Using Chat GPT to create a new Warhammer 40k Space Marines Chapter

There has been much in the news and internet about the advances of AI technologies and how much these tools can do to make life easier for all! 

An illustartive view of the colour scheme suggested by the AI,
in this case Purple & Gold, much like the existing Hawk Lords Chapter

For those that might be interested I have been experimenting with using AI to design and outline a background story for a new Warhammer Space Marines Chapter that I'm thinking about building. Now I could have taken the easy route and gone with one of the recognised 'stock' chapters such as the Ultramarines, Blood Angels or the like. 

However instead I feel like creating something new! Nothing agains the 'stock' Chapters - I had an Ultramarine army for several years! I decided that the chapter should be called 'The Emperor's Guard' but you can also tell Chat GPT to make up a suitable name for your chapter.

I asked the AI tool a simple question, which was: 

Design a warhammer 40k space marines chapter, describe their uniform colours, chapter lore, tactical docorines and details of their founding. The chapter name should be 'The Emperors Guard'

What ChatGPT replied back was as follows, in my opinion a pretty good initial summary of what would be needed to start building a new Chapter Army. In the foloowing weeks i'll be putting some of these forces together and painting as per suggestions below!

Chat GPT relied: 

Name: The Emperor's Guard

Uniform Colors:

The Emperor's Guard dons regal armor in a deep imperial purple with gold trim. Their armor is adorned with intricate engravings depicting scenes of heroism and loyalty. The chapter symbol, a stylized Aquila surrounded by laurel wreaths, is proudly displayed on the right pauldron, while the left bears the squad markings in silver. Veterans and officers wear crimson-colored robes, symbolizing their elevated status. The Emperor's Guard proudly showcases their dedication to the Golden Throne through the elegance of their armor.

Chapter Lore:

The Emperor's Guard traces its origins back to the 21st Founding, known as the 'Cursed Founding.' Initially named the 'Praetorian Wardens,' they were created to serve as an elite force in the defense of critical Imperial assets, including key ecclesiastical sites and planets of great religious importance. However, during the early years of their existence, the chapter suffered from mutations in their gene-seed that caused some concern among the Inquisition. Despite this, the chapter proved its unwavering loyalty to the Emperor and was eventually cleared of any taint.

The Emperor's Guard has since become a bastion of faith and loyalty within the Adeptus Astartes. The chapter's home world, Sanctum Imperialis, is a planet of great spiritual significance, hosting massive cathedrals and shrines dedicated to the worship of the God-Emperor. The chapter maintains a strong connection with the Ecclesiarchy, and their Space Marines often participate in grand processions and religious ceremonies, reinforcing the unity between the Imperial Cult and the Adeptus Astartes.

Known for their fervent devotion to the Emperor, the Emperor's Guard has a unique company known as the 'Custodians of Faith', responsible for safeguarding holy relics and artifacts. These elite warriors are entrusted with the protection of Ecclesiarchal representatives, ensuring that the divine word is spread across the Imperium.

Tactical Doctrines:

The Emperor's Guard excels in rapid response and versatile tactics, combining the flexibility of a Codex-compliant chapter with a strong emphasis on rapid deployment and precision strikes. They are adept at both defensive and offensive operations, adapting their strategies to the specific needs of each engagement.

The chapter places a particular emphasis on the use of jump packs and fast-strike forces to swiftly intervene in critical areas of the battlefield. Their tactical versatility allows them to counter a wide range of threats, from xenos incursions to heretical uprisings. The Emperor's Guard employs a mix of heavy support and rapid assault units, ensuring they can handle various combat scenarios with efficiency and precision.

Primarch:

The Emperor's Guard are proud descendants of the Primarch Dorian Raelius, known as the "Sentinel Lord." Raelius was a master tactician and a resolute defender of the Imperium's borders. His strategic brilliance and unyielding loyalty to the Emperor became the cornerstone of the chapter's ethos. Raelius was particularly known for his ability to inspire his warriors to stand firm in the face of overwhelming odds, a trait that has been passed down through the generations of The Emperor's Guard.

Founding:

The Emperor's Guard was founded in the early years of the 32nd millennium, during the 21st Founding, in response to the rising importance of defending Imperial religious centers. The chapter's creation was orchestrated by the Ecclesiarchy, working closely with the Adeptus Mechanicus to ensure a new chapter dedicated to both martial prowess and spiritual devotion.

The early years were challenging for the Emperor's Guard, as they struggled to overcome the suspicions surrounding their gene-seed mutations. However, through unwavering loyalty and countless acts of heroism, they proved their purity and dedication to the Emperor's divine will. The chapter's reputation as stalwart defenders of the faith has only strengthened over the millennia.

The Emperor's Guard stands as a shining example of the unity between the Ecclesiarchy and the Adeptus Astartes, with their regal appearance and steadfast commitment to the Imperial Creed. They are a beacon of hope for the faithful and a formidable force against any who would dare threaten the sanctity of the Imperium.

From the about there are quite a few hooks that I can link into to develop the look and feel of the army - purple armour sounds cool and I like the idea of gold trim. The hints at the elite 'Custodians of Faith' company also offers scope for the imagination, especially if combined wit heth notes on the chapter's tactica doctorines. I particulaly like the hint at the mutaion of the gene seed that means the Inquisition is ever watching what they do - what will this mean in terms of the tabletop model's appearance?!

