like Baneblades, Onager Dunecrawlers and/or Valkyries, etc.).

11. Truly only trust themselves and their wargear, making them unwilling to fight alongside others.

12. Use lots of tanks, not just Astates class tanks but also Imperial Guard tanks. Have they refitted the IG tanks to work for a Marine size crew, or are they crewed by servitors, serfs-at-arms, or something else?

13. A Chapter that scavenge the arms, armour and other equipment of Renegade Space Marines for their own use. Maybe they even scavenge from fallen allied Space Marines and/or Chaos Space Marines. The Chapter’s techmarines are likely trained in techno-exorcism and/or they have allied tech-priests who are.

14. Is allied to a Tank Regiment and can often be found fighting by its side.

15. Specialize in taking and holding actions.

16. A Chapter that use Combat Shields and/or Boarding Shields as standard equipment.

17. Allied to a Knight House.

18. When not on duty the Chapter’s battle-brotters are expected to participate in and lead construction work on the Chapter’s world/s.

19. In any combat situation is the Chapters first instinct to go into defensive position and build a bastion if there is not one they can use already.

20. Masters of siege defence, at the cost of their offence when they don’t have a defensive fallback position.

21. Have few too non Fast Attack units.

22. Don’t take cities or fortresses, they break them.

23. Treat their serfs as little more than mortal slaves who are barely worthy of being in their masters' august presence

24. Treat their serfs as little more than mortal slaves, unworthy of name or the right to look upon their masters when addressed by title

25. The Chapter seldom recognise personal deeds, only years of service.

26. Is allied to a Siege Regiment and can often be found fighting by its side.

27. Each battle-brother is expected to refine and maintain his own armour and weaponry.

28. When the battle-brothers speak they do so with a clipped, monotone, cold tone that is uncomfortably precise in detail as well as delivery.

Insp.: WWI; trench warfare; siege warfare; warring Greece city states; the fascist states ideals; tank warfare;
Themes: a man is just a number; victory at all costs; Rom the fascist and militarist; Antique Greece the fascist and militarist; no warriors or individuals, just cogs in the military machine;

Imperial Fist

Spoiler

1. While having no problems using trickery in combat do the battle-brothers of this Chapter seem incapable of telling lies or speaking subtitle. They tell the straight truth or keep silent.

2. Bondage like appearance when out of armour.

3. The battle-brothers of the Chapter ritually inflict corporal mortification on themselves and their fellows

4. The battle-brothers’ armour are covered in the scrimshawed bones of the earlier wearers of the armour.

5. When the battle-brothers’ armour is damaged, the Chapter's Artificers will only repair it to the point of restoring functionality, with superficial things like scrapes, pitting, dents and small craters being ignored.

6. Any damage to the battle-brothers’ armour that’s sever enough so that the wearer is hurt is repaired but the rapair is not painted, instead the date, place and type of weapon that caused the damage is carved in High Gothic next to the damage.

7. Specialize in taking and holding actions.

8. Facial scars denote a battle-brother’s rank and prestige in the Chapter.

9. Battle-brothers receive ritual honour scars in long ceremonies.

10. A Chapter with many mortification rituals that believe that they reach a union with the Primarch through pain, and battle-brothers who have shown themselves of unworthy of Dorn’s ideals (as perceived by the Chapter) are forbidden from receiving mortification.

11. The inside of their armour is covered in small spikes that pierces the wearers skin but don’t do any “real” damage.

12. Whip themselves (or have serfs doing it) bloody before donning their armour.

13. Don’t leave any warzone they have helped pacify until they have rebuilt all the main fortresses.

14. Tattoo themselves with chemical inks that are painful even for Space Marines and makes the tattoos constantly painfully burn after they have healed.

15. High use of power-fists.

16. Very chivalric and noble.

17. Are the feudal high-lords of their homeworld, with each company having an area as their protectorate.

18. Masters of siege defence, at the cost of their offence when they don’t have a defensive fallback position.

19. Don’t consider themselves notably wounded as long as they can somehow attack the enemy, if it so may be only with their legs. “I’ll bite your legs off!”

20. In any combat situation is the Chapters first instinct to go into defensive position and build a bastion if there is not one they can use already.

21. When not on duty the Chapter’s battle-brotters are expected to participate in and lead construction work on the Chapter’s world/s.

22. Allied to a Knight House.

24. The battle-brothers skin are covered in the fading remains of gang-tattoos and/or scarifications.

25. A Chapter that considers swords and powerclaws illfortune weapons since it was those that Horus used to wound the Emperor.

26. A Chapter that use Combat Shields and/or Boarding Shields as standard equipment.

27. A pious, zealous and uncompromising Chapter.

28. A Chapter that conscripts all the children in the warzones they fight in. Those children found worthy are turned into Astartes while the rest become Chapter serfs or servitors.

29. While they have a deep and abiding faith in the Emperor of Mankind and their Primarch Rogal Dorn, and venerate the Emperor as more than a man, do they not believe that He is divine.

30. One of the older Chapters, there during the War of the Beast, but unable to join it’s brother-Chapters when the Last Wall protocol was activated. Something they still feel shame for.

31. Bind their weapons to their arms with chains before combat.

Insp.: Knights Templar; builders; crusaders; crusading knights; crusading orders;
Themes: scrimshaw; by the book; gangers turned into defenders of civilization; mortification for perceived failure; endurance for endurance sake; purity through pain; gangers turned into noble(?) protectors and builders;
[Knights Templar + builders = Freemasons]; [Knights Templar = Knights Templar in AC];

Lunar Wolves

Spoiler

1. The battle brother self-inscribed kill-markings into their armour.

2. American gangsta style tattoos (ex. SM4Life, Born2Kill).

3. Yakuza style tattoos.

4. The battle-brothers skin are covered in the fading remains of gang-tattoos and/or scarifications from their pre-recruitment times.

5. Very diplomatic when they interact with other forces of the Imperium.

6. Remove the fingers of a battle-brother as punishment, without replacing them with cybernetics. One finger for each mistake, beginning with the pinkie. A Marine is probably given replacements when he has regained his honour and/or the mistake have been fixed.

7. The battle-brothers skin are covered in the fading remains of gang-tattoos and/or scarifications.

8. The principle tactic of the Chapter is a decisive surgical assault aimed directly at the command element of the enemy.

9. Fights alongside lupine-animal, like wolves, direwolves, and/or even beast akin to Fenrisian wolves.

10. Their fortress-monastery is hidden underground.

11. The battle-brothers are seen as the revenants of the dead by the people of their homeword.

12. Their fortress-monastery lay on a moon.

13. Within the Chapter’s structure exist secretive warrior-lodges, where marines of all ranks and placements could mingle freely and talk openly without having to follow customary rank discipline.

