Tellus: More (Potential) Races

In general I like to keep races to a bare minimum. However it is worth noting that 'races' in Tellus is a bit vague and all encompassing as what is considered a 'race' in universe can actually be represented by different stat blocks, such as the extremely varied Gigas who include Goliaths and variants as well as Firbolg. As with everything in Tellus, nothing is truly canon until the game is ran and it appears in said game.

The Demiurges (Vedalken of Kaladesh)

An ancient race of magical craftsmen and contemporaries of the Tritons, the Demiurges may in fact be distant cousins (which would also make them related to the Ulma). They are a tall, thin and pale people with mono colored hair, eyes and somewhat geometric skin and an innate understanding of magical crafting. In the modern age only a single extended clan of these creatures yet exist. They are an aloof race usually best left to be used as NPC and rare experts on obscure scientific and magical knowledge.

Aetherborn & Warforged

Two artificial races born of advanced magical technology, these would not so much be races as the rare one-off entity which has achieved full sentience. Their existence, however, would mean a strong focus would need to be placed on the magitek elements of Tellus which I currently don't know if that will even be the focus of the campaign when it is started, if ever at all. Given the lifestream-esque interpretation of Tellus metaphysics it is clear such beings would indeed have souls, even if possibly entirely through accident.

Vampires (Ixalan)

Generally speaking, Undead creatures are not very common in Tellus nor are they particularly gruesome, as few JRPG tend to indulge in the horror and nightmare imagery of Undead which greatly clash with my own love of the horrible buggers. However, Vampires remain quite popular in Japanese pop culture, especially as a true-breeding race of long lived or even flat out immortal bloodsuckers. The Vampires of Tellus would also be an ancient, seemingly Ulma-derived race and would breed true with them. However they would be nocturnal and blood-drinking. This dark and primal gift whose true origins are shrouded in mystery have made them disliked, if not outright hunted to near extinction. They would look like androgynous white or black-haired, goth-looking people with pointy ears and glowying eyes or something.

Grimdark Future: Multi-Faction Deodorant Stick Grav-Tanks

Truly a classic.

The Deodorant Dispenser Land Speeder, or Grav Attack Tank is one of those silly yet extremely cool things from the past of Games Workshop, back when they were actually more about fun and creativity than just complete and utter dull corporate greed. In the spirit of DIY far-future wargaming that is Grimdark Future, here are some stats to field the Deodorant Stick Grav-Tank in a variety of factions, each with their own variations.

In case people need to have some video tutorials:

• Table Ready Gaming
• eBay Miniature Rescue
• Wyloch's Armory: Not a Deodorant Speeder tutorial, but a foam-based Land Speeder. However most of the tricks should apply.

Imperial Grav-Tank

Factions: Human Defense Forces, Battle Sisters, Dwarf Guilds, Machine Cult, Ratmen Clans, Rebel Guerrilla, Soul-Snatchers and Gangs of Hive City (for Firefight)

The basic Imperial Grav-Tanks have a statline which them well-suited to a number of armies, as one can assume a variety of factions either produce and use them or, at the very least, loot them for their own purpose. These two version of the Grav-Tank are not as heavily armed as their Battle Brothers counterpart, the Attack Speeder and lack Ambush. These don't blast down from the sky or anything. They are just regular vehicles who just so happen to float rather than use tracks or wheels. Being light grav-tanks they are limited in the amount of weapons they can pile on, which also reflect the limited nature of building a model for these.

Name [size]	Qua	Def	Equipment	Special Rules	Cost
Grav-Tank [1]	4+	2+	Heavy Flamethrower (12”, A6, AP(1))	Fast, Impact(6), Strider, Tough(6)	175pts
Upgrade with one:
Storm Rifle (24”, A2)					+5pts
Machinegun (36”, A3)					+15pts
Hunter Missiles (48”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					+30pts
Replace Heavy Flamethrower:
Heavy Machinegun (36”, A3, AP(1))					+5pts
Laser Machinegun (36”, A3, AP(2))					+5pts
Missile Launcher – pick one to fire: HE (48”, A1, Blast(3)) AT (48”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					+15pts
Laser Cannon (48”,A1,AP(4),Deadly(3))					+25pts
Upgrade with:
Forward Observer (Scout)					+5pts

Orc Looted Grav-Tank

The Ork Orc version of the Grav-Tank is a ramshackled nightmare which has been rebuilt and modified to become a giant gun-toting bullet. Whereas the baseline Imperial version is fairly versatile, the Orc version is much more built for raw speed and mayhem. It can even fight in melee thanks to either an open top or some hatches where the crew stick their heads out like a bunch of dogs in a car. Giant, roided-out barbaric dogs.

