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Those who converted combined with the apothecaries to become known as the “Corpsewalkers”. In addition to normal apothecary duties they divide up the remains of yet undevoured enemies for consumption and salvage what they can for information. A highly religious Inquisitor pursued us in an attempt to stop our spreading of truth and prevent us from returning to Terra. We took heavy casualties and are rebuilding from about half strength and were beginning to take our pilgrimage to Terra with the great rift happened, thus cutting us off.

To be interred in a Dreadnought, becoming an Iron Crow, is seen as a disgrace. These Iron Crows are the last line of defense of the fleet and awakening them is not to be done lightly and when it is to be done it is said aloud.

As a footnote our armor is a very dark gray with turquoise shoulders and the occasional marking elsewhere. Our symbol is up in the air but the most agreed is a crow holding a sword with its beak sealed by chains.

And I think that’s everything we seem to have agreed on so far.

On the subject of our associations: we should have a support network beyond the sector, put in place while we still? had the backing of a high lord. As long as they are discreet, people can still take advantage of techmarine training routes, some admech interaction, occasional munitorum resupply, rogue trader interaction. Some of it is old relationships unquestioned in modern times, some is don't ask don't tell. We are the link in and out of the sector for all the humans under our wing.

I also wanted to be a network of ancient stations, that were records stations mote than factories. There would have to be STC fragments aboard. At that, what is the chapter's relationship with the Admech?

>>68395300
We may not be on friendly terms due to our following of the truth. Most likely our Tech Marines are trained by those who've broken away from the Mechanicus such as some found in the company of Rogue Traders.

>>68395300
Well, it's an awkward position. The Void Crows have possession of an ancient space station called the Voidspire, filled with technological secrets, but since they reject the divinity of the Emperor, they would, by extension, reject the divinity of the Omnimessiah (considering how traditional Admech doctrine considers the two one and the same). Combine that with their somewhat heretical salvaging and recycling of craft, and it's a tense relationship.

Finally, the Void Crows have a presence within the Deathwatch, cycling Marines through in secret to learn about the Imperium.

Also someone mentioned needed to flush out the auxiliaries amongst the fleet and I agree.

All we got last time was somewhere around the middle suggested that they wear subdued colors like gray, purple, and black. While higher ups like the captains wear turquoise and possibly black feathered cloaks.

Anyway, gonna writefag a bit more.

"Sir, we have excellent news," Medicae Brandt said excitedly, and General Polk sipped his recaf with the refined impatience that only a highborn noble could.
"Have the heretics been repulsed?" He asked pointedly, "what were the casualties?"
The Medicae paused, "the heretical enemy is routed, sir," he stammered, "but-"
"That is enough, Medicae. As is standard, those who witnessed this sort of taint must be purged."
"But sir-"
"Are you denying my orders, Medicae?"
The medicae backed down, looking ashamed.
"N-no sir, it's just that-"
"Are you afraid to do the God-Emperor's will?"
"No... sir... the platoon in combat is gone."
"Gone?!" The general thundered, spitting out his recaf, "what do you mean, gone?! You dead?! Wounded?! Corrupted?!"
"N-no sir... they're just... gone. The site of battle... there's evidence of a fight, expended stubber rounds, scars from lasfire, but-"
"But what, Medicae?" The general demanded.
"No bodies, sir. None of the PDF were in the area either. None of their weapons were accounted for."

The general took a deep sigh and grabbed the Medicae.
"Find. Them. Now." He hissed, staring at the hapless doctor, "and of the wounded?"
"G-gone... sir... they're all... like they were never there at all..." the Medicae whimpered, and the General took a deep drink of his recaf, grumbling and rubbing his temples.

Meanwhile, aboard the stolen and converted cargo ship Never Divine, two Void Crows got to work taking gene samples and isolating the survivors, tossing the deceased into their processing plant.

>>68395919
The auxillaries of the Void Crows are a strange breed of human. Tested extensively genetically and refined through brutal eugenics programs and training, they are constantly supplemented by new waves of recaptured prisoners, abducted PDF and Imperial guard, and their own progeny. They are responsible for combat in only the direst of situations, serving as the base of the defenses of the Voidspire, where they all live, and man many extraneous gun turrets added specifically for them. Aboard the Voidspire, they wear robes in relation to their rank: the higher their rank, the darker their uniform. If one wears a black robe, his signs are to be respected.

As with the Void Crows proper, their Auxillaries (often also called the Void Crows, occasionally the Redeemed or Enlightened if they are trying to isolate themselves from the Astartes) communicate nearly exclusively in sign language. The Enlightened are also routinely tested, and those lucky enough to be genetically compatible are almost always turned into Marines.

The Enlightened and the Crows have very little that distinguish the two besides the matter of being an Astartes. They intermingle with the Astartes and even sometimes join their discussions of the Emperor's Word, although such relationships rarely last long (in the eyes of an Astartes) due to how much longer lived an Astartes is than a baseline human, even taking into account the relatively excellent diet and lifestyle of an Enlightened.

The Enlightened are often responsible for initial scouting forces, both politically and militarily, to mask the fact that the Crows are even present. Due to a massive amount of captured Imperial Guard uniform and equipment, they can blend in and gain intelligence in a way the proper Astartes cannot.

A bit more fluff for the new: the Void Crows stay as one unified force at all times. They are always in roughly one place to minimize casualties.

A Void Crow is smaller and weaker than most Astartes, but is faster to compensate. They have large, dark eyes, pale skin, and enormous mouths. They fight by harrying their enemies with super fast strikes, then ganging up on their foes, crippling them before either killing or eating them, depending upon the situation.

>>68396148
And even more since I keep forgetting:
While most Void Crows eschew decorating their armor, veterans will paint the beaks on their armor with specs of blood, and the Dreadnoughts are magnificently decorated (most likely by the Enlightened?)

>>68396168
The bloody beaks for veterans seems a bit much. Plus it would make the models look a little busy with red splattering on the face.

>>68396225
>busy
Most of these fan chapters end up like that anyway. People keeping adding and adding and adding instead of refining a core idea.

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From last thread, an uncanny resemblance

>>68395986
>On the other side of the Galaxy
>Aboard the Blood Raven ship "His Divine Might"
>BR 1: Did you feel that Brother?
>BR 2: I did Brother.
>BR 1: Our 'Gift Sense' went off.
>BR 2: Hmmmm. Most perplexing. Someone has been 'Gifted' most generously with the 'Gifter' none the wiser.
>BR 1: I don't know whether to be proud or peeved.

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>>68396390
>>68395986
>Void Crows when they find some unattended humans.

The Void Crows are excellent in boarding actions, using extremely stealthy boarding torpedoes to cut into the engines and power generation supplies of a ship and disable it. From there they either devour or convert the crew, oftentimes flooding the ship with tranquilizers to subdue their foes without a fight. They then repair their damages and, after checking for any form of tracking, return the ship for salvage or further use.

The Void Crows's total fleet is one of the largest, since they concentrate all their force in one area. Ships too old or damaged to be properly used are salvaged for raw materials and weapons, and the husks are used as decoys.

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>>68396431

>>68396535
The Crows are even WORSE, though, since nobody knows who they are. There just wouldn't be enough time to stuff all of the chapter Serfs into the closet.

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>>68396502
>Entire ships stripped apart in hours or days by thousands of auxiliaries and several hundred marines that don't need to rest.
Must be quite a sight.

>>68396554
Top kek, although it should be 'everyone'.
The Crows don't just steal equipment, they literally loot entire fleets and platoons of Guardsmen.

>>68396581
"Sir?" The pilot asked, looking warily at the pirate captain standing just behind him.
"What is it, boy? Piss your pants again?"
"No, Captain, Sir. There's something strange on the sensors... looks like a bunch of abandoned ships... some of them are partially scrapped"
"Well, it's our lucky day, then! Prep the boarding parties, let's take what we can and sell it off elsewhere!"

Aboard the Invisible Hand, Librarian Ross chuckled darkly.
"All according to plan..."

>>68396633
*keikaku

>>68396502
>Decoys
And RKKVs, especially when they are against Ork War Stations/Things that need to be destroyed in their entirety

>One interesting innovation seen among the fleet is the husk of a Cruiser with more weapons fiited on to one side for a devastating broadside
>In actuality it is controlled by a attached Cobra Destroyer that can detach when the 'Cruiser' sustains too much damage.
>Control is simplified since they only need to aim one side

>>68396168

If the Auxiliaries are used when the chapter has need of conventional forces, but are largely used for base defence, then they're probably going to see the dreadnoughts as having something in common. Since the dreadnoughts have a similar role, mostly defensive, but sent in when something has gone sideways and they need firepower and can't afford to care about stealth.

When the Auxilliaries decorate a dreadnought it is a mark of their profound respect for a veteran astartes being willing to fight alongside them.

When the dreadnoughts accept the decoration, it's something different. It's a mark that they have accepted the dishonourable horror that is being interred into a dread*. They have determined to fight on no matter their shameful fate.

For a chapter built around stealth, silence, and cannibalism, being stuffed in a box incapable of ANY of these things is bad. The fact that it will only ever happen because you fucked up badly enough to let an enemy take a shot at you is insult to injury.

>>68396633
The pilot, a young man by the name of Barnes, slowly maneuvered the craft in next to the cleanest looking hulk, taking care to dodge the dark grey debris, which appeared to be roughly twice the size of a man on average. He managed to dock the pirate craft to this larger, abandoned hulk, and soon, the crews disembarked, looking for salvage. After poking through the bridge, which seemed curiously bare for a ship of this size, Barnes realized that something was amiss. The feeling of being watched hung over him, and he frequently found himself looking around. None of the other pirates noticed, and soon they were slowly leaving their ship behind, combing through the abandoned ship. Everything felt off. There were no bodies, no signs of a struggle, and almost nothing of value within. Just empty, winding hall after empty, winding hall.

After an hour of exploration, Barnes turned to his captain and shook his head.
"Sir? With all due respect... I don't think anything's here, sir," he stammered, and the Captain nodded.
"Aye, looks like someone else got here first, most likely. Damn shame," he grumbled, "means the rest of this debris's probably good for nothing more'n scrap."
Barnes nodded, and the small raiding group turned back the way they came. They managed to reach the docking bay without issue, but when they tried their hatch, it was sealed shut.
"Barnes! Unlock this damn thing!" The captain roared, and one the captain's bodyguards quickly took a defensive stance out of practice, the others awkwardly standing about, confused. Barnes slammed his head into the hatch, unsure of how to fix it, but then his head started to feel heavy, and he fell to the floor with a thud, unable to move.

As his eyes slowly closed, he saw the rest of the boarding party fall over in a similar fashion.

>>68396746
>The children of Auxiliaries often ask the dreadnoughts for bedtime stories.
>Some dreadnoughts actually tell stories, others just hit the kid with a blast of sleeping gas and wander away to sulk.

>>68396097
>They are responsible for combat in only the direst of situations
Then they're basically just regular serfs and don't justify being our special combat doctrine. The auxiliaries are what the Crows should be known for, not just as edgy Raven Guard or Night Lord ripoffs, but with astartes and human units fighting together and supplementing each other.

>>68396817

>The kids are happy either way.

Really appreciating your work Write anon

>Sigmun III Raid
>A Black Mark on the Void Crows honor, a grave miscalculation saw the 3rd Companies' whole 4th Squad caught unprepared by Heretic forces
>They were all lost to nearly a man before the 3rd and 5th Squads and accompanying Auxillaries could aid them
>Half were in stable enough condition to be interred, leading to one of the most unified Dreadnought units in the Chapter
>The 'Bloody 4th' is made up of the 5 remaining members of the Squad and are always deployed together
>Their unity is unwavering and brings their effectiveness to unheard of heights

>>68396817
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fkk9DI-8el4
>others just hit the kid with a blast of sleeping gas and wander away to sulk.

Holy shit anon I was not expecting that.

>"Brother Deminon would you tell me a story!" The young boy looked up in wonder and hope.
>*poof*
>Several hours later the boy woke up in a pile of his own drool and with a sore head.

>>68396792
Barnes awoke with a headache, and tried to move, but realized he couldn't. He had heard stories, of course, about the horrible fates that awaited those who defied the Imperium, but this felt... different. There were no aquilas, but the interior of the craft he was in was undoubtedly Imperial in origin. A figure stepped up to him, and he blinked. That looked just like the debris he maneuvered through! It reached up and removed its helmet, revealing a large eyed, large mouthed thing, which towered over him and leaned forwards, making the small pilot feel even weaker and more afraid.

"Tell me," it whispered hoarsely, "do you know the truth?"
"The truth about what?!" Barnes shouted, and the creature leaned in closer, its massive fangs glinting in the dim light
"The truth about The Emperor, of course," it said, as if it were the most obvious thing. Barnes recoiled.
"The God Emperor?!" He stammered, thoughts of horrifying rituals crossing his mind. Treason was to rebel against the Imperium, but Heresy was to rebel against the Emperor.
"Just the Emperor. He never wanted to be called a God," the creature whispered, "He said it himself. There are no Gods. Just things people want to be. They bend their knees to ideas that they will never surmount and remain stagnant in this submission. The Emperor never wanted that. He wanted the Imperium to be free from such ideas. An Imperium where the ideas that drove each citizen were the right of humanity to exist, and the right of mankind to be free of the Warp."
Barnes stared at the creature, but could find no defense to this argument. He tepidly denied things, but the creature shook its head slowly.
"Even now, you doubt your faith. We still honor the Emperor as the rightful ruler of mankind through His merit and knowledge, but we keep with his wish and do not call him a God."
"But how..." Barnes stammered, "why... who told you this?! Did the God Emperor Himself come down and tell you He is not divine?!"

