Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

I made another thread concerning this chapter, but the suggested changes to my ideas were so severe that I just had to scrap it and start over. So, here's the revised background of my little plastic models:

Name: Boros Legion

Origins: 25th founding. They were created to defend the Progress system from a newly-emergent and chaos-spewing warp storm. They have Blood Ravens Geneseed and their oldest members are from that chapter.

Combat doctrine: Unusually accurate warp travel. Their librarians seem to possess a gift for safely guiding ships through warp current and the chapter has yet to lose a ship to the warp (though it’s only five hundred years old). Ground combat is all about dakka. Centuries of fighting orks, chaos heretics and tyranids have developed a chapter of krak shots who specialize in vehicles and heavy weapons. Devastator marines are highly sought after and the Machine Cult is necessarily given a great deal of attention. Not on the level of the Iron Hands, but more than most. Each member of the chapter is trained to construct his own wargear and conduct moderate repairs to his power armour. One of the final tasks of a recruit is to build a bolter from the ground up in a limited amount of time.

Beliefs: Every human (not xeno, not traitor) life is precious and must be protected at any cost. The Boros try to save as many imperial citizens as possible from a warzone as they engage the enemy. They even go so far as to stay long enough to ensure that the war-torn system is on its way to being rebuilt and its people’s needs are met. This has made the Boros superb builders and has won them great admiration among the common people. During the Third War for Armageddon, they rebuilt an entire hive city in less than a year.

This air of hope is embraced by some chapters, such as the Blood Angels and Salamanders, but merely accepted by some. The Ultramarines see this as naïve but not necessarily heretical. They expect the chapter to eventually grow out of it. It absolutely disgusts the Iron Hands and Marines Malevolent, who refuse to have any contact with the Boros whatsoever and dismiss them as weak.

Homeworld: Boros. A cold rocky moon who’s people live exceptionally hard lives as nomads salvaging old technology for trade in the few cities that exist. More on this, and the system as a whole later. For now, just focusing on the Boros homeworld. The toughest, strongest and bravest kids are recruited from this world, given purpose and unity through teamwork trials and Imperial Guard style military training. They then complete a variety of quests to test and develop their individual worthiness and their ability to work as a team. Training culminates with a three day hike to the stronghold of Camp Typhon on the jungle world of Dawn. Each recruit is given minimal gear and a piece of a map leading to the camp. This ensures that the recruits must find each other in the dense jungle and work together in order to survive, lest they die alone and lost. Upon reaching the camp, they are congratulated on making the journey, restocked with food and supplies and given a full arsenal of weapons. This is for the horde of feral orks that is thrust upon them without warning. Anyone who survives gets their geneseed and becomes a scout provided they survive the surgery.

Battlecry: “Hope brings courage! Courage brings victory!” or “Strength is a gift. Use it well.” The former is shouted during battle or broadcast over vox during fleet actions. The latter is more of a mantra.

Origins of the Boros Legion

The Boros Legion Chapter is one of the newest and most optimistic Space Marine Chapters in the Imperium. Led by the former Blood Raven Fidrigg Orion, the Boros Legion serves as the enforcers of His will in Progress. Though the chapter rivals any other chapter in its loyalty to The Emperor and He is all the Boros answer to, the chapter does not rule Progress, as the Ultramarines rule Ultramar. All direct planetary affairs are dealt with by Progress’s civilian government. The Boros Legion’s soldiers are the system’s guardians and honored residents, serving to protect and advise the system against the Imperium’s enemies. The chapter’s creation is largely thanks to Fidrigg himself, who had a vision from The Emperor shortly after the return of Azariah Kyras from the space hulk Judgment of Carrion. In the vision, The Emperor warned Fidrigg that corruption lurked in Kyras’ heart and he would very likely bring destruction to the chapter. When or if this would happen was not clear, but Fidrigg consulted his brothers at once. He was convinced that a small, elite cadre of Blood Ravens must break away from the chapter in the event that his vision proved true. Many did not listen to Fidrigg, skeptical of his vision. How could such dire events be on the horizon when one of their greatest heroes had returned to them? There were a small few however who looked into Fidrigg’s eyes and new the truth.

