Are there any Space Marine chapters based on the Maoris?

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**EnTyme**

I've been looking over the lore behind several SM chapters and trying to figure out what, if any, culture they are based off of. The White Scars obviously have Mongolian inspiration. The Storm Wardens seem to be inspired by a combination of the Celts and Gauls. The Black Templar have a Teutonic feel to them. This got me thinking how awesome it would be to have a chapter based off the Maori people of New Zealand! Can you imagine an entire battle company performing the Haka across the battlefield from a terrified and confused Tau hunter cadre? Are there any chapters out there with a Maori or other Polynesian inspiration? If not, I think I may just have to make one.

**EnTyme**

I never even thought about the Carcharadons. Need to take a look at their FW stuff. I'm not the biggest fan of their color scheme, but maybe I could make an offshoot chapter. Thanks for the info, folks!

**EnTyme**

After doing a little more research on the Carcharadons, the whole "stealth in and then go berserk" motif doesn't really fit the Maoris. I think I'll have to agree with MarsNZ. I'll just have to come up with my own.

**EnTyme**

djones520 wrote:
30k Salamanders used weapons similar to the Maori's. Deathfire describes a sword used as being crafted from the teeth of a creature from their homeworld.

I'm actually leaning toward Salamanders as their Gene-seed origin. Fire/volcano motifs seem appropriate. I'd probably use Codex: Space Wolves instead of Codex: Space Marines, though just because I would imagine a Maori chapter would be more "choppy" than "shooty". I'd have to change some flavor text, obviously (Hellfire instead of Hellfrost).

**EnTyme**

I'm definitely not thinking of the Maori as just a pre-industrial civilization. Hell, they were one of the first non-white people to earn citizenship in the British Empire! I'm leaning toward the CC focus more so the chapter can represent more than just the Maori, but Polynesian cultures in general, most of which were known for their seamanship (it would be a fleet-base chapter as well) and close-combat proficiency (the Phillipine Islands held off Spanish invaders for years basically using only sticks).

**EnTyme**

Spineyguy wrote:
EnTyme wrote:
I'm definitely not thinking of the Maori as just a pre-industrial civilization. Hell, they were one of the first non-white people to earn citizenship in the British Empire! I'm leaning toward the CC focus more so the chapter can represent more than just the Maori, but Polynesian cultures in general, most of which were known for their seamanship (it would be a fleet-base chapter as well) and close-combat proficiency (the Phillipine Islands held off Spanish invaders for years basically using only sticks).

Again, the relative level of technology on the homeworld really won't have much of an effect. If Fenrisians can learn to use a Land Raider then surely anyone can!

Although I haven't ever created a homebrew Chapter, I expect the way to do it is to start from the ground level. Flesh out the home society, its customs and wildlife and such, then work out what impact this would have on the eventual soldiers. Perhaps you could start from some Maori mythology and adapt this to feature the Emperor in some convoluted way to explain why they're loyal. Is there a sizeable Imperial presence on the homeworld, like there is on Chogoris?

That's the path I'm taking, Spineyguy. Thus far, I know that the chapter's homeworld and primary source of recruits, Temuera Secundus, will be a feral aquatic world with no actual continents, just massive collections of archipelagos created but underwater volcanos. Like many SM recruiting worlds, the people know little to nothing about the Imperium, just that every few years, god-like beings descend from the heavens to select the greatest warriors to put through a trial (by fire, of course). I'm looking up some Maori legends to adapt to the 40k setting.

**EnTyme**

I have also settled on the chapter name Ahi Ariki, which means Fire Lords in Maori. I found a lot of references to eels in Maori myths, and I thought about calling them the Fire Eels, but Ahi Tuna just didn't sound right.

**EnTyme**

Veteran Sergeant wrote:
EnTyme wrote:
Can you imagine an entire battle company performing the Haka across the battlefield from a terrified and confused Tau hunter cadre?
I think the purpose of the Haka dates back to a time before your enemy could blast you apart from the edge of visual range with a rail rifle.

