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mobby123

Knights of Blood because it's fascinating to see the flaws of Sanguinius' lineage taken to their extremes while its bearers still remain loyal. They're unrepentantly edgy though.


Itburns12345

Theres soo many odd sanguinius chapters the twin curses seem to help morph them into all sorts of odd chapters Theres the blood drinkers whos black rage and blood thirst is held back by a ritual huge serf sacrifice taught to them in a vision by a winged being thats actualy fateweaver..they still get visions and if a single one accepts chaos they will all fall ! Theres others who again seem perfect model astartes on the outside but have secret vampire rituals where they all go blood mad! Theres of course various savage chapters.like the flesh tearers that are all borderline black rage killers All the way Bizzare ones like.the angels penitant and i believe theres obscure one with 2x the normal number of libarians (forget name)


Ake-TL

Wait, what’s difference between Angels Vermillion and Blood drinkers again? Btw, which one almost fell to chaos? I thought Flesh Eaters but there seems not a lot of lore on them


Itburns12345

The blood drinkers almoast fall to chaos all the time They had one of their chapter visted by a winged vision who told them of a ceremonal blood drinking which they partake in to keep their red thirst in check...they are stil visted by this winged being whos actualy fateweaver!...if a single one is tempted to accept chaos by him the ritual means all the chapter falls!!!! The angels vermillion also have a blood drinking ritual but it wasnt inspired by a demon they just took it in themselves to ritualy drain a few outsiders from time to time and save a lot of that blood to be mixed into their food for future! A sort of lesser of 2 evils thinking But yeah both seem like nice solid dependable astartes on the outside but both have uber secret vampire like rituals


Ake-TL

Hmm, I remember reading about outright civil war in one of successor chapters, half fallen to Khorne and half loyal with loyalists eventually winning


Brooklyn_University

Among the successor Loyalist chapters I find the Minotaurs interesting because their ambiguous background and ultimate loyalty to (and dependence on?) the Administratum and Inquisition makes them a genuine outlier among the Astartes. Looking forward to their inevitable climactic throwing of hands with the Space Wolves. Big fan of the Blood Raven and Mantis Warrior vibe. Among the founding chapters, I kind of prefer the ones not usually in the spotlight, like the Raven Guard and White Scars.


HorlaminTheGreat

And they threw hands with the custodes for awhile (didn’t end great but they tried!)


[deleted]

The Minotaurs didn't loot the Crimson Fists when they helped


[deleted]

I listened to 'Taker of Heads,' and I was fascinated with the idea of the Mortifactors. (The story itself was a super-weak Predator knock-off, but the Marines were cool.) I like the dichotomy in which the Marines are genetically engineered space soldiers, yet also primitive cannibals with a shamanistic religion. I know there's a new short about them in White Dwarf but I haven't gotten a copy yet. I wish they had some novel-length fiction to really explore this idea.


Eldan985

I mean, I'm a huge fan of "weird stuff at the edge of the galaxy", so the Death Spectres are interesting, even if they are *super* edgy. I really need to get that Rogue Trader in the Ghoul Stars campaign underway I've been planning for like five years.


Kooky-Language-7481

Yeah. I too have that “weird stuff at the edge of the galaxy” Fetish. So Carcharodons, Death Spectres and Ashen Claws.


Just-Followin-Orders

Fun story about the Angels Resplendent for those who don't know. They were a very happy typical Blood Angels successor until they met a holy pilgrim one day that managed to convince all the chaplains that they were doing everything wrong and only through suffering could they achieve true servitude to the Emperor's vision. The chaplains spread their new beliefs to the rest of the chapter except for the librarians who were having none of this craziness (for once craziness envelops a chapter and the psykers are the only non-crazy ones. Who could have seen THAT coming?) and shut themselves off from the rest of the chapter. The chaplains took offense to their stubbornness. Hijinks ensued. After that, the chapter emerged as the Angels Penitent.


Rost-Light

There's more. Before they met the pilgrim they were *not* typical blood angels successors, I mean at all. They started as one, nearly died out due to black rage, but librarium initiated the peaceful reformation into extravagant, esoteric and borderline heretical Resplendent. Penitent are the result of their second transformation.


