IA White Templar WIP take 2

INDEX ASTARTES: WHITE TEMPLARS

ORIGINS:

    In the Millenium following the Third Founding, the High Lords of Terra set a frenetic pace of additional foundings to meet the growing threats on all sides of the Imperium.  Space Marines were spread thin repelling invaders, retaking worlds that Horus had overrun, squashing despots who thought to make the Imperium on their own private planets, and meeting the Emperor's foes on all battlefields.  The Angels of Absolution contributed gene-seed, the Apothecary Val Stonecipher of their First Company, and twenty-four of their marines to the 7th Founding.  They also contributed the battle barge Sword of Damocles.

    Apothecary Stonecipher knowing the peril in which the Empire stood and its need for trained Space Marines, wasted no time in building the new chapter along the lines prescribed in the Codex Astartes as interpreted by the Imperial Paladins.  Yet, Stonecipher, himself a deeply pious and intellectual man, could not help but to put his own stamp upon the fledgling chapter.  He envisioned a Space Marine as a holy warrior taking up the god-emperor's fight against the xenos, the rebels, and the mutants. He taught that the core of any Marine rested on a tripod of discipline, duty, and faith.  As the direct children of a living god who carried divine blood in their veins, Space Marines shouldered an awesome responsibility to carry on the Emperor's legacy by protecting the empire He built.  Like all men though, Stonecipher had his faults and they crept into the new chapter as well.  In instilling his "tripod" into the Chapter, Stonecipher also instilled a prideful elitism.  As Space Marines only they carried the Emperor's genes and he convinced his recruits that they were the best Space Marines ever trained.  Consequently, anyone else was a lesser being who stood but a step away from damnation in the eyes of many of the original recruits.   This gave the Space Marines a divine right over such lesser beings.  Only two things checked this overweening pride from ballooning into eventual rebellion and fall, Stonecipher's emphasis on spirituality and the people of Sanctum.

    When the chapter had two full strength companies, the High Lords decreed it operational and Grand Master Stonecipher christened his chapter the White Templars.  "White" stood for the purity of the chapter and "Templars" reminded them of their divine origin.  For the armor, Stonecipher chose white as well, again to reflect the spiritual purity of the chapter, but also because white was the Apocathary's color.  The chapter emblem, a stylized cross crosslet, would always be drawn in white and, to provide contrast, it would usually be drawn on black, and emblem again showing the purity of the chapter against the darkness of damnation.

    The White Templars quickly received their first mission.  Apparently a distress call regarding an invasion of Chaos cultists had come into Terra over a century ago and somehow the dispatch had fallen behind a heater in an office in the Adminsitratum and not been found again until just recently during remodeling.  While it was assumed that the original colonists had long since been destroyed by the cultists, the situation needed investigation and probably military action to recover the planet.  The White Templars were assigned this task and the Sword of Damocles set out for the planet Sanctum, a short jump from Holy Terra.

   

HOMEWORLD:  SANCTUM

• GEOGRAPHY AND EARLY HISTORY

    Sanctum is a sharply tilted planet which rotates so that the northern thirty degrees of the planet always face the star and the southernmost thirty degrees never see daylight.  The north polar region is a vast desert.  The south polar region is quite cold.  The middle latitudes are heavily forested ranging from jungle in the north to temperate forest in the south.  Sandy beaches the color of newly-minted copper line Sanctum's oceans which themselves run from sapphire blue to emerald green.   Sharp variations in topography makes particularly picturesque settings.  The whole planet, except the northern desert, is quite humid and covered in heavy fog and mist about 65% of the time.  Periods of heavy rainfall come commonly enough that the rivers have carved steep gorges and thundering waterfalls.  Again excepting the northern desert, near zero visibility is not uncommon much of the time.  For all the odd aspects of the planet, most of the surface is temperate, even tropical, with light breezes, pleasantly warm temperatures.  Sunrises and sunsets when they can be seen are vividly deep purple, blue, pink, and orange.

