Praetor (Space Marine)
In the golden age of the Imperium, before there was such a thing as a Chapter Master, hell, before Chapters were even considered a thing by Big Boy G, there was the Praetor. Praetors were one of the highest ranks a Space Marine could reach in the Legiones Astartes during the Great Crusade and Horus Heresy, and functioned as the Legion's equivalent of a Chapter Master.
Overview
Praetors were commanders second only to their Primarchs in skill, battle prowess, and intellect. They most commonly commanded Chapter-size formations or the equivalent thereof, and the exact title they bore varied by Legion: there were First Captains, Chapter Masters, Lord Commanders, Noyan-Khans, Warsmiths, and other titles. The most senior praetors were effectively the second-in-command of the Legion should their Primarch be knocked out or suffer critical existence failure.
Due to their high rank, they obviously got to wear the really good shit: Tartaros Pattern Terminator Armour, Cataphractii Pattern Terminator Armour, Gorgon Pattern Terminator Armour, Saturnine Pattern Terminator Armour and Artificer Armour. Whilst all Praetors came standard-issue with the Paragon Blade, they could also be armed with a bunch of gnarly weapons such as Relic Blades, Power Spears, Power Lances, Power Halberds, Thunder Hammers, Power Fists, Chain Spears, Heavy Chainswords, Chainscythes, Chainglaives, Frost Blades, Terranic Greatswords, Force Axes (If they're a Psyker) and Power Scythes, to name just the CQC weapons. For ranged weaponry, they had access to an equally diverse range of the lead/energy rainbow; Bolt Pistols, Plasma Pistols, Combi-Volkites, Combi-Bolters, Combi-Grenade Launchers, Combi-Flamers, Combi-Meltas, Volkite Chargers, Volkite Serpentas, Digital Weapons, Astartes Boltguns, archaeotech pistols, and the elusive Disintegration Combi-Gun and Disintegration Pistol.
Crunch
These guys are the Chapter Masters of the pre-Heresy and Heresy eras. He packs Master of the Legion, so he'll unlock Rites of War and command squads while rolling twice on the warlord chart, but if all you wanted was MotL you'd take a cheap Delegatus instead. The real reason you'll take this guy is if you want a close-combat monster, and if you do want a monster, accept no substitutes; upgrades for Consuls quickly get into Praetor points levels for a pale shadow of Praetor effectiveness. The only real exception is if your Legion offers a special character who's better at the job.
