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View Full Version : Astartes color and you, Your chapters Heraldry and Chapter/ Legion Colors



ChrisSpaceWolves
09-15-2009, 08:01 AM
I've been browsing the net lately and have noticed a trend; people like a lot of color on their marines.

My take, I think that some chapters put time into their armor colors and insignias, and others worry about waging war. Take for instance the Ultramarines, they keep their equipment looking pretty, while keeping to a strict doctrine of standards and practices. In the military we called it Military bearing, and meeting regs.

Wolves dont follow a military doctrine like other chapters IMHO, and therefore put less stock in the way their armor looks and the honors on their armor. I see a barbarian horde that prefers to relay their conquests and achievements over a roast deer and ale than painted on their armor. On a few web sites I've been told that my Wolves are well painted but bland...

How do you see your chapter and the way it presents itself, why have you chosen to paint your chapter the way you have, and how do you think your decisions affect the way you view other peoples paint schemes.


Chris

Aldramelech
09-15-2009, 09:11 AM
Got me a 1500pt force, not sure what to call it. It is going to be an Ultra successor and it will be Blue and White, maybe a touch of yellow.

Culven
09-15-2009, 09:36 AM
I have a Red Hunters 5th Co. force. I see the company as having strong ties to the Ordo Xenos, and following the Codex Astartes pretty closely. To this end, I have painted them with chapter and squad markings. Having an army with clearly marked units has led to me being a little irritated by players who haven't bothered to mark their units in any way, especially when they are involved in a multiple combat and I am trying to figure out which models are in which unit. Beyond unit identification, I don't care how my opponent paints their army, provided that they put some effort into it.


Got me a 1500pt force, not sure what to call it. It is going to be an Ultra successor and it will be Blue and White, maybe a touch of yellow.
If you are willing to go with an established Chapter, you may want to consider the Sons of Guilliman (http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Sons_of_Guilliman).

sketchesofpayne
09-15-2009, 09:52 AM
Usually how it goes is as a new marine (or member of any army) you are not allowed affectations or customizations to your armor. You are to stick strictly with the proscribed squad and company markings. To recognize those who have performed admirably they allow them to make additions to their uniform/armor. This can be things like family heraldry for leaders. Or perhaps a squad as a whole will be honored and be allowed to display tokens of past victories.

In chapters and armies that have been around for a long time (especially centuries!) units will accrue more and more of these customizations. That is why the Ultramaries look so decorated, they been around for almost a thousand years.

The Space Wolves chapter has been wiped out down to one company on, I think, three occasions. They seems to allow for more personalized or individual trophies and totems, and aren't as standardized as other chapters.

Another place this manifests is in squad, company, and chapter banners. Things will be added or removed from these living tapestries to reflect the mettle and history of the unit they represent. A great thing to do for a squad would be to start with a simple banner. As you play games always field that squad together (more or less). If they pull off some heroic feat (killing the carnifex or tanks that turns the tide of battle, or slaying an eldar farseer, etc) indicate it on their banner. Paint the crossed meltas that delivered the death blow to the tank, or hang the claws of the enemy from the banner pole.

I have a friend who has a guardsmen heavy weapons team who we affectionately call Biggs and Wedge. They are uncannily accurate and have a large number of high-profile kills under their belt. He has added trophies to their base as time goes on. He now has a few marine helmets from different chapters and legions, a tyrannid claw, a tau helmet, a necron scarab, some tank treads, and a few others.

Start your own legend, and when people comment on a particular model, you'll have a story to go with it.

Sangre
09-15-2009, 11:48 AM
The Bright Talons
http://i30.tinypic.com/15f53kh.jpg
A Tale of Honour, Misfortune and Fate

Born of the cursed 21st founding, the Bright Talons chapter were barely out of the vast laboratories of the Adeptus Mechanicus when disaster struck. The chosen fortress-monastery was atop a great mountain on the dead world of Dunen II. Unbeknownst to the Imperium, the construction had been interrupted by an attack by the greenskins, hundreds of years prior to the chapter's assumed date of occupancy. The mighty transport ships alighted on Dunen II to discover an ancient battlefield, and a mighty Ork settlement around the ruins of the half-completed fortress-monastery. As-yet untried in battle, the might of the Talons was nevertheless ample to eradicate the Orks from the planet's surface. The sheer magnitude of violence from the rookie marines against the greenskins drew the attention of Khorne, whose demons he ejected from the warp, fighting alongside the Marines to incite their rage in the hope they might be swayed. However, the will of Commander Menelaus Cambalo and Master Chryses held the spirits of the remaining Marines strong to the Emperor, displeasing Khorne, whose daemons turned upon the Talons.