    Local legend has it that Sanctum was created as a holy refuge for the original settlers, a deeply spiritual people who left behind a corrupt, materialistic, mechanized world orbiting some distant star and came in search of a new home.  They planned to build a world reminiscent of a simpler, purer age; clean of the sloth and corruption of their previous home.  Circling a large yellow-orange star, those pilgrims found a gleaming jewel of a planet, teeming with life and natural beauty, yet without a single human inhabitant.  Realizing a divine gift then they saw it, the pilgrims knew this world was a holy place, given to them as their refuge.  They landed and named their first settlement Sanctuary and the planet Sanctum.  Shortly after landing, they deliberately cut off communication with everything they had left behind, destroyed their ships, and allowed their society and tech to drift into Utopian life of agriculture and spirituality by growing the only the crops they needed to survive and spending the rest of their time in study and mediation.  At least that was their plan.

    Sanctum possessed hidden dangers which manifested only after the settlers had burned their ships.  The sheer abundance of life meant that predators, both land-based and aquatic, were common which was expected.  However, the sheer number of them who boasted extremely toxic venom defied all probability.  Vicious creatures were not the only problem however, Sanctum also contained an unexpectedly vast array of microscopic threats such as parasites and and diseases of a type new to medical science.  Likewise, the beautiful blues and purples so common to Sanctum came from toxicly high concentrations of copper throughout the planet, and many of the salts formed by the copper alloys caused various sicknesses.  As the population began to wane towards being unsustainable, the colonists turned desperately to medicine even as they scrambled to build a radio from the wreckage of their colony ship.  The radio was eventually finished, but by then the doctors among the colonists had solved most of the problems, leading eventually to the study of medicine becoming a prerequisite to civic leadership.  The people of Sanctum believed that the Doctor's succeeded by healing a malady on the soul of Sanctum's people.  To an astonishing extent they were correct.  One of the primary ways the physicians came up with to heal the people of Sanctum was by regulating their body chemistry, and while outside agents and medications could be employed for this, keeping the person in a proper state of mind worked far better.  That state of mind coincidentally included, in the words of a doctor of that time, a "sense of spiritual well-being and contentment."
    In the 32nd millennium, several renegade units of the Imperial army made a stealthy planetfall on Sanctum.  These units, led by General abu-Wazir, had fallen to the worship of Chaos.  Soon they were swooping down upon the villages and cities to rape, conquer, and kill the people of Sanctum.  Many were taken prisoner back to work building the cultists' dark city, either directly building it or to provide "entertainment" in the cultists bloody orgies.  At first, the people of Sanctum sent a distress call to Terra with their now ancient radio, but it went unheeded.  They offered prayer after prayer to the Emperor for deliverance as more and more of their world came under the cultists control.  Finally, when despair had began to set in, Doctor Feodor McAvey appeared on the scene.  The cultists were like any of the other threats they had faced, said Dr. McAvey.  They had not prayed to the Emperor to solve any of the other threats; they had worked hard to solve them themselves.  Sanctum, was not just the Emperor's gift to the people of this world, it was their charge as well.  To be worthy of this world, they must be prepared to battle to protect it.  Dr. McAvey molded the people of Sanctum into his great army and fed it a holy purpose, the jyhad.  Soon he was called Doctor General McAvey.
    Under McAvey's leadership the citizens of Sanctum began to fight back.  As they once had against the forces of sickness and disease, they took all their energy and put it towards learning how to fight with the weapons they had: knives, swords, and bows.  They learned the art of the silent, stealthy kill using the native toxins and poisons engineered by the best medical minds on Sanctum.  They learned the art of gorilla warfare, infiltrating their enemy's citadels and do maximum damage before fading away.  They learned to make painless poisons to give themselves if captured so they could not be forced to betray their compatriots.  Abu-Wazir's cultists learned to fear these ghosts in the mist.  Decades passed and McAvey's forces regained control of all the parts of the planet except the great northern desert.  In this they had the assistance of Sanctum itself as all the obstacles the original residents had overcome took a heavy toll on the invaders. The cultists still had the only tanks and heavy guns and the open desert provided no cover for the freedom fighters to hide in or fog to fade back into.  The situation quickly reached bloody stalemate with the cultists in the north and the rest of the planet in the hands of its original settlers and a constant medium intensity warfare between the two.  Over the next few decades, little changed except it became a right of passage for Dr. General McAvey's warriors to make a pilgrimage to the northern desert and return with the head of a cultist.  Likewise, the cultists made occasional fair weather raids into the more temperate zones of the planet.
