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Racilia
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The book starts with a front cover that depicts… well, let's just say I'm pretty sure there's some artistic liberties going on here. Gimme a sec to figure out screenshots and y'all can check it.
Ah, here we go -
So, first up, it's a picture of the 'Ultramarines' - which, incidentally, isn't the proper name for them, but it's stuck so much it'd get confusing if I called them by their proper names. Now, I got nothing against the boys in blue personally - got issues with their Primarch, but none with the chapter itself. They've all got sticks up their asses the size of pine trees, but hey, they're not the Templars. The issue is, you can't find a piece of propaganda about us Astartes -
especially for this wargame - that isn't putting them front and centre ahead of other chapters, even ones where there are warzones none of the Blues are deployed, or in situations they're not best suited for -
Like, I get it. They're clean cut, their colours pop on posters. And since Guilliman woke up, it's not surprising the emphasis has been on them. But fuck, they're good all rounders, not the 'first and best' of us.
Secondly, what is going on with this artist's depiction of our armour? Yeah, it's bulky - it needs to be - and a lot of work goes into maintaining it, but what it
doesn't have are pauldrons so big you can't do any kind of lateral arm raise without cracking the seals. That would be a total fucking design failure. No-one would wear armour like that on a battlefield - sure, we had some ceremonial gear that's that restrictive, for rites and shit, but no-one's wearing it onto the field, specially nothing as bad as that poor Chaplain in the back seems to have on. Nor are they dragging what looks like a shredded litany scroll
outside their armour - yeah maybe you might tuck a few pages into your pockets of your underarmour for luck if you're especially religious, or you might keep a few specially treated waxes as an amulet in honour of your armour passing sanctification, but having something tangling around like that - s'a neat artistic image but it's not
realistic, y'know?
Thirdly, what the hell is being fought here? There's some fire and something that looks maybe like a 'nid just below the central guy - also why is he using a Stalker Boltgun like that, sidenote? - but otherwise it looks like some kind of defensive position got completely fucked up by everyone piling into each other like eejits instead of actually entrenching worth a damn - again, artistic license, I get it. Sorry.
We then get two straight pages of greyed out, horrifying rows of screaming faces with grills shoved into their mouths. No idea what the fuck that's doing here.
Three images of three different Astartes head up the next page - one's still the Blues, but we also get what looks like a Fists librarian in termie armour, and maybe a Raven grimacing at something (probably whoever stuck those waxes to the outside of his armour), and the first bit of actual text.
'They shall be my finest warriors, these men who give themselves to me. Like clay I shall mould them and in the furnace of war I shall forge them. They will be of iron will and steely muscle. In great armour shall I clad them and with the mightiest guns shall they be armed. They will be untouched by plague or disease, no sickness will blight them. They will have tactics, strategies and machines such that no foe can best them in battle. They are my bulwark against the Terror. They are the Defenders of Humanity. They are my Space Marines ... and they shall know no fear.'
- The Emperor of Mankind
An' of course it's this quote. So, firstly, this quote is
hella apocryphal. People say shit all the time and are then like 'oh it was said by the Emperor'. Think there's, what are they called, memes about that?
But, to be fair, it is the kind of thing I could see him saying - in one of those big, martial speeches. I don't think it's at all useful for knowing anything about us, or about the Emperor's view of what we were meant to be. S'like a lot of what we'll come across here - propaganda, yeah? Of course you're going to say your troops know no fear. What, you going to tell Johnny Noble 'actually, my troops are full of fear all the time'? No that's fucking stupid. Course you're going to say no-one can beat them in a fight.
Then we get some heraldry and the table of contents. And some thanks to various playtesting groups, cluding one called the Mournival which seems in slightly poor taste but what do I know.
Ah, the Introduction, with an additional image of some of the minifigs all posed in way too close battle formation to a buncha Necrons. No idea why that gunship's flying so fucking low. Anyway -
Welcome, brother, to Codex: Space Marines, a tome dedicated to collecting, painting and gaming with Space Marines Citadel miniatures. Packed full of information regarding the warriors, vehicles and leaders of the Adeptus Astartes, as well detailing their organisation, heraldry and peerless skill at arms, it contains vital lore for Space Marines collectors.
Huh. Lemme just check.
