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Gene-seed

2019-12-31T15:09:25Z

2601:1C0:5C00:C130:5F2:4FA5:C34C:B4C8: /* Blood Angels */

In [[Warhammer 40,000]], [[humans]] are transformed into [[Space Marines]] by, among other things, implanting them with a series of 19 organs that dramatically alter and enhance their biology. The organs' DNA strings, from which they are vat-grown, are collectively known as "gene-seed."

== Origins ==

Gene-seed is a vital part of the [[Space Marine]] program, and is as old as the Astartes themselves. When the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] was still conquering [[Terra]], many of the techno-barbarians' armies had augmented human warriors. The Emperor then realized that he would need vast armies of super-soldiers for his coming [[Great Crusade]], so he embarked on a project to create a mass-producible means of enhancing humans. This project resulted in the twenty [[Primarchs]], and from their genes, he created the gene-seed organs to be implanted into each Space Marine. These organs are usually produced in vats from extracted progenoids but [[Daemonculaba|other methods]] can be used in a pinch, and, of course, the Sinew Coils aren't an actual organ, so they can be produced much more readily, like any other cybernetic implant.

The traditional loyalist method of implanting gene-seed into recruits until it grows into new organs, then retrieving fresh gene-seed from them happens to loosely resemble the real-life concept of adult stem cells, invaluable for life-saving surgeries and keeping your liver from shriveling up when you get too drunk.

The process was originally available on a nearly industrial scale for the Great Crusade - both Terra and each legion recruitment worlds could make up the numbers for thousands of recruits. Occasionally they could be inducted as adults, although the limitations of this varied and usually an adult recruit was worthy but couldn't take a gene seed. In this case various surgeries and augmentations could turn them into a 'demi-marine', although the difference in performance was notable.

During the Heresy the Traitor Legions came up with a quick and dirty method for boosting their ranks by taking thousands of aspirants and forcing the implantation process rapidly, along with substituting the years long training process with constant hypnotherapy training. The success rate was small but they had so many potential recruits it still resulted in a boost in their numbers. These Newborn, as they came to be known, were equipped with the same gear as regular marines but utterly lacked the skills and prowess of a traditional legionary. Their forced creation also led them to being seen as second class citizens amongst their legions, and thus they created their own subcultures and traditions. As a result, they ended up being used as disposable shock troops whilst regular astartes were saved for more important duties.

After the Heresy, the loyalist legions scaled back the process, relocating all materiel onto homeworlds or fleet apothercarions. As a preventative measure learned from the Heresy, subsequent recruits were taken at a younger age, both to screen out weakness as soon as possible, and to more readily indoctrinate the prospective marine to being loyal (YMMV). Most chapters also introduced far more stringent levels of hypnotherapy and indoctrinatation than a heresy era marine would ever have had, and their standards for general recruits were also much higher, since now they recruited less from a smaller population (relatively) instead of a lot from a massive group, which could even be from several different worlds in cases of emergency recruitment.

== The Organs ==

Oddly, most 40K fluff never refers to most of these organs, if any, especially when situations come up where these organs might have been especially useful. The worst offenders are usually the sensory ones; the Occulobe, Lyman's Ear, and Neuroglottis, taken together, ''ought'' to make them notice things normal humans can't, especially under low-light conditions, but the fluff usually has them only picking up the standard level of detail.

# The '''Secondary Heart''' is pretty self-explanatory. It lets a Space Marine get his blood flowing at a faster rate through his body and probably to the more critical bits, which lets his muscles work harder and longer, and it gives him a backup just in case one fails (i.e. gets shot, stabbed, [[Kor Phaeron|ripped out by Guilliman]], or what have you). The Secondary Heart is not beating at all times. It only activates during times of stress (bear in mind that a twenty mile run is not considered stressful to an Astartes); otherwise, it just sits there awaiting activation.
# The '''Ossmodula''' makes a Space Marine's skeleton grow and incorporate some ceramic dietary supplements into itself and fuses his ribs together into a solid structure. The Tyrant guard's fused ribcage hints that <s>the Hive mind has incorporated Space marine DNA into-</s>{{BLAM}} convergent evolution is at work. Ironically, the fusing of the rib cage would be considered a bad thing, as the Space Marine would not be able to breathe properly, but since this is 40K, little things like biology can and will be ignored if the end result sounds sufficiently cool, then again the Multi lung (see bellow) may help with this. A (decidedly) secondary effect of a fused rib cage would be a loss of flexibility (unless by “fused” they mean “segmented but overlapping”). This bit sounds like it was tailor-made for Ultramarines since the vast majority of them walk around like they've got a broom handle shoved up their collective asses anyway.
# The '''Biscopea''' triggers muscle growth. These first three organs are often implanted together, as they collectively prepare the Initiate's body for further augmentation. Around this time, the Initiate gets put on a diet containing extra nutrients to fuel his new growth.
# The '''Haemastamen''' enhances a Space Marine's blood to better accommodate the Space Marine's nifty set of new organs by improving its ability to carry oxygen. It also turns it [[Orks|bright red]].
# The '''Larraman's Organ''' creates Larraman's Cells, which are like super-platelets: they make wounds rapidly scab over. This allows Space Marines to keep fighting even when shock and blood loss would kill most people.
# The '''Catalepsean Node''' messes with the body's sleep cycle, letting Space Marines get away with four hours of sleep every day, or even less, and making it possible for them to not lose awareness, even after like 2 weeks without sleep. It also makes the brain susceptible to hypno-therapy, which is a fancy word for "brainwashing" the Initiates while they are asleep. As a nasty side effect, it allows Chaos marines to re-brainwash loyalists they captured alive (or better: in suspended animation). Unsurprisingly to anyone familiar with Chaos, this trick doesn't work in reverse, which might just go to show that the Chaos Marines might be [[Heresy|closer to the true human nature than the loyal Marines...]] or more likely that Chaos is corrupting as fuck.
# The '''Preomnor''' is like a bird's crop, in that it stores food before passing it to the stomach, except that the Preomnor also decontaminates its contents as well. In Ian Watson's Space Marine novel, Initiates celebrated getting this organ by eating the most disgusting things they could until they finally provoked a vomit reflex.
# The '''Omophagea''' is one of the odder organs. It connects to the stomach and the spinal cord, and somehow takes knowledge from the brain tissue that a Space Marine can eat. Interestingly, most Space Marines are pretty reluctant to actually eat brains, as the process is physically extremely unpleasant, leaves them in a vulnerable torpor whilst they process the information, and is one of the very few things that can readily make a Space Marine vomit afterwards. The Thousand Sons (pre-heresy) - contrary to their civilised, haughty persona - highly approved of the practice. And, in fact, it is not just the brain, since some Astartes rituals, if not chapter names, originated from this; the Blood Angels and their descendants are especially famous for blood drinking and [[rip and tear]] in general; this is actually because they receive knowledge and visions from it. What? You thought the Blood Angels had visions of Sanguinius only to have a [[grimdark]], [[Machine spirit|mystical aura]]? Before reuniting with their Primarch, the Blood Angels standard operating procedure was to ritually cannibalize their dead officers and sometimes even assume their rank and identity. Additionally, the memories they absorb become very hard to forget (brain washing technologies can help). Now just add some chaos to that mix and you've got heresy brewing...
# The '''Multi-Lung'''... do I have to spell it out? It's an additional lung! It also has a lot of filters and the like, and can function underwater and in low-oxygen atmospheres. In other words, it allows the Space Marine without a helmet to breathe under water and in toxic air. Just how does this third lung fit in with the other two Marines are born with and all the other organs implanted later? Very carefully, that's how.
# The '''Occulobe''' gives Space Marines super-vision, and allows their eyes to adjust to changes in light almost instantly, or at least in the fluff.
# The '''Lyman's Ear''' gives them super-hearing and makes them immune to motion sickness and concussion. However, in-game, they have no particular immunity or even resistance to concussion, probably because it's often delivered by a hammer to the head.
# The '''Sus-an Membrane''' lets them enter a state of ''Sus''pended ''an''imation when they are critically hurt or starving. This serves the purpose of conserving a mortally wounded marine until his body is recovered and healed by apothecaries. So each time you remove a marine model on the tabletop, chances are (fluff-wise) it has entered sus-an, rather than died. In fact, on most campaigns that's what happens to your characters. It should be noted, marines cannot leave suspended animation state at will, and can only be "awakened" through the use of specific drugs. Basically, the 40k version of LSD.
# The '''Melanochrome''' implants into the lymph nodes, and makes Space Marine skin like transition lenses: it darkens in response to radiation, rapidly producing reinforced melanin that protects against both UV and gamma. On the plus side, they tan really fast, but the fact that they pale right back up once they're inside armour (unless they are [[Salamanders]]) is not that great.
# The '''Oolitic Kidney''' detoxifies their blood, like their regular kidneys, but this one does it really fast. Also, it controls some of the other organs' hormones. As a result, Space Marines are unaffected by most poisons short of what the [[Dark Eldar]] or [[Tyranids]] can produce. It also means they can't get drunk, though the Space Wolves found a way around that by creating Mjöd, an extremely toxic drink made of local plants of Fenris, that temporarily neutralizes the Oolitic kidney's ability to filter toxins. Another organ which ceases to work on the tabletop, as Space Marines have absolutely identical reactions to Poison as ratlings, ogryn, and standard humans. Of course, considering that the poisons you find on the tabletop are Tyranid, Dark Eldar, and Nurgelitle shit, we can probably write this one off. Also, in some fluff, it saves the bearer from poison by causing them to enter a sort of super-metabolic coma during which they burn off any toxins while unconscious and feverish—so, much like with the sus-an membrane, it allows you to say that any of [[Your Dudes]] taken out by Poison effects are just temporarily disabled.
# The '''Neuroglottis''' implants into the upper nasal passage, drastically improving both smell and taste; lets a Space Marine identify chemicals and track adversaries by taste. Blood-hound much? Apparently, the Space Wolf version of this is so good that they designed a special Wolf Helm that lets them use their sense of smell even when fully armored, and is also why they otherwise avoid helmets as much as possible (and definitely not just so that they can [[Blood Claw|gel their hair into giant crests]] and/or [[Logan Grimnar|grow chest-length Santa beards]]).
# The '''Mucranoid''' gives Space Marines super-sweat that protects them from heat and cold, and can even be hardened into a vacuum-proof shell. Remember that awesome scene where Guilliman boxes Word Bearers in space? Yep, he did it while covered in that thing.
# The '''Betcher's Gland''' gives them acid spit, which is probably the only bonus for going to combat [[Helmet#Helmets_and_Faces|without a helmet]]. The acid within varies depending on the source, from simply reacting only to organic tissue to fully dissolving ceramite. Some Chapters, such as the [[Blood Angels]] and the [[Iron Snakes]], consider using the Betcher's Gland in combat to be [[Derp|dishonourable]]. Technically, the acid spit is just a fringe benefit of the gland’s true purpose—allowing marines to chew through everything from tough xenos carcasses to prison bars. In any event, Space Marines on the table-top do not have access to acidic spit, unlike e.g. Tyranids. (Or maybe they do; space marine ancients get a lot of attacks for someone with their hands full.)
# The '''Progenoids''' provide no benefit to the Space Marine, but are universally considered the most important organs, as they are the keys to making more of the organs above. Each Space Marine starts with two, one in the neck and one in the chest, and they are removed after their death. The neck-based progenoid is ready for harvesting five years after implantation, while the chest-based progenoid is ready after ten. Each harvested progenoid is a bunch of DNA and chemical stuff, that, when implanted in a suitable environment, grows into more organs. Chapters that took severe losses and could not reclaim the gene-seed of their brothers basically take random people with an affinity to the Astartes gene-seed (or vat-grown bodies similar to the ones they use for Servitors), implant them with all space marine organs, wait ten years, and slaughter them to harvest the gene-seed. Sometimes, the term "gene-seed" is taken to refer to these glands specifically.
# The '''Black Carapace''' interfaces a Space Marine with his [[Power Armour|armour]], making them effectively one being. It also serves as back-up armour, providing a level of protection similar to a flak jacket, in case a marine somehow ends up [[Adeptus Custodes|running around naked]]. [[Scout|Space Marine Scouts]] don't have this yet, because of the [[Codex Astartes]], and it's noted as the only one of the original organs that ''has'' to be implanted whole rather than potentially grown inside the neophyte as a germ-seed (a la [[Blood Angels|Insanguination]]). They don't get it (and thus an expensive suit of power armor) until they've spent a decade or more in a Scout Company. Tyranids nicked this for their tyrant guard, which makes you think how did the foot-slogging hive tyrants survive anything beforehand. As clearly established by how humans perform in Power Armor, this organ does nothing on the table-top; Sisters of Battle, for example, get just as much (or more - they can lift a lascannon by themselves, unlike humans in mere carapace armour) benefit from Power Armor as Space Marines do. The Deathwatch RPG explained it as allowing a “Size (Huge)” Space Marine in Power Armor to not suffer any movement penalties—which does seem impressive if you’ve ever seen someone in craft foam Astartes armor trying to hobble around.
#The '''Canis Helix''' is not an organ, but considered nonetheless to be part of the gene-seed; it appears to be a genetic cocktail brewed by the Wolf Priests of the Space Wolves, and while it induces a level of mutation beyond that seen in any other chapter, Russ' gene-seed organs appear to have a 100% rejection rate in humans who do not first take the cocktail.

===Primaris Organs===

{{Main|Primaris Marines}}
After [[Roboute Guilliman]] told [[Belisarius Cawl]] to make a next generation Space Marine, he ended up creating Marines that had an enhanced version of the Astartes Gene-Seed, which contained an extra three organs (possibly due to taking elements of the [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodes]] or even the Primarch creation process). While some have expressed concern of the project, some due to worries about how some of the mutations of some of Chapters with more exotic mutations and some due to the belief that the Emperor's work shouldn't be tampered with, Cawl claims that the Primaris Gene-seed is more stable than the regular Astartes gene-seed, with an estimated deviancy of .001% per generation. How true this claim might be is up for debate, but Cawl has created Space Wolves successor chapters that haven't immediately turned into Wulfen so it may have some truth in it. It's also worth noting that Cawl did ''something'' to make the Primaris Marines physically incapable of turning traitor. Guilliman's internal monologue in Dark Imperium reveals that he considers it an impossibility for Primarines to turn, unlike "the old breed". This has interesting implications about whether or not the Primaris marines truly have free will.

As of recent fluff updates/leaks, the new organs are as follows.

# The '''Sinew Coils''' essentially modify the muscle strands and makeup of the Primaris Marines, buffing their pecs and biceps to the 10th degree. Whilst one would assume it would resemble something from [[Wat|Inspector Gadget's coil legs]], the truth is....[[Derp|it is pretty much like that in function.]] These are reinforced coil-cables made of durable supermetals that are capable of contracting with incredible strength, making Primaris stronger and tougher than others. Even outside of their power armor, swinging a sword at a Primaris might just bounce off his hot and sweaty muscles because of these coil cables, and it amplifies his strength to the point where he can crush a human skull with his bare hands or bite through metal cable like it were jerky.
# The '''Magnificat''' may sound a [[Derp|bit lame,]] but its function is actually what makes the Primaris 'bigger, better, faster and stronger' then regular Astartes. It produces a mix of hormones that greatly enhance the effects of all of the other genetically engineered organs that float around in the Primaris. So every Primaris gets more bang for his genetic buck. Intriguingly, it's stated to be only half of another super-organ dubbed the '''Immortis Gland''' originally made for the Primarchs, but Cawl was only able to find the materials and genetic blueprints needed to make the right half; the information needed to make the left half had seemingly been erased. The function of the complete Immortis Gland is unknown, but given that its other name is "The God-Maker" and the fact that only the Primarchs are known to have the organ, it stands to follow that it is likely what amplifies their abilities to the level of demigods.
# The '''Belisarian Furnace''' is an organ that is named after [[Belisarius Cawl|the Galaxy's least humble Archmagos.]] This one is a last-chance fail-safe kind of thing. The Belisarian Furnace is an organ that activates when a Primaris is on death’s door, giving them a great burst of super-adrenaline (not the actual term), but helping to keep them alive even at great cost, so that a Primaris can take out as many of the enemy as possible even as his flesh and bone rapidly regrow themselves. This allows fan-fic writers to create Hollywood-esque 'final pushes' without making it look stupid, which should make for some amazing last stands. It also appears to be vital for the Rubicon Primaris procedure intended to convert existing Space Marines into Primaris Space Marines, as the procedure temporarily kills the subject in its current form.

===Implantation===
Not everyone is compatible with implantation; potential candidates are screened for tissue compatibility, and kept young, as being post-pubescent has a marked increase in the tissue rejection rate (and being actually ''elderly'' makes it even worse); even so, not all candidates survive the implantation process. The Great Crusade era had inductees from a variety of ages, possibly because there were more resources, candidates, and understanding of the tech to compensate for failure rates. Back then a one-in-two success after screening was considered pretty good. Those days the screening is insanely brutal amongst Loyalist chapters, with most aspirants dying before being even considered for implantation, but the success rate is accordingly much higher. Youths are also still preferred post-Heresy as they are easier to mould and condition into loyal Marines than teens or young adults.

One of the most obvious limits of their design is that the Emperor never solved the problem of making them compatible with female hosts (although some argue that this was deliberate as a way of ensuring that Space Marines could not breed true, nobody can be entirely sure), so the very first screening step is usually by sex. Furthermore, not all organs can be implanted at once, as some prepare the body for others, and the body needs time to adapt to and accept the implants. The maximum speed process has been described in the fluff as taking around 6 years and assuming the soon-to-be Marine will be a Primaris is:

# If you are the Space Wolves, the Canis Helix.
# Secondary Heart, Ossmodula (bone growth), and Biscopea (muscle growth).
# Sinew Coils (tendon/ligament reinforcement), Magnificat (enhances all other geneseed organs), and Belisarean Furnace (combat stimms, attaches to hearts).
# Haemastamen (improved red blood cells) and Larraman's Organ (improved platelets).
# Catalepsean Node (brain implant: sleep like a dolphin).
#*If this is an actual Space Marine, begin hypnotherapy/brainwashing only ''after'' this implant.
# Preomnor (gullet), Omophagea (flatworm stomach), and Multi-lung (third lung).
# Occulobe (improved visual cortex).
# Lyman's Ear (replacement outer, middle, and inner ear).
# Sus-an Membrane (brain implant: self-induce coma).
# Melanochrome (lymph implant for radiation resistance).
# Oolitic Kidney (enhanced liver/kidney) and Neuroglottis (improved inner nose).
# Mucranoid (secretable space suit).
# Betcher's Gland (extremely acidic saliva).
# Both Progenoids (for reproduction).
# Black Carapace (for improved power armour compatibility).

