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When I saw the colors, I was expecting them to be straight-up painted, not grimy etc.
The traditional colors look excellent on the true-scale guy you made.

Gallowsmen Chapter Heirarchy

Initiate
(in game counts as Scouts)
The least experienced members of the chapter, initiates fulfill the roles of the scouts of any other chapter. They also spend much of their time practicing the arts of torture, execution, and burial. Initiates belong exclusively to the Desertgaurd, and are assigned to their final department of the chapter based on an assessment of their talents.
New initiates are primarily chosen from Petrefax. Upon being selected, the youths are left to hang in the desert for 9 days and 9 nights. Those that survive then begin their slow ascension into the ranks of the Gallowsmen.

Marine
(in game counts as Tactical/Assault/Devastator Marines)
All three major schools of combat are counted as the same rank amoung the Gallowsmen. Once an initiate completes their training, they graduate to the rank of a full-fledged battle brother. Their performance during their days as an initiate determines their role once they've graduated.
Devastators serve as members of the Desertgaurd, Assault Marines serve within the Citygaurd, and Tactical Marines are found within the Chaptergaurd. Although a battle brother is trained in all three major roles and can take up whatever role suits the situation best, their assignment into each role is indicative of their preferences and talents.

Veterans
(in game counts as Sterngaurd Veterans/Vangaurd Veterans/Honour Gaurd)
Advancing in martial prowess is not all it takes to become a veteran of the Gallowsmen. In order to do so, a marine must prove themselves by joining another chapter on a mission, in an attempt to gain knowledge of the funeral rituals of their peers. Upon the success of their mission and the sharing of their new knowledge with the chapter, they are finally granted status as a veteran.

Executioner
(in game counts as Death Company)
Veterans who show great skill and zeal in combat are upgraded to Executioners. Although an Executioner is as practiced in the ritualistic arts of the chapter as any other brother, their specialty lies in battle. Once an Executioner has been assigned a target, they will hunt them down relentlessly until they can be captured, and failing that, executed in battle. Executioners are absolutely relentless in battle and are known for charging ahead of their allies with little in the way of restraint. Although they have a commanding rank, Executioners tend to act on their own or with fellow executioners, as few others can actually keep up with them.
In addition to their combat duties, it is the roll of Executioners during formal executions to lay the killing blow.

Sanctifier
(in game counts as Sanguinary Priests/Novitiates)
Where as Executioners are ruthless and reckless warriors, Sanctifiers are calculating and tactful. While Sanctifiers are fearsome combatants in their own right, their main role on the battlefield is to enhance the morale of their brothers and lead them into battle. The Sanctifier waves the banner of his chapter and chants their sacred rites to envigorate his allies. Once an enemy has been defeated while still on the field of battle, it is the job of the Sanctifier to affix them onto a crucifix, gallows or pike, preferably while they still live, for all friends and foes alike to view. This macabre decoration acts to give even greater vigour to the Gallowsmen, while inspiring the deepest of terror in their foes.
When the battle is over, it is up to the Sanctifiers to gather the fallen foes and decide who is to be brought back to the caverns of Petrefax for purification, and who can only live long enough to be purified en masse on the field. While other battle brothers will participate and assist in these rituals, it is the Sanctifier who is most skilled and in charge of these rituals.
Additionally, the Sanctifiers are responsible for the teaching and practice of the arts of torture, purification, execution, and burial.
The final role of the Sanctifiers is discipline within the chapter itself. Sanctifiers judge their brothers' misdemeanors and punish accordingly.

Librarian
(in game counts as Librarians)
Librarains of the Gallowsmen have much the same role as they would in any other chapter--they manage and record the long history and practices of the chapter, and use their powerful psychic abilities in battle to aid their brothers.

High Executioner
(in game counts as Chaplains)
High Executioners are Executioners who have advanced beyond the simple combative mastery that a normal Executioner possesses. In addition to being ruthless and devastating in their own right, a High Executioner is able to share their undying vigour and strength with their brothers. While High Executioners share all the same duties of normal Executioners, they also tend to act as leaders for their brothers. A High Executioner's command is second only to the Chapter Master himself, and tied with that of the Sanctifiers.

