The Storm Guard: Chapter Focus, Part 2 - The Lore
By Ian
Welcome back to the two part Chapter Focus on the Storm Guard, my own custom chapter. If you missed Part 1, you can find it here, where I discuss collecting and painting the army. In this part, I’ll detail the storied history of the Marines of Blood and Bone. Some of the head canon is from my younger days, so you’ll kindly forgive some of the more groan-worthy moments and names, but I’ve maintained them for posterity. Enjoy!
The Storm Guard
Founding Chapter: Blood Angels
Founding: M35 21st Founding, the “Cursed” Founding
Chapter Master: formerly Titus Andronicus, called “The Bull”, currently Gideon Red acting as interim
Homeworld: Genesis, Hiriam Sector
Fortress-Monastery: Heaven’s Spire
Colours: Blood and bone
Speciality: Assault
Strength: approx. 900-1,000, considered full strength with primaris reinforcements
Backstory
Founded in the infamous 21st “Cursed” Founding, the Storm Guard hail from the neighbouring Hiriam Sector where their fortress monastery stands taller than all other spires on the desert world of Genesis. Where many chapters recruit hardy survivors of death worlds, the Storm Guard recruit through arenas and coliseums. Youths–often in an attempt to escape the street violence and desiccating poverty of the oasis cities–enter the pits hoping to rise high and survive long enough to become one of the Emperor’s Angels…
From Of Saints and Soldiers; A Most Illustrious and Definitive History of the Glorious God-Emperor’s Pilgrim Sector and that of the Grand Planets and Worshipful Peoples who reside within
Though it may not be recorded in the venerated histories of the Pilgrim Sector, the Storm Guard see humans as cattle. They could easily right the rampant poverty on their homeworld, where the gap between the rich and poor is so great that many try to escape into gladiatorial pits, but then where would they get their recruits?
The “Curse” part of the Storm Guard’s founding is they’re much more susceptible to the Black Rage than their progenitors. This comes to a head 666.M41 (I’m embarrassed even writing that date, but, hey, it’s head canon) when the entire 7th Company fall to the Black Rage while stationed on Genesis. Slaughtering the chaplains, the 7th begin ransacking the city. The nearest sane companies are recalled to the homeworld, with the 5th making planetfall first. For six nights (and it’s all night because this happens during a weeks-long eclipse), brother fights brother until every member of the 7th is put down.
The Night of Rage or the Long Night, as this comes to be known, changes the spirit of the chapter. The Black Rage is now out of control, where any member of the chapter could fall at any time. It also changes the 5th Company and their Praetor, Gideon Red. Though the Storm Guard are an Imperial force, they’re not written to be good guys. They see humanity as a burden below themselves and do not even treat the inhabitants of their homeworld with any type of respect. Red is different: having seen the horror of the Night of Rage, he is more empathetic to humans and is not only representative of a change within the chapter but a relatable and likeable protagonist. Suffice to say, he has featured in most of my lists.
The Devastation of Baal
Spoilers for Guy Haley’s novel The Devastation of Baal
Reading Guy Haley’s novel about the defence of the Blood Angels’ homeworld was surreal. Three hundred successor chapters answer the call and most of them were not named. So guess what: Storm Guard were 100% there and in the descriptions of massed officer meetings and defensive manoeuvres, I pictured the blood and bone marines in attendance.
The Storm Guard send half the chapter to Baal, including the entire First Company led by Brutus, the Tribune Primus and First Captain. In the aftermath of the battle when the Indomitus Fleet arrives with Primaris reinforcements, Brutus accepts these graciously, rebuilding the companies that were almost wiped out in the battle before starting the long voyage home to Genesis.
The Censure of the Storm Guard
Back on Genesis, the current Imperator (Chapter Master), Titus Andronicus, rejects the notion of Guilliman returning to run the Imperium, refusing to “bend the knee” to the primarch reborn. Titus believes that this is part of a 10,000 year plot to finish the Imperium Secundus that Guilliman began during the Horus Heresy (conveniently being ignorant to the fact that Sanguinius was the Emperor’s proxy in that small empire).
This doesn’t sit well with forces loyal to Guilliman. A force of Carcharodons are dispatched to bring the Storm Guard to heel, joining up with Brutus’s forces en route. The ensuing campaign is fought over the “shield-worlds” towards Genesis: planets subjugated by the Storm Guard to act as bulwarks en route to Genesis (shield-worlds are also a concept lifted from Guy Haley’s novels). Things come to a head at the Third Battle of Harvest, where Imperator Titus slays Brutus, but is cut down by Brutus’s First Company bodyguard. Several other Storm Guard officers are killed by the Primaris Carcharodons before the army of blood and bone surrenders.
