Sunbreakers

Allegiance

Imperium of Man
(Fedelitus Totalum)

Founding
23rd Founding

Successors of
Ultramarines (Roboute Guilliman)

Chapter Master
Hadarion Cestatis

Homeworld
N/A. Fleet Based (Battle Barge: Dawnhammer)

Allies
 Ecclesiarchy, Adeptus Sororitas, Monodominant Inquisitors, Ultramarines Successors

Number of Marines
1,000

Specialty
Total Chapter Assaults, Xenocide, Planetary Liberation, Theater Compliance Operations,
Orbital Bombardment, Shock Troops

Battle Cry
“We fight in His Light! We die in His Sight!!”

Armor Colors:
Orange and Gold

Successor Chapters:
N/A

History

Founding
In the wake of the chaos that gripped the Imperium of Man following the deposition of
Goge Vandire, heretical despot of the Imperium of Man throughout the grim period
known to history as the Reign of Blood, the Imperium of Man began a period of mass
repentance and religious hysteria that would be known to history as the Age of
Redemption. During this period, massive amounts of Imperial resources were funneled
to the act of repentant crusading to retake all the hundreds of systems lost during the
Age of Apostasy. As part of this campaign, dozens of new Chapters of the Adeptus
Astartes were granted writ of creation by the High Lords of Terra in order to recoup the
nearly sixty lost Chapters which were destroyed, corrupted, or disappeared over the
tumultuous centuries. Known as the Sentinel Founding, the 23rd of its kind, the new
Chapters would be expected to join in the crusading fervor of the new Imperial regime.
One of these new Chapters would be known as the Sunbreakers. A great deal of politics
went into the foundation of the Sunbreakers, the reigning representative of the newly
reorganized Ecclesiarchy, Ecclesiarch Alexis XXII, very much wanted to hold on to the
vestiges of military authority that the Imperial Church surrendered with Sebastian Thor’s
Decree Passive. While much of his time was spent establishing the structure of the
galaxy wide Orders Militant of the Adeptus Seroritas, Alexis also politicked among the
High Lords that at least one of the newly minted Astartes Chapters would be instructed
in the rights and practices of the Imperial Creed. While the Ecclesiarch in no way
wanted to exercise direct control over a Chapter of Space Marines, he argued that with
the Imperium needing the Faith restored to its proper prominence, the strength and
effectiveness of a Space Marine Chapter carrying the divine torch out into the stars
seemed only a prudent action, and citations of other Chapters such as the Black
Templars and the Red Scorpions proved that such religiously minded Astartes were
entirely possible without breaking the rules upon the Church outlined by the Decree
Passive. The High Lord of the Adminstratum was incredibly suspicious of the act
though, and in order to balance out the prospective Chapter’s zeal with the Imperium's
need for rigid structure and order, the stubborn and self sure line of Rorgal Dorn was not
chosen as the Ecclesiarch had hoped. Rather, the bloodline of Robute Guilliman,
Primarch of the Ultramarines, was chosen to be the Chapter’s genetic founder.
After nearly another century of recruitment, training, arming, and preparation, the
Sunbreakers were formally unveiled at the “March of the Angels”, a vast public event
where all the Chapters of the Sentinel Founding departed from the Imperial Palace and
marched in parade stance to the Lion’s Gate Spaceport, where they would board their
warships and begin their deployments across the Imperium. With trillions of souls
watching on pict recording and millions viewing the parade in person, the warriors of the
Sunbreakers, Star Phantoms, Marines Errant, Celestial Lions and many others still lost
to the modern Imperium marched to the cheers of mankind, before departing for their
duty in the deep black void.

Notable Campaigns
The Cleansing of Sacrrost Tertius (315.M37) - During the Chapter’s initial push
towards its ordered area of operation in the northern regions of Segmentum Ultima, the
Sunbreakers encountered the world of Sacrrost Tertius, a former mining colony that
during the losses of the Age of Apostasy, had been claimed as the personal fiefdom of
the Dark Apostle Tarluk the Ascendant, and his Word Bearers Warband. With the entire
planet in the thralls of worship to the Ruinous Powers, the Sunbreakers halted their
pilgrimage to purge the system. With the full might of the Chapter deployed, the
Temple-Cities of Tarluk were reduced to bruning slag wastes from orbit, as the
Sunbreakers fleet saturated the world in holy fire. What Chaos forces survived the initial
bombardment were quickly swept up in a successive shock and awe strike, with over six
companies being deployed around the ruins of the planetary capital. Tarluk himself was
slain in personal combat with the first Chapter Master of the Sunbreakers, Daenach
Hection, with the Knight-Commander crushing the Dark Apostle’s skull against the ruins
of his Temple Palace with his relic Thunder Hammer. In only three days of combat, the
Sunbreakers had cleansed the fallen world of life. Leaving a quarantine bouye behind,
the Sunbreakers departed the world and continued on their path to Segmentum Ultima.

