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Space Marines.

Following information taken straight from Wikipedia, and is generally considered accurate.

The Space Marines are one of the major forces available in the table-top wargame Warhammer 40,000. They are also known as the Adeptus Astartes and by the sobriquet "Angels of Death". They are the supersoldiers of the Imperium of Man. The Space Marines can be seen as the scalpel of the Imperium, as compared to the sledgehammer of the Imperial Guard.

They are elite soldiers, specially chosen for natural ability, and have their innate superiority enhanced further by a combination of extensive training, mental conditioning and genetic alteration. Their dedication and steadfastness is a product of this superiority and indoctrination. Their structure and cultures are monastic in nature although often display features of other strict martial orders and warriors cultures throughout history.

As befits such an elite force they are given equipment to match their abilities. They wear power armour to give them all-over protection and the ability to survive in hostile environments, and are equipped with superior weaponry as well, in the form of Bolters. Space Marines are also much taller than a standard human being, somewhere between seven and nine feet high when clad in their power armour.

Structure

The Adeptus Astartes is believed by many in the Imperium to be made up of just over 1,000 Chapters, each with a nominal fighting strength of 1,000 Space Marines. Individual Chapters have their own identity, heritage, fighting style and practice of beliefs. Most of the Chapters follow the tome known as the Codex Astartes, a treatise on the operations and procedures that should be followed by Space Marines, compiled prior to, during and after the Second Founding by the Ultramarines Primarch, Roboute Guilliman.

A few of the Chapters have been described in detail, especially those that differ significantly from the norm ("non-Codex" wink . The majority of the rest have been left undescribed and this allows a player to make up their own history and colour scheme for their army.

Each "Codex" Chapter is made up of ten numbered Companies, each of the first nine containing one hundred Space Marines, led by a command squad consisting of a Captain, Chaplain and Librarian. The First Company is made up of the most experienced Marines, with the Second through Ninth Companies being regular warriors. In a standard "Codex" Chapter, the 2nd to 5th Companies are called "Battle Companies", and comprise of a mixture of Tactical, Assault and Devastator squads. The 6th through 9th Companies are "Reserve Companies", and consist solely of Tactical squads in the 6th and 7th Companies, Assault squads in the 8th and Devastator squads in the 9th. The Marines of the Reserve Companies are often used to crew vehicles attached to battle groups. The Tenth Company is usually comprised of Scouts, new recruits into the Chapter who lack the experience of the rest of the Chapter and are yet to be fully inducted, and the Company size is flexible. This is not always the case, as some Chapters have more than 1,000 Marines because they do not directly adhere to the Codex. The Black Templars, for example, have many "Crusades" and are rumoured to have between 5,000 to 6,000 Marines.

They are a unique section in the Imperium in that they are independent of Imperial Law. Like the Adeptus Mechanicus, the Adeptus Astartes are an autonomous entity within the usually totalitarian regime of the Imperium. They have their own space transports, and each Chapter occupies its own homeworld or star fortress (and other equivalents). By comparison the Imperial Guard has to rely upon the Navy for transport; a deliberate move to curtail their power. Even Inquisitors, whose power and authority is considered unlimited, use discretion when dealing with Space Marines and generally ask for assistance instead of demanding. Because of this they are viewed as dangerous, although valuable allies.

History

The Legions

The First Space Marines were produced using genetic material of the God-Emperor's twenty Primarchs. These were exceptional individuals, with great and varied powers. There were twenty Legions, each under the command of a Primarch. The Legions were incredible fighting forces, composed of Mankind's greatest warriors and armed with the most advanced weaponry and equipment available to the Imperium. Each Legion contained thousands of Marines, the only limit being the amount of Gene-seed the Legion had for transforming humans.

During the Horus Heresy, in the 31st millennium, nine of the Legions were corrupted by the forces of Chaos, and rebelled against the Imperium. The traitors were eventually defeated but it was decided to divide the nine loyal Legions into smaller groups called Chapters, each consisting of approximately a thousand Marines, to prevent any individual from ever again wielding enough power to pose a serious threat of rebellion. Each Chapter has some history back to one of the original loyal Legions.

Recruitment

Different Space Marine Chapters follow different recruiting processes. Most recruits are drawn from the Chapter's homeworld. These worlds are often at a feral or medieval level of development, where traditional warrior castes compete for the honour of becoming a "warrior of the gods." Because feral planets are rough and primitive, their inhabitants make excellent fighting material, their very lifestyle serving as a selection process. Gang members of hive world cities, being just as merciless and barbaric as feral world inhabitants, also make ideal Space Marines. Not all potential recruits will survive the initial rigours of training and treatment one must undergo to become a fully-fledged Space Marine.

