Hey everyone here is the fluff for my Nurgle DIY chapter I created basically they are a bunch of necromancer space marines who inhabit the halo zone using hordes of the undead against their enemies got the idea for them as I am a big fan of Vampire counts but have not really got into fantasy just since no one a my club plays fantasy (much rather play Warmachine or the odd game of
40k) plus getting the fantasy rule book plus some more vampire count models would cost a bit. (have the current army book and the battalion which has been a big help with my Nurgle army)
It is not perfect so there might be some little mistakes or stuff that doesn't make sense if so just say and I can try to fix it.
The Ghost Knights
"At the far edge of the Segmentum Pacificus lies the dreaded Halo Zone. Rumours abound that it is haunted by ghosts and horrors that exist outside of the shining light of the Emperor's Astronomican. Lord Solar Macharius could not even enter the region because his troops were so fearful of the rumours of ghosts that bring death."
Battle cry: "Death Walks with Us"
Origins and fall to Chaos
The Ghost Knights were a noble and zealous fleet based chapter who were founded during the 23rd founding to patrol the edges of the Segmentum Pacificius tasked with protecting imperial worlds near the Halo Zone. Once held in awe and respect by those they protected following their fall those few imperial worlds they were tasked with protecting are now dead worlds with no signs of life at all, with the story of the Ghost Knights all but lost spoken in hushed fearful horror stories of vengeful wraiths who inhabit the Halo Zone with a hatred of the living. Only the inquisition as well a few space marine chapters know the truth behind the horror stories and are dedicated to destroying all traces of the fallen chapter least they become too much of a threat to the Segmentum Pacificus. Slowly the Ghost Knights are growing in strength more and more ships around the Halo Zone are disappearing without a trace while entire worlds are going silent with their populations vanishing without a trace most disturbing of all is that before most of the planets went silent there were distressed transmissions of the dead rising from the grave being led by ghosts.
Nearly six hundred years after their founding the Ghost Knights received a distress call from one of their primary recruiting worlds; a space hulk was slowly drifting towards the planet with all those who entered it disappeared. Librarian Michael Alexander leads a small strike force to cleanse the Space Hulk inside they find it teeming with disease infected mutants, fighting their way through the mutants Michael leads the strike force into the center of the space hulk where they find a Chaos temple with a rusted plague infested altar saturated with dark sorcery. As the Ghost Knights prepared to destroy the temple, the mutants summoned a plague ridden greater Daemon which slaughters over half the strike force. Grievously wounded by the Daemon, Michael summons all his magical power unwittingly tapping into the power of the chaos altar in an attempt to banish the Daemon. Though it nearly kills him Michael unleashed a powerful magical blast that destroyed the chaos temple as well as banishing the greater Daemon, with the destruction of the Daemon the surviving members of the strike force destroyed the hulk taking their fallen brethren with them. When the strike force returned to their chapter Michael was harshly screened for any taint of chaos, whilst there was no evidence of any taint unknown to the rest of the chapter he begins to hear voices of comfort and reason in his head who he believed was from Death who the Ghost Knights worship.
In the next two hundred years with the guidance of the voice in his head, Michael rapidly rose through the ranks of the chapter gaining great honour and glory for the chapter eventually becoming Chief Librarian with many of the chapter believing that Michael was favoured by Death. When he became Chief Librarian he also became the spiritual leader of the chapter's death cult with the entire chapter seeking guidance from him including the Chaplains, through Michael's spiritual guidance other members of the Ghost Knights began to hear the voices until it spread to the entire chapter. Through the voices the chapter slowly realized the truth of the galaxy that the Imperium of man is a lie and the Emperor has abandoned them.