The War of the False Saint (389.M37) - Once the Sunbreakers firmly established
themselves in Segmentum Ultima, the Chapter’s Torchlight Vessels began to bring back
disturbing reports from the nearby Cal-Sek Sector. According to these reconnaissance
reports, a branch of the Imperial Creed was gaining extreme popularity, one which
preached that the Emperor of Mankind would only return to the Imperium if the Psyker
was elevated to rulership of mankind. Led by a one Cardinal Astra named Sulivan
Aldran, many were flocking to the banner of this miracle working figure, who many
claimed was a Living Saint. The Sunbreakers made contact with a conclave of
Inquisitors and Ecclesiarchal representatives, which had concluded that Sulivan was
Warp tainted, and his followers decried as heretics. The Cardinals of the nearby
Fenright Sector were already martialing for a War of Faith, spearheaded by Sisters of
Battle from the Order of the Argent Shroud and many millions of Frateris Militia. Joining
their fleet to the ranks of the faithful, the Sunbreakers assisted in the conquest and
reconversion of over two dozen worlds under the thrall of the False Saint’s doctrine,
encountering many traces of rogue sorcerers and mutant abominations among the
ranks of the traitorous Imperial Guard and Planetary Defense Forces. When the
Sunbreakers apprehended the heretical preacher, it was discovered that he had
bargained away his soul to the Changer of Ways in exchange for arcane powers, and
had been spreading anarchy and mutation with his blasphemous message. For his
treachery, the Sunbreakers immolated the “False Saint” on a grand pyre made of the
flesh of his horribly mutated bodyguards, fueled by blessed promethium from a hundred
flamers.

The Siege of Strankari (211M.38) - The Sunbreakers responded to a aid petition from
the Mechanicus Magi of Strankari, a Forge World in the heart of the Sadusyne Sector.
The Forge had been targeted by the forces of WAAAGH!!! Trog, led by Warlord Trog
Planetcrusha, an Ork Warboss from the Ork Empire of Charadon who hoped to claim
the world’s massive weapon resources as tribute for the Arch-Arsonist of that dread
Xenos domain. The Sunbreakers rushed to the planet’s defense, joining alongside the
planet’s Skitarii Legions, the Knights of House Raven, and the Titans of the Legio
Invictum. The Orks numbers were still a grave threat to the defenders, and over the next
five years they’d wage a brutal campaign across the Forge-Cities of of Strankari, with
the Sunbreakers meeting them blow for blow. Trog Planetcrusha was slain by the
Sunbreaker’s Chapter Champion, and the remains of his forces exterminated with a
pincer assault by the Sunbreakers and House Raven. However, the Sunbreakers had
taken heavy losses from the protracted street to street urban combat, losing over three
hundred brothers to the Greenskin menace. In payment for the service rendered unto
them, the Magi of Strankari honored the Sunbreakers by agreeing to be their main
supplier of wargear and ammunition for the future. The Sunbreakers had till that time
lacked a dedicated Forge World for resupply, and while the losses were lamentable,
they were remembered as worthy sacrifices for the long term survivability of the
Chapter.

