Bulwark Against The Terror (Warhammer 40k Chapter Master Quest)

You are N'Varr, now Captain no longer, but the Chapter Master of a nascent brotherhood, ready to take to the stars in Vulkan's name.

But a Chapter needs more than just a leader, it needs a home. A place to rest, a base of operations from which to conduct its duties, whether it be found in the belly of a Battle Barge or on one of Imperium's countless worlds.

That remains for you to decide.


[] Delkor IV

Delkor IV is a Hive World towards the lower end of the population range of its type, home to some 50 Billion souls. It is industrious and productive, its people pious, loyal and genetically compatible. Its guard regiments have won renown across the local Sector, and the planet maintains a modest shipyard industry and a small but potent defence fleet.

In short, it is a model planet, ideal for the establishment of a new Chapter. A steadfast, stable recruitment center and a base of operations that would allow you to focus upon external matters. Of course, there is a catch.

In M39 Delkor IV was granted over to the rule of Warmaster Tokarius upon his retirement following the successful conclusion of the Geistian Crusade, and his heirs have governed the planet ever since. The Tokarius Dynasty is powerful and influential, with enough political pull and clout to even refuse becoming an Astartes homeworld, should they wish to. Yet, the prospect of exemption from the Imperial Tithe is a tantalizing one to House Tokarius, and so a deal has been struck with the Administratum. They will accede to a new Chapter being established on Delkor, but they will not relinquish their titles or authority.

Traditionally, when a planet becomes an Astartes homeworld, the title of Planetary Governor is bestowed upon the Chapter Master, and even if he does appoint a mortal deputy they serve at his pleasure. Under this deal however, you would not be able to simply rule Delkor IV by decree. Though House Tokarius would be bound by treaty to support and aid you, you would have to treat with them as peers, rather than subordinates.


[ ] Talovon

Talovon is an arid world, home to sweeping plains and savannas, turning into jungles along the equator and deserts towards the poles. The planet teems with life, great reptilian beasts providing a source of hunting for the native tribes, their teeth and hides traded to outsiders in exchange for advanced technology.

The world has long suffered the attentions of the Drukhari, a particularly repulsive subset of the hated Eldar species, their raiding parties roving back and forth from hidden webway portals. Time and again have the Salamanders thrown them back, shattering the fighting forces of entire Kabals in their quest to bring retribution upon the Dusk Wraiths. In doing so they took stock of the mettle of the tribesmen, fighting alongside the Sons of Vulkan against the alien invaders no matter how outmatched they were. So impressed were they by their courage that Salamander Apothecaries conducted genetic testings, and several Talovonians have been inducted into the Chapter. And now, as the Salamanders prepare to found a new Successor, Talovon stood as an obvious choice.

The population is utterly loyal to the Imperium and the Salamanders for ending the Dark Eldar threat, and have proven themselves a hardy people of natural warriors. But for all that, they are few and far between, scattered across the plains in fractured and frequently-warring tribes, lacking infrastructure of any kind. They are hunter-gatherers relying mainly on shockingly primitive technology, with the only advanced machinery being traded from off-world. They are likely to be unable to contribute much else than warm bodies. The planet's only permanent settlement and spaceport is the Adeptus Mechanicus mining and research outpost located on the southern mountains, where the tribes go to alternatively trade or to attempt to drive away the machine-men who they see as outside invaders. Navigating the diplomatic minefield is likely to be extremely difficult, yet ultimately necessary for the Chapter's continued prosperity.


[ ] Kolokhios

Some sixteen centuries ago, the Forge World of Har-Chothon chose to expand its Titan production facilities by constructing a hidden compound on the mineral-rich Feral World of Kolokhios. Out of the way of major warp lanes, it was hoped that Kolokhios' remote location would protect the Titan factory through means of secrecy, and every reasonable precaution was taken to ensure knowledge of its location did not reach the wrong ears. Yet, the galaxy is ever-shifting, ever-changing, and in the millenia and a half since many nearby systems have been colonized despite the Tech-Priests' objections, unable as they were to reveal their true reasons without jeopardizing secrecy. The shifting of the Imperium's frontiers in the wake of the Fall of Cadia has further exacerbated the issue, placing Kolokhios on the front lines of humanity's struggle for survival. Secrecy became untenable, and eventually agents of the Alpha Legion discovered the site's location and launched an assault upon it. Though the attack was repulsed, the tech-lords of Har-Chothon knew full well that more would be coming. The strategic value of a Titan production line is Absolute, and it cannot be moved. As such, they have petitioned for a new Chapter of the 27th Founding to be placed on Kolokhios, promising to grant the Astartes domain over the entire planet save for the factory, as well as pledging the support of their considerable forges and military assets to the Chapter. The friendship and gratitude of a major Forge World and a Titan Legion are no small things, but in turn it would obligate and tied you down in the factory's defense.

