Since the last time I read anything 40K was 3rd edition in 2000-2001, I fell into a rabbit hole on the 40K wiki. Fortunately, I found a whole 40K homebrew wiki with a very long article about creating your own chapters.
Way back in 2000, my idea for the Starfire Space Marines was simply a codex-compliant chapter with a bright orange and white color scheme (something like Troll Slayer Orange for the armor with white highlights, though command units might swap that to mostly white armor with orange highlights). They came from a world covered in prismatic sand, crystals, and metals that focused sunlight into lasers and was tremendously dangerous to organic life. They used meltas, flamers, and plasma guns more often than regular space marines.
Having read the homebrew article and a variety of other articles, I now know that my initial idea is totally workable but also tremendously lacking in potential detail. Of course, my brain being my brain, I now have a dozen different ideas that branch off that original core. However, I am not seeking to flesh out my chapter because I want to delve deep into 40K lore to build a bunch of canon-feasible story. I just want something decently basic, which fits with the character of the Starfire marines. So let's follow along the homebrew wiki and fill in the details we can and want.
Chapter
Codex
Mostly Codex compliant, with some variance in the companies
Chapter Name
Starfire
Chapter Appearance
Heraldry
A seven-pointed star, point-up
Livery
Bright orange and white
Company Colors
1st - White
2nd - Red
3rd - Orange
4th - Yellow
5th - Green
6th - Blue
7th - Indigo
8th - Violet
9th - Black
10th - Chrome/None
Squad Specialist Markings
Per Codex Astartes, but squad number is indicated by shape
1st - Dot
2nd - Line
3rd - Triangle
4th - Square
5th - Pentagon
6th - Hexagon
7th - Hexagon with Dot
8th - Octagon
9th - Octagon with Dot
10th - Pentagon within Pentagon
Helmet Markings
Veterans wear chrome helmets. Sergeants wear white. Veterans sergeants wear white with a chrome stripe.
Chapter Origins
Why was it founded?
The Starfire Chapter of space marines was founded as a standing force to conquer and subsequently protect and exploit the resources of their homeworld, Prismata. The crystal and mineral deposits of Prismata are critical components of many Imperial weapons and armor and regular shipments are sent to the nearby Forgeworld.
Founding
11th Founding. As mentioned, the Starfire were created to secure a valuable resource planet and serve as a bastion in their area of Imperial space.
Gene-Seed and Deficiencies
The Starfire were created using an altered Salamander gene-seed. Where Salamanders inherit dark skin and fiery red eyes after exposure to the radiation of their homeworld, the Starfire have mutated melanchrome and mucranoid glands that produce a sparkling, diamond-like appearance to the skin and reflective nictitating membranes that well-suit the marines to the dangerous environment of their homeworld. The sparkling shine of their skin is known as their fire, and helps to reflect and diffuse harmful radiation; they have been known to continue emitting light for up to an hour after entering shelter. Their nictitating membranes reflect most of the otherwise intensely blinding light on the planet's surface while allowing them to maintain normal vision in regular and low-light environments.
Starfire have been known to succumb to the Salamander Primarch's genetic curse, Unyielding.
Codex Demeanors
Brothers in Battle and Cleanse and Purify are both applicable. The Starfire are humble compared to most space marine chapters, and accept that they are but one glorious cog in the Imperial war machine. They do not, however, look down upon regular humanity (more on this later). In keeping with the original idea, they favor meltas, flamers, and plasma guns both because of the experience of their homeworld's deadly environment and the desire to totally annihilate the foes of the Emperor.
To be continued ...
No comments:
Post a Comment