Name [size]	Qua	Def	Equipment	Special Rules	Cost
Grav-Tank [1]	4+	2+	Heavy Machinegun (36”, A3, AP(1)), Orc Crew (A2)	Bad Shot, Fast, Impact(6), Strider, Tough(6)	180pts
Replace Heavy Machinegun:
Rocket Launcher (24”, A1, AP(3), Deadly(3))					-5pts
Upgrade with any:
Heavy Flamethrower (12”, A6, AP(1))					+5pts
Red Paint Job					+10pts

TAO Light Vehicle

The Tau TAO Coalition already make use of anti-gravity tanks by default and so the humble Deodorant Grav-Tank design is, for them, adapted into a very light vehicle: something akin to an armored Jeep used by the army, for example. It cannot compete with the raw power of its larger cousins but that's because it fill a very different battlefield role.

Name [size]	Qua	Def	Equipment	Special Rules	Cost
Light Vehicle  [1]	4+	2+	Twin Pulse Carbines (18”, A4, AP(1))	Fast, Impact(6), Scout, Strider, Tough(6)	185pts
Replace Twin Pulse Carbine:
Twin Burst Carbines (18”, A8, AP(1))					Free
Twin Smart Missiles (30”, A8, AP(1), Indirect)					+30pts
Upgrade with any:
Distortion Engine (Stealth)					+15pts
Anti-Charge System					+25pts

Grimdark Future: 'Fluffy' Battle Brothers Army Lists (3000pts)

Personally I like bigger matches of Grimdark Future, with 3000pts being a good number to start. It allows fielding multiple squads or a few basic squads and some more specialized units or even tanks. These Battle Brothers lists are very much designed to evoke the play style and flair of certain Space Marine chapters.

Salamanders: Fiery Purge

Salamanders Aggressors.

The Salamanders are (in)famous for two things: being cruelly underrated for a long time and an obsession with pyromania. While it isn't the be all end all of their tactics, Salamanders definitely love big scary guns that emit a lot of heat and/or radiation. The Chapter is also well known for its master-crafted weapons.

Captain [1] (170pts)
Plasma Pistol and Energy Hammer
Advanced Tactics

Prime Lieutenant [1] x2 (300pts)
Pistol and Energy Sword
Precision Shots

Battle Brothers [5] x3 (675pts)
1x Pistol and Energy Sword
1x Fusion Rifle

Support Brothers [5] x3 (1020pts)
3x Heavy Flamethrower
2x Missile Launcher

Aggro Squad [3] x2 (750pts)
Fist-Flamethrowers
Grenade Launchers

Tactics: This list is built on fiery weapons and said big, scary weapons. By themselves, Flame-based weapons suffer from a lack of range and serious armor-piercing. Fortunately, this list pack not one but three heroes with the ability to either slightly increase range (both shooting and charge range) or boost shooting Armor Piercing values. Note that Heroes can join Aggro Squad and give provide them with said special abilities. Said Aggro squads are the main vanguard of the attack, pushing ahead into enemies both at range and in melee. Battle Brothers and Support Brothers provide additional fire support in their own way: the lieutenant of the Battle Brothers is decent in melee and they have anti-tank weaponry in the form of Fusion Rifles (Meltaguns) while the Support Brothers have powerful anti-infantry options with a dash of anti-tank via the alternate fire mode of Missile Launchers.

Raven (Van)Guard Primaris

Raven Guard Eliminator.

The Vanguard Primaris Space Marines are an expansion upon a role once filled by Scouts in original 40k and by Seeker and Reconnaissance Squads of 30k/the Horus Heresy. There is a lot to dislike about Primaris Space Marines, sure but there is no denying these tricked out covert and special ops marines make every Raven Guard player giddy with excitement.

