Stormbreakers

Space Marine Chapter Articles ---

The Stormbreakers are a recently created Space Marine Chapter from an unknown founding comprised mostly of the next stage of evolution of transhuman warriors - the Primaris Space Marines. It is believed that the Stormbreakers were around for longer than it is thought, since before the Ultima Founding, which would explain their inclusion of 'regular' space marines. Officially, their genetic lineage is descended from the stoic and taciturn heritage of Rogal Dorn, Primarich of the venerable Imperial Fists. However, rumours abound that the stalwart physicality displayed by these hardy battle-brothers serving in the harshest of environments and 'Zone Mortalis' warzones, is nearly on par with the XIV Legion of old - the dreaded and maligned Death Guard Legion. Although some of the Chapter's detractors believe that the Stormbreakers' gene-seed was somehow tampered with or adulterated with a different genetic stock, these rumours remain, thus far, unsubstantiated and unfounded.

Chapter History
The Stormbreakers are the sworn guardians of the Imperium Nihilus and all of the planets within it. They are tied very closely to the Inquisition, and as such, will be found on many a dangerous mission as an authority figure's bodyguard or completing tasks normally performed by the Deathwatch, Grey Knights or Adepta Sororitas. To perform these tasks the Chapter, while small in numbers at only 500 members, have several dozen elite agents for every task, these can range from Librarians to Lieutenants to Commanders. Even their Sergeants are formidable warriors, as to be selected for the job you must be shown to have a level of physical and mental prowess great even for a Space Marine, with some of the most fearsome having faced down Ork warbands single handedly, or survived Daemonic possession. They are some of the most stoic and stubborn defenders in the Imperium, their determination rivaled only by the Imperial Fists and its other successors. Unlike the more traditional Fists however, they prefer close quarters combat, and are known to duel for hours or even days with the foe, and recover from wounds that would cripple, or even kill other Marines. They are known to fight alongside the Crimson Fists most of all, their large collection of dreadnoughts and calm-headed master tactions providing much needed aid during grinding siege warfare. They also often fight alongside the forces of the Blood Angels, their level-headedness perfectly offsetting the Angels’ more violent manner.

Chapter Homeworld
As the Stormbreakers are a fleet-based Chapter, they do not have a permanent world to call their own. The Stormbreakers reside on a mobile fortress ship the size of a small moon, known as The Hogar. This ship, despite being so large, is capable of rapid warp travel and as such is able to deploy Marines all over the Imperium Nihilus in an instant. The Hogar houses within its walls the Chapter’s whole fleet and all of the warriors who happen to be idle at that moment in time. It is a huge vessel and of a make and design not seen since the Horus Heresy. It is believed to have passed through the warp at the end of the massive civil war and to have been spat out in the 41st Millenium. Whatever happened, one thing is for certain, it was found floating around the void shortly after the founding of the Stormbreakers.

A strike force was sent in lead by Tarven Pugno to eradicate the Forces of Chaos squatting within. The vessel was crawling with Heretic Astartes, Daemons and the unfortunate souls of the original crew, possessed by daemons, it took many weeks of fighting with both the crew and the ship, which had been twisted so much as to even do the bidding of its dark masters. When the inhabitants were finally eradicated, and the full extent of the ship’s damage uncovered as it attempted to self-destruct to keep out these invaders, it was thought irreparable, however, with some skilled Tech-Priests and a considerable amount of battling with the ship itself, it was working and the Chapter was able to move in. It now houses worship chambers, armouries, docks, workshops, living quarters and even an indoctrination chamber to name but a few features.