14. Recruit only from those who live underground.

15. Is not divided into fixed companies or squads. Instead of a formal structure, companies and individual units are grouped together as required for the execution of a particular campaign.

16. Personal prestige is important among the Chapter’s battle-brothers.

17. Is continually seeking to prove themselves as among the greatest of the Space Marine Chapters.

18. Usually only communicate with gang-speak influenced Low Gothic.

Insp.:
Themes: gangbangers; gangers turned into noble(?) protectors; controlled savagery;
Possible gang stuff: 90’s, 00’s, +’s, American gangster tattoos (SM4Life, Born2Kill, ); Japanese Yankee gangs; Necromunda gangers; Clockwork Orange gangs;
[Wolves = Capitoline Wolf = Rom]; Horus = Egypt; [Luna + Wolf = Hati Hróðvitnisson];

Night Lords

Spoiler

1. Has a notable tendency for savagery that they try to keep in check by doing some form of artistic endeavours.

2. Has a notable tendency for savagery that they try to keep in check by doing poetry and artistically writing it down and/or reciting it.

3. Believe they have the right to take whatever they need from planets they have brought back into compliance.

4. Recruit from the worst kind of killers, robbers, rapists, narco-traders, and such.

5. They skin their enemies and use the prepared skin as cloaks and decorations.

6. Grisly trophy taking traditions, even by then Imperium's standards.

7. Has a tradition to carry trophies from the battlefield and having the trophies adorning their armour or wargear.

8. Recruit their serf-squires from those orphaned by criminals or the Imperium’s enemies.

9. Recruit from those orphaned by criminals or the Imperium’s enemies.

10. Their fortress-monastery is hidden underground.

11. The Chapter train its battle-brothers in the art of investigation and detective work.

12. Cannibalistic tendencies.

13. Have begun to descend into charnel cults and bloody rituals.

14. Ritual cannibalism of their own dead.

15. Gourmets that take their food serious.

16. When given a chance they have a tendency to monolog.

17. Somehow able to know just the right words to say to opponents to make them question themselves and/or their acts.

18. Speaks only High Gothic.

19. Speaks very poetically.

20. Seems unable to interact with others without making snider comments.

21. Masters of psychological warfare.

22. The Chapter battle-brothers suffer from sadism, which they feel shame over and try to keep it under cheek by meditations, mental trainings, and/or similar.

23. The Chapter battle-brothers suffer from cannibalistic tendencies, which they feel shame over and try to keep it under cheek by meditations, mental trainings, and/or similar.

Insp.: Batman; Hannibal Lector; the Shadow; Alex/A Clockwork Orange;
Themes: monsters to fight monsters; twisted sense of justice; sadism; need for vindication; state terror; the criminal elite acting posh; fear keep the criminals in check; justice for all; cruelty for cruelty own sake; victimisation justification; justified cruelty; “cruel to be kind”; strikes from shadows;
Konrad Curze = concrete Tarzan / Kurtz/Hearth of Darkness/Apocalypse Now

Raven Guard

Spoiler

1. A pack/tribe of Jokaero lives among the Chapter.

2. Have only seven Companies, with their Company-colours being: blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet and red.

3. Don’t let slights go unpunished.

4. Their fortress monastery if decaying and the Chapter is fatalistic about repairing or taking care of it.

5. Fatalistic and melancholic.

6. Believe they are a dying Chapter and do little to nothing to stop that.

7. Specialize in hunting and fighting Jokaero and their technology.

8. Before becoming Scouts, aspirants are buried alive and has to claw themselves out.

9. Music playing cherubs follow them.

10. Meditative rituals during which the battle-brother is walled up in a nice.

11. Meditative rituals during which the battle-brother is buried alive and has to claw themselves out when finished.

12. Only recruit their Chapter-serfs from widows/widowers and orphans.

13. The Chapter’s battle-brothers seal themselves away in vast stasis crypts when not on campaign.

14. Their fortress-monastery is built inside or along the walls of a gigantic pit.

15. Similar to the Blood Angels do this Chapter use medical sarcophagi to transform aspirants into transhumans.

16. Their traditional close combat weapon is pendulum like.

17. Go around masked when not in armour.

18. Recruits solely from an “accursed world” (like Dusk, Sinophia or Malfi).

19. Recruits solely from the children of workers and mourners of a Cemetery World.

20. Sickly appearance with permanent scarlet stains

21. Their victory fests take the form of masquerade balls.

22. The world/s they take their aspirants from are suffering from waves of plague. From the children that got sick but survived and/or made orphans by the plague are the aspirants recruited.

23. Where allied to an Adepta Sororitas order that has now gone extinct. The Chapter still morns their lost allies.

24. Train in the use of Corax weapons: the whip, pistol and power claws.

25. Use large black felines as hunting and/or war beasts.

26. Routinely fight alongside felinid auxilia.

27. Large clockwork chronos are found in the Chapter’s fortress-monastery and on their ships.

28. Works closely with the Ordo Chronos, at least until it disappeared (or did it?)

29. The Chapter’s serfs are all dwarfs, squats, rattlings and/or other short people.

32. Go around in red, full-body robes when not in armour.

31. Allied with a Squat faction.

32. At war with a Squat faction.

33. Notable, black eye-shadow.

34. Their homeworld have giant worms, so large that they can swallow a SM whole.

35. Large amount of cats live in the Chapter’s fortress-monastery and on-boards their ship.

36. Lots of psyber-ravens.

Insp.: E.A.Poe; EMO;
Themes: strikes from shadows; guerrilla fighting; too few for open warfare;
[E.A.Poe + EMO = Goth];

Salamanders

Spoiler

1. A Chapter that try to protect agricultural lands and maybe even stay after the conflict have ended to help the people rebuild their agriculture.

2. Don’t leave any warzone they have helped pacify until they have helped rebuilt all that’s needed for the population to survive.

3. Recruit only from the sons of craftsmen.

4. A Chapter that favours skills of the forge and artisanship.

5. The Chapter’s battle-brothers practiced a wide variety of artistic endeavours alongside their martial practice and training.

6. Their fortress-monastery is built inside an active volcano.

7. Their homeworld is highly volcanic active.

8. Each battle-brother is expected to refine and maintain his own armour and weaponry.

10. Only have seven companies/similar.

11. The Chapter’s Chaplains/Librarians/similar gets visions of future and/or distant events by meditating before a holy/sacred fire.

12. Have more than one Masters of the Forge.

13. See it as their main duty to seek out the lost Artefacts of Vulkan and/or information on the fate of the Primarch of the Salamanders.

14. Battle-brother continues to interact with their families and the people of their homeworld after their transformation into Space Marines.