Master Executioner (Chapter Master)
The Master Executioner is the highest ranking member of the Gallowsmen and is in command of the entire spectrum of operations of the chapter. Although the title "High Executioner" implies that the command of the Chapter can only belong to a brother who walks the path of the Executioner, this is a misnomer. The Current Master Executioner, Asagrim Woden, came from the ranks of the Sanctifiers.
A Master Executioner's presence on the battlefield inspires the greatest confidence in his men, and the rituals he performs are of the utmost sacred. To be formally executed by the Master Executioner himself is considered an honour by the Gallowsmen, and reserved only for the chapter's greatest foes.
Although the Gallowsmen do not act as the government of Petrefax, the Master Executioner's influence on the planet's politics is immense, and his opinion is always regarded with great weight.

Pretty awesome all round.

So would the Gallowsmen have dreadnoughts, because it doesn't seem like they help the wounded, but just execute them.

Excavator
(in game counts as Tech Marine)
Excavators are the equivalent of Techmarines for the Gallowsmen. But where normal Techmarines focus on development and maitenance of vehicles and weaponry, the Gallowsmen's Excavators lead the excavation and maitenance of Petrefax's massive inner tomb. It is the Excavators who place the fallen marines of the chapter and their purified bretheren in their graves. Because of this alternate focus, with the exception of Dreadnoughts, which are treated with the utmost care for their link between the dead and the living, most of the Gallowsmen's vehicles are in a state of relative disrepair. Excavators rarely ever appear in combat.

Dreadnoughts
(in game count as dreadnoughts/furioso/death company dreadnought)
Like most other chapters, the Gallowsmen have a deep respect for their brothers entombed in the massive armour of a Dreadnought. Brothers entombed in Dreadnoughts are relieved of their old formal duties, and like any other Dreadnought, used only in matters of the utmost importance. Beyond honouring the wisdom and deeds of their entombed and ancient bretheren, the Gallowsmen put a deep value in the fact that a Dreadnought acts as a link between the dead and the living.

Love it. This stuff is great.

As an aside, given that they are so skilled in torture perhaps the Inquisition makes use of them or vice versa (in discovering effective ways to wring out information/confessions out of subjects).

I plan on their fluff ultimately ending with

Like the idea of 3 companies!

Fafnir wrote:I plan on their fluff ultimately ending with

Spoiler:

the Inquisition actually declaring them excommunicate because of their methods. The Necrons will rise from the tomb underneath Petrefax, the resulting panic of the Imperial Assault will cause massive Chaos incursions, and the Xenos in the area will descend upon Petrefax to try and profit off of the situation. It'll ultimately end with the Gallowsmen being destroyed by enemies on all sides.

Interesting.

Emperors Faithful wrote:

Fafnir wrote:I plan on their fluff ultimately ending with

Spoiler:

the Inquisition actually declaring them excommunicate because of their methods. The Necrons will rise from the tomb underneath Petrefax, the resulting panic of the Imperial Assault will cause massive Chaos incursions, and the Xenos in the area will descend upon Petrefax to try and profit off of the situation. It'll ultimately end with the Gallowsmen being destroyed by enemies on all sides.

Interesting.

Spoiler:

I knew this tomb thing was going somewhere . My only question now is whether the Inquisition finally decided to act on the Gallowsmen's methods or whether the Chapter did something to push them over the edge. I can imagine any survivors of the Gallowsmen being attached to Deathwatch squads due to experience with Xenos and useful interrogation techniques?

Well...

Fafnir wrote:Well...

Spoiler:

I want this kind of ending for the chapter for two reasons: First, it gives me an excuse to fight damn near any army in the game as far as fluff is concerned. Second, I intend for every single Gallowsmen to die in the fall of Petrefax. It's a fairly sad ending, but it'll provide the chapter with a proper ending, which we see far too little of with 40k's writers.

Good ending then... complete

Fafnir wrote:Well...