The largest time gap between implants is between the Betcher Glands and the two last ones on the list, and by that time the Marine already serves as a Scout. Once he is deemed physically and mentally ready, he will recieve the Progenoids and the Black Carapace that turns him into a full-fledged (Primaris) Marine.

The Rubicon Primaris most likely entails the implantation of the three Primaris gene-seed organs past the normal time that gene-seed would normally be implanted, though the specific order of implanting in this scenario is currently unknown.

===Tabletop Effect===
Most of the organs have no visible effect in the game, at least if the in-game rules are an indication; here are how the organs seemingly manifest (or not). For some reason, Space Marines aren't any faster at running than an unaugmented human and are slower than fast humans, such as Sisters of Silence. Most likely, this lack of impact is either for balance purposes or because it can't be properly represented using in-game means.

*Has an effect, at least in aggregate:
**Secondary Heart, Ossmodula, Biscopea, Haemastamen, Larraman's Organ, Multi-Lung, Oolitic Kidney, Mucranoid: +1 Strength and Toughness, relative to a normal human.
**Sinew Coils, Magnificat, Belisarean Furnace: +1 Wound and Attacks.
**Catalepsean Node + Hypnotherapy: And They Shall Know No Fear, +1 Ld.
**Progenoids: These are given as the reason an Apothecary loses his turn if he fails a resurrection roll, as he is busy collecting them.
*Effects limited to fluff:
**Occulobe: Mostly ignored; with or without his helmet on, most Space Marine's vision is never considered any better than an unaugmented humans, even when distance or lack of light are explicitly causing vision problems. It may however be a reason why some Space Wolves get the 'acute senses' rule.
**Lyman's Ear: Demonstrably ignored under the 8th edition rules; Space Marines behave exactly like unaugmented humans when exposed to sonic weaponry, when needing to notice things they can't see, or when in need of balance. In previous editions, this would presumably have contributed to a higher Initiative stat.
**Neuroglottis: As noted above with the Lyman's Ear, as this would predominantly serve to supplement that, given some tabletop rule for Space Marines actually having improved senses which only the Space Wolves have.
**Melanochrome: Demonstrably ignored; Space Marines respond to photonic radiation (usually provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus) exactly like unaugmented humans do.
**Black Carapace: Demonstrably ignored; many human factions have access to Power Armour, particularly Sisters of Battle, and none have ever been shown to be even slightly more encumbered by Power Armour than Space Marines are.
**Preomnor, Omophagea, Sus-an Membrane, Mucranoid, Betcher's Gland: These have no in-game effect, but would typically not be expected to, as a Space Marine with his suit on and participating in a battle would not have call to use them, although the Betcher's Gland could be implemented as a very, very short range weapon, in principle.
*Alternate Take: The Occulobe, Lyman's Ear, and Neuroglottis could grant the +1 Initiative marines enjoy(ed prior to 8th). The Melanchrome also likely adds to toughness.

== Gene-seed vs. Genetic Engineering ==

A lot of people (including, it must be admitted, Games Workshop itself) often think of gene-seed as a genetic modification program, but this is inaccurate. Gene-seed does fall under the blanket of [[Fleshcrafting|"bio-enhancement" or "bio-engineering"]]—that is, the augmentation of the physical form. However, gene-seed is based on the physical implantation of artificially designed and engineered organs, whereas genetic engineering would modify the DNA of the aspirants to naturally develop the various traits. In essence, Space Marines are what [[Rifts]] would call "bio-borgs": organisms biologically modified by artificial biological implants. Fleshy cyborgs, essentially. This is an important difference, as it allows the Space Marines to wriggle around that pesky "thou shalt not modify the holy human form" law of the Imperium. From a genetic standpoint, a Space Marine is probably closer to human than most [[abhuman]]s are, and so they fulfill the letter of the law (if not its spirit - but hey, the Emperor made the rules, so he can break them as much as he wants, 'cause he's the motherfucking Emperor). It also has the side effect of making sure that Astartes can't breed true-ish (assuming they can breed, a point GW can't ever make up their minds on, any children they had would be more likely compatible for geneseed then a baseline human but by themselves would not be space marines, just more likely to be able to be), and thus will always have to rely on baseline humanity rather than replace it, just in case they start getting too big for their transhuman britches.

*'''Note:''' Like Mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), the implanted organs carry ''their own DNA'', cloned from the Primarchs, thus turning the marines into [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)#Humans chimeric humans]. So yes indeed, bio-borgs, but ones that show characteristics of DNA foreign to the host's body. Example: is there a specific organ that gave Sigismund "a patrician face that echoed the same austere lines as his liege lord, Rogal Dorn"? Let us be reminded, Sig was terran, and Dorn grew up on another planet (he was made by the Emperor in a Petri dish, does that count as being born on Terra too?). Who knows what he looked like when he was mortal, he now looks like a son of Dorn. In fact, most Astartes end up looking similar to their parent Primarchs, like Horus "little Horus" Aximand looking like Horus "fucking Horus" Lupercal. Of course, this is because GW thinks it is bioengineering, but at least it's "Human Chimeras" instead of "Humans with [[Space Wolves|furry creatures]]", that'd be Heresy, right Emps?
**<span style='color:gold;font-size:300%'>'''RIGHT'''</span>
**As it happens, for Sigismund, the answer is yes—the Ossmodula would alter the shape of his skull, and the Biscopea the arrangement of his facial muscles—but the fact remains that GW routinely treats gene-seed as if it were gene therapy, rather than implants.
**This cloned DNA is also why every body freaks out over gene seed stocks from the fallen primarchs in case there geneeseed has some flaw that increased it's sustainability to chaos.

== The Tithe and New Foundings ==

As part of the deal in Guilliman's [[Codex Astartes]], the Astartes were afforded almost complete autonomy from the [[Administratum]], which means they don't have to pay Imperial Taxes '''except''' for a tithe of 5% of their gene-seed which they must send to Mars.

This has a few important purposes:
# To monitor the genetic purity of the Space Marine Chapter as a whole and make certain a chapter is not suffering heretical mutations.
# To create new foundings of Space Marines whenever the High Lords of Terra deem it appropriate to do so.
# To act as an emergency reserve of gene-seed in the unlikely event that the Chapter's existing gene-seed stocks are lost or tainted.

Note that even though the Adeptus Mechanicum will have stockpiles of a chapter's genetic material, it is not frequently used as a contingency for a space marine chapter if things get a bit hairy. Several times in the fluff a Chapter has faced extinction due to high losses ''(see [[Black Consuls]], [[Celestial Lions]], [[Lamenters]], [[Marines Errant]], [[Scythes of the Emperor]] yadda yadda yadda)'' but they'd never thought to ask Mars for their gene-seed back. The only known instance of it happening is in the 8th Edition Death Guard Codex, where the [[Minotaurs]] were forced to undergo a mission to Mars when a Death Guard assault on their fortress-monastery resulted in the poisoning of their gene-seed stocks, but the Minotuars are basically the High Lords personal beat stick against other marines so perhaps this is special treatment.

It's also a bit uncertain how chapters with particularly negative defects manage to keep their genetic condition concealed, if the government has access to their core materials. [[Black Dragons|Some chapters]] get around it by sending only the "purest" gene-seed to Mars and so come out of the inspection smelling of roses, but when the condition is widespread (as it is with the [[Blood Angels]]) it probably only highlights how little the Mechanicus actually understand about the Emperor's work. (Things might perhaps change now that [[Belisarius Cawl|Cawl]] is back, though.)

It's also important to note that each chapter's gene-seed is kept in isolation. i.e: Just because a chapter claims ''descent'' from the [[Ultramarines]] does not actually make their gene-seed the same as their forefather. It's basic evolutionary biology that when a population splits and develops elsewhere it starts forming its own traits advantageous to its circumstances and environment. Hence the [[Mortifactors]] gene-seed will largely be very different from the [[Howling Griffons]], despite sharing a common ancestor. So rather than being genetic "brothers" as they would be ''within'' a chapter, different Space Marine chapters sharing a lineage would be more like nephews or cousins.

When the time comes around to found new chapters, the adepts will look for favourable traits that they want to replicate, although the Ultramarines are cited as being the most utilised source for new foundings, thus any new chapter of Ultramarine descendants would likely be second generation Ultramarines and be quite close to their forefather genetically at least until the chapter adapted to its founding homeworld or particular circumstances. But that doesn't prevent those descendants themselves from being used as templates in later foundings, so after several generations you could end up with something completely different from the original baseline stock.

== Mutation ==

As each new set of gene-seed comes from a Space Marine, requires many years to mature, and many more to be used, there is a lot of room for things to go wrong. This is especially true when desperate circumstances (the impending [[Great Crusade]], or a Chapter being dangerously under-strength) cause Space Marines to skimp on the safety checks and wait periods in order to accelerate Chapter growth. Over the millennia, many flaws have found their way into into the gene-seeds of each Legion, and some of their successors have even more - mutations typically get worse as you make copies of copies. Further mutations have been introduced, of course, in foundings featuring heavy tampering by the Adeptus Mechanicus (see the discussion of the 21st founding, below).
Also one should bear in mind that Legions and Primarchs were artificially engineered to fill different niches, so some of these might be not acquired mutations, but deliberately added quirks to better fit in their roles.
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
===No Known Mutations===
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
==== Alpha Legion ====
{{Main|Alpha Legion}}
<s>No such Legion exists, therefore no such gene-seed exists.</s>
*Were you really expecting ''known'' mutations, or anything else, from this Legion???

In all seriousness; like much of the Alpha Legion, we don't know all that much about their gene-seed. Whatever idiosyncrasies or flaws they have are kept under very tight lock and key. And with their nature of running as individual operatives in and out of the [[Eye of Terror]], to what degree their gene-seed is tainted by the Warp or other means varies from Marine to Marine. Though their knack for secrecy, paranoia, and tendency to subvert the enemy instead of direct combat is probably a notable trait. Outside of occasional Warp-corruption, we ''assume'' it's possibly one of the most stable gene-seeds, probably as much as the Imperial Fists or Night Lords. Something of note; they often use any mutations that they have as a scare tactic, hiding them and then revealing them on the battlefield in order to shock the opponent.
They also use hypnosis and deep-indoctrination more than other chapters, so they may have an altered sus-an and/or catelapsean.
Sometimes it's implied they all look alike (like Alpharius) but sometimes this is said to be due to ''surgical'' alterations, but it could be that the gene-seed does more to alter their appearance than normal, like the Sons of Horus.

==== Dark Angels ====
{{Main|Dark Angels}}
No defects, unless you consider their <s>rampant paranoia and secrecy</s> STAUNCH LOYALTY AND HONOUR as such. Ties with Ultramarines for "most stable source", so the limited number of Dark Angels successors is usually put down as the [[Inquisition]]'s limited knowledge of the [[Fallen Angels]]. That and the fact that due to successor chapters often working with/take orders from the Dark Angels has lead to the Inquisition to fear the Angels and successors to be <s>"[[Astral Claws|legion building]]"</s> THE MOST LOYAL CHAPTERS DUE TO THE PURITY OF THEIR GENE SEED. Although that would be more credible if they had ever been anything less than a Legion.

==== Death Guard ====
{{Main|Death Guard}}
*Emphasis here is on ''known'' mutations - there's no actual evidence of Death Guard gene-seed having any problems at all, because we've never gotten any fluff covering any attempts to use the gene-seed from a Death Guard, even though one would assume they'd have the most deeply fucked up Progenoids of any Legion.

Pre-heresy, the Death Guard had a much stronger constitution than most Legions, leading to their role as the toxic environment specialists. Post-heresy, however, the Death Guard are so diseased that implanting Aspirants seems more or less impossible - however, there have been new Death Guard legionaries who are not defectors from other Legions or renegade Chapters, apparently made with the gene-seed reclaimed by the [[Plague Surgeon]]s. How it functions still, no one knows, though we suspect it has something to do with [[Nurgle]] and that he has necromantic powers of sorts, who can raise his fallen disciples back from the dead.

The most overwhelmingly likely explanation is, however, the Death Guard simply jacking loyalist gene-seed from fallen loyalist astartes and loyalist gene-seed stockpiles and using it to create new recruits, as '''every single Traitor Legion with tainted, unusable geneseed does this.'''

==== Iron Hands ====
{{Main|Iron Hands}}
* ''No defects.''
* Noted predilection towards machinery and a disdain towards flesh.

And just to make sure, if there are any, they follow the Bible's advice on offending organs and replace them with holy machinery instead. Would probably be a very desirable source for new chapters if not for the absolute devastation they suffered in the [[Drop Site Massacre]] leaving them barely recovered millennia later and needing all the gene-seed they can get for themselves. Because, you know, even though there has been more than enough time for more than twenty other foundings of whole, brand new chapters, and some of those foundings likely making new foundings of their own, the Iron Hands still haven't had enough time. It also doesn't help how they tend to be total pricks at times.

Alternate take: You need causalities that don't destroy the body entirely to harvest geneseed, or you need to implant it into clones, both of which are unlikely for a chapter that uses augmentations with power supplies that explode like melta bomb and that abhors even the organic parts of their own servitors. No new gene-seed, no new mutations.

==== Ultramarines ====
{{Main|Ultramarines}}
*''No official defects.'' Considered the most stable and preferred source of gene-seed for new Foundings.
**Due to a lack of any real interesting or identifying traits in and of itself, discussions for reclassifying the Ultramarine gene-seed from the most stable source to the most generic source were in the works. These talks were surreptitiously shut down by [[Who Watches Them|Inquisitor Warden]] for offending his sensibilities.
**Also worth noting is that the Ultramarines, in one of their bro-iest moves, "adopted" a fair number of loyalists from traitor legions after the heresy. There is no real way of telling if an Ultramarines "successor" might be from the relatively stable stock of World Eaters or Iron Warriors. In most cases only a single high-ranking [[Belisarius Cawl|archmagos]] knows the truth, so even the chapter itself (except possibly the command and the eldest brothers) is in the dark about its history.

==== White Scars ====
{{Main|White Scars}}
* ''No noted defects.''
** Tendency to do whatever they fancy.
** Unrestrained love towards doing strange things to engines buffing their bikes and battleships to ride into battle while riding into battle.
** Mongolians, but this just makes them better.

Possibly corrupted slightly, due to them fighting the [[Dark Eldar]] for so long, that there HAS to be some sex/hybrids in there SOMEWHERE. Don't even ask about the White Scars prisoners in [[Commorragh]].

==== World Eaters ====
{{Main|World Eaters}}
I know what you're thinking, but it's caused by an additional cybernetic implant - the ''Butcher's Nails'' - rather than anything in the gene-seed itself. While not ''technically'' part of their gene-seed, it has been carried on as a tradition by all the "successors" that resulted from the Legion's fracturing after the [[Battle of Skalathrax]]. Hell, they were known to be total bros before all the trouble with nails. And now they are little more than [[Kharn|Teamkilling Fucktards]].
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

===Minor Mutations===
These chapters may have cosmetic or easily-fixed mutations.
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
==== Emperor's Children ====
{{Main|Emperor's Children}}
*Implicitly defective and/or enhanced Lyman's Ear, and possibly Occulobe and Neuroglottis.
**An accident during the early days of the raising the Legions resulted in only two hundred Space Marines of the III Legion by the time the Emperor found [[Fulgrim]] and Chemos, forcing the Emperor's Children to work alongside the [[Black Legion|Luna Wolves]] for the early decades of the Great Crusade; due to Fulgrim's high standards of perfection being passed on the Legion's [[Apothecary|apothecaries]], Emperor's Children Aspirants had to be nothing less than physically perfect, resulting a largely stable gene-seed, including forbidding psykers to join the ranks. By the 41st millennium, however, the Emperor's Children's gene-seed is fucked up beyond all reason. Millennia of drugs from both inside and outside the Warp have damaged it greatly. While the relatively few sane [[tech-priests]] left and [[Dark Mechanicus]] working with them can and do make new Marines (thus proving their Marines can and do make new gene-seed), the chemical and other material abuse render each generation even crazier. Even before the Heresy, they were more sensitive to external stimuli, like sound, implying a defective Lyman's Ear with reduced ability to filter out sounds the Marine doesn't want to hear, and potentially similarly defective Occulobe and Neuroglottis.
*Initially gene-seed was corrupted and produced super-cancer at some point, but after Fulgrim's return the rotten batch was discontinued.

==== Iron Warriors====
{{Main|Iron Warriors}}
* Implicitly defective Ossmodula, but implicitly enhanced Progenoids:
** They have the lowest gene-seed rejection rate, which enabled them to replenish their huge number of casualties with an even higher number of recruits.
** Minor Ossmodula mutation ''sometimes'' causes limbs to twist and deform as the marine grows really old (we're talking hundreds of years to millennia) - this is usually dealt with by replacing limbs with bionics, or cutting them off and placing the cripple into a Dreadnought, Helbrute, or some weird custom made dreadnought-esque walker, since due to their specialty and organization only high-ranking officers can survive for so long, and they surely ain't going to suffer from the "Crazed" rule.

Especially noteworthy for the Iron Warriors considering they reside in the Eye Of Terror, there has been little mutation in their gene-seed as well. Those that do suffer mutation simply replace their mutated limbs with cybernetics. However, there may be some unknown issue which caused them to be afflicted with the [[Obliterators|Obliterator Virus]] (or was it they who made it? It's been confirmed Perturabo and Mortarion worked together on the obliterator virus) More easily - the first ones originated from them.

However, this is rendered null by the fact they are the [[/d/|sick]] [[Honsou|fucks]] behind the [[Daemonculaba]]. Due to its nature, the women themselves may have the gene-seed organs implanted (among other things), or at least the DNA required to be able to quickly grow the organs into a child stuck in their wombs. While the poor, innocent, scared kid inside can become a skinless abomination/mutant, they will normally emerge a genetically stable, gene-seed uncorrupted [[grimdark|skinless adult SPHESS MAHREEN with the mind of that same scared child]]. Suffice to say, this is a sick way of getting to [[Female Space Marines|FEMALE SPHESS MAHREENS]], and is [[Extra Heresy|DOUBLE HERESY]].

==== Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus/Black Legion ====
{{Main|Black Legion}}
* Implicitly defective Ossmodula/Biscopea, causing cosmetic similarity.