15. Hoard tendency for fine crafted items.

16. Rank and honour markings are branded into the flesh of the battle-brothers.

17. Lots of open flames (braziers, torches, fireplace, etc.) all over the Chapter’s fortress-monastery and ships.

18. Each battle-brother’s cell has a fireplace.

19. Each squad’s dormitory is also a smithy.

20. They cremate their dead.

21. Are compassionate towards the average citizens of the Imperium and defends the weak. Possibly sometime at the cost of quick victory.

22. Often take upon themselves the essential but oft neglected task of protecting the supply convoys, fighting rearguard actions against enemy advances and escorting refugee columns. Possibly even when they would be of better use somewhere else.

23. Recruit from the Chapter’s young forge-serfs/similar.

24. Has an unusually high number of Master-Crafted Weapons, Artificer Armour and/or Tactical Dreadnought Armour.

25. Before each battle the battle-brothers get a brand mark each that symbolizes their respect for the Chapter. Possibly only veterans ever get brand marks in their faces.

26. Don’t leave any warzone they have helped pacify until they have helped rebuilt the main parts of the destroyed infrastructure.

27. Are unusually concerned with civilian casualties compared to most other Space Marines and believe that one of their most important duties is to protect the lives of the Emperor of Mankind's innocent subjects whenever and wherever possible.

28. Many of the battle-brothers serve as clan leaders among their homeworld’s people, and live with them when Chapter business does not require them to remain at the Chapter's fortress-monastery or among the star.

29. Are highly stubborn and set in their ways.

30. Are notably slow to determine a course of action, and slower still to change their minds once they have decided.

31. Pyroclast Flame Projectors are the weapon of honour give to officers.

32. Hoard tendency for precious stones and metals.

33. Many of the Chapter’s battle-brothers suffer from a drive to martyr themselves to protect innocent; this can cause them to take unnecessary or highly harmful risks, both for themselves, their mission, and/or the whole conflict.

34. Has a notable hot temper and furry that they try to keep in check by doing some form of artistic endeavours.

35. Has a notable hot temper and furry that they try to keep in check by crafting and/or engineering.

36. A Chapter whose serfs are notably well treated and feed.

37. Many of the Chapter’s serfs form genuine bonds of friendship and camaraderie with their masters.

38. The Chapter treat its serfs fairly, as important if still mortal extensions of the Chapter.

39. The battle-brothers of the Chapter ritually use fire, lava and/or brands to inflict corporal mortification on themselves and/or their fellows.

40. A Chapter whose battle-brothers often can be found casually associating with non-Space Marines when given the chance.

41. Battle-brothers of the Chapter go to great lengths to save any child in the conflict area they are deployed.

42. Hoard tendency for things of beauty. Possibly have many beautiful people in stasis caskets, so they stay beautiful forever.

43. Allied with a Squat faction.

44. Secretly keep one of the lost Artefacts of Vulkan (or they at least believe so) hidden inside or beneath their fortress-monastery. Why have they not told nor handed it over to the Salamanders?

Insp.: Blacksmith Kings; pre-colonial Africa; craftsmen;
Themes: handcraft; salamanders/dragons/drakes; protectors of the innocent; protectors of the people; face of a monster, soul of a kind hero; fire; volcanos; mysticism; smiting; master smiting;
[pre-colonial Africa + mysticism = witch doctors]; [crafting + mysticism= Freemasons]; [fire + mysticism = Rai Hino/Sailor Mars] [fire + volcanos + forge = Fire Slayers/AoS]; [smiting + master smiting = dwarfs];
Pyre Guard; Firedrakes; Pyroclast; Mantles of Ash = the Ash Mantled;

Space Wolves

Spoiler

1. Recruit from the young fallen on battlefields.

2. The Chapter’s Librarians are each followed by two psyber-ravens.

3. Lots of psyber-ravens.

4. Lots of psyber-wolves.

5. Lots of psyber-wolves and -ravens.

6. The Chapter’s Librarians are each followed by two psyber-wolves.

7. The Chapter’s Librarians are each followed by two psyber-wolves and -ravens.

8. Allied with a Squat faction.

9. The Chapter’s Librarians/corresponding cast rune-stones/sticks as part of their rituals.

10. Fights alongside lupine-animal, like wolves, direwolves, and/or even beast akin to Fenrisian wolves.

11. A Chapter that send its battle-brothers, at a certain point of their service, to serve as bodyguards to the Chapter’s allied - could be a specific organisation; a specific sub-group (like a Navigator House); all the higher ups in sector/sub-sector where the Chapter’s fortress-monastery lay; or similar.

Insp.: Vikings; Celts; Conan the Barbarian; pop-cultural interpretation of Vikings/similar; Germanic mythology; Norse mythology; Wagner;
Themes: wolves; barbarians; a façade of barbarianism hiding much cunning and understanding; loyalty to the superior and those you fight together with; a barbarian you call me then a barbarian I will be; werewolves; dislike sorcery but have no problem with cunning-craft;
[Wolves = Capitoline Wolf = Rom];

Thousand Sons

Spoiler

1. The Chapter’s Librarian is flowed by a specialist guard, who both protect them and function as their executioners if they would succumb to the Flesh Change/similar.

2. The Chapter have decided that their Librarians are only trained in “passive” psychic-powers, to prevent them from drawing upon to much of the Warp.

3. The Chapter have decided to not have any Librarians at all; all the battle-brothers that show psychic-powers are given highly disciplinary training to suppress it and are fitted with psy-dampers. Maybe some of them, under situations of high stress, are unable/unwilling to use their powers and too powerful for the psy-dampers, making them break the psy-dampers and using 1-3 powerfully (if basic) psy-powers before mutating into abominations.

4. The Chapter put such emphasis on control and disciplinary training and rituals that their Librarians don’t have the time to learn all the disciplines.

5. The Chapter works really hard keeping their gene-flaw hidden, killing/recruiting/mind-wiping anybody that see one of their own succumb to the mutation, be they foe, friend or innocent? This could lead them to try to only work in conflicts where they get to fight alone.

6. The Chapter is socially overcompensating their hidden gene-flaw by being openly hostile toward mutants, abhumans and similar, no matter how loyal they are. They could also be hostile toward other SM Chapters that have known gene-defects (f.ex. Black Dragons, Sons of Antaeus), and maybe even Chapters who have implants that are deficient (like the Imperial Fist and their successors).

7. The Chapter is constantly fighting side by side of Sisters of Silence, the Sisters’ nul-aura preventing them from reaching the Warp and thereby starting to mutate.

8. The Chapter have an unusual high amount of Apothecary to constantly monitor if anybody of them is starting to mutate.

9. Among the Chapter Librarians that succumb to the Flesh Change a few of them are still being able to function in combat but now looking inhuman beneath their armour and not being mentally fully there.

10. Only use Artificer Armour, special made to ward against the Flesh Change.

11. Among those that succumb to the Flesh Change do many mutate into a degenerated combat form (maybe physically resembling crypt ghouls, strigoi or (ironically) wolfen). The mutated combat forms are maybe called Calibans.

