Creating 3.5 Magic "Space Marines"

[sjeshin]

Hi, I am a huge warhammer 40k Horus Heresy and D&D 3.5 nut. I am trying to mix the overall idea of the Emperor conquering the world the party is on. In my setting the material plane would have billions of planets in the galaxy but we don't know of them yet as we aren't the thrownworld, just a backwater planet. I don't want to jse psionocs because none of my players are familiar with it and don't want to use it so every psychic style ability would be converted to magic of some kind. I want to run by you guys my idea for the overal spacemarine creation. I like to keep it to something you could do RAW without a lot of fiat. I am thinking permanant enlarge person, all 5 books that give +5 to stats, they only accept elite array or better people. Unless there is a permanant spell or way to just grant bonus feats for armor and shields, as well as using them with no spell failure, I may have to fiat that. Are there any good options I am missing?

[Jarmen4u]

Minor correction: There are 6 stats, so you'd need 6 books.

That aside, have you seen the Paragon (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/monsters/paragonCreature.htm) template? That's a good start. The DR 10/epic and resistances can be handwaved as coming from the power armor, if you'd like.

Paragon is pretty damn powerful though, so feel free to reduce some of the numbers or remove features to taste. It's just about as close to "x-race bred for war" as it gets.

[liquidformat]

You could also look at messing around a bit with Golem Armor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/epic/magicItems/artifacts.htm#golemArmor) to be power armor. Maybe just add in regeneration or fast healing into the abilities of the armor, so they aren't death traps... Or maybe just leave them as death traps that is interesting too.

Could be an interesting hook for level 1 characters to get the golem armors for a high powered game. The Iron Gauntlets of War also seem like they could make for a good villain and since it is warhammer, having lost of people with Greathammer from MMIV sounds appropriate...

[RoboEmperor]

Everyone needs to wield a +1 Quick-Loading Splitting Force Flaming Shock Light Crossbow while wearing heavy armor.

[Cosi]

You could look into the tools involved in creating the Ikea Tarrasque (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?20160-The-Ikea-Tarrasque-Version-2-0). Obviously you don't want to go all the way down that road, but there are some ideas that could be useful.

You could also look at the grafts in various books (off the top of my head, I think Fiend Folio, Races of the Dragon, and Lords of Madness all have some). Those are thematically appropriate for Space Marines.

The psychoactive skins might be worth using even if you don't grab anything else from psionics. I don't 100% recall the effects, but IIRC they seemed potentially worthwhile.

You might also start with something other than Human as a baseline. Maybe Ogre or Troll with the Eberron template that gives boosts to Giant's mental stats. Maybe give them the Human subtype.

[Thurbane]

The Clockwork Armor (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/cw/20070212a)

A Maug Stone Spitter (FF p.214) could be re-flavoured as a bolt thrower. It's stats area bit underwhelming though.

[One Step Two]

As odd as it may sound, the Half-Minotaur Template from Dragon Magazine #313 is almost perfect for a Space Marine.

It changes the base human to Large Size, Gives them +2 Natural Armor, +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int, +2 Wisdom, all for LA+1. This primarily covers the base physiological changes a space marine goes under, as well as the psycho-indoctrination.

Equally importantly, it gives them the Track feat, along with Scent, which Space marines have, and excellent general senses with +2 to Search, Spot and Listen checks, and 60ft darkvision.

The only thing that the Half-Minotaur has that the Space Marine doesn't (Other than the bestial appearance) is a 1d8 Gore attack, and a +4 Bonus to escaping the Maze Spell, But if you re-fluff it a little bit, turn the 1d8 Gore attack into a Natural Slam attack, and the bonus vs Maze can equate to being hardened against the Warp.

From there magic items can shore up any thing else you want to, such as the above weapons and armor. I hope this helps!

Edit: Fun fact, I double checked the Dragon Magazine Entry, applying Half-Minotaur to a creature does not in anyway change it's type. A Half-Minotaur Human, is still a Human.

[Goaty14]

Or maybe just leave them as death traps that is interesting too.

Isn't half of the point of Warhammer 40k that everything is out to kill you, your life doesn't matter, and the sole purpose of a marine soldier is to be unwittingly sent into death traps until your side wins?

I'd say leave them as death traps -- it's more historically accurate that way.

[liquidformat]

Isn't half of the point of Warhammer 40k that everything is out to kill you, your life doesn't matter, and the sole purpose of a marine soldier is to be unwittingly sent into death traps until your side wins?

I'd say leave them as death traps -- it's more historically accurate that way.

Haha, ya half way through writing that I was like wait warhammer... death trap!

[ExLibrisMortis]

I think the Pathfinder Aegis (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/aegis) can do what you're looking for. It's a psionic class, but only technically (it doesn't manifest powers).

[Ramza00]

Mongrelfolk Con +4, Cha -4, Dex -2, Int -2
Arctic / Ice Dweller Con +2, Cha -2 (Dragon 306, LA +0)
Half Minotaur Str +4, Con +2, Int -2.
Size Increase from Medium to Large due to Half Minotaur Str +8, Con +4, Dex -2 (Dragon 313, LA +1)
Dragonborn Con +2, Dex -2


Note I skipped many abilities in this quick description but if you did the mongrelfolk race and those 3 templates (Dragonborn Last) your total stat changes for 1 LA is

+12 Str(+4+8)
-04 Dex (-2-2)
+14 Con (4+2+2+4+2)
-04 Int (-2)
-06 Cha (-4-2)

Note there are some better combinations for the +1 LA but I picked Mongrelfolk for it is a humanoid subtype race for flavor reasons. That said you lose emulate race if you choose to do the dragonborn for the additional +2 con / -2 Dex and then the ability you choose of the 3 dragonborn choices.