    When General Doctor McAvey passed away, his son took up the mantle of general, and his son after him, eventually leading to the hereditary title Doctor General, the guardian of the spiritual well-being of Sanctum's people.  Over the centuries, the people of Sanctum developed a warrior caste to compliment its medical caste.  The great houses of Santcum often focused on one profession or the other, though any house worthy of the name contained members of both castes.  Soon each house developed its own identification symbols and cryptology used for both battlefield communication and to convey medical secrets.  These symbols became a source of great pride for the great houses and it was not long before they blossomed into heraldry which identified the proud members of the great houses.  Also, the governance of the planet had evolved so that the Doctor General, advised by the Council of Doctors, ruled Sanctum.  Over the years, the Doctor General's position had become a figurehead one of spiritual leadership, with the true power in the hands of the Council.  The head of each Great House was a Doctor with a seat on the Council, and depending on the power of the House at that time, one or more of its other members might be granted seats.  Still the stalemate continued until the council despaired of ever completely ridding Sanctum of its oppressors.
    No thunderbolt could have caused greater surprise than scrambled message on the long silent emergency frequency used centuries before to transmit a planetary distress call, "Planet Sanctum, this is Battle Barge Sword of Damocles responding to your distress beacon.  What is your status?"  After, a brief consultation between Sanctum's Council of Doctors and the Space Marines above, a massed drop pod assault began in the north polar region as the entire White Templar Chapter made planetfall.  Quickly establishing a beachhead, in the ruins of one of the cultist's former cities, the Space Marines landed their heavy equipment and began moving in on the remaining cultist bases.  In a few weeks, the campaign to liberate Sanctum ended, General al-Wazir falling in a personal duel with the Grand Master himself.  Victory had not come cheaply; the fledgling chapter had proven how green it was and mistakes against tanks and emplaced artillery were expensive mistakes indeed.  Overall the chapter lost over 60% of its number in the Battle for Sanctum, a number which would have been much higher had it not been for the medical skill of the people of Sanctum.  So it was with mixed emotion that Grand Master Stonecipher signalled the High Lords that his mission was accomplished but his chapter non-operational again.
    Stonecipher knew that he needed bodies to replace his fallen marines and he also perceived that it was the very qualities of discipline, duty, and faith that had led the inhabitants of this world to drive back an armored company of Chaos Cultists with little more than blowguns and poisoned blades.  He knew that he could find warriors on hundreds of worlds or even in the gangs of hive worlds, but the "grit" and deep seeded faith he saw in the people of Sanctum was a rare treasure indeed.  Even as all of Sanctum celebrated its liberation, Stonecipher told the Council of Doctors about his intent to build his fortress monastery on their world.  He was surprised when the Council exploded into debate.  Many, it seemed, felt that Sanctum had had enough "foreign devils" polluting its air and wanted the Marines to leave as soon as they could be politely ushered out.  Others argued that to do so would be ingratitude and that since the Marines had fought and bled for Sanctum, they had a right to live there.
    The Doctor General realized that given the priority the High Lords placed on Space Marines, Sanctum had but little choice in this matter.  Further, he had a different perception of the events which he relayed to the Council.  As they knew, Sanctum was a holy place prepared for its children by the divine will of the Emperor.  It had appeared when needed as if by magic and been perfect for their needs.  It had tested the mettle of those people and in so doing had forged them into the steel that was able to resist invasion for over a century before armed help arrived.  And when that help arrived it was because the Administratum had found a lost message; found it at precisely the time when a new chapter of Marines became available; Space Marines who carried the genes of the divine Emperor in their very blood and bones, Space Marines who just coincidentally needed a homeworld.  Did no one else see the divine hand of the Emperor in this?  Everything from the original settlement to the invasion to the arrival of the White Templars was part of the Plan.  To reject it was to reject the Emperor.  Deus valt.  Silence followed these remarks and then the Council voted unanimously to grant Sanctum to the White Templars.

