This article was written by Arxane Angel on behalf of, and with the express permission and supervision of, Guilliman of the Bolter and Chainsword forums, who, In turn, got the idea of this from the Swedish hobbyist Filip Haking; the original author of the Doom Bringers Chapter, and is considered his intellectual property for the purposes of the Warhammer 40,000 Homebrew Wiki. Please consult Arxane or the Admins before making any edits or adding links to this article, or involving anything on this page with your own work in any way.
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This article, Doom Bringers, is currently under active construction. The author, Arxane Angel, apologizes for the inconvenience. |
The Doom Bringers is a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter of unknown genetic lineage raised during the 3rd Founding at the dawn of the 32nd Millennium. An ancient Chapter, the Doom Bringers are perhaps one of the oldest Space Marine Chapters to have ever existed. Evidence for this lies in the annals of Imperial history, where the Doom Bringers are mentioned down the long millennia taking part in many notable campaigns and Imperial Crusades. Despite their long and glorious history to the Imperium of Man much of their origins are shrouded in mystery, with the few records still intact being senseless and peculiar.
Chapter History[]
As one of the oldest Space Marine chapters since the second founding, the Doom Bringers have a long history filled with tragedy. Though loyal to the Imperium and the Adeptus Astartes, the Doom Bringers have evolved a grave hatred to the Inquisition. A hatred that will never be forgotten nor forgiven as long as the true soul of the chapter survives.
Origins[]
The oldest documented record mentioning the chapter of the Doom Bringers reaches all the way back to the early centuries after the Horus Heresy; “…the new "Doomed Chapter", founded some time after the great invasion of the Drukhari fleet Azfaloth upon the feral world of Andeluvian was the force responsible of the great massacres of the Ork Warlord Grumd Steelbiter, and thus purging over a hundred of alien-infested imperial ships…” The tale of this “Drukhari invasion on the Feral World Andeluvian” is told only in texts written centuries after the event and some consider the facts only as legends. What is known for sure is that a squad of Marines, all their names but one long lost in time, was stranded upon the Feral World Andeluvian after their whole fleet was presumably lost or completely destroyed by an unknown disaster.
Decades later when a fleet of Ultramarines pursuing the Drukhari fleet Azfaloth, Andeluvian was found completely overrun by the xenos and without any survivors. Weeks into the fighting a small group of survivors was stumbled upon by a small squad of scouts inside the remains of an old temple dating back to the Dark Age of Technology. The group was led by no other than Ortiux himself, the last survivor of the stranded Space Marines, the future founder of the Doom Bringers and the Chapter’s first Chapter Master.
There exist hundreds, perhaps even thousands of theories of what happened during the long years of the Marines’ presence on Andeluvian. Some legends tell of wars fought between the tribes of the planet, others say the marines were worshipped as gods by the people of the planet while some tell of great heroic deeds performed when the humans on Andeluvian were united during the long-lasting Aeldari invasion.
After the destruction of Andeluvian, the few survivors began to rebuild their planet’s population, this time with the help of the Imperium. As a mighty hero of the planet, Ortiux was crowned King of the planet and culture almost as grand and magnificent as the one of Ultramar grew into strength in the centuries that followed. An entirely new army of Space Marines was cloned from the gene-seed of Ortiux using long-lost technologies found in the temple used for Ortiux’s last stand. Many wars of the Imperium were victorious thanks to the participation of this new chapter named “The Doomed Chapter” after its sad and tragic history. But good times grew worse and once again Andeluvian was invaded by aliens, this time by Orks.
As the only survivors, the Space Marines formed a retreat and fled to the nearby volcanic planet Oridiux. They once again build up their strength to seek revenge upon the slaughterers of their once glorious home and in only a matter of years, the Ork fleet of the Warlord Grumd Steelbiter was destroyed. The relief of Ortiux was so great that he changed the chapter’s name to the name it bears to this day – The Doom Bringers.
Days of Misery[]
Even centuries after the Horus Heresy and their founding the Chapter still cloned their new recruits. With advanced technology the new Marines were altered to more easily learn new skills. This made them more individual and were more easily and quickly trained for special tasks and specialities. The technology was discovered on lost Andeluvian and is unique to the Chapter. It had been passed down through the generations of Apothecaries; changed, developed and improved during the years. It was considered the sacred lore of the Chapter’s Apothecaries and every precaution was taken to make sure no one outside the Chapter could steal this technology. But every time the cloning technology evolved new risks were taken.