Upon driving back the daemonic foe on the planet's surface, Khorne's daemons materialised on the transport fleets, sending their crippled hulls falling to smite the planet's surface, before the Blood God enveloped the world in a vast warp storm which rent the very world asunder, his fury sucking the vast mass of planetary rock along with the ruins of the fortress-monastery and wrecks of the transport fleet into the Immaterium. The prompt work of Adranus Krino, Master of the Forge, salvaged the Gellar module from a wreck's warp drive, forming a bubble of real space around the rubble. Knowing the shields would fail long before they would be ejected to the real universe, to preserve them from the predations of the warp, the remaining half of the chapter's Marines were placed into stasis.

Around a hundred years later, the Chapter awoke in the Materium. Around a third of those who had been in stasis hadn't survived, having woken up prematurely and fallen prey to the monstrosities of the Ether. Numbering in the region of two hundred and fifty Marines, the remaining Talons discovered the planetary rock of Dunel II, the unfinished fortress-monastery and the wrecked transports had fused to form a Space Hulk in the warp. Adrift hopelessly for years, they did what little they could to sustain themselves, and with only a handful of light thrusters and a pair of Thunderhawk Gunships (The Spear of Absolution and the Voice of Damnation, both of which are still in service) they hit upon a rare fortuity - Eldar Pirates raiding an Imperial transport convoy - having just boarded the least fortunate freighter. Thirty marines were dispatched in the Spear of Absolution and successfully neutralised the Pirate vessel while the contingent in the Voice of Damnation came to the aid of the stricken freighter. The rest of the convoy, seeing the Hulk and assuming the worst, fled into the warp.

The survivors on the boarded freighter happily turned their services to the Bright Talons as chapter serfs, and the systems and supplies on the freighter were added to that of the hulk - giving it greater speed, manoeuverability and a functioning warp drive - although not powerful enough to do anything except project a gellar field around the hulk and randomly drift through the warp.

After several years putting down run-ins with pirates and raiders against Imperial convoys the hulk had developed a reputation - officials in the Imperium mistrusted it and common folklore on many ships stated that its presence was a harbinger of doom - it seemed to be attracted to bad luck. Survivors of numerous raids that the hulk encountered and put down flocked to the it and the strongest of the crew were even recruited as battle-brothers themselves - all the while the parts of the ships were cannibalised and added to the superstructure of the hulk.

At some time in M39, the hulk broke warp near Mordian, pursued by the World Eaters, intent on hunting their God's most hated chapter, and the Imperium were ready to intercept them both. The few reports had indicated that the hulk was the flagship of a new wave in the 11th Black Crusade - the Imperium had officially codenamed the hulk the Great Bird of Prey. The Mordian Iron Guard stood ready to defend the planet while Space Marines of the Blood Angels chapter were deployed to board and eliminate the forces therein. The Bright Talons initially mistook the Blood Angels for the World Eaters and a short and bloody battle took place during which the Bright Talons wiped out most of the Blood Angels force. It wasn't long before the World Eaters caught up with the Great Bird of Prey. The Blood Angels realised their mistake and the World Eaters were eventually repelled back to the warp. The fortress-monastery aboard the Great Bird of Prey was recognised and the excommunicate traitoris on the Bright Talons was lifted - they had been returned to the Imperial fold.

Valkerie
09-15-2009, 12:00 PM
I started collecting and painting models during Rogue Trader days. The rulebook had several pages of Marines color schemes, including several camouflage schemes. Being in the military, I am a firm believer in camo, so I started painting my Marines in camo, ir they can't see you, they can't shoot you, right? Starting with 2nd ed., they started saying that Marines didn't wear camo, but I didn't feel like repainting my figs, so they stay camo.
Of course, since they're Marines, and their soldier's manuals are several thousand years old, they don't really understand how camouflage works. All they really know is that if you paint your armor in these colors, they can't see you. Because of this, their purity seals and ribbons are bright colors, which sort of negates the idea of camo, especially all the white insignia on their vehicles.
As far as how I see other's color schemes, I figure as long as they're happy, then I really don't care.

oni
09-15-2009, 12:18 PM
My fieldable SM army is a succesor chapter of the Ultramarines. They keep their things neat and clean. :)

Kanaellars
09-15-2009, 12:19 PM
Wolves dont follow a military doctrine like other chapters IMHO, and therefore put less stock in the way their armor looks and the honors on their armor. I see a barbarian horde that prefers to relay their conquests and achievements over a roast deer and ale than painted on their armor. On a few web sites I've been told that my Wolves are well painted but bland...
Chris

I could not possibly disagree more!

