Chapter Shadow Warriors:
Chapter Armour:
Main colours are Black with a white Moko patterning. Higher ranking Marines sometimes have Red, Black and White.
Homeworld
Shadow Warriors are recruited from Aotearoa. The planet is a forest world, covered in hills and swamps. Most of the creatures that live there are harmless. Giant birds roam this land, along with huge insects that pose the only real threat on this planet.
Customs
The Shadow Warriors have one unique tradition that is unlike any other. The Mana ( prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma) system. Every Marine in the Shadow Warriors follows a Mana system. Mana is gained in battle notably through the eating of their victims hearts. The more mighty the enemy slain the more Mana gained once their heart has been consumed. Mana can also be gained through deeds in both battle and in training. The more Mana a Marine has the higher his rank becomes. It is unthinkable for a Marine of lower mana to refuse a request from a Marine of higher mana. This makes the ranking Marines simply the ones with the highest mana gained.
The Moko is a unique pattern that varies for each Marine. These moko tell the story of the Marines deeds, achievements and downfalls. The moko behind on the face of each marine and eventually grows to cover the armour as centuries pass. Marines use this moko as a quick way of seeing into anothers past and status.
Ranks
The standard marines are known as Toa (warriors). The leaders are referred to as Rangatira. Any Shadow Warrior with Psychic Ability is known as Tohunga. This basic system is seen as second to the Mana system. It is very rare for mana not to determine a Marines place on the battle field.
Combat Doctrine
In combat the Shadow Warrior head to battle mounted in their Waka Pakanga. These Waka Pakanga are Rhino Transports that bear the Moko of fallen warriors.
Being highly adaptable warriors they will happily fight both at range or in melee, however nothing is more glorious than a Toka-tū-moana. That is where the most Mana is to be gained. An even fight in hand to hand.
Before each battle the Chapter performs a mighty war dance known as a haka. There are a number of war dances but the most common being the "empera kanikani". This haka tells the story of the mightiest warrior ever to have fought, the emperor himself. Enemy reports suggest this has an adverse effect before an engagement. One ork warboss referred to the Shadow Warriors as the "slapping scream killas" after hearing a haka before battle.
The Shadow Warriors favour the use of club weaponry in combat. Hailing the enemy while marching forward before clubbing their enemies to death. Each club is unique to each Toa, usually an extension of their moko.
Notable Battles
During a time long ago the Shadow Warriors fought an Ork waaagh on an Archipelago word. They built a might
Pa (fort) on a volcanic island and held there for months slaying wave after wave of orks as they tried to land on the island. Air landings, naval landings and even scuba diving could not get the orks on to the island. The highest mana ever gained by Shadow Warriors happened during this battle. Rumour has it that the supply of Ork hearts was enough to keep the Shadow Warriors fighting alone. Very few records exist to tell the true story of what happened in this conflict.
End
I might buy 10 Space Marines and a rhino and paint them as the above. Give them all clubs heavily green stuff them to look like Maori Warriors mixed with Space Marines.
Any ideas to improve this idea? Anything I am missing?
"Because the Wolves kill cleanly, and we do not. They also kill quickly, and we have never done that, either. They fight, they win, and they stalk back to their ships with their tails held high. If they were ever ordered to destroy another Legion, they would do it by hurling warrior against warrior, seeking to grind their enemies down with the admirable delusions of the 'noble savage'. If we were ever ordered to assault another Legion, we would virus bomb their recruitment worlds; slaughter their serfs and slaves; poison their gene-seed repositories and spend the next dozen decades watching them die slow, humiliating deaths. Night after night, raid after raid, we'd overwhelm stragglers from their fleets and bleach their skulls to hang from our armour, until none remained. But that isn't the quick execution the Emperor needs, is it? The Wolves go for the throat. We go for the eyes. Then the tongue. Then the hands. Then the feet. Then we skin the crippled remains, and offer it up as an example to any still bearing witness. The Wolves were warriors before they became soldiers. We were murderers first, last, and always!" —Jago Sevatarion
