vizn3r/warhammer40k-lore huggingface dataset:
Space Marines - A Thousand Chapters: On many occasions in the Imperium's history, there have been long periods of rebellion and anarchy; times when the balance of power has suddenly changed and history been lost or re-written.Many later Foundings of Space Marines were born of such troubled times, making it impossible to ascertain when they were created, their origins ever shrouded in mystery.All that is known for sure is that there are approximately a thousand Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes today -- perhaps less than one Space Marine for every planet in the Imperium. That the Space Marines are equal to the task of safeguarding Mankind against such impossible odds is testament to their dedication and skill in battle.It can be said that there are three main categories of Space Marine Chapters. The first and largest group are the scions of Guilliman –- those Chapters descended from the Ultramarines and their Primogenitors.The Primogenitors are those Chapters created when the old Ultramarines Legion was divided during the Second Founding. Sometimes referred to as the "first born," these Chapters each maintain their own histories and traditions, but they all honour Roboute Guilliman as their primarch and adhere strictly to the procedures and tactical treatises he laid down in the Codex Astartes.These Chapters maintain their own traditions, for the Codex Astartes insists that each should have its own name, badge and heraldry. Nonetheless, they honour Roboute Guilliman as their primarch and his successor, the ruler of Ultramar, as their distant liege. Should the Lord of Ultramar ever need aid, he will find these Chapters ever willing to fight at his side.The Chapters in the second largest category owe their genetic inheritance to another primarch, but follow the Codex Astartes as closely as their divergent genetic heritage allows. While primarily made up of Successor Chapters, such as the Crimson Fists and Brazen Claws, this group also includes several Chapters from the First Founding –- most notably the White Scars, Imperial Fists, Iron Hands and Raven Guard.While they still venerate their own primarchs, they nevertheless also aspire to the high standards and wise teachings that Roboute Guilliman put down in the Codex Astartes.The final group is more wildly aberrant. These Chapters, by virtue of a gene-seed quirk, the teachings of their own primarch, or even sheer stubbornness, eschew the Codex Astartes in favour of their own structural and combat doctrines.The Black Templars and Space Wolves are amongst this group, remaining fiercely independent and looking to their own divergent beliefs and ways of war.
Space Marines - Space Marine Chapters: For a listing of all notable Space Marine Chapters in the Imperium of Man, please see List of Space Marine Chapters.
Space Marines - First Founding: The Space Marines were originally divided into 20 large Legions created during the First Founding by the Emperor, and each Legion was filled with thousands of Space Marines whose gene-seed was based on genetic material drawn from one of the original primarchs.When 18 of the 20 original primarchs were rediscovered during the Great Crusade, they became the commanders of the Legion genetically related to them.During the Horus Heresy half of the Legions turned Traitor to the Imperium and swore themselves to the Ruinous Powers of Chaos, becoming the 9 Traitor Legions of Chaos Space Marines.
Space Marines - The Unknown Legions: There are two missing First Founding Space Marine Legions, the IInd and XIth Legions who, for unknown reasons, were deliberately expunged from all known Imperial records and archives before the onset of the Horus Heresy in the early 31st Millennium.Referred to as "the forgotten and the purged," it is known only that the missing primarchs and their Legions are listed as having been "deleted from Imperial records."This formal censure and erasure from official records is known as an Edict of Obliteration, also called a Damnatio Memoriae, a High Gothic phrase meaning "condemnation of memory."This is the official Imperial policy of deliberately destroying any records, icons or other symbols or monuments pertaining to an individual or organisation, usually of the Imperial elite, who has been declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Emperor of Mankind Himself.In a galaxy-spanning empire that stressed fealty and loyalty to the Emperor in return for advancement, acclaim and spiritual salvation for its elites, this is perhaps one of the most severe punishments.The complete and utter erasure of all records of the IInd and XIth Legions is considered by Imperial historians as the most successful Edict of Obliteration ever carried out in Imperial history.Given the current authoritarian nature of the Imperium, it seems likely these Legions were completely removed from all historical records for being participants in or affected by some sort of catastrophe such as a mass mutation event which couldn't be controlled, turning to the worship of the Chaos Gods earlier than the other Traitor Legions, etc.
Space Marines - Second and Later Foundings: After the Horus Heresy, it was determined that the Space Marine Legions were too powerful and dangerous to the stability of the Imperium to be controlled by any one man.In what is known as the Second Founding, the remaining Loyalist Legions were broken up into the separate 1,000-man Chapters which remain the primary organisation of the Adeptus Astartes to this day.In the 25 subsequent Successor Foundings that have occurred since the Second Founding, the Imperium has created many new Chapters of Space Marines, using gene-seed sampled by the Adeptus Mechanicus from the existing ones.Many of these Successor Chapters still keep the memory of their progenitor Legion or Chapter alive in their rituals and regalia, and maintain the same methods of operation and battle, as well as their overall defining cultural and genetic traits.For a list of all the known Space Marine Chapters please see the List of Space Marine Chapters.
