Bloodmoon Hunters

The Bloodmoon Hunters are a stalwart and dedicated non-codex compliant Loyalist Space Marine Chapter created during the 13th Founding, the so-called 'Dark Founding'. Little is known of this mysterious founding as there are no reliable records that indicate how many Chapters were conceived during this Founding or what became of them. Extant records indicate that the Bloodmoon Hunters were supposedly created during this Founding around the time a recorded prophecy foretold their inception. It is generally believed that the Adeptus Mechanicus might have played a role in the creation of this Chapter, as their inception occurred sometime in early M35, during the divisive and widespread doctrinal conflict known as the Moirae Schism. The Bloodmoon Hunters were known to maintain close ties with the Archmagos of the Cult Mechanicus as well, receiving a wide diversity of arms and weaponry, including power blades and relic weaponry of the finest quality and rare, advanced patterns of armoured vehicles and gunships.

Chapter History
Founded in the 35th millennium as part of the mysterious 13th Founding, the Bloodmoon Hunters were created around a time a prophecy was recorded. "Under the Blood Moon of Harvests, Hunters of the immaterial will find not what they seek but the answer to the question unasked." During the Moirae Schism, the Bloodmoon Hunters were formed with close association to the Cult Mechanicus. The Chapter was given three missions for it's priorities. The first was to guard the warp corridor known as the Sanguis Portus. This was the only stable set of warp routes out to the Fringes of the Ishtar Subsector. This mandate would be the binding chain that kept them beyond the edge of most known centers of power. The second was to support the Fleets being sent into the far reaches of the Fringes. And Lastly the Bloodmoon Hunters were to guard the Ishtar Subsector as a whole.

The Great Rift Opens and the Noctis Aeterna cuts off the systems of the Ishtar Sub-sector from each other and the wide galaxy. As darkness descends across the Sub-sector a variety of threats threaten to see it burn in the fires of war. Corruption and Heresy surges within the ranks of the local Ecclesiarchy and Mechanicus. Necrons emerge on Incendius Lux, Delta Lux, and Crucia. The Frontier Worlds erupt into chaos as House Fásacha, the Lunar Venatorii, and Tarakoni Warden struggle to repel a tide of Drukhari, Ork Freebooter, Chaos, and Harlequin raiders. Orks from the nearby Charadon Empire emerge near the Contrador system sparking continuous naval battles. The Penal World of Contrition erupts in revolt, and Khornate cults emerge wherever Penal Regiments are stationed. Finally, the Bloodmoon chapter sees the Great Rift as the herald of the fulfillment of the Prophecy of Blood, and fervently seek to identify and defeat signs of the prophecy.

The Primaris Marines of Crawl have yet to make it as far as the Ishtar Fringe Corridor known as Sanguis Portus but rumor has it a squad of Hellbasters in Bloodmoon Hunters colors have made themselves known among the Unnumbered Sons and are on their way to join their brethren on the Eastern Fringe. As it stands The Comhairle of Fiach has yet to make judgement on the rumors nor on Primaris Marines in general. Like all on the front, they wait for proof of the abilities to survive the ends of the Imperium.

Chapter Homeworld
On the former Icy Hive World, now turned Volcanic Death World of Aigéad Fuil, a single settlement, protected by void shields exists on this world, has a burgeoning society of techno-barbaric gangs. They are allowed to commit their gang warfare in the trade city as long as they don't attack off-worlders and give a tithe to the Astartes overlords. The Techno-Barbarians use armored vehicles, and scavenge from failed recon teams and aircraft from the wastelands due to the acidic atmosphere. But the risks of these expeditions and the rapidly degrading hulls of the vehicles cause inter-gang warfare, as gangs fight for loot and intact hulls for their own craft.The hardened youth, with an experience of armored warfare and technological expertise are perfect candidates for the Astartes. The ancient hives that eked out a harsh living on the acid-rain soaked planet of Aigéad Fuil was brought into the Imperial Fold, and would be gifted to the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter for overseeing the warp routes further into the Ishtar Fringes that would become known as the Sanguis Portus, or the "Blood Gate". Few others make life out of heavily processed ancient lower hives of hives whose void shields has failed over time.

Fortress-Monastery
The Fortress-Monastery of the Bloodmoon Hunters is actually split in two. On the surface of Aigéad Fuil under heavy void shields is the Citadel known as Folsom's Keep. At Folsom's Keep Aspirants are gathered once they have made it through the trials for their initial training and indoctrination. Floating in orbit above is Lebenmali Forge, a grand Star Fort designed specifically for the Bloodmoon Hunters and their mission to watch over the Warp Corridors of Sanguis Portus.

Notable Campaigns

 * Founding on Death Hunt (Redacted.M35) - Sometime after their founding the Bloodmoon Hunters rediscovered Aigéad Fuil, this former Hive World had connections to the distant past as a Death Guard Legion Outpost that had been Exterminatus and then lost. The new compliance of the Aigéad Fuil was thought to be an heavy fight as it saw the destruction of the Bloodmoon Hunters Command and Veteran Marines. Out of the conflict Artificer Folsom rose to the rank of Hunt Master and reorganized the Chapter. His leadership in ending the conflict and use of hunter tactics in the tunnels of Aigéad Fuil deeply influenced the Chapter.


 * Wars of Apostasy (Unknown.M36) - The Bloodmoon Hunters added their bother chapters by committing to a sequence of battles and wars to draw the insane High Lord Goge Vandire's forces focus to more targets thinning the amount of resources he had available.