Yeah this is placing a lot more emphasis on buying their shit. Kinda feel a bit ripped off that the Leagues and the T'au and whatnot get some cultural emphasis while this one's just like 'buy our shit, have two or three themed words'. Like, look at this -
Few factions in Warhammer 40,000 have such an extensive range of Citadel miniatures as the Space Marines. Whether you are a hobby veteran with numerous service studs to your name, or a neophyte brand new to the Warhammer hobby, you will find something in the Space Marines range that fires your imagination and fills you with inspiration.
Also, gross to appropriate having service studs or being a neophyte to describe someone who's bought enough of your shit, my guys. I earned mine each after campaigns that saw me fighting for decades on end.
And I get it's a gimmick. S'like, trying to get the average guy to feel like one of us. Make them see us as more like them. Sympathetic magic of words kinda shit. Just pisses me off more than I expected.
Anyway, it then continues to talk about all the cool models you can have and the wide range of gear we've got, now purchasable in miniature form from them for a few weekly payments of most of your soul. And like, even when they touch on what we're like, it's still so fucking
commercial. Look at this shit -
Each Space Marine belongs to a Chapter, an independent fighting force. Over a thousand Chapters exist, all with unique heraldry and visually strong colour schemes. There are few more impressive sights on the tabletop than a fully painted Space Marine army arrayed for war. For any hobbyist, this is an incredible opportunity to make their army their own, experimenting with their favourite colours and delving into their imagination to invent epic origin stories and tales of victories for their warriors. For those who find the pull of narrative play impossible to resist, this Codex includes bespoke additions to the Crusade Forces rules found in the Warhammer 40,000 Core Book, tailored to the Space Marines.
This book is replete with stunning artwork and glorious photography, showcasing the Space Marines in all their grim might and terrifying splendour. Each has a story to tell about the Adeptus Astartes, whether it be of their bravery, sacrifice, traditions, organisation or how they wage war. Each is but a glimpse into the lives and ways of the defenders of Humanity, and a source of inspiration.
Emphasis mine. Am I being over sensitive here? S'not like we're being called monsters like the Drukhari were, or being portrayed as mindless like the Nids, or whatever was going on with the T'au.
But to see them pat themselves on the back for getting people to buy us in bulk just feels…
Oh we got the rest of the picture on the cover. It's the Black Legion they're fighting. Thought the fire looked a little like Warpfire. Legion don't look right either, but, well, that's easier to forgive. Not like they're fond of posing for portraits.
The Space Marines are the Emperor's will made manifest. They are his Angels of Death, descending to the battlefield from mighty warships to cleanse the foes of Mankind from the face of the galaxy. For ten thousand years the Space Marine Chapters have been Humanity's shield and sword in the face of the horrors that beset it.
I mean. It's not
wrong. Doesn't mean it's right either. We're not his will made manifest in the way this means.
I guess it's true in the sense that his will created us, shaped the rites and rituals that are still part of us. But we're not, like, some continual extension of his plans and stuff. I'm sure he's got bigger problems in his rest than personally guiding us all like pieces on a board.
Angels of Death - I've never
liked the term, but again, it's not entirely wrong. We do have some pretty mighty warships we descend from. Been a bit more than ten kay years I'm pretty sure but - yeah, as summaries go, this paragraph ain't too bad. Hell, we even tend to get sent to the worst stuff, so the 'horrors' isn't the usual xenophobia and theocratic shit either.
Genetically enhanced supersoldiers, they are among the greatest warriors to have ever existed. They are stronger, faster and more resilient than the Humans they are sworn to protect. They are psycho-indoctrinated from youth, rendering them immune to fear and staunchly loyal. On the battlefield they are relentless, determined warriors who will stop at nothing to achieve victories nigh on impossible for unaugmented soldiery to achieve.
This is where things fall apart a bit though.
First up, common misconception. We're not 'genetically' enhanced. Well, not - not like that. Can't go spilling the full secrets of the surgery and stuff. S'all technically classified, still, I think? I mean, a lot of it's common knowledge by now - the organs and time periods of neophyte stuff I mean. The implantation order. Anyway, point is, we're
surgically enhanced with
genetically enhanced organs. Different.
