Jungle Juice: January 2011

Jungle Juice: Void Spectres by Patrick Eibel
Creating an army list and background is a very personal thing. Doing these tasks for someone else can be challenging, because the choices you make may not be the same as what they would have done. However, there are those who are thankful for any help, and so another installment of Jungle Juice is here. We recently received the following:

I’m writing to ask for some help with my DIY chapter: “The Void Spectres”. I’m using Codex: Dark Angels to create my very own Terminator-heavy force, but I could use some input - both on composition and on the fluff part. I’m terrible at putting together fiction text, so all of my ideas are summarized as follows:

Entire chapter found floating in stasis aboard a space hulk by Imperial Navy when the hulk drifted into system (exact quadrant to be decided)

Always fields AT LEAST 1 Venerable Dreadnought (pilot is former Chapter Master, a la Shiva the Destroyer)

Do you have any ideas, as to how to carry on? Both with fluff (which I’d greatly appreciate help on) and with army selection?

Thomas is a regular on the Jungle Facebook page, and I think it is great that we have fans all over the world. Thomas also sent a list of what he currently owns and some other ideas that I will address as we start to put together a backstory and army list.

Getting Started
To give some context to our proceedings, the first thing I need to address is a source for inspiration. When writing fluff, it is usually best to avoid obvious references. For instance, if you are doing a Star Wars-themed army, using names like Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker are both obvious and awkward. I love the look of the Dark Angels, so I am mainly looking for an inspiration for the backstory. In this case, I am going to go fairly obvious, in a manner of speaking. Since Thomas is from Denmark, I think it would be cool to base his army around the greatest story set in Denmark – Hamlet.

The Army List
Since Thomas included a list with his submission, the next thing we can do is attach names to the list based upon our theme:

HQ
Lucianus, Master of the Deathwing (counts as Belial). Using the name “Hamlet” would be too obvious, but Lucianus is the Hamlet figure in the play-within-a-play Hamlet uses to trap Claudius.
Interrogator-Chaplain Polonius
Librarian Voltimand

Elites
Dreadnought Brother Rosencrantz with assault cannon, heavy flamer
Dreadnought Brother Guildenstern with twin linked auto-cannon, missile launcher
Veteran Squad (“Circle of Elders”)

Troops
Deathwing Squad Laertes – one heavy flamer, one Company Banner, one Apothecary (Inner Circle of Lucianus)
Deathwing Squad Osric - one with assault cannon
Deathwing Squad Horatio – one with assault cannon
Deathwing Squad Fortinbras – one with cyclone missile launcher
May take Tactical Squads

Fast Attack
Ravenwing Support Squadron – Land Speeders with multimeltas
Ravenwing Support Squadron – Land Speeders with typhoon missile launchers
May take Ravenwing Attack Squadrons

Heavy Support
May take Land Raiders for transport
May take Devastator Squads

Background
The previous Chapter Master, Tarquin, was killed recently while on a mission. Lucianus was the designated successor, but as he takes over commanding the chapter, he suspects that there may have been foul play and worries that perhaps he may suffer the same fate as the previous master. The only ones he truly trusts are the members of his Inner Circle. As the chapter travels upon its battle barge, Elsinore, continuing its ongoing mission, Lucianus carries out his own careful investigations to find the traitor, or traitors, working against him.

Who or what is working to undermine Lucianus can be the subject of future campaigns or stories. Perhaps it is even someone within the chapter.

Conclusion
I think this provides a general framework that Thomas can build upon as he sees fit. The plot, while borrowing from Hamlet, also calls to mind the fluff of the Dark Angels and their hunt for Cypher. The rumor mill suggests that Dark Angels may be in the new boxed set that will accompany 6^th Edition, so it will be interesting to see what changes any revisions may bring. Hopefully, Thomas likes the backstory and will share his army’s progress on our Facebook page.

Until next time, ask yourself, does your army got juice? If not, we are here to help.