Prime Captain [1] (115pts)
Heavy Carbine
Camo Cloak

Raider Squad [5] x2 (570pts)
1x Heavy Chainsaw
Grapnels and Orbital Deployment

Infiltration Squad [5] x3 (720pts)

Elimination Squad [3] x3 (615pts)

Pathfinders [5] x4 (980pts)
1x Missile Launcher
Stealth Cloaks

Tactics: Most of this list except the Raider Squads make use of the Stealth mechanic (-1 to be hit) and even then, the Raiders have Strider and Ambush making them ignore terrain and allows to be deep striked into enemy lines. Elimination Squads are snipers and will stay out of enemy range to slowly pick them all one by one while the Infiltration Squads will form the bulk of troops, scouting ahead and engaging the enemy at short range. Supporting the Primaris units are Pathfinders (Scouts) with the anti-vehicle and anti-infantry weaponry.

Imperial Fists: Relentless Fusillade

Imperial Fist Primaris Captain.

Generally speaking, the sons of Dorn are associated with siege warfare and they are indeed quite good at this. A less-known aspect of the Imperial Fists, however, is their excellence in the mastery of basic weapons such as Bolters. While the Ultramarines are unfortunately generally held to be the gold standard of greatness for Astartes, few can match the stubborn discipline of the Imperial Fists. Both their 30k traits and 40k traits and stratagem show great skill, discipline and focus with ranged weaponry which this list will focus on since these lists are not built for specific missions, rending the siege aspect a bit pointless.

Prime Captain [1] (130pts)

Fist-Pistol and Energy Fist

Battle Rites

Aggro Squad [3] x2 (730pts)
Grenade Launchers

Support Brothers A [5] x3 (750pts)

1x Laser Cannon

Support Brothers B [5] x2 (700pts)

5x Heavy Machineguns

Attack APC [1] x2 (570pts)

Twin Heavy Machinegun

Tactics: This list has a lot of 'dakka' and exist to mow down enemies at range. Support Brothers A function much like the normal Battle Brothers but with Relentless (reroll 6 to gain another chance to land another hit). They also have a single Laser Cannon to snipe down enemy vehicles which, when combined with a good roll of Relentless, hurts like hell. The Support Brothers B meanwhile are pure anti-infantry, with a truckload of attacks with their Heavy Machineguns (Heavy Bolters). The Attack APC have a similar role and play a double role of being both tanks and transports. Aggro Squad have a role similar to the Salamanders list but use different weapons and when combined with the Prime Captain's bonus to melee can basically clobber enemies to death.

Iron Hands: Clan Avernii Veterans

Detachment: Custodian Brothers

Iron Hand Veterans.

This list use a previously mentioned idea of using Custodian Brothers (aka Custodes) not for their special units and special rules but, rather, for the ability to upgrade Battle Brothers with the Regeneration trait. This enable these marines to become much tougher and harder to kill and who better to represent such a list as the cybernetically-rebuilt Veterans of the 1st company of the Iron Hands: Clan Avernii.

Captain [1] (245pts)

Assault Rifle Attachment: Fusion Rifle

Veteran Infantry

Advanced Tactics

+Regeneration

Veteran Battle Brothers [5] x3 (1065pts)

1x Assault Rifle Attachment: Fusion Rifle

1x Missile Launcher

Veteran Infantry

+Regeneration

Heavy Exo-Suits [3] x1 (865pts)

3x Upgraded with Missile Launchers

+Regeneration

Attack Walker [1] x1 (585pts)

Twin Heavy Flamethrower

Hunter Missiles

+Regeneration

Drop Pod (215pts)

Tactics: This list is a small, but powerful elitist list (even by Battle Brothers standards). These base units are stronger and harder to kill than most other infantry and each squad (plus the Captain) has a backup Fusion Rifle attachment (Combi-Melta) to dispatch tanks and monsters. The Heavy Exo Suits (Centurions) and Attack Walker (Dreadnought) have powerful, multi-dice weapons to wipe our weak infantry that could easily outnumber the isolated marines. Finally the Drop Pod exist to just slam into the board, unload whatever was deemed necessary into enemy ranks and just keep piling damage while outliving most things.

