Gauntlets of Dorn

Gauntlets of Donr armorial with chapter iconography - a fist clenching a lightning bolt.

Quartered red and yellow armor, with a golden trim and aquila.

## Space Marine Chapter

### **Allegiance**

Imperium of Man
(*Fedelitas Totalis*)

### **Successor of**

Imperial Fists
(Rogal Dorn lineage.)

### **Allies**

Rampagers
The Lion's Praetorians
Red Crusaders
Red Scorpions
Imperial Fists
Last Wall Chapters

### **Battle cry**

"We repent for our ancient sins!"/"Bring the enemies pain!"

### Successor Chapter(s)

N/A

The **Gauntlets of Dorn** are a 4th Founding Successor Chapter of Dorn's blood. They were formed in the wake of the disastrous War of the Beast in 546.M32, after the Imperium was brought to its knees and multiple Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes were effectively wiped out. The initial command cadre was formed from the loyalist remnants of a formerly Loyalist Chapter, the Emperor's Hounds, that had fallen to the insidious influence of Chaos in 345.M32. Only Captain Jedidiah Barrio of the prestigious II company, the II company ancient Marten Varrix, the four battleline marines Ajax Tor; Basil Forracio; Col Callas; and Adrian Petreussius; men of Barrio's company, Signifer Marten Varrix, Apothecary Atticus Chu, the gravely wounded Chaplain Josef Carros, the lone marine Krystof Allakor of V company, a scant dozen scouts, and half of the crew of Barrio's Own survived the massacre and betrayal of the Hounds.

After being thoroughly tested by Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus - physically, morally and spiritually, they were deemed acceptable to continue, with a close eye watching. Passing these rigorous test, the remaining loyalist Astartes were deemed 'free of heresy'. Following the successful completion of a 200 year long penitent crusade they were finally redeemed and granted the Emperor's forgiveness. During the 4th Founding, Captain Jedidiah Barrio was granted the honor of becoming the Chapter Master of a new chapter, with the other marines aiding him.

## Chapter History

The Gauntlets of Dorn were formed from sinful beginnings, after their parent chapter - the Emperor's Hounds Chapter - fell to Chaos and joined the Wolves of the Betrayer Chaos Warband. Captain Jedidiah and the survivors voluntarily turned themselves over to the mercy of Imperial authorities and handed over to the Ordo Hereticus. The Inquisition thoroughly tested the supposedly loyalist Astartes - in body, mind and spirit. Finding no moral or physical corruption, the Astartes were given one final test to prove their loyalty and dedication - they were to undertake a 200-year-long penitent crusade. Despite suffering through many difficult trials and tribulations, in the end, they completed this final task. They finally earned the right to be granted the Emperor's forgiveness and were redeemed of their former brothers' sins.

During the subsequent 4th Founding, Captain Jedidiah was chosen for the high honour of being made a Chapter Master of a brand new chapter. He went on to create one of the mentally strongest chapters of this Founding - able to resist the mind tricks of psykers, unlike their parent chapter. He also taught them art, showing them the beauty of it to instil precision and skill.

