Novamarines
| Novamarines | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Founding | Second Founding | |
| Successors of | Ultramarines | |
| Successor Chapters | Dark Sons, Angels of Fury | |
| Chapter Master | Bardan Coravo (Dead) | |
| Primarch | Roboute Guilliman | |
| Homeworld | Honorum, located in the Ghoul Stars | |
| Strength | 1000 | |
| Specialty | Slaying Xenos, spamming terminators | |
| Allegiance | Imperium of Man | |
| Colours | Blue & White, quartered. | |
- – First Chapter Master Lucretius Corvo
History
The Novamarines are hardline followers of the Codex Astartes, the great organisational work of the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman. Their adherence to most aspects of the Codex is so strong that they have drawn the blood of those who would scorn it, as well as being noted as exemplars of Guilliman's writ by other Imperial authorities. This hardline attitude extends to other facets of Imperial thought, with the Novamarines being notable proponents of the monodominant philosophy; deviation from Imperial norms is considered anathema, with a particular disgust saved for xenos life-forms.
As strict adherents to the Codex their fighting philosophy is extremely similar to the XIIIth Legion of old, perhaps even more so than the Ultramarines of the 41st millennium. However, they are exceptionally willing to assist other Imperial forces at every chance they get. Most importantly, they maintain a well-equipped armoury which includes archeotech from previous eras such as the Great Crusade. The lack of depletion in ther war materiel suggests that the Novamarines might have originally been among the "Unmarked," one of the five chapters of the Ultramarines Legion that weren't present at the Battle of Calth (with their first Chapter Master, Lucretius Corvo, confirmed as not having been there in time according to a HH short story). They certainly were among the first to be separated and renamed at the time of the Second Founding.
Founding
The first Chapter Master of the Novamarines was Ultramarines Captain Lucretius Corvo, an officer who won great renown fighting the Word Bearers during the Horus Heresy. Corvo was decorated by Roboute Guilliman himself - this decoration is now a sacred relic to the Novamarines, and is kept in the Fortress-Monastery.
At their founding they were assigned the world of Honourum by Guilliman, a world that at one point had marked the farthest point the Ultramarines had penetrated into the galactic north of Ultima Segmentum during the Great Crusade. As a result, the chapter forge on their Fortress-Monastery dates from the legion days and can mantain a large number of early-pattern Predators, Vindicators, and Whirlwinds.
The world was once a beacon of Imperial civilisation, but was razed by Lorgar and Angron as part of their Shadow Crusade as a prologue to the Battle of Calth. The world was left in ruins for much of the Horus Heresy and its cities were picked apart by scavengers; its people eventually devolved to a feral state due to the trauma and horrors they had witnessed. Honourum was eventually recaptured by the Ultramarines and re-garrisoned, although the cities were left in their state of ruin.
Because they now recruit from feral societies, the only notable surface difference between a Novamarine and an Ultramarine is that the Novamarines retain the tribal practice of tattooing their skin, incorporating it into their beliefs as an Emperor-blessed way of armouring their souls, as well as recording their deeds upon their bodies.
Recent Years
The Novamarines have been notably involved with combating the emergent Tau life-form, though that does not mean they fight xenos exclusively: after two years of honourably participating in the Badab War the Novamarines forces withdrew in order to contest an Ork invasion that threatened their homeworld, although rumours suggest the Inquisition reassigned them in fear that they would not be enthusiastic enough when facing the secessionist forces.
Since then they have deployed a large amount of their manpower to aid in defending against the Thirteenth Black Crusade, as well as the Terran Crusade which took Gulliman from Macragge to Terra. When the Death Guard attacked the Macragge system, the Novamarines mobilized their force against the traitor Astartes. Their Chapter Master Bardan Dovaro was killed in the defense of the Star Fort Galatan.
Organisation
Often thought of as a fleet-based Chapter, the Novamarines still retain Honourum as their Homeworld, near the Ghoul Stars. Because of their homeworld's location, near a vast zone of unexplored space, the Novamarines fight a wide range of enemies, including isolationist lost human realms, nascent alien empires and ancient threats. As a result, the Novamarines spend most of their time ranging through Imperial space, watching over the territory they have chosen to safeguard and responding to any Imperial call for aid. Their quick reaction times and willingness to unquestioningly help defend the Imperium have resulted in the Novamarines developing a record of being one of the first forms of aid other Space Marine chapters receive should they ask for it.