>>68396905
"Yes," the creature said, holding a book towards Barnes. He tried to avert his eyes, but the creature held his head, forcing him to stare at it. Instead of fear or hatred, though, Barnes felt oddly calmed by the tome. The words enveloped his mind with a quiet but undeniable authority, and soon, he stared, feeling a faint trace of some power within it.
"But what of the warp? We have slain many heretics who claim their Warp deity is a god."
"Liars or the deluded. There are no Gods, brother. Come. Join us. You can be free, with us, and obey the Emperor more than even the most pious of Ecclesiarchs ever could.
Barnes stared, but eventually, he nodded.

Librarian Ross then released the newest recruit of the Void Hawks, and lead him to the other inductees.

>>68396853
>>68396097
What >>68396853 said. Since our marines specialize in stealth our auxiliaries should be our main attack force. Sometimes we must stand and fight if somehow taken off guard or aid those when stealth is not an option. The Void Crows are the deft and silent knife of the fleet always finding the target before they're any wiser. The "Iron Crows" are the dreaded last line of defense for when the Crows and auxiliaries aren't enough or the main ships have been boarded. The auxiliaries are the sword the most numerous, stronger then average from genetics, and able to fight stealthy but most of the time taking the fight when stealth is not an option and being commanded by the Void Crows from afar who pick off the enemy and their leaders without being seen.

>>68396900
Brother Deminon is now one of the few recognized Iron Crows, alongside Brother Garo.

>>68396966
Just imagine that.
"Sir! We are under attack by heretics!"
"What?"
"Sir we are under attack by WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?!"
>Nobody ever heard from the Corinth 512th after that.

Death Watch ideas
>Void Corw talking about the hunger both he and the Blood Angel go through
>The BA is shocked he figured it out so quickly


>The Void Crow just showing up behind people unexpectedly and scaring them
>Even the Raven Guard Brother is snuck up on

>Manages to replace the Space Wolf's Fenrisian Ale bottle with soda, even managing to get the pressure right so he wouldn't notice

>>68396966
Right. Human agents should be our greatest presence in the sector, or at least the most visible to outsiders as wherever a human Crow goes an astartes is there along with them. The astartes are still bigger and stronger than a human, but compared to other chapters they simply don't have the tools to fight head on battles or fair duels against other astartes.

In a pitched battle the auxiliaries are the baying hounds, the most visible ones to force out a confrontation and hold the line, while the astartes are the finishing knife, closing distance quietly and finishing off everything in their way. There's some mix either way with astartes staying rearguard and humans sneaking up, but both need the other to work at maximum efficacy.

>>68397057
>The Raven Guard and Void Crow keep getting into sneaking contests. Nobody knows where either of them are for days at a time.
>>68397132
In pitched battle, it is typical for the Crows to engage frontally with their human auxiliaries and the Iron Crows, forming a brutal line of hotshot lasgun wielding mortals and nigh-unbreakable walking walls of ceremite and barely contained hatred, oftentimes wielding monstrous weaponry that none but they can lift. As this chaos goes on in the front, the Astartes Crows slip into weak points of the defense and kill high ranking officers and commanders, sever lines of communication and supply, and mob and overwhelm isolated, powerful foes.

>CM ***** (Not sure, Ez'kiel?)
>Current CM of the Void Crows
>Took over when the last one died during a raid on an Ork Waaagh Fleet Flagship
>Was the second highest ranking Marine back in the main fleet when the 1st Company/Attack Fleet returned and he was inaugurated quickly so they wouldn't waste time
>Ritualistically ate his predecessor's remains as is tradition
>Is a self admitted bore and stickler for the rules, better with leading and logistics than fighting

>>68397411
I think we decided on either Slavic or Nepalese naming conventions, with a few other kinds of names just thrown into the mix.

>>68397411
>CM Sagan Oriel.

>>68397472
Let's go with this one
>Sounds like https://youtu.be/wupToqz1e2g but gravely and hoarse
>He even looks like Carl but bald, scarred etc

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>>68397495
>This but on the body of an anemic bodybuilder and scarred. With pale skin and a large mouth accompanied by large dark eyes.
Jesus Christ how horrifying.

>>68397495
This is probably a better example of voice, and personality as well https://youtu.be/N0WjV6MmCyM
>Back in his youth, Oriel was a prankster and astronomic philosopher, pondering the cosmos and celestial bodies

>>68397472
Chapter Master Oriel is fairly typical for a Void Crow in terms of appearance and heritage, having been born upon the Voidspire and raised as the others aboard the station. His induction into the Marines was a mark of honor to his family, as all Inductions are.
Oriel distinguished himself among the Crows for his incredible tactical awareness, capable of spotting even the tiniest flaw in an enemy's defense, and perfecting ambushes in places he had seen only once before. As a combatant, Oriel was distinguished but not extraordinary.
Oriel gained the rank of Chapter Master after the previous Chapter Master, Petros Lilivach, was slain in close combat with an Ork Warboss.
In keeping with Chapter tradition, Sagan ate the body of the prior Chapter Master after the Ork was killed.
He has a close friendship with the Captain of the Second Company, who is notable for being a psychic Blank. Many in the chapter believe that he will eventually become Chapter Master in time.

>>68397132
>>68397362

This leads to something I've been thinking about: Alpha Legion. Now, I don't think the chapter should have any official or overt links to the 20th. But we're definitely paralleling the Alpha Legions modus operandi. I also think that the Alphas are at the best when they're left ambiguous and subtle rather than front and centre about how clever they are.

So can we highlight this without stating it?

Like the Void Crows Auxilliaries have a tradition of giving themselves some kind of mark or brand incorporating an element of the chapter iconography.

Or their figure of legend was named something like Ivan Nicholas (the names of the first Tsar of Russia and last Tsar of Russia) or Romulus Belisarius (Legendary founder of Rome and a Byzantine General sometimes refereed to as "Last of the Romans").

Some deliberately ambiguous shading. I'll get if people don't like this. But, cursed founding, chimeric gene seed, and it wouldn't be the first time the Alpha Legion had fucked with Raven Guard gene seed.

>>68397582
I feel they wouldn't have any Alpha Gene-seed cause the Void Crows are frail and small compared to other Astartes, but the Legion were suppose to be the largest and strongest of the Astartes basically mini-Primarchs.

Perhaps though they found some of the Emperors musings on them though in the text and took to their style of operation expanding it with their own Raven heritage tatics.

>>68397567
The captain of the Second Company is horrifying, even compared to the typical Void Crow. His eyes and mouth are massive even among the Crows, and instead of a short but lean build, he is tall, lanky, and horribly pale. He is a scarred mass of tissue and he is a grave figure, never making jokes. Of all the Crows, he is one of the stealthiest, capable of simply walking through perimeters without being noticed due to his being a Blank. He is a gifted close combatant and assassin, but where he truly shines the most is fighting creatures of the Warp. They cannot touch him, they cannot perceive him, but he can cut them down with ease. He earned many accolades by holding off a wave of demons within the fortress of the twisted demon Fexis the Eternal, and it was he who banished it.

>>68397643
Leave the third "Company" captain open I'm writing about that, please.

>>68397582
>>68397627
The Crows being sneaky is not part of them being related to the Alpha Legion, but a natural consequence of their differences. They are weaker than a typical Astartes by a substantial margin and must fight their foes using stealth, speed, and pack tactics.

>>68397661
I haven't written the First, or named the Second. Go on ahead.

>>68397627

Right. The idea is just some parallels with the AL that are left in the background. Maybe the AL were involved in their formation and this is part of some deep plan. Maybe it's all just a co-incidence.

>>68397643
>Blank Space Marine
Reminds me of that one Chapter made up of just Blanks a long time ago

They were utterly horrifying
>Chain up a Daemon and just stand there as it's essence is ripped fro mit to them as they 'feed'

>>68397709
If you think the Void Crows aren't the stuff of pirate nightmares, imagine a monster with eyes the size of your fist and a mouth big enough to swallow a child whole, with extremely long limbs that literally radiates an aura of 'fuck this shit I'm out' staring at you from the dark.

That's the Captain of the Second company. He's a fucking nightmare.

>>68397627
They can have touches of geneseed without sharing exact physical similarities. The only known thing about their genetics should be that they're probably Raven Guard, but everything else is unknown, and I think we should avoid assuming they're secret Word Bearers or Alpha Legion or whatever else. Build them as their own thing and if similarities happen to pop up, well, there's always rumours about them.

+++Note from Adept Tarsus to Inquisitor Dominus
+++Bio data recognized, authorizing access/
++BEGIN
My Lord, I have come to notice a strange rumor that exists across many hive worlds in [REDACTED]. Namely, that of the "tall men". To whit, the Tall Men are monsters twice the size of a human that, according to local legend, drag off the unfortunate, never to be seen again. They move in total silence. Some hives claim that they occasionally devour the devout alive before vanishing.

I suspect influence of the Warp and suggest that an Ordo Hereticus or Ordo Malleus team investigate further.

++Thought for the day: A closed mind is like a fortress, an open one is vulnerable.

>>68397789
Right now we seem more like the space sharks long lost brothers.

Anyway, I'm retiring for the night. I hope someone else will pick up my torch of writefaggotry and this chapter can truly be fleshed out.

>>68397816
Convergent parallel evolution? They are also RG descendants.

>>68397898
My money's always been the SS are RG NL chimeric or loyal NL descendants.

>>68397820
>>68395116
Working on mine
-------------------------
Brother Chaplain Nikolai Antov sat motionless resting on a knee as he prostrated himself before the altar of the God-Emperor. His head held low in reverence he recited the ancient prayers of his forefathers in his head. Nothing disturbed his prays, even the dust laid still.

Suddenly from behind he heard the slow and methodical steps of ceramite against hull. ‘A brother come to disturb me at this hour?’ He thought. Rising with a soft whirring of servos he turned to meet this late visitor. Soon the steps grew louder, uncaring for any pretenses of stealth. A striking turquoise took shape from the shadows slowly revealing a figure much larger then a man, even for their diminutive size among Astartes. As the brother emerged from the shadowed depths of the hall Brother Chaplain Nikolai could make out just who this visitor was.

His armor was plain, indiscernible from that of any other brother except for two features. The black skull of command against his right pauldron and the intricate carving in the chest of his armor. The carving was a work of art carved by deft hands depicting a crow muzzled by chains, below it a battle raging, feathers shedding to be replaced by razors that threatened to release the feral beast contained and muzzled for the safety of those below.
(cont)

>>68398004
The Chaplain raised his hands in greeting and signed the words, with a pace that would’ve been hard to follow for a normal human. ‘Greetings, Captain Casimir. What brings you to the shrine of his radiance the God-Emperor?’

Casimir stopped half way through the rows of pews. A low whisper ushered forth from the armored figure, “This… is a time for words brother.” so quiet one might dismiss it as a trick of the wind. But the enhanced hearing of Nikolai heard it well. He turned to regard the altar as Casimir removed his helmet. Emotion warred in Nikolai. A Void Crow never spoke when he could not. For his brother to do so must mean he brought monumental news, either extraordinary ... or monstrous. He felt in acknowledging these words some door of fate that could not be closed would be opened.

With silent resolution he turned to regard the face of his brother, speaking for the first time in decades. “What news do you bring brother?”
(working on the rest)

I'll do Eighth Company real quick

>>68398114
I thought we only had 500 or so Marines?

>>68398196
We've probably built ourselves up quickly but it'd be best to say we have around 800 marines.

>>68397752

It'd be neat if he's trying to put together a formation of blank astartes. Maybe trying to recreate the animus speculum of the culexus assassin as equipment.

Like that's a thing in their eugenics program; they want to breed blanks wherever possible, because if they can create even a squad of Astartes blanks, then they have something that will just fuck their enemies sideways no matter what.

Can't be detected by conventional means, can't be detected by psykers, get them on an enemy ship and they can probably blind the navigator.

He's the only one right now; (because again, given them this would make them totally sue) but it's an ambition of the chapter. An ambition made all the more desperate by the opening of the eye of terror and the realization that they will need some way to make themselves invisible to the forces of chaos if they're going to get the word of the Emperor back to Terra.

Also: Holy shit, if they ever succeeded, these guys meeting Guilliman would be hilarious. The closest thing to a legion in this living nightmare of a future he's woken up in, the only followers of the Imperial Truth and his father's vision for the crusade, are cannibal eugenicist bastard offspring of Corvus and Lorgar.

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>>68398270
>Void Crows when they here from one of their agents there's Blanks in a system.

