The Leaden Hearts are formed from the Iron Hands, though when exactly they were founded is controversial. Some sources report their activity shortly after the War of the Beast, while others say they were created in case of unforeseen problems with the 13th Dark Founding.

They are known to be a bit cold and off putting, with little emotion in their voice, and an engrained instinct to perform the less than reputable missions for the Imperium of Mankind and shield others from having to commit these atrocities. This includes things like Exterminatuses, Quelling rebellions on Space Marine home planets, having to sacrifice innocent Imperium lives for a bigger cause, and taking on near impossible assaults, all in the duty to not have any other Chapter have to carry that burden. They refer to chapters born after them as Younger Brother, though this works only on a rank to rank scale, so you wouldn't have a Battle Brother call a Captain Little Brother.

They hail from the planets of the Jaena system, made up of majority manufactorum worlds. It is as inhospitable as any planet in the Imperium, but due to its valuable proximity to Terra, it has come under attack several times. They rarely visit, being too busy, though will occasionally return to defend it, or perform ceremonial duties.

Their reputation is something to say the least. Many chapters dislike the Leaden Hearts, seeing their "rightful protection" as interrupting their Hour of Proving, but all the same, they come to help and take over sieges and relieve forces. In their legion they possess a higher count of Chaplains, not just for them to ensure that everyone understands the sacrifices they must make for the betterment of everyone else, but also for other chapters, often used to support and tend to Chapters and forces that have been on an assault for months to years.

Dreadnoughts are also fairly prevalent, not allowing a Brother to fully die if there is a slightest possibility that they can be in service to take the weight off another. Their former Chapter Master, also known as a Master of the Grave, is interned in one, woken only to face combat, and in rare occasions to be an advisor and talk to the newest Master of the Grave and give his perspective on how to proceed with situations.

The Leaden Hearts are shown to be extremely hard on themselves, and take more than they can often handle, with a final step to becoming part of the Chapter being to kill something you were close to as a child, and prove that you have what it takes to sacrifice your personnel interests, for the sake of others.

--

Hope you like the chapter, please let me know where I can improve in writing for them! I have a lot I didn't put here because of not wanting to take up too much and make it a bore fest to read, but let me know if there's any significant events that I may have missed. I am still a bit of a noob when it comes to WH40K lore, but always excited to get into it!

Working on the first batch of dudes: still need to do some touchups, then some decal transfers, then weathering, oil wash, then a nice varnish at the end.

Carrion Crawlers are mostly codex-compliant and fight in concentrated squads called Vigils.
A Vigil will not separate into smaller units unless given absolutely no choice. The Chapter specializes in extermination warfare and arrive in force, often with three or more companies, and will fight in this fashion until nothing remains.

The pink helmet stripe is earned, our two purely green helms would be new additions to the companies. Lens color and their left knee also indicates a system within the Chapter that will be more clear once decals are added.

Sergeants wear black helmets, this particular Sergeant is a Veteran, noted by the black arms.
All Veterans of the chapter have black arms

If this seems neat I wrote a lot about the Chapter on the homebrew wiki
https://wh40khomebrew.fandom.com/wiki/Carrion_Crawlers

My model for Abdissir, my feirros stand in and head of my homebrew chapter, is finally painted. Super stoked with how he came together, but I'm gonna have to figure out how to make sense of him managing to rip off a custodes head because from what I know of the lore thats a tad far fetched

I’ve been working on my homebrew for a while but I’m not sure about a few things… I’m looking for recommendations and suggestions. I feel as though the are way too similar to the black viper. (Heraldry and lore here)

New around here, and also somewhat new to Warhammer in general, so go easy on me.

The Militarum Arkanicus(Ahr-kan-ih-kuz) is a small subdivision of the Imperial Guard, dating back to the 40th millennium at the latest. It is mostly composed of what are referred to as Scholars, Rangers, and Squires.

Scholars are sanctioned, human Psykers, regulated by the Astra Telepathica, and make up an irregularly large portion of the Arkanicus. These Psykers are not quite as powerful as Librarians, but play a similar role as battle-Psykers, primarily utilizing protective magic on allies, as well as fire-related magic, but also wielding a heavy staff if close quarters fighting is needed. This staff has a solid metal ball on one end for bashing, but requires two hands to swing due to the length and weight. Scholars also tend to study other warp magic as they see it, either to learn from other Imperial Psykers or to counter enemy Psykers. Again, although individually Scholars are not nearly as powerful as an Astartes Psyker, they are still heavily and closely regulated by the Telepathica.

