The Ghost Walkers - A TvTropes Space Marine Chapter

Right, so we've come to this. Yesterday, at about seven European time, something miraculous happened. The denizens of TV Tropes sat down with a copy of Rites of Battle and created something magnificent; their own custom Chapter.

Founded during the 34th Millennium, the at the time Ultramarines 7th Company Captain assassinated an Alpha Legion cell that had summoned a Lord of Change. Upon slaying the beast, he confronted the Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, arguing that this was where Roboute Guilliman's philosophy really shone through - when Space Marines were free to be stealthy as well. For his insolence and his breach of the Codex Astartes, the Chapter Master sentenced them to a penance Crusade. Upon the end of the Crusade, the Alpha Legion had found their quarry, and began a guerilla war upon the Hive World the Damned Men (a name imposed by Calgar?) had settled on. Eventually, their numbers were reduced so much that they made a desperate gambit - splitting their Chapters into two, on the surface, different Chapters, the Damned Men (the over-Chapter) and the Ghostwalkers, both kept under nominal strength so as to not warrant too much investigation. They've based on Hive World Ghastis, in the Eastern Fringe, close to Tau space.

They're really good friends with the PDF of the world they govern, which they used to great effect during a Tau expansion, where they had a PDF regiment "join" the Tau as Gue'vasa auxiliaries. During a massing of forces, the PDF turned on the Gue'vasa, and the ensuing confusion ensured the Ghostwalkers could eliminate the Ethereal in charge of the Tau.

Although their tactics vary, they are at their most effective when concealed at long range, and favor use of the Stalker-pattern Boltgun over its Godwyn cousin. Instead of chainswords, their assault specialists, typically used for close-range assassination, bear Power Knives instead, especially for elimination of heavily armored adversaries.

They have a close ally in the Crimson Hounds, a Blood Angels successor Chapter, which usually acts as the frontal assault under which the Ghostwalkers and Damned Men then operate as snipers and infiltrators. The percieved threat is the group of flying, howling berserkers flying at you, but the real threat's in the bushes with a Stalker-pattern Boltgun.

Their Scouts are much like the Space Wolves, experienced warriors rather than untrained newbies, and they usually operate as reconnaisance forces and individual guerilla cells when the Chapter is called to a world.

They make very little use of Dreadnoughts and Terminator armor, leaving brute assaults to their Crimson Hounds allies. This is mostly due to a low amount of Terminator suits because of their generally unfavorable stance (choosing to disobey the Codex etc.)

They revere Roboute Guilliman as a great tactician and a great man, although they believe Guilliman was at his finest when he was just a brilliant tactician and warrior, as when he fought Alpharius.

In spite of their long-standing mutual guerilla war with the Alpha Legion, their enemy is mostly the Tau Empire bordering their world.

The Chapter makes use of camouflaged vehicles in large-scale assaults.

The Chapter makes use of non-Chapter informants as well. On their own Hive World they make extensive use of PDF agents.

THE CRIMSON HOUNDS (name changing between Marauders and Hounds, we'll cast a vote on it at some point):

Blood Angel successor Chapter, generally very bro with the Ghostwalkers. Their genetically flawed gene-seed tends to produce very potent melee combatants, as well as natural commanders. Their flaw is a Chapter Cult which reveres their Primarch Sanguinius in some way (perhaps as superior to the EMPRAH?). They recruit mainly from a Feral Wasteland of a planet. They have some Codex-breaking organisational traits, although they mainly stick to the Codex. Their favored tactics is nuking a site from orbit before sending in assault veterans to finish the job. One battle-brother, a Captain of the First Company (current, former?) who boarded an Eldar Craftworld along with the rest of the First and managed to wreak some serious havoc. Generally act as the distraction for the ded sneaky Ghostwalkers by being loud and in-your-face in contrast to the more stoic demeanor of the Ghostwalkers and Damned Men.

Ghost Walkers Chapter Master: Isaac Kolcza. His Honor Guard, all hand-picked because of their superlative accuracy and stealth skills are called the Listeners, who must also go through a brutal rite of initiation by surviving in the jungle of the Hive World for weeks. The 10th Company Captain is always drawn from the Listeners, and the Chapter Master helps train the recruits as well, so they benefit the most from his wisdom and experience. The Crimson Hounds are a friend-Chapter who really like chucking nukes at people from orbit as well as getting into close combat.

They're based on Hive Ghastis, primarily used for textile-production. Hive Primaris, where their Fortress-Monastery used to be was destroyed by Tau in the early years of M41.

Their PDF is primarily blue in color. They're in a feud with the local Arbites over whose job it is to oversee the security and keep the Emperor's peace. They train half of the Ghost Walkers' recruits, focusing on marksmanship. The other half is picked from the local hive gangs and are trained by stealth specialists. Ultimately both recruitment pools get the same training.

Their feud with the Alpha Legion stems from M35, when the Alpha Legion infiltrated Ghastis and almost destroyed the Damned Men. The few remaining Marines became the Ghost Walkers.