No real defects, but the tendency for members to look more like their [[Horus|Primarch]] is more pronounced (and possibly more frequent) than it is for members of other legions to resemble their own respective Primarchs. "Little Horus" Aximand was the most notable example of this, but by no means the only one. This gives extra meaning to the "Sons of Horus" thing. In fact, before the Luna Wolves were renamed the Sons of Horus, Luna Wolves that resembled Horus in appearance were known as "Sons of Horus". Ten thousand years in the Eye of Terror has left the Legion's gene-seed more unstable. However, we do know that new Black Legionaries are inducted constantly (seeing as they are the primary generic Chaos Space Marines faction), so its a good bet a large part of theirs is still usable [[grimdark|and that generations of children for millennia to come will be torn away from their parents and families, unfortunate enough to live in the Eye Of Terror, to be inducted into the Legion.]] Furthermore, given that they frequently "recruit" from other chapters and legions with the only real requirement being loyalty to Abbadon, it's not always easy to tell which Black Legionnaires are descended from Horus and which are from other Primarchs, outside of the aforementioned lookalike business.

==== Night Lords ====
{{Main|Night Lords}}
The Night Lords are officially the most stable of the Traitor Legions, a trait often put down to the fact that they rarely dwell in the [[Eye of Terror]]. That, and they don't even like Chaos or the gods. What little mutations there are are usually upon their Sorcerers...what ones have survived do not have them anymore either. There is one defect on Curze's Geneseed, and that is the Occulobe defect, causing them to have black pupils & sclera, and astonishing sight in the dark, even more than a normal space marine. Although, there is a bad side of this effect: Light hurts their eyes like hell, and blinds them for a short time.
Also, Curze's gene-seed may have passed onto psykers within his Legion his "gift" of seeing the future in the worst way possible, and as scenarios that become self-fulfilling prophecies. In one case, it was found out that the Primarch's "gift" was actually the side effect of a marine's body slowly rejecting the gene-seed. Prior to receiving this gift, he never demonstrated '''any''' psychic capability. Even so, this situation is rare.

==== Salamanders ====
{{Main|Salamanders}}
* Unique Melanchromic Organ, causing their skin to simply always be black instead of waiting for radiation to happen to fix it, and glowing red eyes.
* Possibly altered Mucranoid - high degree of heat resistance.
* Possibly altered Biscopea or Lyman's Ear - tend to be somewhat slower than other marines, although sometimes it's blamed on the somewhat high gravity on Nocturne or the unusually methodical mindset of it's inhabitants, since they can still run at the same level as any other chapter. (Way back when, they had -1 Initiative.)
* Limited ability to see infrared emissions, referred to as "fire-sight". While not as potent as what an Auspex scanner would be capable of, it can be combined with specialized materials within armor and standards to produce decorations and tactical markings that only the Salamanders can see.

While slightly dysfunctional, their gene-seed is pretty stable. Would probably be, like the [[Iron Hands]], a common source of new chapters if not for, again, their extreme decimation during the [[Drop Site Massacre]]. They've since recovered, perhaps a little quicker than the Iron Hands (possibly due to being a little closer to the center and being able to evacuate more marines), and while they claim no official kinship with any successors, there are at least a couple of examples with similar unit markings and tactical dogma.

==== Word Bearers ====
{{Main|Word Bearers}}
* Implicitly defective Catalepsian Node.

The Word Bearers suffer a unique "quirk" in their gene-seed, resulting in a psychologically obsessive loyalty to something, be it a man, a religion, or even an ideal. The Word Bearers in turn thus have a much stronger sense of loyalty to their battle-brothers and Primarch than other Chaos Space Marines, helping them to maintain cohesion and avoid treachery, but this loyalty also borders on fanaticism. Otherwise, while given to some instabilities, they have been able to maintain strength.
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

===Major Mutations===
These Chapters feature at least one problem as least as bad as missing an entire organ, scaling up to the worst issue, where they go World Eaters-level crazy without needing any implants to get there (Blood Angels and Space Wolves).
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
==== Blood Angels ====
{{Main|Blood Angels}}
* Occasional bouts of temporary [[Rip and tear|bloodthirsty, genocidal rage]], otherwise known as the [[Red Thirst]].
** Occasional bouts of ''permanent'', [[Rip and tear|bloodthirsty, hallucinatory, genocidal rage]], better known as the [[Black Rage]].
* Extreme longevity.
Stable, but flawed. Prior to the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Sanguinius]] discovered that some of his sons were beginning to suffer the [[Red Thirst]], where they would descend into a thirst for blood, whether [[human]] or [[xenos]], in a blind rage. If that wasn't bad enough, as a result of Sanguinius's death at the hands of [[Horus]] imprinting itself on their genetic memory (or something), all Blood Angels and their successors have the [[Black Rage]]; a berserk rage where they [[Derp|believe themselves to be Sanguinius during his final battle]]. Meaning that he quite literally hit Sanguinius so hard that his grandchildren's-grandchildren's-ad-infinitum-children still feel it. Notable due to the age of the flaw it means that it does not register on genetic purity test since, as a first founding legion, any additional geneseed would be compared to an already 'tainted' baseline.

==== Imperial Fists ====
{{Main|Imperial Fists}}
* Missing Betcher's Gland (no acid spit).
* Missing Sus-an Membrane (no suspended animation).
* Possibly increased pain tolerance and/or a tendency towards masochism.

Despite missing two organs, the Imperial Fists gene-seed is considered to be amongst the most stable and most manly sources. It is the second most desirable source of gene-seed for Foundings. ''Second'' to the Ultramarines, of course.

==== Mantis Warriors ====
{{Main|Mantis Warriors}}
* A mutation with some similarities to the Blood Angel's Black Rage allows them to permanently enter a state called Battle Haze, which enhances their combat abilities at the cost of making them catatonic when they are not fighting.

==== Raven Guard ====
{{Main|Raven Guard}}
* Malfunctioning Melanchromic Organ (their skin is always pale and their eyes are always dark. Anti-Salamanders, basically.)
* Missing Mucranoid (no super-sweat).
* Missing Betcher's Gland (no acid spit).
* Occasional bouts of suicidal rage (Luckily for them this is not permanent unlike a certain other chapter.)

While their primary gene-seed is decently stable, when under extreme stress a percentage Raven Guard warriors will lapse into bouts of suicidal rage known as Ash Blindness or Sable Brand. This is rarely permanent, but occurred with enough frequency that [[Corax]] would organize these warriors into the [[Moritat]]. Their missing and malfunctioning geneseed organs is a result of [[Corax]], out of desperation following the [[Drop Site Massacre]], delving into use of forbidden lore and archeo-tech from days long past to accelerate gene-seed maturation, and try to boost his Legion's numbers after their losses during the [[Horus Heresy]]. He was successful, until the [[Alpha Legion]] decided to make the whole project go FUBAR. The subsequent 'Marines', if they can be called that, were numerous, but were barely controllable monsters and/or would simply die off as a result of the extreme imbalances in their dispositions. Presumably, a few of them would even have functioning Progenoids, let alone usable gene-seed. Due to the law of averages though, at least a FEW would have had to been stable enough, and is being worked on secretly by the Raven Guard Apothecaries and associated [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Mechanicus]] Biologicans.
Otherwise, despite being pretty fucked up by the [[Drop Site Massacre]], they've mostly recovered (thanks in no small part to having the ''only'' loyalist Primarch to get away from the Massacre in one piece) and do still contribute to successors [[Death Spectres|here]] and [[Raptors (Chapter)|there]].

==== Space Wolves ====
{{Main|Space Wolves}}
They actually have two different implanted DNA sources: the second is the [[Canis Helix]], which makes them viking werewolves (long canines, tough skin, awesome sense of smell, animalistic [[RAEG]] in combat) or, if one is really unfortunate, into an ordinary werewolf ([[Furry|the ones they ride at that]]), and their super-unstable geneseed, which can't function without pre-implanted Canis Helix and has been found to be incompatible with any populace outside of Fenris. For the most part, they get around this by just founding tons and tons more Space Wolves than the [[Codex Astartes]] would normally permit, meaning that they ''still'' tend to have tons of chapters' worth of marines on call. Of particular note are the [[Wulfen]], who are Space Wolves who happened to be in the Warp for over ten thousand years. Instead of being mutated into [[Chaos Spawn|unmentionable gribbly beasts]], they managed to turn into literal werewolves with savage strength, meaning there's a possibility the gene-seed has a factor that lets them resist the influence of Chaos.

While many factions within the chapter are proud of how "potent" their gene-seed is, plenty of Space Wolves have constantly labored to stabilize their genome in order to found successors to cordon off the [[Eye of Terror]], and crusade against the [[Thousand Sons]], a plan called "the Sons of Russ." Once, [[Wolf Brothers|they got really close]], which [[Magnus the Red]] didn't like, so he took his Marines and bumped off the Wolf Priest in charge (and generally wrecked things for the Space Wolves), using some [[Tzeentch|Tzeentchian]] trickery to get an opening. In short, he [[gets shit done|got shit done!]].

==== Thousand Sons ====
{{Main|Thousand Sons}}
* Increased chance of bringing out psychic powers, as well as amplified psychic power.
* Recipients subject to a high rate of mutation, called The Flesh Change; unstable.
The most unstable genome in the Space Marine legions, the Thousand Sons suffer from the Flesh-Change, a problem that caused Thousand Sons to mutate spontaneously. [[Magnus the Red]] fixed it, with some "[[Just as Planned|help]]" from [[Tzeentch]]. After the [[Horus Heresy]], the flesh-change came back with a vengeance. [[Ahzek Ahriman]] tried to fix it with his Rubric, and he did end up stopping the flesh-change... by turning all non-[[psyker]] Thousand Sons into dust; sorcerers also had their powers enhanced in addition to no longer suffering ill-effects from the Flesh-Change. So while theoretically, the Sorcerers of the long suffering Legion can provide gene-seed, in practice, it's corrupted so often that few will ever make new Marines. Thousand Sons specifically hunt for healthy and stable psyker boys to implant them with their oh-so-rare gene-seed to ensure the recipient would become a sorcerer. If "Masters, bidding!" TS character words to be trusted, Thousands Sons found a way to implant their progenoids into grown up men (so they can teach and test them for longer before implantation), and perform a scaled down Rubric on them to prevent the Flesh Change. According to Phil Kelly they also replenish their numbers by summoning back souls of destroyed Rubrics, and Magnus supposedly can bring back Sorcerers he isn't pissed off at, so gene-seed wouldn't matter much to them. It is known that Magnus the Red used his knowledge of Biomancy to turn his mentor Amon into an Astartes despite his old age, so its possible this technique was passed down to his Legion.

==== Blood Ravens ====
{{Main|Blood Ravens}}
* A mutated Catalepsean Node - gives them perfect memory recall, but unable to enter REM (deep) sleep.
* Increased chance of bringing out psychic powers.
* Unknown mutation that increases psychic ability and occurrences.
* Small tendency towards mutations (hurr sounds like [[Thousand Sons|any other Legions]] we know of?).
* Horrendously massive tendency to develop kleptomania.
* The pores in their scalps secrete a substance not all too dissimilar to hair gel, often resulting in a higher tendency to develop hair-etical hair compared to other chapters.
** Alternatively, the pores on their scalps may prevent hair from growing altogether, giving the marine Astartes-pattern baldness. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZfvIg_M5yE It has been long thought to be a terrible weapon to behold.]
* Unknown mutation referred to as "unavailable voice actor syndrome" that results in their voices changing every few years.
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

=== A Note On That Sick Fuck Fabius Bile ===

[[Fabius Bile]] is fucking insane. I mean shit, his labcoat is made of <strike>human</strike> ASTARTES skin - normally only [[Space Wolves]] and [[Night Lords]] wear clothing made of that stuff. While originally the Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, he is now a freelancer. His goal even before the Heresy was to find and unlock the secret to the creation of the Space Marines. In the [[Warp]], he provides a valuable service to the Chaos Legion warbands and their auxiliaries of billions more regular Chaos humans - while often millions strong even now, the warbands still need to replenish their numbers. Considering how many die and how often they are away from any place where they can produce more, that's a lot. Even with slave raiding into the Imperium, child abduction both in and out, breeding centers (stop touching yourself), and many [[Daemonculaba|other creative ideas]], it's still not enough. Fabius provides services of human cloning, along with gene-seed production, among his many skills. As he is not a super-devotee of Chaos, the gene-seed he has and makes is some of the least corrupted found within the [[Eye Of Terror]]. Of course, he fucks this all up by hopping up his own warband's clones with the same psycho drugs and shit that make monsters out of men. Lore hints that his genetic tinkering is far more than we have been lead to believe - much of his 'changes' to even the standard human genome are genetic and now passable by both men and [[Female Space Marines|women]]. Even now, the Imperium is trying to hunt and eradicate what they call his '[[Twilight|New Men]]'. He also has access to a small quantity of what is alleged to be the blood of the Primarch Sanguinius. Why did he get that last part? To clone the Emperor. Never let it be said that this fuck, sick as he may be, lacks ambition.
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

===21st Founding ===
{{Main|21st Founding}}
Over the millennia, further mutations have afflicted the many Successor Chapters, but the 21st or "Cursed" Founding deserves a special mention, because a bunch of [[Adeptus Mechanicus|tech-priests]] decided that they wanted to try and fix the flaws, but failed so hard they actually created some new ones.

* Bursting into Flames: Yes, the [[Flame Falcons]] really were covered in fire. The Flame Falcons thought it was a blessing from the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]], but the [[Inquisition]] disagreed, and sent the [[Grey Knights]] to wipe them out.
* Bone Growths: Due to a malfunctioning Ossmudula, the [[Black Dragons]] suffer a bone solid growth to harden and extend from their forehead and forearms during times of stress. The ones on the forearm can be used as weapons against unarmored opponents, so they decided to coat them in adamantium. So in essence, they're space-Wolverine-after-the-bone-claws kind of guys. Issue is that this is a very visible mutation, and as this is the [[Grimdark|grim]][[Derp|derp]] Imperium, mutations from the sacred human form are EVUL, even if they are fucking awesome.
* Indestructibility: The [[Sons of Antaeus]] are much tougher than normal marines, and nobody knows why. Some speculate something about a super-reinforced skeleton, some say it's [[Nurgle]]'s doing, etc. The only real truth to it is that there's some sort of mutation present in the gene-seed.
* Bad Luck: The [[Lamenters]] chapter's modifications seemed to have fixed the Red Thirst and Black Rage, but as a trade off they seem to be cursed with some of the worst possible luck, essentially giving up the Khornate Curse for a Tzeentchian one. Many other chapters of the 21st Founding were also cursed with bad luck but the Lamenters are the only known ones that didn't get wiped out by it so that may say something about how badass they are.
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

=== A Note On Implant Organs/DNA Elsewhere ===

While the SPHESS MAHREENS are the most widespread users of artificial glands, organs, and such, they are not the only ones. [[Inquisitor]]s likely have access to organs or other artificial mutations they require thanks to their influence in the Imperium. Depending on what world they hail from and its beliefs, Imperial Guard regiments and PDF may also have artificial organs, or even whole new ones derived from millennia of mutations, which of course has certain advantages. Furthermore, Warp Exposure can result in a change of the functions of organs - a simple example of this is the [[Cadia]]ns, who nearly universally have powerful, violet colored eyes. [[Gland War Veteran|Gland Warriors]] were an [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] project to help legions of Guardsmen heading into battle against a [[Tyranid]] hive fleet. They were to do battle in an incredibly toxic and hard environment, and a variety of experimental organs and DNA strands were utilized - including organs that would secrete stims, painkillers, and various medical drugs, more powerful natural air filters, and the like. While only [[grimdark|three survived]] the whole campaign in the end, the AdMech was pleased and took the three to be debriefed.

It is also noted that Gene-seed can be decoded, but it requires eons of knowledge about biology, medicine, and so on. Only the Emperor or AdMech, with their advanced equipment, is able to do so (and even the AdMech couldn't fully work it out). The hard part is to decode the "impossibly complex" amino acid chains of the gene-seed and extract the necessary information encoded within the Gland's stored zygotes. [[Thunder_Warriors|Arik Taranis]] was able to decode it in a dusty, old, half-broken lab using the knowledge gleaned by just watching the Emperor work, and remade it to fit in his Thunder Warrior body.
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Space Marines]]

Primaris Space Marines

2019-12-31T12:56:20Z

2601:1C0:5C00:C130:5F2:4FA5:C34C:B4C8: /* Potential Problems */

[[File:New40KPrimarisArt1.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Look out Chaos, there's a new kid on the block.]]
{{Topquote|They were forged for Mankind's darkest hour, and that hour is upon us.|[[Roboute Guilliman]]}}
{{Topquote|In a galaxy wreathed in darkness, we must be the light.|Unnamed Primaris Officer}}
{{Topquote|Today, we are canceling the apocalypse!|<strike>Marshal</strike> Senior Princep Stacker Pentecost, from the <strike>movie Pacific Rim</strike> Collegia Titanica}}

<s>True-Scale Space Marines</s> '''Primaris Space Marines''' (also known as Primaris Marines, Ultra-Ultramarines, Space Space Marines, Primarines, NuMarines, Chadmarines, [[Ultramarines: The Movie|The Greater-est of them all]], Adeptus Restartes, Gigglymarines, Super Space Marines, Biglymarines, Big League Marines, Space-marine Space-marine Space-Marines, 8thmarines, Bigmars, [[Stormcast Eternals|Spacesigmarines]], Guillimarines, Special Snowflake Marines, [[Mary Sue|Primarysues]], Ultra-Ultrasmurfs, [[Skub|Skubmarines]], Marines II: Electric Boogaloo, Tonka-Marines, [[Nob]]marines, the Replacements and the New Kids) are the next step forward in [[Space Marine]] evolution, not counting the [[Raptor]] Supermarines made by [[Corax]] during the [[Horus Heresy]] before [[Alpharius]] spiked the gene-tech with [[Daemon]] Blood.

[[Roboute Guilliman|Big Bobby G]] got together with [[Belisarius Cawl]] because [[Meme|each heard the other liked Space Marines, so they put more Astartes in their Astartes]], and the end result was this next generation of the Emperor's fearless defenders of humanity. They are bigger, stronger, tougher and maybe smarter than all that have come before them (big "maybe", though).

Buckle up boys, it's about to get hot and [[skub]]by in here.