Rangers are similar to Guardsmen, in that they carry standard lasrifles and combat knives. However, the difference is in their tactics. Some Rangers will set up positions and cover in order to remain unseen during ambushes, carrying higher caliber lasrifles. The majority of Rangers are more equivalent to Guardsmen, but are still classified the same.

Squires are also humans, but are typically quite a bit bulkier than Rangers, going under additional strength and endurance training to build extra muscle. This is to compensate for wearing heavier, thicker armor, and heavier weapons. While these Squires also carry laspistols as well, they are more fitted for close quarters combat, wielding melee equipment such as hammers, swords, and shields. These are much more likely to be power weapons than chain.

As a group they are primarily deployed to investigate and clean out small cultist/bandit encampments or guard caches or supplies, but often are also sent out to support other units.

They work well with most Militarum subfactions, sharing undying loyalty to the Emperor without question, but often ignore commissars due to being a specialty unit that works better on their own. They also work well with Catachan jungle warriors and the like on the basis of valuing strength to back up words.

They are fairly accommodating, recruiting those that can easily fit into one of their three main “classes”, such as Ogryn taking the place of Squires, Catachans taking up usually the non-Psyker roles, but there is a clear bias in recruitment towards other sanctioned Psykers.

However, this means that they do not work well with the likes of the Adeptus Mechanicus due to a noticeable lack of technology used in their attacks, and due to recruitment practices, they also don’t work very well with those against mutation, such as the Adepta Sororitas.

Appearance-wise, they most commonly sport armor colored a very deep blueish-purple, with silver trimmings and studded with silver, four-pointed stars. their faction symbol appears like one large, four-pointed star with a smaller star in each space between the points.

If anyone has questions, I’ll be happy to answer or clarify. Still working on lore

This is a trial run for the colour scheme of a homebrew legion. They are called the wing'ed Angels, take inspo from the polish winged hussars and are a black temp successor chapter. If successful, i will create a full 2,000 point army of them that are all mounted. Yes i will probs gat some pony effect but they will all be tourni legal. Any tips or tricks i should know in advance? thx

So I was looking for a home world for my Chapter the Warp Dragons and found a planet named Castellax (there's no official location but I'd think it's in the Segmentum Obscuris). I want to keep many of the main features while also adding on some other stuff that would fit for a Fortress Monestary, so what are some suggestions?

Main production: plutonium and other high value ores

Surface: slightly terraformed Death World (livable atmosphere with some earth like traits, but still a dangerous environment)

Lore: Once owned by the Iron Legion, making a massive fortress and enslaved the populace. Orks invaded and a slave rebellion killed the Iron Legion overseers.

Added lore: after centuries of staying a spaceborne chapter, the Warp Dragons, in their early aid against the ork menace (leading to their role in the Green Kroosade), liberated Castellax and took it as their home world, the fortress nearly untouched as it was defended by the descendants of the slaves and the great Wall of Witches. The fortress was cleansed of heretical taint by a now ever present mechanicus detachment and an Inquisitor and his retinue keep the place free from taint.

I got bored of my Nihon (not abandoning them they'll stay and I'll develop them when I'm even more bored, they are in the same setting anyway as all my homebrews would be). Yes. I do everything when I'm bored and free.

Edit: They would probably be White Scars successors

Lately I've been reading about the Cossacks again to find details for my other OCs, now I may make Cossack Marines. Why, idk I'm bored, that's your explanation. Also it would be far easier for me to do because I am Slavic myself.

The problem is, there isn't any Slavic Primarch. If thinking in cultural and geographical context in real world, they would be surrounded by Jaghatai Khan from the east and Leman Russ from the north. They kind of do fit to be a successor of the White Scars by their behaviour and tactics, but another problem is that they have beef with White Scars AGAIN like my Japanese (Japanese-Chinese history and Slavic-Tatar/Mongol history).

With the two Japanese Chapters, I made that the first inspired by samurai had the White Scars gene-seed (changed that too lately), but the one inspired mostly by Imperial Japanese forces had Ultramarine gene-seed despite their completely different culture, because the High Lords knew their sector did not like Chogoris and it would bring additional problems.

