[Dirge Eterna]

I've read a lot of WH40K books, and Space Marines are often referred to as "The Mountain Angels". I at one point in the middle of Fire Warrior misread Cthonia (Luna Wolves Legion) for Ctholnia and thought the Mountain Angels were one of the missing Legions! Then I reread it and deflated, but the idea stuck and now I have a 5,000 pt Mountain Angels Army.

Here's the Fluff.

Mountain Angels-
The Mountain Angels Chapter is a Second Founding Chapter resulting from a hybridized mix of Space Wolf and Dark Angels geneseed. The Inquisition attempted to use this to rid the chapter of the Dark Angels’ stubbornness and the Space Wolves’ ferocity.

It didn’t work.

What they ended up with was an incredibly stubborn, authority-hating group of almost arrogant Marines. To date the Mountain Angels have very nearly been declared heretics for several armed clashes with the Ultramarines chapter, and Marneus Calgar refuses to acknowledge the Chapter’s even existence, calling them “The most arrogant and heretical cult of Space Marines” he had ever known. The Mountain Angel’s Chapter is laid down according to the Liber Malachia, written by their Chapter Master, Ezekiel Zaphia.

1st Company - Veteran Terminator Teams, known as “Summit Squads”

2nd Company - Mechanized Infantry, known as “Clanky’s Fist” by the Malachi 12th Regiment

3rd Company - Boarding specialists, close-in fighting.

4th Company - High number of Dreadnoughts, and a high percentage of Techmarines.

5th Company - Rotated in and out of Malachi as a guard for the Summit, the massive fortress-monastery of the Mountain Angels.

6th Company - Fought in the 13th Black Crusade, high Apothecary percent because of frequent mutation.

7th Company - Ranged specialists, high numbers of Devastators and Whirlwinds.

8th Company - Lost In The Warp, circa 445. M34 - all records expunged.

9th Company - Most Codex-strict company, large Tactical Squad percent.

10th Company - Led by Dreadnought Romulus, killed circa 322. M31, during the Horus Heresy, originally of the Dark Angels Legion.




The Mountain Angels Legion is based on Malachi, in a massive fortress-monastery known as The Summit. Unsurprisingly, it is the summit of Malachi’s largest mountain, known to the local population as The Spear of The Gods. It was originally a battle-barge, and it crashed in battle with the Black Legion on the surface. Over the millennia, the barge has been rebuilt into the rock of Malachi, and expanded tenfold, housing the entire chapter in times of need. The Mountain Angels recruit from Malachi, as well as from people who can climb The Spear of The Gods to confront the Angels at the gate of the monastery. Aspirants who do not pass the tests of the Angels are thrown from the mountain, reinforcing the belief that only the most favored of the Gods may pass through the gates and live. The Mountain Angels have deep hatreds of the Ultramarines, the Black Legion, and the Tau Empire. They work best with the Grey Knights, the Salamanders, The Iron Hands, and the (obviously) Space Wolves and Dark Angels. Their stubborn tenacity to fight to the last man is evidenced by their most recent action on Medusa IV. The entirety of the Fourth Company under brother-captain Verenus fought to the death against Orks of the Blood Axes tribe, and only two squads of Tactical Marines, two Devastators, Dreadnought Az, and the Predator tank Puritanius survived to tell the tale. Later, Veteran Sergeant Hecron took over the Fourth. The trials of the Mountain Angels vary. They depend mostly on which company is based on Malachi when an aspirant reaches the gate. The ninth company is notorious for providing horrifically difficult challenges.
-Master-
Lord Commander Ezekial Zaphia

-Captains-

1st Company - Captain Thumiel, Master of Arms
2nd Company - Captain Dragian, Master of Ordnance
3rd Company - Captain Mordekai, Master of Marches
4th Company - Captain Hecron, Master of Forges
5th Company - Captain Caine, Master of The Summit
6th Company - Captain Faust, Master of Aspirants
7th Company - Captain Kalidien, Master of The Fleet
8th Company - Former Captain Palchis, Master of Apothecarium
9th Company - Captain Janus, Master of Malachi’s Banner
10th Company - Captain Romulus, Master of Ancients

What happened to the Eighth is a story only captains, and Ezekial know fully. Palchis’s ship, the Fist of Caliban, was declared lost in the warp circa 445.M34, just after the Battle of Malachi. When it reappeared in the 13th Black Crusade, it’s crew and Marines had gone through a marked change in allegiance, and health. Palchis renamed himself Lord Pox and his ship the Plague Dirge and set his company on the road to damnation. His first heresy was taking a spaceport in Cadia’s eastern district. He ritually sacrificed twelve loyalist Marines, the last in the Company, and linked up with Plague Marines of the Death Guard Legion. Together they smashed Cadia’s eastern segments until they were driven off by Mountain Angels II-IV Companies.