The important thing to do in 40K from a fluff perspective is to avoid the Space Wolf Trap where the trope overpowers the existing lore, and you end up with wolf chariots and wolf cavalry and werewolves and freeze rays (because, yeah, the logical progression of technology on an ice planet is to come up with a gun that makes things colder).

They should be Space Marines with a Maori theme, and not Maoris with a Space Marine theme. Because no matter what culture they come from, what kind of planet, etc, they are still being crafted into a spacefaring race of elite, high technology warriors. The culture on their planet might love canoes and seafaring, but a Space Marine rides in drop pods, Thunderhawks and Rhinos, and carries rocket rifles and chainsaw swords. If you get too caught up in a "theme", you end up with the awful monstrosity that the Space Wolves have mutated into.

Also, don't get too caught up in what Chapter they come from. It's largely irrelevant. The Mantis Warriors have no predilection towards the bikes that the White Scars use. Nor do the Black Templars fight anything like the Imperial Fists. or the Carcharadons like the Raven Guard. The less you get caught up in "Well, their imagery is kinda like the Salamanders..." the more freedom you have. I mean, heck, Ultramarines successors can be anything from the doomy and gloomy Mortifactors with their death cult and trances, to the tank-loving Aurora Chapter. Write your fluff the way you want. It's your story. I chose the Ultramarines specifically because I didn't want there to be any kind of pigeonhole for what my army ended up as. And, I figured, 2/3rds of all Chapters are Ultramarines successors. seems likely that mine would be too. Then use the Chapter Tactics rules you want. Space Marines existed for 25 years before the invention of "Chapter Tactics". Don't shoehorn your own fluff into stupid rules written fairly recently. You can write a Raven Guard Successor, then use Salamanders tactics when you play. Nobody is going to fault you. And if they do, sucker punch them, because they're probably the kind of person who has it coming.

Good advice, Sarge. I'm hoping to flesh out this chapter some more and post as I get things done. I'm still a long way from actually building and painting these guys. I'm already flip-flopping on them being a choppy army. The more I read about the Maori, the more I see how their ability to adapt to technology is what made them the dominant race of the South Pacific, and focusing on melee in a setting filled with guns makes less and less sense. I do, however, like the idea of keeping a fire theme, so Salamanders chapter tactics really makes sense.

As a side note, I know I've seen several New Zealand and Australian flags on the forum here, so if there are any Dakkanauts of Maori decent, please give me your input. I'm just a guy who has a fascination with your culture. I'd love to have your input on this chapter.

**EnTyme**

ingtaer wrote:
A good resource for Maori myths is;
http://eng.mataurangamaori.tki.org.nz/Support-materials/Te-Reo-Maori/Maori-Myths-Legends-and-Contemporary-Stories

Your chapter name made me chuckle, first glance at it I thought it was smoked God!

Are you looking for just the background fluff for a chapter or for the modelling side as well?
For Maori combat technique a lot of people don't realise that they were actually really proficient in sieges (mostly defensive in the colonial period) as well as raiding. For inspiration on chapter heroes I would look up Hone Heke who developed the Maori way of defence against firearms and Hongi Hika who was probably the most successful war chiefs during the Musket Wars.

Thank you for the link and info. This'll give me something to read in my downtime at work. I'm still working on the fluff side of the chapter right now, ingtaer. I'll need to finish my Blood Ravens and Tyranids before I start to actually model these guys, so that's probably at least a year or two off.

**EnTyme**

John Wirral wrote:
May not be what you need, but these marines are very cool and tribal...

Maybe not Maori, but it's a start.

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/579936.page

Very good-looking models there. Definitely more of a Meso-American/American Indian theme than Maori, but its a good example of incorporating tribal themes into SM armor. I'll have to bookmark it when I get home.