 * Plague of Unbelief (Unknown.M36) - Bloodmoon Hunters sent out several hunting parties tracking down and eliminating the many false prophets that appeared throughout the anarchic Age of Apostasy, some little more than madmen leading rebel armies, others spiritual demagogues who commanded worlds and armies.


 * Lost Crusade (Unknown.M37) - Bloodmoon Hunter parties sent out to numerous worlds to track down and eliminate hostile elements of the menial uprisings.


 * 9th Black Crusade Splinter (574.M38) - Bloodmoon Hunters engage in a decades long hunt against various elements of far reaching fleets from the Eye of Terror.


 * Investigation of Midian (407.M39) - Bloodmoon Hunters are dispatched by their Chapter command to investigate what happened on Midian with the possible connection to the Prophecy of Blood. The thousand-year war on Midian finally ends with the Pax Veritas. Under the night's red moon, an invisible blade decapitates every celebrating soldier.


 * Blue Hand Heresy (824.M39-828.M39) - The Infiltration of Hive Sawa was an action carried out by the Blood Moon Hunters Space Marine Chapter during the events of the Blue Hand Heresy in M39. Hive Sawa was, at the time, the Capital of the World of Levan Prime in the Levan System, Levan Sub-Sector of the Mandavi Sector of Segmentum Ultima. This Hunt was lead by at the time Veteran Sergeant Scáth Hiachóir and his Hunting Party


 * Waagh on the Frontier (019.M41) - Far eastern rim of the Galaxy assaulted by an Ork Waaagh! Bloodmoon Hunters dispatched in Parties to take down various Ork Warbosses to stem the tide of the Ork Waaagh on the frontier worlds near Ishtar Subsector.


 * Damocles Crusade (742-745.M41) - Bloodmoon Hunters tie up Tau Forces in the northern reaches of their fledgling empire to enable the major assaults of the crusade.


 * Farsight Enclaves Encroach (760.M41) - Bloodmoon Hunters deal with the consequences of a second Tau faction present near the Ishtar Subsector.


 * Second Tyrannic War (988-993.M41) -


 * Bloodhand near a Bloodmoon (992.M41) - Roghrax Bloodhand swears to Khorne that he will take a skull from every warrior species in the galaxy. He directs his fleet to the Eastern Fringe so he can take skulls from the encroaching Tyranid forces. Portions of his fleet run into Bloodmoon Hunter parties.


 * Tau Third Phase Expansion (977.997.M41) - The Tau Empire resumes the Third Phase Expansion under Commander Shadowsun. They capture several worlds on the Eastern Fringe. Conflicts rage over several Frontier Worlds with Bloodmoon Hunter parties


 * Zeist Campaign (999.M41) -


 * Signs of Blood (000.M42) - As the Ishtar Sub-sector is paralyzed from the Cicatrix Maledictum, Khornate chaos cults sprout across the Sub-sector, their bloody and violent rituals spread fear across Ishtar, from the slums of Hive Worlds to the isolated farms of Frontier Worlds. Some say this is just a response to the vast amount of conflict waging and the influence of the Great Rift, however, the Bloodmoon Hunters chapter sees as a sign that the Prophecy of Blood is finally being fulfilled. They swiftly act to search out these cults, both to destroy their influence and to uncover clues as to the prophecy.


 * War of Purity (030.M42) - Lord Inquisitor Vasco leads an Ordo Maellus task force alongside the Bloodmoon Hunters in investigating and exterminating the Khornate Cults across the Ishtar Sub-sector, in addition, a coalition of Imperial forces are deployed to aid Inquisitor Garret Randall in bringing Cogger back into compliance, and after years of grueling warfare order is restored to every hive but the capital Hive Cogger itself.


 * Devouring of Contrition (058.M42) - As a tendril of Hive Fleet Kronos snakes into the Sub-Sector, the World of Contrition erupts into full-blown rebellion as the nature of its Genestealer corruption is revealed. Inquisitors Karen Mareev and Caleb Cristo leads a force of Adepta Sorotitas, Astartes, the Deathwatch, and the Imperial Navy to save the Damuterr system. Although they manage to succeed in destroying the tendril of Kronos, due to the extent of the corruption Contrition is subjected to Exterminatus...it is also believed that many elements of the various Genestealer Cults had managed to spread over the Sub-Sector over past centuries. Inquisitors Caleb Cristo and Karen Mareev begin to track down rumored Genestealer corruption across the Sub-Sector, and several Genestealers are captured by the Forge World of Mjorn and are taken deep within Droch Fhiul for study.


 * Opening of the Blood Gate (081.M42) - Elements of the Mechanicus forces aboard Droch Fhiul are corrupted by Genestealers and Khornate influence. These Hereteks then manage to use the inactive webway gate and arcane rituals and to open a warp rift aboard Droch Fhiul. Inquisitor Adam Clarke who had previously infiltrated Droch Fhiul desperately attempts to hunt down the Hereteks and close the Warp Rift, while a force from the Bloodmoon Hunters chapter boards the station eager to hunt for clues as to the prophecy. Lord Inquisitor Vasco leads an inquisitorial strike force alongside Inquisitor Karen Mareev, Caleb Cristo, and detachment of Grey Knights to attempt to end the Demonic threat, as the same time a force form the Masque of the Frozen Stars appears with their own agendas. Although the Inquisitorial forces and Bloodmoon Hunters suffer massive casualties, including Lord Inquisitor Vasco himself, from both Khornate Daemons and Harlequins in a three-way bloodbath the Daemons are successfully slain and Inquisitor Adam Clarke along with the sacrifice of Astropath Stillwater manage to slay the Hereteks and close the rift. As the last Daemon dissipates the Harlequins disappear in a miasma of shadow and cackling laughter. Inquisitor Mareev rises to the rank of Lord Inquisitor, and command of the Contrador Conclave, in the aftermath and subjects Droch Fhiul to exterminatus, and a large scale investigation and purge is conducted across Mjorn. Inquisitor Adam Clarke plays a major role in these investigations, finding substantial vaults of Xenos tech, although secretly he manages to smuggle out several choice artifacts including recovered fragments of the Droch Fhiul Webway gate. The Bloodmoon Hunters, furious, declare a crusade against the Masque of Frozen Stars and hunts them across the Sub-sector, convinced they hold vital information to the prophecy.