Under the command of Chief Apothecary Srikar, a recently discovered technology was just to be added to the Chapter’s gene-seed. Unfortunately, a disaster struck and somehow the Inquisition, which had been watching the Chapter for some time, found out about it. They forced the chapter to stop cloning their Marines and start recruiting instead. What kind of disaster this was is long forgotten and only speculations can be made of what it might have been. The Chapter’s dark history repeated itself and the horrible scars on its heart, which had never completely healed, were once again torn open.
The current Chapter Master at the time, and the second in order, was Tamius. He was forced to promise the Inquisition that the whole Chapter was to be executed after it had received new recruits or it would be marked as renegades and be hunted down to the last man. Almost a third was killed, but Tamius managed to spare his most experienced warriors. From those dark days forward, this period of betrayal and suffering would be known as “The Days of Misery” in memory of the warriors murdered by their own kin. How Tamius managed to outsmart such a powerful organisation as the Inquisition was never revealed and when Tamius died, so did the secret die with him.
However, after the “Days of Misery”, Tamius decided that every armour of in the Chapter would be painted in a slightly darker tone and the original colour would only be restored every time an armour was completely lost and replaced. In this way, the memory of the Chapter’s lost warriors would not be lost until the day every armour was replaced and the Chapter had outgrown its dark past. To this day, close to every one of the chapter’s power armours and some of the dreadnaughts are replaced but not any of the tactical dreadnaught armours. This is one outermost excellent example of the bravery of the Doom Bringer Marines as they fight to regain the honour of their once unrightfully slaughtered Brothers. Of all the veterans that weren’t murdered during the “Days of Misery” a few kept alive in the ancient machineries of the dreadnoughts remain to this day.
The name of the Marine honoured to wield Ortiux’s power scythe, bolter and black laurel today is Tigrit. He is the current Chapter Master of the Doom Bringers and the oldest Marine in the Chapter. With a leadership unmatched by almost any Chapter Master before him, he has led the Doom Bringers to countless victories through the Galaxy for over three hundred years.
Age of Apostasy[]
Due to all the tragedies shadowing the Chapter’s past, many often questioned the Doom Bringers’ loyalty to the Imperium. It was largely known their one loyalty had been to their home Andeluvian, and even after its destruction they only existed to bear and honour its memory and values. Though to the Doom Bringers themselves, the Imperium had been one of their last lights of hope and motivation in the grim darkness. Though it was not Andeluvian itself, the Imperium had once helped build their beloved home world and its ways were deeply rooted in the ones of Andeluvian. In M36 however, during the Age of Apostasy and especially through the Plague of Disbelief, the Chapter’s loyalty to the Imperium would hang in the balance. As their one light of hope flickered so would the faith of the Doom Bringers.
To the Chapter, the reign of Goge Vandire passed much unnoticed. As the warp storms split contact with much of the Imperium, the Chapter had to rely much on themselves while being engaged in many wars with the Orks. This was nothing unusual to the Doom Bringers who were used to keeping other fractions of the Imperium at a distance in their corner of the Galaxy. It was however when the Reign of Cardinal Bucharis power started to rise as the Chapter began to lose hope. News of Sebastian Thor had yet to reach their corner of the Galaxy and as rumours of Earth’s fall reached Oridiux the Doom Bringers trembled. It wasn’t long before the fleets of Bucharis entered the space defended by the Chapter and demanded their compliance. Not only did they not recognize Bucharis’ new reign but they responded in arms. The foreign vessels were destroyed and the Doom Bringers retreated to friendly space.
For centuries the Doom Bringers fortified and attacked any intruders in their sector. For all they knew the Imperium was lost and the survival of the worlds under their protection was in their hands. As Oridiux was located right on the border to Bucharis’ Empire the Chapter fought off many attacks from it. Apart from xeno invasions little is known of who else the Doom Bringers fought for entering their space of protection. Historic facts point to attacks without warning against intruders. How many of these that were imperial is unrecorded and some believe records that could damage the Imperium’s trust in the Chapter did not only go missing but were intentionally destroyed by Doom Bringers' agents.
After the fall of Bucharis, it would take more than a century before the Doom Bringers learned of the restored Imperium. Some claim the first imperial messengers were destroyed by the Chapter’s aggressive defence, but like the action of the proceeding centuries, there exist no reliable records of this.
There have been many accusations against the Doom Bringers actions during the first half of M36 by Imperial officials through the millennia. The Inquisition has conducted several investigations on the matter. So far, however, there has been no evidence that could mark the Chapter as traitors against the Imperium.