Urban Fantasy: Bogeymen Revised

Before I started working on the Urban Fantasy setting, I wrote about one of its monster categories (if such a thing even truly exist), entities born of human primal fear, the dark and alienation. These creatures are known as Bogeymen.

Nature And (Lack Of) Origin

The Creeper, from Jeepers Creepers.

Bogeymen are wholly corporeal creatures, at least when alive and active. While they embody certain things and concepts they are not Spirits. A bogeyman can be touched, its pulse will be felt (if it has a heart, anyway), its skin will have sweat and it will bleed when cut. As long as the creature remain alive, it is mortal flesh and blood although often of a particularly hard to kill variety, as these creatures sometime display a baffling anatomy and an uncanny ability to resist mortal wounds. In form, they are humanoid but all similarities with human end there: these creatures never look human up close, indeed they are horrific mockeries of humanity at the best of times. Their skin may be pale and waxy or it could be a horrid mass of scabs and scars erupting in bony spikes. It may have scaly skin, four eyes, a jaw that can open like a snake or even bugs living in its flesh. Even the most human-like of these creatures would look like someone who has been disfigured beyond what one would think is possible. Unlike Witch-Breed they never have the ability to appear human, relying on dark lighting and bulky clothes to hide briefly among ordinary people.

Where they come from is a mystery. No one has ever observed them raising their own children nor displaying any kind of familial link, safe perhaps for the myth of Grendel (who was definitely a Bogeyman in many aspect of its behavior) and the appearance of his mother. They are not transformed from ordinary people, as those are Witch-Breeds. Bogeymen simply come into existence over a period of time until they just exist and take their first life at which point the monster is indeed a fully realized entity. Some speculate they are a form of transformed Spirit of Fear and Darkness somehow given flesh but there are several holes in this theory. Beyond their connection with primal fears no one know where they come from or how they come to be. They just are. They are monsters lurking in the shadow, trolls under the bridge and manic monsters too bizarre to be considered a true Slasher. To make a comparison from movies: the Creeper is a Bogeyman and Jason Vorhees is a Slasher. One is a mostly inexplicable monster, some demon-like entity while the other is a supernaturally tough killer-later-turned-undead.

Abilities

The abilities of Bogeymen are quite varied, given that each is a mostly unique monster. These are not particularly impressive or potent supernatural abilities most of the time but simply quirks of their implausible biology manifesting as minor gifts such as being able to resist a specific type of damage (from a tough hide or spongy flesh), wall-crawling or stretching their limbs and/or jaws. As a whole, however, Bogeymen do display a few commonalities:

'It' is too powerful to be a Bogeyman but its motives
and the way it mess with people are spot on for their nature.

• Bogeymen are Hard to Detect. At the very least they are hard to take recordings of, as their innate nature will corrupt the recording, ranging from distorting the image to a mere smudge to rending a video completely corrupted and unreadable. More potent Bogeymen can extend this ability to a greater degree, such as causing all lights in their vicinity to crackle or even go out at will. In ancient time, this snuffed all candles and fire but in modern times it turn off lights. Finally their corpses tend to disappear and/or crumble to dust in some fashion. The most human-like may very well leave a corpse behind but to medical examination it would simply appear to be a horrifically deformed human, all supernatural properties having left the body upon termination.
• Some Bogeymen rely on minor and passive mind-influencing powers in addition to the basic abilities. These creatures could, for example, put out a minor aura of confusion and/or forgetfulness which only affect adults for example, prompting a Saving Throw to remember seeing the creature and not just a vague, blurred shadow.
• Finally all Bogeymen can see in the perfect darkness. Those who can't usually have other ways of detecting their prey, such as advance echolocation or scent.

These basic abilities, while rather minor and of no use in a direct fight if cornered by some supernatural investigators of some sort, exist to aid the creature's nature as a nocturnal predator. Many Bogeymen prey on children (possibly because children are easily afraid of the dark and the unknown), for example and these minor abilities are enough for it to devour a few kids here and there. No one will ever believe these children who DO see the creature due to the aforementioned mind influencing powers.