Chapter Organisation
The Bloodmoon Hunters are a non-codex compliant chapter that has been chronically under-strength. To Augment their numbers, the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter Techmarines began to augment line combat operations. Facilitating this was bring auxiliaries in the form of Chrono-Gladiators and Tech-Thralls under the control of the Artificers armed with Advanced Heavy Weaponry. Further they bring into the field Heavy Battle Servitors with advanced augmentics. The Chapter is made up of five over-sized companies that have been decimated from attrition, each comprised of squads and marines from the different schools. The chapter never fights as one, or even as whole companies. Instead officers from the companies lead small handpicked hunting parties, comprised of a few squads. Due to their independent natures each Company has their own Armory and Motor pool, their own Veteran formations, and handles their own recruiting.

Officer Ranks
Masters of the Hunt that lead Hunting Parties in pursuit of Prey


 * Hunt Master - Chapter Master


 * Master - Captain Equivalent
 * Seeker of Prey - In charge of being alert for threats and identifying threats for hunts
 * Blood Warden - Steward for Chapter holdings and making sure they are protected and running smoothly
 * Keeper of the Prophecy - In charge with understanding and knowing the Prophecy and leading efforts to further understanding its message and preventing it from being fulfilled
 * Master of the Void - In charge of chapter fleet assets and is in charge of making sure the chapter is secure and victorious in the void and making sure void ships are running smoothly and properly stocked


 * Forge Lord - Artificer Captains who are second in command of companies and the Master of the Forge's will for the company's armory


 * Lieutenant


 * Veteran - Experienced Hunters that have mastered the myriad ways of the hunt, keen eyed and steely of nerves

Specialist Ranks

 * Master of the Forge - Keeper of Sanctity and traditional Master of the Forge both.


 * Artificer - Hybrids of Tech-Marines and Chaplains, overseeing technology and taking part of the hunt, using their technological prowess to aid in the hunt and to guide their brothers in obtaining any valuable tech in the hunt, while also ensuring the sacred tenets of the chapter and the hunt are adhered to.

Line Ranks

 * Sergeant


 * Journeyman
 * Lupine School Hunters - Pack hunters adept at harassing and slaying targets.
 * Raptor School Hunters - Relentless hunters that never cease pursuing their prey, hounding them until they collapse from exhaustion
 * Arachnid School Hunters - Patient hunters that await in carefully prepared ambush sites to slay any who fall under their gaze
 * Vanguard Hunters - Stealthy hunters adept at infiltrating the lairs of their prey, using any tactic to bring their enemy to their knees


 * Apprentice - (Scouts) Marines in training that scope out prey prepare the battlefield with traps, marking ambush and pursuit trails


 * Aspirant

Specialist Formations

 * The Comhairle of Fiach - The Comhairle of Fiach is where the higher authority of the Chapter unites to lead the Chapter.


 * Onóir Garda - The Onóir Garda comprised of the Chapter's most elite Veteran Marines that serve the Comhairle.

Non-Astartes Personnel

 * Chrono-Gladiators - Criminals tithed to the Bloodmoon Hunters and given death sentences. Given Chemical and Cybernetic enhancements and are implanted with explosives as well as a control vox. Expendable troops lead by Artificers of the Fachlich Tech Company to bolster Bloodmoon Hunter Lines and to provided canon fodder for traps and lures.


 * Adsecularis - Criminals tithed to Bloodmoon Hunters to be converted into servitors. Given Cybernetic enhancements and preparation for eventual life as a servitor. Expendable troops lead by Artificers of the Fachlich Tech Company to Bloodmoon Hunter Lines and to provide canon fodder for traps and lures.

Order of Battle
{| align="center" border="1" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0" 1st Command Company Masters of the Hunt Comprised of the Chapters Veteran formations and Command Assets, under the command of the Hunt Master they will offer support on the greatest and most lethal of hunts Hunt Master Shasmu Khonsu, Regent of Aigéad Fuil Chapter Champion 27 Onóir Garda Command Squad 65 Veterans Logisticiam: Chapter Equerries, Serfs, and Servitors Master of the Forge Forge Lord 10 Artificers Heavy Battle Servitors Non-Combat Servitors Chrono-Gladiators Adsecularis Cyber-Menagerie Centurion War-Suits Terminator War-Suits Battle Tanks Land Raider Heavy Tanks Land Speeder Scout Vehicles Storm Ravens Stormtalon Gunships Nighthawk Pattern Storm Eagles Bikes and Assault Bikes Venerable Dreadnoughts Thunderfire Cannons Chief Apothecary 3 Apothecaries Medicae Serfs Chief Librarian Codicier Lexicanium Acolyte
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 * style="background:#302b1d; color: white" colspan=1 align=center|Armoury & Reclusiam
 * style="background:#302b1d; color: white" colspan=1 align=center|Apothecarion
 * style="background:#302b1d; color: white" colspan=1 align=center|Librarius
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Chapter Recruitment
The gangs of Aigéad Fuil are monitored for their potential. When a likely candidates, for the Astartes of the Bloodmoon Hunters, are observed they are told that the representatives of the God-Emperor would like an audience and to bring an offering of a hide from one of the great beasts of the wastelands. Once the potential hunter has found a suitable offering and was able to defeat it, the aspirant must traverse to the opposite side of the planet in the ravine and cave system that is the entrance of Folsom Keep. To accomplish this they must pass the trials of the Hunters and face the various beasts that hunt the hunters. Once the aspirant has proven capable and clever enough to make it to the entrance their final task is to hunt a Master while under the influence of a special cocktail of drugs meant to test the mind of the aspirants. Those able to find and capture a Master under these conditions are then inducted into the Chapter.

