Misplaced Pages

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by The wub (talk | contribs) at 21:39, 25 March 2005 (rearranged chapter/legion lists, added table). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For space marines as science fiction characters in general, see space marine

In the table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000, the Space Marines are easily the most commonly played force in the game. This is because the troops are generally individually effective, with above-average firepower, close-range combat ability and baroque powered armour. Their popularity is also due to the fact they come in the starter box sets for the game.

The Space Marines, also known as the Adeptus Astartes, are human beings altered by a combination of intensive gene therapy, surgical modifications, and hypnotic indoctrination. Space Marines are divided into Chapters, with approximately 1,000 members when the Chapter is at full strength. The Chaos Space Marines have unlimited maximum numbers, as they are divided into Legions, not Chapters. The Space Marines are humanity's finest warriors; super-elite troops who only participate in the most important engagements.

One could make a comparison between the Space Marines and various knightly orders in medieval Europe. For example, the Black Templars Chapter bears more than a passing resemblance to the Knights Templar.

The Space Marines have a large fanbase within the game community. They are tough individually, but relatively few can be fielded at once. They have a generally well-received back story. Quite a few of the more popular Chapters are close-combat oriented, as close combat can make or break a game in Warhammer 40,000 (enjoyment to some, a flaw to others).

Space Marine Induction, Genetic Modification, and Biology

The biology of a member of the Adeptus Astartes is vastly superior to that of a normal human. Effectively, their abilities are so superior to those of an average human that it warrants their title of 'superhuman'.

Gene-seed

The Gene-seed of an Adeptus Astartes Space Marine is the foreign genetic material responsible for most of his physical changes. Gene-seed is a rare and precious resource for the Space Marines; since they no longer posess the technology to create new gene-seed, it must be passed down from dying warriors. Gene-seed is ostensibly cultivated DNA from a Chapter Primarch. It is the essence of the Chapter and with it carries each Marine's characteristics; mental, physical, spiritual, martial, and fraternal. It is one of nineteen implants surgically installed into an Iniate. The Gene Seed creates a copy of itself during the maturation of the Space Marine, and the copy is removed for future use, and the original is then removed after death.

Gene-seed is vulnerable to degradation, which can manifest in various ways, like the flaws in the Blood Angels' gene-seed(the Black Rage and Red Thirst).

Induction

Different Space Marine Chapters have different ways of inducting recruits. Most are drawn from the Chapter's home world. This is often a Death world or a Feral World, due to the hardiness of the human population there. This ensures only the toughest of candidates, as survival on a Death world is a tooth and nail struggle. Out of this small percentage of candidates, even less are satisfactory recruits for the rigors of training and treatment one must undergo to become a full-fledged Brother-Marine. First and foremost, a Potential must be male, as the gene-seed and zygote are synchronized to male hormones. The three following requirements also apply:

1. Recruits must be adolescents or very young adults, as the implants must be able to coordinate with natural growth hormones to stimulate various physiological features of a Space Marine.

2. Much like a blood transfusion, there must be compatibility between the Recruit and the implants otherwise organ failure and subsequent death is inevitable.

3. The mental state of a potential Marine must also be susceptible to the various training and psycho-conditioning regimes of the Chapter.

These three main criteria bar all except a minuscule percentage of people within the Imperium of Mankind from becoming Space Marines. If all tests prove successful, the Potential becomes a Neophyte. At this stage, implantation, psycho-conditioning, and physical training begin. Each step in this stage has its own dangers, ensuring that only the truly worthy become Space Marines. After several years of training, conditioning, and surgeries the Neophyte becomes an Iniate, undertakes his Rites of Fire, and joins the other Brother-Marines in the ranks.

Implantation

Nineteen organs are implanted in a Neophyte to further bolster his combat and survival ability should he live to become a Brother-Marine. Each implant has a high margin of catastrophic failure and so only a small number of Neophytes live to become Initiates.

1. Secondary Heart - This is the first and least difficult implant to install. The Secondary Heart increases blood supply and pumping capacity and is capable of taking over entirely should the primary heart fail.

