(From the Discord)

I have developed a bit of a process for doing this by this point. It is a bit chicken and egg whether you start with a name or a backstory, but whatever comes to mind first works. I don’t go one-by-one but instead something here might affect or inspire another part. Keep going and changing until you love the chapter. You will know when it’s right.

1) Are you a successor chapter? Think about what you can draw on from your parent chapter as you write what they are like.

2) What is your chapter’s way of fighting/where do they fight/who do they fight? Think of this like a class within an RPG: Barbarian, Warrior, Paladin, Mage, Cleric etc. Maybe they like tanks, assault, or specialise in other aspects of war. Some chapters in 35k specialise in boarding actions.

3) How does their homeworld influence them? Does their homeworld have a specific culture, climate, history, belief system etc. that influences their mindset and practices?

4) What is their demeanour? The Chapter Traits section of the 4th ed Space Marine Codex has ones like dutiful, zealous, pious, wise, courageous. All of these can relate to the relevant traits and drawbacks, which in turn tie into who they are.

5) What is a twist they have? It’s easy for your chapter to be one dimensional – the Paladins Navis were originally Imperial Fists in space. So think about a character flaw, or a key event that shaped them into something you wouldn’t expect. Think of it like ‘My chapter is like this BUT…’. It’s these twists and flaws that makes a character more well-rounded and believable.

6) When do they exist and who do they side with? Are they a chapter that survived the Interregnum? Do they disappear in the Age of Apostasy? Think about whether they are a 35k specific chapter or one that someone could collect in 40k. The Void Watchers were invented as a 35k specific chapter, surviving into the 41st millennium only with the handful who were sent into the Deathwatch.

Colour Schemes: When making a colour scheme you can look through the following post for inspiration, as well as the attached image. This might show you some chapters that you can tweak to make yours different.

Chapters by colours: https://www.reddit.com/r/spacemarines/comments/xg9g1d/space_marine_chapters_sorted_by_color/?share_id=iUsOlmkWhZAMu1hho5Ri6&utm_content=2&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_source=share&utm_term=1

Space Marine painter: https://bolterandchainsword.com/bcp/smp.php

Chapter Icons: It is tempting to do a chapter Icon that’s difficult to paint. I would say:

Painted Chapter Icons: When you make it, try painting it out. Is this achievable? Having painted a lot of Lamenters, this is an example of one that’s time consuming but not impossible. Carcharodons are an example of quite a hard one to get right, as if you get the proportions wrong it’s quite easy to notice.

Pre-made chapter Icons: Some chapters (like the Knights of Vengeance and Doom Rooks) I designed to be similar enough to other chapter icons so you can use the printed transfers from people who sell them on eBay or other places. You can easily change an icon by cutting it, adding a sword, or something like that.

Icons from other armies: There are some chapters that use icons from other game systems or armies as the basis. The Red Templars use a transfer from the Brettonians. I copied in a few transfer sheets that might give ideas. You have general transfer sheets you can get for armies then a lot of boxes will come with transfer sheets, which some people might be selling on eBay.

Putting it together:

Generate your icon and paint your dude with the Bolter and Chainsaw painter, then write out a two-page summary of who they are. There are examples from the 35k books as well as other fan made chapters that do this.