Chapter Beliefs
As a Chapter the Bloodmoon Hunters have been brought to the brink of extinction several times, but yet have managed to endure with strength when other Chapters would have been destroyed. They have a remarkably grim determination to survive, and one of the Bloodmoon Hunters' hallmarks is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and respond swiftly to the fortunes (or misfortunes) of war. This has tempered their character with a general disregard and suspicion of the mere trappings of honor and glory, favoring results by any means necessary. When faced with insurmountable odds, the Bloodmoon Hunters will change their tactics and withdraw to fight again where more prideful Chapters would perhaps chose to stand and die. The Bloodmoon Hunters value the art of concealment, and utilize secrecy and surprise as paramount weapons in their arsenal. As a result they have always cultivated in themselves an ability to see clearly through the fog of war and strike at the hidden heart of the enemy, where they can inflict the most damage and achieve their objectives, undistracted by hubris or hidebound dogma. In order to attain such a goal, the Chapter's Battle-Brothers are trained in a variety of ways that are remarkably inconsistent with most other Space Marine Chapters.

Throughout the Chapter, blind obedience is strongly discouraged. All of these Space Marines are expected to act upon their own initiative at the appropriate times. However, such actions must fit within the context of the larger battle scheme. Battle-Brothers consider unorthodox tactics during their preparation for any conflict. These include unusual deployment maneuvers and infiltration. Most times, they have go so far as to assemble ad hoc units specifically appropriate for resolving a particular tactical problem known as a Hunting Party.

All Bloodmoon Hunters brethren are bionically enhanced in some way, for even the most recently initiated Battle-Brother has had his left hand replaced with the iron-sheathed cybernetic gauntlet that marks his acceptance into the ranks of the Chapter. Within a few years of their initiation, most Battle-Brothers sport a burgeoning array of cybernetic augmentations, many of which stay hidden under their Power Armour. In many instances, these enhancements bolster the Battle-Brother's combat effectiveness in some manner, influencing the tactics he utilizes on the battlefield. At the very least, replacing organic flesh with steel and ceramics increases the body's resistance to physical trauma. Individual Bloodmoon Hunters brethren utilize a wide range of bionics that afford them capabilities beyond that of even the already superhuman Space Marines, including highly esoteric Augur receivers bonded directly to the nervous system, inbuilt weaponry, and even, in some cases, additional limbs granting the Battle-Brother the ability to carry especially cumbersome weaponry.

The exact nature of the enhancements and Bloodmoon Hunters Battle-Brother undergoes is unique to himself, a lifelong program coordinated according to the arcane counsel of the Artificers. Even within the ranks of a single squad of Battle-Brothers initiated at around the same time, there is little cohesiveness. On very few recorded occasions, Battle-Brothers with a complementary range of enhancements have been grouped together into a single squad, or else squad-mates have undertaken to coordinate their surgeries. Such squads rarely adhere to any particular pattern or standard doctrine and their composition may never be repeated again. For Augmentation Bloodmoon Hunters generally prefer to get bonded to Cyber Hawks and Hounds using them extensively.

Bloodmoon Hunters believe out on the fringe like they have been assigned, they should make use of any advantage they can. Imperial Support is limited by what the sector can provide generally. Bloodmoon Hunters in this vein hunt out any scrap of knowledge or tool that could give them an edge on the enemies of the Imperium.

All Bloodmoon Hunters who attain command has served time in all three schools and then served with Artificers. Hunt Masters are elected by The Comhairle of Fiach which is Hunt Master, the four Masters, the Master of the Forge, the Chief Apothecary, and Chief Librarian. Forge Lords at need can stand in as proxies for the Master of their Company. The three schools of Hunting make up the philosophies in which Apprentices and Journeymen learn how to hunt the foes of the Imperium. As Journeyman's skills increase he may either specialize in a school or learn from the other schools making his way up the chain of command.

In character with their basic aloofness and desire for autonomy, the Battle-Brothers of the Bloodmoon Hunters have an uncommon streak of individualism and self-reliance, for each one is born a survivor, a killer from the shadows, and the inheritor of a warrior lineage that descends from one of the Aigéad Fuil's savage death world gangs. Their aloof and autonomous ways are at odds with most other chapters. This has lead to conflicts and rivalries when they are forced into close support of another chapter. With most other Imperial organizations they would take charge of themselves and their brothers, but with other chapters they chafe under what they consider inferior tactics. Only their own veterans can hope to manage the stubborn nature of these warriors.

