Collaborative Warband Creation Project

[Commissar Molotov]

As part of the Liber Unity Project, this thread exists so that we can try to create a Chaos Warband. 

 

In a similar way to the Collaborative Chapter Creation Project, I have posted the list of named Chaos Warbands from various Codices: 

 

Chaos Space Marine Legions and Warbands (LIST)

 

I would appreciate your thoughts and assistance in showing the creativity of the Liber in this endeavour! 

 

 

Mol.

Edited October 15, 2017 by Commissar Molotov

[Dragonlover]

Hakanor's Reavers, The Pyre aaaaand... one of the Abyssal Crusade ones. Crystal Wyverns maybe? I've always wondered why they switched the name from Bronze Gorgons. That's my votes, although I'm not fussed which Abyssal Crusade one we do if we go for that.

 

Dragonlover

[Kelborn]

Grey Death formerly known as Iron Drakes.

Are featured in the latest chaos codex and received a color scheme.

[Dragonlover]

I was thinking stay in the Undivided camp, that way we can explore more facets to whoever we go with.

 

Dragonlover

[Kelborn]

Are they related to a god? Can't remember right now. Not at home

[Dizzyeye01]

Personally I feel like the the Blades Eternal would be a good one to look into but like the others any of the Abyssal Crusade chapters is a good place to look at.

 

To go a bit further, while with a lot of the Abyssal Crusade chapters fall fighting the enemy, it would be interesting to see a chapter fall due to how long they there stuck on a demon world; not simply through brute force but through manipulation and deceit. To give an example, they are stranded on a deamon world and raided. They keep pushing these raids but as their armour and weapons start to fail them. They're forced to use chaos tainted weapons which changes them little by little. Those who refuse to salvage either die in battle or eventually by their own brothers. After all, Chaos isn't just brute force to reach its goals. I hope that gets my idea across but take it as you will.

[Kelborn]

I'd like to suggest the Magma Hounds instead of the Grey Death for the same reasons as before.

 

A daemon engine the themed one would be interesting. :)

[Brother Cambrius]

Agreed the Abyssal Crusade gave us a glorious variety of warbands to play with. Plus we also have some older ones like the aforemention Pyre and Hakanor's Reavers (which I would love to play with on the fire theme, possibly corrupted Salamander descendants?).

 

Some other options could be:

 

• The Flawless Host
• The Dark Tusks (declared Excommunicate Traitoris due to worshipping the Emperor via totems, could be fun with them being beastmasters with Daemons etc
• The Company of Misery
• Warp Ghosts

Cambrius

[Dosjetka]

A (not-so-) short list of Warbands I think would be suitable candidates for this:

• Adharon's Reavers
• Apostles of Minthras
• Invocators
• The Chosen of Heiros
• Dark Tusks
• Fire Reavers
• Grey Slayers
• Oracles of Change
• Punishers
• The Pyre
• Savage Swords
• Shards of Enmity
• Sons of Hate
• Swords of Kargoth
• Warriors of Mayhem

[Conn Eremon]

I like the idea of tackling a chapter that fell during the Abyssal Crusade. There are quite a bit of options there, too. The following list are those ten warbands formed by the Abyssal Crusade in which that is the only piece of information about them.

 

• The Black Psalm, formerly the Illustrians
• The Broken, formerly the Viridian Consuls
• The Brotherhood of Lethe, formerly the Crusaders of Dorn
• The Crystal Wyverns, formerly the Bronze Gorgons
• The Flylords, formerly the Vengeance Chapter
• The Fractured, formerly the Justicars
• The Predator Legion, formerly the Serpents of Light
• The Revelation of Gore, formerly the Tempest Legion
• The Sons of Midnight, formerly the Star Gryphons
• The Twisted Blades, formerly the Graven Fists

This is what we know about these warbands:

• They were all chapters loyal to the Emperor by the third century of the 36th Millennium
• Warpstorm Dionys touched each of their home worlds, leading to gene-seed and recruit corruption
• Were condemned by Saint Basilius for this corruption
• High Lords of Terra order them upon a crusade into the Eye of Terror
• Each condemned chapter separately undertakes the crusade
• Within the Eye of Terror, each chapter falls and reforms into a warband
• Some elements may have remained pure and returned to the Imperium 800 years later

 

All the other chapters that fell during the Abysall Crusade have additional information unique to them.