Space Marines - Beyond the Ultima Founding: The Ultima Founding in ca. 999.M41 was the largest mobilisation of newly-created Space Marines in centuries. It saw thousands of Primaris Space Marines woken from stasis beneath the surface of Mars and hurled into the forefront of Mankind's galactic war.Yet this was not the only route by which the Primaris Marines joined the fight for the Emperor's realm.
Space Marines - The Awoken: From beneath the sands of Mars came the Primaris warriors of the original Ultima Founding. They were lights against a tide of darkness, their advent key to the survival of Mankind after the birth of the Great Rift -- but not to securing its future.The first Primaris Space Marines to march to war were those from Archmagos Belisarius Cawl's laboratories on Mars. Upon Roboute Guilliman's belated return to Terra during the Terran Crusade, the resurrected primarch ordered the fruits of Cawl's long labour unleashed.This initial wave of Primaris Space Marines emerged from over 10,000 standard years of stasis fully psychologically indoctrinated to each fulfil a single strategic role. Some were Intercessors, some Aggressors and so forth, and almost all specialised only in that one area of combat.These warriors were able to immediately take up their front-line combat duties with the expertise of veterans, and all possessed a modicum of additional skill with machine spirits thanks to their Martian heritage.Yet ultimately they were somewhat strategically inflexible, for they had not undergone the gruelling progression through their existing Chapters' companies or gained the wealth of experience that progress bestowed. Some of these Martian Primaris Marines formed entirely new Chapters such as the Rift Stalkers or the Silver Templars.The rest joined the Indomitus Crusade as "Greyshields," fighting together with the scions of other Chapters and primarchs as part of the force known as the Unnumbered Sons until the Indomitus Crusade fleets reached their adoptive homeworld or the fleet of the Firstborn Chapters they were destined to join.Each time such a momentous occasion came, another cadre of battle-brothers would peel off and reinforce the Chapter whose colours they wore and whose genetic heritage they shared. Not all of these Primaris reinforcements had an easy time integrating with their erstwhile Firstborn brothers, but ultimately all brought fresh strength to the Space Marine Chapters fighting furiously against the tide of horrors vomited from the Great Rift.
Space Marines - The Indoctrinated: In every fortress-monastery and upon every fleet-based Chapter's flagship, the machineries of a grim and bloody future were installed and awoken. From these engines of genesis would fresh waves of Primaris initiates arise, their task to fight for the Emperor's realm.The first wave of Ultima Founding Primaris Space Marines proved invaluable reinforcements for their parent Chapters. Yet in the ongoing war for Humanity's survival in the Era Indomitus, a single influx of fresh strength would never be enough.This is why, along with warriors, the Indomitus Crusade fleets included Adeptus Mechanicus Genetor acolytes who integrated themselves with each already existing Chapter's Apothecarion. It was these acolytes and their arcane machines that enabled the Adeptus Astartes to recruit and train new Primaris Space Marines within their existing Chapters.Not every Chapter of Firstborn Marines welcomed these new arrivals; the Adeptus Mechanicus is an acquisitive and controlling organisation, known to be unscrupulous in its pursuit of power. Chapters such as the Dark Angels, the Space Wolves and the Mortifactors are notoriously insular of culture, and some guard dark secrets they would risk much to keep out of the manipulative Tech-priests' databanks.However, none could deny that being able to recruit and train fresh waves of Primaris Space Marines provided the Adeptus Astartes with a long-term, sustainable wellspring of martial might.So the process began. Some Chapters implanted all of their aspirants with the full suite of Primaris organs, while others gifted only a proportion of their novitiates in this fashion, leaving the others to develop as Firstborn Astartes.These newly conditioned battle-brothers benefitted not only from the strength of their Primaris enhancement, but also from the tactical versatility imparted by a full and rounded progression through the ranks, coupled with all of the cultural and spiritual indoctrination required to properly initiate the neophytes into their Chapter.
Space Marines - The Ascended: No true son of the primarchs could long look upon the might of the new Primaris brothers and not wish to take up that mantle of power for themselves. They sought this agonising apotheosis not for personal glory, but because no true Space Marine would refuse greater strength, resilience and weaponry with which to protect the Imperium and slaughter their many foes.The warriors of the Ultima Founding had joined their parent Chapters. The machineries developed by Belisarius Cawl had provided those Chapters with waves of new Primaris recruits who had integrated into every level of the Chapters' organisation.For the Primaris-only Chapters, this was an end to the matter; they stood proudly as defenders of the Imperium, recruiting from their own conquered fiefdoms and forging their own rolls of honour as the years passed.Yet for those Chapters who had come before, questions remained to be answered. Could a Firstborn Marine who had not been created Primaris undergo the necessary gene-therapies and invasive surgeries required to elevate him to that status? Could he gain the benefits of the enhanced Primaris physique, and access the potent new wargear that was theirs to wield?In short, could he cross the so-called Rubicon Primaris to become a yet-greater living weapon in the Emperor's service, or would attempts to do so simply waste priceless Astartes lives at a time when the Imperium could ill afford to sacrifice its greatest defenders?Records differ as to who were the first Space Marines to take this perilous leap of faith. Some say it was Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines, or that it was Kor'sarro Khan, the White Scars' ferocious Master of the Hunt, who first made this painful transition.Other Chapters make their own claims, or else lament the tragic loss of those who tried and failed to ascend. Yet despite the losses suffered and the unspeakable agonies of undertaking the Primaris ascension, more battlebrothers crossed the Rubicon with every passing day.
