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Warning - this thread may offend SM-fanboys.

I am 28 years old, and I've enjoyed playing 40k and WHFB since I was 14. Lately a problem has begun to appear when facing space marines:
The lame names people give their chapters!

Note: English is not native language so maybe it's just the language barrier...

But come on! Really! These are some examples I've found:
http://uk.games-workshop.com/spacemarines/chapter%2Dgallery/1/
http://uk.games-workshop.com/spacemarines/chapter%2Dgallery/2/
http://uk.games-workshop.com/spacemarines/chapter%2Dgallery/3/
etc etc.

Names like:
Celestial Lions
Black Wings
Space Sharks
Iron Snakes
Rainbow Warriors (!!!!!!!!!)

Why not add the name of the fugly car from the movie "Grease" - Greased Lightning

Note that some chapter names are cool like
Imperial Fists
.... only cool one I could think of...

What do you think? What is your chapter called?

/Grindah

All those examples are GW chapters, not home made ones....

I play the Emperor's Bovines. I have about 3 squads done in dairy cow black and white with green helmets and standard red bolters. I will bemaking an udder for my dreadnaught.

Motto: "We bring our own cheese"

It's my break from IG, which are black and blue swat stylle PDF that take forever to paint, and I paint slow.

Celestial Lions is an awesome name, Iron Snakes is pretty cool. Rainbow Warriors is a classic. But yeah, there are some grossly misjudged names out there, especially home-brew names.

WHen I was around 12-14ish (when I first started getting into GW), I loved how my favourite Chapter was called "Blood Angels" - the juxtaposition of angelic splendour with blood letting was something I'd never come across up until that point. However, I really hate how a lot of people call their boys "Angels" of one type or another, and other stuff of that type. It's the ******g Emos, they're ruining it for the rest of us.

Some of you may not know it, but the Rainbow Warriors was the name of all the University of Hawaii mens teams (football, volleyball, etc...) Looking back at the page in Rogue Trader, that marine was painted in traditional UH school colors. So, no. I don't really think that one is lame.

You may have a point with Space Sharks though. Sounds like a really bad straight to DVD Disney Movie.

Space Sharks is craptacular.

There's a guy locally (Whitedragon knows him I think) who plays at the GW store.
His army is pink... not "Emperor's Children" pink. No.
I'm talking more like, "Is your armor made out of cotton candy?" pink.

In a recent tourney, we wre joking around, and I referred to them as the Emperor's Hairdressers.
I don't know what his chapter name is, or if it even has one.


I have a chapter in the works:

"Iron Griffons"

I might tweak the spelling to "Gryphons" or something, to be "different," but i haven't decided.


Eric

The Space Sharks could fight the Space Jets in an expertly coreographed off broadway play.

Hey don't say the name rain bow warriors or the inquisition just might make it a priority to come to your house, and you know the rest. they were one of the first founding chapters to have had an exterminautus carried out on them.

Rainbow Warriors weren't First Founding.

I think he means in RT they were big but they kind of got GRIMDARK-ed out of the story. Also, Gay Marines, LOL... (Rolls eyes)

I actually always thought Celestial Lions was really cool. Sort of the basis for my friend's Astral Raptors Legion.

But yeah, a lot of the chapter names are lame. I called my Chapter the Sons of Hordini though, so I don't know.

I like Celestial Lions.

As others have pointed out... Space Sharks sucks pretty bad.

Personally... my chapter is known as the Azure Phoenixes. Works for me

AzurePhoenix wrote:I like Celestial Lions.

As others have pointed out... Space Sharks sucks pretty bad.

Personally... my chapter is known as the Azure Phoenixes. Works for me

Phoenixes sounds off. Change it to Disciples of the Azure Phoenix or some such.

Chaos got all the cool names. Thousand Sons. Black Legion (generic, but thats the point). The Fallen (sorta...)

-LEO037

I like:

Steel Vipers
Jade Falcons
Cloud Cobra
Fire Mandril
Diamond Sharks
Ghost Bears
Goliath Scorions
Hell's Horses
Ice Hellions
Nova Cats
Smoke Jaguars
Burrock
Wolverines
Widowmakers

Of course, these are all stolen from Battletech

I always thought most of the Battletech Clan names were really cool sounding. Ghost Bear FTW!

My Chapters name is the 'Illuminareus"
We bring the Light of the Emporer.


Yeah, Battletech had some cool Clan names.

Originally called my Crimson Fists, but apparently that one was taken... So it was changed to the Burning Fists.

By the Lord of Terra, I wish I was drunk.