2. Ossmudula - This implant strengthens the skeleton of a Space Marine. Two years after the surgery, the Marine's skeleton will be exponentially stronger; and the rib cage will be fused into a solid bone plate.

3. Biscopea - Implanted into the chest cavity, this implant bolsters muscle growth throughout the Marine's body

4. Haemastamen - Implanted into a main blood vessel, the Haemastamen alter's the Marine's blood composition to carry oxygen and nutrients more efficiently.

5. Larraman's Organ - This organ manufactures Larraman Cells. These serve the purpose of platelets, but act faster and more effectively. When a Marine is wounded, Larraman Cells are released, attached to leukocytes. At the site of the injury, they form scar tissue in a matter of seconds, effectively preventing massive blood loss and infection.

6. Catalepsean Node - Implanted into the back of the brain, this implant remains dormant until a Marine is deprived of sleep. Under normal circumstances, Marines sleep just like normal humans, but when deprived of it, the Node can switch off certain functions to gain rest. While it cannot replace normal Circadian rhythms, it effectively allows the Marine to rest while active.

7. Preomnor - The Preomnor is a decontamination chamber inside the chest cavity. It chemically analyzes ingested materials and neutralize toxins. The Preomnor enables the Marine to eat normally inedible substances and resist poisons.

8. Omophagea - Implanted into the spinal cord, this organ is designed to absorb DNA related to experience or memory. This enables the Marine to gain information, in a survival or tactical sense, simply by eating an animal indigenous to an alien world or situation.

9. Multi-lung - The multi-lung is a 'third' lung, able to absorb oxygen from environments poor in oxygen. Breathing is accomplished through a sphincter in the trachea. A similar muscle closes in toxic environments and oxygen is absorbed by filtering out the poisonous elements.

10. Occulobe - Essentially, this organ enhances a Marine's eyesight, granting him exceptional vision and the ability to see normally in low-light environment.

11. Lyman's Ear - This implant renderes a Marine immune to dizziness and nausea(see Cochlea), and enables a Marine consciously filter out "white noise".

12. Sus-an Membrane - This implant allows a Marine to enter a catatonic or "suspended animation" state. It can allow a mortally wounded Space Marine to survive his injuries, and bring the metabolism to a standstill. The longest recorded period of this state was Brother Silas Err of the Dark Angels for 567 years.

13. Melanochrome - Linked to pigment cells in skin, this allows the Marine's skin to shield him from dangerous levels of radiation.

14. Oolitic Kidney - This organ works in conjunction with the Preomnor, filtering blood to remove toxins.

15. Neuroglottis - This organ allows a Marine to assess a wide variety of things simply by taste. From poisons to chemicals to animals, a Marine can even track its quarry by taste alone.

16. Mucranoid - Altering sweat glands, this organ secretes an oily substance that coats the skin, protecting it from extreme temperatures and to some extent, vacuum environments.

17. Betcher's Gland - Implanted into multiple locations inside a Marine's mouth, these glands transforms a Marine's saliva into corrosive, blinding acid.

18. Progenoid Glands - Implanted into both the neck and chest cavity, these serve to collect and cultivate the gene-seed from a Space Marine's body, and to safeguard it for the continuity of a Chapter.

19. The Black Carapace - The last and possibly most important of all implants, this neuroreactive material is implanted directly under the skin. After a few hours, the material hardens and interlinks with the Marine's own nervous system. Points are then cut into the Carapace which allows a Marine to directly interface with his Power Armor.

Space Marine Weapons and Equipment

As the most elite fighting organizations of the Imperium, Space Marine Chapters are equipped with some of the best weapons the Imperium has.

Boltguns

The standard weapon of the Space Marines is the boltgun, also known as a bolter. A bolter is a heavy gun that fires rocket-propelled rounds with mass-reactive explosive payloads. Bolters are made in both pistol and rifle form, as well as the machinegun-like heavy bolter. Terminator Armor is often equipped with a double-barrelled storm bolter.

