Perth

Here's my counts-as Lias, as I don't play actual Raptors. Knife hand is Sternguard I believe, the backpack is stolen from the Iron Hands Deathwatch character and trimmed down. Looks like he'll be seeing even more play this edition.

Hey guys, I'm considering delving into 30k with the XXth Legion. I'm familiar with the background fluff, but not as up to date on the tabletop rules of the Alpha Legion and had a few questions I hope you guys can help with. 1) What are the common list themes? Is infiltrating blocks of infantry the only way to go, or can mechanized approaches work well? Drop Pods? 2) Is Alpharius decent at 2000 points? Obviously the higher the points limit the better he gets with his army wide buffs, but how is he out of the gate? How is he most often used? 3) Are there any other books besides 1 and 3 that contain useful units?

They do use them, as little as possible, but they are used in order to function. They don't like it, but there isn't really a choice. That's where the Tau come in. As I understand it, the fact that the Tau Empire preforms all of those functions without the aid of psykers would be common knowledge, at least to Space Marine chapters. If you're looking for a way to free humanity from dependence on psykers, the natural place to start would be the only race that has been shown to manage such feats in recent times. I also assume the Iron Men could do the above without psykers, although that's a much muddier slope. And yes, the Apothecarion is most definitely busy, although I think a test per month would be a little extreme. I'd say it'd be likely to be one for every marine upon returning from deployment, while the rest of the human serfs are tested as seen fit. For instance, a serf on board a Battle Barge that sees plenty of Warp travel would be tested far more often than a serf that mans the Storm Forge or it's defenses. The why I've mentioned, they're looking for a way to not use psykers and Tau are the logical choice to seek out first. The how is trickier. While they haven't been outright caught, I have included a bit about the Inquisition suspecting alien tolerance and cooperation, although they don't have solid proof yet.

It's been a while since I came back to check this, guess I missed a post. I think I agree about the rules, they'll be removed, breaks the flow. As for what happens to discovered latent psykers, it depends. Low risk would likely see the Marine given a chance to go out swinging with a suicide mission, otherwise they'd be executed by an Apothecary when discovered. Their remains would be burned and gene-seed not recovered, as they're kinda paranoid about that.

Made some spot edits and included a couple tabletop special rules.

That does sound better, thanks!

Oh I didn't take any offense! 40k fluff is so confusing at times (at least to me), I'm not surprised that I miss implications here and there. Also, changed the founding to the 22nd, and added in a list of what exactly a full strength company is composed of, from Scout Marine to Battle Barge. Those numbers are loosely based on what the Ultramarines are said to possess, which is listed on their Lexicanum page.

The Ultramarines claimed to founded 23 chapters, during the 2nd founding, but did not list them all. So it’s reasonable that these “could” be one of them. Being an Ultramarines successor chapter it could be interesting to explain why they have diverged from the codex so much. It was written by their Primarch after all, it seems strange for them to ignore it without a good reason. Maybe it was due to lack of numbers, due to the great battle of Paragus, made them change out of necessity? Or just the nature of the theses battles made them concentrate their armour more? According to the Lexicanum, there are 15 named 2nd founding Chapters descended from the Ultramarines, leaving 8 open spots. Still, I'll change the founding to a later date to free up those spots as now that I examine it, my Chapter doesn't really benefit from being that old. As for breaking from the standard organization, that's really a personal choice I made based on the aesthetics of a Company. I just like the idea of having permanently attached veterans and scouts and if you try to squeeze that in to 100 Marines it starts to get pretty restrictive. Also given the stated capacity of a Battle Barge (up to three Companies), it seems to fair pretty well that one of my larger companies would fit quite nicely, with a little extra room to bring along a few extra tanks or other nifty toys. Transferring that into fluff is a different story altogether though. As I mentioned in the description, more troops under one unified command allows for a little bit easier coordination when preforming maneuvers on a large scale, especially without having to rely on help from outside the chapter. But that is kind of a weak reason on it's own, so I believe what I'll do is when I'm writing the piece about Garrand, I'll address that the main reason that he was able to gain a foothold within the hive was through the incompetence of Guardsmen or PDF forces, probably through some mind controlling/fogging spell shenanigans. Then having those same Guardsmen/PDF forces hinder the Chapter again in actually reaching Garrand. End result: The Stormborn weren't quick enough, Garrand rolls three natural 20s on his Mind Nuke with a little help from Tzeench, Company is wiped out, Chapter places a lot of distrust on humans who could have potentially been exposed to psyker non-sense, and thus adjust their doctrine to require as little outside aide as possible. Getting that story ironed out though is probably something that will have to wait until after finals. This has been great though, any other suggestions or comments about what I have so far, or the little outline about Garrand above? Edit: Oh, and as for favoring the mechanized approach more, that's just an effect of being based in a mining system and having access to plenty of raw materials. I'll have to expand on that and note that it's balanced out by having less of a pool of humans to recruit from.

