Woe to the Vanquished

One of the things I like about the Warhammer 40,000 timeline is the impending damnation of your soul at any moment. Take a little too much pride in your accomplishments and Slaanesh or Khorne are ready to claim your soul. Look into the conspiracies a little too closely, and not only do you find they are true, but you'll find that you are part of them and that your soul is twisting in Tzeentch's grasp. Half of the Legions, noble of birth and mighty of deed, turned and were damned forever. It's a tantalizing line for all Astartes to tread. The Taurans could be that chapter that has walked the fine line more than once. Theres a reason the Ecclesiarchy is wary of messing with Astartes chapters. That lesson was taught by the Wolves to Goge Vandire's army during the Age of Apostasy, but it can't be the only harsh lesson they've learned. Maybe the Taurans bloodied the Emperor Botherers before that during the Nova Terra Interregnum. Whatever ends up happening with the Taurans, I think there a nice wrinkle would be an ongoing distrust, bordering on outright hostility, between the Tauran Astartes and the Holy Ecclesiarchy to this day. I also think that this MAY have a knock on effect of the Chaplain Corp being somewhat more idiosyncratic and concerned more with the Chapter cult than they are with Ecclesiarchical orthodoxy. Humility, piety, and sacrifice take a back seat to honor, strength through sacrifice, and deeds of valor. In diametrical opposition to the Holy Synod, a Tauran Astartes and their serfs encourage initiative and glory through feats of valor rather than minding one's station. The Taurans have a hard time fitting in with the Imperium as it exists. They undoubtedly are a force for good, but they just can't fit in. Any time they work closely with all but the most independent of Imperial organizations, friction inevitably builds until the Taurans eventually withdraw to avoid a repeat of their Diaspora. Only organization like the Rogue Traders or Explorator Fleets and barely established colonies are places where the Taruans are freely welcomed. Like Don Quixote or Massai migrant herders, the Taurans are struggling to hold on to a tradition or a code of ethics that no longer exists and may have never existed. At one time, they raged against this and struggled to MAKE the galaxy conform to their vision. Now with the wisdom of millennia on crusade, they realize they are unique and a fish out of water in the Imperium at large so they stick to the frontiers. Unlike old Terra, there is no shortage of frontier where the dispossed and the unwanted can go to find their fortune and etch their names in the stars. -Vae Victis

As an aside, and probably more of a question for chapters in general, struck me earlier this evening. When a chapter receives a huge number of Primaris marines in either reinforcements or in a rebuilding effort, how does that change the nature of a chapter. The Scythes, for instance, are almost extinct then receive something like 900 Primaris marines. I wonder how such an event would affect a chapter. How willing would the Primaris be to simply fall in line with chapter traditions and cults?

Okay, thanks for the feedback to everyone! There's no direct need to have the Taurans be founded by Imperial Fists. I try to over explain things here in this thread so that it can be appropriately redacted, obscured or lost for the eventual final product. Would it be acceptable for the more cryptic paragraph on Tauran founding? Perhaps something that does not speak to its training cadre, but merely notes they are a chapter seemingly riven by "ill-humours" and the like. Perhaps something like this. "Of the Tauran founding, only the basics are known. The Taurans' first known appearance comes to us via Inquisitor Pellias the Younger's survey of Astartes Chapters at the close of M34. Although the primary source has long since been lost, the "Commentaries" penned by his pupil and eventual successor, Lord Inquisitor Hadrax, confirms their White Scars gene seed succession and their eventual posting to the __________ sector of Segmentum Pacificus. The Lord Pellias, famously terse, is said to have judged the Taurans 'prideful, honour obsessed, and eager to see their legacy regarded as the equal or superior to the original legions," - a veritable deluge of words from an Inquisitor who described the entirety of the Crimson Fists' history as "admirable." Although no definitive proof exists, the Taurans are thought to have been a codex compliant chapter at their outset based upon the structure of Hadrax's "Commentaries" and a survivng after action report of a Caballero - Capitán Martell detailing requisition and resupply needs of for the Tauran 3rd company which seems to imply a broadly Codex-approved structure. I feel this gets across the idea without coming right out and saying it. There's flavor text to draw the reader in and allow them to understand that this is an incomplete assessment based on flawed sources. It