## Notable Campaigns

* **Zaeron Campaign (849.M32)**: Zaeron fell to the Wolves of the Betrayer, and the Gauntlets of Dorn attacked. They tore through the Wolves defense’s with a righteous fury. The Wolves realized it was their loyalist cousin’s, and fought back with venom. The battle was fierce, but the Gauntlet’s refused to give up, pushing through their massive casualties. The 4th company was crippled, with only a dozen brother’s surviving. They retook the planet after a week, and from limited heretic records the entire garrison was destroyed.
* **The Slaughter of Kharos III:** Kharos III, a planet in the Kharos system, was under attack by the Wolves of the Betrayer. PDF reports stated that the invading force numbered around 300 and were apparently led by Kaerus the Baleful, and they were locked into a deadly war of attrition. The Gauntlets of Dorn deployed three companies of Astartes, the IVth, Vth, and VIth, alongside elements of the first company to the world with naval assets, led by High Centurion Jedidiah Barrio himself. Their initial task force would also include three companies of the Lion's Praetorians and the Cadian 109th. The Gauntlets arrived first, and quicjkly made planetfall. It was under their assumption that the Cadians and Praetorians were right behind them, but due to warp instability they were almost a month late. That month would be deadly, and as the Astartes made planetfall, a signal was sent by chaos witches to the chaos fleet hiding in a nearby system. As the Gauntlets stomped their foes, the chaos fleet appeared in a rift. Engaging the limited Imperial Naval vessels and the Astartes' two strike cruisers and escorts, they took immediate damage. The traitors made planetfall themselves, and a desperate battle would occur. Led by Judah the Betrayer, the Wolves descended upon their hated loyalist brethren with a passion. Outnumbered 3-1, the Gauntlets consolidated forces at the capitol city and made their stand as their thunderhawks began preparing an escape. Under cover provided by circled navy vessels, Thunderhawks began screaming into the atmosphere to evacuate more troops and personnel. Using PDF and AAstartes vessels, they began evacuating their own forces and as many civilians and PDF troops as possible. In the battles, Jedidiah Barrio died in an honor duel against Kaerus the Baleful. Rather than falling by Kaerus's blade, he was felled by the trickery of Judah, leading to his infamous title. All in all, only half the Astartes survived the battle.

## Chapter Homeworld

Dolmicarrio, a beautiful garden world in a system of death world's and a few hive cities.

### Fortress-Monastery

The Iron Fortress is the chapter's fortress monastery, and it shows the defensive power of the Gauntlet's of Dorn. It's outer walls are built in the bastion fortress design in shape and are a half-mile high, dotted with massive point defense guns and anti-air emplacements. The towering inner structure stood a hundred feet taller and was built over a massive underground fortress, the soures of the keep covered with anti-air emplacements, missiles, artillery pieces, and vast auspex arrays. The diameter of the outer wall's is 16 miles, and over a hundred meters thick, with gun turrets, field guns, and bolter slits inside of it, making it nigh impossible to hide from the punishing blasts of heavy ordnance, piercing lasers of lascannons, and storms of bolts.

## Chapter Organisation

The chapter’s companies are called 'Centuries', and organized so the sixth company is a battle company in addition.

### Command Ranks

* **High Centurion**: Equivalent of Chapter Master
* **Centurion**: Equivalent of Captain
* **Optio**: Equivalent of Lieutenant

### Specialist Ranks

* **High Chaplain**
* **Chaplain**
* **Master of the Librarius**
* **Librarian**
* **High Apothecary**
* **Apothecary**
* **Forge Master**
* **Techmarine**
* **High Signifer**: Equivalent of Chapter ancient
* **Signifer: Company Ancient**

### Line Ranks

* **Veteran Watch-Master**
* **Watch-master**
* **Battle-Brother**
* **Scout Marine**
* **Neophyte**

### Specialist Formations

* **Hoplite Squad:** An extremely common force, Hoplites bear large battleshields, heavier and more powerful than standard combat shields. They generally are used in breakthrough tactics, alongside heavy defenses. They move forward, unwavering in fire that even other astartes may falter in. Large slabs of ceramite with adamantine framework stopping thousands of rounds of small arms fire with ease, and shielding tech protecting against anti-armor weapons, the Hoplites were formed as more ad-hoc forces in the early chapter's history to stop the casualties caused during the chapter's fiery baptism. Originally using any pattern of combat shield around, now they're mostly standard to a few patterns.

## Chapter Culture

The Gauntlet's of Dorn are a group of conservative Imperial Purists, much like the Red Scorpions. They have worked together on numerous operations.

## Chapter Gene-Seed

They are of the blood of Dorn, and display it proudly. They have a pathological need to inscribe their fallen's bones and have lost the use of the Betcher's Gland and the the Omophagea but have regained the use of their sus-an membrane.

