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Hey everyone. I'm setting up a narrative campaign for me and an Iron Hands playing buddy and wanted to know if the Iron Hands mostly stick around their homeworld or if they have outposts in different parts of space.

For more background: the narrative fluff I'm trying to put together starts with an Iron Hands outpost noticing an unannounced ship in their vicinity bearing the markings of a recently MIA Space Marine successor chapter (successor to a different Legion). The ship contains the missing successor chapter who have recently fallen to chaos and are trying to find and steal a rumored tech artifact near this outpost to convince an Emperor's Children Chaos Lord to let them join his warband (obviously choosing the EC for their fluff ties to the IH). Since it makes no sense for a recently fallen chapter to try to steal something from what they know is a SM chapter homeworld, I'm hoping the IH create outposts which are more likely to be stolen from.

I know very little about Space Marine habits and protocols so I figured I'd see if there was an easy answer first before spending time doing research online. I'm happy to share more of the backstory if anyone's interested or needs it to help their answer.

As far as I know... No they do not. They have 10 super battle ships that act as a fortress for each clan so those are mobile bases but they only establish themselves on medusa.
If you want my opinion rework the story so the chaos marines assault a rather isolated imperial world and that world sends out a distress call that mentions attacks by space marines wielding sonic weapons and the planet doesn't expect to be saved because they are rather insignificant but suddenly their cries for help are answered as a iron hands battle barge arrives from warp travel and the only message they translate goes to the enemy and friend alike that proclaims... "The sons of Ferrus remember..."

"The sons of Ferris remember...

Nice passive aggressive message.

 Mordred wrote:
They have 10 super battle ships that act as a fortress for each clan so those are mobile bases but they only establish themselves on medusa.

Are you sure about that? In both the Index Astartes article and Deathwatch: First Founding the Clan Companies mobile Fortress-Monasteries were giant *ground* vehicles that never leave Medusa.

For what it's worth the entry for the Iron Hands in the Forge World Horus Heresy books describes their noteworthy domains at the time of the heresy as: "The Medusa system (Primary), sixteen other systems held in tributary fiefdom at the closure of the Great Crusade, numerous independently operated outpost way-stations and holdfasts established - full number and position remains unknown."

You could easily make it a forgotten holdfast abandoned since the Heresy, the tech relic could have been delivered to the holdfast for safe keeping shortly before the Heresy, it's existence known only to the garrisons senior officers. When the Heresy erupts most of the garrison - including the entire senior staff - are reassigned and subsequently killed (maybe at Isstvan), in the aftermath of the Heresy the holdfast holds no strategic importance either to the downsized Iron Hands or to any successor chapter and is abandoned and since everyone who knew about the classified relic is dead it gets left behind, sealed in a hidden vault.. 10,000 years later an Iron Hand Librarian receives a vision: a renegade space marine on a ships bridge being informed by a servitor that the ship has arrived at [name of planet], and the renegade stating archvillainously "at last, the [name of relic] shall be ours..", so the Iron Hands dispatch an expedition.. (which, since it was a vision, means the Iron Hands could arrive first)

 Mordred wrote:
As far as I know... No they do not. They have 10 super battle ships that act as a fortress for each clan so those are mobile bases but they only establish themselves on medusa.
If you want my opinion rework the story so the chaos marines assault a rather isolated imperial world and that world sends out a distress call that mentions attacks by space marines wielding sonic weapons and the planet doesn't expect to be saved because they are rather insignificant but suddenly their cries for help are answered as a iron hands battle barge arrives from warp travel and the only message they translate goes to the enemy and friend alike that proclaims... "The sons of Ferrus remember..."

Thanks for the info. I like the idea of a battle barge being sent to check out trouble.


Automatically Appended Next Post:

 Gashrog wrote:

 Mordred wrote:
They have 10 super battle ships that act as a fortress for each clan so those are mobile bases but they only establish themselves on medusa.

Are you sure about that? In both the Index Astartes article and Deathwatch: First Founding the Clan Companies mobile Fortress-Monasteries were giant *ground* vehicles that never leave Medusa.

For what it's worth the entry for the Iron Hands in the Forge World Horus Heresy books describes their noteworthy domains at the time of the heresy as: "The Medusa system (Primary), sixteen other systems held in tributary fiefdom at the closure of the Great Crusade, numerous independently operated outpost way-stations and holdfasts established - full number and position remains unknown."

You could easily make it a forgotten holdfast abandoned since the Heresy, the tech relic could have been delivered to the holdfast for safe keeping shortly before the Heresy, it's existence known only to the garrisons senior officers. When the Heresy erupts most of the garrison - including the entire senior staff - are reassigned and subsequently killed (maybe at Isstvan), in the aftermath of the Heresy the holdfast holds no strategic importance either to the downsized Iron Hands or to any successor chapter and is abandoned and since everyone who knew about the classified relic is dead it gets left behind, sealed in a hidden vault.. 10,000 years later an Iron Hand Librarian receives a vision: a renegade space marine on a ships bridge being informed by a servitor that the ship has arrived at [name of planet], and the renegade stating archvillainously "at last, the [name of relic] shall be ours..", so the Iron Hands dispatch an expedition.. (which, since it was a vision, means the Iron Hands could arrive first)

Ooh, excellent. I think I'll run with the Heresy era relic. Combined with the other idea I could start with something like:

- Iron Hands hear reports of unknown ship in some sector they previously patrolled bearing effaced Imperium markings along with those of a barely known Imperial Fists successor markings
- An expedition is dispatched to investigate
- Upon arrival, they find signs of a forgotten HH era outpost once belonging to the IH
- The outpost has been ransacked and a secure vault blown open with plasma weaponry
- The ship is spotted nearby and the IH investigate

(The renegade group is an offshoot of the Soul Drinkers)

Theirs a short story in ITunes about some Tau who find a temple and some dead Death Watch marines where a lowly fire warrior revives an Iron Hand by charging him up with a Drone. Won't spoil it unless you'd like to PM me, but it's a fun read.

It's called Sanctuary of Worms

You can make almost any chapter appear at any location at any time. They all have some kind of space presence.

That said, the Iron Hands do *not* have 10 freaking Battle Barges. Not even the Ultramarines have that big of a fleet. Not even the Black Templars, who are probably the biggest fleet chapter, have THAT BIG of a fleet.

 j31c3n wrote:
You can make almost any chapter appear at any location at any time. They all have some kind of space presence.

That said, the Iron Hands do *not* have 10 freaking Battle Barges. Not even the Ultramarines have that big of a fleet. Not even the Black Templars, who are probably the biggest fleet chapter, have THAT BIG of a fleet.

Space Wolves have something like 8 battle barges and their fleet is HUGE

BrianDavion wrote:

 j31c3n wrote:
You can make almost any chapter appear at any location at any time. They all have some kind of space presence.

That said, the Iron Hands do *not* have 10 freaking Battle Barges. Not even the Ultramarines have that big of a fleet. Not even the Black Templars, who are probably the biggest fleet chapter, have THAT BIG of a fleet.

Space Wolves have something like 8 battle barges and their fleet is HUGE

8 < 10