Designing a Space Marine Chapter: Swamp world?

[General Strike]

So, I'm currently working on lore for a chapter, and want their world to be paddy fields and swamps. With that in mind, what units would they specialize in, giving the wet and muddy world? I at first thought assault marines, but do you really want a super heavy armored marine slamming into the mud? I was thinking stormravens, landspeeders, and the marines would just slog through the water and mud. Any advice or ideas?

[robofish7591]

Airborne assaults backed up by fire support on foot could be a pretty cool theme.  I can see scouts being pretty thematic for a swamp themed chapter.  Camo cloak scouts hiding the the reeds and stuff could be pretty cool.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Watch Vietnam War movies for inspiration. Assault Marines and Primaris Inceptors would be Huey gunship equivalents, and see heavy use. Tanks will be of use (M48 tanks did serve in Vietnam), but of limited use, due to the terrain. Amphibious tanks- Astra Militarum Chimeras modified to accommodate Astartes and Astartes weapons- may be worth adopting, if you think Repulsors are too expensive.

 

When writing flavor text, you should emphasize your Chapter's ability to seize space superiority, as a strike cruiser or battle barge's sensors can better pierce the terrain, while the ships' communications array can warn troops on the (swampy) ground of what lies ahead.

 

As for a name... Well, "Sons of Rambo" is tempting, but a little too obvious. How about "Crocodiles" or "Alligators"?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

An idea for your Chapter's hero:

 

Francis "Swamp Fox" Marion. You can reconcile his background as a rebel, by stating his home world's governor was a traitor who surrendered the planet to Chaos (stereotypical European nobles can be just as depraved as the Emperor's Children, as the Marquis de Sade demonstrated), and your hero was one of those "loyal to the One True Emperor" who rebelled against the traitor governor, their actions draining the occupiers' strength and allowing other loyalist forces to reclaim the planet.

 

Others would be the Duke Boys. A Land Speeder or a heavily customized Repulsor would make a great "General Lee," but you'll have to replace the Confederate flag with an Aquila- maybe a blue one, with stars on its wings- because the people of the Imperium wouldn't recognize the "Stars and Bars" if it bit them in the posterior.

[General Strike]

The hull size of the chimera is about the same as a rhino? I was also thinking they would use repulsors, which would work well due to grav. Maybe something like Astra Lacertus?

[Bjorn Firewalker]

Maybe something like Astra Lacertus?

"Star Lizards"? It doesn't sound very martial or threatening, but it can work if your goal is to make your enemies underestimate you and then mock them when their overconfidence makes them fall into your trap. "A bunch of 'lowly lizards' just handed you your posteriors! Ha ha!"

[CCE1981]

Fen Lurkers

Caimen of the Fen

Palus Lacertus

[Hawklynn]

The Bog Trotters.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

"Machimosaurs Astra," after an extinct genus of crocodyliforms.

[The genus is named] Machimosaurus, from Greek makhimos 'fit or ready for war'.

[General Strike]

I like that one, Bjorn

So, a focus on Landspeeders, converted chimera, inceptors, assault marines, repulsors, and flyers.

 

Lots of scouts, maybe even something similiar to wolf scouts where we have full marines in scout armor.

[robofish7591]

The forgeworld recon marines could make for some cool counts as scouts, or even sternguard or something if you want to use them as an actual power armor unit.

[Exilyth]

Depending on the amount of trees, Reivers with grav chutes and grapnel launchers could see some use.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I think flamers and grenade launchers will see heavy use, due to the terrain limiting visibility, making weapons that "automatically hit their target" (flamers in 8th Edition) far more appealing. Reiver Snipers may be worth taking the time to write your own Special Rules- their lighter armor means they can climb to higher vantage points, and sniper attacks are definitely terrifying.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

As swampy worlds will still have arctic and antarctic circles (unless some archeotech atmospheric control prevents subzero temperatures and the resulting ice caps from forming), your Marines will need to be able to fight there- and in the arctic and antarctic circles of other planets. May I propose an "icebreaker bow" for your Chimeras- basically a "counts as a" dozer blade that raises their Toughness to 8?

