# My 40K Novel (Help)



## ork-slayer-marine (Oct 21, 2008)

look guys, im planning on writing my own 40k novel.

Based on a chapter of space marines (Unconfirmed name of chapter)

and basically im having trouble developing characters for it.

Currently im looking for character profiles for:

An Apothecary: 
Several sergeants of different squads (Tactical, devastator, terminator etc etc)
Librarian/s

and multiple other names of villains, secondary characters.


i also need people to help me with a name for

Champion/s of a chaos army.
A Necron lord
An Ork warboss
A Tau leader
An Eldar Farseer
And the name of an imperial General



i would very much appreciate some help guys :victory:


Name:
Race:
Rank:
Height:
Equipment:
Weapons:
Bio:
Personality:


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## KrythosMJarenkai (Jun 16, 2008)

1, you need GWs approval

2. do necrons, no one does necron enemies, hoardes and hoardes of necrons.

3. make it a 3 way battle, something along the lines of somewhat good guy + very very evil guy vs all the necrons, but vs eachother when not facing the necrons kind of thing


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## Gambit14 (Aug 30, 2008)

Space Marine Chapter: Use the 8th or 7th Company and create your own leader, that way you can develop alot of fluff instead of being Dante or Tycho from the Blood Angels

Home Planet: Just take the name of a greek or roman god, or shinto, hindu god and add roman numerals behind it

The story im working on now has a character with a name of a famous antiquity general, and part of the story is that he does not know much about his name, except he was a great warrior of ancient terra

If your looking for regular names, one thing I did that works is take names and goto google translator and put them into latin or german etc and then change a tiny bit


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## ork-slayer-marine (Oct 21, 2008)

*fg*



KrythosMJarenkai said:


> 1, you need GWs approval



how do i do that?
do i just email them?
:so_happy:


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

If he is looking for publication he would need permission and would need to be published through BL. If he is writting this for his own enjoyment and not for profit then he should not need permission, if that was the, every piece of fan fiction would need to have permission granted to them to write it.

I like the idea of Necrons, and maybe Eldar as an unlikely ally. I would use an established chapter, but as said above use an obscure company. Same with the craftworld, use an established one but one not normally written about.


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## ork-slayer-marine (Oct 21, 2008)

What?

you mean the BL publishing forums?


As for an established chapter, i was thinking one from the second founding of chapters.

Possibly the soul drinkers:so_happy:


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## Djinn24 (Jan 12, 2008)

NO, Black Library, the publishing company for Games Workshop.


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## Druchii in Space (Apr 7, 2008)

Aye, if you are looking to make any kind of money from it you'd need GW's approval, if you just want to write it for fun and just post on the net, then no you wouldn't. 

If you are looking to make money Black Library run occasional comps for short stories to find new talent, and of course you can always do up one or two story ideas, write a couple of chapters with a synopsis of the full novel and send them in. If you are good enough and you send them in you might get noticed.


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## ork-slayer-marine (Oct 21, 2008)

Alright,

this isnt a question about the novel thing,
im writing a story to put up online (not wanting to make anything from it Obv.)

And im planning it out,

im jus wondering,

What tips could you guys give me for writing character bios,
its not as such the names etc,

It's more their personality.

Tips gratefully accepted,
and when i can i'll get a sample of it up here.


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## morfangdakka (Dec 31, 2006)

For me, I like to look at people that I know and how their personality is then translate it to a character. They can be from home, work, school or even out in public. Interesting characters are the one's that have little quirks to make them unique and individual. My son for example loves the color orange so almost everything is orange. His clothes, bed sheets, his favorite foods, anything that has orange is his favorite. So I made that one of my characters lucky colors that he believed kept him safe from harm.

Also think about the character like they were a real person and you were writing their life story. Where did they grow up?
Was there a life changing event? 
Why did they want to be a Space Marine? 

Usually if you can answer these questions that will give you a good foundation on the characters personality and views of the world around them.

Also *cough* morfangdakka *cough* good ork warboss name * cough*


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Howdy!

Morfang has a good point on character creation. Using people you know as a basis makes it easier as everything in effect is 'pre-sorted'. Now, if you want to create your own characters, with their own foibles and predilictions, that's where the thinking comes in. You want to make sure that in creating your character you give him personality. Bland characters are easily forgotten and make reading tedious, where as characters with some quirky nature make for good reading and will keep the reader's interest. That's what you want to really shoot for. 

When you create a character, think about ways to make him unique from others. For example, my ork Warboss. This is something I'd written up a while back when someone was asking about character bios for a person's army leader.