lays an unremarkable founding that isn't even mentioned while also leaving little room. This chapter basically has to be founded somewhere in the 3-5th founding in order to be included in the M34 survey since we're pretty sure they aren't a Primogenitor chapter. As for the Nova Terra Interregnum, well, one of the things I've been trying to get across in my fluff is that it's a YOUNG chapter. They are so concerned with honour, and smiting the Xenos, and upholding the traditions of their heroes (the legions of old) that maybe they get a bit... carried away. Like my older story above, the Taurans become a major player in the sector they are assigned to and as a young, almost teenage like chapter, they decide to do something a little bit rebellious - they take a navy refit yard. They need it - their ships are trashed after extended void warfare. In their minds, they deserve it - they just saved the sector and basically did it with no support aside from the worlds they pulled up by the metaphorical boot-straps. The Nova Terra sees them trying to hold on to what they see as their core interests. Why should petty lords squabbling over politics prevent us, The Tauran Astartes, from carrying out our sacred duties. No, it's better that we have these worlds and govern them and create fine armies and restock our navies. The key difference is that they do it out of mis-placed loyalty. They are not seceding from the Imperium, they are getting carried away and going above their station in trying to protect it. It's all put to the test when the Ecclesiarchy and the Frateris Templar eventually invade the Pacificus anyway. It might be interesting to have a famous Imperial saint or Saint-Martial or General portrayed as the villain in the Tauran mythology. As an aggressive Astartes chapter, they again go too far - they start producing or capturing Imperial Navy ships, they start training and arming PDF regiments for use in battle, and they take the battle to this antagonist who attacked them first. Basically, they can claim self defense against all charges of heresy/betrayal. That's basically where I'm going with them. The ramifications of that time period are a mystery. I see them forced to give up control of their world, but still retain recruiting rights. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but I see the IA article stuff we have on page 1 as their current state in M42. The real story happens after the Nova Terra Interregnum and before current day. I see a crusading chapter, bitter, defeated, but determined to prove the righteousness of their cause going out to conquer the universe - not unlike the Conquistadors of the 15th and 16th century. I see the Massai influence come into play as a consequence of their "colonization" after leaving their homeworlds. Perhaps it is the induction of fresh blood and fresh culture that mellows them out and allows them to move beyond the Interregnum.

Sure. It’s easy enough to drop it. They are White Scars successors. My big thing is trying to establish a unique way for them to be divorced from their home world without resorting to the cliqued “Inqusition took it/aliens overran it. My head cannon has them going down a path similar to the Astral Claws, but instead of going to war when the other Astartes intervene, they simply burn their fortress monastery and set out to prove themselves as the MOST loyal or whatever. Thousands of years mellow them out to what we have today - a chapter that is steady and self assured instead of hot headed and insecure, but they return to their former home world and dump their trophies there as proof of their deeds. An eternal questing knight returning with his prize to a kingdom that has long since forgotten about him

So, I've looked through the thread again, and I believe I can incorporate almost all the themes brought up so far. I'm still kind of struggling to come up with a coherent world story for their homeworld, so I thought about what possibly binds Spanish/Iberian feudal society and early age of exploration society with Masaii Culture. The answer I came up with is colonization. The Iberian peninsula is invaded, counter-invaded, and generally pulled one way or the other throughout the Middle Ages. Subsequently, they launch the early colonization efforts of Europe. The Massai (apologies for butchering that name) likewise are a tribal society that has been colonized, modified, and ultimately profoundly changed by the arrival of a vastly stronger force from far away. Combat doctrine is something I haven't thought of at all, because A) They're Space Marines, they're always good at everything, and we need to establish things like Mechanicum relationships, lines of resupply, and general involvement in the events of recent years (Primaris, Guilleman, et. al.) before we can definitely establish how they operate. I'm leery of turning them into Charcharadons 2.0, so I tentaitvely propose they fairly regularly return to Imperial Space (say every couple hundred