Sons of Dorn - Chapter Organisation: The Sons of Dorn follow the Codex Astartes in all matters of organisation with one exception: the Chapter's number of Apothecaries far exceeds the number normally present in a single Chapter. The Sons of Dorn are renowned for their advanced medical practices, which focus on disease and how best to combat it.The Apothecarium at the Chapter's fortress-monastery on Archea is vast and houses some of the most deadly strains of disease known to Mankind. These samples are used for study in the hopes of finding vaccines to best combat them and further strengthen the immune systems of all Space Marines.The Plague of Unbelief and the Destroyer Hive are the two deadliest Warp-touched strains currently possessed by the Chapter. The Apothecaries have worked for millennia to find cures to these horrendously powerful and virulent strains, but so far have been unsuccessful.While the Sons of Dorn do have a homeworld and a fortress-monastery, for the most part they are a fleet-based Crusading Chapter, and although they follow the tenets of the Codex Astartes in their basic pattern of organisation and order of battle, in practice the Chapter has modified its tenets to better suit the needs and patterns of their deployments.An example of this is that the Chapter's company captains and other senior ranking officers are also assigned flag command of a particular starship in the Chapter's fleet and are expected to act autonomously of higher authority for long periods if needed. The Chapter's Veteran 1st Company, called "The Praetorians," and elements of the 10th Scout Company are nominally based on their Chapter's mobile star-fortress with the majority of their number being dispersed as needed to individual commands which can vary considerably in size and operational requirements.As a fleet-based Chapter, the Sons of Dorn are rarely gathered en masse except at the commencement of a major Imperial Crusade called by the Chapter Master. Most often the forces of the Chapter are dispersed to multiple task forces which are deployed to various expeditions and war zones spread over the galaxy.One of the trials required of aspirants for full initiation into the Chapter is to be infected by a particularly powerful strain of disease held within the Chapter's Apothecarium. In reality, it is impossible for a non-Astartes to actually survive, but this is not expected. The aspirant must show that he can instinctively accept his fate and place his trust in the Emperor and the Chapter's Primarch Rogal Dorn, thus proving that he can master his fear in the face of imminent death as all Space Marines must do.If the aspirant can do this and survive for the pre-determined amount of time, he is administered the vaccine and considered ready to begin the process of being implanted with his gene-seed organs. Due to this, and other highly unorthodox and dangerous training practises, the Sons of Dorn have developed an extreme resilience to most forms of disease, even for Astartes.The final test for a neophyte after he has completed the biological transformation into an Astartes, but before becoming a full member of the Chapter, is to learn the terrible secret of the treachery and betrayal of the former Chapter Master Alexandros the Mad that resulted in the Chapter War that nearly destroyed the Sons of Dorn.The newly inducted battle-brother is obligated to make a sacred pledge upon the Chapter's honour, to guard this most terrible of secrets with their very lives, taking binding oaths of loyalty more terrible than those usually sworn by the average Astartes.Unlike other Chapters that may possess a dark past or some terrible secret, the Sons of Dorn do not go out of their way to conceal this information from their junior brethren. Instead, they embrace this dark secret as a part of their heritage and birthright, for their greatest purpose is to rid the galaxy of the insanity of Alexandros the Mad and his fellow Renegades.One of the greatest secrets of the Sons of Dorn is the process which a battle-brother must undergo to become Chapter Master. When Alexandros the Great was on his deathbed, he made one final request; no future Chapter Master should be allowed to be as weak as he had been. He perceived this "weakness" as his greatest failure, for he had succumbed to the failure of his own body instead of a respectable enemy in combat.To fulfill this request his body was placed in stasis upon his arrival at the fortress-monastery to preserve the ailment that had killed him. Whenever a new Chapter Master of the Sons of Dorn is chosen, he must pass a test similar to the one he took upon initiation to the Chapter -- he must drink a small portion of Alexandros' Chaos pestilence-tainted blood.If his body can overcome exposure to the deadly toxins, he is deemed worthy to lead the Chapter. It is unknown how many have failed this test, for the chosen successors are given no assistance from the Apothecaries and must pass the test on their own.