[Brother Cambrius]

It might be fun writing up about the Doom Legion's more putrid half from the Abyssal Crusade, the Vectors of Pox. How did only half turn to Chaos and how has their story developed whilst sullying the name of their former brethren that guarded the Elysian Maze (sp?).

 

Cambrius

Edited October 15, 2017 by Brother Cambrius

[Kelborn]

Oh...the Predator Legion...they could be joined by some survivors of my Legion. :P

 

But seriously, of those mentioned by Conn, there are many interesting ones.

 

The Broken - "broken" can be interpreted in so many ways

Sons of Midnight - sounds like Night Lords, maybe they joined forces?

Fractured - see the Broken

Twisted Blades - could become backstabbers, assassins, mercenaries

Crystal Wyverns - beasty, Raptors and Warptalons, somehow "primitive"

Black Psalm - preachers, opposing the Word Bearers maybe?

 

Rest do sound like they have pledged themselves to certain gods.

But there is definetly potential in this crusade.

[Dizzyeye01]

See, for me the Fractured and Broken sound like interesting names which implies that they acknowledge that they have fallen into the ranks of Chaos and are now just fighting for survival. It could mean they also take in outcasts and renegades from those who wonder the warp alone. Though we should also consider why the warbands had their naems before they fell to Chaos. To give an example the Broken were formerly called the Viridian Consuls; they could have gained their name for fighting in that system and being known to work beside the Imperial Guard etc. In fact, it could be in a cruel taste of fate that because of the Warpstorm and the mutations affecting their recruits that those forces that previously worked with them distanced themselves due to those mutations which then leads them on the Crusade and feeling 'Broken' for being unable to prevent what happens. 

[Commissar Molotov]

Whilst I can completely understand the thought process behind an Undivided warband, this is a small and self-contained project (and there'll hopefully be further such projects) - there could be mileage in a warband that's aligned to a single god, if we can focus on a specific concept. 

 

I'd never heard of the Grey Death before this project, but I have to say there's something very evocative about Space Marines that have been consumed by vegetation and have it growing out of them. 

 

I certainly also like the idea of exploring one of the Chapters from the Abyssal Crusade, too. I think there's rather a tragic element to them. 

 

Are there any other Chapters that we think would be strong candidates for the project? 

[Brother Cambrius]

The Cleaved perhaps? Their tagline of "Call with all your soul, little one. Call and we shall answer.", would be interesting to interpret as beings who emerge and fight for the mortals that praise Nurgle when they are in danger. Interesting with their description of oily fluids leaking from their armour too, instead of putrid pus of other plague marines. Possibly a less bloated and festering warband still given blessings by Papa Nurgle?

 

Cambrius

[Commissar Molotov]

I like the idea of tackling a chapter that fell during the Abyssal Crusade. There are quite a bit of options there, too. The following list are those ten warbands formed by the Abyssal Crusade in which that is the only piece of information about them.

 

• The Black Psalm, formerly the Illustrians
• The Broken, formerly the Viridian Consuls
• The Brotherhood of Lethe, formerly the Crusaders of Dorn
• The Crystal Wyverns, formerly the Bronze Gorgons
• The Flylords, formerly the Vengeance Chapter
• The Fractured, formerly the Justicars
• The Predator Legion, formerly the Serpents of Light
• The Revelation of Gore, formerly the Tempest Legion
• The Sons of Midnight, formerly the Star Gryphons
• The Twisted Blades, formerly the Graven Fists

This is what we know about these warbands:

• They were all chapters loyal to the Emperor by the third century of the 36th Millennium
• Warpstorm Dionys touched each of their home worlds, leading to gene-seed and recruit corruption
• Were condemned by Saint Basilius for this corruption
• High Lords of Terra order them upon a crusade into the Eye of Terror
• Each condemned chapter separately undertakes the crusade
• Within the Eye of Terror, each chapter falls and reforms into a warband
• Some elements may have remained pure and returned to the Imperium 800 years later

 

All the other chapters that fell during the Abysall Crusade have additional information unique to them.