Second - greatest warriors to have ever existed? Shiiit, if I said that to an Aeldari it'd be a fast route to bleeding out. I don't know if we're even among humanity's best. 'Stronger, faster, more resilient' than average humans - sure, though the way it's setting us up as superior -
I dunno, not comfortable with that. We are - different from humans. Unaugmented humans. That's inevitable. And we only really find brotherhood and understanding with each other. But we're not better. Just different.
Thirdly - no, we're not psycho indoctrinated, no more than the Astra are. We're not immune to fear. And if we were all staunchly loyal, there wouldn't be any Defectors would there? If psycho indoctrinating tech existed, you could bet it'd be used more widely than just on us. S'made up. The fuck does psycho indoctrinated mean anyway?
Last line's fine. Bit too worshipful, but fine. We're sent into tough, impossible situations, and do try and pull wins out of our asses, pushing on and on.
In the Era Indomitus, the Imperium is assailed as never before from both within and without. The Space Marines hold firm, meeting the onslaught head-on with unbreakable faith in their hearts and oaths on their lips. They are the champions of Humanity, and they know no fear. Defeat is only for the enemy, and while one Space Marine stands, hope remains for the Imperium.
And then there's
this. Firstly, no-one fucking calls it the Era Indomitus. Stop trying to make that happen. 'Assailed from within and without' - ooh that's a fuckin classic fascist dogwhistle, I can almost hear the guy who wrote that biting his lip with how fucking clever he is, how much his boss will pat him on the back. 'Unbreakable faith' -
So. Us Astartes we - we see the Emperor a bit differently? It's not just that, y'know, he kinda made us directly, and in a sense through his 'sons' we all carry a piece of him, but it's also that - I dunno. We do think he's a god but he's not… the gilded throne, the eternal worship, the vast choirs. Our prayers are quieter than that? More like talking to someone in a quiet room/ Someone you know understands and listens. I don't like us being co-opted like that.
Well, I guess the Templars worship like that, they're completely fucking nuts about that sort of thing. Them and the Platinums.
Already mentioned we know fear. 'Defeat is for the enemy' - well ideally, yeah, but with the earlier stuff this is kinda gross. The while one marine stands thing is -
I just really hate us being made into strongmen. Maybe it's the men part that bugs me, maybe it's that we're already so separate and different that having it be presented as us being
better can lead to Grey Knight problems, if left unchecked.
Fuck me I'm rambling. We're only 6 pages in. We've got another Artistic Choice image, take a look -
Did we really need the censer hanging in front of his dong? The serfs with glowing eyes doing that - whatcha callit, the meme with the circular mouth? Why's there one whose face is a dog skull? Why's he got a gizmo in his abs? And grabbing two tesla coils?
What did they say about the artwork again? That it showcases us in all our 'grim might and terrifying splendour'?
Yeah that's one word for it.
Every Space Marine is a mighty warrior, a champion almost beyond compare. These post-humans are heavily augmented, the products of years of arduous training, agonising surgery and psycho-indoctrination. It is a process of arcane and horrific science, one which not all inductees will survive. Such are the sacrifices Mankind must make to weather the storms that batter it so ceaselessly.
More jerking us off about how great we are, and that fucking word again.
Psycho indoctrination. I'm going to go fucking look it up.
… okay, ignoring all the kink shit about how Astartes need to be made susceptible to hypnosis for some fucking reason (????), and the conspiracy theories, it literally just means indoctrination of the mind. Which, like, yeah? That's just
being trained as a soldier from age ten. There's no fancy gizmos in it! Fuck me, stupid fucking… you already covered it with the arduous training! Why are you having it here other than -
oh the know no fear thing. Rightrightright. We have to be psychologically changed to be superior. Can't be too close to stinky normal humanity, despite humans being meant to be the best. Of course.
Won't disagree on arcane and horrific science though.
It is only thanks to the Emperor's skills and knowledge that the Space Marines exist. Only he knew the subtle arts and infinitely complex nuances of gene-craft. It was his vision that led to the creation of the Primarchs and the gene-sons that followed from them, and the arcane alchemies he developed have since allowed generation after generation of Space Marines to serve the Imperium.
Wouldn't say that
only he did. Didn't he lead a big fucking project of people to make the Primarchs and eventually us? Definitely his vision though, but this implies he did all grunt work as well.
