Recquisitions

"Commander, what happened on Tenga VII? Your report was rather vague, and we could have used your warriors at the Eastpoint."

"Apologies, General. En route to the rendezvous point, we received word that one of our scout forces located a lost cache of Astartes wargear. We moved to intercept, and retrieved several dozen nearly pristine suits of advanced power armor from a crashed and nearly buried transport. All unused, but marked with a Chapter badge we have been unable to verify. Our armorers are currently reconsecrating the suits, and searching any info-daemons out before recoloring for the Storm Fists, and issuing to our brothers."

"A lost Chapter? What were their colors, their badge? Perhaps one of my command have information on them."

"We appreciate your assistance, General. They were a charcoal grey, with the mark of a burning book..."

Reflections on home

"Tell me of your homeworld, Commander" she asked.

"The Chapter is my home, our fleet ever searching for the world our Chapter built it's fortunes upon for thousands of years. Someday we will find it, and reclaim what cruel fate tried to deny us."

"I, however, originally hail from a world of mighty trees. As tall and nearly as wide as a hive city, and much more densely packed. We lived and built our villages among the branches, never seeing the ground. We lived a simple life, harvesting the fruits that grew around us, and hunting the mega-rodents and birds that lived around us. And we warred, all the tribes were constantly seeking more stable branches further inward towards the trunk. Tribes that were driven out had to move further along the thinner branches, or move further down, into the shadowed depths."

"There was a serious bout of branchrot infesting the trees when I was recruited, many of the tribes were being forced to move closer to the trunk, and were getting into conflict with those already in place. Many bloody battles were fought, and the Storm Fists took advantage to find the best of the young warriors. We were taken up and ascended, and have never been back to that world. I never even knew the Imperial name of it."

Storm Fists, how to not Veteran Sergeant

When I recreated my Storm Fists, I wanted to somehow show that they were a Chapter rebuilding itself after devastating losses. One way I settled on was to not have any Veteran Sergeants in the battle or reserve companies. Bites myself in the ass a bit during game play, but that is what happens when you try to build a "fluffy" force.

My line of thinking goes this way: A Space Marine is selected as a Sergeant, and is presented a custom weapon, depending on his squad role and personal temperament. Tactical and Devastator squad leaders usually get a combiweapon of some sort, and assault squad sergeants tend towards a melee weapon. Exceptions occur, of course. The biker squad Sergeant is technically an assault squad, but has a combimelta.*

*Unless I go with my plan to have all the bike squads from the 6th Company, in which case he is a Tactical Squad Sergeant.

Now, what happens when a Sergeant proves himself enough to become a Veteran Sergeant? Normal Chapters will likely paint his helmet or give him a special badge. What about joining the First Company? Tradition points as that being a possible step too.

Well, the Storm Fists have a different tradition. In order to ascend to the Veteran Company, a Space Marine has to perform a tour of duty with the Deathwatch. As in the background I wrote before, they have lost their history, so they spread their warriors far and wide, questioning all their Killteam mates about any history, legends, or tales of when their Chapters fought alongside the Storm Fists.

Now, requests for Space Marines to join in a Deathwatch Killteam don't always come as quickly as some potential Veterans may wish, so the Chapter keeps such warriors in their original company, but acting as Command Squads. Once the Ordo Xenos alerts the Storm Fists of a requirement, the Chapter Council will select appropriate members to assist in the mission.

Once these warriors return to the Chapter, they are debriefed by the Chaplains and Librarians, any possibilities noted and cross referenced to other information collected. Then the Space Marine joins his newly assigned squad in the First Company.

Pic of my Sternguard squad from a while back, a few of which are rocking their Deathwatch shoulder pads.

Schemes

"No, Master, please no!!!!"  The messenger's plea quickly devolved into a horrendously long and pain-filled death scream, eventually ending it's atonal assault as a quiet death rattle.

Mannfred von Carstein, Mortarch of Nagash, until recently the master of Sylvania dusted his hands over the dessicated remains of his spy. With an imperious gesture, he flicked a speck of necromantic energy into the corpse, directing it to get back to it's feet and join the massing zombie regiments.

