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I wanted to start a new chapter of my own which could use the Mk 4 armour and contemptor dreadnoughts from forge world, as well as having a bunch of cool options for conversions, so this is what i came up with. Sorry in advance for the mass text, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated, I'll be posting the chapter icon when i finalize the drawing for it.

The Shadows of the Emperor

Chapter Master – Titus Mordecai
Master of the Forge – Sarkth Varin
Chief Librarian – Enoch Calistarus
Chief Apothecary – Theron Armand
Head Chaplain – Cyril Kastor

Originating from the Alpha Legion, after the revelation presented by the Cabal, it was decided that a small contingent of warriors would be left behind to help rebuild the Imperium and protect the Emperor if they failed in their mission. Understanding that if they re-entered the republic bearing the heraldry and colours of the Alpha Legion they would be fired on as traitors, they opted to re-structure themselves as a similar but unique variant, hopefully allowing them to assimilate with the surviving legions. They lay dormant on the edge of Imperial space waiting for a time when it would be suitable for them to emerge from their temporary exile and renew their service to the Emperor.

A decade after the end of the heresy, a small fleet of strike cruisers were identified on the edge of Segmentum Tempestus. As these cruisers appeared to be dormant and dating from the Great Crusade, the Inquisition deemed it appropriate to send a force to investigate and either escort them back within the Imperium or eliminate them if they proved hostile. After communications were established and the inquisition learned that these were surviving loyalist space marines, each member of the Shadows of the Emperor was required to undergo mental screening in order to determine if any disloyalty existed within them. Each one of them proved to be utterly loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium, and they were allocated a system suitable for their recruiting needs as a new chapter of space marines.

Very fleet based, they seek to continue the Great Crusade of the original legion and the Emperor. They retain many suits of Mk 4 power armour, which are distributed not only amongst the 1st company but also the other battle companies within the chapter. Along with this armour goes a number of terminator suits, and several contemptor dreadnoughts having survived the millennia of isolation, the warriors interred within being able to offer thousands of years of experience fighting the foes of the Imperium. Despite being heavily fleet based, the chapter maintains a fortress monastery on a planet in sub-sector Aurus, near Ryza, an Adeptus Mechanicus forgeworld known for its plasma technology. This close affiliation has led to strong ties between the techmarines of the chapter and the Ryza tech-priests, and as such several unique weapons and artifacts are available to the chapter's champions and leaders, such as a sollex-aegis energy blade wielded by the Master of the Forge, Sarkth Varin.

Scouts advance to battle brothers not as individuals but as squads, emphasising teamwork and working together as a squad rather than focusing on the individuals who make up the a squad.

Chapter maintains 2 scout companies, and employs many more complex battle plans often using stealth and subterfuge. A prime example is deploying scouts to infiltrate and provide intel on enemy positions, often marking and assassinating key targets to disorganize and demoralize the foe before mass rapid deployment in drop pods and thunderhawks.

Afro Ninja wrote:

The Shadows of the Emperor

Chapter Master – Titus Mordecai
Master of the Forge – Sarkth Varin
Chief Librarian – Enoch Calistarus
Chief Apothecary – Theron Armand
Head Chaplain – Cyril Kastor

The names are pretty good.

Originating from the Alpha Legion, after the revelation presented by the Cabal, it was decided that a small contingent of warriors would be left behind to help rebuild the Imperium and protect the Emperor if they failed in their mission. Understanding that if they re-entered the republic bearing the heraldry and colours of the Alpha Legion they would be fired on as traitors, they opted to re-structure themselves as a similar but unique variant, hopefully allowing them to assimilate with the surviving legions. They lay dormant on the edge of Imperial space waiting for a time when it would be suitable for them to emerge from their temporary exile and renew their service to the Emperor.

This is the bit that's a bit odd IMO...
It's generally considered bad form to base your chapter on traitor gene-seed. It tends to be a kind of... not quite Mary Sue but clunky and usually either not worth it or just a bit silly.