For all their phenomenal physical prowess, the incessant and intense warfare that Space Marines fearlessly endure sees even these mighty warriors suffer casualties.
Some real weasel words here. They have to admit we suffer losses, in both senses, because that's undeniable, but they've spent so long wanking us they have to carefully wriggle round to admitting that.
To avoid extinction, every Chapter must constantly recruit fresh warriors. How these individuals are selected varies enormously, each Chapter having unique and sometimes clandestine methods by which it conducts its recruitment. All aspirants are youths, for if selected at too mature an age their bodies will reject the implants, derived from a material called gene-seed, they need to become Space Marines. All have to pass immensely tough trials, whether it be crossing vast distances of extremely inhospitable country with few supplies, hunting local megafauna with naught but a sharpened stick or any of a hundred other tests of physical or mental fortitude. Many fail, the lucky killed in their efforts and those less fortunate lobotomised and turned to mindless servitors.
So this starts out fairly right, then devolves into groxshit quite quickly. Chapters do vary in how they do recruitment. True. Those methods are usually clandestine. True - I'm not going to talk about any I know about here, that knowledge isn't for you. All aspirants are young - true, the organs need to grow with us. Immensely tough trials - yeah, that's a not bad way of putting it.
Where it falls apart though is - like, okay, first, you give an example, only one, like, that's just bad writing. Rule of three, c'mon. Secondly, your example is some real fascist strongman bullshit. Maybe some Chapters do that, I'm not going to speculate, but this is a story that's pretty directly lifted from ideas of how the Spartans were trained in prehistory and stuff. Nah. The trials aren't like that. S'more about making sure you're a good fit mentally for the Chapter - the physical stuff can be taught later. It's a classic strong thrive weak die narrative, not helped by the
lie that those who fail get
lobotomised and turned into servitors -
No. If you fail and you're not too hurt, you can stay on as an aux, generally speaking. If you fail and you're pretty hurt, most Chapters pay your medical bills, send you home. If you fail and you're going to die, they ask - and if you okay it, you can donate your body as a servitor.
Only way that happens. Fucking - lobotomising failures, what the
fuck. Is this what the Imperium thinks we're like? Monsters only held in check by our 'psycho-indoctrination'? Angels who would kill them without a second thought?
To be a Space Marine is to be subject to hardships and horror that ordinary Humans cannot begin to comprehend, and the chosen must be prepared physically, mentally and spiritually.
… I
really do not like the tone of this. Once again we are placed separately and above - even
spiritually which -
I suppose if you buy into the Ecclesiarchy line about the Emperor, then we do possess some spark of divinity, but I don't believe the Emperor was divine in flesh, he was divine in soul. Us containing a fragment of a fragment more of DNA in common with him in our implants means very, very little, in my opinion.
Over a period of years, aspirants are put through an extremely harsh process. They are trained rigorously in diverse styles of combat, how to wield the Space Marines' weapons and operate a number of their vehicles. Relentless martial training is interspersed with periods of hypnotic suggestion, prolonged meditation, psychological and spiritual testing and gradual initiations into the Chapter's rites, history and traditions. In addition to this, they receive their implants.
Again with the hypnosis! Is this genuinely someone's kink?
The rest is relatively accurate, though I think the idea that this training is more challenging than what Sanctioned psykers must go through, or what Aeldari do when becoming Aspect Warriors, or even how the Schola Progenium tends to train its pupils is kinda
silly. We're training to be soldiers, just like anyone else.
Except, maybe, for the implants.
The gene-seed implants are specially grown organ grafts. Some serve to give the Space Marine unique abilities, such as the Betcher's Gland, which allows them to spit poison. Others enhance existing abilities, such as the Sinew Coils, which dramatically increase strength and durability.
I dunno why if you're going to list two you wouldn't just list all nineteen - sorry, twenty two if you're counting the new ones. Like, they're
all technically classified, if you're going to mention two of them -
And the Coils aren't even grown! They're the only ones which aren't and are purely cybernetic! Which is part of why - fuck, getting outta order. I'll get to the Primaris in a bit.
Implantation of these organs must occur in a precise order. Why, exactly, is unknown to even the most adept Apothecaries.
Completely untrue. Can't say the actual reason though cause, again, classified. Not going to spill my beans on this one. So I guess it's fair enough to think it's some arcane lost knowledge.