How could this be? Vlad had been back for less than a year, torn screaming from the realm of the truly dead by their mutual Master, and yet he has managed to secure through guile and negotiation what Mannfred had been denied for nearly half a millennia of bloodshed and scheming. Vlad had managed to stumble into the perfect way to restore his fortunes, luck of the damned and pure happenstance, that is all it could be, Mannfred told himself.

And yet, in the darkest corner of what remained of his soul, a doubt lingered. Vlad was his bloodfather, the font of darkness that had started Mannfred's own journey into true power. Could it be that despite, or even because of his years beyond the living world, that Vlad's power, his intelligence, his sheer will to rule had emerged intact, perhaps even enhanced?

Vlad was now officially an Elector Count of the Empire. His name was now on a very short list of souls that could inherit the title of Emperor, once Karl Franz died. He could deliver the Empire to their Master's embrace merely by waiting for one mortal to eventually succumb to time, and what was time to the dead? The very thought of how he was cheated of his rightful place threatened Mannfred's long-suffering calm, and he resolved to once again bring Vlad to his deserved death. He had managed it once before, he just needed the opportunity to do it again...

The Dig

Captain Sylon was enjoying the view. Rare was the day when he was permitted to make a planet drop into an uncontested area, and even rarer was he allowed to sit guard duty with almost no chance of combat. The Space Marines were shock troops, and always either in the fiercest of conflicts, or traveling to their next mission.

For now, however, the Third Company of the Storm Fists were enjoying the peace and quiet of this secluded valley, as their Techmarine brothers ran scanners over every inch of ground. According to records they had appropriated, an unknown Chapter had fought around this area, and had taken significant casualties, many years prior. Sylon did not know if they would find anything useful here, but was determined to give his investigating brothers as much time as they needed.

An abrupt shout from up the hill drew the attention of several brothers. Sylon jogged up the hill, hearts beginning to beat with excitement. The Techmarine was fiddling with his scanner, apparently trying for a more detailed report. "Brother, we have a significant item here, roughly the mass of a Land Raider, but irregularly shaped. Current depth of 32.8 meters is consistent with expected erosion rates for this particular landscape over the intervening five thousand thirty-eight years. Digging servitors and a Techno-exorcism team have been summoned."

As Sylon returned to his watch post, he was in good spirits. The Chapter might, or might not recover a missing piece of their history, but they were definitely adding a new weapon to their arsenal.

The Duel

It was over almost as quickly as it started.

One minute a Minotaur Sergeant was denigrating a Storm Fist Sergeant, throwing the most slanderous comments. Insulting his Chapter, his honor, his very skill in battle. The next minute there was a ring of power armored bodies surrounding the fighters. Much to everybody's surprise, the combat barely lasted fifteen seconds. A quick fist to the jaw lead to a bronze form being thrown over the shoulder to the ground, and a very quick, very brutal blackened boot stomp to the chest.

As Sergeant Menides coughed up great gobs of blood, the bronze armored Minotaurs regarded their Storm Fist "allies" with new found respect, and a slight amount of wariness...

Storm Fists Fluff

One of the things I changed with the new version of my Storm Fists was their background. I wanted to make it so I could test out different Chapter Tactics, or if I got really crazy, try other Codexes. First thing to go was their link to the Imperial Fists... But I didnt want them to be the typical "we dont know where our geneseed comes from, and we dont care", like the Red Scorpions or other Chapters out there.

So, this is what Ive come up with so far. Like my colors, this might change a bit still...
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The Storm Fists are an ancient Chapter, that much is obvious. They are mentioned in battle reports and histories across the galaxy, some dating back over eight thousand years, yet their own archives are barren, having only notes and firsthand records from the past seven hundred years. 

What is known is that about a thousand years ago, seven companies were attacked and destroyed on their Chapter Planet, with all records, relics, and materiel destroyed. A single distress call was sent, and received by the remainder of the Chapter. When the Storm Fists arrived, they discovered a charred husk of a planet, and a massive Chaos fleet waiting for them. 