Command Ranks

 * Commanders - The Commanders are the equivalent to Captains from other Chapters and fulfill the main officer roles. These are the strongest Marines, with their own indoctrination process, however this takes between 5-10 years longer than the normal process and as such is impractical for normal usage. The Commanders are trained from as early as possible to deliver orders effectively and lead from the front, after 2 decades of training they are sent in as Junior Commanders, their role halfway between a Lieutenant and a full Commander. After a decade of service, if they have proven their worth on the battlefield they are invited to an indoctrination ceremony, in which they must win a duel of honour with their commanding officer (usually whichever Commander happens to be mentoring them) before they are given the rank of Commander and maybe even their own Junior Commanders to teach. There are only 5 Commanders as of M42 but that number often fluctuates depending on the situation. There will be as many as 4 Junior Commanders, no more, no less.


 * Junior Commanders - Junior Commanders are young Commanders who have not yet learned the tricks of leading an army from the front, they are mentored by an older, more experienced Commander who will train them through the years to become not only deadly warriors, but also inspiring leaders. After years of training, each Junior Commander can gain his rank as a Commander by winning a duel with his mentor. If he wins he is granted the rank of Commander and may train 1 Junior Commander. If he fails he must resume his training until he is found capable.
 * Lieutenants - The Lieutenants are trained to relay orders and be a Commander’s right hand man in times of need, each Commander has 2 Lieutenants assigned to him, each Junior Commander has 1. Their role can differ from relaying orders, to combat assistant to sniper, but their main role is always to take the command from the Commander should he fall in battle and see the fight through to its end. After the battle they go into mourning in the Tower of the Fallen Heroes for 1 year, before emerging to serve a new Commander. A Lieutenant gets a badge of Honour from each Commander they serve, so veteran Lieutenants will often have 5 or more badges. Each Lieutenant is sworn to a Commander till one of them dies, so Lieutenants and their Commanders will understand each other perfectly not only on the battlefield but also off it.


 * Chaplains - The Chaplains of the Stormbreakers are some of the most zealous warriors in the galaxy, their fervour in battle inspiring their troops. There yells and threats demoralising the foe before the battle has even begun. The Chaplains of the Stormbreakers also have the added duty of trying to track down and take out the Gifted before they can do any damage.

Specialist Ranks

 * Librarians - The Librarians fill exactly the same role as they do in the other Chapters, providing invaluable psychic support. However the Stormbreaker Librarians are specially trained to take out opposing psykers in 1 on 1 duels, be that with mind or blade. Anyone accepted into the Stormbreakers who is psychically gifted goes through the Librarian indoctrination process. This strengthens their mind beyond what even the Librarians of other Chapters could ever imagine, as well as physically tuning them to near Commander standards, allowing them to perform as deadly assassins or brutal crowd-control units. They undergo rigorous training that can take up to 5 decades, but turns them into a living, breathing weapon.


 * The Apothecaries - The Apothecaries are very similar to those of other Chapters, taking a step back from combat to keep all of their battle-brothers at peak combat efficiency.


 * The Ancients - The Ancients are the banner-bearers of the Stormbreakers and they will bring each of the Chapter’s sacred Standards to war. They are the 1st point of contact in case of a retreat and they will guard the banners with their life. Because these banners are so few and the Chapter so secretive for even 1 of them to fall to the enemy is a great failure that must be addressed immediately. The Stormbreakers are not afraid to kick out any Ancient who fails in his duty, forcing them to become Blackshields for the Deathwatch or even try to fit back into normal society and become a member of the Astra Militarum, where they will likely be mistaken for an Ogryn and shunned for the remainder of their lives. As such, only 1 banner has ever fallen to the hands of the enemy, and this warrior purged himself from all archives and ran away, and he was never seen again.


 * Champions - The Champions are the quickest, most skilled warriors, and of the Specialisms, this is the only one that is not trained from indoctrination, and as such it is a very prestigious position as it is the highest rank that a non-specialised marine can achieve. The Champions join the retinue of the Commander, alongside the Lieutenant/s, the Apothecaries and his bodyguards. Their role is to single out and target enemy leaders in epic duels to the death, often facing off against formidable Ork Warbosses or hateful Chaos Lords.

