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A buddy of mine and I are attempting to do a fluff-heavy campaign, starting with a Chaos uprising on one of the recruiting worlds of my space marine chapter. We're assuming the world would be garrisoned by reserve units so I wouldn't have access to things like Chapter Masters, Centurions, Sternguard, etc. Similarly, for the initial missions he wont have access to the higher-end chaos units. The Chaos force will likely contain a high number of cultists, a few lower level lords, and a chosen body guard squad. Our plan is to call in higher level reinforcements later in the campaign. So how does this look for a force that would garrison a planet.

HQ
Chaplain
Command Squad
Librarian

Troops
Tactical Squad x 3 (from several different reserve companies

Fast Attack
Assault Squad x 2 (from reserve company)
Land Speeder x 2

Elite
Dreadnought

Heavy Support
Devastator Squad x 2
Predator Tank Platoon (4 engines total)
Whirlwind x 2
Storm Raven

It really depends on the chapter and the planet, as several factors would determine size of garrison.

Is the planet near any major transit lanes?
Is the planet a major resource production centre?
Is it in middle of no where?
Is it near the Eye or Maelstrom ect?
Is your chapter fleet based?

As to how many it really depends on chapter, some like the BT may only leave a half squad on a planet in a small chapter keep.

On the other hand if it is a Custom chapter then you can do whatever you want.

but basically think on this, you have stationed on a planet a better part of a company, and in a chapter of ~1000, thats a significant portion to use as a garrison that isnt also stationed on their homeworld.

Hope this helps.

Depends. Usually it's just about 3 to 5 marines in an outpost with a rhino and some bikes. At least this was so for the marines in the Ravenguard book. Well this was a world where they stored their precious geneseed for if anything goes wrong. But that makes it equally important. Plus you'll have to include the many serfs.

PikeyDras wrote:
I [snip]
but basically think on this, you have stationed on a planet a better part of a company, and in a chapter of ~1000, thats a significant portion to use as a garrison that isnt also stationed on their homeworld.
.

Keep in mind that few chapters (essentially only the Ultramarines) actually adhere -that- closely to the fine print in the Astartes. The vast majority of Chapters don't hold a solid 1,000 marines, but are usually a bit over (in some cases even under) depending on what their situation is at present. Others even completely neglect that partial inkling. Space Wolves have large numbers because screw the rules, and the Templars are exploiting a loop-hole in the 'rules' to also have huge numbers.

Our responing for these units was that there are 4 reserve companies with roughly 400 marines. Lets say a full half of that are with the battle companies, supporting current campaigns and replenishing losses. That leaves 200 reserve marines spread between three different recruitment planets (specific to my chapter). Based off reserve company compositions that leaves roughly 3 tactical squads, 2 assault, and 2 devastator per planet. Throw in a small armored element and a storm raven for transport and you't got a garrison.

Its a recruiting world? I'd leave a single vet squad there, too, experience is a great teacher. No termies, because the suits are too rare to be left in a garrison force, but a few experienced member to teach a few extra things to the recruits.

It truly depends on the world and chapter. It's reasonable that small 5 man veteran squad could be on world recruiting. It's reasonable they'd have nothing on world. It's reasonable that they have a company on world. It depends on their specific customs, and if the world is hit in the middle of a recruiting cycle.

Easy fix to make a force that size fit on any world, recruiting or not- they are assigned to a watch post, a small-medium garrison with a couple of rapid strike vessels ready to respond to problems in the area. It's based on the recruiting world because hey, they have an interest in that planet anyways.

Really, to make a fluffy garrison force, what you need to do is have an Imperial Guard army, then use allies to bring in Space Marines - say, a Chaplain and a single tactical squad.

Or you could go for a more 'movie-marines' feel and use a Legion of the Damned detachment to represent your Astartes garrison and paint them as regular battle brothers (say, a veteran, a couple of tacticals, a devastator for the squad heavy/special weapon).

Edit: Oh, and the Black Templars don't leave anyone to garrison recruiting worlds, because they only ever recruit from any given planet once before the crusader moves on.

I don't think you could properly defend a small city with that, nevermind a whole planet.

The garrison force on a space marine world is going to be a rapid response force/training unit while the PDF, SDF, Navy, and Guard forces stationed there are going to be the mainstay of the defence.

So you'd see a guard army with space marine allies until the chapter can wheel back around and deploy a slightly less absurdly small number of troops to the conflict.

To be fair though, your numbers are in keeping with some of the more egregious examples of GW not having a sense of scale.

SDF? Super-Dimensional Fortress?

How many worlds do you recruit from? If you need an entire company to protect it, it must be pretty important. Think smaller, or add scouts. Most defences would be defense batteries either automated, or manned by hardwired marines or servitors. Perhaps vengeance batteries.

 Furyou Miko wrote:
SDF? Super-Dimensional Fortress?