Previously in this post, the Bogeymen were described as mostly identical stat-wise to the Slashers. Because the Urban Fantasy game tend to involve more potent characters with a better chance of fighting back, the Bogeymen is instead re imagined as 3-5 HD monster with above average attack bonus and damage. The Slasher's immunity to non-magical attacks is missing but it might exist in more powerful Bogeymen. Potential new abilities include:

• Licking the blood of a victim gives the Bogeyman the ability to instantly sense the victim's presence within 30m even through walls.
• Either through eldritch geometries or the disgusting ability to break and reshape its bones the Bogeyman can take 1d4 rounds to squeeze through any hole no bigger than a human fist. It can also seemingly hide in similar spaces or larger even if it would not fit normally. Yes, this include hiding a seven feet tall monster under a child's bed.
• As long as the Bogeyman remain in areas of even partial darkness, its AC become 17. Blows either miss or seemingly glance off the obscure form of the monster as if having its horrid form hidden by the darkness made it harder to wound.
• Much like its relative the Slasher, Bogeymen are known to fake death. When taking damage the creature can pretend to drop dead from the wound as it extend its mind-clogging powers as a defense mechanism. Anyone that see the Bogeyman fall must make a Saving Throw or be compelled to think its 'dead for good, now'. They will be compelled to move on, tend their wounds, maybe turn around or talk to each others as if all tension is deflated. The creature will then either spring back to attack then or wait for them to leave its body unattended at which point it will scuttle off and prepare for a new offensive.Note that this 'off screen body disappearance' is akin to a teleportation effect and works even inside of a room so long as it has more than a single exit.
• Some Revenant abilities associated with Slashers also work, such as Sense Victim or Pursuit. The ability Long Tongue can also be given to Bogeymen.
• Like some Demons they can sometimes also Sense Sin, even if its limited to weird things like misbehaving children or horny teenagers.

Bogeymen occupy a conceptual zone which overlap with ogre-like monsters, demons and slashers but they are neither. They are monsters born of fear and nightmares which are made flesh. They are not tied to specific mythologies nor are they truly powerful creatures which can be a threat on a massive scale. They are a simple yet potent archetype of the monster in the dark.

Tellus: Character Concepts (Dragon Clans)

The niche of the Dragon Clans is a bit of an odd one due to them being Dragonborns. They do not fit  niche taken by Elves or Dwarves: they are an ancient and magically-potent race but aren't as magically focused as Elves are and while powerful warriors they are too magically inclined to be akin to Dwarves. They are ferocious and deadly like Orcs and other 'monster races' but look mostly human and have an established culture.

Dragon Knight by Mike Azevedo.

Arcane Spellcasters

The Dragon Clans, as with other races deeply rooted into Tellus history and powers are an innately magical race, said to posses the power of dragons as one would expect from a race of vaguely draconic humanoids. Much of this is hyperbolic, as the average individual of the Dragon Clans isn't going to be that powerful or even magically gifted. However when the 'gift of dragons' does manifest it become quite clear why Dragon Clans have such a reputation. Their blood is infused with the more chaotic elements: a raging storm, a scorching inferno and a flesh-rending hailstorm. They are gifted in the ways of the more chaotic side of magic but they themselves are not chaotically-inclined. Rather, Dragon Clans walk an interesting tight rope of balance between self discipline and raw emotions. They are naturally wild, fiery in personality and shamelessly self confident but never unpredictable, willfully destructive or disruptive. Their power is one of wild and chaotic forces which are channeled toward a purpose rather than dominating the Dragon Clans.

• Most Dragon Clans are Draconic Sorcerers, obviously. This is the simplest manifestation of their magical gifts.
• Those who learn to channel their innate magical gifts through not raw expression of their bloodlines are Wizards of the Dragon Mage Tradition (Kobold Press' Deep Magic: Draconic Magic), who use elaborate and complex formula, totemic rites and ancestral prayers all inter-weaved together and (sometimes) with modern Ulma spell casting techniques focused through a Dragon Clan lens.
• As mentioned here, Tattoo Mages were inspired in Ulma by ancient Dragon Clans traditions to mark one's skin.
• While the Barbarian is technically a 'martial' class, Elemental Barbarians draw upon raw elemental fury which is heavily aligned with the magic affinities which the Dragon Clans are imbued with. Generally speaking, the Dragon Clans seem themselves as a civilized people and would scoff at the notion of being labelled as 'Barbarians' however, yet the class does exist among them.