The selection of recruits must abide by certain criteria. First and foremost, a potential candidate must be male, as the gene-seed and zygote are synchronized to work with male hormones. They must be of adolescent age (preferably between ten and sixteen), as the implants are designed to coordinate with and increase the effectiveness of natural growth hormones and processes such as bone formation etc. They will thus fail or have no effect on adults - this became a major problem during the early history of some of the First Founding Chapters as a number of veteran warriors under the service of the Primarchs could not join the ranks of the Space Marines because of it. There must be a level of compatibility between the recruit and the gene-seed, otherwise the implanted organs will fail. After the implant of the gene-seeds and organs, the recruit is often left to survive on his own in an extremely hostile environment as the implants begin to take their effect, ensuring the recruit is strong and worthy enough to be a Space Marine. Also, the mental state of a potential Marine must also be receptive to the various training and psycho-conditioning regimes of the Chapter, and resistant to being tainted by Chaos (though corruption is still possible and a number of Marines still fall).

These criteria bar all but a minuscule percentage of people within the Imperium from becoming Space Marines. If all tests prove successful, the recruit is accepted into the Chapter. At this stage, implantation, psycho-conditioning, and physical training begin. Each step in this stage has its own dangers, ensuring that only the truly worthy become Space Marines.

Gene-Seed

Gene-seed is the foreign genetic material introduced into a human during his transformation into a Space Marine. The genetic material is used to form nineteen implants, which are responsible for the physical transformation and abilities attributed to the Space Marines. These implants are surgically installed into a recruit over a period of years. One of the implants creates copies of the various implants during the maturation of the Space Marine, which are removed shortly before or after death, for future use.

The genetic modification is responsible for his physical changes. Gene-seed is a rare and precious resource for the Space Marines. Since the First Founding, the Space Marines have been unable to create new 100% pure implants quickly as samples of DNA must be extracted from the Progenoid Glands and new organs grown from these samples, and some no longer have all 19 implants within their Chapter's genetic repositories. The "purest" Chapters in this respect are the Ultramarines, who still have all 19 implants and no significant mutations or defects in the gene-seed, this being the reason that the Ultramarine gene-seed is the one most often selected to create new Chapters. Codex: Dark Angels also state that Dark Angel gene-seed is also pure and few in mutations, but for some reason it is passed in favour of Ultramarines. All Chapters must annually donate 5% of their gene-seed to the Adeptus Mechanicus. The purpose of this is to monitor the overall genetic health of the Chapter and to facilitate the creation of new Chapters.

All Space Marine chapters still have a fully functioning "Black Carapace" implant, which is vital as it forms the interface with their power armour, and "Progenoid Gland" implant, which copies the genetic information of the other various implants for future use. Should either implants become lost, the entire Chapter will die out within about a millennium (as there will be no other way to produce more Marines without the Progenoid Gland and any new Marines cannot interface with their power armour if they do not have the Black Carapace).

Since the first founding, Space Marines chapters have lost the ability to make new implants, or otherwise do not have all 19 implants available to their chapter. All chapters are different in this respect, but the "purest" chapters in this respect are the Grey Knights, Ultramarines and Dark Angels. However, all chapters have the Black Carapace, as this is necessary for a marine to use his armour, and the Progenoid Glands, without which the chapter would be incapable of creating new marines.

Gene-seed Implants

Secondary Heart
This is the first and least difficult implant to install. The Secondary Heart increases blood supply and pumping capacity, and is capable of taking over entirely should the primary heart fail, and enables Marines to survive low-oxygen conditions and traumatic injury.

Ossmodula
This implant uses specially created hormones, combined with a diet high in ceramic-based chemicals, to considerably strengthen the skeleton of a Space Marine. Two years after the implantation, the Marine's skeleton will be exponentially stronger; and the rib cage will be fused into a solid mass of bulletproof interlaced bone plates.

Biscopea
Implanted into the chest cavity, this small, spherical implant bolsters muscle growth throughout the Marine's body.

Haemastamen
Implanted into a main blood vessel, the Haemastamen alters the Marine's blood composition to carry oxygen and nutrients more efficiently. It also acts as a growth control for many of the later implants.

Larraman's Organ
This organ manufactures Larraman Cells. These serve the purpose of platelets, but act faster and more effectively. When a Marine is wounded, Larraman Cells are released, attached to leukocytes. At the site of the injury, they form a skin substitute of near-instant scar tissue, effectively preventing massive blood loss and infection.

