Blood Scorpions

The Blood Scorpions are a loyalist Space Marine Successor Chapter of the bloodline of Sanguinius, created during the 6th Founding, which occurred sometime during the latter years of M33. Extant evidence suggests that the Blood Scorpions were one of several Chapter founded in the wake notable event known as 'The Year of Ghosts'. Beset by extreme Warp activity and daemonic incursions, it was only when the honoured dead rose up from their graves to drive back the terrors of the Warp that the heart of the Imperium just barely managed to survive. Following these events, in their wisdom, the High Lords of Terra authorised the raising of a new Founding of Adeptus Astartes to help bring about stability and law back to those imperilled worlds that still suffered in the iron-grip of those who followed the Ruinous Powers.

Throughout their existence, the Blood Scorpions have garnered a brutal reputation for being savage and unrelenting fighters. This Chapter is also notoriously intolerant of all xenos, believing them to be a blight upon the galaxy. They adamantly believe that it is Mankind's manifest destiny to vanquish all the vile and wicked alien races, and to take their place as the rightful inheritors of the galaxy. This intolerance for the alien has led to the Blood Scorpions' inherent distrust of their Progenitor Chapter due to the events of the Gehenna Campaign in 955.M41.

History
By the latter years of M33, much of the Segmentum Solar was subjected to the terrors of the warp, a result of massive warp storms that plagued hundreds of worlds, causing Imperial citizens to be affected by the sudden influx of Chaos, which gave rise to thousands of Chaos Cults, daemonic incursions and open insurrection. The Imperium reeled as hundreds of populated planets were destroyed or corrupted, and many more cut off and isolated. Only when the honoured dead rose up from their eternal slumber to fight against the terrors of the Warp, were the forces of the Imperium able to drive back the servants of the Ruinous Powers.

Following this event, the High Lords of Terra decreed that a new Founding of the Adeptus Astartes would take place in order to bring back stability to the Segmentum Solar that was rife with civil discourse. Created alongside such notable Chapters as the Angels of the Hunt and the Scarlet Beasts, the Blood Scorpions were created from the venerated gene-stock of the noble angelic Primarch Sanguinius. Created as they were from the Blood Angels' gene-seed, they inherited their genetic forbears' noble visage and extended lifespans. But unfortunately, they also inherited the genetic flaws that afflict those Chapters of Sanguinius' bloodline - the 'twin-curses' of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. These flaws were known to greatly afflict those Blood Angels Successor Chapters founded in later centuries. Despite such setbacks, however, the Blood Scorpions refused to submit to their bloodline's curse and continued to strive to persevere in the face of inevitable damnation.

The Blood Scorpions are a reclusive fleet-based Chapter, preferring to operate solely from its substantial warfleet. Preferring not to be tied down to any one world or system, and the subsequent stifling politics involved in ruling such a demesne, the Blood Scorpions prefer to strike out on their own. When not on campaign, the Blood Scorpions are known to seal themselves away in vast stasis crypts aboard their warships. But when the occasion arises and they are roused from their dreamless slumber, they are highly active in the prosecution of the Emperor's wars, deploying in accordance to their own whims and objectives. In this way, they believe they stand as a bulwark against the myriad of enemies that assail Mankind, able to deploy where they feel they are needed most.

In order to facilitate this preferred method of deployment, the Blood Scorpions prefer to utilise the ancient "Nomad-Predation" pattern, a rarely used deployment pattern favoured by Chapters who wish to remain an entirely self-contained force. In this way, they are able to sustain themselves for long periods of time beyond the known boundaries of Imperial space. This enables the Blood Scorpions to pick and chose their foes as they see fit, allowing them to strike like a thunderbolt and then take the spoils of war before an enemy can retaliate.

One last trait that marks the Chapter as unique - they prefer to almost exclusively operate as a single entity. When entering a warzone, they do not spread their forces across multiple fronts and rarely detach smaller forces away from the Chapter's main body. Instead, the Blood Scorpions prefer to strike like a thunder hammer, causing the massive amount of damage, then fading away into the outer dark from whence they came. This tactic enables them to rip through almost any enemy that dares stands against them.

Since their inception, the Blood Scorpions have continued to crusade across the width and breadth of the galaxy, taking part in numerous Imperial campaigns, especially those involving the eradication of xenos species. They often arrive unheralded and unbidden - their offer to help oft times unwelcomed - as the Blood Scorpions have a tendency to ignore the orders of the Imperial military hierarchy in order to pursue their own tactical objectives as dictated by the will of their Sanguine Lord (Chapter Master).

Falling Out
In more recent history, the Blood Scorpions have had a falling out of sorts, due to the actions of their Progenitor Chapter, the Blood Angels during the Gehenna Campaign against the Necrons in 955.M41. The Blood Angels battled the Necron Legions of Sautekh, the Silent King, amidst the dusty wastes of the world of Gehenna. For three weeks, neither side could seize the upper hand, with Dante's tactical brilliance stretched to its limits in countering the time-space manipulations of the Silent King. The stalemate was broken only when a Tyranid splinter fleet entered orbit, forcing the two armies to break off hostilities and fight the common foe. The impromptu alliance proved to be the Tyranids' undoing.

Following the final battle at Devil's Crag, Dante and the Silent King went their separate ways, both forces too battleworn to guarantee victory over the other. As vehement opponents of all xenos, the Blood Scorpions were none too pleased with the outcome of this campaign, and most especially, their progenitor's lack of resolve in prosecuting the Emperor's Justice against their Necron enemies. Needless to say, the relationship between the Blood Scorpions and the Blood Angels has been strained. The Blood Scorpions refer to this regrettable action as the Gehenna Incident.

Shield of Baal
When word reaches the Blood Angels that the Cryptan Shield, intended to hold back the might of Hive Fleet Leviathan has collapsed, Lord Commander Dante puts plans into motion to defend the Blood Angels' home world. Knowing that the consumption of the Cryptus System would open the floodgates for an unstoppable Tyranid invasion of Baal, Commander Dante takes action and strikes out for the Cryptus System. After sacrificing the shield worlds of the Cryptus System to fend off the xenos' earliest advances, the planet Baal itself comes under intense attack by Hive Fleet Leviathan.