 

I particularly support and enjoy the notion of using a Chapter from the Abyssal Crusade. So, using Conn's list: 

 

The Chapters that spring out to me are: 

 

• The Black Psalm - but it's important to make them different from the Word Bearers, if we go down that route. 
• The Broken or the Fractured - as mentioned, the idea that they detest what they have become could be interesting for us to pursue.
• The Revelation of Gore - perhaps a Chapter of Khorne Worshippers that is interested in signs and portents, that looks for patterns in blood spray like reading tea leaves. 

 

I'm not taken with the Flylords (awful name, I think) or the Sons of Midnight (how to make them different from Night Lords) but they might be of some use. 

[Conn Eremon]

I'm also intrigued by the Broken and the Fractured. They sound like ones who turned out of pragmatism, not choice.

[Lysimachus]

Just a thought, but Fractured could also imply that they've become divided in their viewpoint, perhaps following multiple different Gods?

[Kelborn]

I'm for the Fractured as well.

Broken into different dedicated subforces, maybe ruled by a dark council of champions.

[Doctor Perils]

I think the crystal wyverns name sounds wonderfully evocative, but I'm not sure we'd be able to say much more then "oh, they've got a crystalic flesh mutation"

 

I agree with the Fractured and Broken sounding interesting - as they both have a former name that evokes judicial or political responsibilities, they probably change their name to reflect that they have willingly shattered the trust that the Imperium granted them in this matter? I think they'd be able to conform with the trope of the fallen paladin (of which I can't think of any examples in the 40k universe)

Edited October 25, 2017 by Lord Thørn

[Commissar Molotov]

I think the Fractured potentially hold the most potential for us, then. Their former name - the Justicars - suggests that they were exemplars of the Imperium, holding up everything that the Imperium stands for. It makes it all the more poetic that they were wrongfully cast out and that they have suffered exceptionally in the Eye of Terror. 

 

Are there any objections or any other suggestions before we forge ahead? 

[Zebulon]

I think the Fractured potentially hold the most potential for us, then. Their former name - the Justicars - suggests that they were exemplars of the Imperium, holding up everything that the Imperium stands for. It makes it all the more poetic that they were wrongfully cast out and that they have suffered exceptionally in the Eye of Terror.

 

Are there any objections or any other suggestions before we forge ahead?

Yep, that sounds really interesting.

 

I am quite enticed by ideas relating to “The Black Psalm” but for now I’d agree The Fractured probably have more potential.

[DiscipleOfTheWord]

Personally I prefer The Broken to The Fractured, because their name implies that they are perhaps physically and psychologically broken, as opposed to the Fractured implying the warband is split into different groups. I like the idea of a The Broken perhaps hating what they have become, but without any choice in the matter. Perhaps they are slaves of a Daemon Prince or other entity who forced them into chaos? Or maybe they now despise the Imperium and chaos equally, but cannot go back to the Imperium by now? Or maybe they hate chaos, like the Purge, and worship it in order to bring about its own destruction? Just toying with some ideas, I think the Broken have much greater potential than the Fractured. I'm not a fan of the Black Psalm as they sound just like newer versions of the Word Bearers.

[Doctor Perils]

I think the Fractured could just as well indicate a physical and psychological break, just as much as broken oaths and a fractured warband - very much how you describe the Broken.

 

However, I don't think that a Daemon or Daemon prince "forcing" them into chaos is a good idea - the fall to chaos should be a choice. Of course, it could be an impossible dilemma that is set them, one where they can choose between a fall to chaos and something even worse, but a choice nonetheless.

[Zhiv]

I think the Fractured could just as well indicate a physical and psychological break, just as much as broken oaths and a fractured warband - very much how you describe the Broken.

 

However, I don't think that a Daemon or Daemon prince "forcing" them into chaos is a good idea - the fall to chaos should be a choice. Of course, it could be an impossible dilemma that is set them, one where they can choose between a fall to chaos and something even worse, but a choice nonetheless.

 

Maybe they were exposed to torrential (psychic) nightmares that opened their eyes and undid their psychoconditioning, allowing them to see what the Imperium had done to them - and what monstrosity Imperium actually is.  Their connection to the Imperium and Emperor 'Fractured' they now follow their own agenda - or so they thing, potentially having been corrupted from within.    Or some such.