12. The Chapter has no Librarians. Any aspirant shown to have the talent is quickly killed off.

13. All members of the Chapter go through Librarian discipline and self-control training, even if they have not shown any tendency for psychic powers.

14. They try to keep any member that have succumb to the Flesh Change alive and take them back to a locked part of their fortress-monastery where their acts, sounds and speech (if any) are recorded.

15. The Chapter’s battle-brothers cover their armour and their skin with protective script and glyphs.

16. Spend their time of rest in medical sarcophagi.

17. Have only seven Companies, with their Company-colours being: blue, purple, green, orange, white, violet and red.

18. Go around masked when not in armour.

19. Their victory fests take the form of masquerade balls.

20. The world/s they take their aspirants from are suffering from waves of plague. From the children that got sick but survived and/or made orphans by the plague are the aspirants recruited.

21. The Chapter’s dead are mummified.

22. The Chapter’s Librarians are each followed by two psyber-ravens.

23. Lots of psyber-ravens.

24. Lots of psyber-wolves.

25. Lots of psyber-wolves and -ravens.

26. The Chapter’s Librarians are each followed by two psyber-wolves.

27. The Chapter’s Librarians are each followed by two psyber-wolves and -ravens.

28. Go around in red, full-body robes when not in armour.

29. Recruit from the young fallen on battlefields.

30. The Chapter’s Librarians/corresponding cast rune-stones/sticks as part of their rituals.

31. Wrap themselves in bandages before donning their armour. The bandages may or may not be covered in glyphs, writings or similar.

Insp.: Egypt; Persia; hermetic magic; Victorian interpretation of hermetic magic; pop-cultural interpretation of hermetic magic; ritual magic; Odin;
Themes: sages; psychics; sorcery; knowledge seekers; “I know what I’m doing… ops”; “there is no danger in knowledge”; warrior scholars;
[Prospero = the Tempest/Shakespeare & the Red Death/E.A.Poe;]

Ultramarines

Spoiler

1. The Chapter strictly adhere to the precepts of the Codex Astartes. Possibly is their respect for this work such that they take up arms against those who disdain its strictures.

2. Put a heavy emphasis on reconnaissance and intelligence and are therefore slow to deploy.

3. Have no personal marks of honour or deed making, instead all such are based on the squads or companies honours and deeds.

4. The Chapter is the direct rulers of their homeworld, which have a meritocratic society.

5. Recruit from a Feral or Feudal World that they are slowly guiding socially and technologically to become an Imperial World.

6. The Chapter treats deviation from the Codex Astartes among their own as a crime tantamount to heresy. Possibly punishable by a Death Oath, or joining a penitent squad.

7. Give allied commanders, whether subordinates or many ranks more senior, post-battle reports of great detail. Possibly do the reports for fellow Space Marines have any deviation from the Codex Astartes noted.

8. The Chapter’s leader/s has as advisor a female oracle. Is she a psyker, blessed by the emperor, or both, or something else?

9. Each battle-brother is assigned one too three specialised serfs (known as helots among some Chapters) who has as main mission to constantly relay vital battlefield data to the Marine. They likely also assist in a variety of other roles such as donning armour, maintaining weaponry, and/or they themselves are trained in the use of weapons.

10. Many of the Chapter’s serfs form genuine bonds of friendship and camaraderie with their masters.

11. The Chapter treat its serfs fairly, as important if still mortal extensions of the Chapter.

12. They are also harshly intolerant when they encounter less altruistic behaviour - greed, selfishness, corruption - on Imperial worlds. Possibly putting them to the sword if they find them wanting, no matter their influence.

13. If they feel it is needed the Chapter leaves a squad on pacified worlds to help organising things and start the rebuilding.

14. Has deviated from the teachings of the Codex Astartes but try to hide that when interacting with fellow Ultramarian Chapters.

15. Pelts of predators hang from the officer’s armour. Possibly different animals for different ranks or each company have their specific predator that marks them.

16. Two of the Chapter’s companies have disappeared earlier in its history under unknown circumstances, and while those companies have been rebuilt do they mark their armour to show the loss.

17. Take trophies from their beaten enemies and keep expensive records on the trophies taken, likely writing down when, where, and in which way it was taken, possibly with the names of the enemies if known.

18. When interacting with non-Astartes forces of the Imperium do they always offer their service as organiser and administrators.

19. When fighting planet-side they always “wash” their hands in the planet’s earth before battle.

20. Keep wolves as pets, either just as companions or also as beasts-of-war.

21. Recruit from a Administratum World.

22. A Chapter that is dedicated to the Administratum

23. Each battle-brother carry a book where they write down records, thoughts, observations and similar.

24. Always work together with the available Imperial forces.

25. Arrogant in their pride over their linage and tactical understanding. Possibly expect to always have the position of command over fellow Imperial forces, maybe unless they are dealing with a Chapter that they know are of an older founding.

Insp.: Rom; Greece; Alexander the Great; Emperor Augustus; Julius Cesar; Gustav II Adolf;
Themes: state builders; Rom as the beacon and bastion of civilization; think of the whole picture when it comes to warfare, not just the part where the enemies clash; by the book; warrior bureaucrats;
[Rom = Capitoline Wolf = Wolves];

White Scars

Spoiler

1. Facial scars denote a battle-brother’s rank and prestige in the Chapter.

2. Battle-brothers receive ritual scars in long ceremonies, the gathered blood from those ceremonies forms part of the celebration feast that follows.

3. Treat their bikes and/or other vesicles with the same respect, if not more, as they do their power armours.

4. Have used technology that would be considered heretical by the Mechanicum (maybe of xeno origin?) to bolster their ships speed.

5. In combat they focus on speed at the cost of defences and heavier war-gear.

6. Has a notable tendency for savagery that they try to keep in check by doing some form of artistic endeavours.

7. Don’t have any Dreadnoughts.

8. Their Dreadnoughts are piloted by those that have gravely dishonoured themselves and/or the Chapter as punishment and as way to make certain that they don’t die easily on their path toward redemption.

9. Has a notable tendency for savagery that they try to keep in check by doing poetry and artistically writing it down and/or reciting it.