Dante's call, beseeching the Blood Angels' Successors to send immediate aid to their parent Chapter, did not go unheeded. The defences of Baal and her moons are bolstered like never before, with indomitable fortresses rising above the sweltering sands, and the might of the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters gathering from across the galaxy - a clarion call that the Blood Scorpions answer with all haste. Despite their sour relationship with their Progenitors, the Blood Scorpions will not allow the home world of their beloved Primarch to fall to the Great Devourer. Yet still it may not be enough, for the Tyranids are seemingly without number.

The Scions of Sanguinius put up a valiant defence, but the superior numbers of the Great Devourer advanced steadily, despite their resistance, clearing the sector of life before the xenos made planetfall upon Baal and twin moons. Attacking in force, the first nineteen waves, each larger than the last, were driven off at great loss to the Blood Angels and their successor allies. The Tyranids soon began the process of draining Baal and her moons of all living biomass. With their defences in ruin and the moons stripped and broken, the remaining Space Marines retreated back to the rubble of the Blood Angels' fortress-monastery and prepared to make their last stand as the final wave swept downwards. The doom of the Sons of Sanguinius, coming for them at long last, seemed to finally be at hand.

The Great Rift
While the Blood Angels and her Successor allies desperately fought against the unending tides of the Great Devourer, across the other side of the galaxy, another desperate conflict was being waged upon the fortress world of Cadia. At long last, Abaddon the Despoiler, the Warmaster of Chaos, launched his 13th Black Crusade, leading the largest incursion of the Forces of Chaos the galaxy had seen since the time of the Horus Heresy.

Despite the Imperial forces best efforts, at long last, the fortress world was utterly annihilated, as Cadia was destroyed by the devastating impact of one of Abaddon's Blackstone Fortresses. With a good portion of the network of Necron-built Cadian Pylons that had long prevented the Eye of Terror from naturally expanding into the Cadian Gate removed, the Eye of Terror began to slowly expand without limit, opening Abaddon the Despoiler's coveted Crimson Path to Terra and creating the Great Rift. This great tear in reality, known also as the Cicatrix Maledictum by the Imperium, was a galaxy-wide warp storm that has essentially rent the territory of the Imperium of Man in half, spreading from the Eye of Terror to the Hadex Anomaly on the Eastern Fringe.

The Primaris
As the remaining Scions of Sanguinius made their final stand, it was then that the Great Rift cracked open the galaxy, and the withered Baal System was blasted by ætheric storms. Although no further attack waves came from the Leviathan fleet, not a single Imperial defender remained alive upon the last moon, Baal Prime. On Baal itself there were already enough Tyranids on the surface to destroy the Imperial forces many times over. With no chance of victory, Lord Commander Dante led the surviving Scions of Sanguinius, each fighting retreat seemingly more hopeless than the last. As the final perimeter was broken, the stars disappeared. The Tyranids looked skywards seeking contact with their hive fleet, but it was gone, replaced by a newly arrived Imperial fleet.

Leading a massive counter-attack, the reborn Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, now the acting Imperial Regent and Lord Commander of the Imperium, and his forces of the Indomitus Crusade, struck the xenos like angels of vengeance. After many more blood-soaked battles, Baal was finally cleansed of the xenos threat. Following this victory, a great rebuilding of both Baal and the Scions of Sanguinius Chapters were undertaken, for they were sorely needed elsewhere. To assist the badly depleted Chapters, Guilliman bolstered them with newly created Primaris Space Marines - the next stage in evolution of the Adeptus Astartes. Though there were some initial misgivings amongst the notoriously paranoid Blood Scorpions Chapter, their new brethren are unleashed into battle against the forces of the Ruinous Powers in a hundred different warzones. They acquit themselves well, proving themselves worthy inheritors of the legacy of the Red Angel.