### Primarch's Curse: Death Before Dishonor

Like their Progenitors, the Gauntlets of Dorn also suffer the same cure of their gene-seed:

* **Level 1 (Suffer Not Failure)** - The Battle-Brother believes himself deficient in some manner, whether real or imagined, and becomes truculent and obstructive when ordered to redeploy in the face of a stronger foe. When acting as a squad leader or Deathwatch Kill-team leader, he makes demands of his squad that others might consider unreasonable, and views any disagreement as outright disobedience.
* **Level 2 (Beware Hubris)** - The Battle-Brother spends his every waking moment brooding on past battles, seeking even the slightest flaw in his own deeds, and those of others. While he stops short of outright criticism of his Battle-Brothers, he condemns his own actions as falling short of the example set by his Primarch, and seeks to redeem himself in the fires of battle.
* **Level 3 (None Are Flawless)** - The Battle-Brother obsessively reviews every detail of every mission he takes part in, finding fault with his own actions and those of his squad. He becomes withdrawn, maudlin and confrontational, and unwilling to accept or issue any order that does not result in imminent battle.

## Deathwatch Service

The warriors of the Gauntlet's of Dorn consider the Deathwatch useful as it teaches them how to better hunt xenos scum.

## Notable Members

* **High Centurion Jedidiah**: Jedidiah was the Patriarch and first Chapter Master of the Gauntlets of Dorn. A former Captain of the fallen of the Emperor's Hounds chapter, he led those few battle-brothers that remained loyal to the Emperor, against their traitorous former kin. In battle, Jedidiah wielded *The Spear of Justice* and wore a relic suit of master-crafted artificer armor. On the dunes of Kharos III, the aging Jedidiah fell in battle against the Wolves of the Betrayer. Jedidiah had attacked Kaerus the Betrayer and engaged in an honor duel. Clashed, the two brutal warriors were equal matches. The sheer dedication and stubborness of Jedidiah and the chaos-infused might of Kaerus were equal. The duel was cut short by warp lightning striking Jedidiah not from the hands of Kaerus but Judah. Finished off by Judah's staff, the pair began their own duel, though were forced to retreat when reinforcements led by Centurion Alesys and his Sixth Company arrived. When Alesys found him, he had already died of his wounds. Alesys immediately put Jedidiah to the care of his personal apothecary. Though desperate in attempts to save his life, he was long dead and beyond saving. Now, his bones lay build into the very throne each High Centurion sits in.
* **High Centurion Sebastian Adamos:** Brave, stalwart, and extremely tactical. They are the qual

## Chapter Fleet

The Chapter have a larger average sized fleet, with several battle barges. One of the more interesting developments of the chapter is the chapter's own two patterns of strike cruiser, produced nearly exclusively in the shipyards of Naaeom IV due to the chapter's reclamation of the STC's. These vessels are the Crusader and Barrio Pattern Strike Cruisers.

The Barrio pattern is a stalwart powerhouse of a design, a sturdy beast that punches far above it's weight-class. Designed for troop support and anti-light and medium vessel combat, it is by no means ineffective against larger ships due to it's large missile arsenal. It's a larger; bulkier vessel with more powerful engines, stronger void shields, and armed with 10 macro-cannon batteries; five on starboard and five on port, two forward facing torpedo tubes, two bow mounted lances; two dual-lance turrets; and an aft lance, missile and plasma point defense systems, and a rack of 6 Doomblast missiles; armed with massive plasma charges. The Doomblast missiles are one of the highlights of the vessel, extremely effective against cruisers and planetary targets.

The Crusader pattern Strike Cruiser is more of a specialized vessel, specifically designed for going toe to toe with larger vessels. It is a hunter-killer designed ship, nimble and packing a massive arsenal. Nimble, dexterous, and yet still durable and packing a large punch. Armed with great batteries of lances and deployed with large stores of torpedoes alongside a small few macrocannon batteries and point defense systems, and equipped with extremely powerful engines and shields for it's smaller size, the Crusader is a potent weapon. Crusader pattern vessels can reliably strike down not only larger cruisers but even battleships, especially those commanded by those underestimating the capability of the vessel due to it's size.