10. Constantly read the weather and base their actions on it.

11. Specializes in major fleet actions.
12. Their scouts use animal mounts instead of scout bikes.

13. Use lots psyber-bound hawks/similar.

14. Their Librarians specialise in reading and manipulating the weather.

15. A fleet based Chapter where each company has their own home-ship.

16. Have done heretechial modifications to their non-void vehicles to bring out more speed.

17. Believe they have the right to take whatever they need from planets they have brought back into compliance.

18. Dervish-like spiral dancing are part of many of their meditative exercises.

19. Prefer to ride cypber-enchanted animals instead of Space Marine Bikes.

20. Have a culture of quipping and cracking jokes, both in combat as well as out of it.

21. Continue to explore and map the areas they travel through, and make war in.

22. When interacting with the Astra Militarum do they do it through the Rough Rider officers.

23. Use Ironstrider Ballistarii.

24. Their Chapter Master is called ‘the Shiwan Khan’ and is always picked from the Librarian ranks.

25. Is close allied to a Rough Rider Regiment and can often be found fighting by its side.

26. See the Dreadnoughts as the honoured dead returning to fight alongside their kin again.

27. The officers, or at least the high command, rest in silver plated medical sarcophagi.

28. Recruit from the worst kind of killers, robbers, rapists, narco-traders, and such.

29. In movements of indecision do they use scapulomancy/similar to predict the most fortune path.

30. Recruit from seafaring nomads.

31. They skin their enemies and use the prepared skin as cloaks and decorations.

32. Have higher respect for vehicles and their machine spirits than humans or possibly even fellow Space Marines.

33. If not ordered to, do they only make war against enemies that give them a challenge in mounted/vehicle combat. Like Speed Freak Orks; Shining Spears Eldari; Chaos Marine Biker Warbands; and similar.

34. Grisly trophy taking traditions, even by then Imperium's standards.

35. Somehow they have a unusually effective astropath communication system.

36. Have been known to modify their vehicles by removing armour and heavier weapons, as a way to increase their speed.

37. Has a tradition to carry trophies from the battlefield and having the trophies adorning their armour or wargear.

38. Dancing is an important part of the Chapter’s culture.

39. Try to keep to Jaghatai Khan’s teaching of culture while at the same time recruiting from very barbaric stock.

40. Many of them rides large, stocky herbivores (similar to rinox, stegadon, war-boars f.ex) into battle.

41. Don’t have one grand fortress-monastery, instead they have a number of lesser fortress-monasteries spread out over an area (that might be a planet, an asteroid belt, a star system or even something as large as a sub-sector) that the main body of the Chapter travel between.

42. Their homeworld is populated by countless tribes of nomads and each battle-brother is expected to adopt a tribe, travel and live with them when at home and not on guard-duty.

43. Don’t use Dreadnoughts, instead those that are to wounded to continue combat service but still won’t die are allowed to heal and serve as teachers and mentors for aspirants, given positions of leadership aboard the Chapter’s ship, and/or similar.

44. Prefer to either deal with their enemies in one fell swoop as fast as possible or to whittle them down with hit-and-run tactics accompanied with sabotage.

45. Specialized in tracking and hunting.

46. Use hunting beasts.

47. While highly cultural and civilized out of combat, this Chapter became little more than bloodthirsty savages once they have entered the fray.

48. Specialise in stealthy lightning warfare where they seldom use any vehicles and instead run or walk between engagements.

49. Wage war with the lightning-fast ferocity, but put a heavy emphasis on reconnaissance and intelligence and are therefore slow to deploy.

50. When faced by human foes, who are not tainted by Chaos, do this Chapter give them one chance to cast down their weapons and surrender. If this offer is not accepted they will slay anybody resisting, be it adult or child.

51. Have a culture of friendly competitions regarding stuff like the numbers of foes slain, the best on the fly battle poem, and/or similar.

52. Practice ritual scarification, where they inlay the deep cuts with electoo circuitry that causes the scar pattern to glow.

53. The Chapter’s companies are each a self-contained unit responsible for its own recruiting and maintenance of its motorpool.

54. Use flying animal mounts. Likely only for the scouts but maybe they have found animals strong enough for a power-armoured Marine.

55. Don’t cut their hair and/or beard after becoming Space Marines, unless shamed (by the Chapter’s standard).

56. Feathers are used to mark honours.

57. Put war-paint on themselves and/or their armour before battle.

58. Tribal tattoos mark the bodies of the Chapter’s battle-brothers.

Ins.: Huns; Mongols; Cossacks; Rohan; Unicorn Clan/L5R; Dark Moto; Shiwan Khan/the Shadow; Flying Hussars; biker gangs (like: Hells Angels; Night Wolves; ); Roma;
Themes: cultural barbarians; outriders; need for speed; dislike being seen as barbarians; warrior poets; hunters;
* "What devil or what witch was ever so great as Attila, whose blood is in these veins?" He held up his arms. "Is it a wonder that we were a conquering race, that we were proud, that when the Magyar, the Lombard, the Avar, the Bulgar, or the Turk poured his thousands on our frontiers, we drove them back?”
* "There the unclean spirits, who beheld them as they wandered through the wilderness, bestowed their embraces upon them and begat this savage race, which dwelt at first in the swamps, a stunted, foul and puny tribe, scarcely human and having no language save one which bore but slight resemblance to human speech."

Word Bearers

Spoiler

1. A Chapter that considers swords and powerclaws illfortune weapons since it was those that Horus used to wound the Emperor.

2. A pious, zealous and uncompromising Chapter.

3. Thuribles hang from all of the Chapter’s battle-brothers belts and/or weapons.

4. When given a chance they have a tendency to monolog.

5. Still believes in the old Imperial Truth of atheism and science, likely fanatically. Probably disdainful toward the Ecclesiarchy and anything they see as superstition.

6. A Chapter based solely on the use and study of the power of Imperial Faith that Chaplains utilize.

7. A Chapter that doesn’t have a Chapter-Master, instead its lead by a council consisting of the Chapter’s Chaplains.

8. A Chapter that has an unusual high amount of Chaplains.

9. A Chapter that frequently partner with the Ecclesiarchy in searching out archeotech, holy relics, and/or new sources of knowledge. This search/gather is likely often done to the point where these considerations outweigh other military factors.

10. A Chapter that is close to one of the esoteric, but still accepted (for now), fractions of the Ecclesiarchy. Are possibly highly invested in the fractions teachings.

11. A Chapter whose serfs are notably well treated and feed.

12. A Chapter that cover their armour and the skin of its battle-brothers with protective script and glyphs.

13. Many of the Chapter’s serfs form genuine bonds of friendship and camaraderie with their masters.

14. The Chapter treat its serfs as little more than mortal slaves who are barely worthy of being in their masters' august presence.

15. The Chapter treat its serfs fairly, as important if still mortal extensions of the Chapter.

16. A Chapter that send its battle-brothers, at a certain point of their service, to serve as bodyguards to the VIP:s of the Ecclesiarchy. Possibly for the whole Ecclesiarchy, or maybe for just the Ecclesiarchy in the sector/sub-sector where the Chapter’s homeworld lay, or other.