Notable Campaigns

 * Jericho III Xenocide (Unknown Date.M34) - Fragmentary records of the Chapter's earliest engagements were found deep within the vast catacombs of the great Librarium Terra, the great repository of Imperial records that pertains thousands upon thousands of years of Imperial history. The rare and ancient Libris Velum, or "Book of the Veil", authored in the 35th Millennium, makes mention of the Blood Scorpions voyaging near the Veiled Region near the southern edge of the Segmentum Tempestus. Responding to a series of frantic distress calls from Imperial deep-range outposts within the Spartus Sector, the Chapter fleet of the Blood Scorpions made all haste towards the Imperial world of Jericho III. This sector had long been a haven for Dark Eldar over the millennia. They habitually raided the human worlds, inflicting much pain and misery, and then returned to their dark realm - their vessels' holds full of terrified slaves. As the Dark Eldar attacked Jericho III's capital, the Blood Scorpions deployed en masse, striking like a thunderbolt, and decimated the Dark Eldar's flanks. The vile xenos were brutally exterminated by the savage Astartes, as only a small number of survivors managed to effect their escape. The Dark Eldar commanders were then hung until dead from the tallest hive spires, a warning to their wretched kind -- touch the soil of an Imperial world again, and this fate shall befall you also.
 * The Conquest of Atmos (768-774.M36) - The Blood Scorpions and their brutal cousins, the Flesh Tearers, undertake a joint xenocidal campaign against the Dark Eldar Kabal of the Barbed Lash upon the Imperial Hive World of Atmos. This savage campaign lasts six years, and sees the death of billions of innocents. During the final engagement, the Flesh Tearers are drawn into a cunning trap by the Dark Eldar. With the loss of many of their battle-brothers, the Flesh Tearers are outnumbered. Prepared to face their imminent destruction they boldly prepare to sell their lives dearly. Seeing their plight, the Blood Scorpions fight their way through the Dark Eldar's lines and save their fellow Successor Chapter. Bolstered by their cousins, the Flesh Tearers proceed to lead the final assault upon the Dark Eldar Archon's position and take his head. From then on, the two Chapters forge a strong warrior bond and continue to fight alongside the other in numerous campaigns.
 * The 7th Black Crusade - Helan Campaign (811.M37) - Abaddon the Despoiler and his Black Legion fleet manage to slip out of the Eye of Terror undetected and covertly fall upon the worlds of the Imperium. Whole planets are lost until the Imperium manages to muster their forces in order to repel the Forces of Chaos. But Abaddon proves elusive, as his Black Legion spend years in a hit-and-run campaign against various Imperial worlds and strategic objectives, significantly degrading Imperial defensive capabilities. On the Agri-World of Helan, the Black Legion and their daemonic allies face both the Black Dragons and their reluctant allies, the Blood Scorpions. The Blood Scorpions look upon their allies as somehow 'impure', but their views quickly change, as the Black Dragons prove themselves worthy allies, as they proceed to match their cousins with the same savagery and brutality. Though both Chapters take heavy losses, they proceed to butcher the vile Chaos Space Marines. They leave nothing but spilled blood and piles of broken black ceramite of those Black Legion warriors killed during that fateful night. The Blood Scorpions set aside their differences and the two Chapters become sworn allies, willing to fight alongside the other when called.
 * The War for Galgron (345.M40) - When the massive Ork WAAAGH! of Warboss Un'Eye Klawgutz attacks the Shrine World of Galgron, located in the Segmentum Pacificus, it is the Blood Scorpions' 'Nomad-Predation' fleet that is the first to respond to the desperate astropathic distress messages sent by the planet's frightened Ecclesiarchy clergy. As an important shrine world, millions of pilgrims were drawn to the shrines and tombs of Imperial saints on Galgron during holy pilgrimages. Millions of innocent Imperial citizens were slain during the initial assault by WAAAGH! Klawgutz, and the shrine cities and surrounding territory of Galgron was completely ruined by the intensity of the fighting. Enraged by the slaughter of innocents and the pointless desecration and mayhem caused by the vile greenskins, the Blood Scorpions descend like a thunderbolt from the heavens, and proceed to fight a savage campaign to take back the beleaguered planet. After the defeat of Klawgutz by the forces led by Sanguine Lord Azaziel Charon, the Blood Scorpions proceed to take back the rest of their world from the pockets of surviving greenskins.
 * The Murgred Atrocities (456-462.M40) - Verrick Sorrowbringer, Draugar Lord of the infamous 12th Storm, of the Renegade warband, the Storm Draugar, launched a series of murderous raids into the Murgred System, slaughtering millions of Imperial citizens on several worlds. The Blood Scorpions launched a brutal suppression campaign in order to stem the atrocities being committed by the vile Chaos Lord, finally facing Draugar Lord Sorrowbringer upon the world of Corvinus, were tragically, Sanguine Lord Charon and his entire Scorpion Guard are slain. The Murgred Crusade lasts for another six years until the newly appointed Sanguine Lord Cerbarius Dysmas declared it successful in 462.M40.
 * The Punishment Crusade (Unknown Date.M41) - The Blood Scorpions fight alongside the bloody-handed kin, the Blood Vultures, taking part in numerous lightning raids on the Gue'vesa human populations of former Imperial worlds fallen under the malign influence of their Tau Empire overlords.
 * The Scouring of Ultramar (746.M41) - The Blood Scorpions assist their progenitors, the Blood Angels and the Ultramarines in fighting against Tyranid menace of Hive Fleet Behemoth when they invade the Realms of Ultramar. This brutal war of attrition results in woeful losses for the Blood Scorpions, who are reduced to only 600 surviving battle-brothers.
 * The Titan Wars (920-925.M41)
 * Scions of Sanguinius Conclave (999.M41) - Teetering on the brink of oblivion following the events on the Shrine World of Sabien, the fate of the Blood Angels Chapter now required the magnanimity of their Successor Chapters. Lord Commander Dante summoned all of the Blood Angels' Successor Chapters, including the Blood Scorpions, for a conclave on Baal following the near-disastrous Chapter civil war that nearly tore the Blood Angels apart. Dante called for the support of the Blood Angels Successors to help aid the Chapter in the protection of their common Primarch's homeworld and his remains from the attack of both the Tyranids and the Forces of Chaos. The Successor Chapters unanimously agree to hand over to the Blood Angels some of their own Neophytes to help their ancestral Chapter rebuild its strength in the wake of the Chaos assault -- and in preparation for the oncoming assault by the Tyranids and the Forces of Chaos.
 * The Darkest Hour (999.M41) - As the launch of the 13th Black Crusade consumes the resources of the Imperium, a tendril of Hive Fleet Leviathan is determined to be on a direct course for Baal. To make matters worse, the dread Bloodthirster Ka'Bandha, the Bane of Sanguinius, returns from the Warp leading an army of daemons. His first blow is struck against Ammonai, the outermost world of the Baal System. Faced with a possible war of extermination for the Chapter on two fronts, Lord Commander Dante makes swift preparations, and unites many Imperial and even non-human worlds under the command of the Blood Angels simply for the sake of survival against Tyranid and Daemon alike. The Blood Scorpions respond and despatch their entire fighting strength to the Blood Angels' aid without question. Ultimately, all of the Successor Chapters save for the Lamenters lend some form of aid to their primogenitor. Even the Knights of Blood, declared Renegade by the Imperium many centuries earlier, heed Dante's call -- though they are very careful to never take the field alongside the other Chapters. The stage is thus set for the defence of Baal, and perhaps the final battle of the Scions of Sanguinius. With many of the worlds within the Baal System rapidly cleansed of life by the marauding fleet of the Great Devourer, the Blood Angels and their Successor allies make a valiant last stand upon Baal Prime itself. With a seemingly unending tide at their disposal, the Hive Fleet launches nineteen waves of attacking xenos, each one larger than the last. As they prepare to launch their final wave, suddenly the galaxy is torn asunder. Massive warp storms, the like which have not been seen since the Age of Stife, cut off the galactic north from Terra. The xenos that are planetside look skywards, expecting reinforcements from their orbiting Hive Fleet, but they have mysteriously disappeared, and in its place, a new fleet arrives in the form of the Indomitus Crusade. Led by the resurrected Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Avenging Son launches a brutal counter-strike which sees the Tyranids vanquished and the Scions of Sanguinius saved. A great rebuilding of both world and decimated Chapters quickly takes place, as the Primarch bestows upon the Scions of Sanguinius with hundreds of newly created Primaris Space Marines to help these Chapters offset their recently sustained catastrophic losses. After incorporating their Primaris brethren within their ranks, Guilliman departs the Baal System, for he is needed elsewhere. The newly replenished Scions of Sanguinius Chapters take part in the Indomitus Crusade and launch their own separate campaigns, taking the fight to the encroaching enemies of Mankind that surround the Imperium on all sides.