The Grudge Crusade[]
One of the most significant episodes in recent Doom Bringers history is The Grudge Crusade. It began in 355.M41 when the Doom Bringers left Oridiux to fight alongside the Ultramarines in the Corinthian crusade to stop the Waaagh of the Ork warlord Argluk. This was the first time in over two and a half thousand years every Battle-Brother of the Chapter would fight alongside each other in one single campaign. But the passing of events would change radically before the chapter arrived on Corinth.
Sometime after the departure from Oridiux the Astropaths of the fleet flagship picked up an emergency call from an Adeptus Mechanicus vessel close to the fleet. Surely this was an extremely unusual incident and by normal circumstances, it would be ignored by a Space Marine Commander travelling to a campaign of war. The Adeptus Mechanicus was famous for taking nearly suicidal risks in their pursuit of lost technologies and they would always do this without any expectations of assistance. But this was no ordinary call for aid; the fact there was a plea for help was rare by the extremes. The Adeptus Mechanicus archaeo-technologysts had unearthed several STC system print-outs containing the secrets of ancient weapons that could potentially win the war against Argluk on Corinth. But the expedition had been overrun by Orks and now the plans were in the hands of the feral greenskins. Should the Meks of the Orks succeed in producing this technology it could mean the destruction of the Corinth system and likely dozens of systems in the sector.
It was in the outer reaches of the Bolc system that the Doom Bringers fleet met up with the surviving Mechanicus vessels hiding from the Ork fleet. Two months earlier the Archeotechnologysts on Bolc III had been overrun by the Orks and called for assistance from the Skitarii. When the backup fleet had arrived a month later they had met heavy resistance. It appeared the Orks had already developed parts of the ancient technology. Only the five light cruisers meeting the Doom Bringer fleet had managed to escape from orbit as the entire strike fleet and all the drop troops had been destroyed by the shockingly grave xenos opposition.
The Chapter Master by this time was Bleetus with over two centuries of command under his belt. He did not give a second to waste and merely two hours post the fleet’s arrival it turned its thrusters towards the Ork-infested planet. Bleetus carefully formed his battle plan before reaching Bolc III. Alas, the battle plan in hand would not see its appliance in war.
Doom Bringers deployment on Bolc III
Bolc III was left in destruction. The vast oceans of the normally warm planet were found completely frozen and the great jungles were swept clean by monstrous endothermic explosions with only icy stumps and frozen animal corpses to bear witness to its living past. What little remained of the Ork forces was swiftly wiped out by the might of the Astartes. The Doom Bringers had been too late to stop the fleet which had left orbit for other systems weeks ago. With all other nearby forces fighting at Corinth, it was up to the Chapter to stop the terrible power now in the hands of the feral greenskins. Thus the Chapter’s old but grave hatred towards the Ork race once again brought to the surface.
Unsure where the enemy fleet had travelled to, the Doom Bringers and Adeptus Mechanicus fleet were divided to travel to the two nearest inhabited systems in the hope of reaching them to stop the Orks in time. This was but the beginning of the Grudge Crusade. The Chapter would pursue the Ork Meks and their weapon through several sectors, picking up clues and fighting battles for decades – their everlasting grudge against the greenskin race driving them on. Over the years the subfleets would differ in size and numbers as Companies would be needed on campaigns elsewhere but all the time at least a total of one Company would be on the hunt for the Ork Meks.
It was ultimately the small fleet commanded by Brother Tullus, Sergeant of the 4th Battleline Squad of the 3rd Company that, on the world Qasis almost 60 years after the Chapter first left to fight on Corinth, caught up with the last Ork Meks. When the reinforcements arrived almost a month later they were under the command of Bleetus himself and with him was the entire Chapter.
Though the Ork were relatively few in numbers compared to an entire Chapter of Space Marines the fighting continued for weeks. With the terrible powers in the hands of the Orks, the Doom Bringers lost hundreds of Brothers, all frozen in instants and shattered to pieces on the surface of Qasis. As the fighting finally came to an end and the system was cleansed from Orks, the troubles were far from over; the Chapter’s long search for the ancient technology had attracted the attention of the Inquisition whoever watched and spied over the (in their eyes treacherous) Chapter. With the STC plans now in the hands of the Mechanicum, Bleetus knew they wouldn’t be safe from the deceitful Inquisition until they reached Mars. Squad Tullus was therefore trusted with the task of escorting the Adeptus Mechanicus Archaeo-Technologysts with the plans back to Mars.
It would take another 17 years for Tullus to reach Mars. The journey cost the Squad half its men during their many encounters with the Inquisition. When finally reaching Mars the Mechanicum showed their gratitude by constructing eight master-crafted weapons, one for each Company Captain, in the Image of the Chapter Master’s weapon; the Scythe. On Tullus’ return to Oridiux, the entire Squad was awarded the Imperial Laurel for their many acts of bravery and valour in the battle on Qasis and during their long voyage to Mars.
