hey all!

forgive me if this has been done before, but i thought it would be interesting to see what kinds of warbands were being run in your games. For my part, i give you the Covenant of the Shattered Blade.

Amon, The Forsaken Champion. (sorcerer)

A fell Sorcerer whose trappings lead many to wonder at his origins, Amon is a new arrival to the screaming vortex. Very little is known about the self proclaimed Forsaken Champion, save what has come from his own mouth. marking himself as the last psyker of a once great war host, the general consensus is that Amon is one of the last, if not the last librarian of the World Eaters Legion. His proclivity for close combat, fits of monstrous rage and armor design lend credence to this theory. A frightening combatant, Amon brings death with both bolt, force axe, and the mind bending psychic ability he wields. this however, is not where Amon's true talent lies. Amon is a gifted seer, capable of discerning the consequences an action can have on the future, a gift his benefactors in Forge Polix have come to rely on. Though Amon associates himself neither with Khorne nor the World Eaters, many a Khornate warrior has sought out Amon, sometimes in an attempt to offer up his skull to the Blood God, and sometimes to pay homage to the sorcerer, whom many believe to be touched by Khorne in one way or another. Amon himself has no opinion on the matter.

Amon is currently a guest of Magos Onuris in the Hollows, trading his battle prowess and precognition for sanctuary and unrestricted access to Polix's foundries and librariums. It is as of yet unclear what Amon is looking for, but the multitude of daemon engines and texts regarding one Kharn of the World Eaters lead many to believe that the Forsaken Champion has unfinished buisness outside of the Vortex.

Toryn The Bloody-Handed (Forsaken)

in a legion as cruel and murderous as the Night Lords, it may seem unthinkable that there are crimes that would warrant the legion to execute one of its own. however, there are times when a Night Lord's crimes against his own are so heinous that he must paint his gauntlets red, forever marking him as condemned for death. Toryn is one such soul. Though he refuses to say what crimes his committed, Toryn will say that he fled his warband rather than wait for an ignoble execution at the hands of his leader. A brilliant assault marine, Toryn seeks nothing more than to prove his martial supremacy, a trait that may shed some light on his marking. Toryn has also kept his gauntlets painted red out of a warped sense of duty, believing that all who deal with him should know him for what he is. Toryn has earned the everlasting enmity of the Storm Wardens Space Marine Chapter, for Toryn slew one of their champions in single combat and claimed his relic chainsword, a weapon from the dawn of the chapter, as his own. To this day, the Storm Wardens hunt for Toryn, both to reclaim their lost heirloom and to make Toryn pay for is grave affront to their honor.

Toryn has come to the Hollows in the hopes of Claiming a suit of Terminator Armor, believing that if he can challenge his once leader and win, Toryn can absolve himself of his crimes. To this end, Toryn fights on the behalf of Magos Onuris, testing himself against the many deadly creations of Forge Castir and, hopefully, improving his chances of winning a coveted set of Terminator Armor.

Magos Octavius (Heretek)

Magos Octavius, currently seconded to Amon, is a rather peculiar man, even for a Heretek of Forge Polix. Trained by the Exospectre himself at Forge Castir, no one is entirely sure why Octavius decided to defect to Forge Polix, but Magos Onuris cannot afford to turn down any help he can get. Octavius is a master siegecraftsman, rivalling even the warsmiths of the Iron Warriors, though the sons of Perturabo who have seen Octavius's work are loathe to admit it. Octavius has also dabbled in warpcraft and psykana, creating some of the most effective and frightening daemon engines Forge Polix has ever created. Magos Onuris constantly beseeches Octavius  to teach other Hereteks what he knows, but to no avail. Octavius is jealous of his skill, and refuses to give it to others as long as he can. The magos is also a suprising combatant, wading into combat with weaponry and protection to fight even the worst of Castir's horrors to a standstill. 

Magos Octavius has never left the Hollows, and is enraptured by the many stories Amon tells of the wider galaxy. though he knows his place for the time is aiding Forge Polix in its war with Castir, Octavius hopes one day to leave at the side of Amon, whom he believes to be his true master.

Inquisitor Razaezel Kayne (Apostate)

Inquisitor Razaezel Kayne is perhaps one of the most influencial people outside of the Vortex. inducted into the Holy Ordos of The Inquisition by a secret Phaenonite, Kayne was placed in a position to rise inside the Tyrantine Cabal so that the Phaenonites could learn the patterns and perhaps a means of control over the Tyrant Star. However, Razaezel's connections to the heretical Phaenonites were discovered, and she was branded Excommunicate Traitoris. taking what few resources she could call to her side, Razaezel fled aboard her light cruiser, the Blackened, to the Great Warp Storms, hoping to flee to the Koronus expanse. unfortunately, Razaezel's ship was caught in the riptides of the Screaming Vortex, dragging her into its interior and depositing her crippled craft in orbit around the Hollows. 

Turned completely to the worship of Chaos, Razaezel is integral to destroying Forge Castir From Within, having formed several small cults that seek nothing more than the augmented head of the Exospectre. though many of these cults have been stamped out, some have survived the purges, and established themselves in the lower foundries, where few dare tread. Although her primary function is as a facilitator of unrest, Razaezel can defend herself, although she prefers to leave the fighting to her more robust companions.

I think this is an outstanding idea! I am going to actually show this post to my group, it's exactly the sort of backstory I've been encouraging them to come up with.  Once I have some of their backgrounds I'll pop a reply in here to add to the rolls of infamy.

Looks like a very fun thread. I'm afraid my own group has not done enough yet to warrent writing up much but I hope some others will share their dark adventures with us.

