The Ghost Dragons

[Swamp Candle]

Is the name of my newest space marine chapter! and this time there's no controversy over their origins!

The current idea for them are that they are a splinter chapter of the Black Templars and they absolutely hate Tyranids. And thats it simple as that.



Oh and did I mention that they're Samurai's?

[ArlethVann]

The name is intresting. But how can they be samurai? Rogal Dorn was the leader of the Imperial fists, who in turn incepted the Black Templars. Black Templars are very european in theme, so how can a subsequent chapter have asian philosophy?

But, besides that why do Tyranids?

[darkreever]

If you are going to do a chapter with a theme like that then you would be best to have their originans coming from the white scars. (At the very least that would put them closer to such a theme.)

If your aim is for a crusading chapter than do realize that you do not need to come from the black templars for that to be so; its just that black templars are the strongest of the crusading chapters out there.

[Xerxes]

It's not a necessity to have the founding chapter similar in doctrine to the eventual chapter, maybe they adopted some of the practices of their homeworld over those of their parent chapter after experience of their own? Although it's difficult to see how the vassalage system of the samurai would really work in an SM setting, as they already have masters by default (and their geneseed), and so there's no real way of transferring allegiances or having ties to the locality and the family at the same time, which is what makes the (particularly Muromachi bakufu) samurai such an interesting political mix. Unless perhaps they continue to have ties to their particular households of their homeworld?

I'd love to see how you could implement the structure of the bakufu and such into a chapter (perhaps with an SM kamapku or shogun in the planet's local government too), I'm just not sure exactly how it can be done.

And ok, they hate tyranids. Why do they hate tyranids (more than any other Imperial, anyway)?

[Swamp Candle]

ok, comments taken onboard.

oh they hate 'nids because the nids were on their homeworld when they arrived, so they killed them, but they kept coming, killing a large portion of the chapter.

[AlbinoAlien]

Well it seems your pretty damn dead set on this. Uhmmmm hmm... so they are samurai? What does that entail? do they what? look like samurai? act like them? wield massive katanas? what? why is it essential they came from the black templars? it's gonna be hard (as stated above) to mix asian theme with european style.

And everyone attacks everyone in the 41st millenium. maybe a cooler reason they loathe the tyranids, besides that they kept coming and killing? (as tyranids regularly do this with everyone anyway)

[Imperialis_Dominatus]

Best reason to hate Tyranids: "I hate them not because they hate us, but because they lack good, honest human hatred." -Inquisitor Agmar.

But as stated, a background reason is cool too.

Personally I'd mix the 'samurai' background, specifically what Xerxes mentioned, into the history of their homeworld. This world would probably be conquered by the Templars in a Crusade; a Keep was left there, blah blah blah. For whatever reason, the High Lords decide a new Chapter is needed over thereabouts (near the Eastern Fringe if there's gribbly Niddy beasties), and the old Templar types take on new colors.

That is, if you insist on being a Templars successor. Dorn was originally very resistant to splitting his Legion, and I suspect that that stubborn trait of his successors might exist to this day. Not that there haven't been other Successors. Just that I think they'd be rarer, especially since the Fists can't spit poison or go into half-sleep.

[Nightclaws]

I wander about the bit about they landed on their homeworld, where there were Tyranids, killed them first, but they keep coming back...Provoked much? Although the Samurai idea is good, just more detail.
It would be intresting to see your marines with Katana power-weapons and Samurai masks.

[Swamp Candle]

sorry this is starting to annoy me, but whose writing this? sorry but this is my chapter so surely up to me what they're doctorine is like surely?

oh and mayve this is a reason to hate 'nids: it's their job? you know space marines, conquestors of all things not imperially you know?

[Xerxes]

Originally Posted by Swamp Candle

sorry this is starting to annoy me, but whose writing this? sorry but this is my chapter so surely up to me what they're doctrine is like surely?

Of course. But if you post it up on a public forum, expect suggestions and criticism. We're only making suggestions on how we think it could be improved. You are free to accept, develop, change or ignore them as you wish. But if you ignore them all, then why post them in the first place?

Originally Posted by Swamp Candle

oh and maybe this is a reason to hate 'nids: it's their job? you know space marines, conquestors of all things not imperially you know?

Yup. But then why single out the nids in particular for their hatred? Surely orks and so on are just as non-Imperial as the nids?