years) to resupply, and perhaps for somewhat more political, venal, or religious reasons. The crux of the article, history or whatever you want to call my ramblings is very much to get it to the point that the Taurans are a mysterious, crusading chapter of the White Scars who are steady, and seem particularly interested in combating Tyranid encroachment. I'm just of the opinion that you need to know why they are the way they are. You need to show, not tell perhaps is a better analogy. As for the four Astartes thing... well, it's hard to explain, but I'll try. Everyone knows the Ultramarines are the poster children of Warhammer 40,000. I'm not as familiar with Heresy history or Scourging history as I should be, but it's clear that they didn't play the pivotal role in the Heresy - they emerge as the most powerful because they are arguably the least involved loyalist legion. Yeah, I know Calth etc. What's clear though is that they have generally been the dominant chapter and legion since the day the Emperor was laid low by Horus. Things change though. Somewhat piggy-backing off of Apologist's excellent blog, I see the Ultramarines at a nadir of influence during this time with the good name of the Imperial Fists and their successors riding high. Not only have they recently reformed their legion to defend Terra, but they are staunch High Lord supporters from what I know of the Nova Terra Interregnum. In other words, they are in favor. However, they took horrendous loses defending Terra and are currently at a nadir of actual strength if not influence when the Taurans are created. Therefore, it is decided that the Taurans will use the seldom utilized White Scars gene seed, BUT they'll be "raised" by Imperial Fist successors. Now, it's one thing for the chapter command staff to be Crimson Fist, Black Templar, etc. It is quite another for the Apothecarion and the Librarium to be the same. White Scar gene seed is different in myriad ways both major and minor to Imperial Fist and no chapter is going to tell another chapter their gene seed weaknesses. Similarly, the Librarians of White Scars successors are distinctly different to more codex librarians because the White Scars seem to access the warp differently to most. Whether this is cultural, biological, or theological is not something that is known and probably not something anyone would be willing to risk finding out. Whatever the reason, what results is a square peg in a round hole. You've got a chapter that yearns to be free, attacking, roaming the stars and laying low the Emperor's enemies so that they may achieve glory and renown. They are instead raised by strict, monastic "parents" and told to basically garrison a sector of space and defend. The Taurans are BULLS. They charge. They attack. It's literally in their blood. They are not wall builders and they are do not crusade for religious reasons. They crusade because they are born for battle and because they hate their enemies. This is a stepping stone to the idea of "you can't go home again." I brought up earlier. In many ways, I'm telling a coming of age story of super human space mongols in the grim darkness of the 34th Millennium. For your main question, whose side are they on? I see them taking their own side - against the Imperium proper. This obviously benefits Constantium/Nova Terra/The Ur-Council, but it isn't necessarily about them. It's about strongly held beliefs, it's about violated honor, it's about mis-communication, and to an extent, it's about the hubris of youth. Let me explain. +++On Imperial Disfunction of the Nova Terra Interregnum Period+++ Now I believe I can hear the philosophers protesting that it can only be misery to live in folly, illusion, deception, and ignorance, but it isn't - it's human. ~Desiderius Erasmus, Terran Philosopher To understand the Tauran conflict (Inquisitorial, Ecclesiarchical, and Naval Historians are hesitant to call it a war for a variety of political and religious reasons), you must understand the Nova Terra Interregnum. The Interregnum and the formation of the Imperium Pacificus is not an event but rather a slow drift of bureaucratic systems stretching across millennia. An outside observer may decide it is an inevitability based on the societal, political, and religious movements of the era. There is little agreement among Ordo Scriptorum historian-purgers as to whether the great Nova Terra time period should be purged or should be preserved. The resultant stack wars and data crusades rage to this day on Terra, Ophelia IV, and even Nova Terra. What is known is that the Imperium became more and more factional and parochial as the High Lords descended into bickering and conflicting proclamation in the run up to the eventual Twin Imperium. The Taurans found themselves as a newly established chapter stationed along the great Trans - Pacificus Warp Current that stretches from far Garrison Hadex all the way to the rimward Segmentum Solar. They studiously ignored the growing