Gene-Seed
Like all Blood Angels' Successors, the Blood Scorpions share many traits with their progenitors, including the tragic flaw that afflicts so many of the line of Sanguinius. This curse manifests itself in many different ways, but in the case of the Blood Scorpions it has lead to a fiery, zealous temperament that drives the Chapter to ever greater heights of savagery. Like their genetic primogenitors, this Chapter also suffers from both genetic Flaws of the Red Thirst and the Black Rage. Those Blood Scorpions who are afflicted by the Black Rage are placed in a Death Company similar to that deployed by the Blood Angels. It has been noted that this company rarely has less than 20-30 Astartes, making it larger than that of most of its fellow Blood Angels Successors. The Blood Scorpions general stubbornness in battle and martial code of "death before dishonor" leads many of their brethren to be more susceptible than usual to the flaws. This has gained the Blood Scorpions some distrust from other Chapters due to their violent and barely repressed-savage nature.

Chapter Organisation
Unlike their progenitors or many of their fellow Successor Chapters, the Blood Scorpions only nominally follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes in terms of broad organisation. Preferring to operate as a whole, the Blood Scorpions do not willingly divide their forces in any given theatre of war, concentrating their forces as whole, and thereby maximising their Chapter's destructive potential. Through sheer weight of numbers, they are able to combat against larger forces or monstrous opponents, able to overwhelm them in a hail of savage blades and overwhelming firepower. Unlike most Space Marine Chapters, the Blood Scorpions prefer to utilise superior attrition within a confined area of engagement. Though this may account for a higher attrition rate, the Chapter's commanding officers care not, as long as their foes are destroyed and victory achieved. Also unusually, the Chapter's elite 1st Company Veteran Marines are divided equally amongst the Chapter's battle companies, serving as the company commanders' elite Honour Guard. Each Battle Company also has an augmented auxiliary force of Scout Marines used for reconnaissance and evaluation of the enemy.

With the recent defence of Baal against the vile Tryanids and the horrific losses sustained by the Chapter, the Blood Scorpions received their salvation in the form of the recently introduced Primaris Space Marines into their Chapter's sorely depleted ranks. These superior transhuman warriors were quickly inducted into the Chapter's various companies to bring them back to full strength. As the Blood Scorpions began to forge new and glorious deeds in the annals of Imperial history, their newly inducted brethren have proved their worth hundreds of times over, as they slaughtered their enemies with the same brutal and calculated savagery of any true Blood Scorpions Astartes and have proven themselves as worthy successors of Sanguinius.

Chapter Command
Rule of the Blood Scorpions falls to the Sanguine Lord and his council of senior officers known as the Scorpion Council. Most seats at the high table are taken by the Brother Captains who command the Chapter's companies. Some, however, belong to senior officers whose injuries are too great for continued combat, but whose wisdom still holds great value. Such officers command the Chapter's vital support institutions, such as the armoury, the fleet and the ongoing recruitment of fresh neophytes. Though ultimate power rests with the Chapter Master, the council are often called upon to act in their master's absence should he be slain or is himself away on campaign. In addition to their role on the council, each officer will also have an assigned title and duties necessary for the smooth running of the Chapter.

Like their progenitors, the Blood Scorpions Blood Priesthood (Apothecaries) and Reclusiam are also part of the Chapter Command, rather han subordinate organisations as would normally be the case. This structure means that the High Blood Priest (Chief Apothecary) and High Warden (Relcusiarch) take joint temporary rule in the event of the Sangine Lord's death, rather than the rank automatically passing to the Captain of the 1st Company. By holding temporary command, the High Warden and High Blood Priest can test the will and worthiness of a new candidate to ensure that a rash and unfortunate appointment does not occur.

Order of Battle
Represented below is the composition and deployment of the Blood Scorpions Chapter circa 999.M41. For logistical reasons, each squad is assumed to have a nominal strength of ten battle-brothers, although battlefield attrition and instability brought on by the Flaw inevitably reduces this tally. In addition to the forces shown here, each company or strike force will also have a Death Company, although this is considered to be an auxiliary force. The Death Company's strength varies according to the onset of the Black Rage, and it therefore does not appear as an 'official' fighting body:

Specialist Ranks
Like their progenitors, the Blood Scorpions' order of battle also contains several specialist formations and officer positions not present in other Space Marine Chapters:
 * Death Company - Like their Progenitor and many of their fellow Blood-borne Chapters, the Blood Scorpions also maintain a Death Company made up of those unfortunate Battle-Brothers who have completely succumbed to the Black Rage. These fanatical and unstoppable berserkers are led into battle by a Blood Priest or a Warden, who are the only officers with even a chance of retaining some level of control over these psychotic killers. This company is known as the Death Company because its Astartes are considered to be walking dead men by their brethren.
 * Scorpion Guard - The other major deviance from the Codex by the Blood Scorpions Chapter is the existence of the elite Honour Guard known as the Scorpion Guard, which includes 30 of the Chapter's best and most Veteran Astartes under the command of Brother Melchiah. They are clad in ancient suits of Indomitus Pattern Terminator Armour, wielding bolter-mounted polearm weapons known as a Glaive Encarmine.
 * Honour Guard - Amongst the Blood Scorpions, it is customary for the mightiest of their officers to be accompanied by an Honour Guard of dedicated, elite warriors. Its members are distinguished Terminator-armoured elite from the Chapter's 1st Company. They are superbly geared and equipped with the Chapter's finest weapons. One member of the Honour Guard may be nominated as the Blood Champion, who serves as the Company Champion.
 * Blood Priest - The Blood Scorpions' Blood Priests are the custodians of the Chapter's preservation of its gene-seed. They serve in the role as the Chapter's Apothecaries, as well as partially fulfilling the role of spiritual leaders within the Chapter. Whilst the sermons and ceremonies of the Chapter's Chaplains exhort their battle-brothers to reject the anger within, those performed by the Blood Priests call upon the Blood Scorpions to embrace the Red Thirst and wrest it to their control; unleashing its strength to buttress theirs when the day is darkest and the battle goes ill.
 * Warden - Like the Chaplains of their Progenitor Chapter, the Wardens' role is solely geared towards guarding against the Black Rage and sychologically ministering to those who fall both to it and the equally terrible curse of the Red Thirst. The traditional spiritual role played by most Astartes Chaplains is instead played in the Blood Scorpions by the officers known as the Blood Priests. The Reclusiarchs -- the highest ranking Chaplains -- are the keepers of the Chapter's Reclusiam, the Blood Scorpions' most sacred shrine, nestled aboard their massive flagship, the Kargatane.

