"We are the playthings of fate, a great joke the gods have devised to amuse themselves. I will not die as someones entertainment."
- Chapter master Rokurou Caras
In the Grim Darkness of the 36th Millenium there is only war...
The Imperium of man, the last bastion of Human kind, is beset on all sides by enemies. The foul xenos, the Orks who would see the galaxy aflame. The Eldar, mysterious and untrustworthy, they manipulate mankind and attempt to turn us against ourselves. These and others seek the Galaxy for their own, they seek a Galaxy where the Imperium of man is no more. Then, there is the terrible influence of the warp, bringing mutation, insanity and death to the citizens of the Imperium. Foul daemons seek hosts to posses, and worlds to raze and corrupt in the name of their terrible gods, accompanied by those who have comitted the ultimate sin, traitors. Chaos space marines, corsairs, foul heretics and renegades all. Their hate for the Imperium festers in their Eye of Terror, and they sally forth from it to raid and pillage and destroy for their dark gods.
How can The Imperium withstand such threats? There is but one force in the Galaxy who can brave all these terrors and more, the Space Marines. The Sons of the Emperor, the Angels of Death, it is theSpace marines who push back the myriad terrors of the Galaxy and protect the realm of the God emperor of man from those who seek its destruction. However, the number of space marine chapters is not hardly enough, and these resplendent warriors are forced to choose only the most desperate and urgent warzones, and it is said there may be one space marine for every planet in the Imperium... if the Administratum is to be believed. In addition, as the millenia have passed, many Space Marine chapters have been the subject of suspicion, not only because of the horrible event that spawned the principle traitors, but also for the growing genetic deviancy of many space marine chapters. The Red Thirst and Black Rage of the Blood angels, the Imperial fists and their succesors lack of several Space marine organs, and the continuing degeneration of the Ravenguard's gene seed are but a few examples of the debilitating mutations that run rampant through the Chapters of the Space marines. However, a new hope has emerged, in the 21st founding.
The Adeptus Mechanicus have declared a new founding of Space marines, the 21st founding, the largest since the Second founding over four millenia ago. The goal of this founding is not only to bolster the numbers of the Space marines defending the Imperium, but to also cure the myriad genetic deficencies found in the currently existing chapters. It will produce the purest chapters since the Emperor himself created the ancient legions. These chapters will usher the Imperium into a new age, one in which the Space Marines will destroy our enemies, and the Imperium wil sit atop the smouldering ashes of the conquered.
Information
It is the 36th Millenium, and unbeknownst to the people of the Imperium do stand on the precipice of a new age, but not one of rebirth, it is the Age of Apostasy that approaches, but that is a story for another day. Shortly before this Age, the Adeptus Mechanicus saw it fit to attempt to fix the myriad genetic impurities in the Gene seeds of the spac emarines by creating a slew of new chapters using archaic knowledge found only recently. To this end, the 21st founding was launched, the Largest founding of Space marine chaoters since the second. However, though none yet knew it, the Mechanicus had failed... horribly. Nearly all the chapters created as a part of the 21st founding were subject to rampant, unexpected, and sudden mutation, bad luck, or simply insanity. What would come to be known as the 'Cursed founding', nearly all the chapters created turned to chaos, some were destroyed and a precious few would survive and remain loyal to the Imperium.
Because the records around this time have largely been purged, censored or simply lost it is unknown exactly how many chapters were created as a part of the 21st founding, and it may never be known, the Age of Apostasy caused a great loss of knowledge from this time and before. However, that does not make those chapters whose records have been lost and their stories any less important, both to the Imperium of man and the galaxy at large. This, is one of their stories.
The Warp Skulls were founded as a part of the 21st founding, and are a proud chapter of the Emperors finest. The year is 94.M36, 49 years after the 21st founding proper(The actual date of the 21st founding has not been stated in cannon, but as it was early M.36 and before the Reign of blood proper, I am placing it here). And now, the Warp Skulls face a critical moment in their history as a chapter.
In the year 86.M36 the Chpaters gene seed began to rapidly mutate, at a level the Apothecarium could never have predicted. In a few years, the Chapters marines began to manifest strange and spontaneous mutations, from third eyes and suckers on their hands to still stranger mutations. The most unique mutation manifested within the Chapters Librarians, who found their skin coated in a very hard and strangely flexible crystalline coating, as if the Mucranoid had secreted it and fused it to their skin. The Chapter master of the Warp Skulls, Rokurou Caras, decided he would need to hide these mutations, and to this end had the Apothecarium select only the purest gene seeds in their stores to give the tithe fleets when they arrived. However, this led to the consequence the chief Apothecary warned him of, and the mutations in their recruits only increased in commonality, and now there are more tainted brothers than pure ones. Now, the Chapter master himself has even mutated... and though it has been hidden well rumours have reached the ears of the Inquisition, that the chapter may not be so pure... the tithe will come early.