Spoiler:

I want this kind of ending for the chapter for two reasons: First, it gives me an excuse to fight damn near any army in the game as far as fluff is concerned. Second, I intend for every single Gallowsmen to die in the fall of Petrefax. It's a fairly sad ending, but it'll provide the chapter with a proper ending, which we see far too little of with 40k's writers. Although, short of the chapter being destroyed, I won't say anything until I actually get to writing it, so you'll all have to wait.

I think it's a great idea, what I don't get is:

Fair enough, can I ask what it is that triggers the Inquisition into action?

...I havn't thought of it yet...

I just intended on the chapter ending up that way from the very beginning.

And I don't suppose it is a coincidence that you collect DKoK (a regiment obsessed with death) and then these fellows, is it?

Entirely coincidence. I'm smart, but not quite that smart. I just picked the Krieg because they look cool (although I don't actually play Krieg, the Quartermaster is just my favourite model in the entire GW/FW range).

I LOOOOVVVVEEE your fluff... just had to say that. In fact, maybe one day I might try my hand at a company of these guys myself, I think its that good!

The Fall of Petrefax

Inquisitor Lord Trismegistus had seen many horrors during his life. But what he saw when he joined the Gallowsmen in battle, not even he could take lightly. When a large Chaotic incursion occured in the desert wastes of Petrefax, it was Hermes Trismegistus who was sent to investigate the cause of the incursion. He would ultimately join the Gallowsmen in battle, and they both fought together valiantly to thwart their foe. However, when the battle ended, things gained a much darker tone. The fallen foes who were still living were gathered together and piled high, each sprinkled with salts and finally, accompanied by the zealous chants of their brothers, the Gallowsmen's Sanctifiers set the mound ablaze. The hellish chorus of the condemned would haunt Hermes for the rest of his life. And the decision he made because of it would likely haunt him beyond the grave.

Hermes knew that the terror he caused must have been a Chaotic ritual. Somehow, these Marines were tainted and working for Chaos. This depraved act could only be explained as a heresy.

In short order, the Gallowsmen were declared exomunicate. Any marines on mission in other chapters were slaughtered. Those that survived made an attempt to join their brothers on Petrefax.

It wasn't long before the Imperium began its assault on Petrefax. Within days, billions of lives were lost in the orbital bombardments. With the planet's vast cities utterly devestated, the ground assault would be brutal. The combined forces of several Space Marine chapters and the Imperial Gaurd would soon descend upon the planet.
But the Imperium was not the only threat...

The Enemy Within
The devestation that the orbital strike the Imperium launched was not without its side effects. The panic and fear of the many billions of people living on the planet, swelling beyond containment, caused warp rifts to open all over the planet. The forces of Chaos came in great number. Faced with insurmountable odds, most of the Gallowsmen were forced to hide within the tombs of Petrefax, but what awaited them there may have been even worse.

The recent bombardments, as well as the fighting between Chaos and the Imperium had caused something to stir. Finally awake for the first time in millenia, the Necrons crawled up from the very depths of the planet to reclaim their tombs. Faced with an innumerable and nearly invincible foe, the Gallowsmen had no choice but to once again retreat to the surface of Petrefax for what was certain to be their final battle.

The Enemy Without
With the planet besieged by on all sides, Eldar Pirates and Tau recon teams went to great lengths to take advantage of the chaos. They were forced to retreat quickly, but not before raiding many of the planet's most prized banks and storage facilities for rare xenos and Chaotic artifacts.

The Fall of the Gallowsmen
The Gallowsmen were Space Marines, and they fought for the Emperor when he cannot. They would uphold that core value until the very end, even in their darkest hour. Even with their fate sealed, not a single one would turn to the forces of Chaos. With their resolve as strong as ever, the Gallowsmen would fight with a zeal that had never been seen before. Their home and charge had been besieged on all sides by foes of all kinds. Of all the armies on Petrefax, not a single one fought with the ferocity that the Gallowsmen had. They cut a massive tear through both the forces of Chaos and the grim warriors of the Necrons. When a Gallowsman's bolter would run empty, he would fight with his sword until it shattered, and even then he would fight with his hands until even they were broken. Retreat was not an option. The only thing left for a Gallowsman was death. Both for himself and his enemies.

