Hounds of Kerberos

"Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!"

- From the tragedy Julus Kasar, by the ancient Terran dramaturge, Shakespire, ca. M2

The Hounds of Kerberos are an ancient and bellicose Space Marine Chapter whose legendary savagery has earned these notorious Astartes a fell reputation across the width and breadth of the Imperium. Of all the Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, none exemplifies the virtues of martial honour and strict self-control more than the Hounds of Kerberos. Just as their ancestors transcended their violet beginnings, they ensured that their descendants would shrug off every setback and betrayal to become paragons of the warrior creed, and ardent supporters of the Emperor's dream to unify the galaxy. But once unleashed against an enemy, the aggressiveness and savagery of these Astartes is often difficult to reign in, for they will not stop until their foes are utterly decimated.

Despite their bloodthirsty ways and merciless reputation, they are known to be some of the most devout and honoured Chapters counted amongst the Adeptus Astartes, though their detractors often point out that the Hounds are no better than a feral pack of murderous butchers. This Chapter has writ a bloody legacy across the annals of Imperial history down the millennia, leaving terrible devastation in the wake of one of their marauding campaigns.

An isolated and often reclusive Chapter, the Hounds of Kerberos are known to continuously operate on the fringes of Imperial space, disappearing from official Imperial records for decades, or even centuries at a time. Extant records indicate that when the Hounds have attempted to intervene on behalf of beleaguered Imperial forces, arriving from the outer dark unheralded (and often unlooked for) to lend their considerable might to a conflict or Crusade, they are often treated as unwelcome allies at best.

Due to the Hounds' reputation for carnage and the inherent dangers of fighting alongside such battle-crazed Astartes, most Imperial military commanders are loathe to accept their assistance, though this has proven to be a dangerous prospect at best. Refusal to accept the Hounds' aid could be misconstrued as an insult to this proud Chapter, and on the very rare occasion when this has occurred, the consequences have often times proved fatal for those commanders foolish enough to do so.

Despite their (sometimes) questionable reputation, the Hounds of Kerberos have proven to be quite tenacious in carrying out their personal crusade to purge the galaxy of the Emperor's foes, though they continue to walk a precarious path between purity and damnation.

Chapter History
The Hounds of Kerberos are a Space Marine Chapter whose name has long been a byword for carnage and devastation. Their dichotomous nature manifests in the form of their savage tactics and brutal efficiency which is counteracted by their iron-bound discipline. Their namesake is derived from the creature of ancient Grecian mythology - the gigantic, three-headed hound of Haides, which guarded the gates of the underworld and prevented the escape of the shades of the dead - an apt appellation, as this Chapter continuously guards the Imperium of Man from the myriad of enemies that threaten Mankind.

Chapter Organisation
What few Imperial records exist about the Hounds of Kerberos suggest they are entirely fleet-based. Having no homeworld of their own, the Hounds are known to spread themselves far and wide across the stars. Normally, at least two-thirds of the Chapter's companies are often found engaged in the Imperial Crusades proclaimed by the High Lords of Terra, a proportion unmatched by most Chapters, save for the Black Templars. These companies are the vanguard of the battle against the Ruinous Powers and xenos threats from the outer dark and reclaiming areas of the galaxy long-lost to Imperial rule. Such a role is a dangerous one even for the Adeptus Astartes, and the vehemence in which the Hounds of Kerberos pursue this task is enviable. Once a Crusade has achieved its intended objective, the Chapter returns to the Imperium proper, to their recruitment world of Acherousus, to recruit, train and replenish their strength. Though this could be considered as reserve status, there are still many battles to be fought inside the Imperium. Uprisings against the rightful rule of Imperial authority are sadly all-too common, as well as corsairs plaguing space-lanes and wide-scale invasions by the Forces of Chaos and warlike alien races.

Operating strictly as a fleet-based Chapter would suggest that the Hounds have fundamental differences from most, more conventional, Space Marine Chapters. The attitudes of the Hounds of Kerberos seem to apply to the Chapter's overall organisation. Although anecdotal evidence indicates the Hounds roughly conform to the tactical and squad doctrines of the Codex Astartes, this does not carry over to its command structure and company arrangements. Instead, the Hounds seem to split their Chapter into a number of Battle Companies designed to operate independently.

It is said that the Hounds of Kerberos are known for its harsh enforcement of internal discipline and the hot-blooded temper of the Astartes within the Chapter. Command within the Chapter are gained through a mixture of martial prowess on the battlefield and displays of leadership on the front line, with specialists singled out by aptitude early on. No rank or role within the Chapter is exempt from the expectation that they will fight as hard as the rest, however, nor is the desire to grapple with the foe and cut them down by blade-stroke discouraged if the opportunity were to arise, be they a battleline Astartes, an Apothecary or Artillerist rather than a frontline fighter.