Space Marines - Aspirant Trials: Aspirants to become Space Marines are expected to overcome many and varied trials before being accepted into the ranks of a Chapter's neophytes. Though he will undergo continuous testing throughout his time as a neophyte, and often well beyond after he becomes an initiate or Scout Marine, the first trial the aspirant must pass to be accepted as a potential Astartes is by far the most significant of his young life.The events he experiences during that trial will live on in his mind and heart for the rest of his potentially long, long life. Every Chapter of the Adeptus Astartes uses some form of Trial to ascertain whether aspirants are worthy of beginning the often-fatal process of becoming fully-fledged battle-brothers. The nature of this Trial varies greatly from Chapter to Chapter and world to world.In some cases, a culture's traditional festivals and rites of passage are in fact well-disguised Trials, established generations before and watched over in secret by Chaplains or senior Chapter Serfs. In such cases, the aspirants believe they are participating in tribal rituals and coming-of-age challenges, and are entirely unaware that the most promising of their number will be selected to become Space Marines (if they even know what Space Marines are!). In other cultures, the aspirants fight for the honour to be judged worthy, knowing that a great reward awaits the victors.Again, they may not know the exact nature of that reward, but to be chosen is the greatest of honours a young man can aspire to. Some Trials are watched over closely by the servants of the Chapter, who judge the aspirant every step of the way. Others have no interest in the actual process, only the outcome. Some Trials are so arduous that the simple fact of an aspirant's surviving it is sufficient to pronounce his victory.In other cases, the manner in which the aspirant approaches the challenge is judged of more importance than whether or not he completes it -- in some cases, the Trial is deliberately impossible to complete, and the aspirant's willingness to undertake it regardless is all that matters.The vast majority of aspirants fail their Trials and many of these die in the process -- though a failed aspirant who lives through the Trial often garners much honour within his culture, his mere survival rendering him a hero and a potential future leader of his people. At the Trial's completion, a successful aspirant will be taken away to join the Chapter as a neophyte.Sometimes he will find a Space Marine waiting for him at the conclusion of his challenge and be led into a waiting transport to leave his former life forever. Sometimes he will be afforded the adulation of his people before leaving, enjoying one last night with kith and kin. Many simply awaken in an induction-cell, with no knowledge of how they got there or what awaits them.In any case, the successful completion of their Trials allows an aspirant to become a neophyte of the Chapter, though now he must pass a battery of tests to determine if he is worthy of being implanted with the sacred and life-altering gene-seed organs of the Astartes.
Space Marines - Blood Duel Trial: One of the most common Aspirant Trials takes the form of a duel between aspirants, often to the death. The type of duel varies enormously and every culture from which the Astartes recruit has its own well-established practices. On different worlds, different weapons will be used, or sometimes none at all as the combatants are expected to pummel, gouge and throttle one another bloody.Feral World tribes might use flint-tipped spears or the sharpened, serrated fangs of wild beasts. Feudal Worlds with a medieval level of technology might use highly-ritualised forms of swordplay, while the most advanced Imperial worlds would have access to the full gamut of lethal weaponry.Commonly, a Blood Duel is fought in rounds, with aspirants facing foe after foe until only a small number remain. If the Chapter conducting the Trial has need of a large number of recruits, the Trial may be ended when a set number of aspirants are left. When the Chapter has less need of new neophytes, the Trials may continue until only a single battered and bloody challenger remains, the corpses of his enemies carpeting the ground before him.Not all Blood Duels are to the death and some have highly ritualistic and specific victory conditions. Sometimes the duel is fought to first blood, other times to the very point of death.The Space Marine Apothecaries are capable of rebuilding a crippled body should the aspirant be deemed worthy of acceptance, so most Blood Duels are brutal, no-holds-barred affairs. The Blood Angels Chapter is known to make extensive use of the Blood Duel Trial, but plenty of other Chapters make use of similar methods of choosing their recruits, including the Dark Angels, Imperial Fists, Storm Wardens and Space Wolves.