Though Tullus and his men are long dead, the 4th Squad of the 3rd Company still bears the Squad banner embroidered with the Laurel and Tullus’ name, in remembrance forever honoring and embodying the acts of their ancestor brothers.
Notable Campaigns[]
- Battle of Qeunis Prime (586.M41)
Chapter Homeworld[]
The home world of the Doom Bringers is the planet Oridiux Prime located on the eastern edge of Segmentum Tempestus on the border to Segmentum Ultima. It is named after the chapter’s first chapter master Ortiux. Two moons; Germonis and Nolias surround the planet. It is on Germonis that the naval base for the fleet of the Chapter is located. Nolias however is rarely ever spoken of, as it is said to be cursed. It is on Nolias that the cloning factory of the Doom Bringers once was located and terrifying tales of ghosts that walk its cold dark surface are told within the chapter and military systems close by.
Oridiux Prime itself is a volcanic planet with but a handful of places a man can survive. Though breathable, its atmosphere is poisonous and lethal to any ordinary man exposed to it for more than a day. Whilst the planet hosts no animal life, some plants survive under these extreme conditions. Only a few of these can be seen on the surface as most of them are buried underground in extensive root systems that go hundreds of feet down to the planet's few underground lakes.
Due to its harsh climate, Oridiux Prime is a perfect training ground for a Space Marine Chapter. Before a new recruit is allowed within the Fortress Monastery of the Doom Bringers he must first pass the Lava Fields of Misery; a task that will kill a man if he does not finish it in time. Once accepted as a Battle-Brother of the Chapter every Marine will find himself in weekly training on the planet’s surface. When not fighting in a campaign, the Doom Bringers train for all manner of tactics in the ancient ruins, the dried-out ocean beds, and the mountains, of Oridiux Prime.
The planet has no civilian inhabitants though evidence shows it once had. Some areas are covered with scattered ruins and the majority of the natural resources have been exploited. There is however no evidence on the fate of these former habitants. Presumably, the Doom Bringers were the first humans to walk the planet’s surface all those long years of legend ago after the destruction of their home planet Andeluvian.
Incident with Inquisitor Clamar[]
In M36 the infamous witch hunter Clamar arrived on Oridiux determined to uncover the secret of the moon Nolias. As a member of the Inquisition he wasn’t welcome to the fortress-monastery of the Doom Bringers, nor did they keep any contact with him. On the third day after Clamar’s arrival, his cruiser in orbit lost contact with him, which in turn sent a call for aid to Oridiux Prime, but the Space Marine Chapter refused to aid the inquisitorial servants. Thus the ship’s crew had to send a rescue team by themselves. When arriving at the Inquisitor’s camp by the gate of a great ruined building, no trace of the group could be found. The party returned only twelve hours after they had left and they were all in shock. All screamed in horror as the rest of the crew tried to ask what had happened. With them, they had the logbook of Clamar’s retinue, which told of the disappearances of the group members, all one by one, winds blowing in their hair while no evidence could be seen of it in the surrounding terrain and shadows lurking in the dark.
The inquisitor’s cruiser left the system three days later, never to return. Several other imperial investigators have arrived since that day only to disappear or leave weeks later. Yet has none to reveal the hidden secrets of Nolias.
Fortress-Monastery[]
Not much is recorded about the Doom Bringers' fortress monastery but it is said to be able to house an entire hive city, hencing it's size.
Inside, there is presumably chambers for all typical Imperial locations and living quarters for every marine.
Chapter Organisation[]
The chapter is arranged in eight Battle Companies, including the 1st Veteran Company and the 8th Scout Company; each one containing approximately one hundred and twenty Marines. Following the trust in the weapon of the ordinary Marine – the bolter, the Companies are all concentrated on several Squads of bolter-equipped Battleline Marines and Squads of Fire Support often completely equipped with heavy bolters. Each battle company also contain at least two dreadnoughts, a Terminator Command Squad, and a Techmarine. The tactics used by the Doom Bringers call for very little use of fast attack troops and therefore the Chapter is very short of these types of weaponry. But for emergency cases, the Scout Company stores a few squads of bikes and land speeders which some Tactical Marines in each Company are trained to master.
In battle, it can be very difficult to tell the difference between the Companies of the Doom Bringers, as they are very similarly composed except the Scout Company. But there is yet one detail that can separate the Veteran Company from the rest – its colour scheme. As the elites of the Chapter, the Veteran Company still completely bears the colours from the Days of Misery. It is the most skilled of these Marines that are allowed to lead the lesser companies wearing Tactical Dreadnought armour.