Line Ranks

 * Veteran Sergeants - Veteran Sergeants are some of the most skilled warriors, having proven themselves worthy to be a Sergeant, and then fighting for decades afterwards. They are equally feared and respected by all of the warriors of the Stormbreakers. Due to the elite nature of the chapter, Veteran Sergeants are often granted Terminator armour on the moment of their promotion.


 * Sergeants - The Sergeants of the Stormbreakers are formidable combatants, all being skilled marksmen and fighters at all ranges. All Sergeants must have proven their effectiveness and skill in combat not only on the battlefield but also in ceremonial duels and training. In their promotion ceremony they are gifted with a new helm, bearing a skull upon it's forehead and they take part in duels, feasting and drinking with their fellow marines.


 * Battle-Brothers - The battle-brothers of the Stormbreakers are different to other chapters, they spend longer training to be warriors, and as such are granted the rank of battle-brother from the moment they don the armour. The Stormbreakers are all zealous warriors, with a hatred for the enemies of the Imperium and a thirst for blood. They have the tenancy to lose control as the thrill of battle washes over them, which has lead to some accidents. This unfortunate trait has resulted in many Inquisitorial investigations, but none have ever proven anything other than their undying loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind.


 * Scout Marines - Unlike Scouts from other chapters, Stormbreakers scouts are not marines in training, nor are many of them even young, instead they are members of the Sniper house, trained to utilise their lighter armour and camo cloaks to sneak to advantageous positions. Often, they will provide fire support for Reiver squads, taking out key targets and causing confusion, before melting into the shadows to let the Reivers do their job. Occasionally a squad of scouts may equip for close-quarters combat, wielding boltguns and combat knives. When this happens they are used as distraction troops, keeping the foe tied up and securing key positions before the main force has even got into range.


 * Neophytes - Stormbreakers Neophytes must endure gruelling training before they step out onto the battlefield. They are trained to fight at all ranges with bolters, swords, axes, knives and even taught to make anything that could be found within battle-field debris as an improvised weapon. Once they are initiated into the chapter's ranks they are given armour and their black carapace and the fighting starts almost immediately, thankfully, each Neophyte has no spent years honing their skills in their speciality, and so are able to match even some of the most grizzled veterans of war.

Order of Battle
The Stormbreakers are entirely non codex-compliant, with only 500 marines and no companies. The Stormbreakers take a very different approach to ordering their troops, most troops are ordered into 2 "Specialist Houses", called the Sniper and Assault houses. Members of the Assault House have grey pauldrons with red outlines. Members of this house include Aggressors, Vanguard Space Marines, Inceptors, Reivers, Terminators and medium-short range specialised Interceptors. Members of the Sniper House have red pauldrons and will often have subtle camo designs to help hide themselves. The Sniper House is the 2nd most numerous house. Members of this house include Sternguard Space Marines, long-range specialised Interceptors, Hellblasters and Scouts.

Chapter Culture
The Stormbreakers have a very peculiar culture about them. They are extremely cliquey, preferring to socialise with marines from their own House rather than mingle with others. They see humans as weak and necessary of their protection, and as such serve Mankind more than they serve the Emperor Himself. The Stormbreakers strive to perfect their craft, working harder and harder than their brethren, unfortunately this has lead more than 1 brother into Slaanesh's embrace.

Chapter Belief
The Stormbreakers are very firm believers of a slightly modified version of the Imperial Creed, which falls slightly closer to a united humanity as the Emperor of Mankind wished for, but which still gives no leniency towards traitors and cowards, preferring, along with the rest of the sons of Dorn, to face down unbeatable odds than to be seen running from a combat. Some Stormbreakers become members of the Gifters, but fortunately for the chapter, these are few and far between.

Chapter Gene-Seed

 * Flaws - The Stormbreakers' gene-seed is surprisingly stable considering the circumstances and rumours surrounding it. However, very rarely, a failed aspirant will be transformed into a deformed monstrosity of a creature, with a hide as thick as Terminator armour and, on the brink of death, these warriors may try to escape from their birthing chamber, and if they do, will go on a rampage, slaughtering anyone or anything that stands in their way.