The Hunt for Irasann Voidhelm (736.M38) - As the Sunbreakers continued their
crusade across the Ultima Segmentum, their fleets encountered the Aeldari Corsairs of
the Ebon Claw. Noted in Imperial records for being a plague on Imperial shipping across
the Sadusyne Sector, the Corsair Fleet was led by a powerful Corsair Lord known as
Irasann Voidhelm, who had claimed the lives of thousands of Imperial citizens on his
myriad shipping and planetary raids. The Xenos’ reaving became personal when he
disabled the Vanguard Cruiser Litany of Devotion, capturing or killing the Battle Brothers
aboard. The Sunbreakers took the attack as an insult to their personal honor, and
Captain Kordeil Arakatis of the Third Company personally swore to bring Voidhelm’s
head back to the Chapter Master. Taking a sizable portion of the Sunbreakers fleet with
him (the Battle Barge Light of Sol and the Strike Cruisers Righteous Sword and Martyr’s
Oath). The Captain knew that their prey would not attack a well equipped fleet, and so
they requisitioned the use of a small imperial transport and hid the fleet in the starship
graveyard of the Styxian Abyss. With the lone transport being a far more tempting
target, the trap was sprung when Voidhelm’s personal warship, The Blade of Khaine,
and a large supporting force entered the system. Right before the Corsairs could board
the transport, the Sunbreakers fleet roared to life and broke from the rings of ruined
vessels. An intense space battle ensued, with the Corsair ships having to dodge in and
out of the debris field to avoid the Astarte’s heavy guns. However, Captain Kordeil’s
taunting of the Corsair Lord over the shipwide vox net inflamed Voidhelm enough to
keep him in the fight. When the Aeldari ship swooped in for a torpedo strike, Kordeil and
a full demicompany of the Third teleported aboard the Corsair Flagship, quickly tearing
the ship apart from the inside. True to his word, Captain Kordiel went blade to blade with
Voidhelm, and with a mighty slash took the Aeldari Lord’s head from his shoulders. The
Sunbreakers fleet made quick work of the remaining Corsairs, and Kordiel was even
able to rescue a squad that had survived the raid on the Litany of Devotion. To this day,
Voidhelm’s skull and helmet remain in the Hall of Honors aboard the Sunbreakers Battle
Barge Monastery.

The Thalassian Crusade (145.M39) - The Thalassi Sector had at one time been firmly
in the grace of the Emperor’s Light, however, the entire region had been lost after over a
millenia and a half of neglect at the hands of Segmentum Navy command, slowly being
swallowed up by Chaos Incursions, Xenos Invasions, and planetary sedition. In the
early years of M39, the situation had become such that an Imperial Crusade was
mustered in order to reclaim the region. The Sunbreakers committed the largest amount
of Space Marines to the campaign, with their entire Chapter mustered for battle. They
would be sent alongside companies of the Iron Lords, Death Specters, Star Phantoms,
Novamarines, and Ultramarines, as well as orders of the Sisters of Battle, regiments of
Imperial Guard, and an attached Titan Legion. This would be the first campaign where
the Sunbreakers would fight alongside their parent Chapter, and tensions among the
Chapter’s Brothers were high to make a good impression. Over the course of the next
several years, the forces of the crusade engaged with many terrible foes. The Ork
Freebootas of Kaptun Ironside, the Suusivari (a race of serpentine Xenos who heavily
augmented themselves with technology and used humans as a chattel race), the Vorlok
Hives (insectoid sorcerers touched by chaos), and a myriad of Chaos Warbands ranging
from the Alpha Legion to the Iron Warriors. The Sunbreakers proved their martial skill,
being central to the Xenocides of the Suusivari and the Vorlok, but the Ultramarines
were troubled by the Chapter’s near fanatical devotion to the Imperial Creed, something
they felt was more fitting of Dorn’s line than their own. Regardless, the Ultramarines
Third company still honored the Sunbreakers with the Laurels of Macragge, an honor
bestowed only upon Ultramarine Successors, for their central efforts in the crusade. An
honor the Sunbreakers treasure to the modern day.

Chapter Homeworld

Seeing as they are a fleet based Chapter, the Sunbreakers possess no Chapter
Homeworld. Instead, the Battle Barge Dawnhammer acts as their flagship and mobile
fortress monastery. The vessel is of advanced design, equal in size to a mighty Imperial
Battleship and forged in the shipyards of Mars itself. It is capable of housing all 1,000
warriors of the Sunbreakers within its hull, and is possessed of all the facilities needed
to continue a protracted war without the need for resupply. Notable locations include the
Temple of the Emperor Eternal, where the Chapter’s religious rituals occur, and the Hall
of Honor, where trophies and honors garnered from over four thousand years of glorious
service are retained. The Chapter does also view the Forge World of Strankari as
special, and while it is not a Chapter Homeworld, a small garrison of Sunbreakers
remains there to both honor their alliance with the Forgemasters of the Mechanicus and
to ensure it is never forgotten.

Chapter Organization

The Sunbreakers are a Codex Compliant Chapter, and are incredibly devoted to
ensuring that the structure of the Codex Astartes is at the heart of their Chapter
Organization. Each company matches the roles the Codex Specifies for each. The First
is made up of Chapter Veterans, and is often split up into supporting the other nine with
its experienced warriors and suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armor. The Second through
Fifth Companies make up the battle companies, the most self sufficient and well
rounded formations within the Chapter. The Sixth and Seventh Companies act as
reserves, reinforcing the main companies with additional support as needed. The Eighth
Company is designated as a close support company, where the Chapter’s most
promising hand to hand combatants are found and their skills trained. The Ninth
Company holds the Chapter’s Fire Support elements, holding enough firepower on their
own to level a subsector. Finally, the Tenth is where the Chapter’s scouts are trained to
become full Battle Brothers, the young marines still in the process of being granted the
sacred implants to ascend them to full Astartes status.
Titles and Traditions