[Panzer]

Honestly, since Marines rarely keep fighting on their home planet alone it means they can and should have any units in use other chapters use as well. It makes no sense for a force that fights in multiple different warzones to be restricted to their home planets environment. That's like saying Blood Angels are (radioactive-) desert fighters and Space Wolves only fight where it's super cold and snowy.

 

For a theme tho it's a neat idea and I second what others said about a focus on anti-grav, "sneaky" units like Scouts and Reiver, flyer, flamer and artillery. Basically Catachan but as Marines.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I think flamers and grenade launchers will see heavy use, due to the terrain limiting visibility, making weapons that "automatically hit their target" (flamers in 8th Edition) far more appealing.

Continuing this theme, let's have ink grenades that reduce the enemy's visibility- in-game, the grenade inflicts 0 Wounds and hits each target only once, but all models hit will receive a -1 Penalty (or worse) to their Ballistic and Weapon Skills, until the Turn ends- so your Marines can fully exploit their proficiency at close quarters.

[BitsHammer]

I want to say the Flesh Tearers live on a swamp world, but I might be wrong.

 

My recommendation is some kind of thing involving gators, wearing capes made out of lizard skin and wearing big pointy teeth as totems. Kind of a cross between Salamanders and Space Wolves only likely more Cajun and less wolfy.

[Bjorn Firewalker]

I want to say the Flesh Tearers live on a swamp world, but I might be wrong.

IIRC, it's a jungle world with dinosaurs, as the name suggests ("Cretacia" does sound like "Cretaceous," doesn't it?).

[BitsHammer]

 

I want to say the Flesh Tearers live on a swamp world, but I might be wrong.

IIRC, it's a jungle world with dinosaurs, as the name suggests ("Cretacia" does sound like "Cretaceous," doesn't it?).

 

Jungles have swamps right?

 

Okay...I might be bad at geography.

[Lord_Caerolion]

 

Maybe something like Astra Lacertus?

"Star Lizards"? It doesn't sound very martial or threatening, but it can work if your goal is to make your enemies underestimate you and then mock them when their overconfidence makes them fall into your trap. "A bunch of 'lowly lizards' just handed you your posteriors! Ha ha!"

 

 

"Carcharadons" is literally just "Sharks".

 

As others have said, though, just remember that the world of a Chapter doesn't have to explicitly define every aspect of the Chapter and its tactics/equipment. The most I'd limit it to is a preference for Land Speeders over land-based tanks when it comes to armoured support. Limiting things further is akin to suggesting that Space Wolves should have heaps of flamers because they need to melt all the ice. I mean, we can still have those limitations, but make them come from the culture of the Chapter itself, rather than just "they come from a swamp".

 

Personally, if you're looking for a theme for the Chapter, I'd go something crocodilian, and that the Chapter primarily uses ambush-tactics, possibly off Raven Guard or even White Scar geneseed (similar to the Mantis Warriors). For a name, how about the Sons of Sebek/Sobek? Chapter symbol, I'd suggest using the Salamanders icon with the spikes removed, but if you go with green for the armour, which would suit a crocodilian/swamp-themed Chapter, that may be a bit too similar.

 

The Chapter won't have many armoured transports, given the tactics they utilise, preferring to deploy from the fleet of Thunderhawks/Stormravens, before proceeding on foot to pre-planned ambush sites, setting up perfectly-planned kill-zones, centering around keystone Devastator Squads who begin the ambush by crippling the key targets in the initial salvo.

As the enemy are reeling in confusion, the rest of the strike force makes itself known, divided amongst Tactical/Scout squads supporting the Devastators, or smaller close-range "kill teams" (either Assault, Reiver, or Tactical squads that are outfitted for close-range fire-fights), who almost seem to appear in the middle of the opposing force. Any foes that attempt to escape the ambush are hunted down by Land Speeder squadrons. Terminator armour is rarely used, preferably saved for a final strike once the enemy is pinned. Heavy armour is also rarely used, with preference given to either Land Speeders or other assorted aerial support. Repulsors are a kind of mid-way point between armour and Land Speeders, so are more commonly used than the earth-bound Rhino-chassis vehicles and Land Raiders.