Deathwatch Service
While all Space Marines have hatred of the enemies of mankind, especially those which lurk among the stars preying on the worlds of the Imperium, the Blood Scorpions have fostered a deep repulsion for xenos beyond even that of most of their kind. This is fostered from a thousand battlefields across thousands of light years of space and a history which has seen the Chapter clash with the greatest and vilest of the galaxy's aliens time and again. At first, this hatred is indistinguishable from that of a normal member of the Adeptus Astartes, forming only the staunch disdain required to face them in combat and turn away their insidious advances against the domain of the God-Emperor.

In time it grows, encompassing all forms of alien life, even those of little interest or threat to the Imperium, until eventually they cannot bear to see the xenos live, even at the cost of prudent tactics and the strained measures of battlefield diplomacy. The xenocidal hatred displayed by the Blood Scorpions comes to the fore when its battle-brothers are called to stand a vigil of the Long Watch. Such brethren are well represented in the ranks of the Jericho Reach's Deathwatch contingent.

Chapter Home World
Having no home world to speak of, the Blood Scorpions are a fleet-based Chapter, operating solely from its substantial warfleet as part of a perpetual crusade. However, the Blood Scorpions do not appear to follow the standard 'Crusade' Chapter pattern of operations, like the Black Templars Chapter. Instead, they rely upon a much rarer operational strategy known as the 'Nomad-Predation', pattern. This fleet pattern evolved in use by Space Marine Chapters and certain Rogue Trader fleets operating beyond the Imperium's boundaries for extended periods of time. It refers to an entirely self-contained force that can sustain itself without any Imperial support whatsoever.

A Nomad-Predation fleet may contain as many support vessels as true warships, or it may contain voidships capable of both combat and maintenance repairs. This second possibility may be more likely in the case of the Blood Scorpions; given the bellicose Chapter's propensity for combat, it seems unlikely they would tolerate vessels in their fleet's ranks that could not hold their own on the battle line.

A Nomad-Predation fleet voyages endlessly, pausing only to identify and engage its foes. It must choose its targets carefully, selecting those within its means to destroy without threatening the fleet’s viability as a fighting force. Once it selects the appropriate victims, it can descend upon them quickly and savagely, engaging and destroying potential threats or launching spoiling attacks against foes too large to attack in force. The fleet obtains resources from the vanquished foe before vanishing, safe from any potential retaliation.

Fortress-Monastery
The ancient Maelstrom-class Galleass of War, the Kargatane, serves as the Blood Scorpions flagship and mobile fortress-monastery. This vessel of ancient provenance, is believed to be pre-Imperial in origin and constructed some time during the Dark Age of Technology. A noteworthy but relatively uncommon type of warship, a Galleass of War is the equivalent of a Grand Cruiser ("pocket battleships") which are often much larger physically. Much of the fabric of these mighty vessels were given over to freight and transport capacity, while still maintaining formidable armaments and defence. In times past, they made for ideal support vessels for deep-range explorations into unknown regions of space and as the flagships of the most powerful Rogue Traders Militant. The Kargatane is recorded to have participated as a vessel of the venerable IXth Legion in numerous Compliance campaigns of the Great Crusade. It is believed that the Blood Scorpions were awarded the command of the Kargatane by their Progenitors for their diligence and valour for some unrecorded campaign that occurred in times past.

Chapter Recruitment
Due to their preferred use of the 'Nomad-Predation' pattern and long periods of isolation beyond the borders of the Imperium, the Blood Scorpions are forced to replenish their ranks in the same fashion as other Chapter that follow this pattern of deployment. Chiefly, they cull potential Asirants from amongst the strongest youths of those who manage to miraculously survive one of their assaults. The Chapter's Wardens will select those whom they deem meet the criteria for possible selection for the Chapter's ranks - provided these survivors are human and free from the corrupting influence of the Ruinous Powers. Put through bloody trials and gladiatorial combat, those that survive undergo further soul-crushing trials that will test them to the limit of human endurance - body, mind and soul.

Only the strongest that emerge relatively unscathed are allowed to undergo to the harsh procedures and painful surgery to receive the necessary organs that will transform them into transhuman Astartes. Once their bodies successful adapt to these new organs, they are further hypno-indoctrinated into the Chapter. This intensive hypno-conditioning and other harsh procedures utilised by the Chapter's Blood Priests are designed to strip away any past loyalty, replacing it with the will and attitudes of the Blood Scorpions.

Combat Doctrine
"We are the hunters of the heretic, the apostate and the xenos. They think they are safe in their fell places of power. But we shall bring them wrath and retribution! There is no refuge from the likes of us...for under every stone is a scorpion!"

- Warden Enkil Zerkazion

The Blood Scorpions are known to eschew any form of combat that does not allow them to rapidly engage their enemies in close-combat, as quickly as possible. As a highly autonomous, almost berserk force, they prefer to announce their arrival in the form of an overwhelming lightning strike using orbital interface craft, almost to exclusion of other types of support units. Most Chapters supplement their forces with a variety of support units, each intended to fulfill a specific goal upon the field of battle. Not so the Blood Scorpions - whether by necessity or tactical preference - these Astartes deploy a variety of interface fighters, bombers and assault craft in support of their fast-moving infantry forces, shunning the slower-moving columns of heavy armour that typify other Chapters. These tactics were most likely honed to a keen edge on long since forgotten alien worlds in the outer darkness beyond the Imperium's borders. These tactics often prove a deadly surprise to those enemy forces they encounter on the field of battle.

Extant accounts record that the Blood Scorpions' ground assaults are preceded by a wave of interface fighters and gunships which are tasked with the elimination of anti-aircraft defences and key strongpoints. Following these craft are massed Drop Pod squadrons, packed with fast-moving infantry squads favoured by the Blood Scorpions. The Chapter's infantry formations rarely seek to hold ground, instead seeking to suppress and circumvent the enemy's main strength and defeat them piecemeal. The aim of such attacks is always to utterly annihilate the foe as quickly as possible, seize their munitions and weaponry, rather than simple slaughter, and quickly depart after achieving their primary objective. Once the Chapter's fury has been spent, the Blood Scorpions withdraw from the warzone as suddenly as they arrived. Due to their unorthodox tactics and their highly-independent nature, the Blood Scorpions are dubious allies at best and cannot be counted upon as a reliable force by their fellow Imperial allies.