Name: Gorefang Spinebreaka 
Organisation: Orga-wha? 
Vox call-sign: Wotz a vox? 
Rank: Biggest, baddest, killiest git ov da 'orde 
Sex: No thankz-not proppa 
Age: Only Gork an Mork know 
Height: Bigga den a nob..smalla den a stompa 
Weight: See above... 
Eye Colour: RED!! 
Hair: Depends on if 'e kan find 'iz squiggly 'air pieze 
Psyker: No brain bangin fer dis git 
Hand: Wotz Iz use ta stangle suppa 
Tattoos: Only if ya catch 'im wif 'iz pantz down 
Scars: Ork = Skarz 
Planet of Birth: Whare Ghazghkull wuz spawned..da name eludez me 
Build: Like a battlewagon.... 
Weapons: Da big axe an' da 'urty dakka dakka gun an' one mean squigg 
Clothing (light duty): Da gob, da platez, da bosspole 
Clothing (war): See above 
Current Location: Lost in da warp fer now 

Details: 
At one time things were going great for Gorfang. Life was easy as one of Ghazghkullz killa nobz, a position he 'ead butted his way to with gusto(for Gorfang had an unusally thick skull..fer an ork dat iz). It all ended one dark day in the ruins of some rat-hole hive on Armageddon. Heading for a nice rest and some well-deserved squiggly crunchies, Gorfang's life changed forever when his ammo runt Norblad accidently blew off the top of his head with Gorfang's own dakka gun while fiddling with it(the little blighter saw himself as something of a musician). Laying there on the ground, his blood and brains(while not much were still oozing out) running across the fetid hole of some burned out building, Gorfang's life was dwindling away. 

If it weren't for the timely intervention of a painboss by the name of Rotgut, his saga(albeit embarrassing) would have ended there. Working with the mekboy Snagga, Rotgut was able to patch up Gorfang's thick skull(a fact which probably saved his life) and replace the missing bitz of brain with a wee bit of teknology they'd scrounged up from the battlefield. Unbeknownst to all involved that little piece of machinery was in fact a primary training and tutelary engine, the likes of which could not be copied or manufactured as the knowledge had been lost to the Imperium(a fact which led poor Gorfang to butt heads with certain members of the Technomagi and their allies over the course of time). 

While still alive, poor Gorfang's position in the WAAAAGH was forever changed. Hoots and calls about his embarrassing near-death experience couldn't be silenced, even with the application of liberal doses of 'ead buttin and boot leather. Leaving the Goff tribe in shame, Gorfang wandered across the deserts of Armageddon looking for a purpose. During one of his many firefights, he took a stong knock upside the head. The smack activated the dormant battery cells in the tutelary engine. Gorfang's small brain(even smaller now after his 'accident') was flooded with images of tactical flotsam and jetsam. Driven mad by the large amounts of information downloading directly into his brain, he went about killing anything and everything he came across. 

In this time, Gorfang had become larger, stronger, and ded 'arder. Battles with nature, ork, human, and marine alike had pushed his orkoid physiology to it's limits. As the days passed, the screaming pain in his head turned into a dull ache and Gorfang soon found himself able to gather his wits(which for an ork usually means a quick trip behind the nearest tree, a good scratch, and a nice plump grot on a stick). The information bouncing around his bionik bonce began to slowly make sense and deep inside his mind(the equivilent of a good two or three inches of top soil shifted) he could make out a voice. 

Thinking that Gork and Mork had blessed him, Gorfang went about putting this information gleaned from his constant vocal companion(well..in his head at any rate) to good and 'propa' orky use. Coming across a small warband of Blood Axes, he set about taking over. The warband's current warboss voiced his displeasure at having someone try to oust him but, after a 'heated' debate, he soon found himself taking up his complaint with Gork and Mork directly. 

Having a bunch of lads to back him up, Gorfang decided it was high time to get a little revenge on the Goffz who had sent him packing in shame. Blaming everything on Ghazghkull and his lads, Gorfang started his long quest to show that he was the 'troo mad profit a Gork...an' to a lessa ekztent, Mork'. Unfortunately, in all the time that had passed, Ghazghkull had long since moved on from Armageddon leaving Gorfang rather vexed(legends still speak of him throwing his favorite trukk into a mob of loafing and rather surprised deathskullz...of course this event was also believed to be part of an ongoing fued with a rival warboss known as Magrukk Oomieskinna but semantics and orks really don't mix). 

With Ghazghkull gone, Gorfang decided to move on himself. With his new-found tribe of Blood Axes, he commandeered a kill krooza(it seems their captain had a terrible accident with a faulty air lock...of course the choppa to his skull didn't help the situation much...) and set off to start his own WAAAAGH against Ghazghkull. Always a step behind, Gorfang found all of his plans thwarted in bringing his adversary to heel(many times due to his skumgrod Magrukk who himself was always nicking Ghazghkull's prized battlewagon when the chance arose). What followed was a long and bloody path through Piscina and various other worlds, once again never finding 'dat git' as he often referred to him as. 