Kolokhios itself is an ocean world dominated by shifting tides, with loads of archipelagoes. There's two polar landmasses with mangrove forests, swamps and jungles, and mountain ranges near the poles. The Titan Factory was built underneath one such mountain to maintain secrecy, but since it's been discovered the Mechanicus has been expanding it into a more overt fortress. The natives are extremely primitive, but have been vetted as compatible and free of taint.



[ ] Armageddon.

The legendary Hive World that has seen many wars in its long history, is now in imperial hands once more. Ghazghkull has fled the world, and though small Ork warbands persist in the wastelands and equatorial jungles, they are no longer in a position to threaten the Hives. The overwhelming majority of the Imperial forces have left the world to do battle on other fronts, leaving behind only the native defense forces and the occasional clean-up unit.

Every Hive has suffered massive damage, the world's infrastructure lies in ruin, and as much as a third of the pre-war population is dead. Yet, reconstruction is underway, and everyday the Orks are pushed further into the wilderness, their numbers culled lower and lower. The survivors of Armageddon have been moulded into a toughened, veteran fighting force, even children forced to fight for their lives against the relentless alien onslaught.

Armageddon holds immense symbolical value to the Imperium as an example of a triumphant counterattack, and the High Lords are keen to see it preserved, for the Great Beast still roams the galaxy, pursued as he is by the Black Templars and the legendary Commissar Yarrick. He has returned to Armageddon before, and he will surely do so again unless stopped. Librarians also whisper of ill omens, of a darker force still, turning its gaze towards Armageddon, even more dangerous than Orks.

Armageddon is a mighty world, with an unyielding populace and an even greater legend behind it, one intrinsically tied to that of the Salamanders. None can be said to have done more for its populace than the Sons of Vulkan, and so they have been given the first opportunity to receive this honour as Armageddon's stewards. It is an honour fraught with danger, yet when has it ever been different for the Salamanders?


[ ] Fleet-Based Chapter (Talovon)
OR
[ ] Fleet-Based Chapter (Delkor IV)

Some Chapters prefer not to establish a planet-bound Fortress Monastery, but instead house their Chapter entirely onboard their fleet. Though of course each Battle Barge and a Strike Cruiser bears a small apothecarion, forge and librarium to support strike forces on campaign, these facilities can be massively expanded to allow the entirety of a Chapter's needs to be met within its fleet, only desceding planetside to make war or conduct trials for new aspirants.

This, of course, affords you greater strategic mobility, never tying the Chapter to a single location and allowing their entire force to be mobilized. Yet, this option also creates a degree of fragility, for even though diverting the resources that would go to constructing a Fortress Monastery to your fleet would allow you to bulk out your naval forces, allowing a simple twist of fate in void warfare to possibly spell doom for an entire Chapter. And though lacking a Fortress Monastery would prevent the Chapter from being pinned to place, an attack on your recruitment world would still force a response, honorbound as you are to the world's defense.


[ ] Crusading Chapter.

There are those amongst the Adeptus Astartes who eschew planetary attachments entirely, allowing their entire Chapter to roam the galaxy without a responsibility to any particular world, save to bring ruin upon the Imperium's enemies. This is, of course, the ultimate expression of strategic mobility, allowing you to pack up and head wherever you want whenever you want. Yet, the dangers of lacking a Fortress-Monastery are only amplified by the lack of even a recruitment world, leaving you with nowhere to retreat to should the tide turn against you. Furthermore your recruitment would be limited by opportunity, a sporadic and unreliable access to aspirants that has consigned more than one Chapter to a slow death by attrition.



Kolokhios and Armageddon are not compatible with Fleet-Based Chapters because the whole reason they want you there is to protect the place, so it would defeat the purpose.