• THE GREAT WALK

    Shortly after construction of the Fortress Monastery trouble began between the White Templars and the original inhabitants of Sanctum.  In all arguments, the Space Marines expected to prevail and when resisted, frequently took what the wanted from the "lesser beings" around them.  Grand Master Stonecipher noticed this trend early on and, after witnessing one particularly brutal incident, he simply left the Monastery on foot and without a word to anyone.  His exact movements are not known, however during this period people reported sitings of him all over Sanctum.  He is reported to have paid a call upon the Doctor General and talked long into the night.  And then he is reported to have left to wander in the desert for a time.
    A few years after the Grand Master departed, a tall, fur-clad stranger appeared from the early morning mist near the Monastery's gate.  He silently punched in a number code and the great gate swung open for him.  The Grand Master had returned.  He shaved, showered, donned his best ceremonial armor, and summoned the chapter to the main parade ground.  They were, he advised them, standing on the precipice of damnation.  The sin that brought them to this place was pride.  He admitted it was his fault because he had taught them how they were descended from a god, yet not what spiritual duty that entailed.  A spiritual man, he reminded them, was a humble man, no matter how great he was.  With pride however came contempt and contempt was a spiritual failing.  If they needed an example in their lives, they had no further to look than the people of Sanctum.  They were holy people, devout and dutiful in their worship, but not prideful about it.  when the test came, the people of Sanctum had defended their world with the same three virtues that were the cornerstone of the White Templar's teachings: Discipline, Duty, and Faith.  As the children of a god, they had an even higher obligation to their spirituality than most men, a higher duty.  As the children of the Emperor, they had a duty to defend the Imperium, but what was the Imperium?  It certainly included the people of the Imperium.  They had a duty to protect the people of the Empire even against themselves.  Any other conclusion tread down the path that Horus blazed and led to the same result.  Let no one forget  that Horus was also of divine blood before he fell.  This pride that had developed in the White Templars stopped immediately and every warrior monk present had to go, meditate, and purge himself of his pride and his arrogance by whatever means necessary.  It was the only way to avoid damnation.
    Starting right at that moment, things were changing.  No matter how badly they needed new Marines, from that day henceforth, all new recruits would spend a minimum of five years serving among the people of the Empire.  The Grand Master cited the example of the Salamanders who lived their entire lives amongst the people of Nocturne.  They would also study the people of Sanctum, a people who without the blood of a god had still managed to defend their world with little more than their bare hands.  There was much to be admired here and the Grand Master challenged his Marines to find it and emulate it.  These new orders were implemented and after another decade, the Grand Master retired from active duty to finish his life writing and teaching his holy principles.  The people of Sanctum and the White Templars came to see him as a holy man.  After his death, he was entombed in a white gold coffin and laid to rest in a place of honor in the White Templars' Chapel.
   