==History and Background==
Shortly after the conclusion of the Horus Heresy, Guilliman predicted that another major Chaos attack on the Imperium might come at some point in the future. Though the Space Marines had proven themselves worthy defenders of Mankind, the Primarch foresaw that there might be a time where even they would struggle against the onslaught of the Ruinous Powers - [[Derp|because Roboute himself broke Legions in chapters]], and those tend to have problems fighting Black Crusades against ''hundreds of thousands'' CSM (the reason why Dorn declined Codex Astartes at first, being one of the few after the Scouring to suppose the Traitor Legions may be back one day). But nowadays it turns out Guilliman knew about it as well - which makes the whole situation awkward to say the least.

Ahem, in a frankly extreme show of [[just as planned]] (though Guilliman probably didn't plan to be made Fulgrim's bitch), our [[Spiritual Liege]] gained the aid of Archmagos Belisarius Cawl and began a program to create a new, superior form of Space Marines in secret over the next ten millennia. To assist him, Guilliman gave Cawl a relic called the Sangprimus Portum- a device containing the purest samples of each Primarch's [[/d/|genetic material]] that outstripped even the gene-seed in its potency.

Even after he was poisoned by [[Fulgrim]], Guilliman's plan continued without anybody learning about it, and by the time of his revival, Primaris Marines were ready to be unveiled to the Imperium - the only thing needed was a sanction from the Primarch himself.

In conjunction with the [[Ultima Founding]], there are now going to be entirely new chapters composed just of Primaris Marines as well, with some taking over the [[Fortress-Monastery|fortress-monasteries]] of extinct chapters. In addition many chapters devastated by recent conflicts are also being reinforced by the Primaris joining their ranks. Some to the point that they essentially become Primaris chapters with the original marines becoming a minority in the ranks.

Standard marines can also be "transformed" into Primaris Marines. The first revealed to have gone through with this procedure was [[Marneus Calgar]]. However, the process, dubbed the "Rubicon Primaris" is also agonizing even by Space Marine standards, very difficult (the description of it we have for when Marneus Calgar went through it has his entire body sliced open and briefly killed him in the process- they had to jump-start his heart to revive him afterwards), and according to Cawl himself it has a 61.6% chance of failure until Cawl had enough data to refine the process. By and large, it's indisputably easier to make new Primaris from scratch rather than convert old marines, so expect the procedure to be mostly restricted to special characters with the necessary plot armor to survive it.

The introduction of the Primaris marines and the Rubicon Primaris has been controversially received by the current space marine chapters across the Imperium, with opinions ranging from enthusiastic to full-on hostility - Guilliman himself has referred to the Primaris as "Cawl's blasphemous hordes", not because he himself is distasteful of them (quite the opposite, in fact), but as a reference to how controversial their implementation has been to the wider Imperium. Some claim that the Primaris would be the end of many chapters' traditions and character (which isn’t meta at all) and is against what the Emperor intended for the Astartes. Others claim they will breathe new life into many struggling chapters and an ailing Imperium.

==New Stuff==
*The basic Primaris Marine is encased in [[Power Armour#Mark X: Tacticus Armour|Mark X Tacticus Armour]]. Basically, it's the best of all the suits that came before it, wrapped up into one convenient package; no [[Beakie]] schnozz (note: Shrike’s new armor has a Beakie helmet, and the Raven Guard upgrade kit includes one as well), but it's got that sweet Maximus style vox grill. As usual, mechanically this is entirely cosmetic.
**[[Primarch#Two_Missing_Primarchs|We don't talk about Mark IX Power Armour]].
**Bigger, tougher Primaris Marines wear [[Power_Armour#Mark_X:_Gravis_Armour|Mark X Gravis Armour]]. As of 8E, this translates to +1T and +1W. Shiny. Comes with bodybuilder belly armour.
**Reivers and Vanguard Primaris Marines wear [[Power Armour#Mark X: Phobos Armour|Mark X Phobos Armour]], sleeker-looking, with <strike>crocs, capris, and</strike> skull-faced helmets for the Reivers. The other guys have helmets somewhat similar to the Mark VII Armor.
**Suppressors wear Mark X Omnis Armor, which combines elements of the Tacitus Armor and the Inceptor's version of the Gravis Armor.
*They wield the [[Bolt#Bolt Rifle|Mark II Cawl-pattern Bolt rifle]] as their standard firearm. Apparently a "perfected" version of the ubiquitous bolter, it does have an improved statline - 30" Rapid Fire 1 S4 AP-1 D1 - which appears to be a boltgun with an extended barrel.
**Its statline is one AP worse than the new "Special Issue Boltgun" Sternguard carry, but their big selling point is some combination of being cheaper/easier to manufacture and using more readily available/cheaper/easier to manufacture ammunition, reflected in their points cost - bolt rifles are the same gun for 3 points cheaper in 8E.
**At least two variants of Bolt Rifle exist- the Auto Bolt Rifle, which has lower AP and shorter ranges but offers greater mobility and rate of fire due to being Assault 3, and the Stalker Bolt Rifle, a Heavy 1 sniper variant with superior range and one extra point of AP and damage.
*An enhanced [[gene-seed]], which was created by combining the purified genetic material of the Loyalist Primarchs with parts of the [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodes]] creation process (as they don't have gene-seed) that adds 3 more organs to the existing 19. It's also worth noting that Cawl did something to make the Primaris Marines physically incapable of turning traitor. Guilliman's internal monologue in Dark Imperium reveals that he considers it an impossibility for Primarines to turn, unlike "the old breed". Even though he is against the use of genes from the traitor legions despite the extreme heroics of the loyalists of those legions. Which is seriously a dick move (but probably won't stop Cawl either way). This has interesting implications about whether or not the Primaris marines truly have free will, assuming that they truly are unable to fall to Chaos- it is just as likely that they haven't been active long enough for any corruption to take hold yet. The book War of Secrets heavily implies they have some kind of innate Chaos resistance, being immune to a psychic plague that infested other Space Marines.
**The new organs are:
***'''Sinew Coils''', which turn the Primaris Marines into [[Wat|Inspector Gadget]]....okay, we may be joking here, but it's basically metallic coils wrapped around the Marine's tendons and ligaments that can contract with extreme force.
****This is particularly interesting, as it's not actually a living organ, and hence is presumably not developed from gene-seed at all (Actually, in the book "Dark Imperium: Plague War" Guy Haley describes them as a "network of supplementary muscles unique to the Primaris Marines". So maybe they are a real organic implant and not a bionic one. Who knows because, for example, the Dark Imperium books also contradicts the 8th Edition Codices about the original primaris haven't been recruited from the original legiones homeworlds. So what we could have here is just another classic case of author messing up the fluff again as it is described as metallic in most other publications).
***'''The Magnificat''', which just sets the rest of the superhuman organs into overdrive (and is itself part of a super-organ dubbed the '''Immortis Gland''' intended for Primarchs, though the information needed to complete it is lost), as well as producing additional growth hormone.
***'''Belisarian Furnace''' (because Cawl gets a robo-boner for naming things after himself), essentially a 'last-stand' organ, which gives a Primaris Marine a supercharged adrenaline rush near death while triggering rapid tissue and bone regeneration. This presumably explains the additional Wound they have.
****The organ also happens to be essential in the implementation of the Rubicon Primaris. The current procedure apparently kills the patient for a short while and the organs healing abilities is essential in reviving the patient post operation (at least that is what occured in Marneus Calgars case) assuming that they come back alive at all.

==Potential Problems==
* Primaris marines were made from all extant Loyalist genelines, and thanks to the material made available to [[Belisarius Cawl]] through the Sangprimus Portum, show little to none of the idiosyncrasies that usually mark the bloodlines of [[Space Wolves|Russ]] and [[Blood Angels|Sanguinius]]. Not only that, but according to an (admittedly biased) in-universe source, there's only a .001% chance of genetic deviation per generation, which means that the Primaris genestock are incredibly stable as well. Interestingly, thanks to Cawl's work Chapters that have lost organs through the centuries (like the [[Imperial Fists]]) or have malfunctioning organs (like the [[Raven Guard]]) all of a sudden have a complete set of organs thanks to the influx of new Primaris blood.
** This means of course that Chapters like the [[Space Wolves]], who due to the same quirks of their genetics were unable to ''have'' successors, [[Wolfspear|can now have them]], without fear of them devolving into [[Wulfen]] in one generation (though they can still be affected by its bestial rage). Despite this stability, some people (see [[Flesh Tearers|Gabriel Seth]]) aren't too happy at this flagrant tinkering with the Emperor's work. Despite the fact the Primarchs and Astartes were created by teams of gene-smiths and the Emperor acted more like a project leader than personal inventor. The memories from one of the major head guys of said projects and creator of the black carapace, Ezekiel Sedayne, got grafted into cawl's brain. So everything should be fine... right? What could go wrong?
** It's worth noting that in the '''Kill Team Focus: The Adeptus Astartes''', [[Black Dragons]] Reivers with bone mutations are mentioned. Maybe this is due to the purposeful mutation farming by the Black Dragons, or maybe the mutation rate is higher than Daddy Cawl cares to admit. That said, it's been 100 years since the Ultima Founding, and chapters can, presumably, create their own Primaris Marines, not to mention the AdMech were the ones who (unintentionally) gave them their specific mutation in the first place, so maybe Cawl's fucking around with them or [[heresy|he purposefully gave their Primaris the same mutation]]. Wouldn't be the first time an engineer went "It's not a bug, it's a feature!" They might also have been Marines who followed in Calgar's footsteps and became Primaris.
** The update to the [[Blood Angels]] confirms this, with the appearance of [[Death Company]] [[Intercessor|Intercessors]]. We know Dante's going to be disappointed at that, for sure, though Gabe will probably be smug at this.
* Cawl’s work isn’t always perfect, and his arrogance gives him a tendency to overreach. This is exemplified in Alpha Primus, the first and prototype Primaris Marine, who seems to be Cawl’s heretical attempt at making his own Primarch (see the Magnificat, above), or at least something on roughly the same power level. He’s so giant that he towers over even other Primaris, is an extremely powerful psyker, and is described as “more gifted” than any other Astartes... He also exists in a constant state of pain, both physical and mental, which gives him a personality that Marvin the Paranoid Android would find tedious, and he’s nominally considered a failure. He even has a stitched-together face to reinforce the parallels with Frankenstein’s Monster (the original, highly intelligent but extremely emo one). Cawl ended up keeping him around as a servant and bodyguard. Whether the Primaris as a whole will eventually turn out to be a more subtle example of Cawl’s overreach is an open question.
* Despite being bigger and stronger than "regular" Astartes, what the Primaris initially lacked was actual battlefield experience (a fact bemoaned by Captain Felix of the [[Ultramarines]] in ''Dark Imperium'' to have been the cause of most of the initial losses to the Primaris). While this has been mostly been offset by the long and hard Indomitus Crusade campaign, even after a hundred-odd years of war the average Primaris marine is looked upon as a relative greenhorn by regular Astartes veterans. They have a lot to prove to their adopted Chapters as a result.
** We get little hints of this having to prove themselves goodness in the Dark Angels codex. A group of Hellblasters are half put off, half inspired by the strictness of their primogenitor. After the squad gets trapped in a hive city for days fighting off enemies, they rack up so many kills even Belial can't help but smile.
*The Dark Angel example above illustrates another problem: how well will the new Primaris Marines get along with their chapter? The Dark Angels are an extreme example given their <s>issues</s> UNSWERVING LOYALTY TO THE IMPERIUM, but other chapters may have their own problems getting the first couple batches of Primaris marines to get with the traditions and cultures of their chapters. The Space Wolves were mentioned as being similar, as some of the Wolf Lords initially questioned the worth of those not born on Fenris to be called sons of Leman Russ, despite the Legion’s recruitment practices prior to finding its Primarch and their extensive achievments during that period. In spite of their misgivings and claims that Guilliman was using them to dilute their traditions, Logan Grimnar ordered that they be integrated into the packs; however, rivalries between Primaris Space Wolves and their shorter counterparts are still common. At least papa wolf doesn’t take shit and accepts whatever helps protect humanity.
**As the Primaris have no Terminators ([[skub|Aggressors are debatable]]) or Biker units or any real equivalents. (Yet, if GW thought that far ahead.) I.e. Hellblasters and Inceptors can be deployed in place of Sternguard and Vanguard Veterans in other chapters. With the exception of Primaris Librarians, induction into the Inner Circle or the upper ranks of the Ravenwing is unlikely, at least until some time passes. Or in fluff they might end up being added without specialized vehicles and the size issue could he handwaived. There are also rumors of Primaris getting actual Terminators and Bikers "soon". Though it's best to take them with a grain of salt as they've been around since Primaris Marines were announced for Dark Angels.
*Chaos will be interested in the Primaris Marines. The [[Chaos Gods]] are not happy with the existence of the Primaris Marines, and are creating some warp charged warriors to counter them (enhanced Chosen, perhaps). [[Fabius Bile|Fabulous Bill]] became obsessed with "perfecting" the Primaris Marines from the moment he first encountered them and has already begun trying to kidnap Primaris Marines for dissection. They've supposedly been made resistant to Chaos influence, but "resistant" doesn't mean "immune" by a long shot, since they still have a soul. In fact a [[Noxious Blightbringer]] is able to effect them in Dark Imperium, successfully hurting and trying to get them to turn. And come to think of it, the cover image of 8th Edition does seem to partially show a [[Plague Marine]] in Tacitus armor...
**The discovery that Cawl wanted to use Traitor Legion gene-seed as well as the gene-seed of the missing legions to make Primaris Marines doesn't help the matter; Guilliman refused to let him do so, but he has a feeling Cawl will try it anyway with predictable results.
***Cawl claims that it was only due to the influence of the traitorous Primarchs that their Legions fell to Chaos. While this may be true, attempting to test that theory would almost certainly be an extremely bad idea.
****The [[Sons of the Phoenix]] exist.
***The reasons as to why the the Lost Legions were purged so thoroughly were apparently so unthinkably horrible (so much that even after his rebellion had begun, Horus was still unwilling to break the vow he made to never speak of the Missing Primarchs) that Cawl trying to use their DNA might bite him in the ass even harder than for using gene-seed from the Traitor Primarchs.
*While barely explored in-universe so far, the various alien races in the setting may also take exception to or dangerous interest in the Primaris Marines.[[Urien Rakarth]] has expressed interest in them in spite of what he calls Guilliman's "lack of imagination", and has requested his [[Haemonculus|Haemonculi]] bring as many to him as possible; more unnervingly, he has expressed that he will be saving his best oubliette for the Primarch if he ever wished to "learn from the master". It would be equally unsurprising if [[Illuminor Szeras|a certain spider-legged robot mad scientist]] also wanted to collect a few Primaris specimens. The rest of the alien races, fortunately, are much less interested in genetic modification and would be more likely to view them as being more or less like any other Space Marine, although at least one Ork Mekboy came up with the idea of creating more potent bullets to deal with "da big beakies". As of the Ork codex, Mad Dok Grotsnik (You know, the guy who CREATED GHAZGHKULL) has kidnapped a bunch of Silver Skulls Primaris marines for unknown purposes. So that bodes well.
* The book "War of Secrets" has the Primaris Marines of the Dark Angels (and by implication, all Primaris Marines of Terran stock) heavily influenced by the culture of Mars: they call the Emperor the Omnissiah, reverently call their creator 'Pater Cawl', and swear to the glory of "chapter, Terra and Mars". This raises the question of if they are more loyal to the Adeptus Mechanicus than the Imperium or even their own Chapter. Indeed, in the book its one of the main reasons the Dark Angels don't trust them.
* Despite the Primaris widely being seen as, and intended to be, the replacements for standard Astartes, and most Chapters having the means and technology to create Primaris Space Marines of their own, many still choose to continue creating standard Space Marines as well for their more flexible and readily available equipment and combat doctrines (not to mention being able to drive all the space marine vehicles that the Primaris are apparently too cool for). Outside of full Primaris chapters, the newmarines are gonna have to just get used to being supplementary. Not that this is surprising- only so much gene-seed is produced, and nobody's dumb enough to just throw it out.
**While the Rubicon Primaris can convert existing Astartes into Primaris, the process is life-threatening, complex, and prone to failure due to lack of refinement. On top of all that, it has caused a fair degree of friction in itself, with some Marines welcoming the possibility for all Astartes to become Primaris and others whispering of possible refusal or even open revolt if the transformation was made compulsory, although given how risky the procedure is, this probably isn't an overt concern.
*The Primaris marines are, tactically, equipped like the old legions. Like a legion tactical squad, for example,Intercessor's are only armed with bolt weapons and can take special or heavy weapon, instead requiring dedicated support sections such as Hellblasters or Aggressors to carry these weapons for them. Is this good or bad? The legions did manage to win battle after battle takeing much territory in the great crusade so on some level this army layout works, but it means Primaris units tend to be specialized at doing one thing, or doing a few things not as well as they could if they have a generalize weapon.