Chapter Master Rokurou Caras has decided enough is enough, and has called a chapter council, calling all Captains back to the Bastion of Arrogance... ALL Captains, including those currently engaged in theatres of combat. This was a council to decide the fate of his chapter and no war was more important than the one he knew was coming, this council would decide their fate, as a Chapter, as Space Marines, as brothers.
OOC Information
- This RP is the Story of the Warp Skulls, a chapter of the 21st founding, and their ill-fated odyssey through the galxy
- I would prefer potential players have a decent grasp of 40K lore, but it is not required and newcomers are welcome
- Characters need not all be space marines! The unique composition of the Warp Skulls and their relationship to the Mechanicus(AND the fact they are close with an explorator fleet) means that mechanicus characters are not only allowed but encouraged! HOWEVER all Space marine characters should be Captains, veterans, or other chapter leadership and all Mechanicus characters should be relatively high ranking.
- Violence is expected and encouraged, but don't go overboard
- We are NOT in the current time of the cannon, our adventure is about 5 millenia before current cannon in M36
- Characters will be accepted based on quality, not a first come first served basis.
- Our characters are expected to go through change as the RP goes, it is a tale of extreme change for the chapter after all
- This is a high casual to advanced RP, please pay attention to spelling and grammar, but I'm not gonna get mad for minor mistakes. At least a Paragraph per post but more is appreciated.
- Please try to post once a week, if you can't post please tell me so I know. If you are inactive here for 3 weeks(without letting me know beforehand) I will assume you are no longer interested and we will move on without you
- Combat won't be everything, Space Marines do other stuff, especially when they are no longer Loyalists
Rules
- Avoid OOC drama, handle arguements and feuds in pm's if you must, but don't muck up the OOC with you and your opponents word shanking contest
- DO NOT controll others characters without their direct consent. Feel free to control NPC's interacting with your character, but do not control other such NPC's not engaged with your characters.
- No mary sues, space marines are as flawed as anyone if not more so, and I don't even need to mention how flawed the Mechanicus are
- One character per player (I will allow exceptions, but you must run it by me and it is up to you to show you can control more than one character)
- In the end, this is my RP, so what I say goes. I will end any fights you have with eachother as I am the GM
- RESPECT MY CO-GM's, they are second only to me. Their word is equivalent to mine, if you have a problem with them bring it up with me, do not start a fight
Character sheets
Here are the Mechanicus and Space marine character sheets, post any characters in a hider in the OOC or pm them to me for approval before placing them in the characters tab
Warp Skulls information
Information on Chapter Organization, tactics, numbers, fleet size etc.
General Info
Battle cry: The Warp Skulls broadcast disturbing or terrifying sounds over their voxes at full blast(such as a bulkhead being explosively compromised during a boarding action), finding this far superior to to a traditional battlecry in demoralising their enemies.
Founding: 21st founding
Successors of: Raven Guard
Chapter Master: Rokurou Caras
Primarch: Corvus Corax
Fortress monastery: Ramilies-class Star fort Bastion of Arrogance
Strength: Over 3,000 marines
Specialty: Ship to ship combat, Boarding actions, 'Shock-and-awe' Operations
Alleigance: Imperium(under suspicion)
Colors: Midnight Blue, Skull white
Chapter Organization
The Warp skulls are organized very differently from a Codex compliant chapter, this may seem obvious from their much larger size.
Unlike the Standar 10 companines, Chapter command, Librarium, Reclusiam and Armoury of a standard chapter the Warp Skulls have just 8 Companies; The Headquarters company, Vanguard company, Sternguard company, Assault company, Devastator company, Tactical company, Engineseer company and Neophyte company. The Companies are for more maluable in alot of ways, their squads are suffled around wherever they are needed rather than kept in a cohesive company when in comba, allowing for more combat flexibility while also giving squad commanders a fair amount of operational freedom to complete their objectives. In addition, each company has a Lieutenant and captain, the Lieutenant being the Captains second in command and named succesor. Each Company, its strength, battlefield duties and other info below. Each Captain is also the Captain of a Strike Cruiser(players who are company captains may name their cruisers).
Since a short time after their creation, the Warp Skulls have attached themselves to a Mechanicus Explorator fleet, escorting it in its journey through the unexplored reaches of the galaxy. In return for this, the Mechanicus as well as the Explorator fleet itself has given much to the Warp Skulls, but that is for later, for now we discuss the Explorator fleet itself.
Mechanicus Explorator fleet
1 Ark Mechanicus
12 Strike Cruisers
24 Light strike cruisers
50 Escort-class ships
6 Factory Ships
6 Forge tenders
Warp Skulls Fleet
Ramilies-class Star fort Bastion of Arrogance
50 Strike Cruisers
