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A/N: fluff about a custom Legion of mine, the Black Hands. Please be aware that I am new to the site, so if I've made a mistake on where I'm putting this, etc, please let me know.

Second (and last) note: I love Warhammer video games and books, but I'm not quite into the miniatures. It seems that most fluffs/bios people post here are about armies of miniatures that they have created. I just want to say here that this is not the case with this. This is a Chapter that I plan to use in future fictions of mine, one that I created some visual aids for (courtesy of the B&C Space Marine Painter) and a bio for. I just wanna say this now so that there aren't any undue surprises.

Anyway...the bio...

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- Progenitor Chapter: Iron Hands
- Primarch: Ferrus Manus
- Chapter Master: Hakkan A'kor
- Homeworld: Hetrian
- Fortress-Monastery: The Spire
- Known Descendants: N/A
- Colours: Black, Red, and Gold
- Specialty: Armored Assaults
- Battle Cry: "Blood and Iron! Flesh and Steel!"
- Heraldry: Circle with a black fist at the center

Homeworld

Hetrian is a feral world near the northeastern edge of the Imperium of Man, skirting the border between Segmentum Obscurus and the Ultima Segmentum. It is a lush but extremely hostile jungle world that is home to a small human population. The planet is home to a multitude of clever maneating horrors and shadowy predators, testing both the strength and the wit of the natives to their limits. For the Black Hands, Hetrian is both a source of resources in terms of both manpower and metals, the latter of which likely spurred the colonization of the planet in the forgotten pre-Imperium past. Almost half of all Black Hands initiates come from this world, with the majority of the rest being drawn from two other feral jungle planets in the neighboring sector. The Chapter's towering Fortress-Monastery, the Spire, resides in the mid-north of the planet

Reputation

Like their Founding Chapter, the Iron Hands, the Black Hands are well-known for their fanatical hatred for weakness and heresy. In fact, they are known for their anger period. The Black Hands are known for going into barely controlled rages against their enemies during battle, and are irritable and ill tempered in general. They share the Iron Hands' grudge against most (though not all) of the participants of the Horus Heresy, despising the Emperor's Children in particular for their Primarch's murder of Ferrus Manus. It is not uncommon for the Black Hands to be presented as evidence that there is a genetic flaw in the geneseeds of the Iron Hands and descendents that causes their shared hatred of frailty and weakness.

The Black Hands have a strong reverence for technology in all its forms and have a close relationship with the Adeptus Mechanicus. They also make wide use of bionics, but do not seek the elimination of their flesh like the Iron Hands. Whereas the Iron Hands' beliefs reflect their battle cry - "The flesh is weak!" - the Black Hands are of a different opinion. They see strength as coming from the union of machine and man, rather than the total elimination of one's organic parts.

The Black Hands hold a number of extremely hostile grudges against each and every Imperial entity that has ever accused them of taint; be it the taint of Chaos or of mutation. These accusations have all come as a result of the rather dramatic flaws in their geneseed. Nonetheless, the resentment remains, particularly against the Space Wolves, Imperial Fists (who, ironically, they are often compared to), and Blood Ravens. In fact, so great was their dislike of the accusers that they volunteered half of a Clan Company to assist the Ordo Malleus when Exterminatus was declared against subsector Aurelia, though the Inquisition politely declined the offer.

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A/N: This ain't anywhere near done, but I figure this is a good stopping point for the moment.

This seems quite well done.
Would like to read more when you have it writen.
Welcome to Dakka by the way.

Very nice. A highly detailed background and similar enough to the iron hands to be recognisable.

Where did you get the pictures by the way?

Geneseeds

As descendants of the Iron Hands, the Black Hands possess the geneseeds of the Primarch Ferrus Manus. However, these geneseeds possess two flaws. The first, their greater anger and hatred, has either gone unnoticed or is so minor as to be inconsequential. The second flaw, however, is considered rather alarming, and has been the cause of multiple investigations by the Inquisition.

