Space Marines Warhammer 40000: Encyclopedia II - Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Progression of a Space Marine

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Progression of a Space Marine

A Space Marine is a vastly superior warrior when compared to a normal human. This is due to a series of genetic modifications, psychological conditioning, and heavy training. The end result of creating a Space Marine produces a soldier with abilities that are so superior to those of an average human that they are best described as superhuman.

The procedure detailed below is that described in Codex: Astartes, which is followed to a greater or lesser extent by all Chapters. A notable exception to this are the Space Wolves, who employ a different system.

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Recruitment

Different Space Marine Chapters follow different recruiting processes. Most recruits are drawn from the Chapter's homeworld. These worlds are often at a primitive or feudal level of development, creating a hardy human population, which in turn ensures only the toughest of candidates are selected. Only a small percentage of candidates may be recruited, and not all recruits will survive the initial rigors of training and treatment one must undergo to become a full-fledged Space Marine.

The selection of recruits must abide by certain criteria. First and foremost, a potential candidate must be male, as the gene-seed and zygote are synchronized to work with male hormones. They must be of adolescent age preferably between ten and sixteen, as the implants are designed to coordinate with and increase the effectiveness of natural growth hormones. There must be a level of compatibility between the recruit and the gene-seed, otherwise the implanted organs will fail. Also, the mental state of a potential Marine must also be susceptible to the various training and psycho-conditioning regimes of the Chapter, and cannot be tainted by Chaos.

These criteria bar all but a minuscule percentage of people within the Imperium from becoming Space Marines. If all tests prove successful, the recruit is accepted into the Chapter as 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.

The term gene-seed describes the foreign genetic material introduced into a human during his transformation into a Space Marine, which is both directly and indirectly responsible for his physical changes. Gene-seed is a rare and precious resource for the Space Marines; since they no longer possess the technology needed to create new gene-seed, it must be passed down from dying warriors.

Gene-seed is best described as DNA cultivated from one of the twenty Primarchs, the children of the Emperor. The genetic material is used to form nineteen implants, which are responsible for the physical transformation and abilities attributed to the Space Marines. These implants are surgically installed into an recruit (Neophyte) over a period of years. One of the implants creates copies of the various implants during the maturation of the Space Marine, which are removed shortly before or after death, for future use.

A full list of the implants and their functions can be found here.

Since the first founding, all Space Marines chapters have lost the abilty to make new implants, or are otherwise do not have all 19 implants within their chapter; and as such all chapters are different in this respect. The "purest" chapters in this respect are the Ultramarines, who still have all 19 implants and no significant mutations or defects in the geneseed, this being the reason that the Ultramarine geneseed is the one most often selected to create new Chapters.

All Space Marine chapters still have the Black Carapace, as without it they could not interface with the Power Armour correctly.

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Neophyte

Once the recruit passes the battery of tests and challenges set by the Chapter, and the initial gene-seed implants have taken hold on his body, he is accepted into the Chapter as a Neophyte. These Neophytes will be trained in the history of the Chapter and the edicts of the Codex Astartes, while the remaining implants and modifications are made to his body.

Once a Neophyte begins his training and genetic modification, he is no longer permitted contact with his home or family, sworn to serve the Emperor and the Chapter until his death. The creation of a Space Marine is a dangerous process, and it is accepted that many will die during his indoctrination.

Certain Chapters take different approaches to the training of Neophytes. Most will be inducted into the Tenth Company where they are trained and educated by veteran Marines, serving the Chapter as a light reconnaissance force. Some Chapters, most notably the Black Templars, apprentice their Neophytes to a more experienced Space Marine, the Neophyte acting as a servant, and learning by example.

The Neophytes gain experience in the ways of warfare by serving the Chapter as scouts, providing reconnaissance to the Chapter, while capable of acting as an infiltration or commando force. They can be equipped with a variety of equipment and weaponry, and on certain occasions have access to the Chapter's combat motorcycles. It is a dangerous baptism of fire, but provides valuable experience and hands-on training in the art of battle. Scouts do not wear power armour, but instead wear a lighter suit of non-powered segmented armour plates called Carapace Armour. This is both because their Black Carapace is not yet fully developed, but also because they must earn the privelidge of wearing the Power Armour by proving themselves as Space Marine Scouts first.

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Initiates

Once the Neophyte's period of training is complete, and all nineteen gene-seed organs have been implanted and verified, the Neophyte will often be sent on a final challenge to prove his worth. Upon the completion of this challenge, the Neophyte will become a full member of the Chapter (known as an Initiate or Battle-Brother), and will be assigned to one of the eight Battle or Reserve Companies.

The Initiate is provided with a boltgun and a set of power armour, the maintenance of which is his responsibility. Depending on the talents an Initiate demonstrated during his training, he will be assigned to one of three different squad types.

The main fighting force of a Chapter, the Tactical Squads are versatile fighters, able to adapt their equipment and tactics to suit almost any situation. Tactical Squads make up the bulk of each Company, and specialist within each squad are trained to utilise various heavy and support weapons.

Assault Squads are specialist hand-to-hand fighters, trained for rapid movement and vicious attacks on enemy positions. Assault Marines are often equipped with jump packs, which allow them to close with enemy squads as quickly as possible, and to reach normally inaccessible positions to take out protected artillery emplacements or command centres.

In addition, the Marines assigned to Assault Squads are trained in the use of the Chapter's combat motorcycles, and when the situation requires, may deploy in five-man squadrons using these. The use of a Bike Squadron provides a rapid assault force that can quickly adapt to the changing situation in battle.