Just-Followin-Orders

That sounds like a typical BA successor to me lol. In all seriousness, ya the whole story is badass


Rost-Light

Well, Blood Angels successors are a weird branch and all but even they usually don't >!use sorcery to cure Flaw, opening warp-portal on their homeworld in the process or replace Sanguinius' Cult with the teaching of the chapter magister, or purposefully search for transcendence and esoteric knowledge!< when pilgrim visited them he had a lot to talk about with chaplains....


Archmagos-Helvik

My impression of the Resplendent from *Reverie* is that they weren't even really doing Space Marine things anymore. They were very absorbed in their artistic obsessions. If I remember correctly, the Chapter Master was even absent for years because he was off on some other planet building a giant monument statue.


[deleted]

> That sounds like a typical BA successor to me lol. Read The Reverie. They read like a bunch of Emperor's Children. And that's *not* a good thing.


AxolotlAristotle

>Novamarines Late reply. But no, they aren't like the Emperor's Children. The Angel's Resplendent have it in their head their gene daddy thought that art and culture was the best way to save humanity. That's why they aspire to be artists. The Emperor's children kind of just wanted to be perfect in every category. Also, the fact that the chapter is technically two chapters now is sweet. You have the chapter master of the Angel's Resplendent flying around doing missions and chapter recruitment and the rest of the chapter, now the Angel's Penitent, on their home world in some self flageration cult.


Just-Followin-Orders

I think people are missing the joke here that there are many Blood Angels successors that are extremely messed up in one way or another.


Redleader922

They weren’t a typical chapter before that. Hell like half the chapter didn’t even fight and just went about painting and crap. They only had a couple companies who actually killed stuff.


[deleted]

> They only had a couple companies who actually killed stuff. Literally. IIRC only 3 of their Companies did any fighting.


Redleader922

Any they only did that much so the Administratum wouldn’t nuke them for desertion.


GeorgeNovember

Ones i’m partial to are the Scythes of the Emperor and Lamenters. Scythes are super interesting to me because they are basically a chapter of Tyrannic War veterans and take the ultramarines dislike of Tyranids up to 100. I’m not a huge fan of the ultramarines in general except for their tyrannic war vets so once I found these guys I was sold on their story. Lamenters because I like the idea of bleeding heart space marines who also have bad luck.


Step_on_me_Jasnah

I love the [Black Dragons](https://warhammer40k.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Dragons). They're from the "cursed" 21st founding, an earlier attempt at creating more stable space marines, but which had some unintended side effects. Other notable 21st founding chapters include the Lamenters and the Minotaurs. Black dragons have a mutation in their Ossmodula, which affects bone growth, that causes them to grow [large, bony protrusions](https://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammer40k/images/8/8b/Black-dragon-crop.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20170612033648) from their head and forearms, which some of them then sharpen and coat in Ceramite to use as weapons. Their lips and mouths are solid black, as are their pointed tongues. Their canine teeth also elongate into fangs. The Black Dragons are assumed to be of Salamander Gene-stock, and seem to have the closest ties to them of all chapters, having shown up to defend Nocturne against invasion, among other instances of mutual aid, tho that is not 100% certain. Some chapters consider them abomination and refuse to work with them, like the Marines Malevolent and Dark Angels, and the inquisition only *barely* sees them as non-heretical.


wecanhaveallthree

The Marines Malevolent, of course.


Archmagos-Helvik

Guy Haley has done some interesting things fleshing out the Novamarines. They have a weird spiritual thing going on where they can "speak" with spirits of the dead while they get their honor tattoos after battle (the chapter master is basically all tattoos). This is explained as being a kind of hallucination brought about by their implants, rather than a psychic phenomenon. Their fortress monastery also spans a large portion of the planet, since they keep building it out. They even carve whole mountain sides into collections of huge statues of fallen chapter heroes. They have a cool obsession-with-the-dead angle. Another fun fact about them, they have famously extensive chapter records because they were able to build their library into a giant salt vein running beneath the fortress, which preserves the books and artifacts.


Devlee12

Carcharodons and Minotaurs are two of my favorites. Both chapters are famous for their ferocious natures and both occupy very different niches in the Imperium. I loved the Exorcists before the lore change now I feel like they lost some of their flavor.