Combat Doctrine
When the Bloodmoon Hunters march into battle, they do so alongside a profusion of war machines and main battle tanks. The Chapter boasts a great number of armored vehicles and Dreadnoughts -- so many, in fact, that each Company maintains its own revered armory of battle tanks and Centurion warsuits. Bloodmoon Hunters Battle-Brothers consider it a great honor to crew one of their Chapter's venerated war machines and interface directly with their vehicles through bionic implants, their heartbeat becoming the thrum of powerful engines and their war cries the roar of heavy gunfire.

The Chapter shows a high-degree of adaptability in battle, both in terms of tactics and the weapons its Astartes employ. When an enemy counters one tactic used by the Bloodmoon Hunters, the Chapter plans accordingly, adapts, and changes strategy, enabling it to outmaneuver its enemies and catch them completely off-guard. Flexibility and willingness to adapt to their situation represents the core of the Bloodmoon Hunters' combat doctrine. As they prepare to engage their opponents, these Space Marines are always careful to identify all of their assets and utilize them to the fullest means possible. These often include assets that are not identified within the constraints of the Codex Astartes. Even when operating well within the strictures of that tome, these Battle-Brothers may choose to take measures that others might consider dishonorable.

Vanguard Hunters and Apprentices recon the enemy, the Apprentices identify ambush zones and lay traps while the Vanguard Hunters utilize devious tactics to weaken the enemy. Those of the Lupine School would harry and draw in the enemy into ambush zones where those of the Arachnid School and Artificers deploy heavy fire power. Then Raptor School Journeymen deploy and assault the enemy forcing them to flee where the hunting party then gives chase until all are slaughtered and the objective reached

Those of the Lupine school are usually deployed in Tactical Marine patterns. At a tactical level, the Lupine School Journeymen favor freedom of maneuver and portability of firepower, and their battle tactics showed particular tendencies towards specialized reconnaissance and infiltration units in opening combat operations, to be quickly followed by the rapid deployment of fast armor, close air support and mechanized infantry units as a main strike force. In keeping with their willingness to make use of every available resource, the Lupine School Journeymen often takes direct charge of any Imperial Guard units available in a given theater. Rather than deferring to the organisation's intrinsic leadership, these Space Marines deploy their members among the merely human forces and then take a direct hand in their disposition and tactics.

The Lupine School Journeymen are exceptionally well-equipped with Assault Bikes, Land Speeders, and Jump Packs. Whenever possible, these Space Marines favor the use of guerrilla tactics and ambushes to deplete enemy forces prior to a more traditional engagement. Millennia of refining their techniques has enhanced their abilities to the point that these Battle-Brothers are often able to decimate enemy forces through precision surgical strikes, minimizing the enemy forces present in future conflicts.

Vanguard Hunters are the Reconnaissance and Infiltration Specialists from any of the Schools. The Vanguard Hunters has been known to employ devious tactics such as flanking maneuvers, tunneling to bypass enemy defenses, diversionary tactics, air drops and teleportation behind enemy lines, infiltration, disabling enemy transport vehicles and routes, sabotage of essential supplies, ammunition, food, and fuel depots, as well as atmospheric and ecological tampering, triggering seismic and tectonic activity.

Many Space Marine Chapters exhibit a clear disdain for the use of concealment, secrecy, espionage, and counter-intelligence. The Vanguard know, however, that it provides a limited number of countermeasures to overcome those who would use such deception against members of the Adeptus Astartes. However, the Vanguard Journeymen enthusiastically and consistently applies these techniques throughout its battles. Deceiving their opponents as to the timing, nature, and objectives of an attack can often grant the Space Marines a significant tactical advantage. Similarly, by expertly scouting a region prior to launching an attack, the Vanguard are often able to insert their forces without their opponents realizing the number or nature of the opposing forces.

Arachnid School Journeymen are generally deployed as Devastator Marine patterns. The Arachnid School Journeymen and Artificers are expert sappers, engineers and miners and have acquired a formidable siege train of specialist equipment over the centuries. The Bloodmoon Hunters place a great deal of importance on heavy weaponry of all kinds, for they value the tools of destruction. The use of toxic gas, burning Phosphor and contaminated rad-shells does not rankle their Chapter's honor. Bloodmoon Hunter Astartes have a inherent resilience to toxins and poisons which enable them to be deployed to warzones afflicted by the most hellish and lethal conditions, be they atomic, biological or chemical in nature.

Where possible, field fortifications will be used. Arachnid Journeymen doctrine includes extensive use of fortifications to occupy the maximum number of opponents while using the absolute minimum number of troops. This in turn keeps the bulk of the Bloodmoon Hunter Marines fresh and available for assaults, and allows them to achieve superiority elsewhere.

Those of the Raptor School are generally deployed in Assault Marine Patterns. Those of the Raptor school are the Hunters that bring the toughest foes to bay. If an opponent has survived through the gauntlet of ambush and harassment of the Lupine and Arachnid Schools, then the Raptor School would hound the foes until exhaustion and death. These are the pursuit and retrieval specialists of the Bloodmoon Hunters.

The Artificers provide the additional manpower by following the teachings of the Cult Mechanicus in using Heavy Battle Servitors, and a selection of Chemically and Cybernetically modified criminals as Chrono-gladiators and Adsecularis with implanted explosives and vox into combat as expendable troops.

Their tactics and attitude to them are a double edged sword. Close Coordination is hard for the Bloodmoon Hunters outside their own squads and handpicked parties. Only the command and veterans are flexible enough to keep the various schools of hunting working together. Otherwise when a members of a school dominate a Hunting Party it will end as their tactics being the most often used. Further if communications between the various groups breaks down it could lead to some of them interfering with each others' plans. Loose coordination and use of individual talents are where they excel.