==Forces of the Primaris Marines==
[[File:Blood Raven 1.JPG|300px|thumb|right|"[[Roboute Guilliman|Lord Commander]], the batch 3789-Alpha is missing! Just after the visit of..." "[[Just as Planned|I know.]]"]]
Primaris Marines don't get to select from a variety of equipment loadouts, but the equipment they do carry is designed by [[Cawl]], who is shockingly competent, so they usually outgun their non-Primaris equivalents who tried to choose an otherwise identical loadout; this forces them to depend on other units to support them to fill in any gaps (much like Eldar Aspect Warriors). They enjoy, as of 8E, +1W and +1A relative to a regular marine, making them more durable and a lot more dangerous in melee combat. Some of them wear [[Power_Armour#Mark_X:_Gravis_Armour|Mark X Gravis Armour]], for another +1T (and another wound as of the 8.5e codex).
*'''[[Primaris Captain|Primaris Captain:]]''' Primaris Captains are the analogues of [[Space Marine]] Captains. They are decked out in the new Gravis Armor which somehow manages to be even ''MOAR'' egg-shaped than a [[Squat]] [[Hearthguard]]. They're armed with a mini-Gauntlet of Ultramar/Hand of Dominion (I.E. a three-shot bolt pistol built into a power fist) and a master-crafted power sword. Others use the Mark X Tacitus power armor and wield a power sword and their choice of Stalker Boltgun or Auto Bolt Rifle. There's also a plasma pistol and power fist model exclusive to Games Workshop stores celebrating their anniversaries. As of the Shadowspear Boxed Set, he can now be equipped with Phobos Armor (and presumably a Cameoline Cloak) for some sneaky breeki action.
*'''[[Primaris Librarian|Primaris Librarian:]]''' Just what it sounds like. Has a fancy-looking Force Sword.
**'''Vanguard Librarian:''' A variant used by the Vanguard Primaris Marines. Has a camo-robe, just in case an 8 foot tall lightning-flinging, power armoured wizard needs to be subtle. Or maybe he's cosplaying as a Dark Angel, we don't know. In either case, he has a different set of powers that focus on making his allies even sneakier.
*'''[[Primaris Chaplain|Primaris Chaplain:]]''' Self-explanatory; they wear black robes as though they're aping on the [[Interrogator-Chaplain]]s. In battle, they wear an Iron Halo and carry a Crozius Arcanum alongside a specialized Absolver Bolt Pistol. To double down on the skull motif, their breastplate looks like a ribcage.
*'''[[Primaris Lieutenant|Primaris Lieutenants:]]''' The Primaris Lieutenants are somewhere between a Captain and a Sergeant in rank, and are often the most experienced of a Primaris Squad. Their role is to take command of demi-companies when the Captain is absent, freeing Chaplains and Librarians to focus on their own specialties. Lieutenants are differentiated from their fellow marines by a red-on-white stripe on their helms. Some of them can be helmetless which often showcase an extreme amount of Hair-esy. They can either use a power sword or a master-crafted automatic version of the Bolt Rifle (shorter range and worse ap, but better rate of fire at long range, fireable after Advancing, and more damage per shot from being master-crafted).
**'''Vanguard Lieutenant''': Lieutenants of the Vanguard Primaris swap out their bolt rifles for an occulus bolt carbine that helps them pick off enemies from far away, and while they only use a basic combat knife they're surprisingly good with it. They can also deep strike via grav-chute like the Reivers.
*'''[[Primaris Ancient|Primaris Ancients:]]''' Primaris Marines dubbed honorable enough to have the privilege of carrying the Standard's Banner. Identifiable by their white helmets (although that could change depending on the Chapter), they are in no way related to another [[Tarkus|dude-clad-in-power-armor-wearing-a-white-helmet-that-also-comes-with-the-same-name-from-a-certain-WH40K-game]]. At least until he's been upgraded. In case you were wondering, "Ancient" is a corruption of the rank of "Ensign" which was a term for an army's flagbearer in the Middle Ages, so it has nothing to do with how old the Marine in question actually is.
*'''[[Primaris Apothecary|Primaris Apothecary:]]''' A specialization of Primaris Marine first seen in artwork and promo photos, and now has rules and a model. Their left bracer appears to have a screen on it for monitoring lifesigns, and they have a pistol with a reductor built into it for geneseed removal (and the occasional puncturing of enemy skulls). The Narthecium attached to a <s>cyberdong</s> mechadendrite on the Apothecary's back.
*'''Primaris Techmarine:''' One of them acts as the pintle gunner for the Repulsor Tank. That's about all we know.
*'''[[Reiver|Reivers:]]''' Reivers are Space Marines created from the gene-seed of [[Sly Marbo]]. Think [[Catachan Jungle Fighters]] in [[Power Armor]]. It's time to piss yourselves, [[Chaos Space Marines|traitorous scum.]] Reivers are the only true close-combat specialist Infantry for the Primaris and are pretty good at it overall. Compared to Intercessors they have a Combat Knife for another attack and an improved Bolt Pistol with greater Armour Penetration, and the ability to negatively effect enemy morale. They can be equipped for more ranged combat but that is not why you take them. They have Deep-Strike option like everyone else, but also a new grappling hook that allows them to both outflank and jump-up ruins like they're nothing. But arguably their biggest trump-card is their special grenade that causes effected units to lose both their overwatch and minus one to shooting. While not the most devastating CC unit in the game they make excellent back-field harassers and synergize wonderfully with the rest of your army with their ability to cripple enemy gun-lines.
*'''[[Aggressor|Aggressors:]]''' Aggressors are basically Primaris [[Terminators]] mixed in with [[Centurion Squad|Centurions]], but with a 3+ save. They have an even more specialized Gravis armor, and either an automatic version of the Primaris Captain's Boltstorm Gauntlet paired with shoulder-mounted grenade launchers or a flamer-equipped version of said gauntlet dubbed the Flamestorm gauntlet. Regardless of what they're equipped with, they specialize in close-range firepower that obliterates light infantry.
*'''[[Intercessor|Intercessors:]]''' Intercessors are the <s>standard</s> SUPER bolter Marines, having most in common with a bare-bones tactical squad as they're armed with Primaris versions of the same things (such as their super bolters and Mk X armour). Compared to tacticals, they perform better in melee and have greater armour penetration on their basic weapons along with being more survivable, making them effective in a wider variety of situations. This is both a strength and a weakness, as while they may be bigger Jacks of all trades, they're even worse masters of nothing. Compared to Tacticals they have fewer weapon and transport options and only one type of heavy weapon choice. This might be part of the reason that other Primaris Marines are more specialized: to compensate/synergize. As Primaris specialists may be more vulnerable to heavy firepower and be fire-magnets, Intercessors with their flexibility they can more reliably protect other more valuable units and plug any holes that arise from specialist losses, or make themselves useful against any foe until the hard-hitting second wave arrives (being the most versatile as far as Primaris Marines go).
*'''[[Inceptor|Inceptors:]]''' Inceptors are the <strike>[[Assault Marines]] equivalent</strike> drop troops of the Primaris Marines and are equipped with a new pattern of [[Jump Pack]]s, two Assault Bolters, which are basically sawn off Heavy Bolters, a pair of hand-portable Plasma Cannons, and a pair of [[Derp|absolutely ridiculous-looking shoe-shovels.]] Unlike Assault Squads, the Inceptors' focus is on firepower and a pseudo Hammer of Wrath. This makes them closer in role to Assault Bikes as a fast moving strafing unit and harasser. They lack melee weapons of any kind; this doesn't mean they can't fight in melee, as their sheer weight allows them to crush their enemies to death, and they still have the statline of "normal" Primaris marines along with being even tougher to hurt, making them not completely useless in a scrap. Don't get it in your head that their melee ability is "good", though, or even decent, and only engage in melee if you have to; they do far better blowing things into tiny pieces.
*'''[[Hellblaster|Hellblasters:]]''' Hellblasters are Primaris Marines who make Flash Gitz green(er) with envy. They use [[Plasma#Plasma Incinerator|Plasma Incinerators]], enhanced Plasma Guns with longer range and armor piercing ability. Aside from that, there's nothing special about them as compared to "regular" Primaris marines. Very expensive and vulnerable to strong weapons, but they fuck up TEQs and can pose a threat to vehicles if they can get into Rapid Fire range, though outside of said range it's not as suicidal to unload a charged volley, so they can threaten vehicles there, too. Also, with the changes to how cover works, they are terrifying against cover campers. With how big a fire magnet these guys are, if you get these guys close to an expensive or dangerous vehicle or multiwound TEQs feel free to HELLBLAST them into oblivion in a suicide barrage. (That is, IF they're at risk of being wiped out or swarmed.)
*'''[[Redemptor Dreadnought|Primaris Redemptor Dreadnought:]]''' For no matter how great and glorious they may be, [[Grimdark|in the grim future even they are not immortal]]. Though how enough of these brand spanking-new Space Marines were curbstomped just enough to warrant Dreadnought status, we'll (probably) never know (hundreds of thousands of Primaris fighting in the over a century long indomitus crusade may be the answer). Times be desperate, yo. Probably because they're so hard to kill that just about all of them that couldn't be saved are made dread-ful.
*'''[[Repulsor_Tank|Repulsor]]:''' The Repulsor is the standard transport and/or tank (nobody's entirely sure yet) of the Primaris Marines. Which is good for them, because they can't go inside standard Space Marine transports, including ones that can hold Terminators, Centurions, and (in 30k) even fucking ''Primarchs.'' There must be [[Profit|some mysterious force surpassing even the Emperor]] blocking the door - which also blocks the door on this thing if you try to convince a ''non''-Primaris to go inside. Being a floating [[METAL BOXES|Metal Box]], it might be considered the spiritual successor to the [[Grav-Rhino]], if you covered said Grav-Rhino with missile pods everywhere, including on its rear and sides, put twin-linked lascannon in the front hull, and gave it what looks like a [[Fail|heavy stubber]] as a coaxial gun to go with the turret lascannon and pintle-mounted Gatling gun.
**'''Repulsor Executioner:''' Now the Repulsor is an ACTUAL battle tank, and is incredibly well kitted out.
*'''Overlord:''' The Overlord is the Primaris-exclusive dropship used to support the bigger frames of the Primaris Marines. You would think the [[Thunderhawk]] would be big enough for them, but it seems they are ''too'' [[Mary Sue|special]] to share the same vehicle with their smaller brothers. Anyways, the Overlord is noticeable for one thing. It is '''ECKS BAWKS HUEG''', making a Thunderhawk look like a [[Stormtalon]] in comparison. In terms of specs, it is the [[Corvus Blackstar]] on steroids. Seriously, it has powerful quintuple engines and twinned hulls thick enough to permit insertion from orbit, like Thunderhawks or Stormbirds, and like Blackstars, Overlords possess twin transport bays with their own assault doors, but they're considerably bigger (they can carry up to 40 of your Chadmarines) and even more blessed with advanced technologies like fucking [[AWESOME|energy shields]] ([[Heresy|Guess Cawl kind of]] [[Blood Ravens|'borrowed']] [[Extra Heresy|some of that sweet ass energy shields from the]] [[Eldar|pointy-eared gitz]]). Additionally, the Overlord is equipped with anti-munitions cannons, wing-mounted Desolator Lascannons, nose-mounted Melta Cannons and Heavy Bolters fixed on its lower wing surfaces. This thing is pretty much a flying [[Titan (Warhammer 40,000)|Titan]] or an Imperial [[Manta]].
*'''[[Astraeus|Astraeus Super-Heavy Tank]]:''' Surely the result of a grudging 3-way between a Mastodon, a Sicaran, and a somewhat reluctant Repulsor, the Astraeus is the first Primaris super-heavy tank (implying there will be more variants on the way) and looking to be an utter beast on the tabletop - it's armed with Land Raider style frontal Heavy Bolter mount, two front angled sponsons for Las-Rippers or Plasma Eradicators, topped with a turret mounted dual Macro-Accelerator Cannon. Given how expensive it is to field a decently kitted repulsor, it remains to be seen how viable it will be to concentrate so many points into one vehicle.

===Vanguard Space Marines===
Apparently Guilliman and Cawl [[Stormcast Eternals|swapped notes]] with [[Sigmar]] when it came to organizing the Primaris forces. The Primaris of the Vanguard Space Marines are geared mainly towards guerilla warfare and infiltration; most of them wear the Phobos pattern armor Reivers wear, since it offers improved mobility with no loss of protection (leading to the obvious question of why anyone wears the base Tacticus pattern). The only exception is the Suppressor, who wears Omnis pattern armor, which is effectively the Phobos version of Gravis armor, because Primaris marines are so bad at using standard jump packs.

*'''[[Primaris Captain|Vanguard Captains]]:''' The final evolution of the Scout Marine. Armed with a sniper rifle, beard, moustache and a few party tricks, most of which are shared with the scout.
*'''[[Vanguard Lieutenant]]s:''' A melee heavy Lt. with an improved boltgun and the same deepstrike ability the rest of the vanguard has.
*'''[[Vanguard Librarian]]s:''' A stealth librarian specializing in buffs. Only Vanguard HQ worth a damn.
*'''[[Helix Adept]]s:''' Because GW loves repeating themselves here's a retro Apothecary who remembers that it's smarter to stay in a unit than to stand alone as an elite. Same skills as normal medic but a more limited target pool.
*'''[[Eliminator|Eliminators]]:''' Essentially power-armored sniper scouts equipped with exotic ammunition, or if you want to be a smart ass Primaris Sternguard with Scout Gear. [[awesome| Their Bolt weapons look like oversized G36s]].
*'''[[Infiltrator|Infiltrators]]:''' These appear to be the equivalents of the Intercessors, at least in the sense of being the standard Bolter-wielders. They appear to be using some kind of scoped Bolt Carbine variant and smoke grenades.
*'''[[Incursor|Incursors]]:''' An alternate build for Infiltrators that specialize in hitting dug in or concealed enemies with the aid of multi-spectrum arrays and occulus bolt carbines.
*'''[[Suppressor|Suppressors]]:''' What you get when you cross an Inceptor with a Devastator. Those big autocannons are sure to make the [[Scourges]] jealous. Totally not based on the [[/m/|Zakus from Gundam]].
*'''[[Impulsor]]:''' A light transport and support vehicle for Vanguard marines that can outfitted for a variety of roles including orbital bombardment spotter.
*'''[[Invictor Tactical Warsuit]]:''' A stripped down Redemptor Dreadnought with its sarcophagus removed and replaced with a cockpit, sound dampening technology, and a [[Awesome|giant removable heavy bolter sidearm.]]

==On the Tabletop==
Crunch wise, Primaris Space Marines are about as physically dangerous as Space Marines are already supposed to be fluff-wise, so they get an additional Attack and an additional Wound; weapons which deal additional Wounds seem to be fairly common now, so while it might not be a big improvement it can still be helpful. However, they also have exclusive access to shiny new toys from Cawl, including a "basically Kraken" Bolter with +6" range and -1 AP, a Plasma gun with +6" range and -4 AP, and half-range [[AWESOME|one-handed Assault Heavy Bolters and Plasma Cannons. That they dual-wield. With jump packs.]] Defensively, so far only they have access to Gravis armor, which grants +1 Toughness (and even then only the Captain, Aggressors, and Inceptors can use it). Finally, their squads don't mix weapon types, with all members carrying the same loadout; whether this will be a benefit or a downside relative to "standard" marines being able to carry a mixed loadout remains to be seen with the other new rules in 8th, such as the ability of any squad to split its fire across multiple targets.

Most of the Primaris units so far also cost nearly twice as many points as their older counterparts and have unit sizes no larger than a <del>5</del> 10 model maximum (including the Serge). This strongly suggests they will be more useful as a supplement to standard Marine forces than they might be as outright replacements; they're far too inflexible and expensive to be fielded effectively on their own, and their lack of melee specialists and access to weaponry with a range greater than 36" is a glaring flaw (for now) as well. And while their movement is no worse than any other Marine, for reasons that totally aren't financial in origin they can't take '''any''' transports usable by standard Marines. Not [[Rhino|Rhinos]], not [[Drop Pods]], not [[Land Raider|Land Raiders]], not even the motherfucking [[Mastodon]]. They can use the Thunderhawk, but odds are you're not going to have room for it in your standard 2000 points game, and even then, it has to be carrying only Primaris Marines (and in that case, it still can't carry too many). They have a special transport called a Repulsor (which is a [[Awesome|grav tank]]), which somehow can't carry non-Primaris, but besides that they have no choice but to go footslogging.

However, single-model units can be astonishingly efficient - the most extreme case is the Primaris Librarian, who has a static, unchangeable loadout, but costs the exact same as a non-Primaris Librarian with the same loadout (a bolt pistol and Force Sword).

Primaris armies can seem deceptively small, however, they have an incredible wound density. This makes your basic squads like Intercessors far more point efficient than Tactical Marines (since in 8th edition Tac Marines just kind of completely suck eggs), and are the better option when it comes to holding down homefield objectives. They're also by far some of the best bolter infantry available, with a number of advantages over basic Sternguard (though lacking access to combi-weapons). Other squads such as Hellblasters vs Devastators, Aggressors vs Terminators, etc. are less clear-cut, but overall the Primaris squads are more than able to carry their own weight, providing value in their role, sacrificing a little bit of flexibility for durability but not quite enough to make them Eldar-level cripples outside their niche.

Currently the Primaris are considered to be much more of a shooty army than a punchy one. They can handle themselves in melee yes, and aggressors and rievers can dish it out in CQC, but they currently lack ultraheavy weight facepunchers like Assault Terminators, Killsaw Meganobz or Bikernobz, Necron Wraiths, Melee Warriors and 'Fexes, Wraithblades and so on. They can handle the chaff in close combat but lack true top tier facepunchers. The majority of their shooting is also within the 4-7 strength range and virtually all of it is within the 12-36 inch range bracket due to their extreme focus on infantry. They're a little awkward to use as a standalone army at the moment since they currently have a fraction of the unit choices available to more established armies, but entirely usable to newbies and old pros alike and are a generally very forgiving army where while there's not a whole lot of units and load-outs to choose from, everything's role is pretty immediately obvious at a glance.

It is very unlikely that this will remain the case indefinitely as their model range is almost certain to expand dramatically over the years with goodies like fliers, vehicles, walkers, new guns, melee units, bikes and all that neat stuff but keep in mind that as of right now they're an army meant to dominate infantry gunfights, not win artillery duels, go about tank jousting, bomb things from the stratosphere, zoom around objectives in bikes or transports, or punch things in the face. That being said, they'll shred shit up in short to mid ranged infantry gunfights and have enough other options to handle other targets without feeling hopeless. The other benefit of course, is that this is an army that is very young and have the spotlight shining on them and are guaranteed to only get more options in the near future until they can finally rival the bewildering array of toys the OG Space Marines can field.

Of course the downside to that is that none of us are exactly sure how future content will change up the Primaris as an army as they're still finding their character as a faction so it's difficult to plan around that and you'll almost definitely find yourself needing to get at least some of the future models. Looking at the patterns of stormcast eternal releases over in Age of Sigmar seems to be a somewhat decent guide to what the future might hold though.

