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Hey guys, I'm trying to make a new SM chapter but kinda stuck. I dont know where to start :/ does anyone have some good general tips

cheers.

Start off with the general organisation of the chapter, what they do different from everything else.
Some people decide to start from a single battle and do that in detail, then use that to describe the rest of the chapter.
If you get the names of a few notable characters, it helps alot as well.
If you can, have which legion they came from and other chapters they hate/like.
Good luck.

Simplest way, and its how I do it, is to start by saying "wouldn't it be cool to...."

Fill in the blanks

For instance, it'd be cool to have a gak load of devastatirs, more than usual.

Then ask why that chapter has them.

"because they hunt orc stompas for a living"

So from that we can also assume that theyre a fleet based chapter (ie, no home world) to enable them to get to their enemies quickest. Maybe their home world was destroyed by stompas.

Then think about the challenges they face; how and where do they repair rearm and refuel? Hoe foes that affect them? Maybe their chapter master is a tech marine.

And so on.

Just do what's fun. Ask questions of yourself that you'll enjoy answering and you'll get there.

Find two colors you like, make one the main and the other secondary. Now that you have a color scheme you can think of what chapter they descended from. Then youcan find a name, chapter tactics, and back ground.

Alternatively you try this. Personally I believe it will set you on the right path if you are interested for something fluffy.

Thank you so much to everyone I'm going to go for a Techmarine lead chapter with lot of tanks and heavy squads

i love that stompa idea! i have the Stompa model and some devastators and put them next to it and it looks so funny haha!

What are their strengths, weaknesses and values.

A Chapter should have strengths and weaknesses, an indepth history and notable figures, both living and deceased. Here's my table of random strengths and weaknesses. Obviously you can come up with some of your own, since mine are kinda generic.

Strengths:
Close with Mechanicum
Close with Administratum
Lots of extra Marines
Lots of extra Supplies
Space Hookers
Extra cool geneseed
Owns more than one planet
Extra well trained

Weaknesses:
Distant from Mechanicum
Distant from Administratum
Less Marines
Less Supplies
Badly flawed geneseed
Ruined home planet
Poorly trained
Had traitors in past
Considered traitors now

Regarding history, you should delve into the Chapter's enemies. Why were they fighting? Where were they fighting? What was the fight like? Who won? At what cost? Your Chapter shouldn't have all victories (though a good rule is that it should have at least a few more victories than defeats). Maybe it can have an arch nemesis, like how the Ultramarines hate the Alpha Legion. Maybe at one point they were fighting for the wrong side, like when the Mantis Warriors fought the Imperium.

Then we move onto characters. Here are some characters you might want to describe. I like to describe at least a few deceased Characters, because that gives the Chapter's history more depth.

1. The guy who founded the Chapter (he's probably dead by now)
2. The guy who is responsible for some important awesome battle (he might be dead by now)
3. The guy who currently runs the Chapter (hopefully he isn't dead by now)
4. The guy who is cool and might do cool stuff, like some sort of unique Librarian or special sniper (he might be dead by now)

A common mistake people make with characters is to just describe them as the most awesome guy ever. They say he's the best swordsman, the best shot, the best lover, the best pilot, the best leader and everyone is jealous of him. That's bad writing. No make no mistake, the characters should be awesome, but believably awesome. Maybe they've only accomplished a little bit. Maybe they've suffered serious losses in their accomplishments. Here's my list of random character flaws you might want to use (BUT DONT GO OVERBOARD THE CHARACTERS SHOULD STILL BE AWESOME):

1. He's getting kinda old, and isn't as good a fighter as he was a 1,000 years ago
2. His psychic abilities are slowly driving him mad/tormenting him (but don't make him emo)
3. He lost a major battle and he feels the need to redeem himself
4. He's too focused on one kind of tactic or something
5. He's overconfident
6. He's beginning to doubt his loyalty to the Imperium
7. He's a batgak crazy religious zealot (this is the most common flaw)

LoneLictor wrote:
2. His psychic abilities are slowly driving him mad/tormenting him (but don't make him emo)

Chapter name The Emperors Emo's FTW

kitch102 wrote:

LoneLictor wrote:
2. His psychic abilities are slowly driving him mad/tormenting him (but don't make him emo)

Chapter name The Emperors Emo's FTW

They wear skinny jeans over their power armor and go helmetless so that people can see their black eyeliner.

Off topic sorry but I really like your signature OP

LoneLictor wrote:

kitch102 wrote:

LoneLictor wrote:
2. His psychic abilities are slowly driving him mad/tormenting him (but don't make him emo)

Chapter name The Emperors Emo's FTW

They wear skinny jeans over their power armor and go helmetless so that people can see their black eyeliner.

And their battle cry is continuous, pointless screaming over a break down on heavily distorted guitars.