factionalism of around them and set about increasing the glory of Him on Earth. An Astartes chapter is largely free of the insane, byzantine bureaucracy of the Imperium at large. Astartes strike cruisers can reasonably expect to arrive at any port of call and receive reinforcement, resupply, and refit if it is in the capability of the world in question. This is guaranteed by both decree from a host of the highest authorities of the Imperium and from the implicit threat of an angry Astartes chapter at your door denied the services they demand. Many chapters rely on this implicit agreement to keep themselves well supplied with void craft and there is a causal relationship between the availability of high capacity fleet refit yards or forge worlds and Astartes fleet dispositions throughout the Imperium. The Death Spectres are known to value their void craft above almost all other considerations due to the absolute paucity of sufficient fleet refit yards in the Ghoul Stars. The Minotaurs, on the other hand, are suspected of having several refit yards available to their exclusive use on high decree and thus are well supllied with void craft of both capital and escort class. As the Taurans began their tenure of their home planet, _________ ( I need to come up with a name), they found themselves almost immediately drawn into fighting a succession of Ork Freebooter Warbands cruising the Trans-Pacificus Warp Routes in the slowly growing absence of Imperium Pacificus patrol squadrons. A series of running void, astroid, and planetary battles saw the Taurans smash a succession of Ork fleets and drove a variety of Freeboota Clans back to the so-called Gut-Stompa Nebula. This was a blessing and a curse. It bought the Taurans the gratitude of the surrounding sectors, and established them as one of the principal military protective powers of the region. On the other hand, the shattered Orkish fleets found themselves easy prey for the up and coming Ork Freeboota Warboss Kaptin' Blitzram who, by dint of Orkish logik, was now bigger and stronger than all of the surviving conpeting Kaptins'. When the Orkish fleets next emerged from the Nebula, they came with hundreds of Kruiser analogues. The resultant WAAGH Blitzram smashed into the the spinward Pacificus and savaged several worlds before Pacificus resources could be rallied from Hydraphur. The decades of warfare that followed saw the Taurans become experts in Anti-Orkish void warfare and counter-sieging Orkish attacked worlds. The bitter lessons of the Blitzram Armada were three-fold. It had become increasingly clear that Pacificus resources were no longer being tithed to the defense of the Imperium at large and were instead being hoarded by individual governors, potentates, and rogues. World after world had established what they considered a strong fleet presence only to have it smashed aside by massive Waaagh! battle groups. It wasn't until Segmentum command forced individual sector lords to give up their fleets did the tide turn. Secondly, the Taurans found their own fleet refit capabilities lacking. The Ork ramships of Waagh Blitzram seemed to relish targeting Astartes ships as "Dey wuz the best fightin' any of the zoggin' boyz had ever had." The Taurans eventually found themselves limping from battle to battle - sometimes engaging an Orkish fleet while Ork boarding teams were still being hunted down in the lower decks of their battle barges and strike cruisers. The Santa Invictus, a strike cruiser usually assigned to the 5th company, fought no less than 3 separate void engagements with an Ork ramship buried in it's starboard side before it could be recalled to __________ for refit. Lastly, and perhaps most tellingly, the Taurans, Fleet Pacificus, and various local Astra Militarum battlegroups increasingly found themselves isolated without the slow reinforcing waves of resources typical of escalating Imperial threat response. Catachan Jungle Fighters sourced for the defense of the Thebian Marche found themselves instead seconded to the Sector Hadex reserve as the self-proclaimed Sector Overlord Bartaigne sought to carve more power for himself from his neighbors. The Frateris Templar 5th Order, assigned to the same defense, saw itself drawn into the Cardinal Wars of the Saint Florentine Schism. This failure of the Imperial Cog-Martial was instrumental in shaping the looming Tauran Conflict (Some would say Tauran Heresy although most Scriptorum Dogmatists insist the Tauran actions did not rise to the level of Heresy).. The Cog-Martial, a now anachronistic term used at the time to describe the process by which the Munitorum escalates responses to threats, had left the worlds around the Gut-Stompa woefully undefended. The Taurans, in the proud history of the Astartes, stepped in. Chapter Master Navarrez Martell, originally a Crimson Fist, launched the Taurans into a decades long martial, spiritual, logistical, and naval effort to defend the Imperium. While Battle Companies found themselves on