 * Tinkering - There have been many rumours throughout the centuries, perhaps the most worrying being the reports of the gene-seed of the Stormbreakers being a chimeric one, and that they get their immense toughness from none other than the XIV legion gene-seed, having been spliced onto that of the Imperial Fists by the genius Belisarius Cawl. The chapter tries to deny this, but the evidence is undeniable. The Stormbreakers are officially listed as successors to the Imperial Fists, but following further investigation, this is under scrutiny. The chapter deliberately attempts to slow the progress of these investigations as, if they are found to be Death Guard successors they will be declared Excommunicate Traitoris.

Notable Campaigns
The Stormbreakers have been involved in a handful of campaigns during their relatively short history

Deathwatch Service

 * Number of Serving Warriors - There are very few Stormbreakers within the Deathwatch, but the few that do exist are fairly remarkable, even amongst their elite brethren. Many of the Stormbreakers within the Deathwatch serve as Watch Captains or even Watch Masters, and are famed throughout the Deathwatch.

Notable Deathwatch Members

 * Watch Captain Theliel Ociser - Theliel Ociser took out a Swarm Lord in brutal hand-to-claw combat and came out on top, he was granted the post of Watch Captain for this incredible act, and now leads his troops by brutal example.
 * Librarian Aurian Thamai - Aurian Thamai is one of the most powerful psykers within the whole of the Deathwatch, he is famous for his extreme control over fire and heat, he is able to burn his foes from the inside out without so much as a snap of his fingers, and is infamous through the ranks of the T'au from the Sept world Va'ria for his act of extreme power, in which he burned right through the armour of a Broadside battle-suit, and for razing the whole battlefield to the ground in a spectacular and deadly show of flames to hide his escape.

Notable Members

 * Fallen-Brother Champion Balendin Guerro - A Space Marine who was the last man remaining of his Vanguard squad in an assault on the lines of the Aeldari from the Craftworld Il-Kaithe. Balendin Guerro killed all 70 Dire Avengers who attempted to stop him, before bringing down an Aeldari Wraith-construct singlehandedly and beating the Aeldari Autarch in lightning fast, one-on-one combat. His bloody-handedness forced a retreat by the Aeldari and earned him the rank of Champion. He has now been interred within a Venerable Dreadnought after he was bested in combat by a Lord of Chaos.


 * Commander Benicio Patro - A Primaris Commander, clad in Gravis armour and bearing devastating weaponry hand-crafted by himself over 3 years. He was the leader of a protection effort for a planet against an Orkish invasion. He lead his strike force on a path to meet the Orks head on, he knew that there would be little chance of coming out alive, as did his troops, but he went anyway. After slaughtering several dozen Orks each, with powered weaponry, bolts and grenades all doing their bit, the force started to be pushed back by the sheer number of Orks. Benicio announced a retreat from the battle, but pushed forward alone later that night, he knew he was risking everything but went on anyway, he bested an entire mob of Ork Nobz before confronting the Warboss. He barely survived the battle, but managed to cave in the fearsome Ork’s head with his fist. Rapidly losing blood he crawled back to the camp with 1 arm and, nearly dead, was treated by the Apothecaries, his whole body is now heavily modified and replaced, and he is basically a head and spinal cord now but the next day the Orks, lost without their powerful leader, started fighting among themselves for the role of Warboss and ended up killing each other off. The planet now remember him as the man who gave everything to halt the Ork invasion.


 * Lieutenant Laurits Sabio - A warrior who now serves under the above Asamund Besk is one of the most deadly marksmen alive as well as a great leader. He is a Primaris Lieutenant who has served under 4 Commanders and has a kill tally of nearly 100, but neither of these are why he is so revered. He was not part of some charge against the odds and he is an extremely calm-headed warrior, unwilling to get up close and personal. Instead he is remembered for his contributions to the Chapter, his expertise far beyond some of the most veteran warriors of the Stormbreakers. He has been the mastermind behind many a battle-plan and is a highly sought-after battle leader. He has been offered several hundred honours from the Blood Angels, the Space Wolves and even Inquisitors and Commissars and has turned them all down. When Commander Asamund’s previous Lieutenant died in action, he personally requested Laurits, who had just come out of mourning. All his warriors respect him and when he talks, everyone listens.


