Fresh-Faced New User
Melbourne, Australia
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Hey all, I'm starting a deathwatch campaign soon and thought it would be fun to use the chapter i've been developing as a 40K Blood Angels army. but seeing as to roleplay it well i'd need a pretty well fleshed out bit of fluff, i figured id write down my general ideas and see what other people have to offer. i know there are probably a few fluff inconsistencies in here, especially about the whole shining sword thing- ive only been into 40k fluff, books etc for around a year so there's a lot i dont know, but i'd love to get some honest feedback and help developing the chapter a bit.
so if anyone has any comments, suggestions, developments... i'd love to hear them! (as long as i dont just get flamed to a crisp.) also, apologies for my terrible grammar and spelling. and most of the chapter names are in pretty obvious shorthand.
Blood Wardens are characterised mainly by their fanatical devotion to sanguinius. while much of the imperium venerates sanguinius as a saint the blood wardens worship him above all others, seeing him as the greatest and most divine of the primarchs. this worship would border on heretical in the eyes of many as the blood wardens, while recognising and praising the divinity of the emperor, focus utterly on sanguinius. While grudgingly respected as ferocious warriors with absolute devotion to any cause they commit themselves, their unorthodox motives and methods make them unpredictable. as such they are a chapter hated even amongst much of the imperium as many have suffered as casualties of their goals, or simply due to their arrogance.
Character
BW are fanatical and arrogant, which makes them prone to recklessness. they possess little of the humility that the BA have learnt over the millenia, and seek no such balance. they are utterly ferocious and show no mercy, and no tolerance for weakness or mistakes. they believe the correct way to deal with any problem is to crush it utterly, preferably with a powerfist.
Religion
The BW believe Sanguinius to be the only true and perfect son of the emperor, and therefore one of only two divine figures in the world. they believe this makes the descendants of sanguinius; the Blood Angels and their successor chapters, superior to all other chapters- the closest thing still existing to divinity other than the emperor. they do not see the other primarchs as divine, as Sanguinius is the only one that is perfect. however, while they will openly express their belief in sanguinius' superiority they would rarely go so far as to deny the other primarchs to other space marines. the BW know their beliefs are unorthodox, and will avoid revealing anything that could be seen as heresy that are a part of them. while the beliefs of the BW are different, it is mostly just the focus of their beliefs. they still worship the emperor, and believe in the superiority of man over all xenos and chaos.
The red thirst
the flaw in the geneseed of the BA is no such thing in the eyes of the BW- they see their visions of the death of sanguinius as divine possession, and the eventual madness this will lead to as a sign that since his death sanguinius is really, really pissed off, and is showing his sons how he wants them to deal with the enemies of humanity. with merciless, violent judgement. they accept that eventually every BW will succumb to the red thirst, and will at that point become a pure and perfect tool for the execution of sanguinius' will. as they do little resist it, BW succumb to the red thirst quickly and their death company is always strong.
The shining sword
when closely examined the dogma constantly and incessantly pronounced by the BW is not heresy compared to that of the rest of the imperium, it is merely an interpretation which lends more creedence to the importance of sanguinius, and all chapters tend to venerating their primarch. the same cannot be said about the beliefs held by the order of the shining sword. this cult, identifying itself by a red sword with a golden halo around the blade, includes most members of the BW who have served long enough to be taken into full confidence, generally officers, sergeants and veterans. the order believes that the emperor is merely the tool of some greater deity, brought into the world to shape it to prepare it, and to create the mortal flesh of sanguinius, the true form of god, who after his death would spread his divinity through countless others through the red thirst and so over the course of thousands of years create a truly righteous and holy army of god. this is the reason for the BW's name, as seeing the blood of sanguinius as holy they are saving it, protecting it, until the time comes when they are to take their place as the army of god and destroy the enemies of humanity once and for all.
the prophecies interpreted by the shining sword say that this time will come when the golden son will fulfill his destiny, and from his death the spirit of sanguinius will re-enter the world, to lead the armies he created as their general. this will happen 10,000 years after his death. the shining sword believe the golden son to be Commander Dante of the BA, who is already known as such and is one of the oldest space marines alive, always knowing that he will die as sanguinius did, saving the emperors life.
the shining sword know that if their beliefs are revealed they will be purged as heretics. however they want to insinuate their beliefs, and their supporters, wherever possible. for this reason members and non marine devotees of the shining sword try to achieve positions of power and spread their influence, especially at this crucial time in the history of the galaxy. this is also a large factor in the BW's desire to gain powerful equipment and artefacts and knowledge, to prepare themselves for the great crusade they believe is coming.