Assault Cannons

Assault cannons are the miniguns of Warhammer 40K. They are identical to their modern equivalents in most respects.

Flamers

Flamers are flame throwers that use flammable adhesive gel fuels. They come in three forms; one-handed, two-handed and Heavy-Flamers.

Lascannons

Unlike the Imperial Guard, the Space Marines don't make much use of laser weapons. The major exception to that rule is the Lascannon, a heavy laser weapon capable of melting holes in tanks with a single shot.

Plasma Weapons

The Space Marines make good use of the Imperium's temperamental plasma weapons, in pistol and rifle form. Heavy plasma cannons are also widely used, particularly by the Dark Angels Chapter. The Imperium's plasma weapons have poor cooling, and build up dangerous levels of heat with continuous operation.

Rocket Launchers

Rocket Launchers have a capacity to fire two types of missiles, krak and frag. Krak rockets are simple warheads that can take out a single unit while frag rockets use a template and can thus take out multiple units. Rocket Launchers cannot fire once moved.

Power Armor

Possibly the most prominent feature of the Space Marines is their armor, a heavy suit of of powered armor that enhances a Space Marine's already superhuman strength, as well as allows them to easily withstand fire than could kill a normal human.

Terminator Armor

Tactical Dreadnought ("Terminator") Armor was originally developed for boarding missions. It is the heaviest armor in any Imperial arsenal, is able to withstand tremendous punishment, and serves as a solid heavy-weapons platform in open-field combat. The First Company of each Space Marine Chapter uses Terminator armor extensively, and only those Marines who earn the crux terminatus are permitted to wear it.

Dreadnoughts

Valiant Marines who fall, but do not die, in battle are often interred in Dreadnought Armor, a twenty-foot-tall walking tank, equipped with life-support systems to maintain the Marine indefinitely (at least one Dreadnought's occupant fell during the Horus Heresy and still lives in the 41st millennium; 10,000 years later) and an array of weapons. Like Terminator Armour, the Dreadnought is heavily-defended against frontal assaults.

Rhino

A fast troop transport, a Rhino can hold up to ten Marines in cramped conditions. The Rhino generally mounts a single storm bolter and is lightly armored. The chasis of the Rhino is very durable, and serves as the basis for other Space Marine vehicles.

Razorback

A Razorback is a variant of the Rhino that sacrifices troop capacity for firepower. Razorbacks are typically armed with twin-linked Heavy Bolters or Lascannons, and are excellent for adding firepower to smaller squads.

Predator

The Predator is heavily-armored Rhino variant that, rather than act as a transport, is instead a light tank. Armed with either an Autocannon or twin-linked Lascannon. It can also have Heavy Bolters or Lascannons mounted on side mountings.

Whirlwind

Being a mobile force, the Space Marines have little need for artillery. However, when it is called for, they can utilize the Whirlwind, which is another Rhino variant armed with a long-range missile launcher, and can bombard enemy positions in preparation for attack.

Vindicator

When attacking fortified positions, Space Marines use the Vindicator, which fills nearly the entire Rhino chassis with the massive, snub-nosed Demolisher Cannon, capable of blasting through the thickest walls. This weapon has proven so effective that the Iron Warriors Traitor legion makes it a point to scavenge these for their own use whenever possible.

Land Speeder

Incredibly fast, the double-seat Land Speeder ground-effect vehicle is used to attack enemy fortfications and heavy weapons from the air. Although it is well-armed it has little armour and relies on speed and rapid strikes for protection.

Land Raider

The Land Raider is one of the most powerful tanks in the Imperium's army. It can transport troops into battle, carries enough weapons to blast it's way though nearly any defense, and has armor thick enough to withstand lascannon fire.

Land Raiders are also equiped with a Machine Spirit, an Artificial Intelligence crafted by the Adeptus Mechanicus. The Machine Spirit is smart enough to move the tank and fight even without a crew.

Land Raiders were once used by all branches of the Imperium's armed forces, but after the Horus Heresy, their use was restricted to the Space Marines and the Inquisition.