Space Marines - Hunting the Hunter Trial: Many of the cultures from which the Astartes recruits exist in hellishly dangerous environments populated by all manner of predatory beings. In most cases, the predators in question are autochthonic beasts native to the world, but sometimes they have been deliberately introduced in order to retard the culture's development, ensuring that their every moment is a fight for survival and cultivating the most promising recruits possible.In many cases the predators are Human, such as the gelt-scalpers that prey on the outcasts of hive societies, culling the unwanted for monetary reward. Frontier Worlds are often plagued by alien raiders, ranging from the dreaded and lethal Drukhari to the barbarous greenskinned Orks. This Trial requires the aspirant to track down and slay, or sometimes capture, such a predator, turning the tables on those who prey upon his people and proving his worthiness to become an Astartes neophyte.The hunt is a test of cunning and determination as much as raw martial prowess, often requiring the aspirant to track his prey in its own territory. The hunt may last solar days, weeks or even longer according to the conditions of the Trial and the weapons the aspirant can either find or fashion for himself. Taking the target alive is perhaps the hardest of Trials, for the aspirant must keep the foe restrained on a return journey that might prove every bit as arduous as the hunt itself.A variation of the hunt requires a number of aspirants to hunt a single target, though only one may claim victory. Some of these aspirants strike out on their own, even turning on their fellows when the opportunity arises. Others set aside their rivalry and work together until the end. Those aspirants who survive must eventually fight one another for the honour of claiming victory. Whatever path the aspirants take, the Chapter learns much about their potential recruits.At the conclusion of a Trial in which a prisoner is taken, it is common for the aspirant to be required to slay his captive, often before his people in a highly ritualised deed akin to a ceremonial sacrifice. Thus, the blood offering is made and the victor led away to join the ranks of the sky warriors.The Space Wolves are known to use the Hunting the Hunter Trial, requiring the aspirant to track and face a fearsome Fenrisian Wolf or a Snow Troll. The Dark Angels have a similar tradition drawn from the knightly orders of their lost homeworld of Caliban and often require aspirants to track and kill fearsome beasts mutated by the powers of Chaos.
Space Marines - Survival of the Fittest Trial: It is often said that in the dark future of the 41st Millennium there is only war. No world is untouched by bloodshed and death and for many Human societies war is a permanent state of existence. Many of the worlds from which Space Marine Chapters recruit are not home to a single, unified society, but rather a host of small tribes constantly at war with one another.In such societies, Trials are all but unnecessary and instead of staging formal tests and challenges the Space Marines simply watch these wars from afar, witness the deeds of the greatest heroes and select the victors as aspirants. Hive Worlds often fall into this category, especially the lawless underhives and the polluted ash wastes between the hive cities. Gangs of savage psychopaths battle one another ceaselessly for power and influence and the greatest of these gang leaders sometimes attract the attentions of the servants of the Chapter.In most cases, the Space Marines need to do little more than watch the wars, but in some instances they actively take a hand in fomenting conflict and strife. By limiting the technology levels of a society, curtailing its access to natural resources, infiltrating it with Chapter serfs who spread hate, lies and paranoia, and occasionally even introducing psychosis-inducing substances into the food chain, the Astartes can ensure there is no break in the constant state of warfare that produces the Chapter's next heroes.The Chapters best known for practicing this type of Trial are the Space Wolves, who watch from afar as entire tribes on their frigid homeworld of Fenris wipe one another out in bloody internecine wars. Many other Chapters use similar methods as well, including the Dark Angels and their Unforgiven Successor Chapters.
Space Marines - Knowledge of Self Trial: The horrors that a Space Marine will witness during his service to the Emperor are sufficient to destroy a normal man's sanity and those witnessed by the battle-brothers who serve in the special Astartes units like the Grey Knights and the Deathwatch are more horrifying still. Many Chapters consider the aspirant's spiritual and mental capabilities every bit as important as his physical characteristics and impose Trials not of the body, but of the mind.There are hundreds--if not thousands--of ways in which a Chapter can test an aspirant's inner strength. One method is a vision, imposed by way of psychic intrusion by one of the Chapter's Librarians. The aspirant may be plunged into a trance-like state during which he is subjected to all manner of horrific visions or irresistible temptations. He faces creatures dredged up from his own nightmares and phantoms seeded in his mind by the Librarian, who presides over the Trial and judges the aspirant's very soul.Some Trials are far cruder; the aspirant is simply administered some powerful psychoactive concoction, often distilled from the venom of local predators or the sap of rare plants. Under the influence of such drugs, the aspirant must face the very worst his own psyche can produce, terrors often far worse than a Librarian could implant. Many die under the sheer stress and trauma placed on their hearts during the process and those that survive will be utterly changed--physically as well as mentally.Another common variation of this Trial is exposure to pain. There are myriad different ways in which pain can be applied, some primitive, others fiendishly inventive. Some torments leave the aspirant scarred for life, though the scars are proudly borne as evidence of his mental strength. Others, such as the infamous Pain Glove used by the Imperial Fists Chapter, leave no marks, interfacing directly with the aspirant's nervous system and keeping his conscious long past the point he would otherwise have passed out.Though the Imperial Fists are the best known practitioners of this type of Trial, many other Chapters use it too, especially those that recruit from feral societies with strong shamanic tendencies. The Black Templars use similar methods but eschew the use of drugs or technology, instead requiring an aspirant to fast or pray for solar days on end until a similar effect is achieved.