The Censure of the Storm Guard was actually played out on the tabletop as a 1v1 campaign versus Mike’s Carcharodons. We’ll cover this in more detail in a future article.
Aftermath and Current State
With the death of Titus, Red is selected to act as interim Imperator of a Chapter in ruins. With a clear division between the new Primaris recruits and firstborn veterans, Red attempts to integrate them within the companies, rebuilding from the casualties suffered during the Censure. The 7th Company–never reinstated since the Night of Rage–is rebuilt as an all-Primaris Company under the ferocious leadership of Sidriel Wormwood, a young captain, one who believes the Thirst and the Rage are not curses but gifts, and ones that should be embraced by the Chapter. Wormwood is even eyeing the vacant seat of Imperator, hoping to bring the Chapter in a bold, if dangerous, direction, one completely at odds with Gideon Red’s leadership.
It’s too soon to know if this will lead to a second civil war within the Storm Guard: only time will tell.
How is this represented on the table?
The brutal assault tactics of the Storm Guard show up in games with various close combat units: in the firstborn days, lots of Assault Squads with Sanguinary Guard and Death Company plus Drop Pods for non-jump pack units. With the Primaris range ever expanding, this is currently more of a foot slogging force with Assault Intercessors, Bladeguard and recently some dreadnoughts for support. At least one Death Company unit always features to represent the chapter’s curse. I’ve moved from using Gideon Red (firstborn) to Sidriel Wormwood (primaris) and his (mostly) primaris 7th Company, with more primaris jump pack units waiting in the wings with plans to have firstborn characters eventually cross the Rubicon Primaris.
I’m a big proponent of a 40k army representing the lore on the table, which to me means having some bog standard troops and a clear command structure. As such, I always bring Intercessors and my Captain is the Warlord (except for smaller games when it’s usually a Lieutenant), with multiple Captains reserved for Onslaught/Apocalypse games.
Finally, with the Storm Guard flippantly disrespecting normal humans and having a history of rebellion, the narrative threads are there to justify an Imperium on Imperium battle. Maybe they’re being investigated by the Inquisition, perhaps the Salamanders don’t take kindly to their disregard for mortal life, or maybe a terrified, jumpy guardsman fires off a shot that triggers a small war.
Reflections on the Lore
One of the key tips I’ve heard time and again when writing army lore is to not make your army the best of the best, faultless warriors. This is particularly good advice when you’re like me and lose most of your games.
I wrote the Storm Guard to be deeply flawed, not just in their geneseed, but in their character. They’re arrogant, care little for human life, and are riven with internal conflicts. And they lose. A lot.
Almost five companies were lost at Baal. The Carcharadons subdue and censure them in their own backyard. Their Chapter Master is dead, killed by members of his own chapter (though maybe his armour and weapons will make a return, worn by a new captain). And they’ve lost every campaign they’ve participated in:
The Trinity Incursion (1v1 campaign vs daemons)
The War for Raxxus (campaign with my old club)
The Romanov Heresy (campaign with my old club)
The Censure of the Storm Guard (1v1 campaign vs Carcharodons)
The Oakes Rebellion (campaign in a day)
The Tavian Crusade (ongoing, but A LOT of battle scars)
Each an unmitigated disaster for the chapter. But their perseverance becomes a story in and of itself. They’re a chapter that keeps fighting, will never stop, no matter how beaten and bloodied they’ve become.
Although the Censure of the Chapter by the Carcharodons was a catastrophe for the army, with Mike soundly defeating me game after game (I think I only won a single game that campaign), it did provide an interesting opportunity to kill off a number of characters with names that were perhaps too on the nose or direct references to Shakespearean literature. And even though heroes in the 40k setting can be essentially immortal, killing off characters can have a lot of weight to a narrative and/or an army’s backstory. I’m not saying kill them off every time they’re removed as a casualty, but in a pivotal finale game it’s something to consider. Also, remember that armour and weaponry can be reused by new warriors: you don’t need to throw away the model.
For the Blood
I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this delve into the head canon for my army. Over these two parts, my goal is not only to show off my army, but also give an example of not only how to craft an army and its background, but also how it can evolve. It’s been a labour of love for over a decade now and the army has changed quite a bit. The story isn’t over though, and I’m excited to see what will come next as I add new units and take it on campaign once more. Thanks for reading!
Want to share the lore for your own army? We’d love to read it! Drop us a line at contactus@wrongsideofthemaelstrom.com.
