Need help with naming a new regiment and world

[CommissarZac]

Hey all.  I recently ordered a set of "Feudal Guard" minis from Mad Robots Miniatrues.  I really like the look of them and want to make a new regiment of Guard based on a feudal world.  But I am at a dead end coming up with names for the regiment, and planet.   I want them to be homebrew and not from an already discovered feudal world.  Was also thinking of making them an attachment to a Knight lance.  Would appreciate your input.

[Arkaniss]

All you need is a starting point - a kernal of something which starts the creative juices flowing. I'd say the first step is deciding which 'era' of medieval is your favourite then going from there. Let's say you prefer the middleish so go find a map of Europe in the 13th Century and see what pops out. All you need is a tiny opening for something to catch your interest and you can go off down the rabbit hole of history and find your inspiration.

 

You can be inspired by or just riff on real countries and people to develop your fluff and either build that up further or use it as a spring board to, well, wherever your imagination takes you!

 

It's up to you how you do it. Remember that Games Workshop themself both riff on history and have their own creations so whatever you go for will work in the 40K universe. Good luck!

 

 

[THUNDERFISTS]

What could help a lot is if you've decided on your color scheme and basing scheme already. What kind of feudal world are they from - desert, jungle, ice, forgeworld, hive, etc. etc. Deciding what kind of theme you want for your environment can help you focus on naming it. 

[WarriorFish]

Agreed, you don't have to have everything in place right away - you can start with the bits you do know/want and go from there. Often things come to you as part of this process anyway so start work and you might discover that the ideas find you ;)

[apologist]

Arkaniss, Thunderfists and Warriorfish have some excellent advice, so I won't repeat them.

 

My thoughts are as follows: finding a starting point can be difficult purely because there's such a wide variety to pick from. Personally, the figures you've linked to made me think of the Holy Roman Empire of the late Middle ages, which might be an angle to pursue. WIth a little 40k obfuscation, and bringing in some personal choices, you could make a very cool pseudo-Germanic force. The Elector-Counts might spark some ideas for Knight pilots or planet names.

 

As an alternative, I'm currently publishing a series of articles on Death of a Rubricist on just this topic: creating your own army. They might prove useful – in which case, please feel free to browse here.

Edited June 14, 2019 by Apologist

[WarriorFish]

I've raided that for my Knight house - it's a pretty good match up for the theme plus lets you play with some Germanic names It's be a great fit for Guard too, plus you could add Empire bits from WHFB for some extra flair (which looks great). It's here if you're interested in what I did

[CommissarZac]

Thank you all for the great help.  I feel like I'm getting my bearings on this regiment now.  Apologist that blog was a TREMENDOUS help.  Thank you for sharing it.

Considering I am making them attached to a Knight house I really like the term Landsknecht.  Will update as I develop more.

[HallofStovokor]

You can name their planet after the city of Acre and they are Templar Sergeants. That is the name of the templar brotherhood for commoners. For the purpose of 40k, I'd say that they are pledged to serve as servants for the black templars. The caveats for this force would be no abhumans and no psykers.

[CommissarZac]

So I've decided on naming the Knight/Feudal world Straun. I plan to have the planet filled with all sorts of fantasy creatures all under the heel of mankind. I am curious how I am going to bend lore and take advantage of vague laws to allow these creatures to live even if it is as chattel. Any ideas are appreciated.

[Halfpint100]

Some could easily be documented as "abhumans" which should cover any fantasy creatures which have humanoid parts, maybe stretch to centaurs? (which would make hilarious rough riders). Or maybe cybernetic control helmets linked to a noble? so they could modify the creatures with guns and use them as tanks (don't know the mechanicus standpoint on this, but y'know... servitors are basically this using human stock). 

[Arkaniss]

Will open up lots of conversion oppertunities for sure! Halfpint is on the mone with abhumans - beastmen used to be a thing back in the day so you have a large scope :)

[CommissarZac]

LOVING the idea of Centaur rough riders.  Sounds like the laws are just vague enough I can do what I wish so long as pure humans are on top.  I will definitely keep you all posted as I progress with this. 

[apologist]

So I've decided on naming the Knight/Feudal world Straun. I plan to have the planet filled with all sorts of fantasy creatures all under the heel of mankind. I am curious how I am going to bend lore and take advantage of vague laws to allow these creatures to live even if it is as chattel. Any ideas are appreciated.

 

Most not-sapient xenos are tolerated or exploited – grox, ambulls etc., so there's no reason you can't have beasts of burden/stock etc. In fact, shepherding/protecting herds of megafauna is one of the main reasons Knights and Knight Worlds exist.

 

Intelligent creatures are more problematic, from the fascistic Imperial point of view. However, there are deep-running themes of both hypocrisy and pragmatism in the grim darkness of the far future, so there's no reason things like centaurs couldn't be sanctioned in some way.

 

I suspect that standard humans would be deeply prejudiced against them (in much the same way as they are against beastmen/squats/ogryns/ratlings), but if they breed true – that is, they're not one-off mutants but a stable population – and worship the god-Emperor, they could find some way to fit. 

 

Personally, I'd suggest that you find some other way to explore the centaur concept – perhaps augmetic suits one rides in, designed to allow standard humans to ride with/protect the herds? 

[WarriorFish]

Indeed, this is ripe for opportunity and as mentioned very easy to work in however you may please :)

[Halfpint100]

Looking forward to seeing what you produce! Don't forget to raid the age of sigmar range for bits and inspiration!

[CommissarZac]

Just got my feudal guard in and I am stoked.  I present the start of my 38th Landsknecht Rifles

[Arkaniss]

It begins! :D Do you have a paint scheme yet?

[CommissarZac]

Silver with a blue glaze, with greens and browns to match the leather underbits.  The regimental standard I havent finalized yet but I am leaning to red and white 

[CommissarZac]

Command Squad built and ready for priming

 

[WarriorFish]

Great to see them getting started Zac, keep us updated on their progress :tu:

[duz_]

Red and white is always striking!

[CommissarZac]

1st platoon command squad

 

 

And with that I will call it a night.  SO STOKED to start on this

[Nostromo]

Seems my approach on names is surprisingly... unusual.

 

So, you have an idea on how your regiment feels like and what kind of planet they come from.

But regarding the planet... is that really important?

It depends. How long ago has that planet been colonized?

Is there a reason it may have been renamed?

Yes? Why and by whom?

No?

Go back to the colonization and think who those colonists were (and think how your current society and aesthetics could have developed in the meantime - and why). That‘s a good key to names.

Once you got a feeling for the culture, also the regimental names get easier.

Edited June 30, 2019 by Nostromo