Space Marines - Challenge Trial: A Trial used by a smaller number of Chapters, the Challenge requires the aspirant to fight a duel or compete in some other manner against a full Astartes. In truth, none expect the aspirant to better a full battle-brother and his success is more often measured in the degree of his failure. Very occasionally, an aspirant does manage to beat an Astartes and when this happens it is not uncommon for the individual to go on to become a legendary hero of the Chapter.Many Challenge Trials involve a test of martial skill, with the aspirant fighting an armed duel against a battle-brother. It is usual for the aspirant to be armed and the Astartes to fight with his bare hands and probably without his power armour, yet still the aspirant has virtually no hope of victory. Most Challenge Duels end in the death of the aspirant, for even an unarmed, unarmoured Astartes is a giant compared to the young, adolescent challenger and well able to slay him with a single blow, intentionally or not.Other Challenge Trials involve contests of strength, stamina, speed, skill or mental strength. The Trial might range from the lifting of impossibly heavy loads to the imbibing of toxic substances. As with a duel, this type of Challenge Trial can often prove deadly.In both cases, however, an aspirant that has failed the Trial -- yet performed to the Chapter's satisfaction -- is rescued from the jaws of death by the Chapter's Apothecaries and judged worthy of progressing to the rank of neophyte. Several Chapters are known to make use of the Challenge Trial, including the Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, Storm Wardens and Iron Snakes.
Space Marines - Era Indomitus Chapter Organisation: The above scheme of Space Marine Chapter organisation has been revised in the years since the birth of the Great Rift at the dawn of the Era Indomitus, the alterations made to the Codex Astartes by the resurrected Primarch Roboute Guilliman and the introduction of the Primaris Space Marines into the Adeptus Astartes.As before, the organisation of a Space Marine Chapter in the wake of the Ultima Founding of the Primaris Marines comprises 1,000 battle-brothers.In comparison to the teeming multitudes of the Emperor's original Space Marine Legions this is few indeed, yet history has proven time and time again that such an elite gathering of martial strength can conquer star systems and even alter the fate of the galaxy itself.After the resurrection of Roboute Guilliman in ca. 999.M41 and his restoration as the ruling lord commander of the Imperium and Imperial Regent, the Codex Astartes was revised for the new era of the Dark Imperium that began with the birth of the Great Rift and the demands of the Indomitus Crusade.Under the revised organisational scheme, each of the ten companies of a Chapter still boasts one hundred warriors, led by a captain -- a veteran of countless wars -- and now often two lieutenants as sub-company leaders. A company is still organised into ten squads of ten Space Marines, each led by a sergeant.The strategic deployment, disposition and leadership of these companies is regulated by the Chapter Command, while their armoured support requirements are fulfilled by the Armoury.However, the guidelines in Guilliman's updated Codex provide for up to twenty squads of five battle-brothers. Furthermore, recent precepts allow for each Battle Company to be reinforced with auxiliary warriors. These additional squads are reassigned from the Reserve Companies.
Space Marines - 1st Company: Of the ten companies, the 1st still consists of the Chapter's most experienced Veterans, and is therefore the most powerful. The Veterans of the 1st Company are still trained to fight in Terminator Armour. It is extremely rare for the Veteran Company to be deployed en masse -- its units normally take to the field alongside the Chapter's Battle Companies.Whether they be Primaris Marine Intercessors, Vanguard Marine jump troops or Terminator-armoured strike squads, they are often denoted as the Chapter's pre-eminent warriors by their white helms.
Space Marines - Battle Companies: The revised Codex Astartes decrees that the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Companies are still designated as Battle Companies, each nominally broken into two demi-companies of roughly equal size and composition. These generally carry the weight of a Chapter's combat duties. Battle Companies consist of at least six battleline squads, two close support squads and two fire support squads.Battle Companies provide their commanding officers with a flexible force that can respond to rapidly shifting tactical objectives at a moment's notice.Squads within Battle Companies may be broken down and deployed across a variety of roles should it be required; for example, were six battle-brothers to take to the field as Aggressors, the remaining four warriors of their squad might find roles piloting Invictor warsuits, driving the strike force's Rhino APCs and the like. Or Assault Squads, a type of close support squad, may be deployed as Bike Squads or Land Speeder crews and, just as with their fire support brethren known as Devastators, may take to battle as Centurion warsuit pilots.Many Space Marine strike forces are constructed around squads drawn from a single Battle Company, heavily reinforced by elements of the Veteran, Scout and Reserve Companies.