Chapter Beliefs
Blood Scorpions Astartes have been observed to be brooding and oft-malign warriors, standing in stark contrast to the usual honourable and righteousness displayed by more Codex-oriented Chapters. Despite their continuous isolation from the wider Imperium, the Blood Scorpions are known to be incredibly loyal. Though they bear little respect for Imperial authority or even other fellow Adeptus Astartes Chapters, they display unquestioning and almost fanatical loyalty to the Emperor of Mankind. Those who would dare stand against the Imperium, no matter the reason, can only expect a brutal and bloody end at the hands of the Blood Scorpions' flensing blades.

Despite the ruthlessness and callousness displayed to their enemies, the Blood Scorpions have been observed to hold places of Imperial worship with reverence, and will often forgo an Imperial command's tactical objectives to protect such holy sites from the predations of Chaos Cults or Heretic Astartes. These Astartes have also been observed to carry devotional scrolls as well as Oaths of Moment attached to their battle-plate. Blood Scorpions also have a tendency to decorate their battle-plate with totemic iconography, whose exact origins remain unclear and whose meanings are hidden to all outsiders.

When not in battle, those Blood Scorpions who have been rarely observed without their battle-plate are said to bear ritualistic scars branded into their flesh. They are said to take great pride in their body art. This ancient primitivism likely evolved as part of the Chapter's unique and impenetrable culture over millennia of isolation, which they likely absorbed from some of the feral worlds that they are wont to recruit from. It is believed that the Blood Scorpions mark their body with various battle honours and kills markings as a means of boasting of their martial prowess. Every Blood Scorpions battle-brother knows and can recount the history of every one of his scars when pressed.

Notable Blood Scorpions

 * Sanguine Lord Abelard Mortanus - Abelard Mortanus was originally a Captain of the Blood Angels Chapter's 8th Assault Company. A bellicose and malevolent soul, Captain Mortanus was a stern taskmaster. The warriors of the 8th Company were the Chapter's bloodthirstiest warriors, who fought and died under Mortanus' merciless command. This oft-malign company had often been called to censure by the Chapter's Lord Commander for their zeal in pursuing enemy forces. When the High Lords of Terra ordered a new Founding in the 34th Millennium, the Blood Angels were selected to tithe some of their genetic stock in order to create a newfound Successor Chapter. No love was lost between Captain Mortanus and the Lord Commander, therefore, Mortanus and many of his 8th Company Assault veterans were chosen to stand up the newly-created Chapter, which became known as the Blood Scorpions. Mortanus became the Chapter's first Sanguine Lord (Chapter Master). Upon his ascension to his newly appointed position, Sanguine Lord Mortanus led his eponymous Chapter on a blood-soaked crusade to seek out and annihilate the foes of Mankind.
 * Sanguine Lord Azaziel Charon - Azaziel Charon was the fourth Sanguine Lord of the Blood Scorpions Chapter. One of his most notable actions occurred during the early 40th Millennium, when he led his Chapter in the retaking of the Shrine World of Galgron from the Orks of WAAAGH! Klawgutz. Nearly a century-and-a-half later, he would meet his demise at the hands of the vile Chaos Lord, Verrick Sorrowbringer of the Storm Draugar Renegade Warband during the Murgred Atrocities. Upon the world of Corvinus the two warriors met in personal combat, but in the end, Sanguine Lord Charon and the entirety of his Scorpion Guard were tragically slain.
 * Sanguine Lord Cerbarius Dysmas - Cerbarius Dysmas was the fifth Sanguine Lord of the Blood Scorpions Chapter. He was selected to take command of the Chapter following the death of the Chapter's former Sanguine Lord Charon, at the hands of Draugar Lord Sorrowbringer upon the world of Corvinus during the Murgred Atrocities. It would take a further six years of bloody fighting to drive out the Chaos Lord and the remainder of his company of Chaos Space Marines from the system.
 * Sanguine Lord Alucard Haemon - Alucard Haemon serves as the current Sanguine Lord of the fearsome and brutal Blood Scorpions Chapter. An insular and bloody-handed Astartes commander, his name has become a byword for slaughter and destruction carried out in the name of the God-Emperor. A brutal tactician, Sanguine Lord Alucard takes pleasure in the utter destruction of his foes. He has little time for civility or tedious strategic planning when forced to work with other Imperial forces when circumstance dictates. In battle, he is often found at the forefront charging into the enemy's battle lines, followed closely behind by his personal Honour Guard, the Terminator-armoured Scorpion Guard. To many within the Imperial military hierarchy, he has come to symbolise and personify the brutal Blood Scorpions Chapter itself, whose complex reputation both as defenders of the Imperium against the alien and the degenerate serves as a counterpoint to darker fame as feared executioners of internal dissenters and wayward Space Marine Chapters.
 * High Blood Priest Khayman - High Blood Priest of the Chapter's Blood Priesthood, and Keeper of the Blood Grail.
 * High Warden Enkil - Reclusiarch of the Chapter and the Master of Sanctity.
 * Chief Librarian Armandus - Chief Librarian of the Chapter's Librarius and Lord of Lightning.
 * Brother Akeldama - Known as the Black Scorpion, Brother Akeldama serves as the Sanguine Lord's Champion.
 * Brother Numan - Current Master of the Fleet.
 * Brother Duma - Current master of the Chapter's Logisticiam and Warden of the Kargatane.
 * Brother Vasilios - Current Master of the Forge and keeper of the Chapter's Armoury.
 * Captain Cyrus Kalibos - Current First Captain of the elite 1st Company, Kalibos also serves as The Sword of Sanguinius.
 * Captain Arthos Slavomir - Current Captain of the 2nd Company and Master of the Watch.
 * Captain Rowan Marin - Current Captain of the 3rd Company and Master of Woe.
 * Captain Anastas - Current Captain of the 4th Company and current Master of the Marches.
 * Captain Astorath - Current Captain of the 5th Company and current Lord of Relics.
 * Captain Raziel Serkos - Current Captain of the 6th Company and Master of Rites.
 * Captain Zephinos - Current Captain of the 7th Company.
 * Captain Khaynan - Current Captain of the 8th Company and Master of Blades.
 * Captain Cerberos - Current Captain of the 9th Company and Master of Sieges.
 * Captain Raef Melchios - Current Captain of the 10th Company and Master of Recruits.
 * Blood Priest Naum Sevastyan - Blood Priest of the Chapter's elite 1st Company.
 * Blood Priest Kuzma Vasili - Blood Priest of the Chapter's 2nd Company

