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So I'm still trying to hammer down the fluff for my homebrewed 6th edition space marine chapter, and I worked up almost three pages of material (planet name, chapter name, colors, training regime, selection process, etc.) around the theme of the mythical hydra.

I had a cool idea for a Bletcher's Gland gene seed mutation for some fluff flavor (snake like fangs and the ability to spit a lot of acid very, very far). Maybe some scaly skin too, very hydra-esque features IMHO.

However, my 40k fluff sense started tingling later in the week and I knew that the hydra had been used before...then it hit me at work, Alpha Legion. Needless to say, I was about to trash the whole concept when I began to ruminate on Alpharius and Omegon's way of running things.

Pre-heresy, heresy, and post-heresy Alpha Legionnaires believed that they were serving the Emperor by siding with Horus, especially Alpharius and Omegon (due to their meeting with the Cabal).

Thus, is it so crazy to believe that Alpharius and Omegon, the guys who always had a backup plan for their backup plan, could have planned for a loyalist successor chapter to be created during one of the many foundings?

I'm turning to you guys for input on this. Yay or nay? I think the idea is so ripe with fluff potential (the inquisition naturally being suspicious of hydra iconography, the chapter's use of Alpha Legion like tactics, etc.).

If this doesn't pan out my backup plan is to rework the chapter as Salamander successor (or suspected successor like the Storm Giants & Black Dragons).

Well as the Alpha Legion has messed with the founding of chapters before, I could believe that they raided a ship containing the gene-seed for a chapter being created, and replaced some with alpha legion gene-seed, and over time the alpha seed became more and more dominant, whislts still having other influences,

redkommando wrote:Well as the Alpha Legion has messed with the founding of chapters before, I could believe that they raided a ship containing the gene-seed for a chapter being created, and replaced some with alpha legion gene-seed, and over time the alpha seed became more and more dominant, whislts still having other influences,

Well, the name I was shooting for was Hydras, or Celestial Hydras, something to that effect (I haven't decided on an adjective yet). I kind of like that idea redkommando...a mix of Salamander and Alpha Legion gene-seed. That would explain the chapter's propensity for mutation and craftsmanship (I wanted them to have that trait of the Salamanders), as well as them later embracing the hydra as their iconography and namesake because of a subconscious connection to Alpha Legion.

This is exciting. Can't wait to flex my fluff muscle some more about the raid on the gene-seed vessel. Reminds me of Honsou and his Iron Warriors band. I probably edit my older post in another thread to reflect these recent developments.

I'm glad I could be of assisstance.
I'm keen to read the fluff for your chapter after your finished.

Good Luck.

Alpha legion did the whole ship raid and geneseed replace thing, which would have to include messing with the Mechanicus' data, what with the tithe. Here is the twist, they did it so that they would be able to harvest progenoid glands from the new chapter so that they could maintain their own geneseed supplies. They're not special Alpha Legion snowflakes, they're a resource to be harvested as needed.

daveNYC wrote:Alpha legion did the whole ship raid and geneseed replace thing, which would have to include messing with the Mechanicus' data, what with the tithe. Here is the twist, they did it so that they would be able to harvest progenoid glands from the new chapter so that they could maintain their own geneseed supplies. They're not special Alpha Legion snowflakes, they're a resource to be harvested as needed.

Sounds good, quite a tragic fate for a proud space marine chapter

I think these ideas are all workable, and can be justified as Alpharius and Omegon can pretty much be assumed to think of a plan for anything. Cool ideas, by the way.

Don`t scratch anything as it is a workable idea The Twins might even have tried to improve on their geneseed and your chapter might have been the testing ground for their experiments

i like this idea i had the same thought, but with them having the sleeper agent idea.

I would prefer for the Chapter to be a Salamander's successor. The Imperium would almost certainly sniff out and destroy any Traitor successors. But that's just me. It's your Chapter, go wild!

truelly the high lords are so busy if the alpha legion put sleeper agents in no one would notice