The Chapter takes its inspiration from the massive saurian ambush-predators on their homeworld, of which the final test for induction into the Chapter is for a group of aspirants to work as a team to hunt and kill one, which helps promote the combined-arms tactics that the Chapter utilizes. A single Marine can hunt, but there is always a bigger predator. Together, they will hunt the gods themselves.

[Panzer]

 

Personally, if you're looking for a theme for the Chapter, I'd go something crocodilian, and that the Chapter primarily uses ambush-tactics, possibly off Raven Guard or even White Scar geneseed (similar to the Mantis Warriors). For a name, how about the Sons of Sebek/Sobek? Chapter symbol, I'd suggest using the Salamanders icon with the spikes removed, but if you go with green for the armour, which would suit a crocodilian/swamp-themed Chapter, that may be a bit too similar.

 

 

That's a great idea actually. Crocodiles are great predatory animals and the Raven Guard chapter tactic and Stratagem would fit them perfectly considering their way of hunting. As for the colour, there's no need to go green. Crocodiles are not really THAT green and are often different shades of brown up to almost beige even.

 

A name in line with Carcharodon for a Crocodile themed chapter would be Crocodylus btw :P

[Lord_Caerolion]

You just don't tend to see much brown when it comes to heraldry. I guess you could do a swamp-camo colour scheme, though, being mostly brown. Maybe grey-green, with green shoulder-pads?

 

EDIT: And yes, that's why I spent ages looking for a "crocodile" name that wasn't just that, it sounds a bit too similar. At least Carcharodon isn't recoginisably shark-y to a layman. Crocodylus would sound that bit too not-Latin-ish. 

[Panzer]

You just don't tend to see much brown when it comes to heraldry. 

 

All the more reason to go for it I'd say. Lessens the chance to get mistaken for another Chapter. ;)

[Hawklynn]

You just don't tend to see much brown when it comes to heraldry. I guess you could do a swamp-camo colour scheme, though, being mostly brown. Maybe grey-green, with green shoulder-pads?

 

 

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tenn%C3%A9

[Bjorn Firewalker]

The Chapter won't have many armoured transports, given the tactics they utilise, preferring to deploy from the fleet of Thunderhawks/Stormravens, before proceeding on foot to pre-planned ambush sites, setting up perfectly-planned kill-zones, centering around keystone Devastator Squads who begin the ambush by crippling the key targets in the initial salvo.

I disagree. Walking is time-consuming, even for an Astartes. Aerospace vehicles are too noisy, unless they're at extremely high altitudes, where the air is too thin to properly conduct sound. A ground vehicle will be useful for getting your ambushers to their positions with relative speed and stealth.

Heavy armour is also rarely used, with preference given to either Land Speeders or other assorted aerial support.

Heavy armor is better at absorbing recoil- better as mounts for self-propelled artillery, as a direct consequence. Heavy artillery will be at least as useful as snipers to any army operating in swampy areas, while those with the necessary skills to competently operate artillery, will be far easier to find than those with the natural talent necessary to be a good sniper.

 

IIRC, the Land Speeder and Repulsor mount no weapons with ranges comparable to the Whirlwind (72" in 8th Edition) or the Basilisk. The Swamp Marines need their own artillery to provide counter-battery fire, or enemy artillery will shoot them to pieces with impunity.

The Chapter takes its inspiration from the massive saurian ambush-predators on their homeworld, of which the final test for induction into the Chapter is for a group of aspirants to work as a team to hunt and kill one, which helps promote the combined-arms tactics that the Chapter utilizes. A single Marine can hunt, but there is always a bigger predator. Together, they will hunt the gods themselves.

Well said.