Chapter Summary

A Pathfinder Space Marine

Name: Pathfinders
Founding Chapter: Unknown
Founding: 26th Founding
Chapter Master: Titanus Minick
Homeworld: Crozan, Segmentum Ultima
Fortress-Monastery: Fortress Blatzheim
Main Colors: Flat Green with White Trim
Specialty: Scouts, Executioner Tanks
Battle Cry: “Seek-Strike-Destroy!”
Estimated Strength: Ten Companies (1000 Marines)

Pathfinders Miniature

Chapter Symbol

History

Following a similar pattern of combat to their brothers, the Invaders chapter, the Pathfinders find their roots in the same founding.
The Pathfinders began their chapter without a home world, although it was well within the Emperor’s plan that they should have one soon. Founded aboard the massive battle barge the Magnus Aquila, the Pathfinders scrounged up the first aspirants from various planets in the Ultima Segmentum. Though there was an early threat of gene seed corruption, the Pathfinders eventually filled into a full new chapter and set out on their first mission alongside their brethren, the Crusaders chapter.
The Pathfinders and Crusaders had been assigned to invade and obliterate the alien presence on Vor’Kii, a small world on the edge of Tau space. Vor’Kii had been identified by the Adeptus Mechanicus as a former Forge World, lost to warp storms for millennia, and it was to be reclaimed in the name of the Emperor. It was in this war that the Pathfinders were blooded, showing a strength and prowess few expected of a fresh chapter. The Pathfinders had everything to prove, and the Tau provided as much resistance as they could, digging into the Forge World’s catacombs and tapping into the plasma generators. Frustrated, the Pathfinders opened pathways into the forges that allowed the Crusaders to push through and root out the alien presence. The Tau had not completely tainted Vor’Kii, however, as the Pathfinders recovered several Executioner pattern Leman Russ tanks to help swell their firepower far below the surface of the planet. At the close of the battle, the Crusaders departed and the Pathfinders were left with the spoils of war: a planet on the edge of xeno space to call their own. The planet was re-named Crozan; work began almost immediately after the conflict on the Fortress-Monastery, Blatzheim.

Executioner tanks were recovered
and put to use against the Tau

Many of the chapters’ problems in their first campaign against the Tau stemmed from a relative lack of command discipline amongst the Marines. Imperial historians point to the numerous Marines who had yet to learn the cold discipline of death or mortal wounding, but the Pathfinders’ Chapter Master took it upon himself to come up with his own solution to the problem. Much like the Space Wolves, the Pathfinders deviate from the traditional Codex Astartes in favor of tactics devised for their own use. Critics of the Pathfinders note the use of Aspirants as combatants as particularly unorthodox, and the extremely daring call the changes in doctrine heresy.
As the centuries have carried on, the Pathfinders carried out numerous campaigns, including a ferocious cleansing of an army from the Alpha Legion and the successful recovery of an artifact that was requested for study by the Inquisition. Crozan has regularly come under attack from the Tau, who believe they have natural rights to the Forge World on the edge of Tau space. Although Crozan is an excellent point from which to mount an invasion into Tau space, such an order has not come through the Munitorum; many younger Astartes enjoy speculating as to when exactly they will be called to begin eliminating the Tau wholesale.

Armor and Rank

The Pathfinders’ armor is an olive drab with white trim, and the chapter symbol is a five-pointed star, sometimes in a broken circle. The Pathfinders’ chapter historian holds that the five-pointed star is a symbol chosen to represent invasion and scouting specialists, although there are no other Imperial sources to back such a claim. Sergeants are designated with a white right leg, and a blood stripe running down the length of their left leg. The white leg represents purity of mind, and the blood stripe represents the sacrifices of the Aspirants who do not survive their initial combat mission.

Volkmann Forrix has earned
five stripes that designate
his experience.

Space Marines at the lowest rank are designated with a gold stripe on their collar. Veterans who show potential for greater positions of authority are designated with two stripes, and Veteran Sergeants have three gold stripes on their collars. Greater ranks or extra experience is denoted by adding further gold stripes to the collar, to a maximum of five gold stripes. A Battle Captain has a pair of silver stripes running vertically parallel to each other, connected horizontally by a pair of thinner bars; this symbol is painted on his left shoulder pad to denote his rank.
Scout Marines traditionally all wear a single bar, except for the Scout Marine Sergeants, who wear the traditional three. A Scout Marine Sergeant will not wear a white leg, but rather has blood stripes running down the seams of both legs.
Aspirants wear no ranking identifiers, as they do not rank at all in the Pathfinders’ hierarchy.
Despite the visual designation, the vocabulary amongst Pathfinders remains largely the same as it always has – a Marine with one stripe will still refer to a Marine with two stripes as his Battle-Brother, while his sergeant is a Brother-Sergeant, his captain is the Brother-Captain, and so on.

Doctrine

The Pathfinders’ doctrine largely focuses on being fast, and using their maneuverability to outflank their foes. Because their home world is a Forge World however, Tech Priests are regularly digging up early STC designs for powerful vehicles such as Executioner Pattern Leman Russ tanks and Land Speeders. With their tanks’ sheer power, they can punch through enemy defenses and seize an objective with little resistance if they decide that a battle requires less delicacy.
The 2nd Company makes heavy use of Assault Marines, the Screaming Eagles, for particularly gruesome assaults, and that company refuses to allow Aspirants to accompany them into battle. Instead, the 2nd Aspirants squad is assigned to the 10th Company. Favoring assault and mobility, 2nd Company also refuses the heavy support of the Leman Russ Executioners; they do make use of Rhinos and Razorbacks, however.

Aspirants

Aspirant squads are the earliest phase of Astartes for the Pathfinders Chapter. Where other chapters simply test their aspirants and prepare them to become scouts, the Pathfinders chapter believes in a trial by fire. Aspirants may not frequently go into battle with a whole company, but they are frequently used to support special operations missions with scouts. This is mainly because of the low survivability rate of Aspirants during prolonged campaigns. It only takes a single combat mission for an Aspirant to be found worthy of becoming a Pathfinder.
Aspirants are led by a senior scout that is being groomed to go to a tactical squad. Not all scouts lead Aspirant squads, but those who do earn their second and third stripes faster than those who never lead an Aspirant squad. An Aspirant squad generally consists of 19 Aspirants and a single Scout Marine.
Aspirants do not wear the chapter star, but rather wear squad identifiers. The Aspirant squads are extremely competitive, and Scout Marines have been known to hold inter-squad grudges long after their time as Aspirants. Prior to becoming an Aspirant, applicants must complete an intense five-year combat discipline training cycle. This toughens up candidates for the hardships of Aspirant service, and failed applicants are usually shipped off to become elite Guardsmen or are hand-picked by planetary governors to serve as personal bodyguards.
There are extremely limited numbers of slots open in Aspirant squads, open only to the best of the applicants who complete the discipline training. There are only eight Aspirant squads split up amongst the ten companies. Thus, a company of Pathfinders Space Marines cannot field more than one squad of Aspirants in a single battle.
When an Aspirant falls in battle, he is not mourned by the Chapter as a battle brother.

Above: Aspirant squad identifiers. From left to right: Crimson Ones (1st Aspirants), Bullseyes (2nd Aspirants), Shields (3rd Aspirants), Tri-Deltas (4th Aspirants), and White Wings (6th Aspirants).

Author's Note

I created this chapter as a work of love. While c&c are welcome, please aim them at improving the chapter for the use of others. The idea was to create a Space Marine chapter design based upon US WWII olive drab paint schemes. As I have the ability to take more, better pictures of the few Pathfinders I have in combat, they will be added to this article. Thank you!