17. A Chapter that is known to perform small forms of religious observance in its daily tasks.

18. Fight alongside an “auxilia” of religious zealots.

Insp.:
Themes: pilgrims; fanatics; the baroque parts of the Church; the intolerant parts of the Church; gothic literature interpretation of the Church; religious fanatics; atheistic fanatics;

World Eaters

Spoiler

1. Favours the axe as the epitome of a warrior’s arsenal and the incarnate focus of his honour.

2. Train not only in the use of the standard Marine weapons but also Astartes pattern version of gladiatorial weapons.

3. A Chapter that take a flippant view in regards to collateral damage and the use of excessive force.

4. The Chapter’s scouts are all veterans, able to temper their bloodlust and rage, while new made marines serve as assault troops.

5. The Chapter battle-brothers suffer from short temper and berserk tendencies, which they feel shame over and try to keep it under cheek by meditations, mental trainings, and/or similar.

6. When faced by human foes, who are not tainted by Chaos, do this Chapter give them one chance to cast down their weapons and surrender. If this offer is not accepted they will slay anybody resisting, be it adult or child, and make servitors and slaves of the rest.

7. Masters of close range and hand-to-hand combat, at the cost of their skills in other fields.

8. Ones the fighting really starts do the marines have to make mental efforts to not consider anyone but their own Chapter brethren, so be they fellow marines, as just a likely target for their rage as the enemy.

9. Only clean the parts of their armour needed for it to function, allowing layers of blood, gore and war-dust to build on the armour plates.

10. Are champions of the drop-pod assault, usually choosing to appear in the heart of the enemy's defences, in order to rip it apart from within.

11. There are stories of the Chapter culling human regiments whose performance they found wanting.

12. Possess an unusually harsh code of internal discipline, necessitated apparently by the Chapter’s own fractious nature.

13. The Chapter’s officers are not promoted on seniority, or on merit not earned in direct combat.

14. Disagreements between battle-brothers, even small ones, are usually settled by trial-by-combat, with all parties concerned seeing both the undertaking and the result as honourable.

15. One way an officer within the Chapter can achieve promotion is to challenge a senior to duel, with the winner taking (or keeping) the higher rank of the two.

16. Believes that a weapon lost, either on purpose or as a result of failure or the vagaries of the battlefield, was a weapon of ill luck. Possibly this lead to them taking the wasteful step of abandoning fallen or discarded gear, and/or chaining their weapons to themselves sot eh can’t be lost.

17. Has a highly ritualised tradition of single combat between battle-brothers, with various rules and challenges. Possibly needed to release their aggression when not at war.

18. Have streamline and cut out elements of the standard process, in order to accelerate the viability of recruits

19. Ritually cut their left hands and smear the blood on the visors of their helmets before going into battle.

20. The Chapter recruit from many worlds and the recruits are taught it in gladiatorial pits, warriors from different worlds chained together and forced to fight as pairs to create a brotherhood. Believing that nothing forge a stronger bond of brotherhood than fighting

21. Are of an intractable, ambitious nature.

22. They are quick to anger, and are taught to avenge slights to their honour with blood, even amongst their own.

23. Believes that any duel over honour or dispute should be to the death. In their extreme view, honour demanded no less.

24. Any scar a marine receive in victorious battle are medically removed, only scars received during defeat or made the marine unable to continue fighting are left on their bodies.

25. Replace their teeth with metal ones.

26. Their armour is unadorned, save for the chains binding their weapon to their arms.

27. Bind their weapons to their arms with chains before combat.

28. When the battle-brothers’ armour is damaged, the Chapter's Artificers will only repair it to the point of restoring functionality, with superficial things like scrapes, pitting, dents and small craters being ignored.

29. Kill tally marks are incised into the vambrace or individual weapon of a marine.

30. Have contests of head-taking between members of individual squad members, various squads, and the Chapter's Companies and Captains.

31. The Librarians of the Chapter take no positions of command.

32. The Chapter battle-brothers suffer from short temper and berserk tendencies, which grow stronger as they age. Many of Chapter’s veterans are nothing but frenzied madmen.

33. Believe they have the right to take whatever they need from planets they have brought back into compliance.

Insp.: Spartacus; Roman gladiators;
Themes: berserkers; gladiators from Rom the decadent and cruel; victims turned victimizers; warriors all and only; berserkers;
"Cry 'havoc!' and let slip the dogs of war, that this foul deed shall smell above the earth with carrion men, groaning for burial."
"echelons" = Chapter

Alos, here is a table/list I developed to give Imperial ships more personality, either by adding something to its history, crew culture, layout, or some other kind of quirk. I was thinking that it could be of use if anybody wanted to develop other isolated groups, like the serfs serving a SM Chapter.

Ship history /culture / quirks

Spoiler

1. Has survived a void kraken attack but still bear the scars. The machine spirit don’t want another encounter like that and find it easier to notice and flee from the beasts but is unwilling to move toward it. All the higher officers likely carry kraken tooth daggers.

2. The honoured dead of the crew are turned into servo skulls with similar duties as they had in life.

3. The dayshift and the nightshift are considered different castes with different ways of doing things and serving under different laws.

4. Once, after a major crew loses, the ship took in a large group of people from a specific planet to repopulate the ship. Many of the traditions and beliefs from that planet lives on among the current crew.

5. The ship is divided into different sections with the entrances to each section guarded by combat servitors, oath-guards and/or similar. To pass through an entrance all – no matter their rank, even the highest officers – has to do a specific ritual before the entrances, both to get it to open and to prevent the guards from attacking.

6. Servo-skull linked cyber-mastiffs stalks the ship’s hallways, attacking any man or beast that don’t wear the right identification items. Possible identification items can be: the standard crew uniforms; computer ships; identification papers (the servo-skull will ask for them before attacking); the aquila proud and visible;

7. The tech-priests on-board have a special reverence for one of the ships components (if the ship has any arco-tech parts it will be that one) and will always repair that one first before other parts if the ship is damaged.

8. The crew is divided into groups that routinely fight each other in ritualized wars. The groups fighting could be different: clans; worker-gangs; guilds; etcetera.

9. A notable part of the crew is a made up by abhumans. They are considered fully part of the crew (if maybe a bit to the side) and parts of the ship have been modified to fit them better.

10. The crew watches or participates in a specific sport in their free time and sports cups are annually hold where sports teams from different parts of the ship play against each other. There may be hooligans but there will absolutely be rioting if the games would be prohibited.

11. The standard crew uniform looks like stereotypical maid and butler outfits.

12. The ship did once belong to a Knight House and has all the equipment for storing, repairing and training Imperial Knights. They are kept in at least workable condition and the crew will not remove them.

13. The ship has a menagerie.

14. Wireless communication don’t function onboard the ship – com-beads, mobile voxcasters and similar only give statics at best, at worst there is something talking and screaming at the other end – so all communication has to be through the ships grounded communications network.