(I've had a lot of free time waiting for models to dry)

-Dirge Eterna

 

[Viscount Vash]

Nice fluff, athough Im not sure what Russ and Johnson would say about mixing their respective geneseeds.
Imo "clanky's fist" is a bit too comedic for SMs but I am sure theres a reason for it.

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Thanks for the input.

1: Johnson and Russ cannot say anything about it. Inquisition buisness. lolz. They'd get burned at the stake for such heresy!

2: My best friend plays the 12th Malachi Regiment (Imperial Guard). I persuaded him to use the name. His first comment (While I was playing 2nd Company) was:

"Freaking clanky monstrosity of a Rhino. Emperor's Fist indeed."

(My old Rhino was cobbled together from old bitz. I've since replaced it, but the name stuck to the 2nd Company ever since.)

-Dirge

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Have a new idea.

Note on Mountain Angels Veterans:

Not all of the 8th Compnay met it's end at Cadia. Many of the company was already on the planet when they defected. The last remaining Loyalists, of which there are only twenty in the company, are known as Templar teams. Thay are incredibly resillient and stubborn individuals, firey and passionate. They are armed and outfitted as best the chapter can give them, and they wear black cloaks to mark their shame.

In battle the wearers of the cloaks band together into Templar teams. Most often, a team will split up without a word at battle's end. The only known permanent Templar team is led by Veteran Sergeant Lorien, attached to the 3rd Company under Captain Mordekai.

Notes on Mountain Angels' mutation of the Zygote gender:

Mountain Angels' marines are generally thought of as being a puritan chapter, with no mutation to their structure at all. Unfortunately, as I witnessed while visiting The Spear of The Gods, on Malachi, this is not the case.

A mutation caused by unkown circumstances has given the Angels the ability to recruit either male OR female initiates into the chapter. This is most surprising as the tech-priest assigned to me told me that marines could never be female. The most notable Marine I met at the Summit was Lorien, an 8th Company survivor. My guide to the Summit was also female, leading me to believe that there is more to the Chapter then most believe.
-Inquisitor Damian Serat, On the Mountain Angels.

 

[Jacobite]

Ok the basic structure of it is good, however you have broken 2 or 3 rather important rules.

The idea that the 6th company is subject to frequent mutation is a big no-no especially with the 8th company already turn traitor. With a that amount of mutation in the chapter it would have been purged long ago I'm afraid. Pretty much the only way you can justify both of these is either have a Radical Inquistion patron pulling the strings or having a Inquistior or 5 seconded to every company.

Dreadnaught Romulus: There is no way that the Dark Angels would give any Dreadnaught away (nor do I think that DA would want to leave) to another chapter even if they were orded too. And even more so if he had been around since the Horus Heresy.

The gender issue: Sorry thats a real No, marines are male, thats the way it always has been, the way it always will be. That is one of the strongest rules in the book.

Now for the positives.

Really like the idea of the Templar teams, very nice idea. Kinda like Deathwatch (you could use their rules for them actually).

The climbing up the mountain to become one of the chapter, pure gold, very nice way of introducing the mountain idea right from the start. My susgestion would be to take it even further and make them a chapter of marines who specialise in fighting in the moutains etc so a relience on extreme specialisation rather than Tactical Marines.

Good base list and solid start, just need to keep it in line with pre existing fluff.

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Romulus was suggested to me by a friend.. when I thought of him I figured he was one of the original founders of the chapter, and just hasn't died yet. From what I wrote the chapter was founded from Dark Angels stock, so I figure they'd have one of their own around to guide tha chapter in it's infancy.

The 6th's mutation is from the Eye of Terror campaign earlier. My friend (who plays demonhunters) is a Radical (he's obsessive about the Demonhost models), so I figure he's the one who's pulling the strings.

And I remember reading things about female marines. I can happen, if the implants were slightly....tweaked.

That's why I left the end the way I did. The Imperium might not know it, but there's more to the story behind the Mountain Angels then that.

I'm glad you liked the back history for the Templars. The idea really struck me as a good one.

Funny you should mention that...On my table, when I persist, the Mountain angels units can re-roll difficult terrain because of the fact they live on the mountains.

And I don't break rules.....I just bend them till they say "uncle". :lol:

-Dirge

 

[Jacobite]

It's up to you, i'm just pointing out where it deviates from the conventions. Not that there is anything really that wrong with that, you might get some people that really pissed about it and you may wana have a back up story. Good to see your incorporating your mates into the story.