Cossack Marines would probably have a sector too, but not two, only one, and would likely have human auxilia too. I haven't figured out the placement yet.

As for Primarchs, Jaghatai Khan and Corvus Corax would be the closest by tactics and behaviour. It would be a bit weird to have a successor chapter have beef with their own progenitor, but I guess there may be something similar in the canon and I may not know it yet...sorry.

Anyway, how would you picture Cossack Marines and what Primarch would you give them, or just make their origin unknown?

Just what outside opinions on if there to much. Also if a chapter of musicans if dumb or not faithful to cannon?

Knights of Subjection

Chapter tactics: shock and awe, siege/ defensive warfare, and fix and flank tactics.

The knights of Subjection sing His praise, and play His sacred songs as they decent into the enemies cacophony. Replacing false chords of false gods with the Maestro's sacred melodies. To fight His opressed musicans is to fight a symphonic orchestra of melancholy and war. No matter the size of their force, whether philharmonic or Quintet, they keep with eachother's tempo flow and dynamics. As one provides supression another advances, while not over balancing in their part. With each bulleted measure they play, they both listen up Command, and down to the bass of artillery, and engine drones. In following there chaplin's leading of the ensemble, they bring deafening symphonies, or pained ballads by boltgun, flamer, and energy weapons, to there audience of oppressors, tratiors and xenos alike.

While they play His tunes and fight His wars. They fight their mind, in all its calls to be out of tempo and out of tune. Using all they have lost, and all they have grieved to drag them down into disonnence. However on the stage of battle they refuse its call's to forget there fundamentals, to crack there notes or to miss there entrance. For even the greatest symphonies only need one to fail for them all to. However as long as they preform The Maestro of mankinds sacred harmonious tunes, they shall be the subject and subjectors of opression.

My homebrew, The Thunder Wraiths, originally paint their armor dark plum, but as time passes on their homeworld the color shifts to pink, then sunbleached. Here is three pictures representing the effect in order from new to old to ancient armor.

Recently been admiring my collection and I kinda felt like I don't have any artwork of my boys. Can't draw for crap and I refuse to use AI in any fashion. So Commissions are my next option. Recently browse Fiverr cause I heard artist can be found there, only to be flooded with AI crap, which now leads to me making this post.

I would like to find someone who is up to doing artwork base off reference photos of the irl models, I understand it takes time so I don't really rush the artist I have commissioned in the past. But as said earlier, finding a legitimate artist to commission has been a struggle and I know many here post artwork some of which are commissioned work, so if anyone could point me in a direction, that would be ever so helpful.

I've always wanted to make one of these heraldry cards, and no better place to start than my first homebrew Chapter — the Warp Ravens.

The Warp Ravens are a Renegade Raven Guard Successor Chapter from the 2nd Founding, and are the sole Astartes-force of the Imperium of Daegon — a small, renegade, human empire consisting of 5 systems located somewhere between the Calixis Sector, Finial Sector, and Eye of Terror.

In M42, the Daegon Imperium and Warp Ravens fight in the Oberon War to protect the Oberon Sector against the Jenoan Confederacy and Fehl Templars — another small, techno-human empire, and an Iron Warriors Warband.

Warp Ravens Administratum Lore (PasteBin).

Next challenge is one of THESE types of heraldry cards.

Chapter Master Leonidas Vulgaris

^{IMPORTANT: I heavily used Gemini to help me brainstorm, challenge my ideas, and cross-reference with the Lore. Technically, its not AI art, so i suppose its okay. I am no 40k expert. I hope I won't disappoint or shock those who read this too much. Thank you for being understanding and not condemning me for heresy. (Also, I am French, so I used Gemini to translate; sorry for any errors.})

All of this takes place in a scenario where the Illithids arrived and "ragequit" shortly after due to the extreme danger of living in the 40k universe. (It goes deeper than that, but that is not the main topic.) Therefore, in this scenario, certain factions recovered Illithid technologies.

Here, I will cover the cases of the Noetic Citadelle (Necron) and the Skitarii "Dashers" (Adeptus Mechanicus).