Land Raider Crusader

The Land Raider Crusader is nearly identical to the standard Land Raider, but is armed to provide short-ranged, anti-infantry suppourt. The Crusader was originally developed by the Black Templars Chapter, but was eventually authorized for use by other Chapters(whom, it should be noted, had already been using them for some time beforehand).

The Land Raider Crusader is armed with a hull-mounted twin-linked Assault Cannon turret, and sponsoon-mounted Hurricane Bolters(essentially six bolters linked together). It's also equipped with a Multi-Melta to burn through armored walls, and its front is studded with fragmentation launchers to assist the troops disembarking from it's front ramp.

Space Marine Chapters

First Founding

The Space Marines were originally divided into 20 vast Legions, each Legion being based on genetic material from one of the original Primarchs. When the Primarchs were rediscovered during the Great Crusade, they became leader of the Legion based on them. During the Horus Heresy half of the Legions turned traitor.

Loyalists

These Legions remained loyal to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy. They were subsequently split up into smaller Chapters, one of which retained the name of the original Legion.

Traitors

These Legions sided with Horus and the forces of Chaos in the Horus Heresy. After their defeat they fled into the Eye of Terror becoming the Chaos Space Marines.

Note - the Traitor Legions' homeworlds were later destroyed.

Unknown

There are two other First Founding Legions, of which all records have apparently been lost or destroyed. These are thought to have been intentionally left unknown by the Warhammer 40,000 developers and are currently reserved for later use. A popular misconception among 40K fans is that the Grey Knights Chapter and Legion of the Damned are the two missing First Founding Legions. In fact, the Grey Knights originated from the Second Founding (though the origins of their gene-seed are unknown), and the Legion of the Damned are from the famous Cursed Founding. Specifics on the Cursed Founding have been lost in the Imperium's history, as it followed closely behind the disastrous Age of Apostasy.

Later Foundings

After the Horus Heresy, it was determined that the Legions were too powerful to be controlled by one man, and they were broken up into Chapters. Subsequently, the Imperium created new Chapters of Space Marines, using gene-seed sampled from existing ones. Many of these successor Chapters still keep the memory of their progenitor Legion or Chapter, and maintain their methods of operation and battle.

Examples of Successor Chapters include:

• Angels of Vengeance
• Astral Claws
• Black Templars
• Blood Ravens
• Crimson Fists
• Deathwatch
• Executioners
• Fire Hawks
• Flesh Tearers
• Howling Griffons
• Lamenters: an unfortunate Chapter who took part, on the losing side, in the Badab War, before being devastated by the Tyranids.
• Mantis Legion
• Marines Errant
• Rainbow Warriors
• Raptors
• Relictors
• Scythes of the Emperor: a Chapter of Space Marines who were all but destroyed by the Tyranids. Their armour was black and yellow, with a yellow scythe symbol on the shoulder panels.
• Sons of Guilliman: A Chapter that originally was a part of the Ultramarines.
• Scions of Dorn
• Sons of Malice
• Steel Cobras
• Storm Lords
• Vultures
• White Consuls

Space Marines in Dawn of War

The Space Marines are a central race in Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, and the only one playable in the Single-Player Campaign. Their race has few disadvantages, and is very balanced overall.

Infantry Units

• Servitor

The basic building unit for the Space Marines. A Servitor is a lombotimized human usually with his limbs replaced by various tools for whatever task he is reprogrammed to do.

• Scout Squad
  • Initial Size: 2
  • Full Size: 4
  • Weapons: Bolters and Combat Knives
  • Upgrades: Two Scouts can be upgraded to carry Flamers, Plasma Guns, or Sniper Rifles

• Tactical Marine Squad
  • Initial Size: 4
  • Full Size: 10
  • Weapons: Bolters and Combat Knives
  • Upgrades: Frag Grenades, Veteran Sergeant. Four Marines can be upgraded to carry Flamers, Heavy Bolters, Plasma Guns, or Missile Launchers.