Compared to many of the other Astartes Chapters, order and discipline do not come as naturally to those of this gene-seed as might be expected. Tempers often seethe, slights perceived or real are met with anger, and more often than not, violence will result should a Hounds' sense of honour be impugned. All officers of the Chapter know that they are expected to back up their authority by force if needed, and the punishment of infractors by an officer's own hands is the Chapter's way. To disobey an officer's order in battle is a death sentence to be carried out without delay. Trial by combat is the Chapter's preferred route for settling disagreements within its ranks, and bloodletting by warriors in open discord is an honourable thing in the Chapter's eyes. Here also could one of higher rank be challenged for the right of command, although such rare contests are always to the death.

Only a few intelligible accounts of the Hounds exist that tell of the Chapter's very disciplined order of deployment and battle, despite the evidence from casual observers that they are a barbarous and savage Chapter in nature. Displaying a preeminent desire to close with the enemy using their tactical deployment and use of shock-assault tactics to shatter their foes in bloody personal combat.

Chapter Gene-Seed
As the inheritors of the lineage of the bloody-handed and savage Primarch Angron, the Hounds of Kerebos also inherited the overwhelming physical need to shed blood and kill. In the past, this was a driving imperative that sent them into a berserk fury of unrestrained psychosis. However, the original founders of the Chapter learned to overcome these berserker tendencies through iron-willed discipline and hypno-indoctrination.

The gene-seed of the Hounds suffers an unusual degree of genetic drift, and the Omophagea implant (known as the 'Remembrancer', for it allows an Astartes to gain part of an individual person's or creature's memory by eating its flesh) has disappeared altogether. Adeptus Mechanicus records indicate that the implant abruptly and inexplicably disappeared from samples submitted for purity testing in mid-M34. When the offer was made to return purer samples of gene-seed from which still contained the Omophagea, the Chapter declined the offer, stating in no uncertain terms that it was no longer required.

The general degradation in gene-seed quality is attributed to the use of higher than recommended doses of certain chemicals involved in marine hypnotherapy and indoctrination. This hazardous treatment allows the Hounds of Kerebos marines to control their responses, emotions and autonomic reactions beyond that of other Chapters, in line with their compulsion to enforce iron-willed self-restraint on the battlefield. While this genetic drift has not yet been observed to have materially affected implant quality, there is serious concern that eventually the long term viability of the gene-seed as a whole could be in jeopardy. The Imperium can ill-afford to lose such a savage and bellicose Chapter, especially in the wake of the formation of the Great Rift, but despite this, the Chapter has strenuously resisted pressure to modify its procedures.

Primarch's Curse: (Red Fury)
The Hounds of Kerberos inherited from their Progenitors a ferocity within their hearts and their blood that grants them great power, but which also threatens to consume all that they are and damn them. All Hounds of Kerberos are watchful for this necessary yet insidious savagery, and it is only with great discipline, humble introspection and often the watchfulness of their Battle-Brothers that they can hope to master themselves.
 * Stage 1 (Unrestrained Rage): The Battle-Brother's discipline begins to slip and falter, allowing brief moments of untamed ferocity to emerge in the heat of battle. Often, the Battle-Brother will not even know that he is succumbing to this savagery, and it requires the presence of his Brothers to warn him of his failure.
 * Stage 2 - (Remorseless): The Battle-Brother does not tolerate any enemy, whether xenos, heretic, or even fellow humans who may have been misled into rebellion against the Imperium's rightful rule. The Battle-Brother grimly executes any opponent he encounters, even if they have surrendered, possess valuable intelligence, or are not front-line combatants.
 * Stage 3 - (Blood Madness): The Hound of Kerberos thirst for the blood of their foes and longs to see it spilled across the ground in great arcs and gouts. They also crave the feeling of hot blood on their skin and splattering across their armour, staining the dark red battle-plate a darker shade still. The Battle-Brother must engage foes in close combat if possible, either making melee attacks against them or shooting point black with pistols so that their blood spills at his feet. When he downs a foe, he must resist the urge to hack or blast the foe's corpse apart. If the Battle-Brother is attacked by a new foe while he is in this state while hacking at another foe, he will turn his attention to his new attacker instead.

Chapter Combat Doctrine
Hand-to-hand combat is the Hounds' preferred form of warfare. Throwing themselves in the fray on combat to inflict the most harm and come to grapple with their foe at close quarters. The Hounds have a preponderance of close combat weaponry habitually carried by its rank-and-file. In addition to the use of the ubiquitous combat blades or gladius, Astartes attached to reconnaissance squads and vehicle crews commonly carry chainblades, flay-cutters and mono-serrated bayonets, back-up knives, hatchets and cleavers. In dedicated assault units this profusion of bloody killing tools are added to by a weapon that dates back to the techno-barbarian tribes of Terra, the broad-bladed Chainaxe.