Space Marines - Reserve Companies: The Reserve Companies are entirely composed of squads of the same designation. They normally act in support of the Battle Companies and provide a source of replacements for any casualties suffered by the frontline formations.Typically, the 6th and 7th Companies both comprise ten battleline squads, while the 8th Company consists entirely of close support squads and the 9th entirely fire support squads.Their main function is to reinforce the Battle Companies, providing a source of replacements for any casualties suffered on the front line and thus ensuring the Adeptus Astartes retain their effectiveness in protracted or bloody campaigns.Furthermore, the Codex now allows for each Battle Company to be bolstered with additional squads reassigned from the Reserve Companies; the presence of these warriors can take a company's numbers temporarily above the traditional limit of 100 Astartes, lending them the additional strength to overcome especially challenging foes.The 6th Company also trains in the use of Assault Bikes and may be deployed entirely as Bike Squads or Outrider Squads.Similarly, squads of the 7th Company are trained to fight with Land Speeders, Storm Speeders and Stormtalons, often acting as a light vehicle reserve formation.The 8th Company is the Close Support Company and is most often used in an invasion role, or wherever a strong, hand-to-hand fighting force is needed.The 9th Company is the Fire Support Company and is the most heavily equipped company in the Chapter, and its heavy cannon-toting Astartes provide unparalleled fire support to their more lightly-equipped comrades.It is also not uncommon for the Reserve Companies to form hard-hitting specialised forces in their own right. They may be deployed to seize or defend important objectives in larger conflicts, the concentrated firepower of so many fire support battle-brothers or the line-breaking fury of massed close support warriors proving the decisive factor in many such engagements.The specialised nature of each of the Reserve Companies sees them deployed in quite specific circumstances. The battleline warriors of the 6th and 7th Companies will often act as crews for large, independent formations of the various armoured vehicles deployed by the Chapter, allowing commanders to field entire companies of anti-grav skimmers, battle tanks or other swift assault vehicles.The highly mobile nature of the 8th Company's close support squads -- often equipped with Jump Packs or embarked aboard transport vehicles -- sees them used in a rapid assault role, as well as wherever a strong hand-to-hand fighting force is needed.The 9th Company, being the most heavily equipped in the Chapter, is used to bolster defensive lines and strongholds, as well as provide long-range support.In most Chapters, Space Marines progress through the Reserve Companies -- from the 9th through to the 6th. During his time in the Reserve Companies, a battle-brother will prove his mettle while learning new methods of warfare.
Space Marines - Scout Company: The Chapter's 10th Company is still its Scout Company. The majority of its members are neophyte Scout Marines -- those whose combat training, physical transformation and cultural indoctrination into the Chapter is still incomplete -- but the company now also contains a standing force of ten Vanguard Space Marine squads.These warriors can be called upon to conduct a variety of stealth operations behind enemy lines.The revised Codex Astartes dictates no formal size for a Scout Company as the rate of recruitment is not fixed, meaning that some Chapters will be able to field comparatively large 10th Company formations while others must husband their limited resources carefully.
Space Marines - Chapter Armoury: All companies, except the Scout Company, maintain a small fleet of Rhino, Razorback and Repulsor armoured transports. The Veteran 1st Company also has a permanent complement of Land Raiders of different patterns and Stormraven gunships for carrying Terminators into the heart of battle.A Chapter's other armoured vehicles form a pool, maintained by the Armoury, that company captains can draw upon. Many companies also include a number of Dreadnoughts of different patterns, including the Primaris Marines' Redemptor Dreadnought.Every company has its own Dreadnoughts; after being interred in the metal sarcophagus, it is customary for a fallen Space Marine to fall under the care and maintenance of the Chapter Armoury, but to remain a part of the company in which he served. Not only are these venerable and mighty warriors valuable battlefield assets for the devastation they can wreak upon the foe, but they are also the living embodiment of their company's history and traditions. Each Dreadnought has its battle honours inscribed into the very metal of its encasement by the Chapter's artificers to celebrate the many brave actions in which it took part.Whilst each company has a number of its own transport vehicles, the majority of vehicles in a Chapter are maintained by its Armoury. When the need arises these armoured fighting vehicles are deployed as massed spearheads -- wholly independent from the companies and commanded by a senior officer -- or requisitioned individually by a captain to support their company.In the latter case, the vehicles are given badges appropriate to the company they will serve and are assigned a simple numerical designator. This number is repeated on the crews' badges, if the vehicle is not manned by a Techmarine novitiate from the Armoury.Upon its creation, a Space Marine battle tank is given a name that reflects its role as a protector of the Chapter's brethren. From that point onwards, the vehicle is as much a part of the Chapter as the Space Marines themselves, and over the years its many deeds will be celebrated as greatly as those of the Chapter's flesh and blood heroes.