===Rules Datasheets===
<gallery>
File:New40kPrimarisCaptainAgainFull.jpg|Stats for the Captain. GW is being awfully generous with these datasheets.
File:New40kIntercessorDatasheet.jpg|Behold the Intercessor Datasheet (thanks GW!).
File:New40kPrimarisInceptorVersion2Full.jpg|The Inceptor rules, sadly the shoe-shovels have no stats.
File:Hellblaster stats.jpeg|Hellblaster stats, because leaks are great for those on the outside. Note how when their guns explode they die, rather than take damage.
</gallery>

==Gallery==
===Miniatures===
<gallery>
File:Captain1.jpg|A Primaris Captain channeling the [[meme|Juggernaut BITCH!]]
File:BirthdayPrimaris.jpg|The super-ultra-limited Primaris Captain.
File:Lieutenant1.jpg|Primaris Lieutenants, not quite butter bars, not quite seasoned
File:Ancient1.jpg|I am NOT [[Tarkus]]!
File:40kPrimarisLibReveal1.jpg|Being a Librarian ain't easy.
File:40kPreviewJuly23_Chaplain8h-500x466.jpg|The Chaplain. Totally not [[Blizzard|Reaper from Overwatch]].
File:40kPreviewJuly23_Apothecary2n-500x461.jpg|The Apothecary.
File:Intercessor2.jpg|Super Smurfs!
File:Reivers.jpg|Surprise Motherfucker!!
File:Helblaster1.jpg|An entire ''squad'' of Super-Smurfs with upgraded Plasma Guns.
File:Inceptor1.jpg|Inceptors! Now capable of flying and skiing!
File:IMG-20171123-WA0005.jpg|Lieutenant Tolmeron pulling a charge pose with his saber. Now all you need to do is mount him on a horse and you're golden.
File:IMG-20171123-WA0002.jpg|Lieutenant Zakariah. Look at how smug his face is, like he has just <s>apprehended the Fallen </s> CLEARED ALL HERETICS FROM THE SECTOR
File:40K-Space-Wolves-Primaris-Battle-Leader-Haldor-Icepelt.jpg|The Woof Guard Battle Leader. Does his pose reminds you of someone else? ('''*cough*''' ARTEMIS, NEW POSSESED '''*cough*''')
</gallery>

===Pictures===
<gallery>
File:Space_Marine_Squared.png|A Squad of Intercessors about to go to town on some greenskins. Aren't they beautiful?
File:Redemptor_Dreadnought.PNG|I HAVE LEGS! I HAVE FULLY ARTICULATED LEGS!
File:Chad marine hover tank.png|Guilliman and Cawl have figured out how to build hover tanks once more!
File:Aggressors.jpg|The Aggressors box.
File:PassiveAgressors.jpg|Passive Aggressors, ready to make catty remarks at the enemy
File:Chap&apoc.png|Grainy sighting of a Primaris Apothecary and Chaplain.
</gallery>

===Assorted===
<gallery>
File:PrimarisBigBoy.png
File:Adeptus Astronimus.jpg
File:PrimarisLightyear.jpg|Primaris Marine of the Galactic Rangers chapter.
File:Primaris_comparison.png|Numarine, the carefree playboy, and Oldmarine, the grizzled vigilante. [[Batman|Have you ever seen them in the same art together?]]
File:Primaris vs chaos by theangrymarine-dccr2jv.png|The new kid always gets picked on.
</gallery>

{{Primaris Marine-Forces}}

Gene-seed

2019-12-31T12:49:22Z

2601:1C0:5C00:C130:5F2:4FA5:C34C:B4C8: /* Tabletop Effect */

In [[Warhammer 40,000]], [[humans]] are transformed into [[Space Marines]] by, among other things, implanting them with a series of 19 organs that dramatically alter and enhance their biology. The organs' DNA strings, from which they are vat-grown, are collectively known as "gene-seed."

== Origins ==

Gene-seed is a vital part of the [[Space Marine]] program, and is as old as the Astartes themselves. When the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]] was still conquering [[Terra]], many of the techno-barbarians' armies had augmented human warriors. The Emperor then realized that he would need vast armies of super-soldiers for his coming [[Great Crusade]], so he embarked on a project to create a mass-producible means of enhancing humans. This project resulted in the twenty [[Primarchs]], and from their genes, he created the gene-seed organs to be implanted into each Space Marine. These organs are usually produced in vats from extracted progenoids but [[Daemonculaba|other methods]] can be used in a pinch, and, of course, the Sinew Coils aren't an actual organ, so they can be produced much more readily, like any other cybernetic implant.

The traditional loyalist method of implanting gene-seed into recruits until it grows into new organs, then retrieving fresh gene-seed from them happens to loosely resemble the real-life concept of adult stem cells, invaluable for life-saving surgeries and keeping your liver from shriveling up when you get too drunk.

The process was originally available on a nearly industrial scale for the Great Crusade - both Terra and each legion recruitment worlds could make up the numbers for thousands of recruits. Occasionally they could be inducted as adults, although the limitations of this varied and usually an adult recruit was worthy but couldn't take a gene seed. In this case various surgeries and augmentations could turn them into a 'demi-marine', although the difference in performance was notable.

During the Heresy the Traitor Legions came up with a quick and dirty method for boosting their ranks by taking thousands of aspirants and forcing the implantation process rapidly, along with substituting the years long training process with constant hypnotherapy training. The success rate was small but they had so many potential recruits it still resulted in a boost in their numbers. These Newborn, as they came to be known, were equipped with the same gear as regular marines but utterly lacked the skills and prowess of a traditional legionary. Their forced creation also led them to being seen as second class citizens amongst their legions, and thus they created their own subcultures and traditions. As a result, they ended up being used as disposable shock troops whilst regular astartes were saved for more important duties.

After the Heresy, the loyalist legions scaled back the process, relocating all materiel onto homeworlds or fleet apothercarions. As a preventative measure learned from the Heresy, subsequent recruits were taken at a younger age, both to screen out weakness as soon as possible, and to more readily indoctrinate the prospective marine to being loyal (YMMV). Most chapters also introduced far more stringent levels of hypnotherapy and indoctrinatation than a heresy era marine would ever have had, and their standards for general recruits were also much higher, since now they recruited less from a smaller population (relatively) instead of a lot from a massive group, which could even be from several different worlds in cases of emergency recruitment.

== The Organs ==

Oddly, most 40K fluff never refers to most of these organs, if any, especially when situations come up where these organs might have been especially useful. The worst offenders are usually the sensory ones; the Occulobe, Lyman's Ear, and Neuroglottis, taken together, ''ought'' to make them notice things normal humans can't, especially under low-light conditions, but the fluff usually has them only picking up the standard level of detail.

# The '''Secondary Heart''' is pretty self-explanatory. It lets a Space Marine get his blood flowing at a faster rate through his body and probably to the more critical bits, which lets his muscles work harder and longer, and it gives him a backup just in case one fails (i.e. gets shot, stabbed, [[Kor Phaeron|ripped out by Guilliman]], or what have you). The Secondary Heart is not beating at all times. It only activates during times of stress (bear in mind that a twenty mile run is not considered stressful to an Astartes); otherwise, it just sits there awaiting activation.
# The '''Ossmodula''' makes a Space Marine's skeleton grow and incorporate some ceramic dietary supplements into itself and fuses his ribs together into a solid structure. The Tyrant guard's fused ribcage hints that <s>the Hive mind has incorporated Space marine DNA into-</s>{{BLAM}} convergent evolution is at work. Ironically, the fusing of the rib cage would be considered a bad thing, as the Space Marine would not be able to breathe properly, but since this is 40K, little things like biology can and will be ignored if the end result sounds sufficiently cool, then again the Multi lung (see bellow) may help with this. A (decidedly) secondary effect of a fused rib cage would be a loss of flexibility (unless by “fused” they mean “segmented but overlapping”). This bit sounds like it was tailor-made for Ultramarines since the vast majority of them walk around like they've got a broom handle shoved up their collective asses anyway.
# The '''Biscopea''' triggers muscle growth. These first three organs are often implanted together, as they collectively prepare the Initiate's body for further augmentation. Around this time, the Initiate gets put on a diet containing extra nutrients to fuel his new growth.
# The '''Haemastamen''' enhances a Space Marine's blood to better accommodate the Space Marine's nifty set of new organs by improving its ability to carry oxygen. It also turns it [[Orks|bright red]].
# The '''Larraman's Organ''' creates Larraman's Cells, which are like super-platelets: they make wounds rapidly scab over. This allows Space Marines to keep fighting even when shock and blood loss would kill most people.
# The '''Catalepsean Node''' messes with the body's sleep cycle, letting Space Marines get away with four hours of sleep every day, or even less, and making it possible for them to not lose awareness, even after like 2 weeks without sleep. It also makes the brain susceptible to hypno-therapy, which is a fancy word for "brainwashing" the Initiates while they are asleep. As a nasty side effect, it allows Chaos marines to re-brainwash loyalists they captured alive (or better: in suspended animation). Unsurprisingly to anyone familiar with Chaos, this trick doesn't work in reverse, which might just go to show that the Chaos Marines might be [[Heresy|closer to the true human nature than the loyal Marines...]] or more likely that Chaos is corrupting as fuck.
# The '''Preomnor''' is like a bird's crop, in that it stores food before passing it to the stomach, except that the Preomnor also decontaminates its contents as well. In Ian Watson's Space Marine novel, Initiates celebrated getting this organ by eating the most disgusting things they could until they finally provoked a vomit reflex.
# The '''Omophagea''' is one of the odder organs. It connects to the stomach and the spinal cord, and somehow takes knowledge from the brain tissue that a Space Marine can eat. Interestingly, most Space Marines are pretty reluctant to actually eat brains, as the process is physically extremely unpleasant, leaves them in a vulnerable torpor whilst they process the information, and is one of the very few things that can readily make a Space Marine vomit afterwards. The Thousand Sons (pre-heresy) - contrary to their civilised, haughty persona - highly approved of the practice. And, in fact, it is not just the brain, since some Astartes rituals, if not chapter names, originated from this; the Blood Angels and their descendants are especially famous for blood drinking and [[rip and tear]] in general; this is actually because they receive knowledge and visions from it. What? You thought the Blood Angels had visions of Sanguinius only to have a [[grimdark]], [[Machine spirit|mystical aura]]? Before reuniting with their Primarch, the Blood Angels standard operating procedure was to ritually cannibalize their dead officers and sometimes even assume their rank and identity. Additionally, the memories they absorb become very hard to forget (brain washing technologies can help). Now just add some chaos to that mix and you've got heresy brewing...
# The '''Multi-Lung'''... do I have to spell it out? It's an additional lung! It also has a lot of filters and the like, and can function underwater and in low-oxygen atmospheres. In other words, it allows the Space Marine without a helmet to breathe under water and in toxic air. Just how does this third lung fit in with the other two Marines are born with and all the other organs implanted later? Very carefully, that's how.
# The '''Occulobe''' gives Space Marines super-vision, and allows their eyes to adjust to changes in light almost instantly, or at least in the fluff.
# The '''Lyman's Ear''' gives them super-hearing and makes them immune to motion sickness and concussion. However, in-game, they have no particular immunity or even resistance to concussion, probably because it's often delivered by a hammer to the head.
# The '''Sus-an Membrane''' lets them enter a state of ''Sus''pended ''an''imation when they are critically hurt or starving. This serves the purpose of conserving a mortally wounded marine until his body is recovered and healed by apothecaries. So each time you remove a marine model on the tabletop, chances are (fluff-wise) it has entered sus-an, rather than died. In fact, on most campaigns that's what happens to your characters. It should be noted, marines cannot leave suspended animation state at will, and can only be "awakened" through the use of specific drugs. Basically, the 40k version of LSD.
# The '''Melanochrome''' implants into the lymph nodes, and makes Space Marine skin like transition lenses: it darkens in response to radiation, rapidly producing reinforced melanin that protects against both UV and gamma. On the plus side, they tan really fast, but the fact that they pale right back up once they're inside armour (unless they are [[Salamanders]]) is not that great.
# The '''Oolitic Kidney''' detoxifies their blood, like their regular kidneys, but this one does it really fast. Also, it controls some of the other organs' hormones. As a result, Space Marines are unaffected by most poisons short of what the [[Dark Eldar]] or [[Tyranids]] can produce. It also means they can't get drunk, though the Space Wolves found a way around that by creating Mjöd, an extremely toxic drink made of local plants of Fenris, that temporarily neutralizes the Oolitic kidney's ability to filter toxins. Another organ which ceases to work on the tabletop, as Space Marines have absolutely identical reactions to Poison as ratlings, ogryn, and standard humans. Of course, considering that the poisons you find on the tabletop are Tyranid, Dark Eldar, and Nurgelitle shit, we can probably write this one off. Also, in some fluff, it saves the bearer from poison by causing them to enter a sort of super-metabolic coma during which they burn off any toxins while unconscious and feverish—so, much like with the sus-an membrane, it allows you to say that any of [[Your Dudes]] taken out by Poison effects are just temporarily disabled.
# The '''Neuroglottis''' implants into the upper nasal passage, drastically improving both smell and taste; lets a Space Marine identify chemicals and track adversaries by taste. Blood-hound much? Apparently, the Space Wolf version of this is so good that they designed a special Wolf Helm that lets them use their sense of smell even when fully armored, and is also why they otherwise avoid helmets as much as possible (and definitely not just so that they can [[Blood Claw|gel their hair into giant crests]] and/or [[Logan Grimnar|grow chest-length Santa beards]]).
# The '''Mucranoid''' gives Space Marines super-sweat that protects them from heat and cold, and can even be hardened into a vacuum-proof shell. Remember that awesome scene where Guilliman boxes Word Bearers in space? Yep, he did it while covered in that thing.
# The '''Betcher's Gland''' gives them acid spit, which is probably the only bonus for going to combat [[Helmet#Helmets_and_Faces|without a helmet]]. The acid within varies depending on the source, from simply reacting only to organic tissue to fully dissolving ceramite. Some Chapters, such as the [[Blood Angels]] and the [[Iron Snakes]], consider using the Betcher's Gland in combat to be [[Derp|dishonourable]]. Technically, the acid spit is just a fringe benefit of the gland’s true purpose—allowing marines to chew through everything from tough xenos carcasses to prison bars. In any event, Space Marines on the table-top do not have access to acidic spit, unlike e.g. Tyranids. (Or maybe they do; space marine ancients get a lot of attacks for someone with their hands full.)
# The '''Progenoids''' provide no benefit to the Space Marine, but are universally considered the most important organs, as they are the keys to making more of the organs above. Each Space Marine starts with two, one in the neck and one in the chest, and they are removed after their death. The neck-based progenoid is ready for harvesting five years after implantation, while the chest-based progenoid is ready after ten. Each harvested progenoid is a bunch of DNA and chemical stuff, that, when implanted in a suitable environment, grows into more organs. Chapters that took severe losses and could not reclaim the gene-seed of their brothers basically take random people with an affinity to the Astartes gene-seed (or vat-grown bodies similar to the ones they use for Servitors), implant them with all space marine organs, wait ten years, and slaughter them to harvest the gene-seed. Sometimes, the term "gene-seed" is taken to refer to these glands specifically.
# The '''Black Carapace''' interfaces a Space Marine with his [[Power Armour|armour]], making them effectively one being. It also serves as back-up armour, providing a level of protection similar to a flak jacket, in case a marine somehow ends up [[Adeptus Custodes|running around naked]]. [[Scout|Space Marine Scouts]] don't have this yet, because of the [[Codex Astartes]], and it's noted as the only one of the original organs that ''has'' to be implanted whole rather than potentially grown inside the neophyte as a germ-seed (a la [[Blood Angels|Insanguination]]). They don't get it (and thus an expensive suit of power armor) until they've spent a decade or more in a Scout Company. Tyranids nicked this for their tyrant guard, which makes you think how did the foot-slogging hive tyrants survive anything beforehand. As clearly established by how humans perform in Power Armor, this organ does nothing on the table-top; Sisters of Battle, for example, get just as much (or more - they can lift a lascannon by themselves, unlike humans in mere carapace armour) benefit from Power Armor as Space Marines do. The Deathwatch RPG explained it as allowing a “Size (Huge)” Space Marine in Power Armor to not suffer any movement penalties—which does seem impressive if you’ve ever seen someone in craft foam Astartes armor trying to hobble around.
#The '''Canis Helix''' is not an organ, but considered nonetheless to be part of the gene-seed; it appears to be a genetic cocktail brewed by the Wolf Priests of the Space Wolves, and while it induces a level of mutation beyond that seen in any other chapter, Russ' gene-seed organs appear to have a 100% rejection rate in humans who do not first take the cocktail.

===Primaris Organs===

{{Main|Primaris Marines}}
After [[Roboute Guilliman]] told [[Belisarius Cawl]] to make a next generation Space Marine, he ended up creating Marines that had an enhanced version of the Astartes Gene-Seed, which contained an extra three organs (possibly due to taking elements of the [[Adeptus Custodes|Custodes]] or even the Primarch creation process). While some have expressed concern of the project, some due to worries about how some of the mutations of some of Chapters with more exotic mutations and some due to the belief that the Emperor's work shouldn't be tampered with, Cawl claims that the Primaris Gene-seed is more stable than the regular Astartes gene-seed, with an estimated deviancy of .001% per generation. How true this claim might be is up for debate, but Cawl has created Space Wolves successor chapters that haven't immediately turned into Wulfen so it may have some truth in it. It's also worth noting that Cawl did ''something'' to make the Primaris Marines physically incapable of turning traitor. Guilliman's internal monologue in Dark Imperium reveals that he considers it an impossibility for Primarines to turn, unlike "the old breed". This has interesting implications about whether or not the Primaris marines truly have free will.

As of recent fluff updates/leaks, the new organs are as follows.

# The '''Sinew Coils''' essentially modify the muscle strands and makeup of the Primaris Marines, buffing their pecs and biceps to the 10th degree. Whilst one would assume it would resemble something from [[Wat|Inspector Gadget's coil legs]], the truth is....[[Derp|it is pretty much like that in function.]] These are reinforced coil-cables made of durable supermetals that are capable of contracting with incredible strength, making Primaris stronger and tougher than others. Even outside of their power armor, swinging a sword at a Primaris might just bounce off his hot and sweaty muscles because of these coil cables, and it amplifies his strength to the point where he can crush a human skull with his bare hands or bite through metal cable like it were jerky.
# The '''Magnificat''' may sound a [[Derp|bit lame,]] but its function is actually what makes the Primaris 'bigger, better, faster and stronger' then regular Astartes. It produces a mix of hormones that greatly enhance the effects of all of the other genetically engineered organs that float around in the Primaris. So every Primaris gets more bang for his genetic buck. Intriguingly, it's stated to be only half of another super-organ dubbed the '''Immortis Gland''' originally made for the Primarchs, but Cawl was only able to find the materials and genetic blueprints needed to make the right half; the information needed to make the left half had seemingly been erased. The function of the complete Immortis Gland is unknown, but given that its other name is "The God-Maker" and the fact that only the Primarchs are known to have the organ, it stands to follow that it is likely what amplifies their abilities to the level of demigods.
# The '''Belisarian Furnace''' is an organ that is named after [[Belisarius Cawl|the Galaxy's least humble Archmagos.]] This one is a last-chance fail-safe kind of thing. The Belisarian Furnace is an organ that activates when a Primaris is on death’s door, giving them a great burst of super-adrenaline (not the actual term), but helping to keep them alive even at great cost, so that a Primaris can take out as many of the enemy as possible even as his flesh and bone rapidly regrow themselves. This allows fan-fic writers to create Hollywood-esque 'final pushes' without making it look stupid, which should make for some amazing last stands. It also appears to be vital for the Rubicon Primaris procedure intended to convert existing Space Marines into Primaris Space Marines, as the procedure temporarily kills the subject in its current form.