The wolves are warriors. PROUD warriors. They may not follow miltary order, but this means thier armour will be MORE ornate, not less. The wolves are known for decorating their armor with trophies and fetishes, adding pelts, symbols and runes.

Thier armour is each individualised, symbolised, and marked them out personally.

You can tell the blood claws by thier "rough and redy" armour with no trophies, grey hunters by thier scars and trophies, and the long fangs by the fact you can hardly see thier armour.

Wolves are made for trophies.

Im sorry, but I think you are VERY wrong saying that the wolves are not concerned with thier armour.

Lord Anubis
09-15-2009, 12:21 PM
My big army is the Relictors, which means they're almost entirely gray and black with just a few touches of silver here and there.

Which leads most people to assume they've only been primed and touched with paint to make them "legal." I even had a judge at a tournament say that once. :mad:

Aldramelech
09-15-2009, 12:38 PM
I have a Red Hunters 5th Co. force. I see the company as having strong ties to the Ordo Xenos, and following the Codex Astartes pretty closely. To this end, I have painted them with chapter and squad markings. Having an army with clearly marked units has led to me being a little irritated by players who haven't bothered to mark their units in any way, especially when they are involved in a multiple combat and I am trying to figure out which models are in which unit. Beyond unit identification, I don't care how my opponent paints their army, provided that they put some effort into it.


If you are willing to go with an established Chapter, you may want to consider the Sons of Guilliman (http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Sons_of_Guilliman).

Yeah looked at them but dont like the "quatered" effect. The Blue and white is going to be straight up and down.

sangrail777
09-15-2009, 12:52 PM
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=65574944&albumID=2641134&imageID=44246804
I have the Blood Angels 5th Co. and 1st Co.
I use very clean paint jobs on them. I've been adding as much individuelness to each marines army as I can. I working on giving them many decorations. a lil less for the younger Brothers but plenty for the seniors.
I've read a few places Blood Angels are supposed to lavish thier armour a lil more so then many others.

and I don't agree with you about the Space Wolves, I mean we are talking about barbarians that are big time into tradition and personal honour. Not to mention any group who has the time for drinking contests, and to recite thier historys and legends by memory, may just enjoy a few trophies and keep sakes here and there. After all is'nt it a big deal for them to kill/or tame those great wolves. and where their furs or keep them as companions. Do what ya what with your wolves though, afterall if they are painted to your likeing then they are a good model and a credit to our hobby.

TSINI
09-15-2009, 01:23 PM
I havent made them yet, but my next planned army (if the powers of nurgle don't grab me first) is the Dragon Marines

the Chapter is split exactly in half, one half is known as the Diamond Dragons, they wear white armour
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_dKzBWK8cqBI/SdNyYZKDGyI/AAAAAAAAACY/UU59VmjV8lI/S226/diamond+marine.jpg
they are devout astartas, just like the ultramarines, but entirely concerned with spacebourne actions, they live their lives onboard the chapters ships and on an orbiting fortress monastery above their home planet Lacerta.

On the surface of Lacerta, the other half of the chapter the Emerald Dragons live. they wea green armour
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_dKzBWK8cqBI/SdNyLHjzHZI/AAAAAAAAACQ/ye8ZiqsY8Ws/S226/emerald+marine.jpg
these are more like thespace wolves, but with lizards. (with the new wolf codex around this is going to be much easier to represent ruleswise) they ride lizard beasts and use giant lizards as weapon platforms and utility vehicles.

Culven
09-15-2009, 01:56 PM
A two-headed dragon or two intertwined dragons (representing the two groups working together) could be an interesting chapter symbol.

TSINI
09-15-2009, 02:02 PM
A two-headed dragon or two intertwined dragons (representing the two groups working together) could be an interesting chapter symbol.

that is a good idea, cheers, maybe i'll commission a tattoo artist to do it :D

Aldramelech
09-15-2009, 02:23 PM
Where do you guys get those cool mock ups from?

Little Brother
09-15-2009, 04:15 PM
Bolterandchainsword.com

Vash113
09-15-2009, 04:51 PM
I don't know why you'd think Wolves don't take pride in their armor and displaying their honors Chris. Anyway I have several marine armies so I'll start with the Wolves and work my way down:

Space Wolves

My Space Wolves have tons of personalised totems, honors, campaign badges and other sorts of individualised markings. Starting with the Blood Claws who have 0-1 unique bits to the Grey Hunters who have 2-4 to the Wolf Guard who have 5-7 along with Wolf Pelts, Wolf Head Backpacks and various other conversions and things like that. The Space Wolves probably personalise their armor and care for it's appearance more than the Ultramarines do, at least the Wolves don't have a very strict uniform to adhere too and can slap on pretty much whatever kind of runes and badges they please.