Devastator Squads are specially trained to provide fire support for their fellow Space Marines, with half the squad bearing a variety of anti-personnel and anti-tank weapons into battle. Although sacrificing some of the manoeuvrability of a Tactical Squad, the Devastators make up for it through the quality and quantity of firepower they can bring to a battlefield. They are typically called into action when the threat of enemy armour is present, or there is a need to break open fortifications or bunkers.

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Veterans

Exceptional and experienced members of the Space Marine Chapter are promoted to Veteran status, and are provided access to various pieces of specialist equipment. Veterans usually remain with their Company, leading squads of their fellow Initiates into battle, but the Marines that have most proven their worth to the Chapter are inducted into the elite First Company.

On occasion, a less experienced Initiate will be honoured with a position in the First Company, in response for an act of exceptional courage or tactical intelligence.

First Company Veterans are often fielded in the same manner as Tactical Squads. Multiple squads of Veterans are not fielded en-masse; instead a single squad will be assigned to assist another Company as an extremely flexible tactical reserve.

When the situation calls for it, Veteran Squads may be equipped with the rare suits of Tactical Dreadnought Armour, and fielded as a powerful spearhead for Space Marine attacks. They are heavily armoured, and able to carry a variety of potent heavy weapons.

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Specialists

At any point during their long careers, a Space Marine may be called upon to train in a specialist field, to better support the Chapter in both combat and non-combat roles.

The purity of a Chapter's gene-seed is one of the greatest concerns displayed by the Imperium, for if corruption is able to root itself within a Space Marine Chapter, it may well fall to Chaos. The Apocetharies are charged with maintaining the health and genetic purity of the Space Marines. Their skills and equipment, when combined with the added organs and resilience of a Space Marine, allow an Apocethary to perform battle surgery with a good chance of success.

However, sometimes even the skills of an Apocethary are not enough to save a Marine. In this case, it is the Apocethary's responsibility to provide a mercy killing, known as the Emperor's Peace, and harvest the two Progenoid glands implanted in his body, allowing for the gene-seed material to be cultivated and re-implanted in another Neophyte.

The Chaplains are the spiritual leaders of a Chapter, warrior-priests that minister to the spiritual well-being of the Space Marines, instilling in them the values and beliefs of the Chapter along with promoting the worship of the Emperor. Most marines (including chaplains) believe that the Emperor is not a god, an extremely powerful mortal, but a mortal nonetheless. This is somewhat true, as the Emperor started as a Psyker, and was "developed" into a god. Originally, after the Horus Heresy, several cults that followed the Emperor surfaced. One cult gained lots of power among the Imperium, and in time, it developed into the "Ecclesiarchy".

In battle, the Chaplains will be at the forefront of the battle, rousing their fellow Marines through their words and actions.

The Chapter is continually vigilant to ensure that recruits will not taint the gene-seed of the Chapter through mutation. However, the psyker mutation is often encouraged, and these Marines are inducted into the corps of Librarians. These psychically-charged warriors are trained to use their abilities in the field of battle, as both weapons and tools of precognition. Off the field of battle, the Librarians are responsible for maintaining and adding to the records of the Chapter, attending to the Chapter's annals and the collective knowledge built up over millennia of service.

The path to becoming a Librarian is a difficult one, as they must not only be strong enough to survive their training, but possess enough mental discipline to fend off the daemons and entities of the Warp, as these creatures see the enhanced form and mind of a Librarian as a strong prize. Also, the Librarians are often isolated from the rest of the Chapter, as they carry with them the abilities the Space Marines are expected to abhor and purge in all other beings.

Those who show an aptitude for machinery and technology are often selected to undergo the training to become a Techmarine, honorary members of the Adeptus Mechanicus and priests of the Machine God. The aspiring Techmarine will be sent away to train on Mars, learning the correct rites of activation and maintenance of the Chapter's equipment. They also learn how to rouse or placate the machine-spirits that inhabit many of the Chapter's vehicles and equipment.

The Techmarines are often called upon to make repairs that are beyond the training of a Space Marine, even in the midst of battle. Should a vehicle or artifact of technology be lost to the enemy, the Techmarines are at the forefront of the effort to retrieve it, sometimes fighting harder for their mechanical charges then they would for their biological brethren.

Space Marines Warhammer 40000 - Leadership

After hundreds of years of service to the Chapter, elite Marines may be called upon to take up one of the leadership positions within the Chapter.

A Brother-Captain leads each of the ten Companies within a Chapter. Each is the foremost warrior in his Company, and will rarely meet their match in battle. In addition to leading their brethren, the Brother-Captains will often be called upon to fulfill other roles, most often in charge of an aspect of the Chapter, including the armoury, supplies, or the Chapter Fleet.

Notable Brother-Captains include Gabriel Angelos of the Blood Ravens' Third Company, (the now deceased) Captain Tycho of the Blood Angels, Ragnar Blackmane of the Space Wolves and Uriel Ventris of the Ultramarines.

Foremost of a thousand Space Marines, the Chapter Master is the leader of a Chapter, a warrior with centuries of experience on the battlefield. He is also a master tactician, a devout follower of the Codex Astartes, and the man responsible for the thousands of decision that can affect battles on the far side of the galaxy.

The Chapter Master is often the one who teaches the recruits the history of the Chapter, and he is responsible for keeping the secrets and following the traditions of the Chapter. He is often the ruler of the Chapter's homeworld, and is responsible for maintaining the oaths and allegiances of the Chapter to outside worlds and organisations. The office of Chapter Master was originally held by the Primarchs, during the time before the Second Founding, and it is their examples and actions that each Chapter Master must adhere to.

Notable Chapter Masters include Supreme Grand Master Azrael of the Dark Angels, Marneus Calgar of the Ultramarines, Dante of the Blood Angels, Logan Grimnar of the Space Wolves.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Progression of a Space Marine", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki