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Hey guys, I have an inkling of a chapter that I'm considering developing into a full IA so I thought I'd throw the bare bones of it out into the open to get some suggestions on where to take it.

Celtic chapter ideas

Geneseed- White scars

Name-?

Themes:
Great craftsmen, glory seekers, headhunters, used as imperial executioners

Strategy: Lightning fast strikes on high profile targets

Believe that glory and honour is earned in open combat and in great achievements. This has resulted in the practice of leadership positions being earned by defeating the current Captain/Sergeant in combat.

Honour battles between marines in chapter are a frequent method of solving disputes at both low ranks and in the leadership elements. Often results in fatalities.

Companies have evolved into individual war-bands rather than sections of a larger chapter. Companies act as autonomous organisations. Companies are fleet based.

Civil war in chapter resulted in chaplaincy taking effective command of the chapter. The position of chapter master was deprived of most of its powers, with these being transferred to the Head Chaplain (e.g Right to sign protection agreements, right to appoint Chapter master, right to call all of the chapter to one place). Chapter master now more “first among equals” than direct commander. First company stripped of its special position and most of its specialist equipment.

Enlarged chaplaincy to ensure order and loyalty among an unruly chapter. Have squads of marines under their command. Control the majority of the Chapter’s Terminator armour.

Chaplaincy responsible for recruiting new members from home planet. Only Chaplaincy is allowed to station troops on the home planet.

Hold the emperor to be a god and see themselves as partly divine as a result of their relationship to him?

Homeworld is deep in imperial space. Chapter often deployed against rebellious groups in imperium?

I've written up a very rough draft of the main forces that have influenced the way the Chapter has developed into its current organizational structure. At this point it is really very rough and I am expecting to change quite a lot of the details.



Founded early in the Age of Redemption the “Sons of ?” were sanctioned by the High Lords to act as their executioners, to hunt out and purge all those who had been deemed traitors, heretics and heathens in the eyes of the newly resurgent High Lords. The “Sons of ?” proved particularly adept to this task, with their way of warfare emphasizing daring strikes on high profile targets, rebellions and heresies life spans were cut drastically short by the sudden elimination of their leaders and vital supplies. As the number of internal targets gradually diminished and the High Lords re-solidified their grasp on the Imperium the “Sons of ?” were you used more and more on the external threats to the Imperium. Of particular note was the defeat of Waaagh Skargut, in which the Waaagh was stopped dead in its tracks just before it fell on the “?” sub-sector by Chief (Captain) Dumnorix and his 7th Clann’s (Company) suicidal strike on their Kapital Cruiser. By killing Warboss Skargut the 7th Clann plunged Waaagh Skargut into anarchy as they fought among each other to decide a new leader, there by saving the sub-sector. Of the 82 Marines who engaged in the action only 7 survived, with one needing to be interned in a dreadnought to ensure his survival. To this day the 82 marines are worshiped as heroes by the inhabitants of the sub- sector.

The demands placed upon the chapter grew greater as the Imperium pursued larger and longer crusades the “Sons of” were forced to adapt. In order to meet their obligations the chapter had to break down its command structure and the individual companies grew into something more akin to individual war-bands rather than sections of a larger chapter with each pursuing their own autonomous objectives. This suited the glory hunting aspect of the chapters character perfectly and the stories of the chapters glorious victories grew ever more frequent. There would however be disastrous consequences for the chapter as a whole. Left to their own devices the companies became more and more competitive with each other and now responsible for their own recruitment, conflicts from their home planets tribal society began to bleed into chapter as they began to select from narrower tribal groups. This culminated in an event known internally to the chapter as The Sundering. A ferociously ambitious High Chief (Chapter Master) began hunting down the other Clanns and killing their Chiefs, taking the Clanns under his own control using his authority as High Chief to cower the marines into following him and killing those who didn't . He was able to take direct control of just over half of the chapter before the rest found out, motivated by the belief that only his fellow marines could provide him a worthy challenge and bring him the glory he deserved he set his eyes on Dachaigh (the Chapter’s Home World) where the Head Druid (Chaplain) had rallied the remaining Clanns of the Chapter. In the most devastating conflict of the Chapters history the forces loyal to the Head Druid were only just victorious due to last minute intervention by Inquisitorial and Ecclesiarchical forces. The Inquisition and Ecclesiarchy presented the Head Druid with a harsh decision, either commit the chapter to a penitent crusade of indefinite terms or adopt the Imperial creed, restructure the Chapter according to their demands and give the newly empowered position of High Chaplain to the candidate of their choice. Believing that the weakened Chapter would be unable survive the crusade, he decided that subversion would be a better fate than death and so gave into their demands. The Imperial creed quickly established itself on Dachaigh but the old faith dies hard and is still followed by many of the tribes and marines in the Chapter. The consequences of the decision are still felt in the Chapter to this day and threaten to tear it apart once again, as those in the Chapter who still secretly hold to the old ways seem to be rallying around a new figure.

Any and all comments are appreciated.

Sounds good. The fact that they are one of the few Chapters (roughly 35 in total) that explicitly worship the Emperor as a god is a big plus in my book.

I would, however, point out that the Ecclesiarchy is real, real good at adapting the local faith of whatever world they claim into the Imperial Creed... not unlike how the Catholics adopted the Druid Cults of Ireland into the Church, incidentally. If the "old ways" are completely incompatible with the Ecclesiarchy, they'd purge the world. That's what the Sisters of Battle are for, and they are the go-to organization in the Imperium for purging rogue Space Marine Chapters.

Ironically, they would accomplish this feat in much the same way as the Chapter fights: A blitz attack via Dominica-pattern Drop Pod insertion into wherever the Chapter Master or other high-ranking members of the Chapter are, shortly followed by merciless purgation.