• TO THE 41ST MILLENIUM

    As the millenia progressed and more and more of the chapter's stock came from Sanctum, the beliefs of the two cultures fused.  Now, 7000 years later the two are largely the same.  Sanctum's reverence for physicians has become ingrained in the White Templars every bit as much as it is in the people of Sanctum.  All White Templars now have some degree of medical training and are competent in most areas of medicine.  On Sanctum, even the Space Marines honor the planet's physicians who are renown across the Empire.  This reverence extends to the Marine's own Apothecaries who are among the chapter's most admired members.  This reverence has led the chapter to its own unique areas of service, medical care.  Every human-controlled planet that the White Templars have ever fought on on has at least one White Templar built and run Hospital.  When hospital ships, medical facilities, or caravans of wounded need protection, the White Templars answer the call.  In addition to a normal battle fleet, the chapter maintains scores of hospital ships, some of which are dispatched on every engagement.   Stonecipher's holy walk has become a thing of legend and his teachings and policy have practically become holy writ for the chapter.
    For the most part, the people of Sanctum have returned to their simple life now that the cultists are gone.  However they have not forgotten the invasion and maintain the martial skills which they were forced to learn, incorporating them into their holistic view of a healthy mind and a healthy spirit.  Thus, every citizen of Sanctum learns martial arts from a young age just as they are given basic schooling and routine inoculations.  Sanctum remains a planet of warrior-medics.  The people of Sanctum have also never forgotten the invasion and everyone (except those studying to be Doctors) serves a six year conscription in the Planetary Defense Force.  However, the majority of those interested in seriously pursuing a military career hope to be chosen early in life to join the White Templars, the guardians of Sanctum.  Included in those inducted into the White Templars after the battle of Sanctum was the son of the current Doctor General, Roland McAvey.  Roland proved a military savant and quickly rose through the ranks of the White Templars, themselves rapidly expanding as they reconstituted their strength, eventually becoming captain of the 5th Company.  When the Chapter Master perished in battle, Roland was selected to replace him, officially fusing the positions of Chapter Master and Doctor General.    The White Templar Fortress Monestary, Sanctuary Temple towers atop a steep hill in the temperate forest regions of the planet.  The walls are painted gleaming white and black flags bearing the chapter's device flutter from study looking artillery towers all around the complex.  The military nature of the monastery is obvious as it bristles with weapons.  A large artificial cavern is built into the hillside below the monastery and serves as both a garage for the chapter's motor pool and the spaceport for the chapter's shuttles as they wisk between the Sanctuary Temple and the orbiting fortress docks above.
    Sanctuary remain the planetary seat of government and the ruling body is still the Council of Doctors, led by the Doctor General/Grand Master.  However, not just anyone can become a Doctor anymore; the process is strictly regulated by the existing Doctors.  Being a Doctor has become more than just a vocation, it has become the nobility of the society.  Sanctum has its noble houses, each descended from one of the great Doctors of the past which now comprise hereditary medical dynasties, all of whom make sure that their families provide the doctors of the future.  This has the effect of making it almost impossible for anyone not born to one of the dynasties to become a Doctor.  Each house is led its Doctors, yet not all members of these noble houses become Doctors; there simply are not enough Doctor positions for that.  Instead, many of the surplus nobles become captains of industry, join the clergy, or study military science.  It is from this last group that the White Templars draw most of their recruits.
    Aside from supplying itself with the supplies it needs to survive, Sanctum's primary industries are medicinal.  The surface is dotted with clinics, medical schools, and medical research facilities along with the occasional facility to manufacture medical supplies.  Further, the biological diversity of Sanctum has provided its people with the basis for many revolutionary medicines, which are in demand throughout the Imperium.  This has provided a great deal of wealth for Sanctum and its masters.  The people of Sanctum have never lost their desire for a similar life and much of the planet continues to have a garden-like feeling of serenity.  The only highly industrialized part of the society are the parts which support the White Templar operations and the parts relating to medicine.  All else is done by hand and muscle power.
   

CHAPTER ORGANIZATION:

    The White Templars are primarily a Codex Astartes chapter in organization although there are some minor variances.  The chapter is led by a Grand Master, not a Chapter Master.  Otherwise, the chapter numbers the standard ten companies and the Codex Astartes is memorized by every Marine.  However, the medical skill of the chapter has meant that, over the centuries, a greater number of its famous veterans have survived grievous wounds than normal.  This has led the White Templars to have a higher number of Dreadnoughts and veterans in their chapter than most chapters their age can boast.  It has also meant that the First Company is substantially larger than any other Company in the Chapter, numbering fifteen squads.  Another difference is the fact that the Tenth Company is not a scout company.  Rather, the scouts are distributed between the Second through the Eight Companies as the Tenth (and sometimes also the Ninth) Squad(s) of each company.  This is done so that the scouts can learn better from the more experienced Space Marines in each company.  The Ninth and Tenth Companies are the reserve tactical and assault companies respectively.