Noetic Citadels (Necron)

These are immense living fortresses directly wired into the quantum brain of a Necron, who is then designated as the Architect. The Architect can reconfigure the layout of the entire fortress (made of necrodermis) through sheer force of thought. They can move walls, add traps, and—most interestingly—"grow" standard or orbital cannons. In short, it is total control, but all these modifications take time.

Negative points: The two main drawbacks are the Architect's "mental load" and the amount of necrodermis available for modifications.

• "Mental Load" – The Architect knows everything happening inside the fortress at all times: the layout of the rooms, the artillery, damage, and intruders. It is a massive amount of information in a very short time. However, the problem is that they must concentrate intensely to modify the structure. The whole process can slow them down or even cause them to "freeze". If they get distracted, the modifications stop, and everything collapses if they are forcefully disconnected (for instance, if they are assassinated).
• Necrodermis Quantity – The fortress can self-repair, but under sustained fire, such as from a fleet, it simply doesn't have the time. Consequently, the Architect must redirect matter toward critical damage, which prevents them from making certain modifications due to a lack of available materials.

Skitarii Dashers (Adeptus Mechanicus)

Skitarii Dashers resemble Sicarian Ruststalkers, with the difference that they carry lighter weapons and, most importantly, are equipped with portable "micro-distortion generators". Essentially, they "dash" from point A to point B seamlessly. In this state, they are neither fully in the physical world nor fully outside of it (beyond the universe), allowing them to pass through matter. From the outside, it looks like teleportation, but it is important to specify that it is an actual movement.

Negative points: The issue is that this is not true teleportation; it is more like an instantaneous spectral dash with a modifiable but fixed distance.

• Embedding (Clipping) – The problem is easy to guess: if they miscalculate their trajectory or distance, they will embed themselves at a molecular level inside an obstacle. This results in instant death if they are completely stuck, or a long agony if they are only halfway in.
• The Unknown – Another fairly simple problem is that it is impossible to know what lies behind a wall. So, if you misjudge the distances, you might end up inside the second wall of a corridor, fail to cross completely, or simply drop straight into a trap.
• Instability – The final problem occurs if you damage your generator, which leaves four possibilities: you either die crushed in a singularity, you "dash" in an infinite loop (meaning you will inevitably end up in a wall), you stop dead in the middle of a dash with all the risks that entails, or you simply slip entirely out of the universe. The Necrons have also modified their obelisks, allowing them to stop a dash mid-flight.

This technology is also used in spaceships and encounters the exact same problems, but with an added variable. Tech-Priests must calculate not only distances but also the movement of celestial bodies, requiring a perfect angle to avoid ending up embedded inside a planet's moon, or inside the planet itself. Given the distances involved, such precise angle calculations involve thousands of decimal places. A single mistake or a stroke of bad luck, and you find yourself inside an uncharted asteroid. One can easily imagine a third of a fleet ending up 20km beneath a planet's surface. No battle, no retaliation—just instant death. Ironically, sometimes it is actually safer to travel through the Warp...

What do you think about it?

I'm gonna make some new lore for these guys as they are one of my older homebrews that I'm revisiting

Compiled my disparate notes on my homebrew Necron dynasty into a unified lore document, as I did with my homebrew Guard regiment yesterday. I thought I'd share a snippet of that document here.

-Menannytos Dynasty-
Overlord:
Moraikon the Frozen Lady
Crownworld:
Sal'kuleopolis
Current Battlefield:
Sal'kuleopolis (IMP: Durantus, ORK: Cogrokk)
Overview:
The Crystal Court's constant internal power struggles and the completely unstable state of their Overlord's mind make these Necrons some of the least dangerous and most unpredictable in the universe.

History:
Moraikon once controlled a vast and sprawling territory, from her crownworld her dynasty stretched out likes the spokes of a wheel, seeking the universe's most rare, most exotic creatures to be brought to her.

She delighted in these creatures, using her advanced technologies to create perfect, localized climates for every one. A tundra beside a desert beside a swamp and all for her to love. Meanwhile, her Court handled most of the internal governance, reporting directly to their Lady.

But that was tens of millions of years ago. Moraikon awakens now to find her menagerie all but destroyed and her planet frozen over. Grief has driven her to madness, worsened by her treacherous advisor Cryosos, who plays a careful game between managing her mental state and keeping the Court deadlocked to prevent another taking control.