Index Astartes The Stormborne Knights Space Marines Chapter Origins The Stormborne Knights was one of many Chapters created during the 23rd founding, hailing from the gene-seed of the Ultramarines chapter. Although it is rumored that due to the huge demand for geneseed during the 23rd founding, the chapter was instead sired from a mix of multiple Ultramarine successors Homeworld The Stormborne Knights watch over the Paragus system from their base of operations, a heavy orbital defense station known as the Bastion. The Paragus system is very rich in minerals, and mining is the driving force of the system's economy, although due to the mostly inhospitable nature of the system's planets, it is relatively lightly populated. Out of the system's twelve planets, ten are deemed uninhabitable. With the exception of the two habitable planets, Iremia and Eirini, the system's population is contained on hundreds of mining stations positioned around the other planets or asteroid belts. Of these planets, the Chapter reaps the majority of its recruits from the death world of Typhon, nestled within one of the central asteroid belts. Typhon is a volatile planet comprised of over 90% water and plagued by near constant hurricanes. What little light that penetrates the dense asteroid field and reaches the planet is often blocked from the surface by thick storm clouds, with lightning flashes providing the most constant source of illumination. While it is believed these storms are the cause of magnetic interplay between the planet and it's surrounding mineral rich asteroids, little research has been done to confirm this, as the Stormborne heavily restrict access to their precious recruitment world. Human life is only supported on the planet's largest land mass, the slightly calmer central region of this area is the focus of most of the warfare between the planet's tribes, as it provides the most steady food source. A small Stormborne Knight outpost is maintained on an island far offshore to monitor the natives and collect any promising recruits. Combat Doctrine Due to the Stormborne being based in a mineral rich system, their armories tend to be slightly larger than those of other Chapters. This is a double edged sword however, as the harsh enviroment of the Paragus system, Typhon especially, results in a very small pool of possible recruits with limited opportunities to replace fallen battle brothers. Due to this, the Chapter's combat doctrine to focus on speed and mobility, striving to never over-commit and take unnecessary loses and waste the Emperor's gift of life. Tactics such as ambush attacks at night and assassination of enemy leaders are also often employed to tip the odds in the Brotherhood's favor. On the battlefield mechanized Tactical and Devastator squads are closely supported by fast elements such as jump pack equipped Assault squads, land speeders, medium tanks and gunships. Drop Pods are rarely used due to the risks involved with the exception of Dreadnoughts, whose mentally unstable nature sees them deployed often in a suicide role as one last act for the Chapter. Terminator armored Veterans may be called upon to aid their brothers, deploying in via Land Raider or teleporting directly onto the field of battle. Such action is not undertaken lightly however, as loses of Terminator armor cannot be replaced by the Bastion and the Brotherhood is often overlooked for resupply of the precious suits in favor of other, more well known Chapters. The Stormborne utilize nearly all of the vehicles typical of a Chapter of Space Marines, although with a clear preference to the faster vehicles such as Land Speeders and gunships of all kinds. Stormborne Techmarines have even produced several sanctioned modifications of the Valkyrie class gunship for rapid transport and support. These new gunships are void capable and have proven to preform adequately enough to see service across all companies of the Chapter. Organization The Stormborne Knights are organized into five Companies of two hundred Marines. Exactly why such a decision was made is unknown, although it is theorized that the reasoning was to reduce the need for outside support and to better match