Deciding it better to conserve their strength and claim vengeance when they were better prepared, the Storm Fists withdrew. However, the Thousand Sons were not done yet. They pursued and dogged the loyalists at every step for over a century. Setting traps at jump points, and attacking when the survivors attempted to collect supplies, the Storm Fists were whittled down to just over a company. Eventually, the Thousand Sons called upon their daemonic allies, who managed to breach the Gellar field, and gain access to the battle barge's Librarium and Reclusium, burning all the remaining relics of the Chapter to ash, before being banished.

Finally deciding that there was no hope to rebuild with being constantly pursued, the Storm Fists made their final stand on an airless moon. As they waited for their doom, they discovered the Thousand Sons had abandoned the chase...

As the Chapter began to rebuild, they discovered that while their brothers were battle hardened, they were all young (by Space Marine standards), none having known where their homeworld was. And with the loss of their histories and relics, there was no way to know where they came from. This could not stand, so their new Chapter Master declared a quest, for the Chapter to search high and low, leaving no stone unturned in their quest to reclaim any and all knowledge of their origins and history.

Fluff Purist, what does that even mean?

So, I was having a nice chat with @Curis on Twitter about Space Marine color schemes, and he told me about the new colors for the Howling Gryphons. I mentioned that I preferred the brighter schemes, and he said he liked the newer "grittier" colors. He said "Ahhh, seems you prefer the GW aesthetic." My reply was: "I am a fluff purist first, and just happen to prefer my models to be visible from low orbit."

Ive been thinking since then, what exactly does that mean? Obviously I like the fluff, or Id be playing a different game. Do I turn my nose up to fan produced material? No... Does it have to appear in a codex to be "canon"? No, the Horus Heresy series likely broke many people out of that trap. Do I ignore Forge World material? Obviously not. So, what exactly does it mean, and more so, what does it mean for me?

Ive been known to say "no fluff like the old fluff" from time to time, and my choice of preferred chapter reflects that in a way. The Red Scorpions almost fell into the same pit as some other chapters (Rainbow Warriors, Flesh Eaters), and it took Forge World looking for something to claim to save them, but even if they hadn't, I think I would have eventually come around to them.

By now, everyone has heard that Forge World is rewriting one of the greatest battles of "recent" 40k history, the Badab War. I read earlier that they are changing the story some (Not just the Space Sharks, heh), so that the Red Scorpions have a major involvement. They had been just protecting shipping from the Executioners chapter before (plus the mysterious Angstrom Incident), and now it looks like the final battle of the campaign was Culln verses Old Man Huron. Quite a jump there, right?

Normally, contradictions in the fluff are ignored, the passage of years invariably gets some facts confused, but this is somewhat recent history and is a major jump for my chosen chapter. So, looking at it through the fluff, how did it go? New Fluff trumps old fluff, right? But GW trumps Forge World? The GW stuff is two decades (at least!) older?

Ive decided, screw it, learn to love the Newspeak (doubleplusgood!). I may be cherry picking the fluff I adhere to, but history is written by the victor (or sometimes the survivor).

And for the record, I still prefer the "clownish" red and yellow scheme for the Howling Gryphons.

What does everyone else think? Where do you fall in the fluff spectrum?

New Army Idea - Circle of Blood

I had this idea last week, and meant to put it up before now, but obviously I got lazy. Another fluff idea, but no need for a paint scheme, they are still World Eaters, just with a bloody circle as decoration where possible.
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Even the mindless violence that is the Blood God of Chaos occasionally needs specific targets removed with little collateral damage. Whether its the removal of an enemy leader so that one more in line with Khorne's wishes ascends, or preparing a future champion for a life of hatred and bloodshed by destroying all they love before their eyes, the potential is endless. The average Berserker is ill suited for this role. Likewise, the daemons of Khorne are not known for their ability to reign in their bloodlust once the primary target has been removed. Thus, the Circle of Blood.