At current times, their fleet consists of the Bellephron Heavy Assault Cruiser *Barrio's Own*, the Ironclad *Truth and Justice,* battle barges *Shield of Innocence; Hammer of Dorn;* *Reborn in Loyalty; Skybreaker;* and the *Sword of the Emperor,* the Barrio class Strike Cruisers *Wrath of Gods; Angelfall;* *Krakenguard;* *Toll the Damned;* *Vanquisher;* and *Fury of the Ancients*, the Crusader pattern Strike Cruisers *Coming of Doom; Vengeance of Kharos III, Reaper of Souls;* and *Old Ironsides,* the Mark I Vanguard cruiser *His Will,* Mark II Cruisers *Purity of Faith* and *Galaxy Runner,* Mark III cruisers *Fear the Skies;* *Barrio's Own;* and *Guardian of Purity,* the Nova class frigates *End of Days; Emperor's Eyes; Defiance of Doom; Rampager; Wanderer; Starborn; Gravedigger; Bloodbath; and the Son of the Void,* and the Gladius class cruiser *Warprunner; Bells of Doom;* and *Murderdeath.*

## Chapter Relics

* ***The Spear of Justice***: The ancient spear wielded by Jedidiah before even the chapter's formation, a powerful relic and a weapon nearly unmatched in craftmanship and ability.

* ***Protector***: Relic Artificer armor of Jedidiah, ceremonially worn by the High Centurion

* ***Protéctor Eórum***: Relic storm shield, wielded by the 1st Centurion along with Percutiens Tonitrua.

* ***Percutiens Tonitrua***: Relic thunder hammer wielded by the 1st Centurion.

* ***Barrio's Own***: Barrio's Own is a relic Heavy Assault Cruiser. It comes from the ages of the Emperor's Hounds, and from before the Hounds the Imperial Fists. She was rechristened Barrio's Own after the actions of the young Jedidiah Barrio, saving the vessel from a daemonic incursion due to a shot gellar field. She served well throughout the final decades of the Emperor's Hounds, and in the Great Betrayal, her crew fought off a mutiny and remained loyal to the Emperor. It was the vessel Captain Barrio and his small force of battle-hardened marines escaped in, alongside a small force of neophytes in a desperate retreat, with as much pressure alleviated by the sacrifice of the majority of II company and mixed loyalist forces, led predominantly by First Captain Jakob Pannia and Master of Sanctity Cal Tsitak. Even with their sacrifice, the vessel was forced to break out of the Blood Eagle blockade, suffering great damage. It served through the entirety of the history of the Gauntlets of Dorn, it's crew one of the greatest and most elite of them all.
* ***Loyalty Amongst Betrayal:*** The very standard Signifer Marten Varrix refused to let but brush against the earth of the accursed ground in the *Culling of Hounds,* it stands to this day as a symbol of purity and faith, even in the grimmest of times.

## Chapter Appearance

### Chapter Colors

Yellow and red quartered armor with gold trim and faceplate.

## Relation

### Allies

* **Last Wall Chapters**: The Gauntlets of Dorn are allies with the chapters of the Last Wall, and will always answer to their call.

* **Ordo Xenos**: The Gauntlets of Dorn also have a tendency to work with the Order Xenos a lot, with Chaplain Erikson joining the Deathwatch fully.

### Enemies

* **Wolves of the Betrayer**: The enemies of the Imperium, especially the Wolves of the Betrayer. The Emperor’s Hounds were their parent chapter, and they are trying to repent their sins.

## Notable Quotes

### By the Gauntlets of Dorn

"*Raze those traitor’s defenses. They have fallen from Dorn’s graces, and we shall make them pay for their sins.*"
— First Captain Thor ordering a siege on Wolves of the Betrayer forces.
### About the Gauntlets of Dorn

*Feel free to add your own*

[Source]

 White Scars Successors
 Space Wolves Successors
 Imperial Fists Successors
 Blood Angels Successors
 Iron Hands Successors
 Ultramarines Successors
 Salamanders Successors
 Raven Guard Successors
 Unknown Lineage

[Source]