If anything though the new models coming out have so many unique bits that they probably won't fit in with my older models even with all their conversions and what not.

Ultramarines

My Ultramarines are relegated to mostly Codex markings with a few small changes and many show very minor signs of personalisation pretty much relegated to scrollwork. Some of the sergeants have unique badges and honor markings but they are few save on my Captain. I went for a more spartan look with the Ultramarines and a more uniform one but a little contrast here and there is nice. Most of the markings are white on the blue armor. Equipment is all pretty much strictly standard as well.

Raven Guard

My Raven Guard are the opposite of the Ultramarines. They have spare ammo pouches, pistols, guns, blades and grenades hanging all over them with scroll work and other markings covering much of the rest of their armor. Each warrior is fairly different and unique looking and they all carry highly non-standard equipment. I went for this look to display a Marine force that was ideosyncratic, that doesn't do things the normal Codex way all the time and that spends long periods of time in the field without resupply or re-arming and so carry whatever extra equipment they want or feel they need to accomplish their mission.

Imperial Fists

My Imperial Fists are a cross between the Raven Guard and the Ultramarine. For the most part the army is very uniform. However each marine also has various scrollwork and in some cases symbols or honor badges dotting their armor, always in black on the standard yellow so I'm very carefull what I put where but each Marine in my opinion needed to look a little unique and different from his brother in arms. Some carry non-standard equipment like chainswords but for the most part their equipment is standard and they don't carry much in the way of extra pouches, grenades etc.

Grey Knights

Interrestingly enough the only marines I have without much if anything in the way of campaign badges or personalisation are the Grey Knights. Each warrior has his personal heraldry on his shoulder pad or shoulder shield but other than that their gear is entirely standard and devoid of any other personal litanies or markings. No songs or sagas are sung or told of these warriors exploits and their duty is one that will almost certainly get them killed well outside of the reach of their brethren. Their deeds are told through the swing of their blades and the flash of their storm bolters.

So anyway those are my "marine" armies and what kind of personal markings and imagery they carry and why.

ChrisSpaceWolves
09-15-2009, 05:15 PM
Thanks for all the replies. Lots of good info here. Vash I like that idea about the bits added on the models depending on their length of service to the Wolves. It does make sense and is gonna add some nice conversion possibilities for later.

ochs
09-16-2009, 12:51 PM
I play Ultramarines, whom i personalize, with honors for each battle they play,

and I also have created my own chapter, the Flame Serpents, who are a Samurai styled chapter, favoring Close combat, but follow an honorable path.
http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv281/shamshir/FS3.jpg

http://i692.photobucket.com/albums/vv281/shamshir/IMG_3420.jpg

j-orge-287
09-16-2009, 01:19 PM
Here is a bolter and chainsword image of my space marine chapter. I call them the Serpent Lords. I see them as an awesome chapter whom nobodys heard of.140 I find that these guys are like the space wolves in wargear but are also like the ultramarines in honour and battle

sketchesofpayne
09-16-2009, 04:08 PM
That samurai marine looks awesome!

I know there are many detractors of eastern influences in traditionally western games/settings, but it'd be awesome to have a sprue of eastern helmets, katanas, and kimono style robes to go over the armor (DA and BT style). Would also be a cool guardsmen conversion.

Drunkencorgimaster
09-16-2009, 08:00 PM
Kudos to the Dragon Marines, Flame Serpents, and Bright Talons!! I love self-created chapters. Nice fluff Talons!

H.R. Puffinstuff if I can figure out how to post a picture, but I will attempt to attach some fluff for my chapter. Pretty good fluff in my humble opinion.

Drunkencorgimaster
09-16-2009, 08:01 PM
and of course the attempt fails...

Lord Anubis
09-16-2009, 09:19 PM
Oh, dear God. I wasted so much time today painting pretty pictures on Bolter and Chainsword... :p

40kGamer
09-17-2009, 07:46 AM
I finally got around to painting a codex Space Marine army and went with Howling Griffons. I wanted something to challenge my painting skills and quartered red and yellow seemed like a good choice. For my Scout snipers I went way back to the WD #101 Badab war color schemes to get a camo pattern for the cloaks and even this is bright!

