THE SHIKARIS — CHAPTER SUMMARY
Identity & Reputation
True Name (self-designation): The Shikaris
Imperial / External Names:
The Stalkers, Night Stalkers, Ghost Hunters, Skull-Takers, The Silent Ones, The Ones Who Click
The Shikaris do not correct these names.
To them, names are for prey.
They are a Loyalist Space Marine Chapter that does not fight wars in the traditional sense. They hunt. Every battlefield is treated as an ecosystem, every enemy as prey to be studied, isolated, and culled.
They are effective, feared, and deeply distrusted.
Geneseed & Hidden Legacy
The Shikaris are secretly descended from Night Lords geneseed
This truth is completely hidden from the Imperium
Guilliman did not authorize traitor geneseed use
Records are falsified and sealed
The Chapter may or may not know the full truth—only the highest inner circles suspect it
Inherited traits manifest as:
Comfort in darkness
Heightened understanding of fear and prey psychology
Rare prophetic visions
Key Difference from Night Lords:
Fear is a tool, not indulgence. There is no cruelty for its own sake.
Homeworld
Type: Subterranean Death World
The planet’s surface is dominated by hyper-lethal reptilian megafauna
Humanity survives almost entirely underground
Surface expeditions are dangerous rites of survival: hunting, raiding, and trading
This culture produces recruits who already understand patience, stalking, and predation
Recruitment
The Proving Hunt
Aspirants are sent alone to the surface and must:
Hunt a deadly surface predator
Kill it without being detected
Return with proof
Survival alone is not enough. Control and stealth are required.
Core Doctrine — The Twofold Hunt
Phase I: The Stalk
Stealth, camouflage, invisibility
Often solo operations
Leaders, scouts, and vox operators eliminated first
Fear spreads through absence and silence
Phase II: The Kill
Sudden, overwhelming violence
Coordinated pack assaults
Close-range annihilation
The enemy realizes too late they were prey
Adaptive Hunting Philosophy
Enemies are classified as prey types:
Soft prey: hunted solo and dismantled quietly
Cunning prey (elite forces): hunted in pairs or small cells
Apex prey (monsters, Knights, Tyranids): hunted in coordinated packs
Pack hunts are valued more highly than lone kills.
Use of Sound
The Shikaris weaponize sound instead of war cries:
Reptilian hisses and growls for intimidation
Avian clicks and chirps for communication
False echoes and distorted vox for misdirection
Each hunter-type has its own sound “dialect.”
Camouflage Technology
Uses non-human, xenos-derived technology
Does not rely on the warp
Confuses perception rather than bending light
Renders the user practically irrelevant to sensors and minds
This technology is ancient, irreplicable, and closely guarded.
Skulls, Trophies, and Weapons
The Shikaris take skulls as trophies, but cleanly and ritually
Skulls record worthy prey, not cruelty
They take and reforge weapons from enemies and beasts
This practice is viewed as borderline heresy by the Imperium
Weapons are only taken if foreseen by prophecy—with one major exception.
Prophecy & the Farseen of the Hunt
Some Shikaris inherit a refined form of Konrad Curze’s foresight.
These Farseen of the Hunt:
See deaths, not victories
Foresee who will kill what, and with which weapon
Mark hunts as inevitable
Law of Purity
Only weapons and trophies foreseen may be taken
Anything not foreseen is forbidden
This is how the Chapter avoids Chaos corruption
Creed:
“What is foreseen is untainted. What is not foreseen is forbidden.”
Forging of Foreseen Weapons
Librarian-Forgers
Most foreseen weapons are shaped by Librarians
Weapons are psychically attuned but warp-inert
No ritual worship, only acceptance of fate
Rare Non-Psyker Forgers
On rare occasions, prophecy marks a non-psyker to forge a weapon
This signifies a greater destiny
Often leads to promotion in rank
Rank in the Chapter is earned through fulfilled prophecy, not seniority.
The Doom Walkers — The Chapter’s Secret Weapon
Doom Walkers are not natural blanks.
They are made.
The Severance
A forbidden process using ancient xenos technology from the homeworld
The battle-brother’s soul is removed and sealed
No warp, no daemons, no Chaos rituals
Most do not survive
Those who do become Doom Walkers.
Nature of a Doom Walker
No soul
Invisible to prophecy and foresight
Immune to corruption, possession, and psychic influence
“Dead ground” to the warp
Role
Deployed when prophecy fails
Used against psykers, witches, daemons, and fate-dependent enemies
Cannot be foreseen, redirected, or stopped
Authority
Outside all rank structures
Not questioned
Not commanded
The Great Exception
Doom Walkers may:
Take any weapon
Use un-foreseen arms
Shape weapons without prophecy
Destroy tainted relics by using them
They are living firebreaks against Chaos.
Organisation
On Paper
Ten Codex-style companies (to satisfy Imperial records)
In Reality
The Chapter assembles Hunts, not companies
Companies are manpower reservoirs
Hunts are mission-specific and fluid
Key Companies
1st: The Final Hunt (veterans, Terminators)
2nd–5th: Active Hunts (core forces)
6th–7th: The Long Watch (infiltration)
8th: The Sky Hunt (jump units)
9th: The Forge of Fate (prophecy, recovery, forging)
10th: The Unblooded (neophytes)
Doom Walkers belong to no company.
Rank Structure (Internal Titles)
Apex Lord – Chapter Master
Huntmasters – Captains
Pack-Leaders – Lieutenants
First Talons – Sergeants
Eldest Hunters – Veterans
Farseen of the Hunt – Librarians
Doom Walkers – No rank
Philosophy (The Core Truth)
The Shikaris survive through balance:
Fate, obeyed but never worshipped
Discipline, enforced without mercy
Annihilation, reserved for what fate cannot touch
They do not fear Chaos.
They fear losing restraint.
Final Creed
“Fate guides the hunt.”
“What has no fate must be ended.”

WIP chapter inspired by Yautja aka predator.