Chapter Relics

 * The Blood Grail - The Blood Grail is said to be one of the ancient Blood Chalices presented long ago to the Blood Angels Sanguinary Priesthood by Sanguinius himself. Following the Blood Scorpions inception, the Blood Grail was presented to the Chapter's first Blood Priest as a boon to their newly created Successor Chapter, and to instill their Primarch's essence within their fellow Sons of the Angel. It is said that any Battle-Brother who drinks from the Blood Grail will find themselves with new found vitality, rapid regeneration and their fatigue will disappear from their bodies. This sacred relic is held within the Chapter's Reclusium aboard the Blood Scorpions' flagship, the Kargatane, in the custodianship High Blood Priest himself. It is only used during the Chapter's sacred blood rites.
 * The Sword of Castivarus - Lord Commander Castivarus was a past Chapter Master of the Blood Angels Chapter who is most remembered for leading the so-called Shield of Sanguinius (a combined force comprised of the Blood Angels, Astra Militarum and Knights of House Griffith) against a massive Ork WAAAGH! in the Redhaven System. His personal weapon was a mighty glaive, rumoured to be a Chapter relic that has been in service since before the Horus Hereys. The blade of this artificer-wrought, master-crafted power sword is rumoured to have been crafted from "agnelsteel," the same mysterious alloy that is utilised in the creation of the two-handed Glaives Encarmine wielded by the Blood Angels' Sanguinary Guard. This blade never scratches, warps or breaks, no matter what brutal violence it is subjected to. Its unique power field maintains a barely perceptible haze over the blade when dormant. When the blade bites flesh or armour, it flares with an incandescent scarlet glow like a newborn star, ripping through the foe with little more resistance than mist.
 * Scorpion Pendants - These ornaments are are representations of the Blood Scorpions' Chapter symbol and the blood of Sanguinius that runs through their collective veins. Some are literally filled with the Battle-Brother's own precious blood, while others are jewelled or crystalline representations. They are most often, but not always, worn around the neck.

Chapter Colours
The Blood Scorpions primarily wear dark red coloured battle plate. The shoulder guards, knee guard, greaves and sabatons are black in colour. The Imperial Aquila or Imperialis on the chest plate is also black in colour.

Heraldry of the Host
Like their progenitors, the Blood Scorpions adhere to a strict heraldic system, allowing them to recognise what company and squad any given battle-brother belongs to at a glance. The advantages of such swift recognition amid the madness of battle are obvious. More than this, however, the Scions of Sanguinius revere their heraldry, and bear these marking as badges of pride. A Blood Scorpions company's markings differ from those outlined by the Codex Astartes in utilising symbols on the right shoulder guard instead of different coloured trim and numbers. Only in special cases does the Chapter badge not appear on the left shoulder guard. The following is a list of how each Company represents itself:


 * 1st Company (Veteran) - A black coloured scorpion's tail with a single red blood drop, centred over a red background. On Terminator (Tactical Dreadnought) Armour, the left poleyn (knee guard) displays the First Company's specific heraldry. The right shoulder pauldron displays the Chapter badge.
 * 2nd Company (Battle) - A scorpion's tail and a single yellow blood drop.
 * 3rd Company (Battle) - A scorpion's tail and a single white blood drop.
 * 4th Company (Battle) - A scorpion's tail and a single single green blood drop.
 * 5th Company (Battle) - A scorpion's tail and a single red-outlined, black blood drop.
 * 6th Company (Reserve Tactical) - A scorpion's tail and twin yellow blood drops, side by side.
 * 7th Company (Reserve Tactical) - A scorpion's tail and twin white blood drops, side by side.
 * 8th Company (Reserve Assault) - A scorpion's tail and twin green blood drops, side by side.
 * 9th Company (Reserve Devastator) - A scorpion's tail and twin red-outlined, black blood drops, side by side.
 * 10th Company (Scout Marines) -The Blood Scorpions' Scout Company wears a white scorpions tail with no blood drop, on the right shoulder plate, and the Chapter badge on the left.

The Chapter Master (who is called the Sanguine Lord by the Blood Scorpions) has a personal bodyguard that wears the same coloured Terminator Armour as the Chapter's other veteran elite. Unlike other Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Blood Scorpions utilise the same squad markings as their Progenitors, which comprise a single symbol worn on the right knee plate of their power armour:


 * 1st Squad: A white skull on a black background
 * 2nd Squad: A white skull on a blue background
 * 3rd Squad: A red blood drop on a yellow background
 * 4th Squad: A red blood drop on a black background
 * 5th Squad: A white X on a black background
 * 6th Squad: A white X on a blue background
 * 7th Squad: A yellow lightning bolt on a black background
 * 8th Squad: A black lightning bolt on a yellow background
 * 9th Squad: A yellow angelic wing on a black background
 * 10th Squad: A black angelic wing on a yellow background

Chapter Badge
The Blood Scorpions Chapter Badge, known in High Gothic as the vitae scorpio, or "Blood Scorpion," is a white coloured, stylised scorpion. A ruby-red coloured blood drop falls from the stinger of the scorpion's tail. This icon is centred on a field of black.

Chapter Fleet

 * Kargatane (Maelstrom-class Galleass of War) - Flagship of the Blood Scorpions Chapter.
 * Sanguine Scorponox (Unknown Type)
 * Bibere Sanguinem (Battle Barge)
 * Hand of Sanguinius (Battle Barge)
 * Scorpionem Mortis  (Strike Cruiser)
 * Manticore (Strike Cruiser)
 * Bloody Claw (Strike Cruiser)
 * Scorpius Nox (Strike Cruiser)

Allies
Feel free to add your own

Flesh Tearers
The Blood Scorpions and the Flesh Tearers share a mutual respect for one another as warriors. Their bond was formed during a joint xenocidal campaign against the Dark Eldar upon an Imperial Hive World. Lured into a cunning trap, the outnumbered Flesh Tearers were prepared to sell their lives dearly, but the Blood Scorpions fought their way through the Dark Eldar's lines, and saved their fellow battle-brothers. Bolstered by the Blood Scorpions, the Flesh Tearers led the assault upon the Dark Eldar's Archon and took the foul xenos commander's head. Since that time, the two Chapters have shared a strong respect for one another and have often fought alongside each other in numerous campaigns.