The Eighth Company Captain, Lord-of-Murders Miloslav, is at once a figure of brooding menace, standing taller and more broadly than most of his fellow Void Crows, his presence a dark one as he heralds punishment for any brother who would serve himself before his chapter, and the master of the rites of butchery of bodies to be consumed, and yet, he is a man of almost jovial nature, seeming to enjoy his role not with cruel pleasure, but with a knowing, almost content way of life. Brandishing an axe of great weight and size, it is little wonder his enemies do not survive long. His presence, though noticeable, is often far too quick to gain any real advantage from this, as swiftly taking heads before an alarm can be sound is an art form to Miloslav. He also handles the preparations of the bodies of allies to be eaten by stripping the flesh from bone, along with the assistance of a specialized Lieutenant/Apothecary known as a Bonepicker, who crafts these skeletal remains into adornments, relics, and even weapons. A knife made of the bone of a valiant human auxiliary who accomplished his mission by distracting the foe, or a particularly cunning brother who eventually met his end defending a Captain are highly prized among the chapter, and are often used as powerful bartering chips when neccessary, as they take every step to ensure these bone creations are both beautiful in a foreign way, but still murderously effective.

>>68398424
>VC get into a shoot out with the Officio Assassainorium over some Blanks
>The blanks are nabbed from one to the other over the course, apathetic as usual

>>68398472
Some small notes.
>rites of butchery
I thought we agreed on no "rites" that's religious practice born from faith. Void Crows know why they do what they do and do it because it's an effective practice.

>skeletal remains into adornments
This would be relatively little. We've spoken about it before that adornments are unnecessary trinkets that cause noise and draw attention.

>>68398472
>Nickname/Title: The Butcher
>>68397643
>Nickname: The Shade

By rites, I mean mostly keeping someone from accidently eating the geneseed or something

>>68398604
It'd probably be better to put it as Art though with how he sees it and our chapters view on religious practice.

>1st Company
>Much like other Chapters, it's the Company of the CM and most veteran/experienced
>They serve as a 'Lead by example' group to show the way fro the Chapter
>Not as veteran heavy as others though, they spread them around the Companies to buff them and give experience to the Scouts


>3rd Company
>Demolition focused and have a large amount of ship/station kills from boarding actions
>Have a surprising amount of Dreads for when shit goes serious/south
>Includes the 'Bloody 4th' as they hail from them

>>68398696
>3rd Company
I'm working on that anon. >>68398025 But that work well with them recovering the Emperor's work.

>>68398629
Yeah, art makes more sense. Perhaps his company mirrors this and is a bit more open to the idea of decorations on their armor, whereas most others will accept the gifts but leave them at home, or in their sheath.

So terms we have so far and proposed.

Ones we seem to be agreed upon.
Iron Crow = Dreadnoughts.
Corpsewalker = Apothecaries and absorbed the surviving chaplains. Handle the butchering of enemies in addition to normal duties. 8th company presumably has a large amount of them.
The Enlightened = Auxiliaries of the fleet.
Murder = Squad or group of marines or Iron Crows.

Proposed
Flock = Space marine company.

>>68398506

Just be your average soulless blank living your life of being despised by everyone without ever really knowing or understanding why, until eventually someone kills you to the general relief of all and sundry. Suddenly you notice people seem to be giving you more distance. One of the guys who'd throw things at you and was probably nutting up for something worse showed up with his arms in casts, and afterwards left you well alone. You think you've seen someone wearing black out of the corner of your eye several times, but don't really know what to make of it.

Then one day you fall asleep, and instead of waking up where you laid your head, you wake up in what seems like a hospital bed. There are very large men with dark eyes looking at you almost affectionately. They start telling you in whispered voices about the Truth and their plan, and how you are an important part of it. You don't understand, any more than you understood the priests when they talked about the God-Empror, or you understand anything about how the people around you think. However, when you look at the one at the foot of your bed, you almost feel something like kinship.

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>>68398832

It's between Bonepicks and Corpsewalkers for apothecaries

>>68398913
My vote goes to Corpsewalkers.

I won't vote, since I made Bonepicks

>>68398913
Bonepicks sounds like a more derogatory term for them

Just elaborating on the crow theme, crows are clever buggers and can learn to use tools ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbSu2PXOTOc )

So would a tech-marine heavy company work? Ones who do a lot of the scavenging and repair work, but also do a lot of sabotage and subversion of ship's systems, and run jamming and signals work. They might be seen as slightly dodgy within the chapter as they trade some of their finds with ad-mech forge worlds for information and resupply.

>>68398913

I like Corpsewalkers as the official title. Calling one of them a "bonepick" is like calling a doctor a bloodletter or a leechmonger. It can be an informal name between apothecaries or those their close too, but it is otherwise a very serious insult.

>>68399044
Sure it would. They'd be the siege engineers Flock. They also handle a lot of supervise on fleet maintenance

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So as a sort of recap mostly for myself, right now I think our big, defining features are:
>working alongside human auxiliaries and treating them as relative equals;
>a focus on normal melee weapons and boarding actions;
>and of course the cannibalism is crucial.
We also have some feathery visual themes. That's the stuff we're made of.

Then we also have the stuff we can do pretty well but aren't perfect at:
>our voidships are very good, but ancient and high maintenance and shouldn't be unbeatable by any means if we get in over our heads;
>we're good at seeking things out, more patient and keen-eyed than most with a solid network of human and Astartes agents, but not infallible and because we're more patient we take longer than a more aggressive chapter would;
>we're stealthy and spooky as is the norm for Raven Guard kids, but even then we don't revel in the darkness like the Night Lords and the others do.

Then there's the things that hold us back:
>we're individually weaker, so we always have to work together to get things done;
>we always have to be mindful of the Hunger, making sure we have enough to eat but never gorge ourselves, or else things start going wrong I was thinking if a Void Crow started feasting too much on the dead, he'd start turning more and more ghoulish until he's a ravenous monster so full of other people's memories that he can't distinguish himself anymore. That might be too similar to the Blood Angels' curses though, so I'm not too sure about it;
>we only have an effective fighting force of about half-strength, so we simply can't take every fight that comes our way, and we can't win them all even if we choose to stand our ground.

Does this seem about right?

>>68397816
We've got some physical similarities with the teeth and eyes and pallid skin, we also steal people, we also rarely speak. I guess its a familial trait.

>>68399113
>A Void Crow and Space Shark get mixed up/find themselves in the other Chapter
>Day 1,365: They still don't realize I'm not one of them

>>68399171
>Day 1,673: I lost control in the midst of battle against a group of gangers today attempting to overthrow a hive. I began eating him alive. After I realized what I was doing and stopped a battle-brother told me he "admired my enthusiasm".

>>68399113

I like the idea that there's a failure state to absorbing information. Maybe they have a we-don't-call-it-a-rite-but-it-totally-is where a marine that the corpsewalkers identify as being at risk has to alternate between fasting and a vegetarian only diet while meditating for a period of weeks or months.

Or maybe it's considered a healthy thing for a marine with some time under their belt to go through both the process and the cure. Part of becoming an officer maybe? They gorge themselves to the point the self begins to dissolve, then fast and find their way back.

You learn where the edge is by going over. The chapter is there to make sure you're roped off and don't fall all the way to the bottom of the cliff.

That way the officers are ones they know can handle the consumption of large amounts of memories and provide proper guidance to the flock. It can leave them a little bit... changed however. Which, from a literary and chapter design perspective is good because it gives an excuse for whatever particular quirk you want.

>>68399250
>"That Brother Ivansik is an odd one. Very quiet but he has his heart and mind in the right place. Sometimes we forget he's even there."
>"He once finished the mission by killing the command staff before the rest of us got there."

>>68399250

>Space sharks launch a formal complaint to the High Lords of Terra about having to eat so many inquisitors who come after them over something called a "Void Crow"

>>68399113
>>68399251
I like the idea that one of the dangers of feasting to much is degeneration into a feral state. It would really help balance us as a cursed founding chapter. Corpsewalkers would be in charge of overlooking such marines should they lose themselves, or stopping them from reaching that state.

Perhaps the reason for this is so many memories and their associated personalities can overwhelm the marine's own consciousness if done to quickly and often.

>>68399327
Good idea. Maybe that's why they prefer the pulverized 'slurry' of corpses? It helps their mind to not kick in the gene memory ability?

>>68399349
But such a thing and solidified rations cannot truly satisfy such a hunger only take the edge off until they must taste true flesh again. This is one of the reasons the corpsewalkers minds from undevoured bodies is so important, both for the information to reach the proper officials and to prevent new recruits from actually stepping over the edge.

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>>68397752
>Pic related. What an average VC probably looks like, but built stronger and with larger eyes.

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>>68399441
Looks a bit like Ivan the Terrible, first thing that came to mind

Perhaps if the feral nature cannot be satiated and becomes too dominant and, well, feral, the Lord-Of-Murders might have to take them behind the woodshed

>>68399479
>>68399441
Now I wish I had any artistic talent, because a fusion of these two would make a perfect Captain/Corpsewalker

>>68399603
Not efficient enough. Send them to terrorize the enemy and recover them and give them full honors.

>>68399662
Probably the best bet.

Armor and weapons or no? Likely just simple blades for one last hurrah

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The Departed.

To consume the minds of the fallen and gain their memories is not without danger. Ones own consciousness may be overwhelmed if proper time is not to taken to "digest" those of the others they have devoured. If enough memories and their personalities are left undigested long enough then they will begin to fight with the marine for control and in this attempt destroy themselves and the marine's sense of self, along with causing permanent damage to the frontal lobe. From then on they become known as "The Departed" for they are dead brothers that yet walk. They devolve into their feral state at which point their skin becomes a bone white, their eyes sunken, flesh in some areas peels, their nails become long and yellow claws from lack of care. They carry no weapons but are sealed in their armor, to dangerous to remove without loss of limb or life, destroying their helmets and gauntlets to fight with tooth and claw. Now shadows of themselves driven by the hunger they fought against in life.

They naturally attack all but other Departed. Though Corpsewalkers are able to restrain them enough trough use of the Catalepsean Node and many hours of hypno therapy to not attack Void Crows any others, including auxiliaries, are at danger from their hunger. They are kept in cages between fights and released to terrorize the enemy and disrupt them. When a Departed dies he is given full honors as a brother in the end and heralded as a hero.

Signs of danger of turning into one include many mental disorders such as schizophrenia and multiple personality disorder. Some aggressive departed are kept as they seem to be able to sense when a brother is about to fall, and thus shall not attack him like they would any other.

>Picture this but bleached bone white, with fangs, and in power armor.

>>68399796
>>68399821
First that's a creepy pic, but awesome writeup. Especially using them as drug hounds for Departed.

Going to bed, hopefully a 1d4chan page is made. We have a fair bit

>>68399662

I don't like the idea of a death company, particularly since the chapter is so stealth focused. Also, harvesting the gene seed is going to be a priority for an under-strength renegade chapter. Helps distinguish them from the Blood Angels


They might see the idea as distasteful. They're all about working in a team. So if someone succumbs to hunger it means the signs were missed. They see it a as a collective failure. Maybe it's the duty of the squad mates to carry out the euthanasia. Too look into those eyes and see nothing but blank madness, hands twitching and they try to speak but form no meaning. To know that this is your failure and you are not starting it right, meerly ending it.

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>>68399908
It's a flaw they must adapt to but use to their advantage. To put them down like a rabid animal would be insulting to the man that left. They should be allowed to die fighting for their brothers and fleet, going in the place of others who could be lost. From we've established with the forced eugenics program, killing those they can't convert, and leaving none who see them alive the VC aren't exactly a humanitarian chapter. They can't afford to throw them away and like everything else in the fleet they have their use.

>>68399984
They should be the shame of the chapter made manifest, not some new weapon to be used like any other.

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>>68400023
A weapon can be shameful. They are a shame because the chapter failed, failed to control their hunger, failed to save a brother, failed to see the signs, failed in every way.

Have the drawfags got the color scheme yet?

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>>68400096
For reference we settled on this.

>>68400072
Also as a side note they provide a good counter to the Iron Crows. While the shame of the Iron Crows rest on their own shoulders. The shame of The Departed would rest on those of the chapter. At most their would be a half a dozen to a dozen of these max at any given time due to how careful they are about it. And I feel while there's some similarities like the other anon said to a Death Company I also feel there's a big enough difference to set them apart.

>>68399984

Fair. The only other point I'd dispute is the gene seed. They'd want to make sure they recover it. Hell maybe they've worked out a protocol to remove the gene seed but keep the marine alive on a cocktail of drugs for 6-12 hours. And just let this starving berserk ghoul loose. Oooooh. They're used to cover retreats. If the dreads are woken up when stealth failed and they need firepower to win, these poor buggers are thrown into the fray to cover a retreat. They're dead anyway.

If the fasting an purification fails, then you use them more like a munition than a soldier. Using them is a disgrace. And viewed as such. Only the fact that they have the imperial truth, the Emperor's truth justifies it at all.

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>>68399821
>>68399908
Slightly related. Puppetswar sells these Nightmare heads that would probably work well for a tabletop conversion.

>>68401232
Probably too exaggerated desu

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>>68401303
I agree but it's the only closest thing I could find.

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So any thoughts on Tech Marines? We seem to agree they aren't on good standing with the Mechanicus. Do they get their training from another source? Rogues? Do they have a unique title or duty?