(note: the BW are open with their beliefs, which is what they generally proclaim, and which is taught on their homeworld, and to every marine, scout, and servant of the BW. the beliefs of the shining sword are different and closed to outsiders, shared only between the chapters members of the cult and their agents in the greater world. BW know nothing of the shining sword until they are inducted into its specific ranks, not just the ranks of the astartes. up until that time they believe the symbol of the shining sword to be a mark of superiority or respect. while the command of the BW is by members of the order and therefore the BW follow their motives and goals, they are not the goals believed in by all of the chapter)
Blood Wardens and other chapters
The blood wardens have an extremely bad reputation with most of their brother chapters. their firm belief in their own superiority and outspoken, zealous manner, along with the fact that their core beliefs conflict with those of other chapters, frequently leads to political and military incidents with other chapters. Absolutely ruthless in achieving their goals, the BW have the trust of few chapters, and show little respect to any that arent BA successors, although generally showing the most for chapters of great devotion or unbridled ferocity.
As they see themselves as genuinely superior to other chapters they believe that they are entitled to the best of the best, equipment, artefacts and tactical assets. their actions to attain these possessions has probably gained the BW the worst of their reputation; arrogance and pride, ruthlessness and fanaticism are traits many chapters carry, but few would openly raid brother chapter supply depots, or steal relics. nor would they fight through their brother chapters for a rare prize, as happened when, after months of fighting the tau to secure an artefact of use to the mechanicum, the marines of the Aurora chapter found themselves trapped between tau and BW, and fired upon with substantial losses when they tried to withdraw until the BW managed to take the artefact from the body of a murdered techmarine.
In communication they may well inadvertently insult a marine from a different chapter, especially if the subjects of heritage or religion arise. while believing themselves to be acting honestly they will simply seem arrogant to other marines, and this has led to conflict and rivalries between the BW and other chapters, notably the Dark Angels as the previous corruption of the DA is a sore spot for the chapter, and the BW see it as a sign of the obvious inferiority of the DA.
Ultramarines: the goals and methods of the ultramarines differ too far from the BW for them to share any common ground, but the BW do acknowledge the tactical brilliance and sheer efficiency of this chapter, at least when it is useful. the ultramarines see the BW as divergent and dangerous, and should be put under consideration for being declared renegade.
Space wolves: BW have a good measure of respect for the SW as solid fighters who know the correct way to dispatch their enemies- in combat. they have even campaigned together with moderate success in the past, although the great pride of both chapters led to many small incidents. the SW see the BW as outspoken zealots who need to be watched closely while in campaign together, but a lot of fun to fight alongside.
Black Templars: the BW have a large amount of respect for the BT, seeing their crusading and penitent devotion to the emperor as signs of their great faith, and their willingness more than any chapter to actively prove thier worth to the emperor. the BT dont know enough about the BW's beliefs to really hate them, but they do see that there is something unusual about the chapter.
Dark Angels: BW have very little respect for the DA, seeing their history as an example of how inferior other chapters can really be. DA hate the obvious views of the BW, especially as they feel the BW have never truyl been tested themselves.
Blood Angels: the BW worship the BA for obvious reason- they are where the chapter started. they still cannot reconcile their different approach to situations, nor the fact that the BA do not worship sanguinius to the same extent, or follow their dogma no matter how much they tell them about it. the BA treat the BW as something like a misguided teen- prone to do stupid things because they just dont know any better. and hopefully theyll grow out of it one day. the BA are the only major group outside the BW to know directly of the order of the shining sword, and, not wishing to risk exterminating the precious geneseed of sanguinius, settle for inhibiting its power where possible and trying to
dissuade the BW from their beliefs. they also however see the use in a group who is led by men motivated by unflinching to their commander.
Inquisition: the BW are obviously guarded in their beliefs, and the inquisition is a large reason why. they have great respect for the armies of the inquisition as some of the few willing to do whatever is necessary to further the word of the emperor, but the BW's form of worship is unusual in some respects. the BW know where the line is drawn though, and mostly are more than willing to work with the inquisition, and also to join with them and other chapter for the deathwatch- they feel that their beliefs should be pronounced throughout the galaxy and the deathwatch is a good place to start. the ordo xenos has only recently allowed the first few BW to join the deathwatch though after many
requests, as, like most chapters, they don't trust the BW and see them as unpredictable.
so, thats it. like i said this is mostly developed to be interesting for a deathwatch campaign, the idea being i would play someone who doesn't get on well with other marines, which should create some nice roleplaying chaos. and i like the idea of them not being 'declared renegade', but having some pretty shifty stuff going on. the Order of the Shining Sword stuff is just to give the GM a good character hook, the other players wont be reading this stuff so it lets him make some interesting scenarios with split motives and allegiances- the guy i play will be a member. to me that is the most important part, making something that would be interesting to play- it doesnt have to be historically accurate, just well developed and fun.
so anyway hope you enjoyed, and really, ANY feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Cheers, Elzar
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and I'd like to see a marine of humility in that vast sea of I"M SO AWESOME GO SANGUINIUS.
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