 * Chapter Master Tarven Pugno - The 1st Stormbreaker, he is over 400 years old and has all of the very best weaponry and gear his Chapter can provide. His kill tally is nearly 1000. He has fought Chaos Champions, T'au battlesuits and Greater Daemons. He is armed with the legendary sword Stormbreaker, the Chapters namesake, that he claimed off of the forces of Chaos in a duel to the death with a Slaneshii Lord. The sword dates back to the Horus Heresy and was considered to be legend, before being lost to time, forgotten and left to rest. Tarven made it his mission to find this legendary sword and reclaim it for the Imperium. After 20 years of searching he picked up a lead, an ungodly fast Chaos Lord wielding an ancient sword from the Imperium. He went to the planet that he had been sighted on and saw him searching through the rubble of the planet for survivors and wargear. He challenged him to a duel and they had an epic fight that lasted for 2 days, the forces of Chaos fueling the Lord’s every move, making him a worthy opponent. Eventually he drew blood, and his surprise, his head was lopped off by the righteous Chapter Master. His second weapon is a powerfist, hand crafted by the finest artisans of his Chapter, it is a brutal weapon, and he uses it to great effect to cast down the enemies of Mankind. He has a jump pack and is famous for his deployments from his personal Stormraven, alongside his closest ally, the Leviathan Dreadnought Tadeas Nefas, who was taken out in combat with a Herald of Khorne, to wipe out the foe's gun lines. He loves surprise assaults and will deploy from low orbit alongside some jump troops if his Stormraven is unavailable. He has fought on many, many planets against many, many foes and he is a legend on dozens of worlds, he has fought Orks, Daemons and deadly T'au battlesuits single-handedly and come out alive, he locked blades with a Daemon Prince of Nurgle and come out on top and has battered multiple Helbrutes’ hulls to a pulp.
 * Librarian Darius Medies - Darius Medies is one of the most senior and powerful Librarians within the Stormbreakers chapter, with even the most senior officers choosing to take his advice. He has been known to lose his temper in the heat of battle, with explosive consequences for anyone close by. Darius is also known for being on of the most skilled combatants of the chapter, using his gifts to increase his speed and strength, and being able to face down even an Ork Warboss in single-combat. The Librarian bears a bolt pistol and large force sword into battle, however his weapons are often replaced by sheer psychic energy. He made his name as a young Librarian, taking out a Nurgle uprising within the Chapter, alongside Inquisitor Hunold Zecher, the fight ended with Darius dueling with his commander, who had been possessed by a Great Unclean One, within realspace and the warp. Darius despises the Inquisition, but must work with them on many occasions as a senior leader within the Chapter. He hates the Inquisition, and indeed, the High Lords as he finds them hypocritical and as cowards, hiding behind their rank. He has faced Inquisitorial investigation many times, due not only to his controversial views but also his occasionally unstable psychic abilities, each time however, has only proven his overall loyalty to the chapter and the Imperium. It is rumoured amongst the chapter that he is being trained to be the successor to the Chief Librarian. He hates the Orks and the forces of Nurgle most of all, and is a killing machine when powered by his hatred against them.

Chapter Colours
The Stormbreakers primarily wear storm grey armour with a bone coloured helmet and red exhaust vents. The Assault and Sniper Houses also each have different coloured pauldrons, the Assault House have grey pauldrons with red trim, the Snipers have completely red pauldrons and everyone else has grey pauldrons with a black trim.

Chapter Badge
The Stormbreakers chapter badge is a stylised skull being crushed by a hammer, the skull has a large crack in it and the hammer is producing large sparks.