System defence force, which is to the navy as the PDF is to the Guard.

id expect there to be a reletively large scout contingent on the planet. this may be because they are waiting to be pushed into an active warzone to gain experience or they are on some sort of cycle

+1 to IG allies, work them in as a standard PDF force that would make up the bulk of your early fights.
Also, rather than making it a simple recruiting world, you could also set it up as recruiting/training world, and have a decent amount of the 10th company there.
A chaplain, a single squad of veterans, a single tactical squad, a rhino, and a few scout squads seem like they would make for a reasonable defense force when added to the PDF.

I'm surprised there aren't scouts in the list. I'd have thought on a recruiting world you might see them.

Especially if they do active training of initiates on the world.

I say drop the dreadnought because unless it's your home world or a even more important watch post than your suggesting his experience would be with the tech marines or a hq. Unless your chapter is that tech heavy.

Your main defence would be PDF and orbital fortifications as well as serfs loyal to you.

Maybe marines at the chapters base, and training grounds but there not primerry defence forces

Please take this as a type of garrison I would imagine.

Chaplain -for the veterans to listen to and to preach to the recruits. Also gives them someone, who at latter times they will have to follow unquestionably in combat, to learn a healthy fear of.

A single veteran squad of training instructors. Either Sternguard or Vanguard. Think drill company commanders in today's military.

One or two tactical squads with two or three Marines assigned to each training unit as instructors. (Also probably soon to be squad sgts and his bravo team lead)

Scout squads for every 8 scouts, two Marine instructors.

IG allies. The sky is the limit here. They would be local PDF troops, but IG is closest

 ender0656 wrote:
A buddy of mine and I are attempting to do a fluff-heavy campaign, starting with a Chaos uprising on one of the recruiting worlds of my space marine chapter. We're assuming the world would be garrisoned by reserve units so I wouldn't have access to things like Chapter Masters, Centurions, Sternguard, etc. Similarly, for the initial missions he wont have access to the higher-end chaos units. The Chaos force will likely contain a high number of cultists, a few lower level lords, and a chosen body guard squad. Our plan is to call in higher level reinforcements later in the campaign. So how does this look for a force that would garrison a planet.

HQ
Chaplain
Command Squad
Librarian

Troops
Tactical Squad x 3 (from several different reserve companies

Fast Attack
Assault Squad x 2 (from reserve company)
Land Speeder x 2

Elite
Dreadnought

Heavy Support
Devastator Squad x 2
Predator Tank Platoon (4 engines total)
Whirlwind x 2
Storm Raven

Too much. A recruitment world would have a bare minimum of leaders. Just 1 HQ choice and obviously not a chapter masters
No TDA Check
Lots of scouts, 3-4 times as many scouts as regular marines.
Dreadnaught might be the only leader available.
No Storm Raven, this would be out with the forward elements of the strike forces. Who needs a complex assault vehicle on your recruitment world. Ditto Land Raider.
Whirlwind, while I could see one, I am not sure why a recruitment world would need bombardment tanks.

Add scout bikes
Add scouts
Add land speeder storm

Agree with your opponent to have cultists/scout driven tanks. They might not have many PA marines so reduce the BS on vehicles to 3 and consider them driven by serfs/scouts/cultists.


IG allies to be the local serfs/PDF
IG allies for Chaos, cultists with more umph(could do daemons too)


As for chaos, likely start with a chaos lord or sorcerer. They might have more HQ choices because of how chaos is structured and the favor of the dark gods can make any aspiring champion into a powerful chaos lord on a whim.
No Daemon Prince
No Cult troops
No Terminators
No dreadnaught
No helturkey
No land raider
lots of cultists and a few PA marines(also they might have corrupted some of the local space marines, the young and fresh are easy to turn)

A scout company captain might visit every so often to check on the out post if its important as well as rotate the men.

Maybe some form of transport to other training areas, land speeders or such and maybe larger aircraft for long distance flights. Not everything be on door step.

I agree with less power armored bodies and more scouts as this is a recruiting world. I do like the selection of vehicles available as a few of each could easily be on hand for training purposes (especially the storm raven for moving to varied training locations and practicing insertion stuff, etc). At the same time, four predators seems a bit intense.

Having a captain could be feasible as well. You could say that it doesn't actually represent a captain of one of the ten companies but rather a grizzled veteran with good gear left in charge of the recruiting planet.

If it was just a recruiting world, its unlikely they'd have anything more than a single squad, a Techmarine, an Apothecary, and a Chaplain. The latter 2 to facilitate the recruiting process.

There would also likely be a bunch of initiates and a few Scout squads too.

For equipment, they might have a couple Rhinos, Speeders, and maybe a dozen or so Bikes. As well as a ship in orbit along with a couple Thunderhawks to transport them back and forth.

There might be a Dreadnought too, there to pass on his wisdom to the next generation of the Chapter.


If the world also had some strategic location or had some other important aspect the chapter might maintain a larger garrison.

morganfreeman wrote:
Space Wolves have large numbers because screw the rules, and the Templars are exploiting a loop-hole in the 'rules' to also have huge numbers.

If by "loophole" you mean "Feth that Codex Astartes thing, we never agreed to it!" then yeah.

Depends on chapter too, some value worlds far more as have not got many, others entire systems like ultramar.

Garrisons would depend on that too.