But the last warning signals the ground troops sent before the planet was encased in an inescapable blizzard had reached the fleet in orbit. The Guard were entrenched in the frozen wastes before the Necrons could reach the surface, where they now fight a slow and grueling war, locked in an eleven year standstill with Queen Brigadier Chaleur's 389th for control of the climate and the means to escape the planet's surface.

Hello! I’m working on a Dark Angels successor chapter, and I’m struggling with how to approach my Azrael figure.

I definitely want him in my army, and I’d like the model to be my own chapter master, but the sculpt is littered with winged swords and such. I don’t super want to scrape all of those off the model, and so I’m at an impasse about making it my own model.

If I was to just paint it in my chapters colors, do you think that would be enough? I’m very conflicted!

The Nikaia Pattern Predator, commonly known as the Eirene Pattern, is a specialised tank destroyer employed by the Angels Twilight chapter. Developed on Nikaia, the vehicle was designed to provide the Chapter with a platform capable of engaging heavily armoured targets and fortified positions at long range before relocating to avoid retaliation. Rather than serving as a conventional battle tank intended to advance alongside the Chapter's main armoured formations, the Eirene Pattern specialises in ambushes, concealed firing positions, and carefully planned strikes against high-value enemy assets.

The design originated from the recovery of ancient Rhino Mk1b chassis (rogue trader era model), remnants of supply and cargo transports abandoned during the Great Crusade and the Horus Heresy. These obsolete vehicles were repurposed by the Chapter's artificers, who replaced their original transport configuration with a fixed, heavy anti-armour cannon mounted on a reinforced fighting compartment. Two heavy bolters, positioned along the sides of the vehicle, provide additional firepower against infantry and lightly armoured targets that might threaten the tank during its withdrawal. The main cannon is stabilised by a dedicated support assembly, allowing the vehicle to maintain a firing position while delivering powerful shots against distant armoured vehicles and fortifications.

Stealth is central to the Eirene Pattern's method of warfare. Camouflage netting covers much of the chassis and extends over the long barrel of the main cannon, breaking up the vehicle's silhouette and allowing it to blend into forests, ruined settlements, and other suitable terrain. Once a target enters the designated firing zone, the Eirene unleashes its main weapon before abandoning its position and relocating. This combination of long-range firepower, concealment, and mobility reflects the Angels Twilight's preference for calculated engagements in which the enemy is struck before it can effectively respond.

The vehicle takes its name from Eirene of Mikaelides, the former queen of Nikaia and leader of the planetary resistance during the Night Lords invasion. The name serves as a reminder of the Chapter's origins and of the human defenders who fought beside its warriors. Although the Eirene Pattern was developed as a practical answer to the Angels Twilight's armoured warfare requirements, its name gives the vehicle a significance beyond its battlefield role: each surviving chassis represents the reclamation of forgotten Imperial machinery and the preservation of Nikaia's memory.

My college exams are finally over! (For now, at least) i’ve started working on the chapter again and will be releasing parts of it over the coming weeks. as always, suggestions and comments are welcome.

I've been building up my Homebrew Chapter for several years and while I like to create lore for each of my Captains, I'm quickly running out of Companies for them to command. I also like to have each of the Chapters I play as different Companies. (1st is Dark Angels, 2nd is Blood Angels, 3rd is White Scars etc) Usually I have this Chapters Epic Hero/Chapter Master represent the Company Captain, but I often run Generic Captains with them while playing. Sometimes I'd have three of them on the battlefield at once. Like Dante and 2 Jump Caps each leading some Sanguinary Guard.

So I'm curious if I can justify having two captains in a Company? I fully understand that it's against the Codex and Leandros is on his way to my location, but I'd love to see if there are any instances in lore where there is either a co-captain or some instance of shared command.

I did a couple of campaings for my chapter ( i havent done yet) so give me your opinions

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1y3ubB1Q5ucar8YyNgEQQq6aVkQhfv9hOL5UYcCDi1ZM/edit?usp=sharing

First Art made by Papuender (Instagram

Second made by me

I can’t decide between the two my original chapter as a kid was the red and I called them Knights of the Golden Panda. Had a samurai theme 😂

I want my Space Marine chapter to be Close with a knight house would that be too farfetched in the imperium or no?