He and thirty-six others travelled to Holy Terra to consult the Imperial Tarot on what should be done and the Tarot agreed that they should indeed break away. Kyras was furious by this decision and wanted these men branded heretics and hunted down. He tried to get sanction by the inquisition to do this, making the case that Fidrigg was corrupted by chaos and wanted to destroy the Blood Ravens while he was really worried about being exposed as the heretic he secretly was. The inquisition however knew of the Tarot’s decision and that it was backed by the High Lords of Terra. Fidrigg and his followers had done nothing wrong so far and they saw no reason to betray the High Lords by hunting down loyal soldiers. That and warp activity in the Progress system, then a fledgling colony, had increased tenfold. Warp Storms had always been a minor concern but the colonists were suffering organized and large scale attacks by chaos raiders from The Maelstrom. The system was not in reasonable reach of any other chapters, so a new one had to be created and established to guard this new doorway to The Warp.

Fidrigg and his men were up to the task. Over two years, they formed the first company of what would become the Boros Legion. The Adeptes Mechanicus was able to provide them with a strike cruiser and basic wargear in addition to what Fidrigg and his men had brought with them from the Blood Ravens armouries, but he feared that it would not be enough. He petitioned the older chapters for wargear and supplies, but most would not hear him. He was the commander of a chapter that had won no battles and was not worth helping. Fidrigg was also a man of ideals and grand visions of a shining future for mankind. Such hope was viewed as dubious at best and, in the case of the Iron Hands, disgusting. There were however two chapters, the Salamanders and the Blood Angels, who were eager to help. Both were moved by Fidrigg’s desire to bring light and hope to the forgotten system of Progress and of banishing the forces of chaos from that system forever. He reminded the Blood Angels strongly of Sanguinius and persuaded the Salamanders with his humanity. Kyras demanded the Blood Ravens provide no support to men he still considered upstarts, but he was blackmailed by the Ordo Hereticus into aiding the Boros with additional ships and weapons. A combined force of Blood Angels, Salamanders and the new Boros Legion purged the Progress system of chaos, reestablished the colonies and established the Boros as a worthy addition to the Space Marines.

Over the last five hundred years, the chapter has grown strong and independent. It reached its full strength in just over a century and wargear and battle tactics from its benefactors have let it build a mighty arsenal. The Boros fortress-monastery holds many treasures of ancient technology including the STC templates for plasma guns, plasma cannons and executioner cannons. This gives the chapter a deep understanding of plasma technology and it has been eager to share it with the Adeptes Mechanicus. This has resulted in good relations with the two bodies. Relationships with the Blood Ravens have improved over the centuries and especially after the defeat of Kyras and of the installment of Gabriel Angelos as Chapter Master. All Boros librarians are sent to the Blood Ravens once they have learned the basics of controlling their powers. This started out as a measure of control for Kyras in the chapter’s early days and a necessary evil for the Boros as they had no librarians among their founders but it has developed into a time-honoured tradition.

Notable Boros:

Captain Ajax Orestes: Commander of the Chapter Honour Guard and one of the oldest members of the Boros. He has served Fidrigg and The Emperor since the beginning and was the first to receive the Boros geneseed. He is from the hive world of Malice. Though he was but twelve when he received his first taste of battle and armed only with a lead pipe, he fought without mercy hordes of maddened rioters during a chaos rebellion shortly after the Boros had competed their survey of the system. Orestes stood shoulder to shoulder with Imperial Guardsmen and local malitia. Fidrigg was inspired by this and has since molded him into the finest embodiment of what the Boros are capable of.