A decade after the end of the heresy, a small fleet of strike cruisers were identified on the edge of Segmentum Tempestus. As these cruisers appeared to be dormant and dating from the Great Crusade, the Inquisition deemed it appropriate to send a force to investigate and either escort them back within the Imperium or eliminate them if they proved hostile. After communications were established and the inquisition learned that these were surviving loyalist space marines, each member of the Shadows of the Emperor was required to undergo mental screening in order to determine if any disloyalty existed within them. Each one of them proved to be utterly loyal to the Emperor and the Imperium, and they were allocated a system suitable for their recruiting needs as a new chapter of space marines.

See above.

Very fleet based, they seek to continue the Great Crusade of the original legion and the Emperor. They retain many suits of Mk 4 power armour, which are distributed not only amongst the 1st company but also the other battle companies within the chapter. Along with this armour goes a number of terminator suits, and several contemptor dreadnoughts having survived the millennia of isolation, the warriors interred within being able to offer thousands of years of experience fighting the foes of the Imperium. Despite being heavily fleet based, the chapter maintains a fortress monastery on a planet in sub-sector Aurus, near Ryza, an Adeptus Mechanicus forgeworld known for its plasma technology. This close affiliation has led to strong ties between the techmarines of the chapter and the Ryza tech-priests, and as such several unique weapons and artifacts are available to the chapter's champions and leaders, such as a sollex-aegis energy blade wielded by the Master of the Forge, Sarkth Varin.

You can have this bit without them being ex-legionnaires.

Scouts advance to battle brothers not as individuals but as squads, emphasising teamwork and working together as a squad rather than focusing on the individuals who make up the a squad.

Chapter maintains 2 scout companies, and employs many more complex battle plans often using stealth and subterfuge. A prime example is deploying scouts to infiltrate and provide intel on enemy positions, often marking and assassinating key targets to disorganize and demoralize the foe before mass rapid deployment in drop pods and thunderhawks.

This is fine.



I wanted to start a new chapter of my own which could use the Mk 4 armour and contemptor dreadnoughts from forge world, as well as having a bunch of cool options for conversions, so this is what i came up with. Sorry in advance for the mass text, and any feedback would be greatly appreciated, I'll be posting the chapter icon when i finalize the drawing for it. They don't have to come from a traitor legion. You coul use a variety of options. One could be that they found a supply covoy that had been lost in the warp from the GC and with all crew dead. They boarded the convoy and found a wealth of ancient armour and weapons...
The close connections to a Forge World is fine. It makes the supply convoy bit even more likel as if the Mechanicus sent them to investigate they may be gifted it in recognition of their relationship.

My advice: Ditch the Traitor Legion stuff. Make them from a loyalist legion. The rest is fine.

Good luck.

Echoing Purplefood because he knows his stuff and I seem to agree with him more often than not.

Using traitor geneseed is normally a taboo when writing a loyal DIY chapter, and particularly so when using members from one of the original traitor legions. The internet will generally tell you not to do it, and you'll likely get some odd looks when you tell your gaming friends that your chapter is founded from an original traitor legion.

Everything you want to with them can be done without making them descendants of the Alpha Legion. Just make them a chapter of whatever founding, have them fight against an enemy that employed extensive espionage/subterfuge/sabotage tactics and strategies early on, forcing them to adapt their own style to counter it in a similar manner.

Blacksails wrote:Echoing Purplefood because he knows his stuff and I seem to agree with him more often than not.

Using traitor geneseed is normally a taboo when writing a loyal DIY chapter, and particularly so when using members from one of the original traitor legions. The internet will generally tell you not to do it, and you'll likely get some odd looks when you tell your gaming friends that your chapter is founded from an original traitor legion.

Everything you want to with them can be done without making them descendants of the Alpha Legion. Just make them a chapter of whatever founding, have them fight against an enemy that employed extensive espionage/subterfuge/sabotage tactics and strategies early on, forcing them to adapt their own style to counter it in a similar manner.

This is usually a good idea.
Having a chapter change to survive in the face of a deadly enemy is a good narrative device...