Space Marines - Chapter Headquarters/Command: A Chapter also includes a number of officers and specialists who exist outside of the formal organisation of the companies. These individuals are known as the headquarters or command staff, and they will often stride out to lead a strike force in battle, or provide essential battlefield support, spiritual leadership, psychic capability and destructive combat prowess.Included amongst their rarefied ranks are the psychically-empowered Librarians of the Librarius, the bellicose Chaplains of the Reclusiam, Apothecaries from the Apothecarion, standard-bearing Ancients and the mechanically adept Techmarines and their servitors.Although the Codex Astartes describes a number of ranks and responsibilities held by the headquarters staff, only those officers with an active martial role actually accompany the Chapter to war. There are relatively few senior officers with noncombatant roles -- such as recruiting and training new members or administrating the Chapter -- as most of these types of duties are performed by Human Chapter serfs.In addition to their rank, captains of the Chapter are still often assigned Space Marine Master titles which include other functional responsibilities. These include such positions as the Lord of the Household, the Chapter Master's Secretarius, the Master of the Fleet, the Chief Victualler, the Master of the Arsenal, the Master of Recruits and the Master of the Watch.Over all of these mighty warriors still presides the Chapter Master, elevated from the greatest of the Chapter's captains. He alone is responsible for the deeds of the Chapter, and answers directly to the Administratum.Chapter Masters may select an Honour Guard that are in addition to the company roll, although not all Chapter Masters choose to do so.
Space Marines - Vanguard Marines: Vanguard Space Marines are reconnaissance and infiltration experts, equipped to operate alone in enemy territory for extended periods of time and intensively trained in shadow warfare tactics and sabotage techniques. Vanguard strike forces are tasked with achieving full-spectrum superiority over the foe.Every facet of the opposition's war machine must be dismantled, from supply routes and infrastructure to communications and logistics. Morale must be utterly sapped through non-stop harassment by terror troops and assassination of key individuals. The ultimate goal of this relentless campaign is to leave the foe crippled and helpless before the advance of the main Space Marine battleline.Every newly recruited and created Primaris Space Marine spends time in the 10th Company learning the full range of Vanguard combat techniques, from the mobile fire support duties of the Suppressors and the expert sniper-combat of the Eliminators, to the terror raids of the Reivers and the point-blank gunfighting of the Incursors.The Primaris battle-brothers keep their Vanguard skills honed even after they move on to other companies, meaning that at a moment's notice they can don any of the various types of Mark X Phobos Power Armour and go to battle as Vanguard Space Marines. Even Veterans of the 1st Company can swiftly reprise such duties, combining the benefits of their vast wealth of combat experience with the specialised and wholly lethal infiltration-and-sabotage tools of the Vanguard.When a full-sized Vanguard force deploys into battle they often do so with armoured support from Invictor Tactical Warsuits and Impulsor transports, not to mention the leadership of captains, Librarians and the like also armed and armoured for stealth warfare.An elite, fast-moving, silent-striking force of this sort can secure victories through ambush, sabotage and assassination that a far larger army could never achieve through brute force alone.
Space Marines - Terminator Strike Forces: Individual squads of Terminators are most often deployed as ultra-elite support for the Battle Companies. However, there are times when a Chapter will mass the majority -- and in exceptionally rare cases, even the entirety -- of its Terminator-armoured brethren and send them into battle as an utterly devastating strike force.This occurs most commonly when an infantry assault is required against a confined and inimical location. Clearing xenos infestations out of vast space hulks, striking at the heart of heretical fortresses and staging boarding actions against super-heavy enemy war engines are all examples of duties that Terminator forces excel at.Equally, some Chapters may furnish their Terminator Squads with transport in the form of gunships and battle tanks, and field them as swift and utterly unstoppable assault forces. The risks involved in such an action are high, for every suit of Terminator battle-plate is an irreplaceable relic, and those who wear it to battle are scarcely less valuable -- should such a force suffer heavy losses or, worse, be annihilated, their Chapter may never truly recover.Yet it is a risk often worth taking; a hundred Terminator-armoured Space Marines supported by Land Raiders and Stormravens possess more than enough martial might to lay low the most monstrous of foes, or conquer an entire world in the Emperor's name.
Space Marines - Chapter Fleet: The Codex Astartes makes provision for every Space Marine Chapter to maintain its own combat-capable fleet. Indeed, some Chapters are entirely fleet-based, roaming the galaxy aboard armadas of voidcraft that between them serve the same functions as other Chapters' fortress-monasteries.The majority of each fleet comprises frigates and strike cruisers, well-armoured and heavily armed warships that excel in line-breaking, blockade-running and planetary drop-assault operations.Many Chapters, especially the older and more established amongst them, also retain a handful of battle barges; these potent voidcraft are every bit as formidable as Imperial Navy battleships, and often serve as the storied flagships of each Chapter's fleet.It is in the launch bays of such warships that the Chapter's Drop Pods and Boarding Torpedoes wait to bear the warriors of the Chapter into war. Their launch decks, meanwhile, house squadron after squadron of fightercraft and gunships ready to swarm out and defend their parent craft or support ground forces in battle.