the capacity of a Battle Barge. Each is a self contained unit, containing its own veterans, recruits and armory. Each Company is headed by a Captain, and a Lieutenant, who serves as the Captain's direct subordinate. Training of recruits differs slightly from the methods prescribed by the Codex Astartes, as rather than have a young Marine serve as a Devastator, Assault, and Tactical Marine in the course of his final stretch of training, each the skills of each graduating Scout Marine are analyzed and then that Marine is permanently assigned as a Tactical, Assault, or Devastator marine. If a Marine is to be promoted to Veteran status, he earns the right to paint his helmet with a special pigment, mixed with the crushed bones of the Veteran's preferred enemy. Veterans and other distinguished Marines are given the honor of a suit of Mark IV armor, which the ancient forges within the Bastion can still produce, if only in small amounts. As an example, at full strength the 3rd Company of Stormborne Knight Space Marines consists of: Infantry: 100 Tactical Marines 30 Assault Marines 30 Devastator Marines 10 Terminator Veterans 30 Scout Marines Armory: 10 Land Speeders 10 Rhino Transports 5 Razorback Transports 2 Dreadnoughts 5 Predator Tanks 5 Whirlwind Tanks (including anti-air variants) 3 Vindicator Tanks 1 Sicaran Battle Tank 1 Land Raider 4 Thunderhawk Gunships 6 Thunderhawk Transporters 5 Valkyrie Gunships (modified) 3 Stormraven Gunships 6 Stormtalon Gunships Support Staff: Captain Morvund Garand Lieutenant Saul Perth Champion Stelio Kontos 1 Chaplain 5 Librarians 5 Apothicaries 10 Tech-Marines Numberless Servitors and Chapter Serfs Fleet elements: 1 Battle Barge 2 Gladius Class Frigates Numerous Void Defense Craft Beliefs The Stormborne Knights hold the view that unnecessary casualties are the most dishonorable of all, as they waste the gift of creation bestowed upon them by the Emperor. As such, the Brotherhood frequently engages in tactics such as assassination, concealment, ambush, secrecy, sabotage and perhaps most "dishonorable" of all, tactical retreat to tip the odds in their favor. In contrast to this, allied Imperial Forces have noted the Stormeborne Knights fighting furiously to recover the bodies of their dead, even going as far as air or artillery strikes to annihilate the body of a fallen marine as opposed to allowing it to be recovered by the enemy. Gene-seed Due to their rather stable geneseed of the Ultramarines, all of the organs and abilities granted by the induction process. It has been noted on occasion that the marines of the Stormborne Knights appear to be slightly taller than average, and also act independently more often than typical of the Ultramarines and their iron bonds of loyalty. Chapter Motto “The storms of Typhon do not yield.” Notable Battles The Hydra Rebuked: After suffering extremely heavy losses fending off an Ork Waaagh that had wandered into the Paragus system, the Stormborne Knights pulled back all of their forces to the Bastion to begin an extensive period of regrowth and repair. It was then that an unknown splinter of the traitor Alpha Legion took this chance to attempt to seize the system. The Heresy era flagship of the renegades jammed all communication from the Bastion to outside aid, the Stormborne were on their own. Despite only numbering about 150, the Stormborne held fast as the guns of the Alpha Legion fleet and the Bastion exchanged volleys. The defenders cut down wave after wave of traitorous guardsmen, only to be met soon after with the real challenge in the form of Veteran Alpha Legion kill teams stalking the halls of the Bastion. As the last of the Chapter prepared for their final stand, it was only by the grace of the Emperor that the shields of the traitor flagship had been breached. As their only means of escape took salvo after salvo, the Alpha Legion kill teams were teleported back on to the ship, which in turn retreated into the warp. Although the price was high, reinforcements eventually arrived to find that the Stormborn Chapter still lived on, bruised and bloody, but ready to rebuild. Creator's Notes Any comments or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