===Implantation===
Not everyone is compatible with implantation; potential candidates are screened for tissue compatibility, and kept young, as being post-pubescent has a marked increase in the tissue rejection rate (and being actually ''elderly'' makes it even worse); even so, not all candidates survive the implantation process. The Great Crusade era had inductees from a variety of ages, possibly because there were more resources, candidates, and understanding of the tech to compensate for failure rates. Back then a one-in-two success after screening was considered pretty good. Those days the screening is insanely brutal amongst Loyalist chapters, with most aspirants dying before being even considered for implantation, but the success rate is accordingly much higher. Youths are also still preferred post-Heresy as they are easier to mould and condition into loyal Marines than teens or young adults.

One of the most obvious limits of their design is that the Emperor never solved the problem of making them compatible with female hosts (although some argue that this was deliberate as a way of ensuring that Space Marines could not breed true, nobody can be entirely sure), so the very first screening step is usually by sex. Furthermore, not all organs can be implanted at once, as some prepare the body for others, and the body needs time to adapt to and accept the implants. The maximum speed process has been described in the fluff as taking around 6 years and assuming the soon-to-be Marine will be a Primaris is:

# If you are the Space Wolves, the Canis Helix.
# Secondary Heart, Ossmodula (bone growth), and Biscopea (muscle growth).
# Sinew Coils (tendon/ligament reinforcement), Magnificat (enhances all other geneseed organs), and Belisarean Furnace (combat stimms, attaches to hearts).
# Haemastamen (improved red blood cells) and Larraman's Organ (improved platelets).
# Catalepsean Node (brain implant: sleep like a dolphin).
#*If this is an actual Space Marine, begin hypnotherapy/brainwashing only ''after'' this implant.
# Preomnor (gullet), Omophagea (flatworm stomach), and Multi-lung (third lung).
# Occulobe (improved visual cortex).
# Lyman's Ear (replacement outer, middle, and inner ear).
# Sus-an Membrane (brain implant: self-induce coma).
# Melanochrome (lymph implant for radiation resistance).
# Oolitic Kidney (enhanced liver/kidney) and Neuroglottis (improved inner nose).
# Mucranoid (secretable space suit).
# Betcher's Gland (extremely acidic saliva).
# Both Progenoids (for reproduction).
# Black Carapace (for improved power armour compatibility).

The largest time gap between implants is between the Betcher Glands and the two last ones on the list, and by that time the Marine already serves as a Scout. Once he is deemed physically and mentally ready, he will recieve the Progenoids and the Black Carapace that turns him into a full-fledged (Primaris) Marine.

The Rubicon Primaris most likely entails the implantation of the three Primaris gene-seed organs past the normal time that gene-seed would normally be implanted, though the specific order of implanting in this scenario is currently unknown.

===Tabletop Effect===
Most of the organs have no visible effect in the game, at least if the in-game rules are an indication; here are how the organs seemingly manifest (or not). For some reason, Space Marines aren't any faster at running than an unaugmented human and are slower than fast humans, such as Sisters of Silence. Most likely, this lack of impact is either for balance purposes or because it can't be properly represented using in-game means.

*Has an effect, at least in aggregate:
**Secondary Heart, Ossmodula, Biscopea, Haemastamen, Larraman's Organ, Multi-Lung, Oolitic Kidney, Mucranoid: +1 Strength and Toughness, relative to a normal human.
**Sinew Coils, Magnificat, Belisarean Furnace: +1 Wound and Attacks.
**Catalepsean Node + Hypnotherapy: And They Shall Know No Fear, +1 Ld.
**Progenoids: These are given as the reason an Apothecary loses his turn if he fails a resurrection roll, as he is busy collecting them.
*Effects limited to fluff:
**Occulobe: Mostly ignored; with or without his helmet on, most Space Marine's vision is never considered any better than an unaugmented humans, even when distance or lack of light are explicitly causing vision problems. It may however be a reason why some Space Wolves get the 'acute senses' rule.
**Lyman's Ear: Demonstrably ignored under the 8th edition rules; Space Marines behave exactly like unaugmented humans when exposed to sonic weaponry, when needing to notice things they can't see, or when in need of balance. In previous editions, this would presumably have contributed to a higher Initiative stat.
**Neuroglottis: As noted above with the Lyman's Ear, as this would predominantly serve to supplement that, given some tabletop rule for Space Marines actually having improved senses which only the Space Wolves have.
**Melanochrome: Demonstrably ignored; Space Marines respond to photonic radiation (usually provided by the Adeptus Mechanicus) exactly like unaugmented humans do.
**Black Carapace: Demonstrably ignored; many human factions have access to Power Armour, particularly Sisters of Battle, and none have ever been shown to be even slightly more encumbered by Power Armour than Space Marines are.
**Preomnor, Omophagea, Sus-an Membrane, Mucranoid, Betcher's Gland: These have no in-game effect, but would typically not be expected to, as a Space Marine with his suit on and participating in a battle would not have call to use them, although the Betcher's Gland could be implemented as a very, very short range weapon, in principle.
*Alternate Take: The Occulobe, Lyman's Ear, and Neuroglottis could grant the +1 Initiative marines enjoy(ed prior to 8th). The Melanchrome also likely adds to toughness.

== Gene-seed vs. Genetic Engineering ==

A lot of people (including, it must be admitted, Games Workshop itself) often think of gene-seed as a genetic modification program, but this is inaccurate. Gene-seed does fall under the blanket of [[Fleshcrafting|"bio-enhancement" or "bio-engineering"]]—that is, the augmentation of the physical form. However, gene-seed is based on the physical implantation of artificially designed and engineered organs, whereas genetic engineering would modify the DNA of the aspirants to naturally develop the various traits. In essence, Space Marines are what [[Rifts]] would call "bio-borgs": organisms biologically modified by artificial biological implants. Fleshy cyborgs, essentially. This is an important difference, as it allows the Space Marines to wriggle around that pesky "thou shalt not modify the holy human form" law of the Imperium. From a genetic standpoint, a Space Marine is probably closer to human than most [[abhuman]]s are, and so they fulfill the letter of the law (if not its spirit - but hey, the Emperor made the rules, so he can break them as much as he wants, 'cause he's the motherfucking Emperor). It also has the side effect of making sure that Astartes can't breed true-ish (assuming they can breed, a point GW can't ever make up their minds on, any children they had would be more likely compatible for geneseed then a baseline human but by themselves would not be space marines, just more likely to be able to be), and thus will always have to rely on baseline humanity rather than replace it, just in case they start getting too big for their transhuman britches.

*'''Note:''' Like Mitochondria (the powerhouse of the cell), the implanted organs carry ''their own DNA'', cloned from the Primarchs, thus turning the marines into [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)#Humans chimeric humans]. So yes indeed, bio-borgs, but ones that show characteristics of DNA foreign to the host's body. Example: is there a specific organ that gave Sigismund "a patrician face that echoed the same austere lines as his liege lord, Rogal Dorn"? Let us be reminded, Sig was terran, and Dorn grew up on another planet (he was made by the Emperor in a Petri dish, does that count as being born on Terra too?). Who knows what he looked like when he was mortal, he now looks like a son of Dorn. In fact, most Astartes end up looking similar to their parent Primarchs, like Horus "little Horus" Aximand looking like Horus "fucking Horus" Lupercal. Of course, this is because GW thinks it is bioengineering, but at least it's "Human Chimeras" instead of "Humans with [[Space Wolves|furry creatures]]", that'd be Heresy, right Emps?
**<span style='color:gold;font-size:300%'>'''RIGHT'''</span>
**As it happens, for Sigismund, the answer is yes—the Ossmodula would alter the shape of his skull, and the Biscopea the arrangement of his facial muscles—but the fact remains that GW routinely treats gene-seed as if it were gene therapy, rather than implants.
**This cloned DNA is also why every body freaks out over gene seed stocks from the fallen primarchs in case there geneeseed has some flaw that increased it's sustainability to chaos.

== The Tithe and New Foundings ==

As part of the deal in Guilliman's [[Codex Astartes]], the Astartes were afforded almost complete autonomy from the [[Administratum]], which means they don't have to pay Imperial Taxes '''except''' for a tithe of 5% of their gene-seed which they must send to Mars.

This has a few important purposes:
# To monitor the genetic purity of the Space Marine Chapter as a whole and make certain a chapter is not suffering heretical mutations.
# To create new foundings of Space Marines whenever the High Lords of Terra deem it appropriate to do so.
# To act as an emergency reserve of gene-seed in the unlikely event that the Chapter's existing gene-seed stocks are lost or tainted.

Note that even though the Adeptus Mechanicum will have stockpiles of a chapter's genetic material, it is not frequently used as a contingency for a space marine chapter if things get a bit hairy. Several times in the fluff a Chapter has faced extinction due to high losses ''(see [[Black Consuls]], [[Celestial Lions]], [[Lamenters]], [[Marines Errant]], [[Scythes of the Emperor]] yadda yadda yadda)'' but they'd never thought to ask Mars for their gene-seed back. The only known instance of it happening is in the 8th Edition Death Guard Codex, where the [[Minotaurs]] were forced to undergo a mission to Mars when a Death Guard assault on their fortress-monastery resulted in the poisoning of their gene-seed stocks, but the Minotuars are basically the High Lords personal beat stick against other marines so perhaps this is special treatment.

It's also a bit uncertain how chapters with particularly negative defects manage to keep their genetic condition concealed, if the government has access to their core materials. [[Black Dragons|Some chapters]] get around it by sending only the "purest" gene-seed to Mars and so come out of the inspection smelling of roses, but when the condition is widespread (as it is with the [[Blood Angels]]) it probably only highlights how little the Mechanicus actually understand about the Emperor's work. (Things might perhaps change now that [[Belisarius Cawl|Cawl]] is back, though.)

It's also important to note that each chapter's gene-seed is kept in isolation. i.e: Just because a chapter claims ''descent'' from the [[Ultramarines]] does not actually make their gene-seed the same as their forefather. It's basic evolutionary biology that when a population splits and develops elsewhere it starts forming its own traits advantageous to its circumstances and environment. Hence the [[Mortifactors]] gene-seed will largely be very different from the [[Howling Griffons]], despite sharing a common ancestor. So rather than being genetic "brothers" as they would be ''within'' a chapter, different Space Marine chapters sharing a lineage would be more like nephews or cousins.

When the time comes around to found new chapters, the adepts will look for favourable traits that they want to replicate, although the Ultramarines are cited as being the most utilised source for new foundings, thus any new chapter of Ultramarine descendants would likely be second generation Ultramarines and be quite close to their forefather genetically at least until the chapter adapted to its founding homeworld or particular circumstances. But that doesn't prevent those descendants themselves from being used as templates in later foundings, so after several generations you could end up with something completely different from the original baseline stock.

== Mutation ==

As each new set of gene-seed comes from a Space Marine, requires many years to mature, and many more to be used, there is a lot of room for things to go wrong. This is especially true when desperate circumstances (the impending [[Great Crusade]], or a Chapter being dangerously under-strength) cause Space Marines to skimp on the safety checks and wait periods in order to accelerate Chapter growth. Over the millennia, many flaws have found their way into into the gene-seeds of each Legion, and some of their successors have even more - mutations typically get worse as you make copies of copies. Further mutations have been introduced, of course, in foundings featuring heavy tampering by the Adeptus Mechanicus (see the discussion of the 21st founding, below).
Also one should bear in mind that Legions and Primarchs were artificially engineered to fill different niches, so some of these might be not acquired mutations, but deliberately added quirks to better fit in their roles.
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===No Known Mutations===
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
==== Alpha Legion ====
{{Main|Alpha Legion}}
<s>No such Legion exists, therefore no such gene-seed exists.</s>
*Were you really expecting ''known'' mutations, or anything else, from this Legion???

In all seriousness; like much of the Alpha Legion, we don't know all that much about their gene-seed. Whatever idiosyncrasies or flaws they have are kept under very tight lock and key. And with their nature of running as individual operatives in and out of the [[Eye of Terror]], to what degree their gene-seed is tainted by the Warp or other means varies from Marine to Marine. Though their knack for secrecy, paranoia, and tendency to subvert the enemy instead of direct combat is probably a notable trait. Outside of occasional Warp-corruption, we ''assume'' it's possibly one of the most stable gene-seeds, probably as much as the Imperial Fists or Night Lords. Something of note; they often use any mutations that they have as a scare tactic, hiding them and then revealing them on the battlefield in order to shock the opponent.
They also use hypnosis and deep-indoctrination more than other chapters, so they may have an altered sus-an and/or catelapsean.
Sometimes it's implied they all look alike (like Alpharius) but sometimes this is said to be due to ''surgical'' alterations, but it could be that the gene-seed does more to alter their appearance than normal, like the Sons of Horus.

==== Dark Angels ====
{{Main|Dark Angels}}
No defects, unless you consider their <s>rampant paranoia and secrecy</s> STAUNCH LOYALTY AND HONOUR as such. Ties with Ultramarines for "most stable source", so the limited number of Dark Angels successors is usually put down as the [[Inquisition]]'s limited knowledge of the [[Fallen Angels]]. That and the fact that due to successor chapters often working with/take orders from the Dark Angels has lead to the Inquisition to fear the Angels and successors to be <s>"[[Astral Claws|legion building]]"</s> THE MOST LOYAL CHAPTERS DUE TO THE PURITY OF THEIR GENE SEED. Although that would be more credible if they had ever been anything less than a Legion.

==== Death Guard ====
{{Main|Death Guard}}
*Emphasis here is on ''known'' mutations - there's no actual evidence of Death Guard gene-seed having any problems at all, because we've never gotten any fluff covering any attempts to use the gene-seed from a Death Guard, even though one would assume they'd have the most deeply fucked up Progenoids of any Legion.

Pre-heresy, the Death Guard had a much stronger constitution than most Legions, leading to their role as the toxic environment specialists. Post-heresy, however, the Death Guard are so diseased that implanting Aspirants seems more or less impossible - however, there have been new Death Guard legionaries who are not defectors from other Legions or renegade Chapters, apparently made with the gene-seed reclaimed by the [[Plague Surgeon]]s. How it functions still, no one knows, though we suspect it has something to do with [[Nurgle]] and that he has necromantic powers of sorts, who can raise his fallen disciples back from the dead.

The most overwhelmingly likely explanation is, however, the Death Guard simply jacking loyalist gene-seed from fallen loyalist astartes and loyalist gene-seed stockpiles and using it to create new recruits, as '''every single Traitor Legion with tainted, unusable geneseed does this.'''

==== Iron Hands ====
{{Main|Iron Hands}}
* ''No defects.''
* Noted predilection towards machinery and a disdain towards flesh.

And just to make sure, if there are any, they follow the Bible's advice on offending organs and replace them with holy machinery instead. Would probably be a very desirable source for new chapters if not for the absolute devastation they suffered in the [[Drop Site Massacre]] leaving them barely recovered millennia later and needing all the gene-seed they can get for themselves. Because, you know, even though there has been more than enough time for more than twenty other foundings of whole, brand new chapters, and some of those foundings likely making new foundings of their own, the Iron Hands still haven't had enough time. It also doesn't help how they tend to be total pricks at times.

Alternate take: You need causalities that don't destroy the body entirely to harvest geneseed, or you need to implant it into clones, both of which are unlikely for a chapter that uses augmentations with power supplies that explode like melta bomb and that abhors even the organic parts of their own servitors. No new gene-seed, no new mutations.

==== Ultramarines ====
{{Main|Ultramarines}}
*''No official defects.'' Considered the most stable and preferred source of gene-seed for new Foundings.
**Due to a lack of any real interesting or identifying traits in and of itself, discussions for reclassifying the Ultramarine gene-seed from the most stable source to the most generic source were in the works. These talks were surreptitiously shut down by [[Who Watches Them|Inquisitor Warden]] for offending his sensibilities.
**Also worth noting is that the Ultramarines, in one of their bro-iest moves, "adopted" a fair number of loyalists from traitor legions after the heresy. There is no real way of telling if an Ultramarines "successor" might be from the relatively stable stock of World Eaters or Iron Warriors. In most cases only a single high-ranking [[Belisarius Cawl|archmagos]] knows the truth, so even the chapter itself (except possibly the command and the eldest brothers) is in the dark about its history.

==== White Scars ====
{{Main|White Scars}}
* ''No noted defects.''
** Tendency to do whatever they fancy.
** Unrestrained love towards doing strange things to engines buffing their bikes and battleships to ride into battle while riding into battle.
** Mongolians, but this just makes them better.

Possibly corrupted slightly, due to them fighting the [[Dark Eldar]] for so long, that there HAS to be some sex/hybrids in there SOMEWHERE. Don't even ask about the White Scars prisoners in [[Commorragh]].

==== World Eaters ====
{{Main|World Eaters}}
I know what you're thinking, but it's caused by an additional cybernetic implant - the ''Butcher's Nails'' - rather than anything in the gene-seed itself. While not ''technically'' part of their gene-seed, it has been carried on as a tradition by all the "successors" that resulted from the Legion's fracturing after the [[Battle of Skalathrax]]. Hell, they were known to be total bros before all the trouble with nails. And now they are little more than [[Kharn|Teamkilling Fucktards]].
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

===Minor Mutations===
These chapters may have cosmetic or easily-fixed mutations.
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
==== Emperor's Children ====
{{Main|Emperor's Children}}
*Implicitly defective and/or enhanced Lyman's Ear, and possibly Occulobe and Neuroglottis.
**An accident during the early days of the raising the Legions resulted in only two hundred Space Marines of the III Legion by the time the Emperor found [[Fulgrim]] and Chemos, forcing the Emperor's Children to work alongside the [[Black Legion|Luna Wolves]] for the early decades of the Great Crusade; due to Fulgrim's high standards of perfection being passed on the Legion's [[Apothecary|apothecaries]], Emperor's Children Aspirants had to be nothing less than physically perfect, resulting a largely stable gene-seed, including forbidding psykers to join the ranks. By the 41st millennium, however, the Emperor's Children's gene-seed is fucked up beyond all reason. Millennia of drugs from both inside and outside the Warp have damaged it greatly. While the relatively few sane [[tech-priests]] left and [[Dark Mechanicus]] working with them can and do make new Marines (thus proving their Marines can and do make new gene-seed), the chemical and other material abuse render each generation even crazier. Even before the Heresy, they were more sensitive to external stimuli, like sound, implying a defective Lyman's Ear with reduced ability to filter out sounds the Marine doesn't want to hear, and potentially similarly defective Occulobe and Neuroglottis.
*Initially gene-seed was corrupted and produced super-cancer at some point, but after Fulgrim's return the rotten batch was discontinued.