Chapter Combat Doctrine

The Sunbreakers are on constant crusade across the Ultima Segmentum, traveling
aboard the fleet of warships as they bring the Light of the Emperor to the benighted
worlds of the galaxy. Despite this wide ranging mission, the Chapter rarely splits off its
fleet into multiple wide ranging formations. Instead, the Chapter Fleet patrols in
anywhere between two and five formations, no more than a sector apart from each
other at any one time. Beyond this range, the Chapter sends Vanguard Light Cruisers
and smaller escort vessels as “Torchlight” ships. These craft extended the Chapter’s
range of reconnaissance and communication across vast tracts of the Segmentum.
Once a threat is identified, the Chapter’s command hierarchy will determine how many
marines and ships will be used to deal with the situation. Sometimes, only a demi or
single company is required to address a threat. However, the Chapter has a preference
for bringing its full might to bare upon a particularly noteworthy foe, able to rapidly close
their network of vessels into a tight mailed fist, ready to crush the enemy with brutal
efficiency. Regardless of the size of the force sent, the Chapter’s common tactics
remain the same. Opening stages of a battle will begin with heavy orbital bombardment,
the Chapter Fleet reducing the targets strongest defenses to ash before even joining
combat. Once initial bombardments are completed, the Chapter will deploy its
companies via rapid drop pod assault and teleport strikes. Once on the ground, the
Sunbreakers prefer to fight close, their heavy preference for flame and melta weaponry
aiding them in such battle. Rare is it for the Sunbreakers to show restraint in the face of
the enemy. When they go to war it is with the specific intent to erase their foe from the
galaxy, to burn down his monuments and leave only ash as the only testament that they
ever existed at all. They are capable of more subtle actions, especially when only
limited resources are available or there are redeemable human populations. The Codex
Astartes preaches such flexibility above all else. However, the Sunbreakers are first and
foremost a hammer, ready to shatter the works of the heretic, the alien, and the
unbeliever beneath their uncompromising weight.

Chapter Beliefs

The Sunbreakers are atypical of the standard Adeptus Astartes Chapter in that they are
fanatically devoted to the Imperial Creed rather than their own personal cult or doctrine.
They believe wholeheartedly in the divinity of the Emperor of Mankind, and many
trappings of the Creed make their way into every aspect of the Brother’s life. Scripts
from Holy Texts are tattooed upon brother’s bodies or etched into their battleplate,
blessed scripture makes out the wording on their purity seals, and many brothers go
into battle with Ecclesiarchal hymns on their lips. This gives them a bit more kinship with
their mortal compatriots, as many of the same prayers that the marines extol upon the
battlefield are similar to those spoken by the Ecclesiarchal Priest during a guardsmen’s
morning sermons. However, that is where many of the similarities end, as the
Sunbreakers fully believe in themselves as the Emperor’s Divine Angels of Death.
Making them aloof and allbut ceraint in their moral judgements. Beyond the standard
veneration of the Imperial Creed, the Sunbreakers further extended their worship to the
Codex Astartes itself, believing that their genefather was divinely inspired by the
Emperor himself after his ascension to the Golden Throne to outline the future structure
the Astartes would comport themselves with. Chaplains are both enforces of religious
and combat doctrine, ensuring both are followed with the same fanatical strictness of
warrior-monks.

Overall, the Sunbreakers view the world in much the same way as the Monodominat
faction of the Inquisition. Humanity alone is divine in its nature, and anything else, be it
mutation, aliens, or humans not in the light of the Emperor must be purged before
mankind might know peace in the curel galaxy. They stop just shy of full
monodomination, as they acknowledge that some mutants (i.e. sanctioned psykers,
Navigators) are necessary to the Imperium’s continued survival, and are blessed by the
Emperor. Among their own ranks, they still maintain the structures of the Librarius
outlined within the Codex and treat their librarians with venerable respect. However,
Psykers not soul bound to the Emperor or mutants beyond an acceptably stable pattern
have no chance of escaping the Sunbreakers when they go on a path of cleansing. The
Chapter has the least tolerance in their bones for aliens most of all though, believing
that no Xenos species has any capability to be anything more than a threat to humanity.
They will not countenance even a short term alliance with a Xenos species, seeing such
as a betrayal of their divine mission, even in a temporary nature.

23rd Founding