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Hi all,

I am a huge Blood Angels fan, but one aspect of their back ground irks me.

The Death Company.... I like the concept of a dark brooding, berserker rage approach, but not that they are mindless and beyond hope and desposible.

Have anyone managed to create a fitting alternative take on them as a specialist company that may require a bit more TLC from chaplains but can keep fighting for as lo g as they survive for example.

Give them some personality and not be simply mindless marines that will be executed if they don't perish in battle...

Thoughts?

You could always just have your Chaplain be different from the norm, mostly because the whole keeping the Angels from going nuts is what happens with the regular battle brothers.

Delusional and mindless are not quite the same thing, and whilst death company will ultimately be put down it might not be for several battles if a chaplain can keep them focused the right way jn the here and now, whatever they might be experiencing in their heads

Way way back when I was helping design the Emperor's Nightmare chapter, the way we implemented Death Company was by having marines who lost the ability to sleep. The longer they stayed awake, the sharper their reactions became, but also the more they started to hallucinate. The Sleepless, as they were called.

jareddm wrote:
Way way back when I was helping design the Emperor's Nightmare chapter, the way we implemented Death Company was by having marines who lost the ability to sleep. The longer they stayed awake, the sharper their reactions became, but also the more they started to hallucinate. The Sleepless, as they were called.

I assume they also had faulty Catalepsean Nodes and Sus-An Membranes to facilitate this?

In my personal headcanon, the Death Company is the most respected unit of the chapter. While they have succumbed to the black rage and are not "compus mentis" anymore, they represent the ultimate sacrifice each Blood Angel must ultimately make, assuming they live long enough as warriors.

While the DC are kept contained between fights, and their armaments taken from them, they are treated as well as possible in their isolation. All the artisans of the Chapter contribute to crafting the most exquisite and ornate wargear for them. They are "walking coffins", wearing the glory of the chapter and their own past experiences in their decorations. In a way, the DC are already considered as dead, and their participation in battles is their perpetual funeral ritual.

While the DC are mostly living in their own delusionary world, they do experience brief moments of clarity and lucid thinking. During those times, the DC often write songs, proverbs or poems describing their experiences and feelings, so as to document their fleeting lucid moments and give insight to the rage for their fellow brothers, who are yet to fall victim to its dark embrace.

Because the DC are so greatly venerated, no other Blood Angel is allowed to adorn their armour and wargear with decorations to the same extent. Only Sanguinius and his personal retinue is/was allowed an exception from this.

jareddm wrote:
Way way back when I was helping design the Emperor's Nightmare chapter, the way we implemented Death Company was by having marines who lost the ability to sleep. The longer they stayed awake, the sharper their reactions became, but also the more they started to hallucinate. The Sleepless, as they were called.

Have they ever been to the Pacific Northwest?

 Platuan4th wrote:

jareddm wrote:
Way way back when I was helping design the Emperor's Nightmare chapter, the way we implemented Death Company was by having marines who lost the ability to sleep. The longer they stayed awake, the sharper their reactions became, but also the more they started to hallucinate. The Sleepless, as they were called.

I assume they also had faulty Catalepsean Nodes and Sus-An Membranes to facilitate this?

Just Catalepsean Node. The original "roll on the Rites of Battle tables and see what comes of it" chapter.https://1d4chan.org/wiki/Emperor%27s_Nightmare The opening text could use some toning down from how the chapter end up being designed, but I think it still holds up.

Great feedback and insights, thank you all for your responses.