Chapter Gene-Seed
Bloodmoon Hunters' know not from which Primarch their Geneseed descends from. The knowledge of their progenitor died when the veterans of the chapter were killed along with a large portion of their chapter in transit to the Eastern Fringe. When they finally founded their stronghold near the Forge World of Lux, they were a much weakened Chapter. The Bloodmoon Hunters' greatest mystery concerns their history and the prophecy that was uttered at their formation. A large part of the Chapter's ongoing quest into knowledge, recovering lost information, and in figuring out the prophecy of Blood.

Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed condition produces warriors with finely sculpted physiques, and finely-controlled thought processes, with psychological tendencies driven towards personal achievement and competition to prove individual superiority. Like many Chapters, the Bloodmoon Hunters also suffer from certain genetic deficiencies. The Bloodmoon Hunters' demeanor heavily reflects their combat doctrine. Generally reserved, Bloodmoon Hunters stay in the shadows until the right time to speak. When they do pitch in they tend to be very recalcitrant and terse, often condemning the more direct tactics of their fellow Chapters. Bloodmoon Hunters' gene-seed produced a marked tendency towards suspicion and paranoia within the Astartes of the Chapter but also was known to create Space Marines who were extremely intelligent and possessed naturally well-developed problem-solving abilities.

Many Chapters indulge in trophy taking, but the Bloodmoon Hunters have in the past gone out of their way to capture, master and utilize weapons taken. Their superior mental acuity is achieved through their sheer drive, determination and arduous training. This is because one of the unusual traits of Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes, which may derive from an unforeseen mutation within their gene-seed, is that every Hunter possesses a near-genius ability to observe, memorize and adapt to any situation. This is what makes each a Hunter of unparalleled ability, for even the smallest signs can be tracked.

The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter is highly unusual among its fellow Space Marines and its modus operandi is quite different from that of the bulk of the Adeptus Astartes. The Bloodmoon Hunters do not fight as a single force or even usually as full companies but instead second squads drawn from the Chapter's companies and make use of bonded cybernetic enhanced humans and creatures. The Bloodmoon Hunters seem to bear little respect for anyone or anything, save the Emperor of Mankind and the Fabricator Generals of the Mechanicus, for whom they have displayed fanatic and unquestioning loyalty. They tend to show no love for civility or deference when dealing with individual Imperial commanders and other Space Marine Chapters, but they have been known to show pleasure in testing their skills against worthy foes.

Primarch's Curse: Search of the Perfect Hunt
The quest for perfection in the Hunt consumes the Bloodmoon Hunters in body as well as spirit. For some it was not enough to achieve the accolade of a perfect Hunt, they thirsted to embody that perfection. For these warriors it was not enough that the Emperor had crafted their flesh, and shaped each with insight and knowledge no other could rival; their granted transhuman state was simply the beginning of an unfinished path.

Level 1 (Improvement over Flesh) - The Battle-Brother perceives his own flesh as a hindrance. Feels that to become better one must improve upon themselves with the use of Bionics. Some beneath a shell of apparent superhuman normality concealed augmented senses, modified musculature, even surgical alterations to their brain structure. Level 2 (Obsession of the Thrill) - The Battle-Brother no longer feels like improving their body is enough, it's the Hunt is lacking. Now the Battle-Brother will set up even more extreme challenges to increase the thrill. These warriors cannot wait to prove themselves through success in their quests to seek out and slay dangerous or potent enemies and survive. Level 3 (Everything is Prey) - No one and nothing is enough for that perfect hunt. Seeking greater challenges will push others away and create rivalries to get the most out of each engagement. Refuses to trust allies and feels that only their closest brothers can aid. The only warriors outside of their own tight-knit squads with whom they openly converse are the Veterans, and even then their communications take place whilst out on shared patrols. Their stalkers' camaraderie remains dormant when in the presence of others not of their ilk. There is much rivalry between these warriors, as each competes to kill more of the enemy.

Notable Members

 * Hunt Master Shasmu Khonsu - The Current Chapter Master of the Bloodmoon Hunters, recognized as the greatest hunter of all in the Chapter.


 * Hunt Master/Artificer Folsom - The Founding Father of the Artificers of the Bloodmoon Hunters. Sole Survivor of the Veterans during the disaster during Founding on a Death Hunt of the 35th Millennium in Eastern Fringes. His leadership and stewardship of the other brothers allowed them to drive off the infestation. Through the use of heavily modified serfs and servitors, he waged a several month long battle clearing corridors and tunnels of Aigéad Fuil after shutting down the void shields on one of the Hives.


 * Master Scáth Hiachóir - Formerly member of the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter Veterans. Leader of the Scáth Hiachóir Hunting Party during the Blue Hand Heresy in M39. Sergeant Scáth Hiachóir led his brothers to victory securing drop zones for Imperial Reinforcements and tying up Blue Hand Traitors until the reinforcements could arrive. In M40 Became one of the most Famed Masters of the Void. In M41 became one of the legendary Dreadnoughts of the Chapter famed for his wisdom in battle.


 * Forge Lord Jensen - A unique tech-marine originating from the Bloodmoon Hunters homeworld whose abilities in the arena of combat as well as the technological lead him to lead 3rd Hunt Company for several decades. Eventually rose to Forge Lord to the current Hunt Master and a unofficial member of The Comhairle of Fiach. Before his rise to prominence in the Chapter was a Master of the Forge for the Deathwatch. Jensen wields a mighty Relic Power Hammer that is said to be able to build or break anything and carries an Grav Pistol as well. His Servo Harness is armed with a variety of Cutters and wielders. His Custom Artificer Armor was designed by him.