>>68396502
>>68396563

I'd suggest that they be true to their SPACE MARINE calling. Ground engagements are seen as an unfortunate necessity due to the way they can cause havoc on their numbers, Astartes and non-Astartes alike. Void superiority is the thing we should be going for here, with select assassinations and kill teams dealing with high-priority targets on the ground when and if needed.

Generally speaking, the Void Crows should share similar doctrines with the Imperial Navy. Which is to say: "Blow them out before they land and make more problems down below."

>>68396966
>>68397132
Yes, yes, yes. the Crows themselves should limit their presence to an absolute minimum. Remember, there is a Lord Inquisitor investigation the "disappearances" of manpower and war materiel. The auxiliaries are a necessary smokescreen as well as possibly our PRIMARY ground force.

>>68397411
I suggested Chapter Master Venkata (I think it's Nepalese?) back in the writing I did in the first thread.

>>68402217
We don't have to send them all the way to Mars, and perhaps a local forgeworld would be inclined to partner up to train them. After all, each Forgeworld is for most intents and purposes independent despite the Fabricator General of Mars being a bit more than primus inter pares. Distance alone made the feudal dominion of the Second Imperium twinned with the first a beast too difficult to centralise.

We offer them techno-tidbits gained from our ranging, they give us tech support. Also a secret treaty of protection.

gettin a kind of garden of kadesh vibe on the crows with their "leave no witnesses"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWqOu1J7maM

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>>68399605
Try this?

>>68400233
What about recovering their armor and weapons? Those will be very important to a chapter with limited resources. The Departed would not be sent out with power armor, then. Maybe they have suicide belts? Maybe the geneseed extraction and drugs are accompanied by heavy mechanization, to the point of servitorization. OH ok try this

They are given that kind of servitorization that leaves the mind intact but not in control- they are leashed and muzzled. Control can be returned to them, they are set off the leash, and can be remotely switched back. But this is bad for them, and they are also kept in stasis hibernation to keep them from degenerating and suffering. Eventually they reach the point of death and a corpeswalker uses the pre-implanted mechanism that pullsout the geneseed and activates their suicide attack protocol, they go on a bestial fury, all speed and implanted weapons, until the crows are far enough away and trigger their self-destruct. There is always a crow watching these final moments- nobody ever dies truly alone.

>>68402840
>What about recovering their armor and weapons?
Anyone who encounters them won't live through the second assault.

>>68402875
That kind of devil-may-care attitude is also not suited for a chapter that needs to be husbanding its resources carefully.

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>pastebin.com/eVCyeSaG
Didn't want to burn four posts for a quickie.

Building off it, I think the senior officers of the Crows, and the Corpsewalkers especially, would have very unusual personalities compared to your usual officers. With their uniquely overactive Omnophagea collecting sensations and memories throughout their lives, by the time they reach some level of veterancy they'd have experienced thousands of snippets of peoples lives, glimpses into their humanity and the stark contrasts between the human mentality and their stunted superhuman one. Some might grow to be closer to human than their fellow astartes, or at least a strange approximation of all the urges and feelings they'd felt over the years, an attempt to conciliate their own lives and the ones they've experienced second-hand. Some might grow distasteful of it all and despise the curse of their knowledge. Some might revel in it and savour the taste of someone else's memories.

In the case of the Corpsewalkers, who by duty seek out and experience such things constantly, I imagine a sort of solemn acceptance is the norm. An understanding of the burden and honour they've been given, owing to their somewhat split role between Chaplain and Apothecary and the link between spirit and body. A respect for the passed, and a surprising insight into the living, making them an odd comfort in times of need.

>>68403391
It's not "devil-may-care" they're established as leaving no survivors. Letting someone who saw the Departed live would be a big violation of that. Making some repairs to their armor would be a far better use of resources then wasting resources turning them into servitor bombs.

Also we got any drawfags here that can do the heraldry?

>>68403455
.....point.

Lets go over the command staff
>CM/Murder Master - Sagan Oriel. Stickler for rules, tactical genius
>1st Company Captain - ???
>Second Company Captain - Unnamed. Blank monstrosity
>Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Company Captains - ???>
>Chief Corpsewalker - ??
>Chief Librarian - ??

Eighth Company captain is Miloslav, Lord-Of-Murders.

>>68404033
Since I'm writing that chaplain story I'm going to put forward Casimir Slavik for 3rd Murder captain.

>>68404117
Alright, known characters.
>CM: Sagan Oriel: Stickler for rules, dour, tactical genius.
>Second Company Cap: Unknown name, Blank. Monster
>Eighth Company: Miloslav, Lord-Of-Murders. Ax-wielding artist. Helps divide up the corpses with the Corpsewalkers and is jovial.
>Brother Garo: Iron Crow that floats in and out of the Deathwatch. Crippled during a fight with a heretic Astartes
>Brother Deminon: Just a giant sulking asshole of a Dreadnought. Hits children with sleeping gas when they ask for bedtime stories.

What would the second captain's name be?

(Just catching up with the first thread from yesterday)

Has there been any expansion on the Stealth ships the Crows used? There was also mention of stealth bombers and Auspex-defying (Radar-invisible) bombs used for planetary bombardment missions. I'd be happy to flesh those elements out if it hasn't been touched upon.

>>68404913
Other than them having one big archaeotech ship called the "Last Whisper", a fleet of lesser ones, and having the librarians pilot and coordinate for being able to see out through the cloak, no.

Please go ahead.

>>68404913
The way their munitions were initially described, it wasn't as though their bombs were invisible, they just moved too fast to be detected, let alone intercepted. Reflex shields are expensive, but hurling something extremely quickly isn't.

Do the Crows have Abhumans in their ranks? They'd probably like Ratlings, but Felinids, Ogryn, etc... I don't know. They'd probably pick up a wide variety of abhumans and mutants in their quest to engineer the best genetic stock they could make.

>>68405061
Ok, here goes.

First there needs to be a distinction between the Void Crows fleet and the covering mortal fleet they use as a smokescreen, they would likley play off the idea off of the 'covering one another's weakness' strategy that is used throughout ground deployment and espionage with mortal spies. To this end I'd would make the mortal fleet a solid anvil of numerous cruiser-class vessels with one or two battlecruisers or battleships to act as the 'heart of the fleet' to any unsuspecting outsider. This would ususally result in the mortal fleet being the permanent decoy while the stealthed Void Crows element rips and tears their way to the heart of they enemies fleet from the rear or whatever angle is opportune.

The human fleet would mainly revolve around hardier designs sporting more armour to weather incoming attacks with only a few carrier ships to create a very basic fighter screen. (to lull an enemy captain into the illusion that bombers/torpedoes could be an effective way to destroy the fleet)

Mortal Fleet Composition:
2x Battlecruisers/Battleships
30-40x Cruisers (w/ 4-6 carrient variants)
15-20x frigates as escorts
30+ Support Vessels (repair ships, supply ships, Planetary Lifter ships, Scavenger ships (for ship deconstruction))

The astartes fleet are obviously centered around the real flagship, the Last Whisper, itself around the size of a cruiser/battlecruiser, with a significant amount of strike cruiser sized ships, and a smattering of stolen/repurpoused astartes vessels all armed with reflex fields. A significant chunk of the strike cruiser variants would be the fleet's carrier element, packed with various amounts of stealth fighters/bombers, while the rest were armed with more naval weaponry. The designs for these stealth ships should place more emphasis on speed and weaponry, meaning they are less armoured (alluding to the frail disposition of the marines) and therefore relying on stealth more.

Contd.

>>68405679
Remember that the Crows and their mortals are one force, meaning that if their mortal fleet is in one place, the Astartes fleet, including their massive archeotech space station, is not far. Given their fanatical focus on salvaging and stealing equipment, their fleet would be a monster.

>>68405644
My thoughts:
Felinids are a maybe for the Crows: They're (probably) fast and cunning. Ogryn would be a 'special' force used in defensive actions or to hold a point, distinctly unstealthy things.

With the rampant genetic experimentation and
mass kidnapping the Crows commit, they would probably have a wide variety of mutants and abhumans to choose from.

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>>68405679
Void Crows Fleet:
If the design of these ships is more archeotech I'd be more that willing to be we would have a sleeker, if still chunky design, something like pic-related with a few more crennelations and arches (Because even if we don't have all the religious symbology everywhere we can still have some gothic architecture mixed in) Overall they would be designed for the sort of 'strike and fade' style of tactics, relying more on the better energy generation of the ancient designs to re-engage the reflex shields once they've made a pass (think of it like a jouster taking runs at an enemy who's focused on a sword-fight with the human (fleet) in front of him. Perhaps a slightly better network of point defence weaponry can come as standard on these old ships too, but due to their complexity, get slowly replaced over time with the worse scavenged Imperial tech.

(Though the idea of having some sort of crude railgun-like slug launcher for both anti-ship and orbital bombardment would be a nice nod to them using simplistic nanoblade, maybe it could be fired several times before the heat couldn't be hidden by the reflex field and the ship is detected)

Void Crows Fleet Composition:
The 'Last Whisper' Flagship - Battlecruiser
12-18x Strike Cruisers
3-8 Stolen/Repusposed Astartes escorts

>>68405773
Since when did they have a space station? I thought the Last Whisper was a ship, not a station

(p.s. trying to find a picture of a sci-fi ship that's almost 40k-esque in it's design, but not, is a ball ache)

Contd.

>>68396581
Probably more like weeks or even months.

>>68406007
I dunno, one anon kept talking about their flagship being the Voidspire, which is a very well maintained ancient ship that, over millennia has been covered in more and more guns as the amount of people aboard has increased.

>>68406007
Strike Craft
With the emphasis on stealth being added into most parts of their forces, both the fighter and bomber variants of the Void Crows would be no different. For both of these we can turn to elements that already exist in the lore but have had almost no touch-ups or updates beyond cursory mentiones. For the fighter you have the Wrath pattern starfighter of the early-crusade-era https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Wrath_Starfighter While it does mean a lot in terms of maintenance, the Void Ravens are no stranger to stripping and replacing parts, so keeping up this old bird would allow pilots to have access to a far more advanced fighter, that, while hard to master, alllows them to dominate the sky or the void whereever it's deployed. It would still be a little too small to mount it's own reflex shield, but auspex-reflecting angles in the design along with a auspex-absorbant material used for the outer layer (perhaps it can flake off like ablative plates as an extra form of armour) allow it to defeat most missle targeting systems and at the very least create auspex ghosts too fool the targeting systems of ship point defence weapon networks.

The bomber, is another unremembered relic from the Great Crusade (and funnily enough, both from the same Prince of Crows novella) is the Corsair Bomber. While it's only description was 'vulture winged with lascannons and missiles' I've been doing some for over at the Brotherhood of the Lost 40k alt-universe, and fleshed this out fully for them with individual Legion Variants: https://botl.fandom.com/wiki/Corsair_Bomber The base design is pretty much a long-range bomber like the B2 Americans use. Massive bomb bay on the underside, a decent sized crew and some self-defence turrets, it could easily house a reflex shield. I normally used the rule of adding or changing 3 things for each legion variant so I could easily do the same here, though beyond a reflex shield what would you want to see?

>>68406093
Moving a station would take an immense amount of energy, which would be pretty fuckin hard to disguise, even with a reflex shield. It seems like a much better idea to keep it as a ship, especially if it's going to join the rest of the fleet in attacking an enemy from their undefended flank/rear.

>>68406297
Then I guess it'd be something big, but not super big. Perhaps the Crows split larger craft into chunks.

>>68406265
I was thinking that Void Crows would have a particular disposition towards being fighter pilots, what with the hectic mid-air battles fighting against a singular opponent. Particularly when it comes to specifically challenging another pilot to a duel, challenging their opponents to the death, and if possible, recovering the corpse as a sign of great respect afterwards to take on his knowledge. Because if they don't burn up in the explosion the void would freeze their bodies so they could be thawed out later and eaten.

>>68406424
The Crows are not honorable, they are ambushers and scavengers. They don't dogfight one on one, they dive down from cloud cover and flatten their foes with a barrage of fire before zooming back off into the distance.

>>68406446
I kinda knew the idea didn't fit, just wnted to post it and see what you guys thought.

>>68406265
For munitions would we focus on immediate damage like bunker-busting stuff? Or would the Crows blind them first with anti-Radar/Auspex missiles?

The former is more punchy and astartes-esque, but the latter is more real-life anti-air-defence operations shit.

>>68398196
Some or even most of the companies are likely under-strength.

>>68406538
That's why they concentrate all their force into one point. To maximize effectiveness and minimize casualties. They should be extremely Codex divergent, so mentioning Companies, etc. might be wrong.

>>68406629
They would very likley have their own set command structure that would deviate heavily from a normal chapter, depends what you want to base it off of though. Presumably there's always a set amount of them cycled out that go back to the Last Whisper to help with breeding and training new recruits.

>>68406714
It's probable that they have very few subdivisions, for instance, the Corpsewalkers, Iron Crows, and Auxiliaries are considered separate, as are the Librarians/Pilots, and the Eugenicists are seperated, but otherwise it's just rank, not company or division, allowing for fluid allocation of force.

