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Howdy,

I’ve just started to get back into 40K and I was going to play Imperial Fists, basically because I thought yellow would look pretty cool on the tabletop. However I have been inspired by suggestions on how to create an army list which caters to my love of Dreadnoughts. So now I plan to create a DIY chapter based on the Codex but with a Master of the Forge HQ so that I can take a whole mess of my favourite tin cans.

Massive change of tac thanks to suggestions I've received. The following is still a work in progress but I thought you might like to see how it's comming along:

The Ferrus Fists

Origins
During the 25th Founding, Mahl’en Taar, the leader of Clan Drukaahl of the Iron Hands, formed the Ferrus Fists under an edict of the High Lords of Terra. While the exact reasons for the creation of this chapter are unclear the widely held view is that the Astropaths of Imperium felt that an increased presence in the Galactic South was necessary at that time. However rumours abound that that Mahl’en Taar petitioned the High Lords of Terra himself for the creation of the Chapter as he felt the Iron Hands’ refusal to accept the teachings of the Codex Astartes was not in keeping with what he perceived to be the Chapter’s persuit of perfection. Whatever the reason, Taar and a selection of his Clan’s Veterans were given leave to depart Medusa and strike out into the Galaxy to found their new Chapter. The way had been paved for them and the world of Tarosh in the Galactic South had been prepared to act as their home world.

Only a few short decades after their founding, the Ferrus Fists were called upon to defend the close by Forge World of Urdesh. A rampaging Ork Waagh lead by a boss named Skullthumpa was threatening the planet and the Ferrus Fists were well placed to respond quickly. Thanks to their familiarity with the technologies of the Adeptus Mechanicus the Fists managed to marshal the Adepts to quickly re-enforce strategic points and despite being outnumbered nearly 20 to 1 they fought a tactical retreat drawing the Orks into a trap from which they would not emerge. Despite their cunning, the Ferrus Fists suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Orks, losses felt all the more keenly due to the small numbers of the still embryonic Chapter. The Adepts of Urdesh were quick to realise the Chapters loss and in honour of the great victory fought on their behalf they scoured the battlefields for Marines who still bore the glimmer of life within them. These marines were quickly interred into finely wrought Dreadnought Sarcophagi commissioned to celebrate the Chapter’s endeavour on Urdesh.

Less than a century passed before the next major threat to the Chapter's continued survival arose. Mahl’en Taar had focussed all his efforts on rebuilding the fledgling chapter and had been blind to the slow spread of Chaos across the Sabbat worlds. It wasn't until the taint had become apparant on Tarosh that the Ferrus Fists turned their attention towards the problem. By then it was tragically too late and the Fists were forced to dig in and fight to defend as much of their planet as could be saved. The 2nd, 5th and 10th companies were garrisoned on Tarosh at the time of the decisive strike by the Chaos forces, and of these only the 2nd was at full strength. At most the chapter had 250 marines available to turn to the defence of the planet and Taar was forced to abandon thoughts of fighting back the assult and focus on keeping alive a bastion of humanity in the hope of rescue.

After 6 months of desparate fighting the first glimmer of hope arrived in the form of the return of the 1st and 4th companies. Though depleted and battle weary from their own campaigns they struck an unexpected blow to the forces of Chaos assailing the world and allowed the defenders on the surface some respite. Additionally they brought news that a Crusade to purge the Chaos hold on the Sabbat worlds was being readied for despatch under the command of Warmaster Slaydo. However it would be another 18 months until the first speartip of the Crusade would reach Tarosh.

When Brother Captain Cules of the Iron Snakes Chapter reached Tarosh, the Ferrus Fists were on the brink of being overrun. They had fought a defence of their continent for fully two years but their losses had been great and in a matter of days one front would doubtless faulter. Just in time, three full companies of the Iron Snakes broke through to the surface of the planet and, supported by the Imperial Guard, secured the Fists positions and began to drive back the tide of Chaos. Eventually the planet was cleansed and with the return of the reamining Ferrus Fists' compainies the Crusade moved on leaving the broken Chapter to begin the process of rebuilding, both is own ranks and it's Home World.

Home World
Tarosh is located in the Galactic South between the Sabbat Worlds and the area known as the Veiled Region. When it was first settled by the Ferrus Fists it was a lush, agricultural world populated by Farmers and clans of Hunters. The technology brought by the Fists helped the world to thrive and it became prosperous though trade with the rest of the sector.

However, the ravages of the chaos invasion have corrupted much of the planet. While the taint has now been purged, vast areas of putrid swampland persist where fields and orchards once grew. The continent of Maiz, where the Fortress of the Ferrus Fists resides, is the only land mass untouched by Chaos but the effects of the wars fought on its shores are plain to see. Factories built to supply the defenders of the continent dominate the landscape and huge quarries have replaced many of the fields. The Ferrus Fists work now to rebuild their shattered planet and restock their depleted Chapter.