Catalepsean Node
Implanted into the back of the brain, this implant allows a marine to function in situations where sleep is impossible to safely attain. Instead, when deprived of sleep, the Catalepsean Node 'cuts in', allowing the Marine to 'switch off' sections of the brain sequentially, while remaining awake and alert (although prolonged use can be hazardous). The longest any Space Marine has ever been on active combat duty without rest is 328 hours, achieved by a squad of the Crimson Fists. This implant bears a resemblance to a theory as to how dolphins such as the Bottlenose "sleep": shutting off sections of their brain while remaining awake and alert under the functions of the other sections.

Preomnor
The Preomnor is a decontamination chamber inside the chest cavity, effectively a 'pre-stomach'. It chemically analyses ingested materials and neutralizes toxins. The Preomnor enables the Marine to eat normally inedible substances and resist poisons, and it also prevents the Marine from becoming intoxicated (unaware of his surroundings).

Omophagea
Implanted into the spinal cord, this organ is designed to absorb DNA related to experience or memory. This enables the Marine to gain information, in a survival or tactical sense, simply by eating an animal indigenous to an alien world or situation. The Marine can actually absorb vivid memories and information from deceased opponents by eating their brains. This organ may also have led to the various flesh-eating or blood drinking rituals performed by some chapters, notably the Blood Angels and their successors.

Multi-lung
The multi-lung is a 'third' lung, able to absorb oxygen from environments poor in oxygen. Breathing is accomplished through a sphincter in the trachea. A similar muscle closes the primary lungs off in toxic environments, while oxygen is absorbed by filtering out the poisonous elements in the multi-lung.

Occulobe
Essentially, this organ enhances a Marine's eyesight, granting him exceptional vision and the ability to see normally in low-light environments.

Lyman's Ear
This implant renders a Marine immune to dizziness and nausea (see Cochlea), and enables a Marine to consciously filter out "white noise".

Sus-an Membrane
This implant allows a Marine to enter a catatonic or "suspended animation" state. It can allow a mortally wounded Space Marine to survive his injuries, and bring the metabolism to a standstill. However, specific stimulations from an external source are required to bring a suspended Space Marine back to full life. The longest recorded period of this state was Brother Silas Err of the Dark Angels for 567 years. It should be noted that Talonmaster Zso Sahaal of the Night Lords legion slept through 100 centuries after his cruiser was entombed in the Warp by the Eldar shortly after the Horus Heresy, only to be awoken late in the 41st millennium. The Imperial Fists and their successor chapters are deficient in this implant.

Melanochrome
Linked to pigment cells in skin, this allows the Marine's skin to shield him from dangerous levels of radiation and extreme temperatures along with the Mucranoid. Because of its link to pigment some chapters have no variation in skin color (the Salamanders chapter is known for its dark brown skin tone and the marines of the Death Specters chapter are albino).

Oolitic Kidney
This organ works in conjunction with the Preomnor, filtering blood to rapidly remove toxins.

Neuroglottis
This organ allows a Marine to assess a wide variety of things simply by taste. From poisons to chemicals to animals, a Marine can even track his quarry by taste alone.

Mucranoid
Altering sweat glands, this organ secretes an oily substance that coats the skin, protecting it from extreme temperatures and to some extent vacuum environments.

Betcher's Gland
Implanted into multiple locations inside a Marine's mouth, these glands transform a Marine's saliva into corrosive, blinding acid, strong enough to work through iron bars. It is generally accepted that the Marines have a coating of some kind inside their mouth, to prevent their own tissue from being burnt by this acid. The Imperial Fists and its successor Chapters are deficient in this implant.

Progenoid Glands
Implanted into both the neck and chest cavity, these serve to collect and cultivate the gene-seed from a Space Marine's body, and to safeguard it for the continuity of a Chapter. The neck gland matures after 5 years, while the chest gland matures after 10 years and both glands can be removed either after maturation or immediately after a marine has died in battle. The Progenoid Gland is one of the most important organs for a chapter (alongside the Black Carapace), for if a chapter were to lose the Progenoid there would be no more Space Marines.

The Black Carapace
The last and one of the most important of all the implants, this neuroreactive material is implanted directly under the skin. After a few hours, the material hardens and interlinks with the Marine's own nervous system. Points are then cut into the Carapace which allows a Marine to directly interface with his power armour. Note that a Marine needs this for his power armour, but the armour itself does not need this implant in order to function. The Sisters of Battle, for example, as well as some Inquisitors, also wear power armour. However, since they are not linked directly to their armour as a Marine would be, their power armour is markedly less efficient than that of a Space Marine.

The Grey Wraith Space Marine Chapter