Gene-seed is a finite resource, impossible to manufacture without the implants known as progenoid glands that have matured within the body of another Space Marine, and the recovery of these should a battle-brother be slain is of the utmost importance.
Makes it fucking sound like a resource in a damn game. You don't spend x geneseed to get y implants. S'like a plant, from what I've heard the Apothecaries say. You need to keep the plants growing, so you need clippings for new plants for when the old one dies. That's it. Throne above…
Despite every effort to maintain the purity of gene-seed, quality levels vary between the Space Marine Chapters. The Ultramarines' is highly regarded, a source of pride to the great number of Adeptus Astartes Chapters that can trace their lineage to Roboute Guilliman. In contrast, the Imperial Fists' gene-seed is missing the genetic information to create certain specialised organs.
Look, first of all, Fists don't have those organs because they've decided they don't need them - which, fair enough, number of times
I've had to use my Betcher's for anything other than fucking around with my squad is pretty minimal; I genuinely don't know if the Emperor was having an off day when he decided we needed to spit acid or if there was some real need for that kind of thing in the days of the Conquest. It's not because of some 'loss of purity'. Warp and hellfire.
Second, holy
fuck this writer's sucking off Primarch Guilliman hard.
In addition to the nineteen specialised organs that almost all Space Marines have been implanted with since the First Founding, the Primaris Space Marines possess a further three. These organs enhance their physiology to an even greater degree, making them yet stronger and tougher.
… gonna try and not be
weird about the Primaris. I have
thoughts on them though.
Stronger and tougher is fair though. Fuckers literally have steel cables stuck inside their muscles, course they're stronger and tougher.
It was only thanks to the Sangprimus Porturn - a device that held potent genetic material harvested from the Primarchs themselves - that Archmagos Belisarius Caw! was able to create these biotechnical miracles. In the Ultima Founding, many tens of thousands of Primaris Space Marines reinforced depleted Chapters or formed new ones. Since then, many Chapters have used these technologies to develop their recruits into Primaris Space Marines.
Emperor
knows how hard I'm trying here…
The biggest breakthroughs of all, however, were the surgeries that allowed Space Marines not matured with the three Primaris organs to be implanted with them. Arguably first braved by Marneus Calgar, Chapter Master of the Ultramarines, this extremely dangerous set of procedures lasts for days. Many others have since risked their lives in such a way after witnessing the undeniable battlefield capabilities of the Primaris Space Marines in action.
It's extremely dangerous cause it's a takeover. Yeah, yeah I know conspiracy bullshit but I'm serious, the shit in your brain - and everyone who goes Primaris looks a little bit more like Guilliman, thinks a little bit more like him because
Throne forfend we don't all fucking kneel for our returned saviour, leader of the
gloooorious Blues, who makes -
Sorry Berta, I know I'm making a lot of noise.
Doesn't mean you're allowed in the kitchen.
No -
No put Mama's boots down.
Come on, put em down. You're not allowed to eat those.
Did you gnaw through the gate latch again?
C'mon, out we go - don't try and gore me…
…
… huh, okay so the speech thingy picked up on all that. Uh, that's my goat, Berta. Uh. Think I needed the interruption to help me cool off a bit.
Look, it's what I think. I don't know if it's true or not though, so. I'mma leave what I said there, let y'all make up your own minds.
Next up is a section (purportedly) about the various Chapters (really it's mainly about the foundings). Apparently it isn't the same kinda text as the rest, so I'm gonna have to copy it out more directly; apologies if that leads to some inaccuracies.
It is believed that over a thousand Space Marine Chapters - independent, autonomous armies - fight the Emperor's wars. Nine are named for the Legions that remained loyal to the Emperor during the Horus Heresy, others are Successor Chapters, brotherhoods who claim genetic descent from the nine loyal Primarchs.
Okay so, quick note - we Astartes don't like calling it that. The HH, I mean. Names for it differ but. Even if they aren't loyal any more, they're still our sibs. So it showing up here feels a bit… weird to me. Off? But that's like, personal culture stuff we don't necessarily share much so - not blaming the writers for
this one.
Rest is relatively accurate? Like - 'named for' isn't quite right, they just
are the Legions after the Second Founding, and acting like the others are lesser is kinda a dick move, acting like the only thing that makes them important is their genetic heritage… but by the standards of previous stuff it's
fairly mild.