Because of this flaw, the Black Hands Chapter possesses an alarming number psykers. Normally this fact would be reason enough to dissolve the Chapter, but multiple details about the flaw have thus far kept such a course of action at bay. Thus far, however, it is unknown just how or why this mutation occurred. In fact, no one has yet been able to pin down exactly what part of the geneseeds mutated, as all examinations of them have shown them to be just as pure and untainted as those of the Iron Hands.

The psychic talent that manifests in Black Hands psykers is usually negligible, and manifests in a very predictable manner. Specifically, the Black Hands produce a passive aura around themselves that subtly enhances and improves their technology. Exactly how it enhances is not always predictable, however, and could be anything from a bolter firing inexplicably accurate shots to armor being able to withstand far more heat than normal. It is exceedingly rare for psychic powers to develop on any respectable level. As such, the Black Hands have fewer Librarians than normal, and initiates that show the potential to become one are considered a prize to the Chapter.

Sometimes, the aura produced by one Black Hand will resonate with that of another. This somewhat uncommon phenomenon creates a Bonded Pair; two Black Hands that share a psychic link with one another. The Pair becomes brothers in an even deeper sense than other Space Marines, and show many traits often seen in twins. When fighting together, the Bond Brothers' natural auras increase exponentially in strength, and they are synchronized to the point that they appear to read each other's mind. When one of the Bonded Pair falls in battle, his Bond Brother is overcome by grief and anger, worsened by the psychic backlash of the severed Bond link, entering a state known only as 'the Rage'. In this state, the surviving Bond Brother nearly goes mad with rage and fury, immediately attacking his nearest foes, especially the one(s) responsible for his Bond Brother's death, with awe-inspiring ferocity. His psychic field is strengthened to an immense level at the same time, making him an ominous foe. Usually, the Bond Brother is killed while in this berserk state, though not without disproportionate casualties from the enemy and immense amounts of force. The few that survive until the Rage fades are placed in the Black Hands' Death Squad, in their 1st Company. The Death Squad's members are subdued individuals who are haunted by the tearing of their psychic bond and the loss of their Bond Brother. However, they are also some of the deadliest warriors in the Chapter.

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TheRobotLol wrote:Very nice. A highly detailed background and similar enough to the iron hands to be recognisable.

Where did you get the pictures by the way?

Thanks!

I got the pics from the Bolter and Chainsword online army painter.

I would change the psyker flaw to 'Many active psyker lose their latency and instead revert to having passive powers. This power usually manifests itself as an aid to the machine spirits of their brothers' wargear. As a result the Chapter find it hard to find suitable librarians meaning each one is an invaluable resource to the chapter'

Organization

The Black Hands, like the Iron Hands, are not completely compliant with the Codex Astartes. However, they are not organized in the same way as the Iron Hands, either.

They are organized into ten Clan Companies, but these Companies are not as independent as those in the Black Hands' progenitor Chapter. Each Company handles its own recruitment and is led by an Iron Lord - a Captain. The ten Clans are subordinate to the Chapter's Clan Council, which is in turn headed by the Chapter Master, elected by the Council. Whereas the Iron Hands only elect Chapter Masters in times of need, the Black Hands have one at all times, and immediately elect a new one when the current Master falls in battle. The Clan Council that elects him is made up of the Lords of the various Clan Councils as well as respected veterans, including Venerable Dreadnoughts.

Another departure shared with the Iron Hands is that they eschew the position of Chaplain in favour of the Iron Father - who performs the duties of both a Chaplain and a Techmarine. However, Iron Fathers are not the only Techmarines of the Chapter. The Black Hands are generally obsessed with knowledge about technology and has close ties to the Adeptus Mechanicus. As a result, the Chapter has an unusually high number of Techmarines. While a good number of these are Iron Fathers, some are Techmarines only, while a select few are Acolytes - possessing the knowledge of both an Apothecary and a Techmarine. Especially unusual is that certain members of each rank are equipped with Jump Packs.

The names of many Space Marine ranks are altered in the Black Hands, and some details on their duties are changed as well.