So just squads and an officer cadre, and when you're assigned anywhere an officer is given x amount of squads, a few specialists and auxiliaries and he's got to organise them into an effective force to do the job he was given.

Something along those lines would definitely place problem solving and a tactical mindset above the rest. "How best to use what you've been given" is a great leadership test. Mabye lieutenant and captain candidates are given a ridiculously small force and told to 'make it work' to prove themselves worthy of the new rank.

>>68406827
>YFW they have dick-swinging competitions in the officers mess telling stories of how 'Well back in my day I only had 2 marines, a bucket of paint an a single mortal to take an entire Iron Warriors fortress'

https://youtu.be/aNqJyrRyss8?t=5

>>68406827
Considering the Crows's focus on assassination and misdirection, small forces would be excellent for them. This also gives us more commander slots to make characters.

I feel we should fluff out more people, weapons, and fights, rather than doctrine.

>>68406753
>>68406827
I'd say that they should still have companies/equivalent even if said companies are often split up. Fluid organization is good, having sergeants/squads who know each other and are used to working together is better.

>>68406297
I thought they had a fleet, led by the Last Whisper, and that the Voidspire was the biggest archaeotech station-repository they had found among the network if them they were sent to investigate, since turned into a (defacto?) fortress-monastery.

As to the voidspire, itks my idea that refugees fleeing an ork invasion that led to the sector being abandoned found the station(s) in the first place, leading to word leaking back to the imperium and the Crows being sent in. So when the chapter got there, they found the nucleus of their auxilaries already colonizing the ancient structure. So it's like an archeotech hive in space, with an underhive below and the monastery above.

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>>68407380
What if the Voidspire is more than just a fortress-monastery? What if it is a spacefaring manufactorum of a previously unseen scale?

>>68407454
They're supposed to be low on manpower and low on supplies. Having access to something like that would kind of undermine that.

>>68407380
Reading the first thread, there was a very strong equality movement among the Crows, no Underhive or Overhive, just Humanity. Their intermingling with unaugmented humans is evident of that. The Voidspire is a massive fortress, but it is also their home, and a mobile (if relatively slow) base of operations.

>>68408001
I have to second this, the point is that they're scavengers and ambushers, having the Last Whisper be a medium-sized ship seems way more reasonable than an entire space station.

>>68408153
Having a space station would be reasonable if only so they have a decent-sized recruiting pool(for a chapter at half-strength, at least). "Space-faring manufactorum of a previously unseen scale" not so much.

>>68408153
Let's compromise and say that they have on rather large ship, not exactly a space station, but packed with archeotech. It's known as either the Last Whisper or the Voidspire. It's surprisingly agile for its size, but the Crows will almost never use it in a proper battle, as it is their manufacturing, research, and breeding center. Within it, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of humans are carefully sorted, organized, and introduced into communities, the process of becoming an Astartes is begun, and the majority of the Crows live within it. In pitched battle, it hides behind a field of chaff, decoys, and its own potent Reflex shield, only firing once detected. It's big, but not enormous, and definitely a technological and biological treasure trove.

>>68408231
The Crows, due to their rampant eugenics programs, kidnappings, and indoctrination, actually have a massive recruiting pool relative to their size. They are also constantly on the prowl for technology, relics, or biology to steal.

(Act I of: The Void Ravens across the Imperium)

Sargent "Easy" Thurnn of the Catachan 365th looked at his new Comissar with no small amount of confusion. Ever since their last one died in an unfortunate minesweeping accident, they had received almost no word from the Imperium at large, but yet, here was this thin, quiet, pale man, standing there and politely introducing himself as their commander, ordained by the Emperor. Easy sneered a bit, but took a close look at the man, noticing quite a few deviations from the standard loud-mouthed, bolt pistol toting control freaks.

For one, he was wearing a highly modified uniform. The dark, mottled greenish brown cloak actually blended in with the jungle environment they were in, he wore a helmet instead of a hat, and instead of a bolt pistol, he held a knife and a rather large laspistol instead. But most notably was the silence this man had, his voice barely a whisper.

"Men, I understand that you do not like outside interference in your affairs," the Comissar said, "and unfortunately, I am one such influence. You may not like me. You may even be hostile, but together, I think we can achieve great things. So in the name of the Emperor, we shall do our duties efficiently and without question. So far, I am pleased. All of you have excellent camouflage, and you move silently and naturally. It is rare to see such skill among Guardsmen."

Easy smiled a bit. He might actually like this crazy new fucker.

Perhaps the Void Crows, instead of using bolt weapons, use specially made Astartes-grade lasrifles/pistols for ranged attack. They are easier to resupply, are silent, and do not scream "Astartes".

Perfect weapons for the Crows.

>>68408317
>The Crows, due to their rampant eugenics programs, kidnappings, and indoctrination, actually have a massive recruiting pool relative to their size.
Even with all of that, their recruiting pool isn't all that large, due to being mostly limited to their fleet which probably has total population in the millions.

Eugenetor Artapan watched the points of light on the auspex fade away. There had been so many at the start. Proud vessels from beyond that sauntered across the void with the arrogance of presumed ownership. Only wrecks remained now.

"It is a beautiful sight."

Artapan turned. "My lord Librarian Tvast," he said with surprise. "I did not realise I was intruding."

"No intrusion, Eugenetor." The massive giant towered over him, bedecked in the heavy metal encasements that served as armour for those majestic beings. Artapan suppressed an urge to bow, to prostrate - not out of a religious compunction but out of reverence for the ancient mind that had wrought them into form. A pinnacle of biomancy and gene-crafting. Marred by mutagens and unforeseen side-effects of the complex interplay of those superhuman components that warred within their forms for primacy, yes. But in so exquisite a manner.

The Cog-priest did not bow. Instead, he said: "Another battle well fought."

The giant nodded. "The best kind of battle. One that does not see the enemy land. This will please your magos, I think. As always, the Brotherhood is free to take what they wish from the wreckage of the xenos."

No doubt the High Magos would be pleased. He had an unnatural fascination for those blue-skinned aliens that had just died so spectacularly against the guns arraigned against them by the Crows. "The Forgeworld of Kadesh will fulfill our part of the compact," he replied. One of which was, of course, the services of genewrights as himself.

>>68408935

Then Artapan hesitated. The Crows were more easy-going than those of other chapters he had seen in the centuries, but that did not mean free permission to question. The Astartes were as a rule, very individualistic creatures.

"You have a question." The massive man was inscrutable, as ever. "Speak."

[i]Omnissiah grant me the perception of an Astartes.[/i] "The planet below does not pay tithe to your chapter," he said. The captain nodded encouragingly. "...Why defend it?"

"Ah." He considered the question. "Wasted munitions and man-lives, is it?"

"Forgive my audacity."

"No, no. It is good to question when question is had. To leave them unvoiced would only breed suspicion. It is known." The giant sat. Artapan marvelled at his height that left him still above his eye-level. "There are inherent limitations in being shipbound. It is true, each battle costs us dearly. Lives. Material. Time. But that is what we were made for. Each outpost of humanity defended is a pocket of safety in the subsector. And we do not always ask when we take." He shrugged, a motion that seemed like the cascade of mountain ranges up close. "The shepherd does not ask why unto him is given guardianship."

"Because it is your duty," Artapan said. "It would impugn on your honour." He was familiar with such concepts. He'd had them, once, when he was young and still mostly man.

"Honour? Oh, no. No, not for honour. There is no honour in war."

"A curious mindset for a warrior."

"There are warriors, and then warriors," he replied cryptically. "We kill, but we do not take relish in it. Just as we feed, even as we understand and detest the base instincts that drive us. It is a matter of survival. Without the herd, there is no shepherd."

>>68408950

The two watched the auspex panel for a while longer in companionable silence. Mechanicus ships were now moving into view, machine arms sorting through the skeletons of dead ships. Yes, the High Magos was going to be very pleased tonight. If he was lucky, there might even be some void-preserved T'au corpses for him to play with.

The Eugenetor decided that for space marines, the Crows weren't so bad.

>>68408972
So the Crows's Eugenicists are also their techmarines? It seems everyone seems to have a dual role: To whit
>Librarian pilots
>"Chaplain"Medicae
>Techmarine Eugenicists

>>68409309
Eugenetor isn't techmarine, he's a techpriest

>>68408435
The next few days were a blur for Easy. The Commissar was ordering things left,right and center. Anyone else would probably have had an unfortunate accident for such commands, but this man was always with the men, digging trenches, laying tripwires, and scrutinizing a variety of charts, pointing out ambush locations and setting up nests for snipers and hacking away at undergrowth with his large knife. And, spurred on, the Catachans obeyed, or at least cooperated. It was almost to the minute of the Commissar's predictions that the first tripwire went off, and an Eldar warrior met his end from a mine. In an instant, the traps that were carefully laid over a period of days went off, most missing, but a few capturing and killing their elusive quarry. Every point around their camp was defended, and after only a half an hour, there were no more signs of combat. It was surreal. He had barely fired a shot.

Easy saw the Commissar wiping blood off of his knife, and noticed him staring at several of the troops. The Commissar beckoned with his long limbs, and pointed over at a dropship.

"Excellent work, men. Thanks to us, this xenos scouting force will not find their prize in time. Our reinforcements have isolated it and placed decoys as they set about destroying this item. I thank you for acting in the interests of the Imperium, but unfortunately there are no more signs of activity on this world. The Orks are feral and there are hardly any humans. I would argue you were stationed here to die. Nevertheless, as your new Commissar, I urge you to follow me aboard this craft, so you may do your duties to the Emperor, and so that you may probably survive the inevitable revenge strikes on this world," The man said, leading the squadron over to the sleek, black craft. Once they entered, a massive, armored figure stepped forwards and waved his hands at the Commissar, and the Commissar responded in kind. The Catachans stared at this Astartes in awe.

>>68409374
Well, we never elaborated on their techpriests at all. They and the Medicae probably have dual rulership over the eugenics movement, although it's probably a chapterwide thing, for instance, the Shade (What would his name be? Ivak Sidmud, Master of the Second Division sounds good) has been pushing for more Blanks, both because he feels more kinship for them, and because of their even stealthier presence.

>>68409465
Before the Catachans knew it, their ship had docked with something, and their thin Commissar smiled.
"Perhaps I was somewhat mistruthful. You have all had the honor of becoming Astartes Auxiliaries, for your courage, bravery, and genetic superiority. I was never a Commissar. I was and always have been a Void Crow.

And now you are too."

Any names for the Blanks amongst our ranks?

>>68411820
Faggots, like the rest of you.

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>>68411836

>>68409709
>literally feel nauseous and disgusted by their presence
>stealthier
Is this a thing in the lore?

>>68412110
It's much harder to be observant when you feel sick. And any Psykers the enemy have wouldn't be able to detect them like normal Astartes.

>>68412141
Because they're such huge faggots they constantly reek of penis which disturbs everyone around them.

>>68412141
>regular day on the job
>hanging out with my bros looking out the watch post
>suddenly everyone starts feeling sick at once
>gee what a strange coincidence
>better do nothing

>>68412234
Yeah what're y'all going to do? Everyone of you leave your post to go what constitutes as a medical bay, if you even have one, because you seem to have a minor flu? If they're this close to cause this effect you aren't going to be leaving anyway.

>>68412381
If EVERYONE suddenly starts feeling sick? It's probably either gas leak or something worse. You ignore that kind of thing only if you have a deathwish.

>>68412442
Everyone gets dizzy everyone in awhile. Five people guarding a corridor feeling a little unwell for a minute is no reason to alarm the entire ship especially when such false alarms could result in many severe punishments for them.

>>68412234
>Working
>Feel vaguely sick and afraid.
>Obviously this is due to an anti-psychic creature sneaking through the office and not any other explanation makes sense

>Besides, people generally don't even look at Blanks

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>>68406875
>"That's nothing! I had to wipe out a Hive Fleet with a handful of Scouts and a skittish Psyker.!"

>>68411820
I think the closest was Shades, due to the nickname of the one Blank, who has been tentatively named Ivak Sidmud.

Blanks are super rare though, so the Crows probably have less than five, possibly it just being Ivak, but Ivak is pushing for more Blanks due to his extreme edge against creatures of the Warp and immunity to psychic detection.

>>68412546
>Five people guarding a corridor feeling a little unwell for a minute is no reason to alarm the entire ship
No, but it's an excellent reason to tell your supervisor that there's something weird going on. The end result is the exact opposite of being stealthier.

>>68412645
"Hey boss, I felt dizzy and sick for about fifteen seconds this one time, but it cleared up."
"Oh, the logical conclusion is that a Blank has infiltrated this compound and literally walked right past you due to the fact that people instinctively look away from them. Let's lock down everything and fill the halls with neurotoxins, just to be sure!"

>>68412685
"Hey boss, we think there might be a gas leak or something here, I'm going to check it out" is not a general alarm, but it's 100x worse than nothing if you're trying to infiltrate the place.

Also, either you're a fucking idiot or you didn't even read what I wrote, so go fuck yourself.

>>68412645
If you're close enough to feel sickened, you're not going to be reporting a damn thing, being too dead to do so.

>>68412645
>"Kevin I felt a little woozy there for a second."
>"You too eh?"
>"Think we should tell the boss?"
>"Why? Probably just some of that slop they call food in the mess. Sides you know he'd probably have us flayed if we disturbed him over nothing."