 * Forge Lord Issac - The spiritual leader of 4th Company making sure that the members of the company doesn't fall into corruption in their pursuit of technology to uplift the Imperium. Wielder of Eiclips Na Gealaí, He offers benediction as well as wielding death to the foes of mankind.


 * Artificer Erxandros - Erxandros started his initiation as typical recruit of the Astartes, by daring to kill a Great Beast. He was unique in the fact that he jury-rigged his lance into a launcher to bring down the great beast. After joining, he was quickly assigned to armory duty until he could be sent to Mars for Tech-Marine Training. He quickly mastered the quasi-religious science of humanity, but that wasn't enough for him in his chapter's pursuit of defending the people of his sector. He went a few steps further, starting to analyze the weapons and tactics of their ever present foes, the primals (Drukhari), that raided the sector. He has faced countless WAAAGH! of the Orks of the sector. He follows his chapter's tradition to the various battlefields he has fought on and anoints the the ground with them. These Hunts have been a great honor to him as he has been trusted to take these alone. In his time with his chapter, he mastered both being a technician and a warrior. During one of his Hunts, he ran into Alderson who mentored the young Techmarine. They shared a lack of fear of xeno equipment and an urge to learn how to better combat them. Erxandros learned the techniques of hacking from Iron Maiden which allows him to have a chance of remotely hacking all sort of Servitors and potentially even Magi, Warp-smiths and Tech-marines, perhaps even Machine Spirits. It also allows him to block scrap-code attacks against himself. During an incursion on Droch Fhiul Research Station where he was assigned to support a squad of his brothers investigating the prophecy of blood, he was left as the only survivor bound to service of Inquisitor Adam Clarke.


 * Artificer Alderson - Mentor to Artificer Erxandros, one of the oldest marines in service to 3rd Hunt Company before becoming a Techmarine. Favoring pistols as his usual armaments has made this Techmarine one of the more unique warriors among the Bloodmoon Hunters. He wields a combination of Bolt Pistol and Inferno Pistol while wearing a unique Jump Pack of his design that allows for his Mechadendrites instead of a normal Servo Arm. Alderson spent several years among the Martians as his chapter's ambassador to them.


 * Artificer Dorcha Teicneo - Member of the Deathwatch, seconded from his original Chapter the Bloodmoon Hunters soon after becoming one of their Artificers. With his heavy weapons and his vast knowledge of the xeno and imperial technology, he provides valuable knowledge and skills to the Deathwatch.


 * Apothecary Ian Creiche - Member of the Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter's Apothecarion that has been seconded to the Long Vigil with the Ordo Xenos' Chamber Militant - the Deathwatch. An expert marksman and highly knowledgeable about both xenos and Imperial biology, he makes a valuable member of the Kill-Teams. Ian's knowledge of poisons is second only to some very knowledgeable Drukhari Haemonculi. The marines of 2nd Hunt company are Tireless and Ruthless Hunters, they are known fielding large amounts of Assault Marines and Ian was known among them for his poisons and accuracy with any Imperial Weapon.

Chapter Fleet

 * Fola Gealach (Battle Barge) -
 * Jager Verfolger (Battle Barge) -


 * Gorm Gealach (Strike Cruiser) -


 * Shikari (Strike Cruiser) -


 * Gealach Fómhar (Strike Cruiser) -


 * Veidar Fallensteller (Strike Cruiser -


 * Ag Gáire Le Gibbous (Nova-Class Frigate) -


 * Spejder (Hunter-class Destroyer)

Chapter Relics

 * Teorainn - A Relic Stalker Artifex Pattern Bolter


 * Eiclips Na Gealaí - A Relic Disintegration Pistol

Deathwatch Service
The Bloodmoon Hunters are known to be a great source of knowledgeable Masters of the Forge for Deathwatch Outposts. Most Artificers of the Bloodmoon Hunters will spend several years in service with the Deathwatch as a matter of pride. All the Bloodmoon Hunters are trained in the ways of the priests of mars to a larger degree then most chapters by the Techmarines of the chapter. Due to this the Bloodmoon Hunters will offer their kill-team a great amount of knowledge on both imperial and xeno technological works. The relentless dedication with which a Hunter will pursue their objectives makes them ideal for the harder tasks the more humanitarian chapters would struggle to carry out.

Chapter Colors
The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter wear dusty red colored Power Armour with dark grey shoulder plates trimmed with gunmetal grey. Their aquila or imperialis is silver with a darkened gunmetal grey center-piece.

Chapter Badge
The Bloodmoon Hunters Chapter badge is a stylized white colored Skull with a Blood Crescent Moon center on the forehead and a Blood Tear coming from its eye.

Allies

 * Astra Militarum:


 * Lunar Venatorii Regiments:


 * Adeptus Mechanicus:


 * Inquisition:


 * Ordo Machinum:


 * Adeptus Astartes:

Because of their hunt of xenos, the Bloodmoon Hunters 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 Bloodmoon Hunters 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.
 * Deathwatch

The Jade Knives are a 26th founding chapter of loyalist Adeptus Astartes, descended from the geneline of Jaghatai Khan and the White Scars. created as a reactionary measure to the alien presence in the eastern fringes of Segmentum Ultima that is the T'au Empire and are the closest neighbors of the Bloodmoon Hunters. As such the two chapters has shared many a campaign against Tau incursions and Hunts for particularly dangerous foes.
 * Jade Knives Chapter:

A 7th Founding Chapter of the VII Legion, the Imperial Fists. The Rectifiers were the oldest Chapter of Astartes in the Ishtar Subsector protecting the northern borders. Close neighbors of the Bloodmoon Hunters, as such the two chapters has shared many a campaign against incursions and Hunts for particularly dangerous foes.
 * Rectifiers of Justice:

Enemies
The Tau Empire expanded its borders through a series of so-called Sphere Expansions. Bloodmoon Hunters have on and off tried to limit Tau influence around the Eastern Fringe, especially Ishtar Subsector. This has lead to many conflicts of both active and covert affairs. Due to official Imperial policy that a full war is not desirable at times has made the matters complicated over time.
 * Tau:

Eldar Corsairs are those Eldar Outcasts who have deliberately chosen to make their living by raiding the commerce of the other star-faring intelligent races of the Milky Way Galaxy, particularly the shipping of the Imperium of Man. They are a constant threat to Imperial merchant shipping especially the far flung Ishtar fringe worlds where Imperial Navy presence is light.
 * Eldar Corsair Raiders:


 * Drukhari Raiders:

The Dark Eldar are mainly pirates and slavers who prey on targets across the galaxy to feed their unholy appetites for other sentient beings' souls, a terrible desire called the Thirst, though they are sometimes used as mercenaries by other species. This has lead to many conflicts with the Bloodmoon Hunters as they discovered the deprivations that have been acted upon the fringe worlds.

Kabal of the vile and murderous xenos race, the Drukhari. Although a minor Kabal, the Crystal Daggers formed from remains of the old Commorite nobility. Although having always carved a small place with a minimal influence on the intrigues of the Dark City, the upheavals of the last millennia shoots more and more towards difficulties to maintain themselves, pushing them inexorably towards their ends.
 * Kabal of the Crystal Daggers:

They Bloodmoon Hunter are also known to passionately hate Tryanids, due to the events that occurred during the Second Tyrannic War when Hive Fleet Kraken reduced the Bloodmoon Hunters numbers then shortly after the Great Rift Hive Fleet Kronos as well came through Ishtar Subsector. Since that time, the Bloodmoon Hunters want nothing more than to avenge themselves against the Tyranids for the lives of their fallen battle-brothers.
 * Tyranids:

The Bloodmoon Hunters 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 Bloodmoon Hunters, the Orks are a threat to the Ishtar subsector that must be exterminated by any means necessary. The Waagh of 019.M41 caused untold damage to the systems they protect and the Bloodmoon Hunters have not forgiven the Xenos for it. Freebooterz are bandits and sell-swords belonging to no specific tribe or klan but who will work with any tribe as well as stand against any other if the price is right.
 * Ork Freebooterz


 * Renegades:

The Blue Hand Chaos Space Marine Warband are a small force of Traitor Astartes born of the former Loyalist Chapter of the same name. Being few in number, the Blue Hand have sought to raise heretical cults on worlds across the Ultima Segmentum. Such cults are known as The Cult of the Blue Hand of Tzeentch. They are dedicated to the Chaos God of change, as are the Blue Hand Marines, and incorporate the Warband’s eponymous sigil into their iconography.
 * Blue Hand Warband:

The Knights of Laeran are a Chaos Warband devoted to Slaanesh, derived primarily from the Emperor's Children. They are particularly infamous for their tendency to infiltrate, fortify, and corrupt Imperial pleasure worlds, rather than the raiding and pillaging typical of Slaanesh worshipers. However, after claiming the world of Laeran as their own, they have since shifted their focus to defending this world from their arch rivals, the Knights Celestial and House Blackstone, as well as repaying the various debts they took on in order to claim it.
 * Knights of Laeran:

By the Chapter
"Bring on the Angels of Blood and Darkness as thy descend from the heavens to smite our enemies. Let the Wolves of war rend and tear our foes to pieces. And we of the Bloodmoon Hunters shall bring the iron and fire as our vehicles crush all that oppose us under our treads."

- Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes

"With iron and fire the beast shall be lain low at the hands of the Hunters whose home is under the Bloodmoon."

- Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes

"No fear for we are his Angels of Death and we are not weak. We stand against the xeno and the Heretic. We shall lay them low for I know myself and I know my enemy. The God-Emperor and his marines shall be victorious."

- Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes

"Honored brothers the xenos and the heretic shall bleed and reap only death for we will send them back into the void from which they came."

- Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Forge Lord

"Thank you brothers. I spoke only the truth as our God-Emperor made it. We as brothers shall unite for none can oppose the full might of the Imperium. The Angels of Death bring despair and destruction as only the sword can do. The guard shall be the hammer to grind our foes into smithereens with the slow tide of bodies that do not flinch at the evils of the warp. Let our sisters in arms bath the traitors in purifying fires."

- Unknown Bloodmoon Hunters Astartes

About Chapter
"Under the Blood Moon of Harvests, Hunters of the immaterial will find not what they seek but the answer to the question unasked."

- Prophecy of the Hunters of the Bloodmoon

"The sun be covered by darkness, and the moon by blood, before the great and terrible day of the Emperor's meeting with his son comes. And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood"

- 2nd Prophecy of the Hunters of the Bloodmoon

"The Jaguar of Death will covet the Moon with eyes of Blood, and then turn his sight to those below."

- 3rd Prophecy of the Hunters of the Bloodmoon

Acknowledgements
Thanks to OldKingCole77 for reviewing and helping consolidate and refine the Chapter. Thanks to Raptor Blitzwolf, Achilles Prime, Brig_Rakhaut, and OldKingCole77 for Artwork and working on concepts. Thanks to Algrim Whitefang for Geneseed and Intro help as well as concepts.