The Chapter's Apothecaries and Iron Hunters (Sargeants) are in charge of observing the Chapter's recruits and newly promoted battle-brothers, ensuring that their genetic anger is kept in check. Only when an initiate shows sufficient mastery of his anger is he promoted to the rank of Black Hunter. Those that show a more tangible and less controlled fury are placed in the ranks of the Black Hands' Night Shadows, the Assault Marines. These squads are led by a Night Hunter, a veteran Night Shadow that has gained more control over his anger, or by either an Iron Father or Apothecary - both equipped with Jump Packs.

The Chapter's 1st Company is unique in that it alone has the Chapter's Death Squad, consisting of the few severed Bonded Pairs that enter the Rage and are not killed during their berserker charge. They wear black and blood red robes to signify what they have lost, and they are constantly haunted by the loss of their Bond Brothers. However, they are also some of the Chapter's most effective battle-brothers. The Death Squad is generally chosen for the most dangerous operations that appear, usually where death is a near-certainty.

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purplefood wrote:I would change the psyker flaw to 'Many active psyker lose their latency and instead revert to having passive powers. This power usually manifests itself as an aid to the machine spirits of their brothers' wargear. As a result the Chapter find it hard to find suitable librarians meaning each one is an invaluable resource to the chapter'

I can see the reasoning, but I would rather keep it to where they just develop minor psyker powers instead of existing psykers losing their abilities. I did change it a bit, though, so it's not an entire Chapter of psykers, just a Chapter with a lot of them.

Love it, Very fleshed out and i like the idea of the death squads, thats brillaint! Looking forward to more!
Maybe you could give me some pointers and tips for my homebrew chapter, feel free to check it out, the links in my sig

Beliefs

As one would expect, the Black Hands are not entirely untouched by the culture of their recruiting worlds and Progenitor Chapter. Like the Iron Hands, they constantly work to strengthen themselves as a Chapter in order to make up for their perceived failure to protect their Primarch, Ferrus Manus. Cybernetic enhancements are common among their battle-brothers, though they do not have any completely robotic Space Marines like their Progenitor Chapter. In battle, they are as efficient as they are ruthless, and go into battle with a ferocious anger greater even that that of the Iron Hands. In general, they favor the use of overwhelming firepower and heavy armaments of accomplish their goals, and thus use quite a few Space Marine vehicles - a fact not unrelated to their unusually large number of Techmarines.

The Black Hands also possess some of the culture of their homeworld, Hetrian. Great importance is placed on "the Hunt", the pursuit and killing of mankind's enemies, which along with their respect for technology is reflected in the Chapter's names for ranks. The use of tribal imagery in tattoos, seals, and in some cases the paint on their armor are all common in the Chapter. In addition, great stress is placed on flexibility and mobility, likely originating from the fact that the feral humans on Hetrian must rely on stealth and cunning to overcome the massive, intelligent carnivores native to their world. This attitude acts as a balance for the Black Hands' favor of heavy vehicles and firepower. The Chapter's few Librarians in particular take the importance of flexibility and cunning to heart, and are known just as much for their strength, temper, and ruthlessness as for their ability to remain hidden and all-but-untouchable.

Notable Actions

Purge of Atrium - the Black Hands quelled a Chaos insurrection on the Hive World of Atrium, the capitol world of Hetrian's neighboring sector home sector. Afterwards, the Black Hands slaughtered nearly a third of the remaining PDF forces to show the price of allowing Chaos to take root. The administration of Atrium and many of the nearby worlds have been somewhat hostile towards the Chapter ever since.

Hecxan Crusade - two Clan Companies of Black Hands were dispatched to eliminate a small splinter fleet of Tyranids that escaped destruction in the First Aurelian Crusade and had begun attacking the Hecxan sector.

Defense of Laeir - fought against a warband of Emperor's Children that had begun raiding the Black Hands recruiting world Laeir

Thirteenth Black Crusade - committed four Clan Companies, but required the rest to quell numerous Chaos uprisings in nearby sectors