>feel a repulsive pressure in your skull
>angry and disgusted for no reason
>feels like something is pushing on your brain
>everyone starts feeling like that
>lol its just the food

>>68412788
When did we get a Culexus?

>>68412744
Believe it or not, unexplained corpses can be highly counterproductive to infiltration even in WH40k

>>68412916
Are you implying they're really so shit at their job they can't hide a couple bodies?

>>68412876
Blank. One marine, master of the Second Company (when we still described Codex compliance), tentatively named Ivak Sidmud, was described as being stealthy and a Blank

>>68412949
These are Void Crows.
They literally eat corpses. If you're walking around and hungry, and hey, there's literally a free piece of food right there, and you know for a fucking fact this isn't a trick or poisoned, why wouldn't you eat it?

>>68412949
Even if the bodies just vanish(entirely possibly, given that we're talking about Void Crows), once people start going missing, you're on a timer before someone notices that something is wrong. Sure, you'll probably have hours before anyone starts really worrying and even then it's PROBABLY fine, but that's still another possible point of failure you could do without.

>>68412977
That's a pretty up there for most blanks. Most blanks have a small almost unnoticeable off feeling to them. Feeling like something is being driven into your skull means he must be a pretty powerful blank.

>>68412999
Your going to have to explain further. Because while a tad extreme it could be a useful way to get rid of a body in an extreme situation, or you're ignoring the entirety of the previous threads about how self control over such things is considered important and to be reserved until after everyone has been killed.

>>68413087
Presumably the ship they're on has been disabled so they'd already be on some level of alert. If they haven't cut the engines and power for some reason to pick them off in the dark then just don't send the Blanks.

>>68413146
Here's what is known about Ivak
1: He is experienced for a Void Crow
2: He is tall for a Void Crow, with long limbs, massive eyes, and an enormous mouth. His scar-riddled skin is pure white and his eyes look like the void of space
3: He killed a lot of demons
4: He is pushing for more Blanks in the Crows due to his efficiency in sneaking into places and utterly obliterating anything that uses the Warp.
>>68413087
Most targets wouldn't have hours once a Crow has breached their defenses. Maybe minutes at best. If a Crow is unseen, he will not be stopped.

>>68413146
The Crows eat corpses, but usually refrain from doing so until there is a moment of silence, mostly bringing them back to be pulped and split evenly. However there is no outright restriction on devouring a lone scout every now and then to hide their body.

Also, I think we can name the First Company guy Venkata, that was a suggestion for Chapter Master name and I like it.

>>68413277
I can get behind that

>>68413277
I'll throw my vote in

>>68413396
>>68413833
Confirmed names:
Leader: Sagan Oriel
1st Captain: Venkata
2nd Captain: Ivak Sidmud
8th Captain: Miloslav
Iron Crows:
Ancient Garo
Ancient Deminon

Titles established:
Murder: Group of Crows
Iron Crow: Dreadnought
Corpsewalker/Eugenicist: Apothecary
Shade: Psychic Blank
Enlightened/Void Crow: Auxiliaries
Last Whisper/Voidspire: Their HQ

Names to be established
3rd Captain
4th Captain
5th Captain
6th Captain
7th Captain
Chief Librarian
Chief Corpsewalker
Chief Techmarine
"Young" Iron Crows (Honored-> Venerable -> Ancient?)

Titles to be established:
Techmarine
Librarian
Chapter Master
Group of Squadrons
Chapter as a Whole
Their name for the Emperor (Or is it just Emperor?)

>>68414077
>Tech
Scroungers?
>Librarian
Seekers/Shaman
>CM
I like the Murder Master

The Emperor is just the Emperor

>>68414077
What do we call the Apothecaries that aren't Corpsewalkers? Are we going with Eugenicist or do we have something a little less prosaic, like Vigorsmith or

And should the Techmarines have a measure of mysticism and ritual to balance out the rest of the chapter's general pragmatism? Not exactly Mechanicus dogma levels, but weird quirks that the rest of the chapter doesn't approve of but can't quite stamp out. Like tying charms of feathers and wire inside sets of armour they've repaired, or tasting all the pieces of a gun in a mirror of their cannibalistic acts.

>>68414285
I like Seekers for the Librarians. Lends them a more grounded persona, like raw psykers using their powers to hunt down important things and people like a bloodhound, instead of spiritualists and bookkeepers.

Maybe Master of Murders?

>>68414077
3rd >>68404117

3rd captain has been named Casimir Slovak. I previously floated the question of abhumans and the Crows, since the Crows would have a vested interest in gathering a wide selection of genes to play with, and abhumans could make excellent Crows. If they are incompatible, they could still make excellent soldiers, etc.

>>68414593
>Master of Murders
I like it. Foreboding

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>>68414660
>Dionysus Revelers when they meet the Void Crows

How do the Void Crows get along with other /tg/ chapters?

>>68415386
Hey someone remembers them. hose were a great pair of threads, we got a surprising amount done in them
>>68415550
Dysfunctionally

>>68415617
Elaborate on that.

>>68415617
A man of culture

>>68415959
Maybe dysfunctional is the wrong word.

That's an awkward title, considering Eighth Company captain Miloslav is titled Lord-Of-Murders, instead of Lord-Executioner

Gonna try working on a 1d4chan page tomorrow.

>>68415550
I imagine they'd get along fine with Reasonable Marines. Well, for the most part.

>>68415550
Abyssal Jaws: The who now?

Bumping the thread with questions

Important engagements and events in the Void Crows' history?

Unique weapons and relics?

Important human auxiliary figures?

Specialised units?

>>68421361
Let's go over a few.
Important Battles!
>The Battle of Thessex Prime
One of the most grievous losses the Crows ever sustained was on this unassuming Feudal World. They had landed to seek more human auxiliaries and resources, but encountered a waking Necron force. The Crows's tactics of confusion and fear did not work, and they were unable to disable or kill the Necron Overlord present. They eventually resorted to bombarding the entire area from orbit with half of their fleet, then sending in the Iron Crows, Auxiliaries, and roughly half the Chapter to absolutely ensure this alien force was defeated. Even then, the Necron host mostly survived the bombardment. By the end of the battle, some two hundred Astartes, thousands of mortals, and dozens of Iron Crows were killed, with many, many more horribly wounded.
The Void Crows, however, did manage to break into the Tomb and destroy the Necrons within, leaving with a massive amount of Necron technology to study, and most of the corpses were recovered. This was a hollow, Pyrrhic victory at best, and a horrible loss compensated for by rampant looting in the eyes of the Crows.

Ever since then, if the Crows suspect Necrons, they will immediately resort to their heaviest arsenal, or flee outright.

>>68421361
Another event
>The Battle of The Light
Inarguably THE most important event in the Void Crows's history, this conflict saw them recover the Emperor's Truth from a three way melee between Orks, heretics, and themselves. After slipping in through the chaos and recovering the object, as well as a large amount of supplies and records left behind, the Crows were almost immediately intercepted by an Inquisitorial force hellbent on taking these materials from them. They fought off the Inquisition and fled deeper into space, becoming renegades at this point.

I thought they were renegades, on the orders of the High Lords, and that they had some secret assignment?

>>68422785
I mean, kinda. They technically seceded under the command of a High Lord, but here's what we fluffed out:
1: They were sent to retrieve a data cache made by the Emperor.
2: The fucking maniacs actually did it, stumbling across the manuscript and many ancient craft and designs for them
3: This document by the Emperor (and also all the materials nearby) posed a great threat to the Ecclesiarchy, being a half-finished manuscript the Emperor was making trying to dissuade the nascent Imperial Cult from forming. It contains damning evidence that the Emperor never wanted to be a God, the Lectitio Divinitatus was written by Lorgar, etc...
4: An ultra religious Inquisitor found out about this document and attempted to destroy it. He and his entire retinue were slaughtered by the Crows, who then vanished.
5: At some point later, they received communications that said that some higher ranking Lords still considered them loyal, as holding the Emperor's word over an Inquisitor's life was a valid thing to do. They were commanded to 'vanish' and wait until they were needed.
6: The Crows obeyed this command and retreated far from Imperial control, slowly building up their forces for whenever they would be needed next. They started their eugenics and salvage operations at around this time.
7: As the Cicatrix Maledictum opened, the Crows realized that the time to act was now and started on their way back to Terra, hoping that they would be able to reach the High Lords in time to save the Imperium.

>>68417701
Miloslav is now Lord-Executioner of the 8th Murder.

This thread won't die just yet.
I remember the IDE being thrown around that the Void Crows might have special made Las weaponry for ranged combat to hide the presence of Astartes. Thoughts?

>>68424720
Giving astartes what amounts to a hellgun would certainly be a good method of covering their prescence, and sizing it up for their use would mean you could negate the need for a backpack and have it in one fully contained unit.

>>68424826
Plus, lasgun power packs are extremely easy to recharge, as compared to bolt rounds, which, once expended, are gone forever. In addition, this makes standardization of parts a bit easier.

>>68424894
Although a recommendation I would have is a variable power setting on the gun with a range of options that can be changed on the fly. That way anyone looking at the leftover evidence doesn't believe they have a rogue batalion of storm troopers roaming about somewhere that brings more eyes onto a situation.

>>68425010
Why not? If people are looking, they know that something is up. Let the Inquisition shit itself looking for Stormtroopers that don't exist.

>>68426747
"These blast marks are too accurate for heretics"
"Rogue stormtroopers?"
"Worse. Rogue Astartes"
"Why would they use lasguns?"

>>68426995
I mean, that's pretty easy to solve. All they have to do is miss a few shots on purpose or fire a few shots after the fighting to make it look more chaotic, it's not like recharging Las weapons is hard.
Aside from that, it's a legitimate point. When was the last time you heard of Space Marines using Lasguns rather than Bolters or Plasma?

>>68426995
"Ah shit it's those emo faggots. Can't you smell the dick in the air?"

>>68427119
"Brother, the fight has gone well," Varik signed, firing his lasgun sixty three times into the wall at a low voltage.
"Indeed, brother," Ivan signed, also firing.

The Crows fired to ensure a seventy three percent accuracy rate before vanishing.

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>>68425010
>>68427119
So, I'm picturing servoskulls with reflective shields (modified from the same voidshields they use on their ships) that have a shaped exterior with flat panels. Pic related. These shields were developed from the archaeotech they got from the caches. They move around in order to not be shot, and because they can't defend themselves from object-based attacks; their shields can't be seen through even by them, although they might use sonar to navigate. So a crow sets the skull to fly a looped flight path around or through the enemy (because it can't see but has to move, this is the only viable strategy), then the use the flat sides of the shield as a reflective surface to do trick shots off. So when they need to problem solve on the fly, shoot someone who's in cover without getting bogged down, they've got this. This only something Astartes have the skill to do, and only the Void Crows field handheld lasguns big enough to make the effort worth it.

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>>68427844
Alternatively, the effect could be refractory, developed from optical camo. The hook is that it can't be seen through by the skull, so it has to be sent on a boomerang flight, pre-navigated around obstacles.

>>68427844
>So, I'm picturing servoskulls with reflective shields (modified from the same voidshields they use on their ships)
Dude, voidshields are huge.

>>68427844
>>68427880
While the idea certainly has merit, a field that can't be seen through poses a lot more problems for the marines having to move and shoot around it. Making it an optical camo field akin to a tau drone might work.

What we have to remember is the Void Crows are from Raven Guard stock, and with our rampant mutation there would be a high likelihood that marines would manifest the same 'shadow walking' technique the Mor Deythan use in the RG. Though this could be manifested in a number of ways, partial control or occasionally losing control of this ability all together would make for a nice elite cadre of viciously ravenous marines with pure stealth capability without any equipment required.

Corax eventually did some weird Warp shit. Do you think any Crow Librarians would be able to do something similar (to a far lesser scale, of course).

Even if that isn't the case, so far, the Crow's warp abilities would be unique. Here's a few ideas

1: The Librarian summons a massive swarm of shadowy birds which rip at and harry his foes
2: The Librarian induces utter panic or rage within his target, who will either flee or charge, depending on what the Librarian desires
3: (Favorite of their figure of legend), The Librarian immobilizes his foe, freezing up their limbs entirely.
4: The Librarian briefly allows the Crows to move even faster, altering the way they move through time to allow for insane feats of speed and agility. Frequently used on themselves as they pilot.
5: The Librarian bathes an area of his choice in darkness that obscures almost all forms of sight.

>>68428359
>5: The Librarian bathes an area of his choice in darkness that obscures almost all forms of sight.
I can definitely see them using that as a tactic when boarding.

>>68428098
The archaeotech they found let the make little ones- besides, it's not actually a -voidshield-, it's just me trying to posit a perfectly reflective surface projected like a shield.

>>68428107
No, it's little, a few feet across and centered on a servoskull. I'm imagining a flying mirror that they can use to shoot around corners with their lasguns, by shooting the reflection. I'm still trying to work out a force multiplier.

In that same vein, can we say these guys are good at martial arts? I mean, they're lean and fast already.