• Assault Marine Squad
  • Initial Size: 4
  • Full Size: 10
  • Weapons: Bolt Pistols and Chainswords
  • Upgrades: Melta Bombs, Veteran Sergeant.

• Terminator Squad
  • Initial Size: 4
  • Full Size: 8
  • Weapons: Storm Bolters and Power Fists
  • Upgrades: Two Terminators can be upgraded to carry Heavy Flamers or Assault Cannons.

• Assault Terminator Squad
  • Initial Size: 4
  • Full Size: 8
  • Weapons: Thunder Hammers and Storm Shields

Vehicle Units

• Rhino APC
  • Weapons: None
  • Upgrades: Smoke Launchers

• Whirlwind Missile Launcher
  • Weapons: Whirlwind Missile Launcher
  • Upgrades: None

• Land Speeder
  • Weapons: Storm Bolter and Twin-linked Assault Cannon
  • Upgrades: None

• Dreadnought
  • Weapons: Heavy Flamer and Dreadnought Close Combat Weapon arms
  • Upgrades: One arm may be replaced with an Assault Cannon or Twin-linked Lascannons.

• Hellfire Dreadnought
  • Weapons: Assault Cannon and Missile Launcher
  • Upgrades: Assault Cannon may be replaced with Twin-Linked Lascannons

• Predator Tank
  • Weapons: Autocannon and sponsoon-mounted Heavy Bolters
  • Upgrades: Autocannon may be replaced by Twin-Linked Lascannons. Both Heavy Bolters may be upgraded to Lascannons.

• Land Raider
  • Weapons: Twin-linked Heavy Bolters and sponsoon-mounted Twin-linked Lascannons.
  • Upgrades: None

Hero Units

• Force Commander -- The Space Marine Force Commander is patterned after Captain Gabriel Angelos, Commander of the 3rd Company of the Blood Ravens chapter, during his final confrontation with the Daemon Prince Sindri. He is armed with a Bolt Pistol and a Daemonhammer, a weapon normally used only by the Ordo Malleus.
• Librarian -- The Space Marine Librarian is based off Librarian Isador of the Blood Ravens.
• Apothecary -- Up to four Apothacaries may be created and attached to Tactical, Scout, Terminator, or Assualt Terminator squads, where they increase the rate of regeneration for all soldiers nearby.

Structures

• Space Marine HQ -- Central building of every base. Produces Servitors and Scout Squads. It can be upgraded to a Stronghold, then to Fortress, increasing the weapons, upgrades, and abilities availiable to the army.
• Chapel-Barracks -- Primary Infantry Building. Creates Tactical Marine Squads, Assault Marine Squads, Terminator Squads, and Assault Terminator Squads, as well as the Force Commander. Researches Frag Grenades and Melta Bombs after Armory is built. Terminators can also use the Chapel-Barracks to teleport anywhere onto the battlefield.
• Armory -- Requires the Chapel-Barracks. Allows Space Marines to carry special and heavy weapons into battle, and researches upgrades.
• Heavy Bolter Turret -- Base Defense. Can be upgraded to a dual Missile Launcher.
• Machine Cult -- A Landing Pad to drop vehicles off on. Is used to create Rhinos, Land Speeders, Dreadnoughts, Hellfire Dreadnoughts, Whirlwinds, Predators, and Land Raiders.
• Sacred Artifact -- Requires upgrade to Stronghold. Produces Apothecaries and the Librarian, and researches upgrades and abilities for your Hero Units.
• Orbital Relay -- Provides Access to Terminators, and the Force Commander's Orbital Bombardment ability. Can produce Tactical Squads, Dreadnoughts, and Hellfire Dreadnoughts, which can then be dropped directly onto the battlefield in Drop Pods. Infantry squads and Dreadnoughts can also enter the Orbital Relay and be dropped anywhere on the battlefield.

External links

Bolter and Chainsword - Space Marines discussion board

Liber Astartes - Space Marine chapter listings

• Warhammer 40,000