After painting this army my motto is 'Loud & Proud'! :D

Vash113
09-17-2009, 05:43 PM
After painting this army my motto is 'Loud & Proud'! :D

Hey, it works for the Imperial Fists. :)

BigJon
09-18-2009, 06:54 PM
I have two DIY's, one based on the Black Templars called Templars of Steel. They are very Knight in shinning armor like full of heraldry and faith in there armor.

My second DIY is the "Sons of Cronos", based on the Wolves there armor is a earth brown, the chapter
is based underground. To them there armor is as much a tool as a shovel and not very well kept.

Logan
09-19-2009, 09:29 AM
I field Celestial Lions, gold armour with blue helmets and shoulder pads, dripping with seals and tokens with as much decoration as I can get on, badges, heraldry, etc...
Way too much for some players but works for me. I imagine these guys permanently fighting or praying for generations, and their armour should show this mileage. Not damage but so much just trophies

Asymmetrical Xeno
09-19-2009, 01:48 PM
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa207/embodiedscrew/Space%20Marine%20Chapters/QuantumChevrons-spacemarinechapter.jpg

carpathian space marines with a leader that looks like Vigo from Ghostbusters II. Basicly.

Drunkencorgimaster
09-19-2009, 11:15 PM
http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa207/embodiedscrew/Space%20Marine%20Chapters/QuantumChevrons-spacemarinechapter.jpg

carpathian space marines with a leader that looks like Vigo from Ghostbusters II. Basicly.

How did you get this image to load?

Zaklifean
09-21-2009, 09:12 AM
Hawk Lords here. Purple and Gold. And yes we have a Thunderhawk instead of drop pods :D

Captain Marcus
04-23-2012, 08:50 AM
My chapter is a dark angels successor known as the Angels of Devastation. Upon their founding in M34. the sacred standard of devastation was passed down to their chapter reliquary and held in honor on the flagship Devastations Angel they were given the terminator armor to make a first company of terminators, but were not given a jetbike or the bikes required for a full second company of bikers. The chapter instead kept a second company of their most righteous and furious marines to form the crusader company.The Angels of Devastation have fought many campaigns against the enemies of the emperor since its founding, and have fought with distinction alongside the Black Templars, the Blood Angels, and the Space Wolves. They adorn their armor with knightly iconography, and they are a fleet based chapter.
Custom second founding chapters are cool! :D
We wear green, with white shoulder pauldrons and dark brown trim. with two scythes crossing as the chapter symbol. the AoD are in between, hand painting thier armor but not painting every last honor on it. only the important stuff. "like honors won alongside the templars"

Blessed Bolt Thrower
04-23-2012, 11:34 AM
I noticed the colour trend too. I, however, went with black and pewter. Heresy era Dark Angels for me. The Fallen led by Master Astellan. Robes and knightly grills on the helms. In PROPER Dark Angels black. ;) except my Deathwing obliteraters. Heh. Go fallen 4th Company!

Prodigalson
04-23-2012, 03:19 PM
Fallen are We
From the Highest Tower
To the Darkest Pit

Death Stalks Us
Vengeance Guides Us
Redemption Calls Us

Fear Us
For Only Through War
May We Find Forgiveness

-Tome of Angelicus Mortus, M36


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_wUBkEXeYT_c/TESsLUJpnBI/AAAAAAAAANY/FPvT33YljJw/s1600/AoW.jpg


Look to the Safety of the Imperium first,
And your own honor second.

Ecanus, Master of 8th Company of Angels of Perdition

Registered officially as a member of the 20th founding, the Angels of Perdition are an enigma. The file on them has been growing for several thousand years now when their official seal was broken by Inquisitor Mandate IM-01-X5-4519190394 by Inquisitor Conrad Guot, who recognize a disconnect from history, and their obvious methods. His personal notes reflect use of equipment from dating back to the Horus Heresy, and even reported seeing a unit of marines riding jet bikes during the Casgadian Descent. Even more odd is that much of their basic pieces of equipment do not much Munitorium records, or standard marks.Even their Battle Honors and Banners bear the marks of battles fought through the length and breadth of the Imperium and at times for which they did not even officially exist. The most odd thing however is their Chapter Charter itself, as it was signed personally by Sebastian Thor, along with five other marine chapters at the end of the Age of Apostocy.