constant patrol and leading counter-invasions against the ramshackle Speek Freak tribes that festered in the wake of Blitzram, reserve companies defended vital worlds and trained Planetary Defense Forces in the defense of their worlds. Slowly, the Taurans turned a sector of space into the hardest nut the Orks of Waagh Blitzram had ever attempted to crack. When Blitzram crashed into the so-called Martell Wall, the resultant war made waves as far as Nova Terra and Hydraphur. This is not the time or place to recount the war, but it highlights the sheer brilliance and terrifying ferocity of an Astartes Prolonged War. For reasons of propaganda, morale, and religious dogma, Astartes operations are usually depicted as quick actions against a key weakness in enemy lines. The righteous judgment of the Emperor destroys the enemy in a single decisive engagement. Although this is often rooted in truth, the Adeptus Astartes are just as capable of waging long war as they are key strikes. The Tauran Stampede, as it is sometimes called, is the culmination of several decades of training, hit and run raids, recruitment efforts, naval mining operations, decapitation strikes, defenses-in-depth, and sheer Astartes ferocity. An unbiased account would accord the young chapter all the virtues and terrible auras of the Emperor's Angels of Death at their finest. Jaghatai Khan and Rogal Dorn would look favorably upon them in equal measure. Blitzram ran into traps, void ambushes, mine fields, and well disciplined PDF regiments bolstered with Astartes training and strike teams. It was a massacre. The counter attack cleansed four Orkish worlds with significant human populations and actually expanded the borders of the Imperium in the Gut-Stompa Nebula. Although the war would cost the Taurans dearly and necessitate a desperate search for increased resources, it is one of the few unequivocal victories of the Interregnum era. As the sectors suffering under the predation of WAAAGH Blitzram were finally liberated, several world became beholden to the Tauran Astartes for their defense and for their salvation. Thus, the Empor's Angels of Death slowly supplanted the Imperial Cult or the Imperial bureaucracy as the principle object of their veneration. The Taurans could now count on 6 other systems aside from their own to supply them with resources according to their need and according ability. The Tauran fleet was another matter. Although their capital losses had be slight during the war, the Taurans were almost bereft of escorts and most of their capital class vessels were little more than floating wrecks. It was projected that Santa Invictus, Don de Imperator, and The Khan Unbowed would all spend decades, if not centuries in Tauran refit yards before they would once again be able to ferry their terrible cargo to distant battlefieds. Then the Ur-Council declared independence. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ EDIT: phew, didn't mean for that to be this long, but I'll let it stand. Zhiv, I'll address your thoughts tomorrow. Thanks! - Vae Victis

Good points, Zhiv! Thanks for the feedback. My general idea was that neutrality was the initial stance taken by the taurans. If the initial founding ideas meet with approval, we can discuss how that neutrality was eventually violated - by either the Taurans themselves or by the factions involved in the Nova Terra Interregnum. As for the 8 systems, I perhaps didn’t make it clear that it was more of a core defensive sub sector the Marines were guarding - the systems weren’t direct vassals like the Ultramar region, but more of a statement of core Tauran interests. Think of the Monroe Doctrine of the early 20th century in America. The Taurans, perhaps haughtily, declare that these now 8 systems, including this new strategic asset in the fleet yards, are guaranteed by the Taurans. They, OF COURSE (wink wink), have no intention of turning these systems into vassals, but no one should mess with them. They are important for defense from Xenos threats - perhaps a burgeoning Orkish empire on the region. Again, none of this has to make it into the final IA article. I’m just building a complete history that we can lose, redact, and otherwise obscure. Basically, the Taurans are drawn in to the Interregnum by degrees until, perhaps they go too far - prompting an Astartes response. This eventually propels them on their ongoing crusade. Again, we don’t have to use this idea at all. If someone can come up with a cooler story, I’m all for doing that.

Yeah, I’ve tried to set them up as victims of circumstance. Young, inexperienced (by Astartes standards) and perhaps a little haughty. This will get them into a situation a more level headed chapter would have avoided. It is unfortunate they find themselves it’s the crossroads of competing empires. Wars of a Faith especially can be quite messy. I’m sure more than one Frateris Templar fleet has disregarded delicate political balances and the neutrality of third parties.