Over the millenia, the number of Space Marine chapters has waxed and waned [...] but their existence has been deemed so vital to Humanity's defences that there have been a number of Foundings throughout the millennia. The decision to initiate a Founding is one of such magnitude that only the High Lords can authorise it, and only twenty-seven such events are believed to have occurred.
I cut out a bit here because it was more rambling than even I'm prone to - it's marked with the [...].
Anyway, this whole bit isn't
wrong exactly - but it isn't really right either.
Official Foundings - sure, the High Lords are the ones who sign off on the big waves. But if a few squads or a company or two have a Chapter Master's blessing, they can just go off and make their own Chapter. You have to either backdate all the paperwork, or have it be 'part of' the next wave of Foundings in official records, but. Not much can really stop it, especially with the big Chapters that are really twenty Chapters in a trenchcoat and occasionally one hops out of the corvus armour to go throw on scout BDU and do its own thing.
The very first Founding was the creation of the original twenty Space Marine Legions by the Emperor himself. In the aftermath of the Horus Heresy, Roboute Guilliman's Codex Astartes decreed that the Legions be broken down into smaller brotherhoods called Chapters [...] These flexible fighting forces were to number little more than a thousand warriors across ten companies, and many dozens were formed. This was known as the Second Founding.
Again with calling the Schism that. Feels
weird. Anyway, I'm
personally never comfortable with calling the original Legions the First Founding, but that's a
me thing.
There are no defined intervals between Foundings; they are launched as and when the High Lords - and thus, the Emperor -
HOLD THE FUCK UP.
Did this book just -
Oooh these writers are lucky I'm retired and not, like, some ultra-fanatic. Because implying the High Lords somehow represent or
are the Emperor's true will is some
real nonsense. Fuck me, I'm not that religious and that pissed me off. How have they not been ripped to pieces by a mob for this sentence???
Uh,
anyway.
There are no defined intervals between Foundings; they are launched as and when the High Lords - and thus, the Emperor - decree, and there are no rules in place limiting how many Chapters can be created.
Ignoring what I said above, this is basically true. If you ignore the massive heresy, I mean.
The book then talks a bit about various Foundings - the history that got lost to the Reign of Blood, the big cliche Foundings there are superstitions about - and other than jerking off the Ultima Founding by calling it the 'largest and most significant to date' simply because it let them make Chapters entirely of soulless Primaris, it's not that bad as a general summary of things. Like, it seems to be taking the superstitions about the 'Dark' and 'Cursed' Foundings as facts - including their numbering, the so-called 'Dark' Founding was not the thirteenth, that's straight up triskaidekaphobia - but it's not bad.
Even if every Space Marine Chapter operated at full strength [...] the number of Space Marines would likely not exceed one per Imperial world. Thus, the Space Marines have to decide where they will fight and where they will not.
…this is just basic tactics. Yeah, on an operational level, you have to decide where you're deploying assets. The writer here makes it sound like some big unexpected thing, some special limitation on the Chapters, which is
really weird.
Some fight for personal honour or to uphold ancient vows, whilst others make war only where the Emperor's Tarot dictates, or according to strict pragmatism.
And this just makes us sound like superstitious assholes.
Regardless, wherever they fight, the Space Marines butcher their foes and crush them beneath their ceramite boots.
… hey so I have a new theory 'bout the writer of this. Given that. Because, uh. You don't - that is -
They don't love Guilliman or us. They
hate us. All that 'Astartes are better' weirdness? That's not, like, awe, that's
hatred. All the stuff about us turning people into servitors, torturing kids to prove they're worthy of being trainees… shit. I think whoever wrote this genuinely fucking hates us. Weird to get someone who hates Astartes to write the book on them. But I guess it fits with how they write the xenos armies too.
Shit, is there anyone these Games Workshop people actually like?
… unless that sentence is meant to somehow be
admiring. Like the fact that we butcher people is
so fucking cool. Which might be even
worse.
There's also a basic blurb about the Primarchs on this page, but it's the usual myth making, nothing really relevant.
Think I'll stop there, for now. Got a lot to cover. I think I'm going through these a bit slower than the gladiatrix but. Hey, this is my review, I do what I want. Racilia, signing off.