I propose we use this thread for further discussion of the Chapter, writing, and stuff like that.

edited 14th Sep '11 11:31:10 AM by math792d

You should specify in the beginning that it was the Ultramarines 7th Company that formed the foundation of the new chapter. It's not apparent that we're an Ultramarines descendent until a bit later, which is a little confusing.

Fixed.

Now, what was the name of our esteemed Captain and first Chapter Master?

About the Infiltrated tank issue, I think it's more balanced to do just like Ursarkar E. Creed (a single unit gets the rule if a special character is present), only with the Infiltrate rule instead of Scout.

Also, maybe add a minimum infiltrating distance malus for tanks (such as +3". Not +6", because there would never be enough room on the table for that).

Another possibility would be a camo netting accessory for tanks, that rather than allowing to infiltrate, allows them to benefit from the same cover rules as infantry (I think the IG have camo netting too, but I have no idea how it works rules-wise).

Something like that might work, I'm not that into the rules. Having camo'd Land Raiders, though? Priceless.

Honestly I see a place for infiltrated Land Raiders, since if you can't use natural concealment you make concealment, and that in turn means combat engineering.

Marine chapters don't usually have heavy earthmoving equipment. The Ghost Walkers had to substitute in things actually on their TO&E, and their current dislike and disuse of Terminators and Dreadnaughts is because these most often saw use in the field as diggers. Assignment to Terminator Armor in the field is considered punishment duty.

edited 7th Sep '11 2:31:23 AM by Night

They don't have enough Terminator suits to form concerted squads (they're considered lower priority because of their alienating tactics), so they use them as diggers for when they need to dig their heels in, as more expensive manual labor rather than combat suits? I like that.

On the other hand, wearing Scout armor is an honor because it means you're entrusted with the ability to stay hidden to avoid the cons of having weaker armor.

Maybe their command squads are all equipped with sniper rifles and firing from really really far away?

edited 7th Sep '11 2:55:17 AM by math792d

Would spotters and/or sensor guys be good members to include for command squads, then?

You should probably add the colours of the Ghostwalkers, Damned Men and Crimson Hounds, so people can paint their Marines (TT models/Do W/Space Marine) in the correct colours if they wish.

edited 7th Sep '11 5:01:05 AM by Hellbore

We've only got one proposed Chapter color so far, which is for Ghostwalkers.

The grey is meant to be metallic

I'd honestly suggest a somewhat deeper grey, non-specular. They ARE stealth marines.

How 'bout this, then?

I'd like to keep the icy blue. They -are- Ultramarine successors, after all.

So, I want to write a bit of fluff about our Chapter. What would you like to see, the triumph of the 7th Company Captain, or the Gue'vasa mutual slaughter, told from the perspective of the Ethereal?

For parade colours, I was thinking something more like this.

Camouflage can be applied as necessary.

edited 7th Sep '11 6:05:56 AM by Hellbore

Maybe we can use that for the Damned Men. We do have two Chapters besides the GW (wow, what an anagram) who need suiting up.

...Actually, should we roll for the Crimson Marauders a little later tonight, the way we rolled up the Ghostwalkers?

"Upon slaying the beast, he confronted Chapter Master Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines" —> Now wait a second. If this happened in the 34th millenium, does it mean that Marneus Calgar has been around for six or seven thousand years? Or is there a mistake somewhere?

Well, whatever the name of the Ultramarines Chapter Master at the time was.

Fix'd.

edited 7th Sep '11 6:12:54 AM by math792d

...Actually, let's roll up the Crimson Marauders. We already know they're a BA successor, but let's see what else is interesting about them.

Roll d100 for founding and d10 for the original purpose of the Chapter.

56

3

I'll make a ghostwalker Marine later tonight in Space Marine. What should our symbol be?

The Chapter was founded in the 38th Millennium (meaning it's predated many times over by the Ghostwalkers).

The Crimson Marauders were founded because of a reading of the Emperor's Tarot that demanded another Chapter be founded.

Roll d3 for gene-stock purity, then d10 for Codex Demeanor.

Something spectral-looking, if there's anything like that.

edited 7th Sep '11 6:25:28 AM by math792d

3 in a d10

6

I liked the idea for an open, fading hand.

Hold up. I thought The Crimson Hounds was a fake chapter? Created by the Damned Men/Ghostwalkers as another misdirection. Everyone in the Chapter is a member of the Ghostwalkers, including members of its false "Death Company".

How's this then? The Hounds were an actual chapter but was actually destroyed (as opposed to faking thier deaths like the Damned Men), but their identity was taken over by the Ghostwalkers before the Administratum could get wind of it.

edited 7th Sep '11 6:48:39 AM by Neo_Crimson

I'm liking what I'm reading so far. I'd suggest the blue on the chapter colours to be much fainter, though. It'll look more stealthier, and seem more fitting for "Ghost Walkers".

edited 7th Sep '11 6:50:54 AM by VutherA