Heyo, double post. So Apologist has been doing wonderful things with the Nova Terra Interregnum over at his Alien Wars blog in Works in Progress. I spent the night reading that, and I gotta say it's almost daunting to live up to that level of writing. Regardless, I figured I'd give it a try. +++Tauran Astartes+++ The Tauran Astartes, alternatively known as The Taurans, are a chapter of unusual history, if not particularly notable founding. Born in the centuries immediately preceding the Nova Terra Interregnum, they were founded less as a response to a direct need, and more as a general replacement for chapters deemed lost, corrupted, or simply killed outright. Surviving records indicate the Taurans were most likely drawn from White Scars gene seed, but were not staffed exclusively from White Scars and successor veterans at is outset. Whether this was a rare bout of experimentation on the part of the Adeptus Mechanicus, or if it was a calculated attempt at ameliorating the distrust some felt at the more unorthodox chapters of the Imperium is not known. The Roll Call of Founding, an ancient and short lived custom where newly founded chapters are named in great ceremony and detail, lists no less than 4 different Astartes chapters providing veterans to guide the Taurans through their founding years. While some of the veterans hailed from the White Scars and Rampagers chapters, the majority of founding cadre were Crimson Fists and Black Templar Astartes in a move that puzzles scholars to this day. Perhaps it was an experiment conducted in determining if the nature of an Astartes is bred into his gene seed or if it is fostered by his training. Perhaps it was simply a case of wishing to produce more Imperial Fist successor chapters but having scant resources to do so in the wake of the recent War of the Beast. Whatever the motivation, the mix of White Scars gene-seed combined with Imperial Fist upbringing produced a young chapter that was quick to anger, stubborn, honor bound, and perhaps exceedingly independent - even by Astartes standards. The Taurans almost immediately drop out of the histories for several centuries only reappearing the outset of the Nova Terra Interregnum by dint of their proximity to the de facto border between the two Imperiums. Like many of the Astartes chapters of the time, the Taurans assumed a posture of neutrality and focused on the neglected tasks of Xenos extermination and patrol of now abandoned invasion routes. Perhaps unlike many other chapters, they aggressively declared their neutrality in person to both the High Lords of Terra and the Ur-Council on Constantium. Even more surprisingly, they took the opportunity to claim the world of El Nuevo Domum and its attendant tertiary Fleet Pacificus Naval Refit Yard as Protectorate Inviolate. This stretched the Tauran fiefs to 8 systems and provided them with greatly enhanced fleet repair, refit, and augmentation abilities. In the chaos of the early secession, neither side was willing to risk an Astartes chapter openly declaring for their enemies, so the act of aggression was overlooked or studiously ignored. That's what I have so far for founding. I was intrigued by the idea that a White Scars founding is probably relatively rare at this time. It seems like it takes some time after the Heresy to get over the mistrust the HIgh Lords have for any legion not named Imperial Fist, Blood Angel, or espeically Ultramarines. Another idea I like is that relatively rarely do we see an exceedingly young chapter interacting with the Imperium at large. Just how much does a chapter trade on it's history and battle record and how much does a chapter simply have sway by dint of being Astartes? I'd really like to explore that and a chapter's early history more than the Charcharadon-esque crusading fleet banishment of later years. Again, your thoughts are always appreciated. I may be shouting into the void, but I welcome all counter-argument, feedbnack, and outright rejection of my ideas.

Yes, I have lived through spousal illness, and it’s a nightmare. My sympathies Commisar Molotov. That said, let’s sssign this chapter certain baseline characteristics before we move forward. For instance, does this chapter still exist? Has this chapter continuously existed since its founding, unlike say, the Raptors (arguably). Is this chapter still loyal to the Imperium? Is it still considered loyal by the Imperium at large? I’d say the answer to all these questions is yes. More controversially, we can ask certain other questions. Does this chapter have a home world? Does this chapter still possess it’s world? Is this chapter fleet based? Is this chapter significantly divergent from Marine norms? To answer those questions above, I’d say yes, no, yes, no as simple answers above. Perhaps we could agree on these simple questions before we get too deep into the weeds of lore - despite what I’ve previously posted as personal preference. Again, this is in the service of a group consensus. If there is no group, then this becomes, by default, a personal Liber article. However, a three person group is still a group and can still produce wonder fiction for the betterment of the community.