Michael eventually became chapter master after the previous one under guidance from the voices stepped down for the favoured one (as Michael was known), under his leadership the Ghost Knights began spreading their cult to all their recruiting worlds preaching that death is inevitable, it is only through the worship of death that you will be saved from a hostile galaxy of lies and deceit with those who fall in his name are reborn as holy deathless warriors. With their recruiting worlds converted to the glorious worship of death they began to amass an army of faithful who were utterly dedicated to the Ghost Knights, launching a crusade to spread the worship of death they began to convert the worlds they were tasked to protect to their cult attacking those who resisted.
Eventually Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus shocked at the heresy of the Ghost Knights declared them traitors amassing a massive imperial army with elements of the Black Templars to purge the tainted Ghost Knights eventually bringing them to battle on the Hive world Skanda. Even with their zealous followers the Ghost Knights were nearly utterly defeated by the superior might of the Imperial army with only four hundred battle brothers remaining lead by Michael who was wounded by an Emperors Champion. In desperation the Ghost Knights called out to their God for salvation it was then they discovered the true identity of their God Death who was Nurgle the God of death and decay, knowing there was no turning back they resolved to die fighting to the death than to be executed without honour. Whispering to Michael the voice which was Nurgle showed him that if he gave himself body and soul to Grandfather Nurgle then the Ghost Knights would be saved, knowing he would be damned for eternity but desperate for his chapter to survive Michael agreed. Nurgle increased Michael's sorcerous powers tenfold who immediately channelled all his powers into a psychic shockwave which not only opened a warp rift from which a horde of Nurgle Daemons emerged but it also dragged the souls all the dead back into their bodies in an unholy parody of life (or unlife) bound to the will of Michael. Facing the combined might of the Ghost Knights and their unholy allies the Imperial army was utterly destroyed with the dead being added to the horde of undead. After the battle the remaining Ghost Knights swore themselves body and soul to Nurgle fleeing to the Halo Zone on their remaining ships taking with them their army of the undead establishing a stronghold in the Halo Zone from which they launch raids against the Imperium spreading the cult of Nurgle using the dead as a weapon.
Fleet
The Ghost Knights were and still are a large fleet based chapter that recruited from worlds that they protected, with their fall to chaos they have become deadly raiders that strike Imperial world spreading the gifts of Nurgle by converting any they capture to the cult of Nurgle. They have been known to target worlds that are holy to the imperium with the goal of converting that world to the cult of Nurgle coming into conflict with the forces of the Ecclesiarchy who utterly abhor the Ghost Knights seeking to purge their corruption once and for all. Though most of their fleet was destroyed during there their fall to Nurgle, the Ghost Knights have rebuilt their strength capturing many Imperial ships including the Emperor Class battleship "Glory of Macharius" now renamed "Spectre of Decay" which serves as the personal flagship of Michael Vilepox always seen at the head of the Ghost Knightâs plague fleet. Unlike other ships, those of the Ghost Knights are entirely crewed by the dead raised into unlife by the Chapters foul Sorcerers with only a few squads of Ghost Knights and Dreadnoughts on board. Not only are the undead great slaves able to do any task given to them and remarkably easy to replace but they also form a determined defence against any foolish enough to board a ship belonging to the Ghost Knights.
In the haunted Halo Zone in a graveyard of ships both imperial and Xenos lies the colossal space hulk "Necropolis of Despair" a truly vast behemoth which serves as the Ghost Knights base of operations. The dead roam the plague choked corridors whilst mighty forges produce countless armour, daemon engines and weapons for the chapter's unholy crusades, in the centre of the hulk lies a vast temple dedicated Nurgle. The Halo Zone has always been known as a region of ghost by the Imperium which the Astronomican cannot penetrate as such any imperial fleet becomes lost and disorientated with their Navigators unable to guide them through the warp falling easy victim to the Ghost Knights ships which are guided by Daemonic sorcery.