Forge Lords Appearance: The plates on Forge Lords power armor are left unpainted and trimmed with decorative bronze. Squad markings are painted black on the Marine's right shoulder, with the Chapter badge of a blacksmith's hammer striking and anvil on the left. Veterans are presented with a helmet of bronze upon promotion. Commanders earn the right to wear a black cape, and exchange for red upon promotion to Captain. Organization: The Forge Lords chapter is divided into seven companies of Space Marines, rather than the standard ten. Each is a self contained fighting force composed of 150 battle brothers, in addition to support personnel such as pilots and tank crew. Each company contains 70 Tactical Marines, 20 Assault Marines, 20 Devastator Marines, 10 Sternguard Veterans, 10 Vanguard Veterans, and 10 Terminators, often used as honor guard. The companies are each led by a Captain, and a subordinate with the rank of Commander. The Captain of the first company also serves as the Chapter Master, but in truth holds little more power than any other Captain, serving only to settle a rare dispute between the other Captains. Each company also contains a Master of the Forge, who commands a small army of service crew and servitors. He oversees not only the maintenance of the Company's armor and weapons, but also serves as the Captain of each company's warship. Due to the betrayal of Malphistar, no Librarians are employed by the Chapter, and the sole Chaplain rarely leaves his post within the Crucible. The Crucible : The Crucible is a large space station currently in orbit around the third planet in the mineral rich Ademyte system, located near the southern border of the Eye of Terror. It is a mix of repair station, defense platform, and factory. Nearly all equipment utilized by the Chapter was manufactured within it's forges, it also houses the geneseed gifted from the Ultramarines chapter in the 23rd founding. Equipment: Even when compared to other Space Marine Chapters, the Forge Lords are well equipped. Each squad of marines has access to a Rhino, which can be hastily modified into a Razorback on short notice. Depending on the Captain's preference, each Tactical Squad is equipped with either a special issue weapon such as a Plasmagun, and a heavy weapon, or a pair of special weapons. Each company also boasts an impressive selection of battle vehicles, such as Predators, Dreadnoughts, Land Raiders, Whirlwinds, Storm Talons, and most notably, Vindicators. Bikes are viewed as impractical and rarely employed. Tactics: The tactics of the Forge Lords are well suited to siege breaking and demolition. Drop pods are rarely used outside of securing a landing zone for transport craft. Once in contact with the Imperial Guard command, the Captain will decide how to split his company, often in two with his Commander leading the second detachment, and rarely more than three. The exception to this rule is the Sternguard, who are often deployed independently from the rest of the Company as a Special Operations kill team. Fleet: The Forge Lords Chapter boasts a fleet consisting of four mighty Battle Barges, accompanied by numerous support craft such as Thunderhawks. Beliefs: Forge Lord philosophy centers around the cooperation, but distinct difference between man and machine. As such, a Forge Lord marine will honor his armor for the abilities it gives him, but see it as just that, armor rather than himself. Bionics are never employed by the Forge Lords unless to replace a body part necessary for battle. Religion: The Forge Lords are notedly nonreligious. They respect and honor the Emperor for their creation and his power and sacrifice, but do not treat him as a god. While maintaining good ties with the Adeptus Mechanicus, and respecting their gift of knowledge, they also do not worship the Machine God. It is the view of the Chapter that time spent in worship, rather than in training or combat, is wasted. Recruitment: Prior to the Betrayal, the Forge Lords would recruit from the populace of their home system of Ademyte. However, the actions of Malphistar left the impression that Ademyte was too close to the Eye of Terror's chaotic energies, potentially tainting recruits. As such, recruitment has been shifted South-West to the Arnil system. Training: If an aspirant survives his initiation, he is first deployed to the Chapter training grounds on Ademyte III, where he will participate in field drills and wargames with other trainees, and occasionally regiments of Imperial Guard. It is in training that it is determined what role the future Marine will take for the Chapter, be it Tactical, Devastator, or Assault, rather than progressing through all three roles. Once the trainee is determined to be ready by the Master of Recruits, he is assigned to a Scout squad and deployed into the field. Most aspirants will die in their time as Scouts, however once sufficient experience has been gained, the survivors are assigned to fill a vacancy within a Company, and become full Battle Brothers. Scout Organization: The Forge Lords have no specific Scout Company, nor are Scouts assigned to a specific Company. Rather, Scouts are dispatched in small groups to battlefields across the galaxy, serving as special assets to Imperial Guard commanders. Scout Sergeants are regarded as the most experienced within the Chapter, and hold the most honor with the exception of Captains and Commanders. When the Forge Lords set to war, it is almost always at the behest of a Veteran Scout Sergeant.