This warband follows signs and omens across the galaxy, making surgical strikes and small raids as their lord demands. Their name comes from a bizarre effect upon the battlefield: as the World Eaters prepare for the charge, a large circle of blood appears close to the person they are there to kill. The World Eaters make for this unnatural landmark and slaughter all around it, throwing the bodies into the circle. Once the being that Khorne has targeted has been placed in the circle, it vanishes, taking the corpses with it, to feed the daemonic legions. Once the circle has gone, the Khornate marines take care to leave the battlefield, inflicting as few casualties as possible, for none know why the Blood God aimed them there, just that he did.

While the average guardsman or space marine might not be able to tell the difference between the typical Khorne Berserker and a Circle of Blood Berserker, there are differences in the training, indoctrination, biological modification, and (most importantly) worship practices. The Circle's warriors veiw Khorne as the patron of the application of military force. Of course, this does not preclude them from enjoying the slaughter, just that they tend to have more control.

Lord Commander Hondus Ect

Hondus Ect is the current Chapter Master of the Red Scorpions Space Marine chapter. He has held this prestigious position for roughly ninety years now. He was promoted to the position upon the death of the previous Lord Commander, from his position as Commander of the second company.

Scant hours after the ceremony, the Red Scorpions were called in to aid against the Astral Claws, in what would become known as the Badab War. Due to the Red Scorpions reputation as being suspicious of all other Imperial fighting forces, and the perceived lack of experience of their Chapter Master, they were assigned mainly to space lane duties. This did not stop Ect from proving his worth, as the Executioners received no mercy during their battles. To this day, even though the Executioners have received the Emperor's forgiveness, there is a bitter hatred between the Chapters.

Ect believes in complete tactical flexibility, and that the word of the Codex is the only word worth listening to. He, like the vast majority of the chapter, are mighty and proud warriors, and fight viciously to preserve their honor and the honor of the Emperor. Ect bears the traditional blade of the Lord Commander, the 'Imperial Might', an ancient blade said to have been presented to the first Lord Commander from an unknown source. He normally takes to combat with a jump pack, willing and able to commit anywhere the fighting is thickest.

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I decided to build Ect when I was looking at the VSgt Culln model, but I knew I had to make some changes. I decided to use the shoulder pads from the tac squad upgrade kit, since they are fancier, and the helmet from there as well, since the Aquila was larger. I decided against a grenade launcher and digital weapons because they seem a bit too sneaky for the Red Scorpions. I figured Id better give him a decent melee weapon, since he will be assaulting more often with a jump pack. My first though was a Lightning Claw, since Im not a huge fan of giving models with a higher initive a power fist. Once I decided on that, I was torn between a stormbolter or a combi-weapon of some sort. I finally decided on the stormbolter, since the bolter portion of the combi-weapons are rapid fire (and that means no charging). However, as I was locating bits, I discovered one of those large power swords from the Ravenwing sprue... and his lightning claw was instantly replaced with a Relic Blade.

When I get around to ordering more bits, I plan to make a foot version of Ect, though that may be more interesting, as Im going to have to "greenstuff" details on the legs, like the fancy kneepads and the emblem on his leg.

Red Scorpions Fluff

So, I mentioned that Ive been doing a campaign badge on my small Red Scorpions force, a white star in a white circle, that looks kinda like an Old West Sheriff's badge. As anyone who is familiar with the way they work knows, the campaign badge is used to mark all the forces attached to a specific campaign... So, obviously, there will have to be other Imperial forces, right?

So enters the Cadian 42nd. Ive already got some models around, but Im mainly waiting until the Imperial Guard codex gets updated to actually get to work on them.

The story is that in the Ultima Segmentium, just a bit to the south of Ultramar, there is a small unnamed (for now) Imperial system thats been under attack by undetermined foes. The system is small and poorly populated, but contains significant amounts of mineral resourses. The Red Scorpions 5th Company were the first responders, and the Cadian 42nd is the first wave of Imperial Guard support. Until the IG arrives in force, the Space Marines are fighting in a reactive manner, protecting the locals and their mines where they can. Once the Imperial Guard is in position to protect the miners and their works, the Red Scorpions will hunt down and destroy the invaders.

Quick and easy, right?