Celestial Lions

1d4chan blurb:

The Celestial Lions are a very brotherly, compassionate chapter with a prominent African spin on their culture. Given their dark skin and fraternal nature, one might be suspicious about their supposed descent from Dorn's line, but this chapter culture mainly comes from the fact that they only recruit from the warrior tribes of the world Elysium IX. As they all come from a culture that values community, legacy, and courage, all the Lions hold those values as paramount. More than most other chapters, their world's culture holds sway in their conduct. The Lions are very informal to those within their own ranks, with even basic battle brothers talking to their superiors as brothers and equals, though they are disciplined on the battlefield and they show great respect to the officers of other forces, particularly the other sons of Dorn. Another quirk of their chapter culture is the value they place on storytelling and the great respect they give to talented storytellers. Within their chapter it is common for a squad to gather and tell stories of their heroes and their own exploits before an engagement. If an outsider is present in one of their ships or bases the visitor is expected to pay for their "food and fire" by telling a story from their own people's legends or that individuals exploits and as such they love serving alongside guardsman for the stories they tell. Though they are very different from their typical grim cousin chapters, they are roud sons of Dorn through and through

== Alternate rank names ==

Warleader (Captain) - Status designated by a black helmet.

Deathspeaker (Chaplain)

Spiritwalker (Librarian)

Lifebinder (Apothecary)

Pride Leader (Squad Sergeant)

== Chapter creation == Chapter creation rules: p14 Deathwatch - Rites of Battle

Imperial fist rules: p48 ibid + p55 Deathwatch - First Founding

Black Templars rules: p38, Deathwatch CRB

Origins (p15)

Founded to assist in the Altid Crusade (c. 300.M38) - vs tropical world that the Dark Angels wanted to exterminatus; the Imperial Fists claimed the planet for themselves against the DA wishes and used the Lions to defend it.

Gene-Seed (p16, and p20 for deficiencies)

Imperial Fists

Deficiency: No Betcher’s Gland or Sus-an membrane

A New Generation

Codex Demeanours (p18)

Brothers in Battle

All Space Marines within a given Chapter are bonded to one another by a common genetic inheritance and years of combat at  each  others’  side. While  some Battle-Brothers  serving in  the Deathwatch  have difﬁ culty widening  their sense of comradeship to include those outside of their Chapter, others have none at all, regarding all Space Marines, regardless of Chapter  or Progenitor,  as their Brothers. As such, there is nothing that the Battle-Brother would not do for a fellow Space Marine, up to and including dying so that his Brothers may live. The only downside of such a trait is that the Battle-Brother may come to look down upon those outside of the Adeptus Astartes, believing (often quite rightly) that none can match their own standards. (before the fall, this was pride in their abilities; now they value themselves highly because they know there’s so few left)

Chapter flaw (p21)

(Imperial Fists’) All Space Marines are the product of their genetic inheritance, beneﬁting  from its blessings  as well as suffering  from its shortcomings,  and the Imperial  Fists are no different. The Chapter’s Primarch was a deeply devoted warrior who fought tirelessly  at the right  hand of the Emperor,  but even this towering exemplar had his ﬂ aws, as he himself is known to have acknowledged. Perhaps because of his dedication, Dorn was  devastated  when the Emperor  fell, and shouldered  far more than his fair share of the blame. He cast himself into a crusade of redemption that only ended in the terrible crucible of Iron Cage, re-forging the Legion in the bloody furnace of war. Dorn’s glorious legacy lives on through the Imperial Fists, but so too does his curse.

Level 1 (Suffer Not Failure): The Battle-Brother believes himself deﬁcient in some manner, whether real or imagined,

and becomes truculent and obstructive when ordered to re-deploy in the face of a stronger foe. When acting as the unit’s  leader, he makes demands of his squad that others might consider unreasonable, and views any disagreement as outright disobedience.

Every time one of them dies, it’s such a massive hit in emotional and practical terms that they can’t help but exhibit Dorn’s stubborness

Faith in suspicion: Inquisition (ordo Hereticus) Total contempt; ufferly refuse to work alongside the organisation

Characteristic modifiers (p22) Death unto Duty: +5 toughness and willpower

Chapter heroes (p23)

Ekene Dubaku - current Chapter Master Deathspeaker Julkhara (head Chaplain)
 * Uses ancient power armour granted to him by High Master Helbrecht - artificer armour from the Great Crusade - plus matching relic blade
 * Last surviving Pride Leader after chapter was nearly wiped out by orks and “ork snipers”
 * Kicked some ass alongside Dubaku on Armageddon

Homeworld (p24)

Feral jungle world - Elysium IX, recruiting from warrior tribes

Moving to Drakon III - distant rule,
 * Initially recruiting from across the Sector
 * Hive worlds (especially Bartok)
 * Coronal system
 * Mosscoh
 * Xustea
 * Raise a community on the deathworld jungle planet for recruitment
 * Have them build an empty city for training purposes
 * Dump thousands of colonists taken from across the Lithesh Sector - all the toughest locations

Organisation (p29)

Codex Astartes observance: Divergent, probably - focus on fast flanking maneuvers, guile, and tactical flexibility

Combat doctrine: Siege

Special equipment (p34): Specialised bolter

Beliefs: Honour the Ancestors (p35)

Chapter status: Endangered

Chapter friends: Black Templars, a certain Rogue Trader dynasty

Chapter enemies: Ordo Hereticus, Dark Angels

Chapter advancement (p41)

[as per Imperial Fists]

Solo ability

SIEGE MASTER

Type: Active

Required Rank: 1

Effects:  The Imperial  Fists are recognised  as amongst the ﬁnest  practitioners of the art and science of the siege,  a mastery born of practice, determination and self-sacriﬁce. When in Solo Mode, the Battle-Brother is able to locate weak points in enemy fortiﬁcations, as well as strong  points in cover he himself is using. When using this ability, the Armour Points of any cover used by a target he is ﬁ ring at is count as half their normal value. In addition, the Armour Points of any cover the Imperial Fist is making use of are doubled, so long as he remains stationary.

Improvements: At Rank 5 or more, the Battle-Brother may re-roll failed to hit rolls when ﬁ ring at enemies in cover.

Squad ability

Attack: Oath of vengeance

Action: Free

Cost: 1

Sustained: no

When any member of the kill team suffers damage the character receives a +4 bonus to dmg rolls vs enemy. At rank 5, this may be sustained.

Defence: Swift advance

Action: Reaction

Cost: 2

Sustained: yes

When ability is active, battle-brother and any within support range who successfully dodge a ranged attack may spend their reaction to make a Full Move; at rank 4 they may also reload one weapon (max full action reload)

Current Strength in the Lithesh Sector 30 battle brothers total, all veterans of the Armageddon war

Led by Warleader Zumoari (captain); second-in-charge Spiritwalker Midozu (Librarian)

Got a ship - Nova Class Frigate

Two thunderhawk transporters

One Shadowhawk (Horus Heresy-era), repainted in Celestial Lions livery

Three Rhinos and a Predator Annihilator

Chapter leadership:
 * Ekene Dubaku: chapter master
 * Deathspeaker Julkhara

Strike Cruiser - Blade of the Seventh Son