Combat Doctrine
The Ghost Knights were a highly secretive and fiercely independent chapter who rarely allied themselves with others and even then were known to abandon their allies in battle to fulfil their own agendas or goals resulting in the near destruction or their allies as such they came to blows with many chapters and the Inquisition were about to investigate the chapter before they turned traitor. They were masters of urban combat being as silent as death itself striking from unexpected positions sowing terror into their enemies. They used stealth as well as hit and run tactics to disrupt their enemies leading them into carefully planned killing grounds where they would use heavy firepower to decimate their enemies before launching devastating counter attacks.
They still generally follow the same tactics since their fall to chaos though now they make a large use of daemon engines as well as using daemons and the undead, they make extensive use of viral weapons using created plagues to decimate their enemies as well as covering the battlefield in a toxic fog. On the battlefield the Ghost Knights fight like rotting spectres striking at the enemy position under the cover of heavy bombardment sowing their deadly plagues weakening the enemy before disappearing like ghosts where they overwhelm the enemy with recently reanimated dead led by chaos sorcerers and plague marines who drag down the enemy. The Ghost Knights have been known to ally themselves with other chaos renegades most notably taking part in the chaos invasion of the Sabbat worlds though the chapter only fights alongside others if it furthers the Ghost Knights goals. During the early stages of the Macharian Heresy the Ghost Knights took advantage of the chaos, raiding many worlds coming into conflict with many space marine chapters including the Minotaurs and Black Templars before being driven back into the Halo Zone by their parent chapter the White Consuls.
Organisation
Being an Ultramarines successor chapter the Ghost Knights followed the Codex Astartes although they had a large number of Librarians. The organisation of the Ghost Knights mainly remains the same since their fall to Chaos though now their chapter is led by Michael Vilepox once Chief Librarian now a mighty Plague Marine Sorcerer known as the Liche Knight who the Ghost Knights are utterly loyal to believing him to be favoured by Nurgle. Since they are no longer able to recruit new initiates into the chapter due to the corruption of their geneseed they have been known to capture space marines from other chapters to corrupt them to the worship of Nurgle becoming part of the Ghost Knights. Most disturbing of all is that the fell Sorcerers of the Ghost Knights use dark necromancy to bind the souls of fallen space marines into their bodies forced to obey the commands of the sorcerer. The Undead space marines are a deadly force to fight against as they are near indestructible with their superior resilience due to being dead combined with their corrupted power armour with only the total destruction of their plague ridden and disease infested bodies or the death of the sorcerer who guides them being able to stop them. They wield rusted bolters that fire putrescent slime covered bolts that are infected with all kinds of deadly plagues or diseases which eat through all but the heaviest armour with not even power armour proof against them. They relentlessly shamble across the battlefield firing as they slowly advance overwhelming all in their way dragging down those foolish enough to fight them in close combat.
Beliefs
The Ghost Knights were a dour chapter that fanatically revered the Emperor as the god of death making extensive offerings to the fallen believing them to live on as spirits who possessed the wargear and armour of others. With their fall to chaos the Ghost Knights realized that Nurgle is the true god of death who they fanatically worship spreading the plagues of Nurgle bringing death and decay to all life in the Segmentum Pacificius. Their Chapter was governed by a Mortuary cult in which Chaplains led countless services making offerings to the dead and holding strange funeral services in which ashes of the fallen were merged with newly forged armour and weapons so the spirits of the fallen lived on to bring death to the chapters enemies. The Ghost Knights revered their Librarians as much as Chaplains as spiritual leaders since they had the powers to communicate with the dead not being held in suspicion or mistrust sometimes even leading companies. Their leader Michael Vilepox is revered as a holy prophet by the Ghost Knights for opening the eyes of the chapter to the lies of the Imperium and the Emperor as well as leading them to a God that loves them.
Geneseed
The Geneseed of the Ghost Knights was that of the Ultramarines from their parent chapter the White Consuls who have sworn to hunt down and destroy the Ghost Knights. Once pure and stable being free of any mutations with their allegiance to Nurgle the Ghost Knights Geneseed has been tainted as well as corrupted.
So what do you think is there anything you like or don't like or what I can do to make them better.
Cheers