I realise it's not the norm, but i had been reading a bit about the alpha legion and how they had a very democratic way of making decisions, hence the splinter group, but fair enough, i'm really glad the forge world stuff sounds ok cause that gives me so much opportunity for conversions and awesome models. I think i'll be rewriting a bit of the background for these guys then, i like the idea of a supply convoy from the GC, maybe even a space hulk? in Salamander they come across an empty forge ship filled with power armour and equipment, so it could be from Ryza as well, like you suggested. Thanks a whole lot, really appreciate it.

Ok, so i've re-written a the section on the armour and how they acquired it.

Very fleet based, they seek to continue the Great Crusade of the original legion and the Emperor. During the 34th millennium, 2 strike cruisers were preparing to return from a mission to repel and Eldar attack on the inner rim of Ultima Segmentum when a warp rift appeared in space, disgorging a massive forge vessel. The vessel bore the insignia of the Ryza forgeworld, although it was unable to be identified. The two ships attempted to establish contact, but failed and a search and investigate mission was launched to determine if there was any threat. The team discovered not enemies but a treasure trove of armour, weaponry and technology the likes of which hasn't been seen since the days of the Great Crusade. Among these relics were a significant number of suits of Mk 4 power armour, enough to outfit several companies of space marines. Along with this armour goes a number of terminator suits, and several contemptor dreadnoughts having survived the millennia of isolation, as well as many weapons of great power and potency and numerous machines and vehicles of war.

Upon learning of the relics within the forge ship, a message was sent to both the fortress monastery and to Ryza, explaining the discovery they had made. The forgeworld dispatched a number of ships to return the ancient vessel and fully evaluate the relics within. For their assistance in the matter, after inspection, the suits of power armour, terminator armour, contemptor dreadnoughts and a number of other relics were gifted to the chapter, a great boon to their armouries.

I like it.
The origins are a still a touch out of my taste but the latter half is really great.

Ok, so here's some more about the origins, their homeworld etc.

Created in the second founding, the Shadows of the Emperor adheres to the codex on the majority of areas, the largest divergence being that they maintain a second scout company, allowing a greater focus on stealth and subterfuge. Instead of a standard 4 battle companies, there are 6, allowing for more of the chapter's forces to be committed to a number of engagements at any one time, and thus most effectively continuing the Great Crusade.

Their homeworld of Antilla had maintained a lot of its original knowledge and technology, except in its ability for space travel. As such, when it was brought willingly back into the fold, it was a great relief for them to finally have access to the massive orbital shipyard again. This shipyard has the capacity to repair even the largest of Imperial vessels, and to produce everything up to and including a venerable Battle Barge. This has been a great boon to the Shadows, and allows them to quickly assemble fleets and crusades to smite the foes of the Imperium.

Antilla itself is a largely mountainous planet, with 3 major continents, each containing a large city built around a spaceport, as well as numerous smaller cities and communities covering the wide, open plains around the equator. These plains are the only place on the planet where it is possible for humanity to survive, as past them is the mountains and the sea. The climate is fairly consistent throughout the year, being neither dry nor wet, it allowed agriculture thrive until mines were created in the mountains, revealing much wealth under the planet's surface. There are two facilities directly controlled by the Shadows of the Emperor, nestled in the mountains of each pole. One is the fortress monastery, housing whatever marines not on active duty as well as the many relics and treasures possessed by the chapter. The second is a vast manufactorum facility and laboratory, where the large majority of weapons and vehicles used by the chapter are produced and maintained, and where the Adeptus Mechanicus holds a small garrison, performing research and tests in the labs there.

I'm not totally convinced about the Inquisition bit, it can be easily taken out, more coming soon, including the paint scheme (i've only got my ipod camera though, sry).

Edit: changed the inquisition so now it's an ad-mech research base

Most marines wouldn't like an Inquisition presence on the world.
However if your marines have a history of working with them then it would make sense...

K, so i've got some pics of the scheme on a standard marine, not the best focus, but you get the idea.