Combat Doctrine
Despite their low numbers the Ferrus Fists remain a highly active Chapter, their focus on perfecting the art of warfare serves them well in this respect. They specialise in delaying tactics, defense actions and cunningly conceived traps where their lack of numbers do not count against them and their talents for the tactical aspects of warfare can be brought fully to bear.

One resource the Chapter can boast an excess of in comparison to other Chapters is Dreadnoughts, many of whom survive still from the defense of Urdesh. These venerated and revered battle-brothers are employed surgically in the battlefield and act as much of a talisman to their own forces as an omen of doom to their enemies.

Often Dreadnoughts will be held in reserve until a turning point in the battle appears and they will swiftly be deployed to simultaneously strike a decisive blow to the enemy and inspire the Chapter's warriors to new heights. Few enemies can stand for long in the face such a lethal combination and this tactic has become synonymous with the Chapter earning the nickname "The Forge and Furnace".

Beliefs
The Iron Hands before them were dedicated to the eradication of weakness, however the Ferrus Fists express this innate desire, as a drive to achieve perfection and purity. While the philosophy of their Chapter Master - Mahl’en Taar, is for the execution of perfection in battle, quests for perfection of the flesh are still common and lead to many marines augmenting their bodies with bionic implants.

Since the events of the defence of Urdesh the marines of the Ferrus Fists have held a strong belief in rebirth through technology and as such they hold their Tech-Marines and Dreadnoughts as idols of their own immortality, a belief which is actively promoted by the Chapter’s Chaplains. Of course the Emperor is the core focus of the Fist’s spiritual beliefs, but their worship is split equally between the Emperor himself and the Golden Throne which sustains and gives life to him even in his death throes.

Organisation
Mahl'en Taar recognised that in order to achieve the perfection so strived for in his brethren he must look beyond eradicating the weaknesses of the flesh and strive for excellence in the art of war as well, only in this endeavour could the Fists truly achieve their desire to be the perfect weapons of war for the Imperium. To this end he was greatly inspired by the writings of the legendary Roboute Guilliman in the Codex Astartes and resolved to use the text as the foundations of his own Chapter.

A lesser man than Taar once said that "A man can do his best only by confidently seeking (and perpetually missing) an unattainable perfection", such is the lament of the Ferrus Fists. Since it's inception the Chapter has never even approached full strength, the toll of the wars it fought early in it's history and the difficulty it now experiences in finding suitable aspirants from it's blighted Home World have conspired to keep the full force of the Chapter from being realised.

Despite their low numbers the Fists are still divided into 10 companies as per the Codex, the 6th and 7th Companies (being the tactical reserves) exist in name only since the 2nd-5th Companies are not yet complete. Even the 10th Company (Scouts) are well under strength due to the persisting problems of finding suitable recruits on Tarosh. Still, the individual Companies take great pride in their skilful use of tactics to overcome their obvious lack of numbers.

In respect of their progenitor’s custom of operating via a tribal high council, the companies each elect a representative to sit on the Convocal, a group which advises the Chapter Master in matters both martial and political. Also echoing back to the clan structure of the Iron Hands the Companies of the Ferrus Fists are fiercely independent and competitive as such multiple Companies will rarely be seen working together except in times of significant need.

Gene Seed
The gene-seed of Ferrus Manus runs pure throughout the Ferrus Fists, and many of the inherent traits of the Iron Hands are present in their successors. Since the purge of the chaos forces from Tarosh aspirants have been even more rigorously screened before acceptance into the Chapter but so far no sign of taint or mutation has been observed in the gene-seed.

Battle Cry
“Honour the Machine. Purge the Unclean!”
This is taken as an oath sworn before battle, reaffirming rebirth through technology and commitment to the approaching battle.

Shameless BUMP for complete re-write thanks to some feedback I received. Comments still very welcome, this is a work in progress.

Bump again for quite a bit of editing. Please feel free to comment

Sounds like a good Iron Hands successor.

I like how the battle cry rhymes, it made me laugh.

This is cool stuff! Did you start working on 'em yet?

It's not a bad start but please don't bump threads without adding something to the thread (i.e., not just editing a former post). Also, fan made army background goes in Dakka Fiction not 40k Background. Thanks.

Is that a rule then?

Orkeosaurus wrote:Is that a rule then?

About the bumping: There is no rule specifically mentioning bumping. I think it falls into the category of spamming. If editing a post was justification for bumping a thread then editing would automatically bump.
About the thread's location: Yes--army backgrounds go under Dakka Fiction.