>>68429951
>can we say these guys are good at martial arts?
Probably. We've established despite their lower strength and size they prefer to fight in close quarters with their hands and unpowered weaponry.

>>68429951
They're good martial artists, but they aren't super skilled (relative to an Astartes in skill, they're probably a fair bit above average in melee combat, but they aren't World Eater levels). They focus on speed and pack tactics.

Every time a Crow has been described in melee combat against a foe they haven't had a massive physical advantage against, it has been in groups of three or four.

>>68430052
So what's the typical squad size for the crows?

4-6? Do they take auxiliaries or only during situations like clean up and sweeps?

>>68431308
They always fight with auxiliaries unless something's gone wrong or its some kind of lightning strike that the auxiliaries aren't ready for quick enough. And yeah probably the 4-6 range is good. Not full squad size but enough to constitute a decent murder.

>>68431308
4-6 a Murder, dozens of Murders often hit the area at once. The Crows don't fight next to their Auxiliaries unless their backs are to the wall, they stick the Auxiliaries with the Dreads to bash their enemies's face in, while the Murders sneak around and cut the head off.

Those Librarian powers mentioned earlier would all complement this style, enhancing their friends and disorienting their enemies rather than doing damage.

i think this lasgun trickshot reflective servodrone stuff is pushing it
doesnt really fit imo

>>68431512
Agreed. I can see them using buffed lasguns if required to fight at range at some point, but trickshots is a bit much.

>>68431540
i dont think they should ever touch a lasgun even
thats the humans job and the crows do the melee

>>68431611
Fair

>>68431540
>>68431611
Buffed lasguns in the event they ever, EVER have to get into ranged combat. No trickshots since A: that's stupid and B: that's wasteful. The Crows are about efficiency and speed.

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So here's a question: what were the Void Crows like before their enlightenment, schism, and ultimate reformation into what they are now?

I'd imagine they had some borderline tribal cultures mixed in from the founding days, maybe some early pseudo-worship of a crow-like aspect that slowly - and then very quickly - bled out of the chapter with the advent of the secular influences. Sort of a ritualised war form that tried to represent aspects of their worship through their nature and vice versa. They'd caw and flock in battle and fight over the dead, and then when the High Lord pushed his fingers in they started to shift towards his particular goals instead. They went renegade on his orders and over the next few decades and centuries the old ritual fell out of favour, with every new recruit there was less and less of the old ways in them, until they finally found their prize and it all changed rather drastically. The rituals were cut out in favour of pragmatism and rationalism, serfs changed from practically slaves to comrades, and their use of signals over words came into practice. But there's still elements of the old that couldn't be removed entirely, from the iconography, to their specialisations, to their basic culture.

Maybe when the Chaplaincy split into the Apothecarion as Corpsewalkers - who care for the chapter's mental health alongside their more physical duties - aspects of it also split into other parts of the chapter. One instance would be the Nightwalkers, a small cult of veteran scouts who forgo armour and any weapon but ritual blades, instead donning dark cloth and feathers to mimic their heraldic animal. They keep a lot of the chapter's history and ritual alive in some small way and are despised by much of the chapter for it, though the practice is remarkably hard to fully remove from the chapter despite many's best efforts. They murder in flocks and steal children from their beds, and are the few marines who refuse to speak in signals.

>>68434056
I thought that the Crows were a rather cookie-cutter RG successor at the time of their founding, although one that hid their faces due to mutations.

I kind of like the Nightwalker idea, but I think that'd actually be a specialized MORTAL position. Those who break into places and gather genetic data in secret. The people who lie in a bush for three days on end recording societal data. Those crazy fuckers who jump out of spacecraft in voidsuits and land in sewers, then clean themselves off and get to recruiting and scouting.

The men who sneak into a corrupt Governor's office in the middle of the night and slit his throat while he sleeps.

>>68421361
>Unique weapons and relics?
Astartes grade HEL guns. Lasers are quick striking and near silent fro mrange along with pinpoint accuracy so it'd make a good fit. Maybe a Modded Heavy Bolter like a super sniper/ghetto Exitus?

>>68434391
Why a ghetto Exitus? The thing about an Exitus is that it still has to conform to a mostly human wielder, but an Astartes grade weapon does not have that restriction. The Crows's only bolt weapon would be an Exitus on fucking steroids, but they prefer their Astartes-sized Hellpistols, affectionately called the Lightbringers. The reason being, if one is fired, the target sees a very bright light, and then nothing at all.

>>68434391
Didn't notice the conversation above me

>Brother Helsviks
>A sniper/marksman of infamy within the Chapter
>Is most noted for his prolific use of Reflector Servoskulls to make nigh impossible shots with his custom HEL Gun
>His most famous shot involved over a dozen Reflectors for a shot over 5 kilometers in a Hive City
>His words: "Eat that you Vindicare (His target at the time)"

>>68434344
Were they? I must've missed or forgotten that, although these are some pretty big leaps nonetheless. And I'd intended it to be a mixed thing with both humans and astartes, but I ran out of characters in the post. Mostly because I like the uneasy contrast between new and old, rationalism and ritual, and I think it loses some edge if it's only the mortals carrying on like that. Though it could be interesting if it's the humans themselves who hold a lot of their old lore, and they're the reason the cult keeps seeping back into the chapter.

>>68434391
Aren't lasguns quite bright? And quite loud with the whole whipcrack thing? I haven't read enough on the subject to know if Hellguns are any different.

>>68434500
We decided reflectors were stupid. Besides, it would be Brother Haya who is the expert sniper. His most famous shot was nailing a target five kilometers away with nothing but iron sights.
>>68434509
Yes, they are, which is why they're a last resort weapon. The Crows open fire when the shit has hit the fan HARD. Also, I think that the concept of Nightwalker is someone who abducts and recruits.

Now I'm gonna get more writefaggotry done.

>>68434628
>No reflectors
Okay then

"Navigator, what is the name of this planet?" The Seeker-Captain of the Invisible Hand signed, the rest of the fleet floating nearby in the void. There was no Imperial presence, but scanners detected an abundance of life, and preliminary, crude orbital gene scans indicated an abhuman, but fertile and stable populace. In other words: perfect gene fodder.

The Navigator wrung his hands together, then looked at his screen.
"My Lord Seeker Gustavus, this planet is referred to only as... Carlos McConnel, sire," the Navigatore signed, sighing, "this planet is rarely mentioned. Some breed of abhuman rarely used in the Guard. Nobody is looking, nobody will mind."

"Perfect entry, then. Tell Seeker Viktor that his premonitions of this area were fruitful, I shall gather the troops for an initial drop. Point us at the third largest city, we will land sixty kilometers northwest of it and make way on foot by cover of darkness."

"Will do, sire," The navigator signed back, "hostilities will be low, so I presume we shall summon the Nightwalkers, Daywalkers, and a few of the newer Brothers?"

"Keep one Iron Crow detachment and four Murders on standby in the event of catastrophe, Navigator," Gustavus signed, turning to prepare himself, "send one Seeker, Seeker Kazakh down with the main force."

The Navigator nodded and relayed the order to the signals officer, who quickly activated the summoning signals for the requested squadrons.

>>68434775
>Carlos McConnel
Oh no
>Gustavus: "This is not what I imagined when we heard the planet was inhabited by cat Abhumans."

>>68434944
I'm actually not sure what kind of catgirl I'll be going with, so here's how I'll do it. Last number
1-3, full cat, human face. 4-6, full furry catgirl, 7-9, human with cat ears, and if it's 00, we vote.

Rolled 4 (1d10)

>>68435160
Aisha Clan Clan get!

>>68435171
Well, it's full furry if nobody else rolls in three minutes

>>68435429
Well full fur it is then. Gonna make things funny anyway.

>>68434775
Daywalker Sigmund, Nightwalker Karlos, Seeker Kazakh, and Brother Moltke prepared for the drop. Of the four, two were human, and as such, they could not survive the Astartes grade drop pods, but two craft would be risky. So they and Brother Moltke were strapped in as Seeker Kazakh slowly engaged the Reflex shield and set out to the co-ordinates given to him by the bridge of the Invisible Hand.
Flying under Reflex was a strange sensation. One did not see, nor hear, nor perceive anything but the Warp, and the way it swirled about. To navigate essentially by the life and thoughts of other things was an exhausting and difficult task, but Seeker Pilots were trained to do just that. An uncontested landing on a somewhat densely populated world was something to be looked forwards to, as an easy, slow path was all that was needed.

In the back, Daywalker Sigmund and Nightwalker Karlos signed to each other.
"We will be landing during the night, so the plan is simple. You hang back and rest, Brother Moltke and I will investigate the surroundings, take gene scans, and probe their culture. Come morning, we report, I sleep, and you and Brother Moltke come out and start either recruitment or relocation efforts, depending on culture," he finished, and the Daywalker nodded.
"Right," he signed, "we have the entire fleet above us, and no traffic describing any mission to this world has been authorized. Should they be friendly and of either good or different genestock, I suggest we land more craft and initiate mass recruitment. Should hostilities emerge, we fall back here and send in the reinforcements, until we can evacuate with any gene samples for cloning."

Brother Moltke looked at the two, and signed as well.
"Excellent, if basic plans, Brothers," he signed, "Seeker Kazakh will probe out their minds from here, and ensure that, should we need to escape, we can effective immediately."

>>68435477
Cool.
>>68434628
>>68434500
>Brother Haya
>A sniper/marksman of infamy within the Chapter
>His most famous shot was nailing a target five kilometers away with nothing but iron sights.
>Through the target's scope after knocking the target's bullet fired at Haya off course with his (Haya's) bullet
>His words: "Eat that you Vindicare."
Merged

>>68435605
"Of course, Honorable one," Sigmund signed, while Moltke held a hand up.
"I was not finished, Brother. Should there be no hostility, I will signal the transport craft. We are to do a full triple run. As many in as possible. It is rare to see such an undefended, yet densely populated world, and these unique genes will undoubtedly help us on our quest. Seeker Kazak will also help us scout for those who fulfill Shade Ivak's... requests, as it is. Remember, brothers, these are abhumans and may have any appearance. No matter how bizarre they may seem, we are to take them aboard. This opportunity happens in less than a thousand planets, and to throw it away for nothing would be foolish."

The two humans signed, while Kazakh swept in low, hovering and flickering the Reflex shield on and off to get brief glimpses of altitude, sending his sleek, black craft down to the surface with only a tiny, quiet thud in the night. Upon landing, he stepped out of the cockpit.

"Brothers, the time is now. Do not fail us, do not fail the Crows, and signal if there is an emergency. Any hostility should be met with an immediate retreat and call for aid."

The three nodded and signed their confirmation of the order, and Kazakh returned to the cockpit, meditating and feeling out the environment.

"Seeker Kazakh," Moltke signed, tapping the Psyker on the shoulder to get his attention, "I doubt that you will get satisfactory results at this range. Hold off and rest, should there be no hostilities, signal the Invisible Hand and move in to three kilometers, then keep Reflex and feel."
"A wise move, Brother," Kazakh signed, "but I can sense at least the baseline emotions of the populace from here. They are... curious and lonely. In other words, it is best we intervene now before they fall to Chaos."

"And such intervention will be easy," Moltke signed, "if we play off of those emotions."

I forgot to mention, the rank of Daywalker is the opposite of Nightwalker. While the Nightwalkers investigate and occasionally kill, the Daywalkers recruit and organize.

>>68435160
>Insert cringe pic.

>>68435805
It's full fur since writefag is either a furfag or troll.

>>68435851
It's admittedly better then the other options. But a shame the Void Crows will be remembered as "that Cat Girl chapter."

>>68435711
>>68435605
Eugh

The Catgirls should be minimal in the fleet. Maybe they picked them up after a battle somewhere?

>>68435917
Only if you allow it to be remembered as such. One piece of writefaggotry does not condemn two entire threads of cool shit.

>>68435711
"Brother Moltke? We should be off," Karlos signed, and Moltke nodded, pulling the man onto his shoulders and stepping out of the craft, before taking out running into the night, following the route assigned to him perfectly. Within the hour, they were at the edges of a large, bustling city. It was surprisingly clean and orderly for a settlement of its size, and the old Imperial style was slowly being replaced by slightly softer curves, but the human influence was undeniable. Moltke took Karlos off of his back and nodded.
"I will go and genescan the sleeping. You take cover and start to investigate their culture, Brother Karlos. In three hours's time, we switch roles, and at dawn, signal our findings. In an emergency, do not worry about me, and signal your location and status to both the Invisible Hand and Seeker Kazakh."
Karlos nodded.
"Be careful, Brother. At this location in three hours, we will switch roles, and I will give you a basic overview of what I know."

Brother Moltke nodded and took off into the night, reaching the edge of a building soon. He grabbed the wall and began to climb it, almost as if he were a spider, before reaching a window, the room within unlit. He paused, scanning the interior of the room, noticing it was unoccupied, and quickly retrieved a glass cutter from his belt, silently carving a circle just barely large enough for him to fit through in the window. He pushed the glass out, holding onto it so it fell slowly and didn't crack, before rolling into the room, standing up to his full height and slinking to the door. He was in a storeroom full of cleaning supplies, and a quick examination revealed them to be painfully generic.