I’ll have to look st Kill Team Blackthorn then! I actually have a spare marine on the painting table I’m considering making a Tauran. Since I’m just getting back into actually making armies and stuff for this hobby I’m torn between Scythes of the emperor and Taursns, lol

History is not a neat story that wraps itself nicely and presents itself to us for interrogation. It is serpentine, twisting in and out of view and influenced by events big and small. Even in a universe as seemingly moribund and static as the Imperium of Man, things change. An all encompassing treatise on the Taurans is as impossible as an all encompassing treatise on the variations in religious worship of the Emperor practiced across the Imperium. Instead, we are forced to look at snippets. I posit that an IA article is only a snippet in time. Even a chapter as well established as the Ultramarines may look VASTLY different if viewed in snapshot at the close of M34 instead of in M42. Narrative cohesion may not be necessary in something as short as an IA article. They can be simultaneously fiercely defending their homeworld, and have totally abandoned it to its fate. We are covering 8 thousand years so it's easy to create the impression that something happened to the chapter without spelling it out. Perhaps the author of the IA article assumes you know that the Taurans lost their home world in the Nova Terra Interregnum because they took on the Ecclesiarchy after the later violated the declared neutrality of the Taurans. Perhaps there are certain bed-rock constants we can agree on. The summary on page 1 is a good start. Honor duels can perhaps be a thing that the Taurans have always done. Obviously their gene seed is either White Scar or it isn't. So, in the interest of progress, lets pick say 5 things we will agree on as constant virtues or vices this chapter has and agree to them so we can start world-building for this chapter.

I read it as the topic not being dead, but that I shouldn’t get too carried away and wait for others to weigh in. That said, it sounds like I could be waiting a while.

Hi everyone! I’ve been a long time lurker. This thread has always interested me, but it’s apparent death (or at least hibernation) has finally prompted me to make an account. If the thread is too far gone, then so be it, but story telling is the foundation of our hobby and I think we’ve got the bones of a good story here, one I’d like to see completed. That said, I think we need to focus on origins and causes of The Tauran’s current condition, whatever that ends up being. Even if their origins remain mysterious in the eventual final product, a clear starting point in our minds provides plenty of opportunities to leave tantalizing hints at what was or what might yet be, even if it not explicitly spelled out from our perspective in the 42nd millennium. As I’ve been reading, there are a few themes that stood out to me. The first, and perhaps too obvious, is the bull motif. As has been noted, bull motifs appear throughout human history as signs of strength, virility, and perhaps a certain recklessness (bull in a china shop). Of course, as has already been mentioned several times, overtheming is a danger when you are given so little to work with. Instead of addressing heraldry directly (although there’s a story there I’m sure), perhaps we can look to the story of the Old Bull and the Young Bull. For those who are not familiar with the story, the two bulls are standing upon a hill spy a herd of heifers behind a fence. The young Bull exclaims “let us charge down the hill and together we can smash through the fence! For our effort, we may lay with a heifer each.” The old bull replied, “ let us walk down the hill, take a drink at the stream, go through the open gate over there, and we may lay with all the heifers” Althoguh I am uncertain of the etymology of this story, it’s meaning is clear - the wisdom of experience yields greater rewards than the brash enthusiasm of youth. Since the Taurans are tentatively described as “steady,” it suggests that they were not always so. Perhaps brashness and hot headed youth has led them to their current state as a crusading chapter? Leaving aside the bull motif,we need to nail down when and why they were founded. Armies are a product of their times and the cultures that make them. I think I’ve seen the 4th or 5th founding suggested for the Taurans. This places their founding pretty solidly in M32 or maybe in early M33. The Imperium is a VERY different place to the Imperium of even M35 or M36, not to mention our current timeline. Rogal Dorn himself ordered the creation of the 3rd founding, and Vulkan takes part in the War of the Beast directly preceding the 4th Founding. There are still primarchs alive (maybe) who remember the Heresy, and the Traitor Legions are still reeling from their defeat. Further more, it is not at all clear how widespread Imperials dogma of the current age