He soon found his rather voiciferous(though unseen) partner rather useful in his many conquests. Gorfang's name was plastered across many sectors and he was rightly feared. Time-honored tactics and traditions employed successfully against other ork invasions were battered aside as Gorfang out-manouvered and out-strategized his Imperial foes(a feat, in itself, which caused a constant consternation amongst many in the Ordo Xenos and his nobz..who thought that da boss 'wuz kwite da loon'..never to his face, of course). 

When Gorfang finally caught up with Ghazghkull it was once again on the hellish plains of Armageddon. It had finally come full circle and he felt the time of his revenge was at hand. But, something strange happened. He found himself caught up in 'da git'z' fiery oratory. Putting aside his hatred(well..rather it was shifted to a new and readily available target in the form of Space Marines and plentiful squishy guardsmen), Gorfang and his Blood Axes once again took up the banner of Ghazghkull and WAAAAAGHed in his name. 

After this, contact was lost with Gorfang(which left one Inquisitor Alabac rather perturbed..along with his squad of Death Watch space marines..nothing infuriates a space marine more than having to sit around twiddling his thumbs). It is unknown what happened to him. Reports come in from time to time of a raging warboss burning his way across one sector or another, crushing every attempt to stop him.... 

This is a simple basic forumla for making a character. You give him a name, sort out his wargear, figure out how he looks, and give a little background over him. Now, you don't have to go to the lengths above. I was using a pre-made set of feature listings and filling in so it's filled with minor errata like which hand he uses and the like. Little things like that help flesh out a character but aren't quite so neccessary when figuring out a character.

I hope this helps!

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Concrete Hero (Jun 9, 2008)

Yo.
For character creation I think the best advice I could give right now would be to read Shogun's thread in the Original Works

http://www.heresy-online.net/forums/showthread.php?t=20794

Anything I can think of saying would be quoting this, so I wont steal the glory


... Dammit Nate you're not making this easy! :biggrin:


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

Concrete Hero said:


> ... Dammit Nate you're not making this easy! :biggrin:



MUWHAHAHAHA! My evil plan comes to fruition.. And with that, I say only this...neener neener:taunt:

Seriously though, character creation is one of the most difficult parts of any story bud. Without a solid character, you'll find that your story will go nowhere. If you need to get the creative juices flowing, take a gander at other people's work(professional or otherwise) and see how they mold their characters. You're not looking so much as to copy what they've done as to get a better understanding of how it's done. It will come in time so don't rush it. Carefully plot it out and most importantly, think about them. You want to have an idea of their personalities before you put pen to paper/finger to keyboard because it will make the writing a lot easier.

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate


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## Alexander Darkblade (Sep 16, 2008)

I was doing the same thing for a school prject and i went with a striking scorpion (i had to research it as i knew next to nothing about them) 

but with your story with the Spacemarines....hmm

I'd go with Crimson Fists or even BLack Templars (i havent seen a Black Templars novel in a while) 8th or 7th company and such.

most importantly do what *YOU* think would be best for your story. dont go totaly off and make it seem unlike 40K but don't go orthadox either. I liked the idea of throwing necron hoards into it and making it like SM vs Tau vs CSM vs Necrons or something like that. 

i alwasy found character creation fun but challenging, you don't want them to be overpowered but you want them to be powerful enough to be a threat to each other. 

heres an example (my striking scorpion from my story)
name:Jherek Falsion.
classs: Striking Scorpion
rank: Exarch
favored weapon-Whip (the ones they use forgot what its called) and Chainsword.
Craftworld:Uthwe
Status-Banished from the Craftworld for crimes against his poeple.

Thats just my example but I think Nate's was the best hehe.


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## Shogun_Nate (Aug 2, 2008)

But it's a good example none the less Alexander! Even the most basic of background can flower into a bloody monster(trust me..I know..sigh...:biggrin! That's the beauty of it. Start with something simple, get a basic idea, and then see where it goes. It's always a good idea to do research(especially if a certain race isn't a strong suite lol) as it will help with developing the background of the character. You also avoid little 'fluff heresies' by doing it as well. Slaanesh-worshipping Grey Knights = beaten with a nerf bat:threaten:! Ok ok..a bit much heh heh heh. 

The thing is you're going to run into different kinds of readers. On one hand you have the purists who think following the fluff is the best way to go(something I agree with, mind you). On the other, you have free-thinking hippy types who go nuts(yes..that was a joke as well :biggrin. Seriously though, the other group is open to more plots and ideas than a purist is. Some take the twists and do well with them. Others not so much lol. The main thing is you want to make something you like, irregardless of either group! There are some decent stories bumping around the net that follow only the authors' ideas but if you write one be prepared to take the nerf bat...

Good luck and good gaming,

Nate-Keeper of the Fluff Nerf Bat


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