Editing Codex Astartes (section)

==Non-Codex Chapters==
As mentioned, there are so many chapters in the Imperium and very few of them follow the codex absolutely to the letter. Many chapters have their own preferred mode of warfare based upon their experiences, supplies and dispositions, often they generate their own interpretations and deviations from the codex. Here follows a comparative listing of those chapters and the way in which they differ from what the codex actually prescribes.

'''[[Astral Claws]]'''
*'''Pre-[[Red Corsairs]] Times''': Before [[Lugft Huron]] went pants-on-heads retarded, the Chapter was known for being exceptionally stubborn with skilled Bikers and favoring lightning strikes and boarding actions while still following the Codex.
*'''[[Badab War]] Times''': 
**Due to Huron's pants-on-heads retarded thinking, the Chapter seized the Badab Sector's industry and made it so that Bolter rounds and Rhinos were mass-produced to the point being expendable, not to mention the larger-than-standard number of marines due to them purposefully not paying their geneseed tithe and the absorption of the survivors of the [[Tiger Claws]], their successor chapter, after their last fleet went MIA following devastating casualties.
**Emergence of specialized units (such as the hated Corpse-Takers) and human Auxilia. Squads larger due to aforementioned not paying of the geneseed tithe.
**Obviously, after the Badab War was lost, the survivors gave up even lip service and became a Chaos Warband.

'''[[Black Templars]]'''
*Has a liberal interpretation of the codex's fleet-based/crusade chapter rules (having more than 1,000 marines to quickly replenish losses). To the Templars, this meant: as many marines as we want (but usually no more than a thousand on the ground in any one place due to obvious reasons). The actual number hovers around several thousand divided to several crusades. Technically they are still compliant as the 1000 Astartes rule only applies when not on crusade, and the Templars are always crusading.
*No Scout company, instead recruits are apprenticed to fully fledged battle-brothers, aka "Crusader squads".
*No Librarians, though some theories state that this may be due to a gene seed problem caused by the defeat of the Xenos Psyker known as the Cacodominus, see their main article for more information.
*Doctrinal emphasis on close quarters combat.
**Abundance of previously unsanctioned Land Raider "Crusader"s to deliver said Crusader squads to CQC. See the trend here?
*May or may not deify the Emperor. The canon is kind of up in the air right now.
**The position of "Emperor's Champion", a Chapter Champion-esque title but of religious significance.

'''[[Deathwatch]]'''
*The [[Deathwatch]] count as a unique organization, being made up of several thousand Marines seconded from other chapters and under special anti-Xenos duties across the galaxy, though unlike the Grey Knights they technically aren't a Chapter. Still, they're included in this section to cover our bases.
*Originally, [[Slaughter Koorland]] intended the Deathwatch to be set to Chapter-strength, with their head being named Watch Commander as opposed to Chapter Master. Nowadays, the contemporary Deathwatch not follow the standard 1000-marine limit, with unclear lore bits putting the range between 2100-4800 marines. However, they are usually divvied up between various Watch Fortresses/Stations located in Imperial space, each led by a Watch Master. Deathwatch HQ is officially located at Talasa Prime.
*Aside from anti-Xenos duties, the Deathwatch are trained to perform missions outside of your usual Astartes fare, such as hostage rescue or false flag ops.

'''[[Grey Knights]]'''
*Due to their unique training and equipment (not to mention the [[Chaos|intimidatingly]] [[Chaos Space Marines|insane]] [[Daemon|shit]] they have to deal with), the Codex would actually hamper them instead if they were subject to it.
*All psyker Chapter of Demon hunting marines. Nuff said.
*The infamous [[Dreadknight]].
*The [[Purifier]]s are a separate force separate from the rest of the chapter, though able to be seconded when needed.
*There are no scout companies or equivalents (they have the Ordo Malleus to do their recon work for them). An aspirant who makes it past training is immediately promoted to the role of Battle Brother.
**Similarly, the process of earning the right to don Terminator Armour is a much shorter journey, since it is not allotted exclusively to the First Company.
**That said, there is a sort of system of progression throughout each of the eight Brotherhoods (each essentially a company and representative of the eight founders of the chapter in the original Knights Errant of [[Malcador the Sigillite]]) and the elite [[Purifier]] and [[Grey Knight Paladin|Paladin]] Brotherhoods.
*Companies have both a Captain and a Grand Master.
*Company Champion is renamed Brotherhood Champion due to obvious reasons.
*Chapter frequently operates with individual squads due to that being enough for most cases, coordinated by the Grand Masters and the Captains taking the best squad of the individual Brotherhood for difficult missions not needing an entire Brotherhood.
*Chapter Master renamed Supreme Grand Master.
*Do not have any artillery weapons like Whirlwind Artillery Tanks or lack of certain vehicles other Chapters have.