Space Marines - Relations with the Astra Militarum (Imperial Guard): The Astra Militarum, known coloquially as the Imperial Guard, is composed of men and women possessed of unquenchable faith in the God-Emperor of Mankind, but they are still ultimately mortals of flesh and blood. To the common troopers, the superhuman Space Marines of the Adeptus Astartes are as gods walking amongst men and for most of the common people of the Imperium, including the troops of the Imperial Guard, they are a rare sight indeed.Most Astra Militarum troopers will never see a Space Marine, let alone fight alongside one, and as such they are the subjects of all manner of legends, myths, and superstitions. Different Imperial cultures, and the Imperial Guard regiments drawn from them, have their own beliefs about Space Marines.Some hold them in awe as the literal sons of the Emperor, whilst others fear them as the deliverers of the Emperor's divine judgement. While it is true that a Space Marine can spit acid, in their ignorance many claim they can also kill with a glance or rout an army with a single word.Tales abound of small groups of Space Marines conquering entire planets or holding off wave after wave of slavering xenos fiends. Some Chapters, in particular the Ultramarines, are lionised across the Imperium. Others, such as the Blood Drinkers, inspire dread.Any Imperial Guard trooper (or any other mortal for that matter) finding himself in the presence of a Space Marine is likely to drop to his knees in abject supplication, so potent is the martial bearing of a battle-brother of the Adeptus Astartes. Even senior Imperial Guard officers might find themselves stammering like newly commissioned subalterns when conversing with a Space Marine.In the main, most Space Marines barely notice mere mortals and it takes a great and rare man indeed to earn their respect. Rumours of their presence in a war zone can often generate great excitement amongst Imperial Guardsmen, but such rumours often prove to be false.An encounter with a single squad of Space Marines is a legendary encounter for the mortals of the present-day Imperium, even those mortals who are themselves pledged to the Emperor's service, and will result in hushed tales of awe told around the tables of the officers' mess for many Terran years to come.
Space Marines - Scout Armour: Scout Armour is a lighter, less-encumbering version of standard Imperial Carapace Armour often used by elite Imperial Guard troops like Storm Troopers or Kasrkin that offers excellent protection while at the same time being extremely well-suited for stealth and skirmishing missions.In most Codex Astartes-compliant Chapters, neophyte Space Marines (Scout Marines) serve in the 10th Company as Scouts for their first assignment.Scouts are placed under the instruction of an experienced Scout Sergeant, who both takes command of the squad and teaches the Scouts what it means to be a Space Marine. This type of armour is usually only worn by Scout Marines.Since their Black Carapace has yet to mature, they are still unable to interface with standard Space Marine power armour, so are instead allowed to wear a suit consisting of carbon-titanium composite plates. Scout Armour is still capable of stopping the majority of small-arms fire.In times of relative peace, full battle-brothers of certain Chapters may take to wearing Scout Armour during periods outside of battle.
Space Marines - Terminator Armour: Tactical Dreadnought Armour, more commonly called Terminator Armour, turns an Astartes into a nigh-unstoppable force of destruction. These exceedingly rare suits of power armour are the superlative form of individual protection in Space Marine Armouries, and enable a battle-brother to unleash firepower rivalling that of most combat vehicles.Developed during the final days of the Great Crusade, the Imperium has long since lost the technical knowledge required to manufacture these suits, and so every single one is a priceless artefact of the Imperium's lost golden age.Terminator Armour is only deployed on the most dangerous missions and only to Astartes Veterans who have proven themselves worthy of wearing the Crux Terminatus: the icon found on the left shoulder of every suit of Terminator Armour. Each one of these honour badges is said to contain a fragment of the Emperor's own armour from His final battle with the Archtraitor Horus during the Siege of Terra.This is the purported source of the suit's unbelievable resilience, enabling its wearer to endure the stresses of Warp teleportation, direct strikes by tank-killing weaponry and even -- in a few famous cases -- being physically trodden on by Battle Titans in full stride.The majority of Space Marine Chapters possess a number of suits of precious Terminator Armour. Only ever issued to 1st Company Veterans and prominent headquarters officers, these relics are amongst the most valued and ancient items within the armouries of the Adeptus Astartes, with each suit turning its wearer into a veritable walking fortress.Composed of layered ceramite and adamantium, Terminator Armour is threaded through with electromotivated fibre bundles and servo-assisted interfaces that link into the user's own neurological and muscular systems to enhance movement.The armour can interface with a variety of exceptionally potent heavy armaments and its thick layers of protective alloys can deflect even the heaviest bombardments. Terminator Armour was developed for a mid-range of uses between a true cybernetic Dreadnought and standard power armour.In addition, the Crux Terminatus serves as a psychic ward capable of turning aside attacks from Power Weapons, Melta fire, and even the baleful energies of the Warp.Due to its size, Terminator Armour is best deployed in close quarters such as the corridors of a starship, where the armour's standard-issue Storm Bolter can be most effective.