This is very well done. As soon as my players (An Apostate, Heretek, Forsaken, and Champion) get use to the setting, I'll publish their backstory as well. Speaking of such, does anyone know where I could direct my players for WH 40K Lore, besides the front/back of the core rules?

The Lord of Wisdom provides.

Hail Lord Thúmis!

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page

I'm planning on having my adverntures revolve around a child like Own Krysler the 'Judge Child' from 2000ad. He was a child born according to a propecy that woudl save Mega City 1 and was marked by having a full eagle birthmark on his head. He als ended up having a mutant clone that was insanely powerful and turned the city in a zombie wasteland in a future iteration of the prophecy.

Lets see I ran a game a few months back with a few characters in it. Not all of them survived and I can't recall all of their names but I'll give a whirl at it. The group named themselves The Shadow Council.

Nicholas Santos (Nurgle aligned Heretek)

Nicholas Santos is a horrifying example of when the unhinged mind of a maniac and true genius are combined. No longer held back by any morals he might often feel he is doing them a favour by passing on Grandfather Nurgle's gifts. His mind allowed him fine manipulation of machinery but his true love was to mutate and create new diseases. It is said by some in hushed tones that he is trying desperately to balance the scales for some "vile" wrong doing, at least so in his own mind, against Nurgle. He gleefully spreads diseases, often creating more new and disturbing gifts from the Light Cruiser he has dubbed "Nurgle's Sleigh". Some said he was previously an Inquisitor of the Ordo Sepulcharum who created a vacine to cure a plague set to wipe out a world but the vacine ended in the torment of those he wished to save. Other tales tell of a talented master chirugeon who had to make the order to quarantine and purge his hospital including his son… all the tales end in much the same way, the purging of a disease and a horrible price paid that drove the man insane. None are ever voiced to Nicholas for though jovial in demeanor he is quite demented. Nicholas ascended to Daemon Princedom to have eternity to right his wrong at Grandfather's side creating a new batch of gifts "for all the good little girls and boys".

Malak (Undivided Chosen- Fallen).

Malak sought to gain the favour of the gods and wreak a bloody vengeance upon his foes, namely the Dark Angels and Lion El Johnson who had betrayed them. Having a rather black sense of humour he would often make mysterious comments. He gathered together other Fallen and sought the knowledge where ever he could to create new legionaires insisting that he would recreate the first legion in a pure form. His own descent into madness was noted by the other Council members but few could deny his skill at arms. Indeed so great a threat was he that an agent of the Officio Assasinorum was dispatched to end his life, though grevously wounded Malak survived. Later two full companies from a Dark Angel's successor chapter cornered him and the Shadow Council to end his life which they almost achieved however the fickle Chaos Gods whisked this chosen beyond their reach by means of Ascension. Now he rules over a world all of his very own in the glow of a warp storm where he has set up his own Order and of the knights he finds worthy will raise them to be lesser daemons under his guidance. Some day he will return to the wider galaxy at the head of a new first legion.

Count Valder Monsbergen (Undivided Apostate)

Tales are told of Valder Monsbergen, a man it is said was originally sent to study in Hive Tarsus upon Scintilla itself to enter the Ecclesiarchy.  He only it is said wished to make sure people were happy but realised that the Imperium made people's lives miserable. He moved persued as he went through the sector his honeyed words spreading civil unrest. It is said his musings led a planetary governor and a hive world's populace to secede from the Imperium. Of course when the Imperium came to bring the world to heal by force Valder had already left… in his delussional mind there was not a shred of guilt over the blood shed that ensued. Many would mistake him for a follower of Slaanesh due to his many many wanton excesses. In fact he lived aboard a frigate plated in gold with his own maniacly grinning face sculpted upon the prow. The gods had blessed him with golden skin, silver hair and eyes that were said to look like diamonds. He penned a treatise on leadership which although many more strong minded and objective observers will recognise as nothing more than self agrandising propaganda of the worst sort, some have become enraptured by it. Valder's unwillingness to bend knee to a god clearly slighted them however as they found a place for him amongst the lower ranks of the servants of Chaos as a chaos spawn.

Garl (Undivided Renegade)

His homeworld wracked by ruin  in the wake of the guidance of Valder Garl swore vengeance upon the man above all and then the Imperium. Tracking him through the years he sadly found him a few weeks after he had become a mewling pile of mutations. An accomplished sniper Garl carved a place for himself in the Shadow Council. He was not a member for very long before the descendants of the Dark Angels fell on the world they had claimed as their own called Nephilim in order to apprehend or kill Malak and the Fallen who followed him. After seeing Malak's ascension he swiftly left the world, took command of one of the Frigates and told the fleet he was to enact one of Malak's daring plans and to hold the line… before turning to the bridge crew of his own ship and said that the world was lost and he would see them to safety. He was last heard of leaving the Hollows, having as a full member of the council collected the Grand Cruiser they had left their for repairs… the other surviving members may have issue with his theft if they can find him and prise it from his hands.

Khan (Undivided Forsaken)

Khan is a White Scars Astrates who went renegade after he and his brothers ran afoul of a powerful Daemon, he gladly betrayed his brothers to save his own life… a fact he is not ashamed of in the slightest. A deadly shot with his two finely wrought plasma pistols the scaly skinned gunslinger seeks adventure and plunder as well as the grace of the Dark Gods

The Tzeentchian (Tzeentchian Psyker)

A quiet but powerful psyker and founding member of the council who survives, always sitting quietly and patiently in many of the meetings before unleashing his fury on the battlefield or in other more subtle unseen ways. It is said he was taken from his homeworld aboard the Black Ships but took part in an uprising which he was one of the lucky few to survive and flee.