I taking it you use your 'Fallen' as one of the Templars?

 

[Dirge Eterna]

No, the Fallen is a Captain under the rules, with Artificier armor (representing his Heresy armor), Power weapon (his sword) and a storm bolter (Combi-bolter.)

Thanks for commenting, I don't think many people will care, y'know? Everybody like his or her chapter THAT way, so nobody's is going to be the same, and most aren't 100% inside the rules of existing fluff.

I don't mind taking some flak for fluff . Helps make the story better.
-Dirge

 

[Jacobite]

Just don't let Uber see it lol

 

[Dirge Eterna]

lolz.

-Dirge

 

[Initiate]

Wow. i have an idea for an extension to the female marines. maybe they could actually be former sisters of battle, you should be able to somehow bend around the fluff guidelines and find a way for a Sister to get into the chapter.

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Well, the only thing seperating SOB from SM is the fact that Marines have implants and the Black Carapace. I deliberately left out HOW these were changed to keep people wondering.

As the Unforgiven, the Mountain Angels must have secrets.
-Dirge

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Eh...I had a lot of spare time today. And I'm fanatical about this now.

So you all must pay attention!
______________________________________________________________

Notes on Malachi's climate

Malachi is a temperate planet, almost completely covered in decidous forests, and dominated by several mountain ranges, which Magos Norson assures me are even larger than the Himalayas on Blessed Terra. The Spear of The Gods, better known as The Summit, is the largest of these, reaching up almost 75,000 feet. The Mountain Angels take great pride in this fact....as most of the aspirants to the Chapter remain dead on it's slopes, either through the climb up, or being thrown from the mountainside by the Angels.

The populace is spread throughout Malachi's main continent, mostly in small villages consisting of around sixteen families. These groups are led by an Elder, usually a rejected Angel, who has benifitted from seeing the Summit for himself. Such individuals are rare indeed, as most rejected are killed to mantain the Angels' mysterious nature. The Angels will, on occasion, visit each settlement to recruit aspirants, or to make sure the village is free from taint. If they find the trace of taint, they will immedietly and unconditionally kill everyone in the village, and burn it to the ground. The Mountain Angels' paranoia surrounding the 8th Company's disappearence reinforces the belief that the 8th is indeed in the service of Chaos.

The world is mostly land, with scattered lakes and many large valleys in between mountian ranges. The largest permanent settlement on the planet is the spaceport city Karbenos on the western side of the planet, less than sixty miles from the Spear of The Gods.

-compiled by Techmagos Therden, by order of Inquisitor Damian Serat

-Dirge

 

[Jacobite]

Seems good to me, its always good to expand into that sort of thing for your armies.

Blantant plug here but for more stuff to expand upon you could check this out - just for ideas.

http://www.heresy-online.net/cms_view_article.php?aid=37

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Good ideas...thanks Jacobite! I really like the formatted way you presented this. It's really good.

-Dirge

 

[Jacobite]

Finally somebody that has look at it and provided me with feedback. Thank you!

 

[Dirge Eterna]

Hey all. I decided to include this little thing I wrote last night.

Yes, I did see "300" and I thought it was great, blah, blah .blah. lolz.

On the the fluff.
________________________________________________________________

Chaplin Elijah strode to the center of the chamber. A Chaos Marine stood to meet him.

Mountain Angels stood around their master, readied their bolters.

The traitor growled.

"My master will not allow your conquest of this world....especially when you are so few."

Elijah spat in his eye.

"We decend from the Emperor himself, traitor. We vowed never to retreat...never to surrender. For the Angels a death on the battlefield is the greatest glory a man can achieve in his life. "

He paused.

"The Space Marines...the finest warriors the Imperium had ever known."

The Chaos worshipper split his face into a bloody grimace.

"This...is....madness." he growled.

"Madness?" said Elijah. "This is VENGEANCE!"

He stabbed the Marine in the guts with his Crozius, and turned to hiw followers.

"ANGELS! Tonight we dine...IN HELL!! DEAAATH!"

"DEAAAATH!!!" echoed the Mountain Angels over and over and Elijah remembered no greater feeling.

-As noted by one who walked in the Master Of Sanctity's shadow.

This was the war on Medusa IV, my lord. The Angels seemed to have returned from that world a bit more savage than before, possibly to the loss of the Fourth.

-Transcribed by Magos Tharden



-Dirge

 

[Jacobite]

I liked it up untill the dine in hell line, that was kinda when it got a bit to much for me but then again that was the one bit of the movie I didn't really like either. Nice work though, did like the vengence bit, very fluffy.