Okay, at first I was just trying to come up with an excuse to cherry-pick aspects of different chapters I liked, but then I stumbled upon a premise that I thought was pretty awesome by itself:
>What if a small group of Fallen Angels disguised themselves as a hermit-garrison of Black Templars, but then got roped into 'adopting' a bunch of Initiates and Neophytes whose leadership had died in battle?
Basically, the story goes like this:
>Imperial Fists establish an outpost in an out-of-the-way corner of an otherwise important border system during the Great Crusade
>Sometime during or after the Horus Heresy, the outpost is abandoned but left intact with some infrastructure remaining
>Later, a handful of Fallen Angels, regretful of their deeds but unwilling to face the harsh penance the Dark Angels would inflict on them, find the outpost.
>This band decides to maintain the chapel and meditate for the rest of their days, or at least until the followers of El'Jonson find them.
>When the locals find them first, they make up a bullshit story of them being honor-bound to fulfill some ancient oath Rogal Dorn made to watch over the system.
>Pass the centuries quietly talking turns in-and-out of sus-an hibernation
>Eventually a battered Black Templars strike cruiser limps into the system to recooperate after being separated from its crusade due to warp shenanigans
>The Templars suffered many casualties along the way, most importantly evey marine over the rank of sword-brother was dead
>Desperate for guidance, they investigate rumors of ancient warriors of Dorn slumbering within the system
>Awaken the Fallen, who out of panic fabricate an entire chapter of which they were the sole survivors
>The Fallen relent to the Templars' request to lead them, figuring that being forced to shepherd a bunch of irrational, fanatical warriors who want nothing more than to die for the Emperor was ironic justice at its finest.
What do you guys think the result would be?
>>45921540
I like it.
>What do you guys think the result would be?
I think that if they assume command eventually they'll get killed off in service to the Emperor. The question then becomes does their secret ever get passed on to the younger Marines? Or do they become one of those groups with an unknown chapter origin?
>>45921540
Thats honestly really awesome.
>>45921722
Hm...
You make a good point with their inevitable death in battle. If they die without any lasting impact, how is this chapter going to be any different from regular Black Templars?
Maybe if they stay at the base as a sort of "council" to educate and direct overall efforts, designating captains to carry out shorter crusades and bring back new recruits, there would be the potential for some kind of a conspiracy vibe.
What I'm most curious about is what they're going to teach their Chaplains...
One thing is that the majority of progenoid glands are going to be from the older marines. The Angels. So there's going to be a continuation of the unique characteristics of their geneseed if they implant them. And waiting to harvest Templar geneseeds is going to look suspicious, plus the Apothecaries may not be trained in the peculariaries of Templar geneseeds.
Worth thinking about for the future of the Gestalt Chapter, sourcing and recovering geneseeds.
>>45922775
How big a problem establishing an initial gene-seed bank will be depends on a number of things.
First off, how many of the Templar casualties had their gene-seed recovered? If the apothecaries were among the last to die, or the corpses could be preserved long enough to reach the Fallen, there could be more than enough gene-seed to double the new chapter's strength.
Second, how many Fallen were in this group? If it were 10-20, casualties among them would naturally have a significant impact on the chapter's gene-seed, especially if several die early on. But if there are only 5-6, it would probably take a deliberate attempt to propagate the Dark Angel gene-seed. (Perhaps even experimental methods that could introduce new mutations. Hmm...)
>>45921540
I fucking love it.
Add to this that all the Fallen are, even accounting for times held in abeyance, hardened veterans of a hundred futile charges and last stands.
The Templar remnants that limp to their door mostly consist of the fresh recruits with only a minority of old officers.
So by rank and seniority the Fallen end up as the majority of the command staff as they amalgamate.
This pisses the Senior Templars right off as they refuse to be subservient to a bunch of "shrine janitors" and "washed up old relics".
The Fallen make a compromise for the sake of cohesion and being brothers of "Dorn". They install a Council like arrangement not too dissimilar to the Iron Hands, although the similarity is a coincidence.
Skip forwards a thousand years.
The last of the Fallen died of battle wounds 50 years ago and his secrets went with him. He was smiling as he bled to death, he had beaten the system. He had escaped the Dark Angels, lived well, found redemption in his work left a legacy worthy of the Lion and of Luther and died on his terms. Fuck the system.
The gene-seed has hybridized, the code of the lion repairing the deficiencies in the Dorn code and patching the broken/missing organs.
To the gene-tithe it just looks like Dorn code has mutated into being fixed. It happens in isolated incidents. A full chapter being fixed is unprecedented but not astronomically unlikely.
The hybrids for the most part just think that they are Dorn-kin, only the chapter scholars looking at the early records find anything odd. Most of them just put it down to centuries of data-drift. every few centuries someone finds something odd in the records but for the most part its only tinfoil hat nutters who try to make anything of it and their concerns are dismissed.
>>45924447
I like it.
This idea is definitely starting to shape into something great. We should start thinking about more details, like a name and color schemes.
I think "Penance Guards/Knights/Monks" would work well: the Fallen would say they're penitent for the defeat which destroyed their fictional chapter, something the routed Templars could relate to. Later on, they'd be penitent because mankind in general deserves it.