Chapter Fleet
The Stormbreakers, despite their small numbers, have a very large fleet, as they are almost entirely fleet based, with their capital ship, The Hogar, being one of a kind, only rivalled in size by the Phalanx of the Imperial Fists. They have many smaller ships, mostly strike cruisers or low orbit drop ships, used to transport marines to different battle zones in relative ease. As with every fleet based chapter, the role of Master of the Fleet is very important, as any flaw in one of the biggest ships could lead to an extremely high casualty rate, especially if the Hogar suffered large amounts of damage.

Chapter Relics

 * Flesh Reiver - The force sword Flesh Reiver was taken into battle by the great Librarian of the Stormbreakers, Darius Medies, who is rumoured to be next in line for the role of Chief Librarian. The sword was crafted by the Iron Flesh after their battle together against the forces of Nurgle on the planet Criuq. It has seen many a battle and it's blade has tasted the blood of many foul heretics.


 * The Stormbreaker - The blade known as the Stormbreaker, from which the chapter got it's name, is a legendary sword, which glows purple with its sheer power. It is rumoured to be older than the Imperium itself and definitely has a bloody history. It 1st made its way into the hands of Mankind during the Horus Heresy, where it rose to fame as the blade of an Emperor's Children Captain, a master dualist who laid low many foes with the perfectly crafted and balanced sword. It was slowly pushed to the back of the many legends surrounding the Heresy, and was forgotten about by much of the general population. But not by Tarven Pugno. Tarven heard of these rumours, and spent decades attempting to find it, only to admit defeat and move on. 2 years later stories emerged of a lightning fast Slaaneshi Lord bearing a unique purple blade, alien in design. Tarven thought fast, and decided to track the Lord himself. The 2 fearsome fighters engaging in a dual that lasted 2 whole days, neither ever pausing or faltering in the slightest, until 1 fateful swing left the Lord off guard, and with a chance for Pugno to finish the job. He took the sword and to this day out it still serves as a weapon of war, and has seen the death of many a xenos and heretic.

Allies

 * Crimson Fists
 * Bulls of Retribution
 * Black Templars
 * Imperial Fists
 * Thunder Guardians

Enemies

 * Orks
 * Death Guard

The "Gifters"
The Gifters are a Nurgle cult that has appeared throughout the chapter's history, they are made up of mutants and rejects from the chapter, lead by Stormbreakers corrupted by Nurgle. The consistent returning of the cult seems to indicate a susceptibility to Nurgle within the chapter, likely caused by the splicing of XIV Legion gene-seed into theirs.

Tactics
The members of the Stormbreakers who become Gifters often take centuries to physically corrupt, so they can hide from their chapter in plain sight, as wolves in sheep's clothing. This allows them to pick up on tactics and even climb through the ranks undetected, the most deadly uprisings occur when a Commander falls, as his men are likely to follow him down the path to damnation. In battle the Gifted often send waves of mutants and the shambling undead hoards, this can over-run the enemy if caught by surprise, and could leave them vulnerable to further attacks. As the last of the mutants get wiped out, summoned daemons invade realspace to claw at the enemy, closely followed by the space marine element of the Gifted. Often this crushing assault breaks the enemy's moral before the battle has even really started.

By:
"We face the Storm with unflinching loyalty, our guns never cease and our blades never blunt, we shall never tire in our defence of Humanity."

- Credited to Chapter Champion Samandriel Aquicos

"No matter the foe, we shall Break them, no matter the Storm, we shall face it, let the strongholds of those who would see Humanity and the Imperium cast down know no safety from our guns, let us show no mercy for those foes, no matter what they may throw at us. We are the Stormbreakers! Sons of the Architect, and we shall let none hide from our guns!"

- Stormbreakers Chapter mantra

About:
"The Stormbreakers... are fearsome warriors all, genius tacticians and some of the strongest warriors within their ranks, to cross them is to give yourself a death sentence."

- By Inquisitor Hunold Zecher