==== Iron Warriors====
{{Main|Iron Warriors}}
* Implicitly defective Ossmodula, but implicitly enhanced Progenoids:
** They have the lowest gene-seed rejection rate, which enabled them to replenish their huge number of casualties with an even higher number of recruits.
** Minor Ossmodula mutation ''sometimes'' causes limbs to twist and deform as the marine grows really old (we're talking hundreds of years to millennia) - this is usually dealt with by replacing limbs with bionics, or cutting them off and placing the cripple into a Dreadnought, Helbrute, or some weird custom made dreadnought-esque walker, since due to their specialty and organization only high-ranking officers can survive for so long, and they surely ain't going to suffer from the "Crazed" rule.

Especially noteworthy for the Iron Warriors considering they reside in the Eye Of Terror, there has been little mutation in their gene-seed as well. Those that do suffer mutation simply replace their mutated limbs with cybernetics. However, there may be some unknown issue which caused them to be afflicted with the [[Obliterators|Obliterator Virus]] (or was it they who made it? It's been confirmed Perturabo and Mortarion worked together on the obliterator virus) More easily - the first ones originated from them.

However, this is rendered null by the fact they are the [[/d/|sick]] [[Honsou|fucks]] behind the [[Daemonculaba]]. Due to its nature, the women themselves may have the gene-seed organs implanted (among other things), or at least the DNA required to be able to quickly grow the organs into a child stuck in their wombs. While the poor, innocent, scared kid inside can become a skinless abomination/mutant, they will normally emerge a genetically stable, gene-seed uncorrupted [[grimdark|skinless adult SPHESS MAHREEN with the mind of that same scared child]]. Suffice to say, this is a sick way of getting to [[Female Space Marines|FEMALE SPHESS MAHREENS]], and is [[Extra Heresy|DOUBLE HERESY]].

==== Luna Wolves/Sons of Horus/Black Legion ====
{{Main|Black Legion}}
* Implicitly defective Ossmodula/Biscopea, causing cosmetic similarity.

No real defects, but the tendency for members to look more like their [[Horus|Primarch]] is more pronounced (and possibly more frequent) than it is for members of other legions to resemble their own respective Primarchs. "Little Horus" Aximand was the most notable example of this, but by no means the only one. This gives extra meaning to the "Sons of Horus" thing. In fact, before the Luna Wolves were renamed the Sons of Horus, Luna Wolves that resembled Horus in appearance were known as "Sons of Horus". Ten thousand years in the Eye of Terror has left the Legion's gene-seed more unstable. However, we do know that new Black Legionaries are inducted constantly (seeing as they are the primary generic Chaos Space Marines faction), so its a good bet a large part of theirs is still usable [[grimdark|and that generations of children for millennia to come will be torn away from their parents and families, unfortunate enough to live in the Eye Of Terror, to be inducted into the Legion.]] Furthermore, given that they frequently "recruit" from other chapters and legions with the only real requirement being loyalty to Abbadon, it's not always easy to tell which Black Legionnaires are descended from Horus and which are from other Primarchs, outside of the aforementioned lookalike business.

==== Night Lords ====
{{Main|Night Lords}}
The Night Lords are officially the most stable of the Traitor Legions, a trait often put down to the fact that they rarely dwell in the [[Eye of Terror]]. That, and they don't even like Chaos or the gods. What little mutations there are are usually upon their Sorcerers...what ones have survived do not have them anymore either. There is one defect on Curze's Geneseed, and that is the Occulobe defect, causing them to have black pupils & sclera, and astonishing sight in the dark, even more than a normal space marine. Although, there is a bad side of this effect: Light hurts their eyes like hell, and blinds them for a short time.
Also, Curze's gene-seed may have passed onto psykers within his Legion his "gift" of seeing the future in the worst way possible, and as scenarios that become self-fulfilling prophecies. In one case, it was found out that the Primarch's "gift" was actually the side effect of a marine's body slowly rejecting the gene-seed. Prior to receiving this gift, he never demonstrated '''any''' psychic capability. Even so, this situation is rare.

==== Salamanders ====
{{Main|Salamanders}}
* Unique Melanchromic Organ, causing their skin to simply always be black instead of waiting for radiation to happen to fix it, and glowing red eyes.
* Possibly altered Mucranoid - high degree of heat resistance.
* Possibly altered Biscopea or Lyman's Ear - tend to be somewhat slower than other marines, although sometimes it's blamed on the somewhat high gravity on Nocturne or the unusually methodical mindset of it's inhabitants, since they can still run at the same level as any other chapter. (Way back when, they had -1 Initiative.)
* Limited ability to see infrared emissions, referred to as "fire-sight". While not as potent as what an Auspex scanner would be capable of, it can be combined with specialized materials within armor and standards to produce decorations and tactical markings that only the Salamanders can see.

While slightly dysfunctional, their gene-seed is pretty stable. Would probably be, like the [[Iron Hands]], a common source of new chapters if not for, again, their extreme decimation during the [[Drop Site Massacre]]. They've since recovered, perhaps a little quicker than the Iron Hands (possibly due to being a little closer to the center and being able to evacuate more marines), and while they claim no official kinship with any successors, there are at least a couple of examples with similar unit markings and tactical dogma.

==== Word Bearers ====
{{Main|Word Bearers}}
* Implicitly defective Catalepsian Node.

The Word Bearers suffer a unique "quirk" in their gene-seed, resulting in a psychologically obsessive loyalty to something, be it a man, a religion, or even an ideal. The Word Bearers in turn thus have a much stronger sense of loyalty to their battle-brothers and Primarch than other Chaos Space Marines, helping them to maintain cohesion and avoid treachery, but this loyalty also borders on fanaticism. Otherwise, while given to some instabilities, they have been able to maintain strength.
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<div style="margin-left:1em;">

===Major Mutations===
These Chapters feature at least one problem as least as bad as missing an entire organ, scaling up to the worst issue, where they go World Eaters-level crazy without needing any implants to get there (Blood Angels and Space Wolves).
<div style="margin-left:1em;">
==== Blood Angels ====
{{Main|Blood Angels}}
* Occasional bouts of temporary [[Rip and tear|bloodthirsty, genocidal rage]], otherwise known as the [[Red Thirst]].
** Occasional bouts of ''permanent'', [[Rip and tear|bloodthirsty, hallucinatory, genocidal rage]], better known as the [[Black Rage]].
* Extreme longevity.
Stable, but flawed. Prior to the [[Horus Heresy]], [[Sanguinius]] discovered that some of his sons were beginning to suffer the [[Red Thirst]], where they would descend into a thirst for blood, whether [[human]] or [[xenos]], in a blind rage. If that wasn't bad enough, as a result of Sanguinius's death at the hands of [[Horus]] imprinting itself on their genetic memory (or something), all Blood Angels and their successors have the [[Black Rage]]; a berserk rage where they [[Derp|believe themselves to be Sanguinius during his final battle]]. Meaning that he quite literally hit Sanguinius so hard that his grandchildren's-grandchildren's-ad-infinitum-children still feel it.

==== Imperial Fists ====
{{Main|Imperial Fists}}
* Missing Betcher's Gland (no acid spit).
* Missing Sus-an Membrane (no suspended animation).
* Possibly increased pain tolerance and/or a tendency towards masochism.

Despite missing two organs, the Imperial Fists gene-seed is considered to be amongst the most stable and most manly sources. It is the second most desirable source of gene-seed for Foundings. ''Second'' to the Ultramarines, of course.

==== Mantis Warriors ====
{{Main|Mantis Warriors}}
* A mutation with some similarities to the Blood Angel's Black Rage allows them to permanently enter a state called Battle Haze, which enhances their combat abilities at the cost of making them catatonic when they are not fighting.

==== Raven Guard ====
{{Main|Raven Guard}}
* Malfunctioning Melanchromic Organ (their skin is always pale and their eyes are always dark. Anti-Salamanders, basically.)
* Missing Mucranoid (no super-sweat).
* Missing Betcher's Gland (no acid spit).
* Occasional bouts of suicidal rage (Luckily for them this is not permanent unlike a certain other chapter.)

While their primary gene-seed is decently stable, when under extreme stress a percentage Raven Guard warriors will lapse into bouts of suicidal rage known as Ash Blindness or Sable Brand. This is rarely permanent, but occurred with enough frequency that [[Corax]] would organize these warriors into the [[Moritat]]. Their missing and malfunctioning geneseed organs is a result of [[Corax]], out of desperation following the [[Drop Site Massacre]], delving into use of forbidden lore and archeo-tech from days long past to accelerate gene-seed maturation, and try to boost his Legion's numbers after their losses during the [[Horus Heresy]]. He was successful, until the [[Alpha Legion]] decided to make the whole project go FUBAR. The subsequent 'Marines', if they can be called that, were numerous, but were barely controllable monsters and/or would simply die off as a result of the extreme imbalances in their dispositions. Presumably, a few of them would even have functioning Progenoids, let alone usable gene-seed. Due to the law of averages though, at least a FEW would have had to been stable enough, and is being worked on secretly by the Raven Guard Apothecaries and associated [[Adeptus Mechanicus|Mechanicus]] Biologicans.
Otherwise, despite being pretty fucked up by the [[Drop Site Massacre]], they've mostly recovered (thanks in no small part to having the ''only'' loyalist Primarch to get away from the Massacre in one piece) and do still contribute to successors [[Death Spectres|here]] and [[Raptors (Chapter)|there]].

==== Space Wolves ====
{{Main|Space Wolves}}
They actually have two different implanted DNA sources: the second is the [[Canis Helix]], which makes them viking werewolves (long canines, tough skin, awesome sense of smell, animalistic [[RAEG]] in combat) or, if one is really unfortunate, into an ordinary werewolf ([[Furry|the ones they ride at that]]), and their super-unstable geneseed, which can't function without pre-implanted Canis Helix and has been found to be incompatible with any populace outside of Fenris. For the most part, they get around this by just founding tons and tons more Space Wolves than the [[Codex Astartes]] would normally permit, meaning that they ''still'' tend to have tons of chapters' worth of marines on call. Of particular note are the [[Wulfen]], who are Space Wolves who happened to be in the Warp for over ten thousand years. Instead of being mutated into [[Chaos Spawn|unmentionable gribbly beasts]], they managed to turn into literal werewolves with savage strength, meaning there's a possibility the gene-seed has a factor that lets them resist the influence of Chaos.

While many factions within the chapter are proud of how "potent" their gene-seed is, plenty of Space Wolves have constantly labored to stabilize their genome in order to found successors to cordon off the [[Eye of Terror]], and crusade against the [[Thousand Sons]], a plan called "the Sons of Russ." Once, [[Wolf Brothers|they got really close]], which [[Magnus the Red]] didn't like, so he took his Marines and bumped off the Wolf Priest in charge (and generally wrecked things for the Space Wolves), using some [[Tzeentch|Tzeentchian]] trickery to get an opening. In short, he [[gets shit done|got shit done!]].

==== Thousand Sons ====
{{Main|Thousand Sons}}
* Increased chance of bringing out psychic powers, as well as amplified psychic power.
* Recipients subject to a high rate of mutation, called The Flesh Change; unstable.
The most unstable genome in the Space Marine legions, the Thousand Sons suffer from the Flesh-Change, a problem that caused Thousand Sons to mutate spontaneously. [[Magnus the Red]] fixed it, with some "[[Just as Planned|help]]" from [[Tzeentch]]. After the [[Horus Heresy]], the flesh-change came back with a vengeance. [[Ahzek Ahriman]] tried to fix it with his Rubric, and he did end up stopping the flesh-change... by turning all non-[[psyker]] Thousand Sons into dust; sorcerers also had their powers enhanced in addition to no longer suffering ill-effects from the Flesh-Change. So while theoretically, the Sorcerers of the long suffering Legion can provide gene-seed, in practice, it's corrupted so often that few will ever make new Marines. Thousand Sons specifically hunt for healthy and stable psyker boys to implant them with their oh-so-rare gene-seed to ensure the recipient would become a sorcerer. If "Masters, bidding!" TS character words to be trusted, Thousands Sons found a way to implant their progenoids into grown up men (so they can teach and test them for longer before implantation), and perform a scaled down Rubric on them to prevent the Flesh Change. According to Phil Kelly they also replenish their numbers by summoning back souls of destroyed Rubrics, and Magnus supposedly can bring back Sorcerers he isn't pissed off at, so gene-seed wouldn't matter much to them. It is known that Magnus the Red used his knowledge of Biomancy to turn his mentor Amon into an Astartes despite his old age, so its possible this technique was passed down to his Legion.

==== Blood Ravens ====
{{Main|Blood Ravens}}
* A mutated Catalepsean Node - gives them perfect memory recall, but unable to enter REM (deep) sleep.
* Increased chance of bringing out psychic powers.
* Unknown mutation that increases psychic ability and occurrences.
* Small tendency towards mutations (hurr sounds like [[Thousand Sons|any other Legions]] we know of?).
* Horrendously massive tendency to develop kleptomania.
* The pores in their scalps secrete a substance not all too dissimilar to hair gel, often resulting in a higher tendency to develop hair-etical hair compared to other chapters.
** Alternatively, the pores on their scalps may prevent hair from growing altogether, giving the marine Astartes-pattern baldness. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZfvIg_M5yE It has been long thought to be a terrible weapon to behold.]
* Unknown mutation referred to as "unavailable voice actor syndrome" that results in their voices changing every few years.
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=== A Note On That Sick Fuck Fabius Bile ===

[[Fabius Bile]] is fucking insane. I mean shit, his labcoat is made of <strike>human</strike> ASTARTES skin - normally only [[Space Wolves]] and [[Night Lords]] wear clothing made of that stuff. While originally the Chief Apothecary of the Emperor's Children, he is now a freelancer. His goal even before the Heresy was to find and unlock the secret to the creation of the Space Marines. In the [[Warp]], he provides a valuable service to the Chaos Legion warbands and their auxiliaries of billions more regular Chaos humans - while often millions strong even now, the warbands still need to replenish their numbers. Considering how many die and how often they are away from any place where they can produce more, that's a lot. Even with slave raiding into the Imperium, child abduction both in and out, breeding centers (stop touching yourself), and many [[Daemonculaba|other creative ideas]], it's still not enough. Fabius provides services of human cloning, along with gene-seed production, among his many skills. As he is not a super-devotee of Chaos, the gene-seed he has and makes is some of the least corrupted found within the [[Eye Of Terror]]. Of course, he fucks this all up by hopping up his own warband's clones with the same psycho drugs and shit that make monsters out of men. Lore hints that his genetic tinkering is far more than we have been lead to believe - much of his 'changes' to even the standard human genome are genetic and now passable by both men and [[Female Space Marines|women]]. Even now, the Imperium is trying to hunt and eradicate what they call his '[[Twilight|New Men]]'. He also has access to a small quantity of what is alleged to be the blood of the Primarch Sanguinius. Why did he get that last part? To clone the Emperor. Never let it be said that this fuck, sick as he may be, lacks ambition.
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===21st Founding ===
{{Main|21st Founding}}
Over the millennia, further mutations have afflicted the many Successor Chapters, but the 21st or "Cursed" Founding deserves a special mention, because a bunch of [[Adeptus Mechanicus|tech-priests]] decided that they wanted to try and fix the flaws, but failed so hard they actually created some new ones.

* Bursting into Flames: Yes, the [[Flame Falcons]] really were covered in fire. The Flame Falcons thought it was a blessing from the [[God-Emperor of Mankind]], but the [[Inquisition]] disagreed, and sent the [[Grey Knights]] to wipe them out.
* Bone Growths: Due to a malfunctioning Ossmudula, the [[Black Dragons]] suffer a bone solid growth to harden and extend from their forehead and forearms during times of stress. The ones on the forearm can be used as weapons against unarmored opponents, so they decided to coat them in adamantium. So in essence, they're space-Wolverine-after-the-bone-claws kind of guys. Issue is that this is a very visible mutation, and as this is the [[Grimdark|grim]][[Derp|derp]] Imperium, mutations from the sacred human form are EVUL, even if they are fucking awesome.
* Indestructibility: The [[Sons of Antaeus]] are much tougher than normal marines, and nobody knows why. Some speculate something about a super-reinforced skeleton, some say it's [[Nurgle]]'s doing, etc. The only real truth to it is that there's some sort of mutation present in the gene-seed.
* Bad Luck: The [[Lamenters]] chapter's modifications seemed to have fixed the Red Thirst and Black Rage, but as a trade off they seem to be cursed with some of the worst possible luck, essentially giving up the Khornate Curse for a Tzeentchian one. Many other chapters of the 21st Founding were also cursed with bad luck but the Lamenters are the only known ones that didn't get wiped out by it so that may say something about how badass they are.
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=== A Note On Implant Organs/DNA Elsewhere ===

While the SPHESS MAHREENS are the most widespread users of artificial glands, organs, and such, they are not the only ones. [[Inquisitor]]s likely have access to organs or other artificial mutations they require thanks to their influence in the Imperium. Depending on what world they hail from and its beliefs, Imperial Guard regiments and PDF may also have artificial organs, or even whole new ones derived from millennia of mutations, which of course has certain advantages. Furthermore, Warp Exposure can result in a change of the functions of organs - a simple example of this is the [[Cadia]]ns, who nearly universally have powerful, violet colored eyes. [[Gland War Veteran|Gland Warriors]] were an [[Adeptus Mechanicus]] project to help legions of Guardsmen heading into battle against a [[Tyranid]] hive fleet. They were to do battle in an incredibly toxic and hard environment, and a variety of experimental organs and DNA strands were utilized - including organs that would secrete stims, painkillers, and various medical drugs, more powerful natural air filters, and the like. While only [[grimdark|three survived]] the whole campaign in the end, the AdMech was pleased and took the three to be debriefed.

It is also noted that Gene-seed can be decoded, but it requires eons of knowledge about biology, medicine, and so on. Only the Emperor or AdMech, with their advanced equipment, is able to do so (and even the AdMech couldn't fully work it out). The hard part is to decode the "impossibly complex" amino acid chains of the gene-seed and extract the necessary information encoded within the Gland's stored zygotes. [[Thunder_Warriors|Arik Taranis]] was able to decode it in a dusty, old, half-broken lab using the knowledge gleaned by just watching the Emperor work, and remade it to fit in his Thunder Warrior body.
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[[Category:Warhammer 40,000]]
[[Category:Space Marines]]