'''[[Legion of the Damned]]'''
*Previously Codex adherent [[Fire Hawks]] (maybe, now it's uncertain if they are Fire Hawks or somebody/something completely different), now a horde of angry hellfire powered, space/time/dimension travelling, [[AWESOME|spectrerevenantdemonspacemarines]]. More recent lore consistently depicts them as effectively acting as in a role analogous to Minor Daemons of the Emperor, with Living Saints being the equivalent of Greater Daemons (of course, nobody would dare refer to them in such terms lest they be [[blam]]med).
*Utilize more powerful, but unstable early versions of existing Imperial Weapons like early Horus Heresy Era Plasma Weapons.

'''[[Space Wolves]]'''
*Ignore the organizational parts of the codex outright. It would be easier to go to [[Space Wolves|their page]] to find out how they are organized.
*Simply put, [[Leman Russ]] wanted them to be forged in his vision instead that of Roboute Guilliman, and Guilliman gave him permission to do so (or rather, didn't interfere).
*Although they do however take some useful tactics from the codex because they like them, they see them as just that: useful tactics, and nothing more.
*Fenrisian Wolves/Thunderwolves used by the Chapter. This may or may not be heresy.
*Have more than a thousand marines, yet not that much as the Black Templars. If anything, its just a few more hundred. Well, until recently that is. They now have straight up multiple thousands in at least one Great Company and nobody cares anymore due to the Great Rift.
*Threw the typical training process out the window because of the Canis Helix which must be taken prior to the rest of the [[Gene-seed]], otherwise the rest of the organs will not work. That the Helix is also incompatible with anyone outside of Fenris is another reason why they go past the Codex-mandated limit to help recover from losses.
*A newly trained initiate as thrown into their assault companies called [[Blood Claw]]s, to allow them to express and better-control their savage nature. Particularly rowdy Blood Claws end up in the [[Skyclaw]]s, the ''actual'' [[Assault Marines|Assault Marine]] counterparts.
*They ''do'' have actual Scout Squads, unimaginatively known as Wolf Scouts, but these are exclusively made up of veteran marines. These Wolf Scouts are selected due to being both experienced and, which is most important, cool-headed (though also because they are Lone Wolves, the last survivors of wiped out squads with the temperament to match), Something the Blood Claws certainly are NOT.
*Tactical Marines are known as [[Grey Hunter]]s, and any Blood Claws who have worked out their aggression are moved here.
*Their Devastators are called [[Long Fang]]s and rather than an immediate position, it is reserved for the most battle-hardened veterans who have proven themselves capable enough of being entrusted with the ownership and handling of the chapter's heavy weaponry.
*Squads/Packs can be oversized, and if they lose all but one member they aren't reinforced. Said lone survivor becomes a Lone Wolf, who seeks death in battle against the strongest foes to atone for the shame. If against all odds said Marine does manage to kill a big ugly creature/huge tank/massive horde without dying, they get promoted to Wolf Guard.
*Honour Guard renamed Wolf Guard, who are not limited in number and anyone can be promoted there after sufficient valor and heroic feats, including Lone Wolves. Each Wolf Lord (Captain) has a Wolf Guard, each Wolf Lord has two Wolf Guard Battle Leaders (Lieutenant) and The Great Wolf (Chapter Master) has the largest Wolf Guard.
*The Great Wolf directly leads the First Company, though as mentioned previously this is not a unique arragement.
*In the previous editions, they had access to [[Leman Russ Battle Tank]]s, since the tank was named after their Primarch.
*Wolf Priests combine both Chaplain and Apothecary roles.
*Techmarines renamed Iron Priests, but otherwise function like their Codex-compliant fellows.
*No Librarians, but Rune Priests, who are totally 100% not psykers, honest.