Their official history notes that the Angels of Perdition have been on Crusade from their founding till the end of M38, traveling from Segmentium Pacificus toward their goal of Ultramar. During that time they fought besides the Black Templars for over five hundred years, adopting some of their ways, and modifying their reserve companies to Crusade Companies. In late M38 the Angels of Perdition finally arrived at Ultramar before leaving once again to participate in the Dark Star Crusade that involved the entire chapter for over a century. At the close of the crusade, Warmaster Davidian gave unto the Chapter a boon, of anything within his power. For their gift, they took the ruined and broken world of Agrathus IV, and rechristened it Caliban Secundus. Representatives from both the Cult Mechanicus and the Departmento Munitorium voiced viergous complaint the Warmaster, but his will would not be undone. The Angels of Perdition had earned themselves a homeworld, one they bought in blood. Directly at the crux of both the Dark Star Anomalies they took up the thankless job of overseeng the entrance to the Two Sectors retaken during the Dark Star Crusade. Since that time a thousand years have passed and the Angels of Perdition have slowly worked the rock that saw complete extermination of it’s primary hives and infastructure, back to the beginnings of a green new world. Great fortresses dot the landscape and forests have crept back into the world under the careful hand of the Angels. A penance they gladly pay, as it is at their hand that the entire world was scoured of life.

Each of the Battle Companies Companies occupy one of the five citadels of Caliban Secundus that oversee the world. The Second Company are the Lords of the Wastes, where their additional rapid response training gives them free rains across the ash wastes, and broken ruins of the Hive Cities. The Third company lie in the valleys of the deep woods of Traunton Pale, where their the last weirwood of the planet was saved inside their citadel. From that one tree the great forests slowly take back the valleys as each marine upon rotation, plans another. The Fourth company occupies the black plains of Aexerath, where the limitless grasses used to roam the world. Only recently have the first tuffs of grass sprouted amongst the broken wilderness of rock and stone. The Fifth company occupies the the Alsarian Mountains, at the divide between the two continents of Caliban Secundus, their wind catchers and planetshapers slowly pulling the radiation from the world, and their Apothecaries releasing birds back into the planet. Lastly, sixth companies lies at the center of the Brokerian Gulf, where over a thousand years and the rising of the waters again on the planet, their citadel now reaches deep into the ocean.

Amongst the ruin and death of the planet during the Dark Star Crusade few survivide. Blasted and runined, those that did turned to the powers that lead them to their downfall. Mutants and heretics. Only pitiful bands of those free of taint survivied in the great underground manufactories of the earth. These the Angels of Perdition found waging a losing war when they took feudal right to the planet. The angels could have swept the heritics aside in a day, but did not. Instead they took off their great armor, and bore the robes of their orders and went amongst those still loyal. As the Lion said, save a man today, and he will need saving tomorrow. Teach a man to save himself, and you have saved him for eternity. Combat tactics, drill, hand to hand fighting, all of this was taught to the survivors, and over a hundred years of conflict finally saw the last of the mutant forces obliterated, when the Angels finally took the field, landing amongst the ruins of t Hive Faerthian as a company, one hundred drop pods screaming down to crush the resistance. Since that time, the men and women of Caliban Secundas have risen to the challenge, mixing their training with traditional weapons of war. Great Orders of lesser men that pay homage to the Masters of the Companies all swear fealty through a feudal structure, sending their best each year to seek admittance to the Angelic Host of the Angels of Perdition.

Their world stands at the intersection of the systems of the Dark Star crusade, daring those that live in darkness to try again if they feel so bold. And amongst the cold night of their world they guard their secrets and speak to none of the events that transpired at their beginning, of the Horus Heresy, the Scouring, the Nova Terra Interregnum, and the buried file, deep in the records, the order that made the Angels of Perdition Excommunicate Traitorum.

Editor's Note: I brought my angels to Wargames Con in 2010 and am considering bringing them to the Narrative event this year. Anyway, I've been working on them off and on since 2008. I've got a lot of my painted pictures up at my blog here (http://bloodofkittens.com/prodigalsonhobbyblog/).

Camael
04-24-2012, 03:17 PM
Sons of Camael
Chapter of Space Marines

Strength:
750 Battle Brothers, 200 Scouts, 5000 Serfs

Home world:
Fleet based from the celestial fortress Gates of Eden

Battle Cry:
“To the walls! To the last!”

Heraldry:
Red sword on a white field

Founding:
In the wake of the Horus Heresy, there was a brotherhood of chapterless marines who fought for one reason and one reason only: to preserve human lives, these few men were led by one of the only surviving loyalist members of the Emperor’s Children Legion: an Astartes named Camael. Together, these men laid down their lives to protect humanity, all perished before the Imperium could be re-stabilized and order returned. However, the example that these brave few set did not go unnoticed and, sometime after the group’s annihilation, the Sons of Camael Chapter was created from the Salamanders’ gene seed with the mission of protecting human lives from any and all threats.