Divine-Aligned Characters

The mythology and religion of the Dragon Clans is ill understood by outsiders and beyond the scope of this post. They worship their own gods and their ancestors, which are invariably held to be ancient draconic beings: great feathered serpents. As with the Ulma, the Dragon Clans have the few rare divinely-inspired spellcasters and warriors able to truly enact miracles, even if minor ones.

• Being such a passionate people, it come to no surprise to anyone that the Oath of Vengeance is extremely common among the Paladins of the Dragon Clans.
• There are rumors of Dragon Clan warriors who swear the Oath of the Wyrm with powerful draconic beings. At a GM's discretion, the tenets of the Oath could be altered slightly to simply reflect a general dedication to the ancient ways of the Dragon Clans rather than a specific dragon master.
• The rare Dragon Clan Druid may very well be a member of the Circle of the Scales, worshiping draconic beasts as the pinnacle of natural life.

Multiclassing

It is very rare for a member of the Dragon Clans to be either a full spellcaster or a full warrior. Generally speaking, since Dragon Clans characters are implied to be at the very least vaguely gifted individuals (as is anyone with even a single level in a PC class) most of them will be a mixture of spellcasting and combat classes, reflecting their races' innate magical qualities and their strong martial culture. Those who are of a single class, such as pure Fighters, are very likely to be of a sub-class which grant spellcasting or some measure of magical ability.

Status of The Amateur Dungeoneers: November 13

Well, what can I say? This blog has long outlived what I ever expected to be quite frank. This was originally just an attempt and it was quite unclear if there would ever be enough material for me to write down to justify keeping this blog alive. It hasn't exactly been a smashing success by any mean, having remained a very average RPG blog that averages maybe over a little over a hundred views for the really popular posts. It hasn't really made any 'waves' and I never expected it to, as I'm really not anywhere as creative or gifted as other people like Arnold K for example.

Intense Rework Of The Index

There used to be an index of major blog content that was maintained but, as time went on I really forgot about the damn thing. This has come to bite me in the ass due to mislabeling certain posts or forgetting to add the right tag leaving me to scramble to find the post I needed. Well the lazyness had to stop at some point and the Index has been massively updated.

More Setting Material

That's a goal achieved, at the very least! Initially there was a fear of not having enough 'unique' material as the blog lacked its own setting, especially since the original intended one was a half-baked shitty pipe dream that got canned and sent into oblivion for not being really all that good to begin with. Instead the blog has since become host to the so-called 'Random World', my Urban Fantasy material for Stars Without Numbers Revised (using it for modern urban fantasy) and Tellus, the JRPG-inspired setting.

War Gaming!

A whole new type of content for the blog, namely homebrew material for One Page Rules games which are basically not!Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer Age of Sigmar and Warhammer 40k. Simplified and stripped down it plays really well and really smoothly both online and in person.

Grimdark Future: Customizing Space Marine Chapters without any Homebrew

Space Marines come in a staggering variety, style and colors and their unique doctrines and visuals are a huge part of their long-lasting appeal beyond them being 'poster boys' of the setting. In 2019 (this year, when this post is published), Games Workshop has released a series of supplements which allow Space Marine armies to be further customized to reflect the various chapters of the first and second Foundings. While Grimdark Future has rules for not!Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Space Wolves and others it is lacking when it come to the others. Fortunately with a tiny bit of refluffing and 'creative liberties' one can somewhat emulate these missing Chapters. This is accomplish by taking Battle Brothers detachments for specific units/rules and/or taking some liberties.

Havoc Brothers....as Cursed Foundings?

The incredibly cool and underrated Black
Dragons.