15. Droit du seigneur is a law aboard the ship, with the highest officer (usually the captain or the RT) as the lord.

16. One kind of dangerous beasts stalk the ships corridors and only the higher officers may hunt them. To slay one when not part of an officer lead hunting party is a criminal offence.

17. The ships servo-skulls wear masks and/or wigs

18. The air in large areas of the ship is poisonous and filtration devises are standard equipment among the crew.

19. There is a “fika” tradition on the ship, during that time everything beside the essential stops, ignoring “all hands” situations.

20. For a time some Space Marines travelled with the ship; the area where they stayed have become a sacred place for the crew and there are pilgrimages to it from all over the ship.

21. All over the ship there exist gladiator pits where beasts, prisoners, professionals and hopeful (or desperate) amateurs fight for the entertainment of the rest of the crew.

22. Large parts of the ship have bad and/or no illumination.

23. The inside temperature of the ship is unusually above/below standard, possibly uncomfortably so.

24. Temple dancers are a part of all major holy rituals, both the Ecclesiarchy’s and the Mechanicus’.

25. One of the ships important positions can only be hold by dwarfs.

26. There is a gift-giving culture among the crew.

27. Across the ship there are ghettos populated by a minority culture that follow different traditions and possibly even laws.

28. Highly ridged class system among the crew.

29. During a crusade some generations ago so was the ship routinely used as a transport by a Space Marine company. Some of their culture and traditions was take up by the crew.

30. The main rooms and corridors are covered in trophies and finery from a glorious past, all now falling apart and covered in dust.

31. Most holds and corridors aboard the ship are highly compact with minimal space to move around.

32. Ship officers’ footwear all have heals and platforms, the higher the officer the higher the heals and the platform.

33. The ship did once belong to a Titan Legion and has all the equipment for storing and repairing at least one smaller Titan - the models of Titans and how many the ship can transport is decided by the GM. The Titan holdings are kept in at least workable condition and the crew will not remove them but have no problem storing things in them. If the Adeptus Mechanicus finds out about the Titan holdings they may react as if the ship had an arco-tech part.

34. A pack/tribes of Jokaero lives on the ship. They are most likely considered good luck by the crow that will react violently to any attempts to hurt, kill or remove them.

35. The ship was for centuries used to transport and support the Imperial Guard Regiment from one specific word. The ship has been adjusted to fit the living and training style of that IG Regiment.

36. All members of the crew have extensive tattoos and/or symbols on their bodies as a story system, recording all of an individual's history. Maybe they dress minimally to show it off, or maybe showing your life story is something highly intimate.

37. The ship’s women are highly sexually active with outsiders, to prevent inbreeding.

38. The ship have inbuilt greenhouses/similar, possibly the crew consider meat-eating taboo.

39. To get new blood to the ship the crew buy, take in, and kidnaped any child that they can get their hands on when in port.

40. A death cult has a notable presence on the ship. Knowledge about them might be open, an open secret or only known to a few.

41. The majority of the ships priesthood belong to one of the esoteric, but still accepted (for now), fractions of the Ecclesiarchy.

42. The majority of the ships tech-priests belong to one of the esoteric, fractions of the Mechanicus.

43. The bones of the crews dead are used as building material or for parts in equipment.

44. An elaborated class/caste/estate/other system among the ship’s crew. Most likely is changing caste impossible, and marriage between caste is, if not forbidden, not something often approved.

45. The ship has for generation been heretically, and therefor secretly, trading with one filthy xeno-group (or even more than one), and much lesser heretical xeno-tech can be found among the hive’s population. Maybe parts of the crew (if not, the horror, all of them) have picked up some strange manners and maybe even ways of thinking from the xenos?

46. Riding/draft animals can be found more or less all over the ship.

47. The ship was relatively recently engaged in a prolonged confrontation with a xeno-group. Xeno trophies are likely found all over the ship, and possible also the heretical use of looted xeno-tech.

48. Duels over matter of honour are common among the crew. The way the duals are conducted can be highly varied.

49. The ship has a guild/caste/other of stewardesses that function as guides. They possibly have other function also, maybe something similar to geishas, or escorts, or are the keepers of some kind of knowledge.

50. Honoured dead are mummified and kept near to the living so the later can ask them for advice. Holydays or rituals where the dead are taken out of their tombs and niches and carried around are possible.

51. The ship is ill-omened and accursed. It is a blackhold.

52. Everybody wear masks. The design of the mask depends likely upon the wearer’s place/role in the ship’s crew and/or hierarchy. Showing your naked face is probably something highly intimate.

53. The ship’s crew is highly martial, likely so is everybody trained to fight and eager to prow their metal. Internal fighting (either mano-a-mano or groups against group) for the participants to show who is superior are likely.

54. Many of the members of the crew are cybernetically modified to better do their assigned duty.

55. The ship’s Navigators and their house-thralls are interacting with the rest of the crew unusually often. Possibly have the crew taken up some of the Navigator House’s ways and traditions.

56. Water, or at least clean water, is rare and rationed. Possibly does the on-board ship-currency represent amounts of water.

57. The crew is divided along gender lines, with each gender having their traditional duties, which members of the other gender are not allowed to do.

58. The main crew culture is espousing unity and eschewing duality. Likely leading to that the crew (men and women) trying to appear as alike as possible and any markings needed to show rank or duty are as minimal as possible.

59. Record keeping is seen as highly important aboard the ship. Likely does each workstation and crew-gang keep their own records; possibly are larger areas of the ship taken up by the record libraries.

60. Most of the ships religious rites involve mortification.

61. Drug use is highly common, both for recreational use and to enhance the crewmembers ability to do their assigned duty.

62. The ship’s crew is highly insular toward outsiders, trying to have as little as possible to do with them. Possibly do there exist purification rituals crewmembers have to do after interacting with those not of the ship, or even rituals for any area contaminated by outsiders, and/or they may only interact with outsiders when dressed in vacuum sealed voidsuits.

63. The various regions and compartments of the ship have their own noticeably different accents, slangs and sayings.

64. The ship was for generations mainly a passenger ship and that can still be seen in its interior design and the crew’s culture.

65. Large amount of vermin. Are likely used as foodstuff by many lower crewmen, and/or betted on in the vermin fighting houses.

66. There are many theatres, music halls, and opera houses for the crew’s entertainment, spread out over the ship.

67. The crew culture is highly strict and proper, except for certain circumstances and/or in certain areas where they can partly, or even fully, let loss.

68. Most of the ship’s internal vox-units are servitor based.

69. Gardening is considered an important past time among the crew. The officers probably have large personal gardens while simple crewmen try to care of one or more potted plants or share a garden plot with their family or worker-gang. Possibly do crewmen and/or worker-gangs compete with each other over who can create the most beautiful garden.

70. The crew is highly democratic with the leader of each worker-gang, militia-unit, and similar being chosen by his pears instead of being appointed from above. A culture of discussion, and possibly voting on any important decisions, is possible.