Officer Ranks[]
Specialist Ranks[]
Line Ranks[]
Specialist Units & Formations[]
Order of Battle[]
Headquarters[]
Companies[]
Chapter Beliefs[]
Chapter Gene-Seed[]
The original source of the Doom Bringers gene-seed comes from the first Chapter Master Ortiux and the generations of the Marines cloned from him. This gene-seed the Inquisition’s main target during the Days of Misery. Thus were the Marines themselves and as some of them survived, so did the gene-seed. From which Chapter Ortiux himself derives from is unknown. Some say it was one of the lost legions from the first founding, which, if the dates of the records are correct is impossible. Whether this is correct or not, the gene-seed has changed too much during the millenniums to remain the same and it is close to impossible to tell if the original gene-seed of the Chapter still exists or not.
In most cases, as a Doom Bringer grow older, a desire for self-sacrifice emerges. As this has caused several problems during the history of the Chapter, a lot of time is used for meditation to prepare the Marines to overcome this self-drive. Some say this connects the gene-seed of the chapter with the one of the Imperial Fists. Though as the similar trait of the Imperial Fists is believed to be physiological rather than genetic so does the one of the Doom Bringers as it connects with their history.
Genetic Flaws[]
Even from the cloned recruits, the Astartes of the Doom Bringers are fortunate enough to not be cursed with genetic flaws.
Deathwatch Service[]
Not many Doom Bringers have been sent to join the long vigil of the Deathwatch. However, the ones that did, have opted to stay in the xenos hunting chapter to train young recruits on hunting and eliminating the alien menace.
Chapter Combat Doctrine[]
The Chapter specialises in fighting numerous but not-so-well-equipped enemies of the Imperium and is therefore often called to battle at times of Chaos or Xenos infestation.
As the civilisation on Andeluvian wouldn’t have existed without the aid of the Ultramarines the Doom Bringers originally followed the Codex Astartes in each paragraph in honour and respect to their planet’s saviours. Per definition, they were almost a successor Chapter of the Ultramarines from the start and like that, they were meant to last for eternity. But since all the disastrous events in the Chapter’s history, its Codex has changed. It is no longer the Doomed Chapter they once were. They are now the Doom Bringers and a non-codex chapter. Their companies are concentrated on Tactical Squads and Dreadnoughts. As an infantry relying on the Chapter, they are some of the most well-drilled and fearless Marines in the Imperium; with their bolters, they advance in such a straight line as possible and shoot their enemies down in swathes. As they also train to use their bolters in close combat it is obvious why they honour this weapon more than almost any other Chapter within the Adeptus Astartes.
The most honoured and holy members of the Doom Bringers Chapter are the survivors from the Days of Misery. They are the pilots of almost every Dreadnought armour in the Chapter. Tactical Squads of Doom Bringers are often led by these veterans into battle, acting as good examples to the younger Marines. It is also very common for these machines of destruction to be deployed in drop pods along with Squads of teleported Terminators behind enemy lines to attack as a rear guard as the main army of Marines advance to inflict as much confusion as possible and surround the masses of aliens or traitors.
Notable Space Marines[]
Active[]
- Chapter Master Tigrit
Inactive/Deceased[]
- Chapter Master Ortiux
- Chapter Master Tamius
- Chapter Master Bleetus
- Chief Apothecary Srikar
- Sergeant Tullus
Chapter Fleet[]
Chapter Relics[]
Chapter Appearance[]
Chapter Colours[]
The original colours of the Doom Bringers was rust beige and black, now it is canvas white, red and black.
Chapter Badge[]
The Chapter badges is a black scythe in a red circle on a field of black.
Relations[]
Allies[]
Enemies[]
Notable Quotes[]
By the Doom Bringers[]
- "Revenge and redemption for our once deceived brothers and murdered people."
- —Doom Bringers Chapter Motto referencing those lost on the battlefields of Andeluvian
About the Doom Bringers[]
Author's Note[]
I cannot take the credit of creating the Doom Bringers. It was originally an idea by Filip Haking of Games Workshop Sweden, who painted a few Doom Bringers miniatures for the Chapter Master challenge in 2004. The lore was then written by Guilliman in 2005 and in 2013. Soon after that, he became inactive and stopped contributing, which is a shame. However, I have decided to put all the lore by both original authors together to create this article, which is the Doom Bringers: Revamped. I hope all of you enjoy the lore written and my small lore edits there too!
Happy Homebrewing Everyone!
Sources[]
Gallery[]