So to get going on using AI, you need to set-up an account on a suitable AI engine - I used Chat GPT, you can find them here: https://chat.openai.com/

Obviously you can substitute any 40K race for Space Marines and get a similar listing to base your forthcoming work on. I have also experimented on getting AI to generate Waragmes Scenarios, based upon historic battles. These are a bit more hit and miss, the more 'mainstream' the historic period and the rules set to be used - the betetrthe results. This is as might be expected. If there is enough interest I'll share some of these results in coming weeks.

Friday Night Games: Ancient Naval

High jinx in the Mediterranean with a Naval conflict between those crazy Greeks and whacky Persians.

Friday 24th November, saw  a gripping game  put on by Mat T  using his own models and rules at Mike N's gaff. The game ended up as a strategic win for the Greeks as the Persians were denied the ability to meet their objectives. However, the Persian fleet consisting of Sidonese and allied Greek fleet performed the best on the night.

A closer view of some of these vessels

The squadron that definitely performed the worst was the Persian pentacosters, commanded by Mikey N. These guys lost 60% of their number in one game turn  with the rest fleeing for the Asian coast to face Xerxes wrath....

Ramrastic events at sea!

Warlord Epic Scots Covenanters completed!

Just a couple quick shots of the completed Epic Covenanter Scots unit, taken from the cover of this month's Wargames Illustrated. I'm pleased with the results. I have some cavalty and Artillery to finish from the free sprue - plus enentire second sprue to paint-up at some future point!

The whole unit of 80 figures, completed in suitable dower grey uniforms and blue bonnets!

Close-up of one Musketeer block and part of pike bock.
Note the halbardier on the unit's extreme right flank 
 

And the other musketeer block on the unit's left flank. I have opted to go for larger that standard (60mm x 40mm Musketeer bases and 60mm x 80mm Pike block) bases as it gives a little more room to buildd-up terrain & vegiattion and protects the figures a little better, in my opinion.

Friday Night Games: 1880s Zulu Wars, Week 2

Week two of John's Zulu Wars gane, this isa ctually a pre-quel to last week's game, a what if scenario - exploring what might have happened if a British column had attacked the Zulu camp as planned th eday before the previous battle.

In reality the British colum got lost and th ebattke was never fought.

The Britsh / Imperal forces arrive on the tabletop

The defending rebel Zulu forces

The Imperials advance over the tabletop

Close-up of rebel Zulu unit

Another rebel Zulu unit

British/Imperial forces (left) close on Rebel Zulu positions (right)

Imperial Forces pushed away after hitting the elite rebel Zulu Imps

Friday Night Games: Zulu Wars with a Twist

Friday 3rd November saw John putting on a splendid 15mm Zulu Wars game with Twist.

Opening positions for the Rebel Zulu Forces

Set in the mid 1880s we see a British expedition column consisting of some regular Dragoons and Mounted Infantry supported by Boers, Zulu Police and two impis of 'Loyalist Zulus', attempting to arrest a wayward Zulu Prince and his forces.

The rebel Zulus quickly went on the offensive attacking the British & Loyalist Zulu positions

The Rebel Zulus have four impis of warriors plus a number of rifle armed formed units.

Close-up of a rebel Zulu impi

The Loyalists were played by Rupert, Steve and Mike W  whilst the rebels were commanded by Mat, Mike N and Phil.

Close-up of the front of the British regular cavalry colum, at game outset

And the rear of the same column 

Rules were 'Principles of War' and figures were supplied by John & Mike N.

As ever I'll leave the photos to tell the story of the game as best I can...

View from the Rebel Zulu's left flank back on to their village in the center rear

On the Loyalist right / rebel left - Loyalist Zulu militiamen and Zulu Police, under the command of Mike W, advance to dislodge enemy, uner command of Mike N,  from the high ground

In the center Rebel Zulus under Mat's command, charge forward to engage Rupert's Loyalist Zulu impis.

The rebel Zulus grasp the initiative pushing forwards in the centre with their impis to try and pin the British centre and smash the outnumbered Loyalist Impis. On their left the rebels send forwards a holding force to the high ground whilst on the right rebel impis try to force the Loyalist flank.

Rebel Zulu impi but could easily be a Loyalist impi as they have same look & feel as well as game stats!

 

The encirclement begins on the rebel left flank

Rebel Zulus on their left flank become increasingly encircled by Loyalist Zulus, Zulu Police and British Cavalry, they will go on to fight to the death.

On the Rebel left the holding force is gradually battered and reduced as Britsh regular horse, Zulu Police and trained Zulu militias ultimately take the high ground.

British Horse - 15mm figures

However in the centre and left of the Loyalist line the quick rebel attack gradually won the day - after a series of crushing dice rolls the Loyalists began to loose unit after unit and whilst they punsihed the attacking rebels - it was the rebels who won the day!

On the Workbench: 28mm Wild West and Warlord Epic Scots Pikemen

Well I haven't had much time for painting th elast few weeks so I thought I'd just give a quick update on what I have been dabbling at!

First off, four 28mm Wild West figures that have been kicking around the workbench for some years, I'll be handing these over to Mikey N. later today for his collection.

Left a lawman with pistol and rifle, right a member of the public armed with a shotgun

Left another towns person with a rifle and right a cattleman with a rifle.

Finally a block of Scots Covenanter Pikemen, in Warlord Games Epic scale.

I rather like these little guys, grey clad Covenantor Scots.

Hopefully some more updates in eth next couple weeks....