(I am at work!)

My loyalist SM are "Knights Sovereign". I spent a while before I settled on that name, for much of the reasons you give.

Cypher037 wrote:Chaos got all the cool names. Thousand Sons. Black Legion (generic, but thats the point). The Fallen (sorta...)

Not so much.

Look at the most recent Codex with all of the lame X of Y names: Angels of Ecstacy, Apostles of Minithras, Brotherhood of Darkness, Claws of Lorek, Company of Misery, Disciples of Destruction, Knights of Blood, Lord of Decay, Oracles of Change, Sons of Vengeance, Swords of Khargoth, Warriors of Mayhem. Reading these, you don't know whether to laugh or cry.

There is a reason why marketing guys get paid stupid crazy huge money to think up good names for new products, and trying to properly name a Chapter is a good example.

I like Space Sharks.

Anything called Fists reminds me of fisting.

The rest of those names are great.

My own chapter is called the Dust Devils.

This discussion of names puts me in mind of the problems of naming products internationally. Sometimes a company gives a new model car a really cool name in their own language only to find out it means "broken" or "slow" or something in a target market.

I would like to hear some non-English chapter names from members.

I suppose really all chapter names should be in high gothic.

KiMonarrez wrote:Some of you may not know it, but the Rainbow Warriors was the name of all the University of Hawaii mens teams (football, volleyball, etc...) Looking back at the page in Rogue Trader, that marine was painted in traditional UH school colors. So, no. I don't really think that one is lame.

You may have a point with Space Sharks though. Sounds like a really bad straight to DVD Disney Movie.

I always thought the Rainbow Warriors were another RT in-joke. Asnother "gay" chapter like Dark Angels. God thats the 2nd time I've mentioned the Dark Angels inspiration on this forum, hop no one gets the wrong idea

One thing I always sort of was amused by is how many chapter names are based on obscure or uncommon Terran animals. In other words, animals from a planet that had been one giant city for what, 15 millenia? I have to wonder just how many of those things could possibly be extant by the time the chapters were named.
I mean, ok lions, dragons, those sorts of things are pretty engrained into the human story. But where are the scary, non-terrestrial critters? Catachan Devils.... and what? Where are the Astral Jugonu'Pa or something.

"In the grimdarkfuture, horrifying monsters lurk in the wilderness of the stars. But people still think wolves are scary."

wtf?

I always refer to my marines as "The Emperor's Adjective Pronouns". It kind of covers everything.

This would be a great idea for a little flash random Chapter name / Color scheme generator. The adjective determines the trim color, and the pronoun determines the base. Then load it up with homosexual innuendo and voila, a tool that even Lion'el Johnson would admire with secret yearning, and a glint of perspiration.

The Emperor's Flaming Blades

The Glistening Seals

The Violet Knights (purple helmets)

The Knights Dominant

The lame names go with lame color schemes. In the grim darkness of the far future the Emperor's chosen warriors will be clad in... bright red armor??? bright blue armor w/ yellow highlights???? bright yellow or [insert colors here].

Yeah, the names are lame and paint doesn't help either.

Do other people find the names of the primarchs to suck, or is it just me?

That's a fantastic picture.

The best name for either a Space Marine chapter or a Chaos Space marine...um...army(?) is The Damned Company of Lord Caustos. It's so cartoon villain-y.

Sergeant: Sir, we're under attack!

Commisar: What? By who?

Sergeant: It's Lord Caustos, sir! And that damned company of his!

Commisar: Blast! Ready defenses!

*Later, after the Imperial Guard defeats The Damned Company, as Lord Caustos escapes on a Hell Talon*

Lord Caustos: I'll get you next time, Imperial Guard Regiment 53978263484!

Stormtrooper X wrote:I always refer to my marines as "The Emperor's Adjective Pronouns". It kind of covers everything.

It sounds good, but chapter names don't include pronouns.

Wehrkind wrote:One thing I always sort of was amused by is how many chapter names are based on obscure or uncommon Terran animals. In other words, animals from a planet that had been one giant city for what, 15 millenia? I have to wonder just how many of those things could possibly be extant by the time the chapters were named.
I mean, ok lions, dragons, those sorts of things are pretty engrained into the human story. But where are the scary, non-terrestrial critters? Catachan Devils.... and what? Where are the Astral Jugonu'Pa or something.

"In the grimdarkfuture, horrifying monsters lurk in the wilderness of the stars. But people still think wolves are scary."

wtf?

I'm gonna name my chapter "The Imperial Carnifexes"!