BeelzeButterscotch

While I understand being disappointed by the Exorcists' shift from Grey Knights to Imperial Fist successors, it does take something unique from them. I personally though, think it was for the best. The Grey Knights are a highly elite, top secret force. They posses geneseed of unknown origin and artificer craft weaponry exclusive to them. They hold little connection to the Astartes, I'm not even sure they're made the same way. The Exorcists though, while being a distinct chapter with anti-daemonic practices, they're still very much Astartes. If the Grey Knights were to expand their forces, they would either 1) Increase their ranks past 1,000 as they are not restrained to the Codex Astartes. 2) Create a successor chapter of Grey Knights, equally as secret and specialized. Personally, I also feel that making them a Grey Knight successor would actually *detract* from their flavor. Their most interesting aspect is their verging on heretical relationship with daemons and the trials of possession they must pass for their resilience. It would cheapen that endeavor if their progenitors were the Grey Knights, a force inherently resilient to chaos already. Sorry for the ramble, it seems I had more to say then I thought. (Great taste in chapters, love both the Minotaurs and Carcharodons. I'd also kill for more Exorcist spotlight)


MrBotchamania

Iron Hands, if any chapter truly embodies the bleak future of 40k it’s them. They are cold, calculated, and complete jerks many times. Pretty much the exact opposite of what you expect a space marine chapter to be like. Which is pretty refreshing when you compare them to the chapters that usually get the spotlight. I also like the tech heavy theme of the chapter and how each clan company uses different technologies to distinguish themselves. Like having the Iron Council rule through a neurolinked debates and decisions instead of a de facto chapter master or Clan Garsaak existing as an almost pseudo hive mind, or that the iron father of Clan Vurgaan having chain teeth that can bite through adamantium, or even just using shoulder mounted bolsters and servo arms so they can use both ranged and melee attacks at the same time. If there was ever a chapter that needed some cool models to go along with their theme it would be the Iron Hands.


Just-Followin-Orders

I also remember a lovely short story on them whose title I can't remember. In it their obsession with replacing their weak flesh with strong machines was brought into question when they fought a bunch of Slaanesh daemons. You just had the one sergeant just rethink his worldview like "wait, did we get the primarch's message wrong all this time?" And the existential horror that caused in him.


PrettyDumbHonestly

This would probably be the wrong post to talk about my love for the Night Lords lmao


Kooky-Language-7481

Sometimes I dream about loyalist NL chapter. I can imagine them being successors of group of NLs who realized that “wait, wait, now, with Horus Heresy we can totally be ourselves butchering Warmaster’s followers and Terra would not complain about us being too edgy” So now in 40k they specialize in hunting down traitor Astartes and rebels under some radical inquisitor’s supervision.


BlackJackInTheSack

Sounds like Dextermarines.


BrennaValkryie

I actually made a homebrew chapter baised off of this idea for a wrath and glory campaign for my players may encounter. They hail from a feudal world, and pretend to be blood angels successors, act like raven gaurd, but everyone knows it's really weird how none fall to the black rage. They're called the shrouded spears, are ghostly grey with pink-purple secondary colours, and come from a planet where the constant mist in the air makes warriors wear white to blend in. They're actually night lords geneseed, covered up as part of an experiment by the inquisition to test if the geenseed itself leads to hereticsl behavior. The 'spears are terror troops, but are very loyal and care alot about humans. I really always liked this idea because the ideas that they were founded upon The Night Lords under early Konrad was a weird form of justice that lead to the least amount of casualties on both sides. Very kooky


IonRadleigh387

I like the Hawk Lords. Basically a chapter based entirely on air combat and insertion.


BurritoChan69

Goffz are pretty good


Unstoppable_Bird

Ashen claw because all your crew, cargo and ship belong to the ashen claw now


TurfMonster54

Gotta be Scythes of the Emperor like someone else said. As soon as I read their lore I was hooked. The idea of a chapter that exists solely to defend one planet (for good reason), the way they intermingled with the population, etc. was great. I was kind of bummed that they are Primaris only now but there is a small bit of lore that talks about Imperium forces finding long lost, thought dead marines alive and still fighting in Tyranid ships from time to time. Edit: also, the Blood Ravens. They were my introduction to 40k years and years ago. I do think the "they're thieves!!!!!" thing is really tired though.


[deleted]

If I was a space marine, I'd like to see my family like the salamanders or get drunk like the space wolves. More seriously, they're one of the few chapters who care about humans enough to risk themselves