The Chapter maintains close links to the Ultramarines and its fellow Successor Chapters, but the great distance between Honourum and Macragge means that the Chapter is unable to send representatives to the court of Marneus Calgar as often as other Chapters. Still, many Novamarines aspire to make a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Primarch at least once in their lifetimes, with those that have done such pilgrimage adorning their battle helmets with the Laurels of Ultramar, a mark of honour that the Chapter's Scouts regard with awe and dream of one day gaining for themselves. In sharp contrast with their secular views of Imperial religion, they consider the Codex Astartes to be a divinely-inspired work; ironically, this may technically be considered a deviation from the Codex, as its authorship is, in fact, well known. They never comment upon what deity might have inspired it, but the work is considered to be more than just a treatise on war, even if the Novamarines are not adherents of the Imperial Cult just like most Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes.
The Novamarines have been lucky enough to be able to maintain much of their original chapter armoury from the Great-Crusade era. As a result they are able to field their entire First Company as Terminators should they so wish. The Chapter also possesses a hefty suply of dreadnoughts as well as relics beyond the specific scope of the Codex Astartes, most likely mothballed vehicles like the Mastodon and Stormbird.
Characters
They do have one special character of note from Forgeworld: Mordecai Blaylock, Captain of the Novamarines First Company.
He wears Terminator Armour, Iron Halo and has a Storm Bolter; (so far par for the course) but he also has a Master Crafted, Shredding, Armourbane Chainfist!
Also, he makes Terminator squads scoring (but not troops) though he does allow any unit he joins the ability to choose whether or not to pass morale checks, which is actually better than Fearless since you can't necessarily get tarpitted by things they can't hurt. But there isn't much that Chainfist can't hurt anyway. But you can also use it to fall back from shooting and claim a counter charge next turn.
Blaylock is also a badass, having earned the title "Stormbreaker" after defeating an Eldar Stormwind host, by trapping the Autarch's power sword in his ribs and then strangling the life out of him with his bare hands (though one must wonder why his hands were bare in the first place [Killed him without a weapon in hand, not with his gauntlets removed...]).
Daily Rituals
04:00- Wake Up: The Novamarines awaken from their beds. They punch their doors off their hinges upon seeing xenos on it.
05:00- Morning Prayer: The Novamarines gather to pray to the Emperor. The Chaplain usually makes it a point to spout litanies of hatred on the xenos.
06:00- Day preparation: The Novamarines prepare for an arduous day in their terminator armor. During the boring process of fitting their armor, they watch DIY videos on how to kill xenos.
07:00- Morning Firing Rites: The chapter serfs set up cut outs or live xenos targets for the battle brothers to shoot at. Battle brothers are encouraged to charge the xenos and slap them with any available melee weapon (Including other xenos if necessary).
08:00- Morning Battle Practice: The Novamarines release their pet xenos from their cages in order to battle them. Hilarity ensues when Novamarines attempt to hit Eldar with their Thunder Hammers.
10:00- Morning Meal: Finally killing the last of the Eldar, the Novamarines settle down to a light meal. Terminator armor is still worn, requiring the Chapter serfs to build chairs made of adamantium.
11:00- Tactical Indoctrination: Novamarines are taught how to properly apply terminators to key weak points. Typically, this involves using an ancient battle simulator known as "Ravenwing". Shooting the screen when foul xenos appear is encouraged.
13:00- Afternoon Meal: The chapter serfs finish cooking the last of the xenos that were killed earlier in the day. Only the younger battle brothers are permitted to eat, as they require energy to operate the terminator armor.
14:00- Afternoon Battle Practice: The Novamarines practice Terminator spamming on T'au settlements. Bonus points for any battle brother that manages to kill a Fire Warrior from range. The capture of female T'au is prohibited.
17:00- Evening Firing Rites: The Novamarines break out their heaviest weaponry and release Carnifexes onto the firing range. Younger battle brothers scream with glee as they proceed to shred the beasts down with amassed firepower from their terminators.
18:00- Evening Meal- The Novamarines finally exit their terminator armor to enjoy a grand feast. All kinds of xenos meat is arranged. A favorite dish within the chapter is Ork Steak.
19:00- Evening Prayer: The Novamarines pray to kill more xenos tomorrow. The chaplain will also award laurel to the brother who managed to kill the most xenos during the day.
20:00- Free time: The Novamarines engage in recreational activities. Some favorites include mailing Eldar to the Eye of Terror, sending troll messages to the T'au Empire, and Kroot wrangling. Some battle brothers opt to have additional xenos combat training. Ancient relics of the chapter, such as "Halo: Combat Evolved", "Space Invaders", and "XCOM 2" are among the most widely used.
23:00- Bedtime: The Novamarines return to their beds, but only after polishing their terminator armor.
23:45- Door Installation: Upon the chapter masters' orders, the chapter serfs and servitors finish installing doors with varying types of xenos depicted on them. This helps test for chaotic possession, as any battle brother who does not punch the door clean off its hinges is clearly a heretic.
Gallery
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Ancient, why are you not wearing a quartered color scheme?