Belief System:
The Camaelines, as they are sometimes called, have taken the example set by their spiritual patriarch and namesake to heart and developed a chapter belief system that is uniquely its own: The Sons of Camael fight battles for the sole purpose of protecting humans who have been left to die for the sake of a greater war. As a result of this radical attitude, the Camaelines are viewed as reckless and foolish by their fellow astartes and as saviors by the common man. Further, they have markedly different attitudes toward those they protect: the Camaelines to not, as many other chapters do, refer to non-astartes as “mortals.” To Camaelines, there is no differentiation between themselves and “mortals,” there is only humanity, ordinary humans are as much their kin as their battle brothers, and they shall lay down their lives to save them.

Recruitment Practices:
Being a fleet based chapter, the Sons of Camael do not recruit from a single planet or system as most other chapters do, but have agents in hive worlds all across the Imperium. In addition to a different way of finding recruits, the Camaelines as look for a different type of young man to join their ranks, other chapters look for the strong, brutal, or brilliant. Camaelines look for those who cling to honor as a guide for all their actions. As a result, Camaeline recruits are often members of hive gangs who seek to protect their own from the hard world of the hive. Usually, such noble people do not last long in the world of hive gangs and are attacked and left for dead. It is then that Camaeline agents spirit the new recruit off to Gates of Eden and offer him the opportunity to become a Son of Camael.



Chapter Monastery:
Gates of Eden is nothing short of massive; the size of a large asteroid or small moon, the chapter’s headquarters is a completely self sufficient and fully armed world of its own. The Sons of Camael’s chapel, armory, shipyards, barracks, and mechbay are all contained in or on the massive hull of Gates.

Chapter Structure:
The Sons of Camael can be broken up into two major structural categories: Leadership and Operations

Leadership:
The Camaelines are led by a lord commander and a chapter council that acts as his advisers. The chapter council is made up of the chapter’s five captains, four shipmasters, chapter chaplain, chief librarian, master of the forge, head artificer, and any dreadnaughts currently serving.
Lord Commander: Belisarius Camaelus
The lord commander is selected for life by the chapter council upon the death of his predecessor. He can be chosen from any of the battle brothers currently in the chapter but us usually one of the five captains.

Captains: Leonidas Camaelus, Cassius Camaelus, Constantine Camaelus,
Decimus Camaelus, & Antonius Camaelus
Camaeline captains are the primary combat leaders of the chapter as well as the most likely candidates for Lord Commander

Shipmasters: Brutus Scippio, Severus Areleus, Augustus Pilate, & Trajan Parmenio
The chapter’s shipmasters are not astartes but normal humans who have pledged themselves to the chapter for any number of reasons. The command the Camaeline war fleet of four battle barges (Sword of Fire, Guardian of Eden, The Expulsor, & Justinian) as well as the myriad of smaller craft required for battles in space. They are as loyal to the chapter as any battle brother and the Camaelines hold many shipmasters among their most revered heroes.

Chapter Chaplain: Manius Camaelus
The Chapters’ chaplain is the spiritual leader of the chapter as well as the instructor of lesser chaplains. He and his subordinates are responsible for the close combat training of the chapter’s battle brothers and often accompany them into battle.

Chief Librarian: Dante Camaelus
The Chief librarian is responsible for training all of the chapter’s psykers in the psychic arts as well as the art of war.

Master of the Forge: Procopius Camaelus
Unlike other chapters of Space Marines, the Sons of Camael relish technological advancement in all of its forms for it gives them the edge that they need to better protect and save innocent humans. As head techmarine, the Master of the Forge is respected and relied upon for his knowledge of technology.

Head Artificer: Phedre Ptolemy
The artificers serving the Camaelines are allowed significant independence in their charge of keeping the chapter’s armor in good working order. This has lead to Gates becoming perhaps the only place in the galaxy capable of making power armor.

Operations:
The Camaelines are, first and foremost, a Space Marine chapter, as such; the overwhelming majority of their manpower is allocated to combat operations which can be broken up into the following groups

The Fleet:
The chapter fleet is commanded and crewed entirely by non-astartes sworn to service of the chapter, its roles are two fold

Defense of Gates:
The defense of the chapter’s celestial fortress falls primarily to the fleet. It is traditional for there to be at least one battle barge in the same sector as Gates at all times and fleet personnel also provide the manpower for Gates’ significant onboard fire power and fighter wings.

Operation Support
All of the chapter’s eight strike cruisers are committed to the support of strike forces. These ships, as well as the smaller craft carried within them, are outfitted to optimize stealth, and rapid deployment and recovery at the expense of firepower.