As for colors, black definitely needs to feature prominently. Maybe with a touch of yellow to honor their "forefather" Dorn.
Oh yeah, one last thing: they should make a big deal about humility, and deliberately avoid basking in the glory that Space Marines generally bathe in. Their reasoning would be that "The Emperor knows our deeds, that is reward enough." But in truth, it's really a holdover from the days in which the Fallen feared attracting the eye of their former brethren.
>>45924447
>Only the chapter scholars looking at the early records find anything odd. Most of them just put it down to centuries of data-drift. every few centuries someone finds something odd in the records but for the most part its only tinfoil hat nutters who try to make anything of it and their concerns are dismissed.
>They create a kind of "Inner Circle" to investigate about their shadowy past, unknown for the rest of the chapter
>DA passed their memes through their genes.
>>45925526
>Then the new guy calls the inquisition.
>>45924447
Not sure about the hybridisation fixing things so cleanly. It should fix some stuff but cause messes elsewhere.
It's more.. more grimdark that way.
>>45924447
I'm seeing them go full monk.
Abbot instead of chapter master.
No new librarians brought into the ranks.
Shit loads of Chaplains and Tech-marines. Those versed in the works of the mirror image God that is the Emperor in all his forms.
Their home-world is enhanced by them. They are the education, medical and alcohol institutions of their world. They bring medicine, beer, learning and a kick ass creed of hell fire and passion. They are monks and they are knights and they build civilization even if it is just to further the ear effort.
Basic ranks are
Brother-Serf
Brother-Knight
Brother-Knight-Sergeant
Brother-Knight-Lieutenant
Brother-Captain
Grand-Master
Chaplains are now Bishops.
Tech-marines are now Brother-Scholars.
Librarians are Wizards (title discontinued)
They have a council. It's like the knights of the round table. Merlin/Myrddinwas their wizard. All had a voice but the king had final say.
When the BTs arrived it was all feudal and shit. Not even black powder. These hybrids have got it up to Civilized and slightly cyber punk and shit even if the social order is still basically feudal.
>>45925494
>constructive criticism
what is this reddit or something?
>>45925581
>The Inquisition quickly becomes an ally in order to dig up as much dirt on the Dark Angles as possible
>>45925592
I could see the idea of them at first building up the population of their homeworld, originally to serve as auxiliaries incase the Dangels attacked, but now seen as a duty to help their subjects of the Imperium.
>>45925986
A tradition of assisting the Holy Inquisition is intentionally formed in the chapter.
Originally to buy happy points in the occasion of ever being found out. Then because it was the virtuous thing to do and they were friends with half the moderate and humble inquisitors.
It also helps that they are balls deep in the Thorian Creed.
War-abbot rather than Chapter Master.
They wear sackcloth at home and battle mail the rest of the time.
The 41st millennium chapter sees Space Marines as a needed deviation. They have no purpose in a perfect world. No place in paradise.
>>45921540
>>What if a small group of Fallen Angels disguised themselves as a hermit-garrison of Black Templars
Fucking retarded already. Didn't even bother to read the rest.
At least other shitty snowflake homebrews are peoples' own creations. Yours is just some shitty abomination of you mashing together official stuff.
>>45926205
Your loss.
>>45921722
>Or do they become one of those groups with an unknown chapter origin?
>mfw the fluff is actually filled with many examples of chapters turning away from chaos and furtively seeking repentance
>>45926283
There's a reason your shit only got 16 replies in 5 hours. And there's also a reason you post shitty photos as reaction images.
They're both linked to you being a retard.
>>45926354
You seem salty.
>>45925526
>DA passed their memes through their genes.
>Meme seed, if you will.
This can't happen because nothing good can happen to any chapters that aren't perfect little ultramarines.
Actually, this is fucking awesome. I love it.
>>45926354
It isn't "my" thing. I'm not OP.
You're just salty and jelly about out Fraticelli Marines.
>>45921540
Okay but what is the point of all this?
>They die in the end
>There is no story or characters leading anything anywhere?
You said cherrypicking aspects but you didn't even write how these survived fallen have any relation with the newly acquired BT command.
You have to state these so it can became an idea, good start though.
If you want I can throw in some ideas out there(I have a thing for homemade chapters)
Right now I'm liking the idea of the mixing of gene-seeds to introducing new flaws to replace the old ones, but not so much the chapter going "full monk". The last thing the Fallen want to do is stand out, so they'd try to mimic the Black Templars as much as they can, while still subtly trying to inject their own ideals where possible. So, maybe more like the Knights Hospitaller than a true monastic theme.
>>45926720
Go ahead and pitch in; I'm generally curious as to where the premise will take us.
>>45927358
Creating new flaws would actually hide their old ones. It's a clever way of avoiding attention.
>>45921540
I like it! What sort of game were you thinking of using them in?
>>45921540
Great idea; run with it
In terms of Genesee the da and if don't have any specific requirements like the ba or sw; so I wouldn't go down the whole hybridization looks like dorn shenanigans.
Just have it that a minor percentage of the seed is da from the fallen while the majority is if. Over the years (after the last da died) =][= have been known to show up investigating the chapter due to some of The seed tithes being da in origin, or that the first chapter master made a ruling that no seed from the shrine guardians could ever leave the planet.