Chapter Recruitment
As a fleet-based chapter, the Hounds draw their recruits from a number of Feral and Feudal Worlds scattered across the Segmentae of the Imperium in order to meet the Chapter's demands. The Hounds' fleets range far and wide across the Imperium, so the chapter is able to select the finest candidates wherever they may be found. Each grand company's battle barges have the knowledge and resources to recruit and train the next generation of Hounds of Kerberos.

Chapter Beliefs
Though the Hounds of Kerberos have a reputation for ferocity in battle, they are also known for priding themselves on their fury and courage above all else. To the Hounds, life itself is war, a conflict that never ends from cradle to grave and to the Astartes this concept is in its purest form. Failure in battle is not tolerated, surrender is never countenanced and mercy is a quick death delivered to a foe that has fought with bravery. Cowards themselves deserve no more than savage butchery in reward for their fear. This simple but resolutely brutal code of war is the Hounds' article of faith and they extend it to both their own number and their enemy.

Warrior-Marks
Such few honours that the Hounds of Kerberos believe in are warrior-marks of brotherhood and the scars of battle, for these things transcended rank and spoke to the worth of the Space Marine beneath the armour. The sundered chains of one who had fought overwhelming odds and lived, and the bloody handprint over the face or heart bestowed by a battle leader for a warrior whose intrepidity and conspicuous gallantry had transcended that of his brothers, to the Hounds this means more than any mere bauble, title or trinket. Examples of such warrior-marks included:


 * Red Tears - Red "tears" (more likely blood drops) painted beneath the eye lenses on a helm are thought to denote an Astartes' ritual mourning for a fallen bonded battle-brother.
 * Crossed-Chain - A 'crossed-chain' decoration on a vambrace accorded to an individual warrior's status as having overcome their inherent rage and having mastered their baser instincts. It is said that these crossed-chains also serves to remind the recipient of the bonds that bind the Chapter together and the unbreakable strength they gain through unity.

Head Taking
One of the more bloody traditions of the Hounds of Kerberos is the gruesome contests of head-taking between members of individual squad members, various squads, and the Chapter's Companies and Captains. This may just have been an easy way to confirm kills, but it has been surmised by Imperial scholars that the Hounds see the head of a foe to be important. It is unknown if the totals of collected heads were kept for just single battles, wars, or the warrior's career.

Mortuus
Another Chapter tradition is known as a mortuus -- an official report made to the commanding officer of a Chapter vessel, listing those Battle-Brothers who had fallen in battle, much as Apothecaries in the other Chapters traditionally relayed them to their commanding officers. A mortuus is more than simply a casualty list, it is a remembrance -- a roll of honour, a relic for the Chapter to treasure. This often takes the form of names and ranks inked upon scrolls or names engraved in brass plaques, or chiseled into stone. These names are then entered into the ship's Archive of the Fallen.

Wearing Chains
A personal tradition of the Chapter is one that would chain themselves together in the fighting pits and duel to the cheers of their brothers. They enter without armour, naked but for loincloths to show they fear no wound, and to prove every warrior fights on equal ground. For especially deserving Astartes, the Chapter will even open its pits to those born of other bloodlines. A tradition and custom that all Hounds of Kerberos take to great zeal, binding ones weapons to ones wrists on dense black chains.

Deathwatch Service
The Hounds of Kerberos have been committing Battle-Brothers to the Deathwatch for millennia. In most cases however, the Space Marine has stood but a single vigil before returning to his parent Chapter. It is whispered by some that the Chapter only ever allows its brethren to stand the Long Watch if and when it suits them.

Chapter Colours
The Hounds of Kerberos wear blue coloured Power Armour with black on the shoulder plates, gauntlets, greaves, and parts of the power pack. The Astartes of this Chapter often modify their armour by adding large spikes on the shoulder plates to not only evoke fear but also to turn the armour's surface into a weapon in its own right. Crossed-Chains would denote Veteran status.

Chapter Badge
The Chapter badge of the Hounds of Kerberos is a large light grey three-headed hound, rampant, centred on a field of black. This symbol of Kerberos is from Greek mythology of the hound often called the "hound of Hades", is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving.

By the Hounds of Kerberos
"By the way of the warrior is meant death. The way of the warrior is death. This means choosing death whenever there is a choice between life and death. It means nothing more than this."

- Training Sergeant to newly inducted Aspirants

"Whatever you are -- strong or weak, faithful or faithless -- all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. All those other things, they are the glass that contains the lamp, but you are the light inside."

- Inspirational speech by a Hounds of Kerberos Battle-Brother to an allied Astra Militarum regiment.

Feel free to add your own