But I'll try to get a Mod to confirm/deny these points.

Ah, bumping's against the rules. The Mods have come down on bumpers before.

Background would seem a little fuzzy though; I think a WIP background belongs here, so it can be judged or checked for errors and accuracy. Fiction seems better for finished works.

Orkeosaurus wrote:Background would seem a little fuzzy though; I think a WIP background belongs here, so it can be judged or checked for errors and accuracy. Fiction seems better for finished works.

That's a fair point. I would counter that army background and fiction writers need to do their own homework. Now if part of that homework is asking a question to other fluff nutters, all the better. But, IMO, 40k Background should not be for proofreading this stuff.

But if the question is something like "is this a realistic situation" you would pretty much have to post the whole story anyway.

Not necessarily. A summary would do in almost every case. The point I'm getting at is that the ideal fluff questions are discrete enough to get meaningful (if not actually definitive) answers.

This is a good discussion, Orkeosaurus, but I'm sorry for fudal78 for hijacking his thread. If we want to discuss this further we should do so in the 40k Background sticky or maybe a Nuts and Bolts thread and let this thread get back on topic or vanish.

Hey, I'll just PM Alpharius.

Mod:

Bumping is disapproved of on the grounds that if your thread doesn't stay near the top it means people aren't interested in it. Thus, persistently bumping can be considered a form of spam. That said, it is a relatively minor infraction and would attract a mild warning.

A post should go in the appropriate forum to attract the most interest. I agree this chapter history is fan fiction rather than discussion of canon background, so I will move it to the fiction forum.

Crikey! Sorry about the infraction and thanks for the info. Thanks to the mods for the move to the correct forum.

@Deadratman: I actually started painting Imperial Fists and the colour shceme for these guys is going to be metallic with one red shoulderpad in honour of the Mechanicum and the other sholderpad black. I'm planning to stril the IF marines this weekend and do some test runs on the new scheme this Sunday. Would it be appropriate to post the imaes here or should I start a project thread?

Cheers.

I would honestly like to see some of the painting or the modeling, I read most of the story, well the back ground at least because I am not the very "Read" oriented type of person. However, from what I have Read and skimmed over, I am very intrigued. I like the use of several Dreads. How many dreads. would you plan to field in one battle?

I do have a thread running in the P&M blog section of the forum but at the moment it's just a non-fluffy, tournament focussed army (Tournament is 1750pts at the end of October).

Once I have the force painted to a basic, table-top, level I plan to go back, do some conversions and build it up to be a bit more fluffy.

Initially I intend to run 4 Dreads with a MotF HQ but I'd like to have 6 available for some "just for fun" lists.

HAHA there you go I like the sound of 6 Dreads. Me and my friend have a 4000 point Orks vs Khorne going on right now, and I have 3 Dreads fielded, they are strictly hand to hand combat though. Power claws, Power Scourges, and the Thunder hammer XD. Keep in mind that I am playing 2nd Edition. I am pretty much raping the orcs.

Well when you have some work done I would love to see what you do with them. I am actually working on a DIY Chaos Legion. Apostate Rage, and reading you set up for the Ferrus Fist and how you arranged it actually helped me get the juices flowing for a background.

Thanks lol ^__^

Nice one dude, glad I could help

Just in case you're interested here's my proposed 2000pt fluffy list:

HQ
Master of the Forge - 100pts

Librarian - 180pts
Epistolary, Terminator Armour, Storm Bolter & Force Weapon
Gate of Infinity & Smite

Elite
Ironclad Dreadnought - 205pts
DCCW & H Flamer, Seismic Hammer & Meltagun, Ironclad Assault Launchers
Drop Pod w. Locator Beacon

Ironclad Dreadnought - 205pts
DCCW & H Flamer, Seismic Hammer & Meltagun, Ironclad Assault Launchers
Drop Pod w. Locator Beacon

Terminator Squad - 485pts
(5), 1x Chain Fist, 1x Cyclone Missile Launcher
Land Raider

Troops
Tactical Squad A - 230pts
7 Bolters, 1 Multi-Melta, 1 Flamer Sgt w. Power Fist
Drop Pod

Tactical Squad B - 215pts
7 Bolters, 1 Plasma Cannon, 1 Flamer Sgt w. Bolt Pistol & Chainsword
Razorback

Heavy Support
Dreadnought - 160pts
Multi-Melta & Close Combat Weapon with Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod w. Locator Beacon

Venerable Dreadnought - 220pts
Assault Cannon & Close Combat Weapon with Heavy Flamer
Drop Pod

Total - 2000pts

Well that is just plain mean. lol

lol well that list works but it won't work against an extremely infantry army like me.
One of the chief things to remember is that you need at least 4 troops and a bare min of 2 tanks.