Meanwhile, Karlos crept about at ground level, keeping to the shadows and listening for signs of conversation. He eventually heard a brief exchange in Low Gothic and moved towards it, creeping down behind an unused trash can, slowly inching behind his quarry, recording their speech.

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>>68403623
here are some options

>>68436458
I like the down turned wings of the bottom left, though the chains kinda look like flowers which I find pretty cute honestly.

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>>68436458
Stealing that

>>68436458
Bottom left looks like it'd be good on the shoulder piece if refined, but they all look great!

Look at 'em, he's so cute, who could hate this chapter with heraldry like that?

>>68436695
Thanks, I'll see what I can do on that front

>>68436704
The decoy heraldry is working, Brother

>>68436727
>The decoy heraldry is working, Brother

>Inquisitor grilling a Marine fro manother chapter
>"Mind explaining WHAT you were doing in this Sector?"
>"I have no idea what you are speaking of. These reports must be false. My Company was literal light years away when this 'incident' happened. We were fending off Orks from a Shrine World. We have black box recordings if you require them."

Even better, this decoy heraldry? It's really our real heraldry, but we pretend it's a fake

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>>68436842
Maybe some Alpha did get in that Gene-seed.

>>68436842
>>68436880
That way lies DOUBLE 100D CHESS HERESY

>>68415959

IIRC the Dionysus Revellers worshipped their founder and the Emperor and had a chapter culture that was heavily based around pastoralism. They viewed themselves as shepherds to their fleet full of refugees. As part of this they would have dances and festivals, that kind of shaded into rituals. So right off the bat the Void Crows are not going to like the Revellers.

For the Revellers part, the Shepherd is someone who stands between the flock and the unseen danger. The Void Crows have made themselves into the unseen danger. The Revellers are going to look at the Crows and see exactly what they set themselves against.

Then there's the cannibalism thing. Again IIRC, the Revellers ate their own dead marines as part of a memorial ceremony, the flesh of the chapter returning to the flesh of the chapter. They're going to see the Void Crows the same way a Catholic looks at a cannibal. Yes, technically they're doing, or believe they're doing the same thing, but the comparison is going to be deeply offensive to at least one of them.

Then there's the fact that the Void Crows are hardcore into the Emperor's vision, and the Revellers kinda hang out with beastmen and take a lot of advice from a senile Necron who started out hiding out on their ship and due to the whole "personality decay over millions of years" came to view himself as part of the chapter.

They're both renegades though, and the Revellers are on the run, so any interaction between the Crows and the Revellers, unless plot put them on an unavoidable head on collision course would be the two chapters looking each other over, muttering "Fuck those guys, making a note to destroy them if the opportunity comes up" and steering well clear of what would be a bloody and mutually destructive fight.

>>68415617

I still have a story about Issac Chronos kicking around the back of my head. Basically his time as a little boy with PTSD on the Revellers fleet before becoming a Marine.

>>68436880

Wouldn't be the first time the 20th messed with Raven Guard gene seed after all.

>>68436891

I agree. Any Alpha Legion connection should be implication and parallel. Because Alpha Legion. Nobody should know what they're up to or if they're involved. Least of all themselves.

>>68436957
Good analysis on the differences.
>Issac
He was the one who's mutation meant he made lots of Progenoids/Geneseed right?

>>68436957
The Revellers are also some of the blingiest Marines aound.
>Gold, Ivory, Marble, Gems
>Deep rich wine accents
>Fur
And more decorate their armor/equipment if I'm correct compared to the Crows' utilitarianism.

>>68436981

Yep. Was a kid who dad was going to sacrifice him and his sisters as part of a chaotic uprising in a hive. Wee Issac grabbed the knife his dad was planning to use, then shanked his dad to save himself and his sisters, something the presiding chaos priest found hilarious, and immediately ordered Issac was to be allowed to run free and his dad would take his place as the sacrifice.

Issac took off running with his siblings, ran into the Revellers who were exfiltrating from the hive after planting bombs in the reactor. Basically kill this hive to keep the planet from being exterminatus'd. Was recognized as something when his first reaction to running into a bull ab human, that for all the kid knew was a demon, in power armor was to put himself between the minotaur and his sisters and brandish a knife at it.

Possibly due to the chaos taint of being that close to a ritual, possibly not, his progeniods regenerate after eating the flesh of dead marines.

The story would be in the immediate aftermath, with chapter librarians arguing if this kid was worth the risk, while Issac tries to figure out what exactly the difference is between the Reveller's rituals and the Chaos rituals he witnessed. Ultimately it would be this fact, that the kid is actually suspicious of the Reveller, but doesn't cut himself off from them, that tips the balance. The shepherd is always watchful for danger, but may not hide from it.

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>>68437144
As the dude who made those threads it's got my thumbs up.

>>68395116
Also did we ever concrete decide on the purpose of the Techmarines. I was thinking maybe something like this >>68414593 along with overseeing genetics they also act as artisans, and though they shy from adornments some Marines, notably veterans, do undertake light carvings into their armor.

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>>68436695
A Refined Version

>>68437743
Nice! Your artsyle's pretty great.

I don't mean to be pushy anon, but you're the only drawfag we're likely to snag. Would you mind doing the shoulder symbol? The pages always look so bare without them.

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>>68437765
Thanks!

its aight. How's this?

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>>68438021

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>>68438021
Graci. Simple enough to paint on a model, different enough to distinguish from Raven Guard. Good work anon!

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Stay comfy like the thread boys.

bump

Hello, I'm the anon who keeps trying to come up with things for the Crows to do in a fight, to make up for their size and weapons restrictions. If their advantage is pack tactics, let me suggest this: Two Crows have a wire. It's shaped a little, like a thin ribbon, to give it a coil, a natural structure and some toughness. They hold the wire taut between them and communicate with each other by pulling on or vibrating the wire. They hide in the shadows, or maneuver towards an enemy, with the wire still held taut between them, coordinate by the wire-code and loop it around the enemy. They can go for the throat, a limb, the wire gets folded into a chain weapon and fouls it; It's sharp enough to cut exposed flesh, so they can pick off anyone not wearing a helmet or whatever, but it's mostly used to pin down an enemy so a third can get the kill.

All I heard was murdering someone with Morse code

>>68441776
I had a similar idea where maybe three or four Crows could each have a long flat piece of metal that's sharp on one side. Then when they sneak up close enough to someone they can all start swinging these pieces of metal to cut any exposed body parts or get into the weak points of armor.

>>68441931
Almost missed the joke there, top kek.

>>68437570

I was thinking that the Techmarines are largely specialized in signals and electronic warfare. Disrupting enemy vox nets, blinding auspices, breaking codes, that kind of thing.

There are a few behavioural differences that I can think might flow from this: One, they practice speaking normally. It can be incredibly unnerving for an Auxiliary to speak to a tech marine, because they're likely to answer back in a near perfect imitation of the Auxiliaries own voice. This means they can often issue false orders or simply ask for codes and passwords once on an enemy communications system. They use sign language or whispers with other marines, but it's still something that the rest of the chapter views as suspect.

Two: Their version of stealth is far more about blinding the enemy and deception. They're very involved in combat, particularly on anti-ship boarding actions or against enemy installations. But the use of active denial makes other marines view them as sloppy and prone to mistakes (also with the speech thing, the Void ravens train themselves to silence, and don't like that the tech marines train themselves, as they see it, to make noises).

Three: They manage any trade and contact with the Mechanicus, and are more prone to and tolerant of mysticism. If called on it, they will argue that the machine cult existed during the crusade era, so the Emperor must have tacitly approved of it. This can be where the fetishes and ritualized behaviour comes in. More suspect because it's very hard for anyone other than a tech marine to tell the difference between ritual and maintenance with some of the more esoteric hardware they deal with.

>>68442114
The Auxiliaries, if Native Crows, do in fact speak in sign, though. Otherwise, yeah, makes sense, although I'd think there'd be a few techmarines who are out and experimenting on things. The Crows seek to enhance their war material and genetic stock, so allowing experimental weapons to be created (on an isolated ship, of course) seems fair. The only things the Crows don't fuck with is the Warp, due to their knowledge of what it did to Magnus, Lorgar, Horus, Mortarian, etc.

>>68442172

Fair point, the phrasing would be they speak to members of the Auxiliaria in order to practice their speech than other members of the chapter.

I also figure their trade with the Mechanicus is part of their training. The AdMech are going to be VERY interested in where this tech is coming from, so the Void Crow techmarines spend a lot of time doing counterintelligence work and hardening their systems to keep the AdMech from being able to get any information about the fleet.

Because the AdMech isn't going to like these creepy Astartes borderline tech-heretics, they'll turn a blind eye as long as there's something in it for them, but they definitely are going to think that they should have control over the Void Crow's sources.

Agreed as well on the Warp.

>>68441980
What's the joke?

Also, considering they got there stealth ships from the same cache as the Emperor's Writings... could this tie into how Corax was given the data on how to improve his Marines back in the Heresy?

>>68441931

Ok, admittedly, I now need some ointment.

BUT STILL. They could also have swords, and the idea is to gain an advantage in a fight in a way that works with their methodology.

>>68442114
I endorse this.

>>68436545
Maybe it should be
FROM THE VOID
WE COME

Rather than

FROM THE VOID WE
COME

>>68442114
That's actually a good idea.
>Your squad's uplink vidscopes are now turned off and now you go back to iron sights

>>68443638
>Then Brother Haya fucking wastes you with a supercharged lasrifle.

>>68443684
>"He... he bounced the shot off those mirrors!"

>>68443765
>"Brother Haya stop being such a fucking showoff"
>"No."
>"This is such bullshit, Brother Haya"
>"I know but it works."
>"But it shouldn't"

>>68443781
>Fight during a Hive battle
>In a Hive Gangers bar/club
>Haya fires into the disco ball and the laser reflects off the multitude of mirrors and sprays all the gangers, but also hitting his brothers
>Haya: "Hey, we survived okay?"

>On a planet somewhere
>Comissar: "What do you mean all our vehcles had there engines shot out!?"
>Mechanic: "S-sir! We found out this morning after getting all the snow fro mthe blizzard off them and found a series of holes leading to the engines."
>Comissar: "Are you implying someone/something shot all of our engines out during the blizzard last night!? Those were 50+ kph winds and it was pitchblack!"

Brother Haya is a marksman and one of the very few Crows who prefers ranged combat to melee. He is an extremely good shot with his supercharged, super heavy lasrifle, which is closer to a lascannon in terms of output than anything else. He is a master marksman, capable of hitting tiny targets at a massive distance consistently. Once he has his eye trained on a target, almost none survive. As a sniper, he tends to settle down in camouflage and steadily pick off important looking people.
He is a showoff and a bit of a storyteller, oftentimes exaggerating his already incredible deeds for the sake of entertainment, and he is a daredevil. His story of charging a Leman Russ, (which then gradually changed to his tale of charging a Baneblade, and from there some speculate one day he will tell neophytes that he charged a Titan singlehandedly) is legendary, although in truth he just shot the engine out from ten kilometers away, then picked off the crew while they tried to bail.

Despite his jovial attitude, he is still a Crow and still is a master of stealth, and still carries his monstrously sharp sword. Woe be unto those who think he is a pushover in melee combat.

>>68443915
>Brother Haya is also one of the oldest non Iro nCrows in the chapter at (insert years)
>Also one of the shortest (relatively speaking for an Astartes) too which has made more than once someone to underestimate him to their own peril

>>68436173
"Man, there is fucking nothing to do here," One of the abhumans sighed, and Karlos took note of that, wondering how his far more charismatic partner would turn that into a recruitment pitch.
"Yeah, Johann, you've said that ten thousand times," a voice, higher pitched, Karlos suspected a female, sighed, and the first one spoke up again.
"Well, yeah! There's nothing to do! It's just work on this planet day in and day out until we die! We're part of this big "Imperium", right?! How come we never get called on by it! How come we never get contacted! There's just nothing! Massive, heaping amounts of nothing! There's no purpose to any of this!" Johann screamed, and the female sighed.
"Yeah, you and everyone else keep saying that, but you can't just get angry over nothing," she grumbled, "besides, you're gonna wake someone up, and it's not like your dream of a grand adventure through the Imperium will be realized. At least there's nothing here, man. There aren't any horrifying xenos monstrosities eating everyone, there are no revolts or weapons of mass destruction sleeping beneath the ground. It's quiet, dull, but peaceful here, and a lot of people are forgetting what that means."
Karlos continued to listen to their conversation, but stopped as they entered their home, realizing that it was time to return to Brother Moltke. He started to creep back to the meeting point.

Brother Moltke move through the building at a casual, slow pace, opening doors quietly and slipping in and out of rooms, finally finding his quarry. He squinted, then rubbed his eyes. These were definitely... abhuman, alright. Fur. Humanoid figure, bipedal, but... fur. And a catlike face. He swallowed his confusion, and crept up towards the creature, who had fallen asleep at a desk, and slowly rubbed a topical anesthetic on the thing's arm, getting past the fur, before sliding a needle out from his gauntlet and taking a blood sample, quickly bandaging the wound.

>>68443971
Brother Haya is actually only barely six feet tall, being shorter than some Guardsmen. On first sight, many don't even think he's an Astartes at all.