Fortress-Monastery

A fortress-monastery is the central base of a Space Marine Chapter. As Space Marines are viewed as warrior monks, a fortress-monastery holds elements of both a military base and an abbey. Exactly what constitutes a fortress-monastery will vary depending on the Chapter in question. Most Chapters will have their fortress-monastery based on their homeworld, usually isolated from the rest of the planet's population. In Fleet-based Chapters, the fortress-monastery may either be a star fort or space station (such as the Imperial Fists Phalanx) or battle-barge which serves as the Chapter's flagship (such as the Black Templars' Eternal Crusader).

Taking no chances with regards to defense, a fortress-monastery will be the most well defended bastion of Imperial strength on the planet it is located (the fact that most Space Marine Chapters live on Feral and Death Worlds whose inhabitants are usually unaware of the greater galaxy is not an issue). Indeed, the only way a fortress-monastery is not the most defended base in the entire sector is on the off chance another Space Marine fortress-monastery is located in the same sector (though as the Night Lords and Red Corsairs demonstrate to the Marines-Errant, that sometimes doesn't amount to as much as it implies).

Each chapter will have different buildings and substructures as per tradition or need, but the following locations are always found in fortress-monasteries:

• Apothecarion: The fortress-monastery's medical center, where surgical suites for transforming Neophytes into full Astartes is done. It is also the place where gene-seed is housed, and possesses facilities to assist Apothecaries in gathering genetic data from progenoids and cultivate them into gene-seed organs.
• Armoury: The abode of the Techmarines, which serves as the Chapter's motor pool, forge, ammo dump, repair shops, and chapel to the Omnissiah all in one. Several Chapters with unique equipment, such as the Blood Angels and the Dark Angels, have special Standard Template Constructors which fashion unique vehicles and weapons. The Chapter's Dreadnoughts will often be housed in a subsection of the Armoury.
• Chapter Master's quarters: The private throne room and personal cell of the Chapter Master. Frequently the Chapter Council, composed of the ten Brother-Captains and other senior officers, will meet here to plan campaigns and handle other official matters regarding the chapter as a whole.
• Communal dormitories: Housing for the Chapter Serfs, when they aren't attending to their duties. Depending on the chapter in question this may be a whole wing of the monastery or simply a janitor's closet next to the sewage system.
• Company blocks: The housing for each Space Marine company. Each Astartes is given a single small room, called a cell, which houses a bunk and a place to store their Power Armour and other nick-nacks. Each squad has a personal arming chamber which stores their weapons, ammunition, and replacement parts for their Power Armour. The Brother-Captain will have a larger cell that serves as an office where he can work on the logistical matters of company leadership and a private arming chamber. Each Company block will also house a Company chapel, where the Chaplain will lead them in prayer.
• Librarium: The abode of the Librarians, where the Chapter's records are housed and where potential Librarians are tested. The Chapter's Astropaths will often work from warded cells located here, as well.
• Reclusiam: The abode of the Chaplains, where rituals involving the whole Chapter, such as the coronation of a new Chapter Master or a funeral for an entire company, will be held. The Reclusiam also contains ancient Chapter relics and is overseen by the Reclusiarch, a post sometimes held by the Master of Sanctity. Think of a museum located in the middle of a church.

Notable fortress-monasteries

• Fortress of Hera: The fortress-monastery of the Ultramarines, located in the Mountains of Hera on Macragge. It was the site where Roboute Guilliman gestation pod landed as well, hence the significance of the place to begin with.
• Phalanx: The fortress-monastery of the Imperial Fists. A massive starship rebuilt by Rogal Dorn from the remains of an ancient void born hulk orbiting Inwit before he was rediscovered by the Emperor
• Arx Tyrannus: Formerly located in the Hellblade mountains on Rynn's World, "Tyrants Fortress" was the home of the Crimson Fists before a surface to space missile malfunctioned and blew it smithereens along with most of the chapter. The monastery was built around a landed battle-barge of the chapter sizable fleet.
• Mount Seraph: The fortress-monastery of the Blood Angels, built upon Mount Seraph, the largest mountain on Baal. Despite more than 25 years, four novels, and three and a half codices (they split Codex: Angels of Death with the Dark Angels in 2nd edition) the damn thing still hasn't been given an official name.
• The Fang: The fortress-monastery of the Space Wolves, and the tallest mountain on Fenris. Unsurprisingly, whoever did the Fenrisian to Imperial Gothic translation screwed up. The Wolves (who call themselves the Vlka Fenryka) refer to their fortress-monastery as the Aett, which in Imperial Gothic means "clan home" or "den".
• The Rock: The fortress-monastery of the Dark Angels. Originally known as the Tower of Angels, the served as the fortress-monastery of the Dark Angels on Caliban; its impressive void shields allowed it and the county size landmass it sits on to survive the planet's destruction. The Rock also serves as a miniature Gitmo really, it's more Alcatraz for the Fallen Angels NOTHING MORE THAN A STANDARD FORTRESS-MONASTERY, BECAUSE THE DARK ANGELS HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE.
• Prometheus: The fortress-monastery of the Salamanders. Prometheus is the moon of Nocturne, but in reality, the fortress-monastery is little more than a spaceport and barracks for the First Company, while the bulk of the Salamanders Chapter live in Chapter Bastions in Nocturne's Sanctuary Cities.
• The Proud Eyrie: Home of the Howling Griffons chapter located on their homeworld of Mancora. Built from the seeming remains of one of their chapter fleet's ships. Also, one of the few Chapter Monasteries we actually have a picture of.
• Quan Zhou: The fortress-monastery of the White Scars, located on Chogoris. Originally the site of Jaghatai Khan's fortress in the Khum Kharta mountains, like the Blood Angels fortress-monastery, the White Scars fortress-monastery went years without an official name before finally getting one in 6th Edition.
• Ravenspire: The fortress-monastery of the Raven Guard, located on Deliverance. Originally the guard tower for the Kiavharan enslavers, the Ravenspire was re-purposed as the stronghold of the Deliverance freedom fighters. Corvus Corax had a delicious sense of irony. It's edifice still bears the scars of battle received during the slave uprising ten thousand years later.
• Land-Behemoths: The fortress-monasteries of the Iron Hands. The planet Medusa, the Iron Hands homeworld, is so tectonically unstable that the Iron Hands cannot risk making a single structure to house their gene-seed, Armoury, and Chapter relics, so each clan-company uses an Ordinatus-sized vehicle known as a Land-Behemoth to travel around in.
• Raptorus Rex: Fortress-Monastery of the Fire Hawks, a warp-capable Ramilles-class Star Fort. Lost in the warp with all hands. Possibly now owned by the Legion of the Damned.
• Memento Mori: Fortress-Ossuary of the Star Phantoms. A battle-barge currently parked on the ice moon Jhaga. The name means "Remember Death" and is shared with several other imperial (and chaos) starships.
• Nicor: Fortress-Monastery and flagship of the Carcharodons. This Battle Barge dates back to the Great Crusade and is equipped with stronger void-shields than normal for a ship of its type, fuck-huge harpoons used to pull any poor enemy ships close so that the Space Sharks can do what they do the best, something called the "Plasma Destructor", and a massive teleport system capable of teleporting entire battle companies at once.

Gallery

Quan Zhou