Chapter Command (includes Chaplains, Librarians, Masters of the Forge, etc.).

1st Company:  15 Veteran squads, 50 suits of terminator armor.

2nd - 3rd Companies:  1 command group, 5 tactical squads, 1 scout squad, 1 Land Speeder squadron, 3 assault squads.

4th - 5th Companies: 1 command group, 4 tactical squads,  2 scout squad, 1 Land Speeder squadron, 1 assault squads, and 1 devastator squad.

6th - 7th Companies:  1 command group, 5 tactical squads,  1 scout squad, 1 assault squads, and 3 devastator squads.

8th Company:  1 command group, 2 tactical squads,  3 bike squads, 2 scout bike squad, 2 Land Speeder squadrons, 1 assault squad.

9th Company:  1 command group, 10 reserve tactical squads.

10th Company: 1 command group, 10 reserve assault squads.

    The chapter also keeps a central motor pool from which vehicles are assigned to Formations based upon the tasks set for those formations.  No company keeps its own store of vehicles.  Accordingly, while all vehicles have a unique identifier, that identifier is not one of a "Company" that owns the vehicle.  Each vehicle has a crew that travels with the vehicle and which is assigned to no company other than the general motor pool.  This applies to all tanks and transports, but not to bikes or Land Speeders which are property of the various companies because they are organized by squad(ron).

    The White Templars have also developed a unique deployment system because of their often unique medical support role, the "Formation."  Rarely do the White Templars deploy in full and complete battle companies.  Rather the Grand Master usually makes a determination of what forces will be required for a task and then pulls detachments from various companies to meet the needs of that task.  However, no detachment is ever smaller than a squad.  The Formation is then named based on its job, its commander, or its place of deployment, such as the "Armageddon Formation."  Over time, the chapter has developed several standard patterns of Formation for various common tasks such as a "Planetary Assault Formation" or "Medical Relief Formation".  While it is uncommon for a single Formation to be composed of units entirely from a single Company, it is normal for the Formations to be composed of units mostly from the same company.  This is because experience has proven that the marines of any company have slightly better battlefield synergy with each other than with marines of any other company.  On the rare occasions when a battle company is deployed it still called a Formation to denote its operational status such as "Second Company Formation."

    The First Company is always split into detachments and never made into the First Company Formation.  Partially, this is to prevent putting all the eggs in one basket, but, like the dispersion of the scout squads, it also reflects a deep-seeded belief among the White Templars that the experienced marines have a duty to pass on their hard-won knowledge to the rookie marines. 

    In all other ways, the organization of the Chapter is per the Codex Astartes.

BATTLEFIELD DOCTRINE:

    The White Templars' adherence to the Codex makes them versatile in their battlefield doctrine as expected.  The do have a slight training focus on assaulting and relieving besieged planets. This frequently means drop pod assaults. Because of the high casualties caused by enemy armor in that first drop pod landing, White Templars prefer to augment their drop pod assaults with a heavy contingent of anti-armor equipped air support.  However, this is only a training emphasis and the chapter's teachings encourage original applications of the Codex.

    Because of the White Templars' frequent medical support role, they have had the chance to observe many other chapters in battle and they have recorded archives noting particularly effective maneuvers they observed, especially when performed by chapters thought to be specialists in those areas.  Thus, White Scar tactics for mobile hit-and-run raiding, Raven Guard drop pod tactics, and Aurora Chapter's armored assault tactics have all been studied and, where possible, incorporated into the White Templars' War College.  The Black Templars and the Red Templars have been a particular fascination if for no other reason than the fact that their name so closely resembles the White Templars.  However, Black and Red Templar tactics have been deemed too deviant from the Codex to be included in the White Templar's teachings.  Relations between the White Templars and the other two well-known Templar chapters has simply been coolly polite.  The White Templars have also paid particular attention to the Angels of Absolution because of the genetic link to their parent, indeed, there has been persistent discussion of modifying the organization of the chapter into a more Dark Angel like structure for the First and Second Companies.  Because of this, the White Templars have been quietly stockpiling suits of terminator armor.

    Emphasis on planetary assaults not withstanding, White Templars also have a lot of institutional experience in defensive roles and defending static points such as hospitals, medical supply depots, landing fields, and the like.  Often their combat TOE reflects that focus.  White Templar tactics frequently involve an intense, quick assault to secure an objective followed by digging in for the inevitable counter attack, smashing that counter attack, and then moving on to the next objective.  When possible they prefer to see their enemies break themselves on a strong defensive position as a set-up to being counter-assaulted

CHAPTER CULT & BELIEFS:

    The White Templars believe that as genetic descendants of the Emperor, they are capable of, and must therefore hold themselves to a higher standard than normal men, physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Part of that duty is to develop all three aspects of their being.  Their physical duty is to train and defend mankind from physical threats.  Their mental duty is fulfilled by contemplation, study, and writing.  Their spiritual duty is fulfilled both in their direct worship but also by acting as humble, spiritual beings in all aspects of their lives.  The famed humility of the Salamanders is accordingly admired within the White Templars.

    Because of its belief in the importance of spiritual development, the chapter holds a great reverence for physicians and even its own apothecaries.  The profession of apothecary ranks up with chaplains in the hierarchy of the White Templars and all who practice medical arts are revered for it.  Some of the best doctors in the Imperium are White Templars or White Templar trained.  Further, all brothers of the chapter strive to practice a bit of the medical arts because doing so is believed to have positive spiritual benefits.  This belief influences both how the White Templars fight and what they choose to fight in relation too.  Because of the value they place on humility, the White Templars are not driven to glory assignments, rather they protect battlefield hospitals, medical convoys, evacuation sites, and the like.  As a consequence, often the participation of the chapter in some of the major campaigns is overlooked by all but the chapter's own historians. 

    That said, the chapter acknowledges that many men can be physicians, but only a handful can be Space Marines.  Thus, while they study medicine, as Space Marines their first calling is to war.  Much of the White Templars' study and contemplation is therefore spent studying matters relating to war.  The chapter has long had a War College where the tactics of others, both friend and foe are studied exhaustively.  Often the tactics are compared with obscure passages from the Codex Astartes or specific action by White Templar marines.

    White Templars also have a strong belief that the universe moves according to a divine plan of the Emperor.  This stems from Sanctum's colonists belief that the Emperor provided Sanctum for them and that they have a special place in his plan.  That belief has extended to the White Templars who believe they were led to Sanctum by the will of the Emperor and that he has a special design for them.  This is partly why they seek not glory; they are confident that their moment is still coming.  Further, they must always strive to be worthy of the Emperor's gifts to them.

    The most peculiar belief of the White Templars came from the ancestral beliefs and culture of the original inhabitant of Sanctum.  The White Templars believe that souls reincarnate.  Those souls that do well and serve the Emperor's will reincarnate closer to that divine being, while those who do poorly reincarnate further from his divine grace.  The pinnacle for a human soul is to be a Space Marine who is infused with the genetic material of the Divine Emperor.  However, the White Templars acknowledge that at the moment of birth no soul knows for sure that it will be selected for being a Space Marine thus selection is more of an honor or a lucky boost towards the positive, not a result of a well-lived previous life.  They also, believe however, that a good soul is one of the primary things that should qualify someone to be a Space Marines and that it is the inner beauty of the soul which draws forth the excellence that attracts the Chaplain's attention.  Ultimate salvation of course, results in finally living a pure enough life that one can be combined with the divine soul of the Emperor.

    One consequence of the White Templar's belief in reincarnation is that they regard anything of Chaos, especially a Chaos Space Marine, as being a polluted cage for the soul which defiles the soul the longer the soul is imprisoned within the cage.  They believe that souls, which instinctively long for the light of the Emperor, are in anguish in Chaos or xeno corrupted shells.  This is especially true when that shell also taunts them with a twisted spark of the Emperor's Divine light.  Thus, their divine duty is to bring mercy to these souls by releasing them from their tortures so they may reincarnate in a cleaner environment.  They strive not to feel anger or hatred towards the souls they free; anger and hatred are reserved for the true demons of Chaos and the Chaos gods.  Rather the White Templars strive to feel pity for those who are imprisoned and joy at freeing of those souls. 

CHAPTER TRADITIONS:

    All new recruits still undergo a five year "devotional" period of service, but now serve almost exclusively in the Templar's hospital ships and hospitals.  During this period, the chapter indoctrinates them with a ethic of service and care, giving every chapter member a grounding in the practice of medicine.

    Part of the discipline of ingrained in White Templars is the need to keep their armor polished and clean at all times and in all but the most dire of circumstance.  They believe the exterior is a reflection of the soul within and thus, cleanliness IS next to godliness.

    Chapter tradition is to leave behind a medical clinic or hospital on every world where the White Templars have fought.  Indeed, these hospitals are well thought of due to the Sanctum based training of most of their employees.  Doing this is one of the things the White Templars regard as a spiritual duty.

MAJOR ACTIONS:

Sanctum.  Relieved the planet from the forces of a renegade Imperial Guard general.

Third War for Armageddon.  The White Templars played a support role by setting up and defending shelters and medical facilities in several of the beleaguered hives.

Zeist Campaign

Eye of Chaos.

BATTLE CRY & ANTHEM:

 "Death is the ultimate mercy!" or just "Mercy!"

GENE-SEED:

    White Templars gene-seed is uncorrupted from that of their grandparent, the Dark Angels.

LIVERY & PAINTING:

    White Templars wear white power armor with black paudrons, trimmed in white, over black under armor.  Standard Codex squad markings go on the right pauldron while the Chapter Badge goes on the left pauldron.  Squad number is denoted on the right pauldron.  Pauldron trim denotes rank with scarlet for sergeants, black for veterans, copper for veteran sergeants, silver for captains, and gold for the Grand Master.  The company is denoted by a company badge worn on the backpack or, less commonly, on the left pauldron.  Personal heraldry, if any, is worn on the knee plates.  Armor for Techmarines, Librarians, and Chaplains is by Codex, but any vestments are white.  Apothecaries are armored in white with sky blue vestments.  Cloaks and robes are scarlet for sergeants, Dark Angel Green for veterans and veteran sergeants, black for captains, and Dark Angel Green trimmed with gold for Grand Masters.  Scout fatigues are black or camouflage.

Scouts:  White Armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  Black fatigues.

Marines:  White armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  Usually no vestments.

Sergeants:  White armor with black pauldrons trimmed in scarlet.  Scarlet vestments.

Veterans:  White armor with black pauldrons trimmed in black.  Dark Angel Green vestments.

Veteran Sergeants:  White armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in bright copper.  Dark Angel Green Vestments.

Techmarines:  Scarlet armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  White vestments.

Librarians:  Deep blue armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  White vestments.

Chaplains:  Black armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  White vestments.

Apothecaries:  White with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  Sky blue vestments.

Masters of the Forge:  Scarlet armor with black pauldrons, trimmed in white.  White vestments.

Captains: White with black pauldrons, trimmed in silver.  Black vestments (can be lined in scarlet).

Grand Master:  White with black pauldrons, trimmed in gold.  Dark Angel Green vestments trimmed in gold.

    Terminators are white with black pauldrons and any vestments are Dark Angel Green, just like the veterans they are.  Weapons are black with gunmetal metalic muzzles and clips..  Skulls are black, bone or gold.  Most emblems are gold.  Vehicles and drop pods are predominantly white but patterns vary.

KEY PERSONNEL:

Chapter Master Oliver McAvey

Captain DeBracy, 1st Company

Captain Falk Oversteegan

Librarian Balduinus

Chaplain Callistus

Sgt. Feodor Carolus