Black Dragons
Like many Adeptus Astartes Chapters, the Blood Scorpions looked down upon the Black Dragons as somehow "impure" due to their noticeable mutations. Though not as puritanical in their views of the Black Dragons as the Dark Angels or Marines Malevolent, the Blood Scorpions' tolerance, was nevertheless, often times strained when the two Chapters were forced to fight alongside the other. This changed however, following the actions of the Black Dragons during the Helan Campaign, who matched the savagery and brutality of their cousin Chapter against the Forces of Chaos. The Blood Scorpions set aside their differences and the two Chapters are now sworn allies that will fight alongside the other when called.

Space Wolves
The Blood Scorpions and the Space Wolves share a mutual respect for one another as warriors, but most especially, for their deep abiding hatred for the hypocritical Inquisition.

Deathwatch
Because of their intolerance of xenos, the Blood Scorpions enthusiastically send some of their most experienced and capable members for service in the Deathwatch. This service is considered a distinctive honour and privilege by the Chapter's Battle-Brothers. In this way, the Blood Scorpions can glean information about xenos that are not part of their Chapter's direct experience, just as the Deathwatch can discover ways of dealing with additional xenosforms. This consistent involvement with the Deathwatch has granted the Chapter unusually close ties to the organisation.

Enemies
Feel free to add your own

Orks
The Blood Scorpions have a pathological hatred for Orks. Reviling all greenskins with a passion, they see them as nothing more than mindless brutes that care about nothing but war and spreading chaos. To the Blood Scorpions, the Orks are a blight that must be exterminated by any means necessary.

Tyranids
They Blood Scorpions are also known to passionately hate Tryanids, due to the events that occurred during the Defence of Ultramar when Hive Fleet Behemoth reduced the Blood Scorpions numbers to only 600 Astartes. Since that time, the Blood Scorpions want nothing more than to avenge themselves against the Tyranids for the lives of their fallen battle-brothers.

Night Lords
The Blood Scorpions reserve a special hatred for the Night Lords Traitor Legion, viewing them as traitorous scum who possess no honour, and as base cowards who do not possess the testicular fortitude to face the Blood Scorpions in personal combat.

Storm Draugar
The Storm Draugar have been foes of the Blood Scorpions since the dark days of the Kreigsvast Campaign, in which the Warband struck en masse upon the Dufold Sector. The Blood Scorpions stood against their murderous hordes practically unsupported, for the traitors had all but annihilated the Imperial Navy and Astra Militarum forces that dared to defy them. The Storm Draugar seemed to maraud with all but total impunity until the Battle of Murgred, in which the full force of the Blood Scorpions Chapter met them in battle upon the dusty surface of that world. Though outnumbering the traitors by half, Storm Draugar cultist and mercenary forces more than made up for their handicap, as did their blasphemous wargear and horrific daemonic blessings.

The fighting was ferocious, with the entirety of the Chapter's forces deployed upon the deserts and burned-out cities, fighting with their trademark tenacity and fury. But, much to their surprise, the Blood Scorpions found their fury all but matched by the Storm Draugar's sheer brutality. The savagery of the Storms was as unpredictable as it was terrifying, and the Blood Scorpions soon found themselves deadlocked, trading casualties with the enemy almost to a man. Many wretched tales of the sands of Murgred turning slick and red, with so many deaths that eventually the evaporated blood turned to crimson rain in the great deluges that occasionally drenched the deserts. Entire squads of Astartes, both Traitor and Loyalist, laying side by side, having butchered one another to a man.

While the Draugar reveled in such a glorious conflict, the Blood Scorpions could only let their rage boil over, the senseless deaths of so many Battle-Brothers kindling their righteous fury to levels yet unseen. In one final push across the deserts, the Blood Scorpions eventually forced the Traitors from the planet, and with the support of a reinforcing Imperial Navy Battlefleet and additional Astram Militarum regiments, they drove the Storm Draugar from the sector. To this day the Blood Scorpions hold to the bitterest vows of vengeance, swearing that should the Storm Draugar ever vanish from this universe, that it shall be at the end of their chainswords.

Notable Quotes
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By the Blood Scorpions
"I am....the slayer of all...here stands the hunter...the taker of blood...I shall cleanse my foes in a tidal wave of blood! For I am death incarnate!"

- Sanguine Lord Azaziel Charon whilst fighting, during the brutal campaign known as The War for Calgron, ca. 344.M40

Feel free to add your own

About the Blood Scorpions
"Our Blood Scorpion brethren are, without a doubt, everything that we are not. They are rash - we are patient, they are a sledgehammer - we are a poisoned needle, they are butchers and battlefield champions - we are hunters and blades in the shadows. We shall never see eye-to-eye, and perhaps dear brother, that is for the best."

- Lord of Knives to unknown Battle-brother of the Obsidian Blades

"The Blood Scorpions are alright I suppose, but they're a few teeth short of their chainsword, if you know what I mean, and they do get REALLY angry when you mention their dead Primarch Sangu...is...is that a giant scorpion?"

- 5th Captain, Skull Hunters Chapter

"Ahhh! Look at them brothers! They are not so impressive now are they? All that remains is to scrape them from our boots like the insects they are!"

- Verrick Sorrowbringer, Draugar Lord of the infamous 12th Storm of the Storm Draugar Chaos Warband, during the Murgred Atrocities, in which several squads of Blood Scorpions sold their lives most dearly

"The Blood Scorpions...they are a noble Chapter of space marines that hunt down the xenos and crush them...are we sure they are not related to us? Their fascination with scorpions seems all too familiar."

- Rehael Dragonhammer of the Crimson Scorpions talking to the Chapter Master of the Royal Scorpions

"The Blood Scorpions can't be related to us. They most likely just take up the scorpion's name for a reason not known to us. I bet they don't even have a scorpion."

- Felicius Salla of the Royal Scorpions talking to the Machine Father of the Crimson Scorpions

"Perhaps their greatest strength is not their fury, but the swiftness of its application. When a calm sky turns to churning black without warning, lightning becomes fatal."

- Unnamed Chief Librarian of the Ghost Raiders