It is said, by the survivors of the campaign, that when met by Imperial forces, the Gallowsmen would stay their hand, ignoring them in the favour of the other foes. Why this happened, no one knows. The Gallowsmen were traitors to the Imperium.

The Death of Asagrim Woden
Asagrim Woden, Master Executioner and Chapter Master of the Gallowsmen would not escape his fate. When a Greater Daemon attacked Inquisitor Lord Luthor Geitz, it was Woden who saved him. The two fought off this common foe together in a final moment, both aware of what the alternative would mean. In an act of desperation, it was Woden who sacrificed himself in an attempt to land a devestating blow upon the monster. It cost him his life, but his attack hit home and allowed for his companion to banish the beast. Without Woden's help, Geitz surely would have died.

Woden began as an Assault Marine of the Citygaurd. A talented individual, it wasn't long before Woden became the highest ranking Sanctifier of the chapter. When serving alongside the previous Master Executioner, Sigfried Hildolfr, in an act that would be mirrored by Woden's death many centuries later, Hildolfr sacrificed himself to save Woden from a Daemon Prince of great power. It was with Hildolfr's blade that Woden would strike down the dark prince and banish to the warp. It is the same blade that he carried up until his own death, and which now lies within a secret vault, known only to Inquisitor Luthor Geitz himself. Not even Luthor's brother, Hermes Trismegistus, knows of the blade's existance, or the story of what really happened on Petrefax.

The End of the Gallowsmen
It took little more than a Month for Petrefax to fall. A week after Woden's death and surrounded on all sides, the Gallowsmen made their final stand. On the eve of M41, 989, the last Gallowsman, Sanctifier Gilliam Haephestos, would succumb to his wounds. The banner he left standing would remain unmolested for 3 days, when Petrefax was declared lost, and Exterminatus was carried out.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

chaos0xomega wrote:I LOOOOVVVVEEE your fluff... just had to say that. In fact, maybe one day I might try my hand at a company of these guys myself, I think its that good!

And I would be honoured to have someone use my fluff for their marines.

Master Exectuioner Asagrim Woden, Chapter Master of the Gallowsmen

Rise to Power
Woden began as a member of the Citygaurd, working his way up to the rank of Sanctifier. Although his martial prowess was flawless, it was his skills as a leader that made him stick out from his brothers. It wasn't long before Sigfried Hildolfr, the chapter master before him, appointed him as the Sanctifier of his personal honour gaurd.
During a particularly large chaotic incursion, Hildolfr and his honour gaurd were dispatched to destroy a daemon prince. Although chaotic incursions were normal operations for the Gallowsmen, this one was one of the largest in Petrefax's history. Hildolfr and his men were to strike at its heart and swiftly behead it. However, it wasn't long before most of the honour gaurd was slain, and all that remained were Hildolfr and Woden. The two fought valiantly, but even that was not enough to defeat the beast. The Prince struck Woden, the wound deep enough to make him drop his sword and fall to his knees. But before the Daemon could inflict the finishing blow, Hildolfr jumped in front of Woden and blocked the blow that would have ended his life.
Hildolfr urged Woden to return to his feet, but to no avail, the Daemon's poisons had worked its way into his system, and not even the blessed blood of his progeny could stop it. And before long, the Daemon's strength proved too much for Hildolfr, and his gaurd was broken and he was slain.
Enraged by the death of his master, through shear force of will, Woden managed to move his broken body. Rising to his feet and taking the blade of Hildolfr, now glowing brightly, he made a single blow against the Daemon Prince. Howling madly, the blade hit home, and the Daemon began to lose its material form.
But before it would fade away entirely, it cast a curse upon Woden...