Captain Cato Spurgius: Captain Spurgius has led the Boros 2nd company for two hundred years and has fought with honour and skill all the way through. Of all the chapter’s warriors, Spurgius is the most skilled rider and swordsmen and has done much to establish the 2nd company as a feared fast attack unit. Though the Codex Astartes is a distilled volume of pure wisdom, there is no substitute for practical experience and until Spurgius, the Boros had little experience with bikes or land speeders.

Senior Librarian James Cullen: Senior Librarian Cullen was the first Boros Librarian to exist and was exclusively trained by the Blood Ravens before. This was necessary considering the Boros had no system for training psykers and the Blood Ravens had many. Boros battle brothers must also prove their worth in all forms of war before they are considered ready for librarian training. Cullen has proven invaluable over the young chapter’s lifetime, dispensing fury and unmatched strength on the battlefield while being wise and insightful off of it. He has worked tirelessly to forge the Boros into a force for hope and good: an ever-vigilant light in the darkness of the universe. He believes that Space Marines in general can become much more than mere Angels of Death and that they must continue The Emperor’s work of spreading unity and hope through the universe.

Librarian Simus Psyrakon: One of the youngest and most powerful psykers in the Boros, Simus has accomplished a great amount of deeds in a short time. Learning all he can from Librarian Cullen (always ‘master Cullen’) Simus seeks to emulate his master in every way. He is a kind and generous young man who believes that only by helping each other can the imperium endure. He seeks to instill compassion and love into his brothers and is a friend to everyone he meets. On the battlefield however, such sentiments are put aside and Simus lets loose his full fury against the enemy, sporting incredible psychic powers for a marine of a mere 120 years. Simus has seen much of the galaxy and has kept bonds of trust and friendship with other chapters strong. Ties with the Salamanders have become particularly strong due to Simus’ unusually humane nature. He served a twenty year tour with the Blood Ravens and developed his powers in several campaigns including Tartarus, Kronus and Karuva. When Captain Devian Thule fell during the First War for Aurelia, Simus was able to fight the shadow of the warp just enough to allow the sector to call for help. His assistance of the local force commander was vital for holding the sector until Captain Angelos arrived. He fought with the Heroes of Aurelia in further exploits during the second and third wars to control that system. He took command of the crusade against the Black Legion following the defeat of Ulkair and the death of his force commander and remained an important tool to Angelos until transferred to serve under Captain Diomodies. When he eventually returned home to Progress, Chapter Master Angelos allowed him to take a personal guard with him to serve in the future. Sergeants Tarkus, Avitus, Thaddius and Cyrus as well as Techmarine Martellus composed of this guard and serve as Simus’ command squad in the Boros Legion 4th company to this day.

Please don't be unnecessarily rough, but I am looking for honest critiques/glaring flaws I need to fix. Making up the time of an undocumented founding already feels like wobbly ground at best. That said, do what you must to get your point across. I will not take it personally.

Looks good.

He and thirty-six others travelled to Holy Terra to consult the Imperial Tarot on what should be done and the Tarot agreed that they should indeed break away. Kyras was furious by this decision and wanted these men branded heretics and hunted down. He tried to get sanction by the inquisition to do this, making the case that Fidrigg was corrupted by chaos and wanted to destroy the Blood Ravens while he was really worried about being exposed as the heretic he secretly was. The inquisition however knew of the Tarot’s decision and that it was backed by the High Lords of Terra. Fidrigg and his followers had done nothing wrong so far and they saw no reason to betray the High Lords by hunting down loyal soldiers. That and warp activity in the Progress system, then a fledgling colony, had increased tenfold. Warp Storms had always been a minor concern but the colonists were suffering organized and large scale attacks by chaos raiders from The Maelstrom. The system was not in reasonable reach of any other chapters, so a new one had to be created and established to guard this new doorway to The Warp.

You might want to say that they petitionned the High Lords for permission to build a new chapter and in light of his vision they are given permission and the adeptus mechanicus supplies them with a stock of gene-seed etc etc...
The Imperial Tarot does not need to be done on Terra, it can be done pretty much anywhere.

Oh. Ok. I can edit that part.