71. There exist many Emperor’s Tarot readers, both automatic and living, all over the ship and most of the crew visit them for guidance weekly, and for any important decision, if not even more often.

72. An unending ritual parade travels all over the ship in an unbroken path.

73. Some areas of the ship are kept squeaky clean while other areas are allowed to gather dust and filth.

74. There is a slave caste of oppressed abhuman brutes (ogryn, beastmen, or similar) a-board the ship that are used for any heavy- and/or deadly labour work, and possibly as draft animals.

75. Betting and gambling is the main entertainment of the crew. Even if there are sanctioned betting houses, so are there likely many illegal gambling dens spread over the ship.

76. Many of the ship’s corridors and chambers are flooded with water, maybe just ankle deep or maybe the whole area is under water.

77. All non-essential components are made to function by the hard work of crewmen, servitors and draft-beasts. The ancient machines that once did this are gone, unrepairable and/or nobody knows how to activate them.

78. Large amount of larger herbivorous/omnivorous animals (like cows, groxes, pygs, lobobster, or struthids) are kept a-board the ship, for food and entitlement. Possibly something corresponding to bullfighting in the latter case.

79. Lots of glass doors, windows and maybe even walls, could be fully transparent to/or barley semi-transparent, simple one great sheet of glass or advanced stained glass constructions. The material use is possibly not actual glass but some other transparent/semi-transparent material.

80. Many of the ships walls are painted with decorative patterns or scenes. Possibly do the crew and/or tech-priests believe that those need to be fixed if damaged or the ship’s machine spirit will be angered.

81. The ship’s arms-men don’t use any kind of guns with shorter range than rifles. Possibly are throw weapons and/or hand crossbows used for shorter range attacks.

82. By tradition and/or decree does the ship have to have Navigators from two different Navigator Houses on-board.

83. Lots of wood are used for construction and/or decoration.

84. A monastic order has a convent a-board the ship. Members of the order may or may not be considered part of the crew.

85. One or more of the ship’s components has its origin from another ship and sometime seems to rebel against its new surroundings.

86. The main part of the crew are in their culture, society and understanding nothing more than feralworlders, only able to do their duty thanks to ritualistic training but without any understanding or insight. Blood feuds and honour killings between the groups and individuals of the crew are likely common.

87. Lots of stone are used for construction and/or decoration.

88. A large asteroid has been embedded in the ship’s side for generations. By some reason (it would make the ship explode; it has always been there; a decree by a mad Enginseer Prime) can it not be removed, instead the ship has been repaired in such ways that the asteroid’s fully a part of the ship.

89. The crew believes in eugenics and who gets to sleep with who follow special planed programs. They likely don’t really know what they are doing, and it’s possible that they try to seduce, kidnap and/or other ways to get gene-material from outsiders with the seemingly right traits.

90. Plants, lichen, and/or fungi grow wild all-over the ship’s interior, with possibly some areas being overgrown.

91. Numerology is important to the crew, with some numbers seen as good and others as bad. Anything involving the bad number is evaded, even down to leaving stuff behind so it’s not corresponding to a bad number in amount.

92. Constant hymn singing by a notable part of the crew.

93. The members of the crew are all bedecked with jewellery, with the amount of jewellery increasing with rank.

94. There are no passenger cabins; instead passengers are expected to be hosted as guests by the crew in their cabins. The more important/paying passenger the higher crewman they are guests to.

95. Cleanliness is highly important, both real and symbolic. The crew will not eat or touch things they consider unclean. There are likely lots of purification rituals to make “unclean”-but-useful things be perceived as clean-ish to the crew.

96. Areas with harmfully high radiation exist on the ship.

97. A large amount, if not all of the crew are trained in the lesser secrets of the Adeptus Mechanicus. This probably makes them either Mechanicus’ laypeople or heretecks depending on how they use their knowledge.

98. Either because of deliberate design or as an effect of uncountable modifications and repairs so is the interior of the ship labyrinthal, with few, if any, straight paths. There is possibly a whole guild or cast of guides whose only job is to know the ways of the ship.

99. Foodstuff is used as currency among the crew, the more uncommon the foodstuff the more it’s worth.

100. Void-shanties and music are constantly used by the working voidsmen to keep the rhythm of their work. There is possibly also lots of music and singing going on as entertainment.

101. The crew is early silent.

102. The crew is notably malnourished.

103. High Gothic is the lingua franca of the ship.

 

Sure but again, Tech Marines will have noticed it, as will have forces fighting alongside them. Its impossible to keep it completly a secret. Also the DA codex mentiones the whole Fallen buiness is kept from the rest of the imperium yet its established in the lore at least elements of the Inquistion and the High Lords of Terra know what´s going on.

Intresting list, has a few cool ideas. Tough not sure if there are SW and Salamanda succesors. The Space Wolves tried once and it ended in disaster and the Salamanders have a special right not to be forced to create succesors if I remember correctly.

Also the list kinda brings up the idea to for fun sort SW characters into the legion they would fit in the best.

 

There's one SW successor in the Ultima (Primaris) founding - the Wolfspear.

The Salamanders weren't required to create any successors during the Second founding - but several chapters (Black Dragons, Storm Giants) from later foundings are strongly implied to be their successors.

 

Going by the Deathwatch RPG book Rites of Battle so is 2% of all chapters (theoretically) of Salamander and Space wolves origin (1% each), and if there is something I'm certain about is that GW have never said that that there are no successors to the Salamander and Space Wolves (and you are not allowed to create any), just that there are no known ones (until the Wolfspears in the SW case), just like there are no known Chapter's of Traitor Legion origin.

I don't know how they do it, I just report what I read.

 

Should ad to this, that the Rites of Battle table where I got that number from don't have any result for the gene-seed being unknown, but there is a 10% chance that the gene-seed is flawed, which means that its notably different from the origin source, which could mean be read as representing that the chapter's gene-seed is from more than one source. So if we go with the theory that there are at least some, if not many, Chapters out there whose gene-seed origin is solely from a Traitor Legion, do that mean that the table is a bit faulty and that Salamanders' and Space Wolves' successors would make up even less then 2% of the Chapters.

Did not think about that when I first posted and now has the Edit time passed, therefor this double post.

 

I think this part of the ongoing lore back and forth in 40k, all authors want their favourite factions to look good. I guess the author is a BA fan so they said its utterly hidden.

 

Painted my first ever 40k mini on Friday



Decided on Dark Angels. Still a bit rough but the a bunch of people Unforgiven subreddit(sub specifically for Dark Angels and their successor chapters fans) have been giving me pointers.

This week i will be painting some Primaris Rievers and some Chaos Deathguard. Just waiting for a pack of brushes i ordered off Amazon to come in tommorow. The above was done with the one brush that came with the kit.