From that day on, Woden would end up being the Gallowsmen's Master Executioner. However, it came at a dreadful price. Although unable to kill him, the Daemon's cursed poisons would pump through Woden's veins until the day he died. It constantly drains the life force from him, and although in due time he has learned to control the debilitating effect to some degree, it still has not left him. When not in battle, Woden rarely ever moves or speaks. When he must speak, he may only manage a quiet whisper. Woden must conserve all of his energy, for his body ages at an incredible rate. He must save what time he has for when he is most needed.

But when the time for battle comes, Sanctifier Haephestos will enter the Chapter Master's chamber, and awaken him from his catatonic state. Woden will slowly rise from his throne and place his withered frame within his hallowed armour, and take up his sword--the sword of his fallen master. When Asagrim Woden is on the battlefield, he is truely a terrible sight to behold. As he slays his foes, his rage only becomes greater and his strength more devestating. Any sign of his frailty is lost. At his best, Woden is truely a warrior without match, and all who oppose him are cleaved in two in the name of the Emperor. However, it is only a matter of time before the incredible debilitating pain of his curse returns, and Woden must return to his chamber.

Although Woden is commonly regarded as one of the greatest Chapter Masters the Gallowsmen have ever had, with his tactical expertise and combat prowess being invaluable, he privately holds a deep sense of guilt for his master, and a strong sense of inferiority. Had he been able to rise to his feet in the battle against the Daemon Prince, would things have been different? Although some may think that Woden has surpassed Hildolfr, to Woden he will always live in his shadow.

Hildolfr's Judgement
Hildolfr's Judgement, formally called the Executioner's Judgement, was the blade that Sigfried Hildolfr, former Master Executioner before Woden, carried into battle. The origins of the blade are largely unknown; in the vast markets of Petrefax, it is impossible to tell where it came from. The records that document the chapter's recovery of the blade have been lost as well. It wasn't until Hildolfr chose it from the chapter's vault that it even saw use.
The blade feeds on the souls of the dead. As those around it are slain, it becomes stronger. When engorged with souls, it glows brightly and howls wildly. In this state, the blade is even able to cleave a tank in two with little effort.
When Hildolfr died, his soul would feed the blade with the power that would ultimately defeat the daemon that killed him.
Upon his ascension to Master Executioner, Woden rechristened the blade as Hildolfr's Judgement.

Woden During the Fall
During the initial stages of the fall of Petrefax, Woden remained in his chamber. With the help of Sanctifier Haephestos, he commanded the Gallowsmen's efforts to return order to the planet. It wasn't until the Necrons awoke and the Gallowsmen were forced to retreat from the great tomb that Woden donned his armour and took up his sword for the last time.
For ten days, Woden would fight. And although is strength was immense and his skill flawless, each day his body would become more frail and his pain would become more intense. On the 7th day, one of his hearts would fail him, and on the 8th day, his left arm would be shattered. On the tenth day, he encountered Inquisotr Lord Luthor Geitz and a Greater Daemon of Khorne. He managed to hold off the beast, but with only one arm and his strength failing him, it was only a matter of time before he would fall.
Woden knew he was going to die, and he knew he was going to die here. In his final moment, he raised his blade and charged the beast. He made no attempt to gaurd himself, and was impaled by the beast. His blood, black with the poisons inside him, spattered the ground. But this was exactly as he planned it. As his life force was leaving him, it entered his blade, and with his final breath, he thrust the howling sword into the chest of the Daemon.
Realizing what had happened, Luthor Geitz took the moment granted by the fallen Chapter Master to banish the Daemon back to the warp. The extent of its defeat was so great that it would never be able to return for thousands of years.

Before he vacated the planet, Geitz recovered the sword. It now sits in his private vault. Not even his most trusted acolytes are privy to the knowledge of how the blade was obtained, let alone its existance.

Impressive. Tragic ending, epic final battle, we could make a film out of this story.

Quality Fluff.

The obsession with purification through pain & death is a really nice twist and has certainly appeared in some bits of GW fluff (when Sisters of Battle were first introduced and some of the ecclesiastical stuff was explored?).

I'm mainly surprised that an inquisitor took offence at the behaviour .

Moving to Dakka Fiction, as 40k Background is for discussion of GW-published stuff.