has supplanted The Imperial Truth as accepted doctrine by this time. The Nova Terra Interegnum looms on the horizon and the Age of Apostasy will follow shortly there after. A new chapter (perhaps one of the first created whole cloth from gene tithes) is a very different chapter than the ones that come before. Imagine being one of the first chapters to exist that wasn’t founded in some way by veterans of the original legions? Even relatively new chapters like the Scythes of the Emperor are founded by old veterans of the legions and they are only founded at the very beginning of M32. The dreadnoughts of other chapters earned their honor on the Wall of the Emperor’s Palace and here you are, a blank slate. How tempting it must be to strive for glory, for some small measure of notoriety that in truth you will never achieve? How galling it might be to be assigned “border patrol” for lack of a better word when your fathers discovered and conquered and fought and died in the greatest endeavors and the greatest tragedy humanity has ever endured? Space Marines are an interesting subject because they are simultaneously hard to relate to for their sheer super human qualities yet they are almost pitiful creatures in truth. Free from the human condition in so many ways, yet doomed to a Sisyphean task of fighting wars that will never end. They possess no urge to reproduce, and fear does not guide their actions. They share more in common with the mono tasked servitors of the Imperium than they do with a mortal man. What then is left to a marine in this new Imperium? Not long before their advent, the legions fought to make the galaxy safe for humanity. The dream of the original legions would have culminated in them beating their swords into plow shares had it ever been achieved. All that a marine of this period has left is the dawning realization that his services will always be needed, and he clings to human notions of honor, and fidelity, and the moral rectitude expected of his status in an Imperium slowly going insane. To draw this back to the Taurans and to some of the themes you all have discussed, I particularly like the idea of a Moorish or Iberian theme. Medieval Spain is a fascinating place with clashes of cultures and religions that will give rise to what must have seemed an unending conflict between Islam and Christendom. Inquisition, Muslim conquest, Christian re-conquest, and the dawning of the age of discovery with all the horrors visited upon the New World by Spanish Conquistadors. The more I think of the Taurans, the more I think of Don Quixote. The Taurans are a chapter born in the wrong era. Filled with the lore of the original legions, they strive to live up to the ideals and deeds of their heroes in an age that no longer allows them to. An honor bound chapter - perhaps some would say honor obsessed - soon find themselves caught up in the Nova Terra Interregnum on what would now be described as on the wrong side of history. That story hasn’t really suggested itself to me yet although perhaps the hapless Mantis Warriors of the Badab Wars might provide a guide.whatever their early history, it results in them losing their home world either temporarily or permanently. This brings me to my last historical inspiration for the Taurans as they have sort of formed themselves in my mind. In the Muslim invasion of the Iberian Peninsula in 711 CE, Tariq Ibn Ziyad is said to have burned his boats. In 1519 AD, Hernan Cortes, the Spanish Conquistador who would go on to inflict such misery on the people of the New World, is said to have burned his ships so that his men would have to conquer, or die. I see a young chapter, caught up in events, clashing with the Frater Militia of the Ecclesiarchy during the Interregnum over a matter of honor - perhaps justly, perhaps unjustly. What follows is part Badab War, part War of Faith. This is their baptism by fire into the steady crusading chapter of today. Whatever the story, at its conclusion, they leave their home systems behind, burning their monastery as they go forth to conquer or die. I’ll wrap this up now, but since I like to hear myself talk, I’ll leave you with a few more thoughts. The Space marines are often portrayed as either jack of all trades marines (Ultramarines) or super specialized (Alpha Legion). In reality, they are masters of all trades in warfare. To the enemies of the Imperium, it makes virtually no difference if the marines assaulting your stronghold are White Scars or Imperial Fists. Both sides are more than capable of deploying awesome siege warfare or lightning quick hit and run strikes. I’ll admit that it’s fun to imagine a marine chapters preferred method of warfare, but to anyone except another marine, it’s probably an academic difference at best. The more you emphasize one aspect of their warfare, the more avenues for story telling you wall off. Phew, that took a while. I hope you’ll forgive my enthusiasm.