Atmospheric Forces:
The planet based forces of the chapter can be formed into two general categories which are broken up into rotations of 20 years each. The squads which an astartes joins do not change save for the completing of a rotation or death of a member. They shall become so close knit that they will fight all the harder at each other’s side. At the end of their last rotation, the battle brothers are placed where their skills are most needed or best suited. This means that a battle brother who earned his armor 150 years ago could serve in a scout squad if that is where his skills were needed most.



The Scouts:
The number of scouts in the chapter averages around 200. Like other chapters, scouts are used primarily to reconnoiter enemy positions and terrain and sabotage enemy operations. However, the scouts of the Camaelines also play a key role in determining where the killing blow to an abandoned human enclave will come from and the best position to make a stand against it. In the course of his time as a scout, a neophyte will master the core elements of Space Marine weaponry



The Battle Brothers:
After completing his rotation as a scout, a Camaeline astartes is honored with the title of brother and a suit of power armor. However, his training is not yet complete as he must still complete three more rotations before he is truly an astartes.

Heavy Squads:
The first rotation a battle brother enters into is that of the heavy units. In the course of his time there, the Camaeline will learn to use the largest weapons the chapter can bring to bear, from the multimelta to the vindicator, he will master them all. There are about 15 heavy squads in the chapter.

Fast Squads:
The brothers’ second rotation is in the chapter’s fast units. Here he will learn the thrill of speed and the terror of close combat and shall master the chainsword, bike, and land speeder. The chapter has about 15 fast squads.

Tactical Squads:
The tactical rotation is where the brothers’ training comes full circle. As with most other chapters, tactical squads form the backbone of all the Camaelines’ operations. The chapter has about thirty tactical squads.

Veterans:
The chapter’s veterans are always its 120 oldest battle brothers. 80 of them are selected to be the chapter’s sergeants, leading all the different units depending on their abilities. The remaining 40 brothers don terminator armor or serve as vanguard or sternguard units as the situation warrants.




The Motor Pool:
The Sons of Camael fight virtually all of their engagements in a mechanized fashion, rushing from landing zone to battle field to blunt an attack then packing up and doing it all over again. As such, the chapter’s motor pool consists largely of predators, razorbacks, and bikes with a few vindicators, land speeders, land raiders, and whirlwinds mixed in.

Combat Doctrine:
The Sons of Camael have only one objective in battle: slow the enemy long enough so that otherwise defenseless humans can be evacuated.
Before any serious commitment of troops is made, the chapter council dispatches a number of scout squads to an area that has been abandoned by all other imperial forces. These squads, inserted secretly and under the protection of ancient cloaking technologies, will survey the area and determine a landing zone and battle ground for the strike force that will follow. After the scouts relaying the intelligence they have gathered back to Gates the scouts will set about destroying and/or sabotaging enemy defensive weapons that would prevent the evacuation of humans from going smoothly.
Upon receipt of the scouts’ information, the chapter council selects a commander for the mission at hand. This commander then indicates how many of each type of squad he needs. These are then selected from all of the squads currently available and the entire force is deployed on a strike cruiser. Clearly, this is not the standard method of troop deployment for any other chapter; however, the Camaelines feel that it is advantageous in that it allows them to easily scale the size of their deployment up or down as the situation requires.
Upon arriving in system, the strike cruiser carrying the Sons of Camael dispatches the majority of the strike force in infiltration pattern Thunderhawks as well as numerous transports so that the evacuation of the abandoned population can begin. The cruiser will then withdraw to a safe distance until it is needed to deploy drop pod based reinforcements or link up with evacuation transports.
Once on the ground, a strike force moves quickly from landing zone to battlefield in order to buy the evacuation as much time as possible. The overall strategy of a Camaeline deployment is for the scouts to begin the engagement by harassing enemy outriders with missiles and sniper fire. This then lures in enemy reinforcements who are crushed by the first part of the strike force. This escalation continues until the threat posed by the Camaeline strike force is so large that the enemy must bring their full strength to confront it. It is often the case that battles of the Camaelines come down to tactical squads charging forward to seize valuable pieces of terrain and simply refusing to give them up. This tenacity forces the foe into costly assaults which, in turn, open gaps for the fast moving aspects of the strike force to hit soft targets hard and disappear before the enemy can react.
Once the abandoned humans have been evacuated, the Sons of Camael withdraw from the planet, offering those that they saved the ability to serve the chapter and placing those who decline on planets nearby.



This is what I have so far, any suggestions/comments are welcome!

Bean
04-24-2012, 03:25 PM
My Chaos is almost entirely ivory, with just a little bit of brownish red. Insignia is a red cross. I call it the Blood Drive. =)