The 21st (or Cursed) Founding is (in)famous for producing disturbingly mutated Space Marines as a result of the Priesthood of Mars attempting to create some new and improved experimental Space Marines which would lack the Gene-Seed flaws of their predecessors. While a sizable portion is said to have turned renegade or died off, those that remain can be pretty badass if unusual Space Marines. Famously, White Dwarf released a special list for Cursed Founding Space Marines. Given their unusual, monstrously mutated brothers and their lack of the 'And They Shall Know No Fear' these Space Marines played strangely similar to the Chaos Space Marines. Considering these heavily distrusted and mutated marines would be under-staffed and under-equipped it make sense to base them off the Havoc Brothers list which is Grimdark Future's counterpart to the Chaos Space Marines. The one exception would be Lamenters, who should clearly just be played like vanilla Blood Angels albeit with the worst set of dice one has for maximum effect.

Of course, no one expect these 'Cursed Brothers' to be fully embraced Chaos Marines and, as such, here are a few of the units which would work well within this army:

• Havoc Lords, Dark Champion, Dark Psychics, Havoc Brothers, Havoc Supports, Havoc Bikers and Havoc Destroyers are all fairly fine to use, as they play and function nearly identical to their loyalist counterparts. They should be modeled/fluffed as their loyalist equivalent.
• Possessed Brothers and Mutated Possessed represent those Marines whose bodies have grotesquely mutated and twisted. One could give them Wings if they feel like it, either representing mutants with jump packs being hurled into enemy lines or some horribly twisted attempt at recreating Sanguinus' wings or something.
• Daemon Spawns would be the most horribly mutated Brothers, so twisted they cannot even use ranged weapons. Rather than some twisted tentacle monster, these would be modeled as grotesquely bulked out, ape-like monstrosity too large for armor.
• At opponent discretion, it could be well-suited to allow these armies to take vehicles from the regular Battle Brother list.

As for the specific Chapters themselves, some specific examples could use sub-armies:

• Black Dragons and (original?) Minotaurs use the Disciples of War sub-army to represent their prowess and ruthlessness in close quarters.
• Sons of Antaeus use the Disciples of Plague to gain the Regeneration special rule to represent their toughness. It is not recommended to take any demonic or plague-themed units and to simply use the sub-army to max the crap out of durability.

Support Brothers....As Troops?

Do you like the boringly reliable Bolter? Do you like to play as either Imperial Fists or Iron Hands, who have specialized doctrines or special rules (depending if one is looking at 30k or 40k) which make basic bolters better? There is a simple way to replicate this: by taking 5 or 10-man Support Brothers squads armed with the default Assault Rifles. The Support Brothers are meant to be equivalent to the Devastator Squads but by default they come armed with the same equipment as basic Battle Brothers, only worth a tiny bit more points for having the Relentless ability, which allows to generate an extra attack on a 6. The downside is that Support Brothers cannot take a medic (thus cannot gain Regeneration) and lack good melee options for a Sergeant. Note that this trade-off can also be repeated with Havoc Brothers, as their own Support troop also has Relentless and has similar trade-offs.

Playing Iconic Chapters

The most iconic of each Space Marine Chapters are generally accepted to be all the loyalist First Founding Chapters and the Second Founding Black Templars. The first category being the archetypal and historical progenitors of all Space Marine Chapters. The latters are just really, really weird and have a boner for crusader imagery and styling. Out of these, currently on the Blood Angels, Dark Angels and Space Wolves have dedicated rules in Grimdark Future. There's a few work around, however:

• Imperial Fists and Iron Hands use the Support Brother 'trick' described above. They are well known for being stable and very 'shooty' armies and so any thematic list would greatly benefit from a 5 or 10-man marine squad with relentless. Alternatively...
• Iron Hands use Custodian Brothers! Ignore the Custodes and Sisters of Silence and purchase Regeneration to really have that feeling of being invincible and not giving a crap about your meaty bits when you replaced them with glorious metal. Remember ++THE FLESH IS WEAK++!
• White Scars and Black Templars use Blood Brothers rules. No, really! They gain the Furious special rule (both Chapters are good at melee) and in the case of the White Scars their vehicles can be made faster. Just don't take these units which are Blood Angels-specific.
• Customize your list with Watch Brothers. Want to focus on specific weapon types. Perhaps you want to use Stalker Bolters for your Raven Guards? The trick is to take Watch Brothers, which are heavily customization and even have some unique gear that the basic Battle Brothers lack. Watch Brothers could also represent Tyranic War Veterans for Ultramarines.
• Salamanders just need to pick everything that's a flame weapon, obviously.