[liquidformat]

Mongrelfolk Con +4, Cha -4, Dex -2, Int -2
Arctic / Ice Dweller Con +2, Cha -2 (Dragon 306, LA +0)
Half Minotaur Str +4, Con +2, Int -2.
Size Increase from Medium to Large due to Half Minotaur Str +8, Con +4, Dex -2 (Dragon 313, LA +1)
Dragonborn Con +2, Dex -2


Note I skipped many abilities in this quick description but if you did the mongrelfolk race and those 3 templates (Dragonborn Last) your total stat changes for 1 LA is

+12 Str(+4+8)
-04 Dex (-2-2)
+14 Con (4+2+2+4+2)
-04 Int (-2)
-06 Cha (-4-2)

Note there are some better combinations for the +1 LA but I picked Mongrelfolk for it is a humanoid subtype race for flavor reasons. That said you lose emulate race if you choose to do the dragonborn for the additional +2 con / -2 Dex and then the ability you choose of the 3 dragonborn choices.

I didn't think half-minotaur gave you size increase bonuses?

[ViperMagnum357]

I didn't think half-minotaur gave you size increase bonuses?

Only if the base creature was Small or Medium to start with, same as the Half-Ogre template right below it in the same DMG Issue, #313.

[SLOTHRPG95]

Step 1: +20% morale of armies, -1% yearly army tradition decay, +20% infantry combat ability, and +5% discipline. Step 2: Take Offensive ideas, and consider Quality-Innovative for Modern Firearm Techniques.
Step 3: Throw on a powerful unique government form, just because. Step 4: Realize that this is the wrong game/forum, and that these aren't the Space Marines you're looking for.

[RoboEmperor]

Mandatory alignment requirement of Lawful Neutral.

[Crake]

I think the Pathfinder Aegis (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/aegis) can do what you're looking for. It's a psionic class, but only technically (it doesn't manifest powers).

Space marines aren't psykers by default though, so having them all be some kind of psychic class doesn't really fit.

Do you want to be as close to cannon in terms of creation process? Are you averse to homebrew? There's nothing REALLY that replicates the geneseed in dnd, but it could be quite easily homebrewed.

Much of the geneseed process involves redundancies, ensuring that the space marines have no singular vital area (barring the head, though even then... arguably not), so getting immunity to critical hits, or at least resistance is a must. There are 19 implants done over the course of 4-8 years during puberty, each of the following is a benefit provided by a geneseed implant:

A second heart, most likely resulting in some significant constitution bonus
Growth hormones result in a large size
Enhanced skeletal density would provide a mix of damage reduction and natural armor (a space marine's ribcage is bulletproof for example)
Their blood is far more oxygenated than normal, allowing their bodies to operate at a much higher capacity
They most definitely have fast healing being able to heal wounds in seconds thanks to an organ that produces rapid healing cells.
They are able to survive prolonged periods without sleep by sequentially shutting down portions of their brain, allowing them to "sleep" while remaining completely awake and alert
They are completely immune to ingested toxins thanks to a second stomach
They are able to learn things from corpses by eating them, typically primal things, like survival and tactical information, nothing super in depth
They are able to survive in low-oxygen environments as well as ignore airborne toxins thanks to a third lung
They have hyper developed eyes giving them heightened visual acuity as well as the ability to see in low light and near darkness conditions (but no mention of ACTUAL nightvision, so darkvision is not something they have it seems, they have equipment for that)
They have improved inner ear functionality, rendering them immune to vertigo or motion sickness, as well as letting them filter different sounds almost perfectly
Near death they are able to enter a state of stasis, the longest recorded of which 567 years, allowing them to be recovered and healed.
Their body can produce different levels of melanin, giving them resistance to many forms of electromagnetic radiation
Any toxins they aren't already immune to can be detoxified by the space marine entering an unconscious state.
They can identify toxins biochemically by simply chewing, tasting or smelling it, as well has gaining incredibly heightened nasal senses.
They have the ability to coccoon themselves in a waxy protein substance, allowing them to survive even the harshness of a vacuum or extreme temperatures, though this has to be chemically activated by an injection
They can digest incredibly difficult substances thanks to highly corrosive saliva, which they can also spit as a blinding acid.
They can also all individually create these organs and implants through the actual gene-seed implant, allowing the propagation of the space marine corps
Finally, they have an integrated nervous system that can interface with their power armor, allowing them to fully activate the potential of the suits, something others wearing it will not benefit from (would probably result in reduced/nonexistent ACP/max dex bonus for space marines, as the armor literally reacts to their nervous system)


Quite an extensive list as you can see, but these are all things a space marines has inherently, without any external equipment. Grafts were mentioned earlier, and most definitely fit the bill, but something else of note: The imperium of mankind has literally trillions upon trillions to select to put through the geneseed process, they have no shortage of quite literally perfect specimens, so there's no reason all space marines should start with anything less than 18s across the board.

Here are a list of grafts that would be a good start to some of the above:
Adamantine Body (Faiths of eberron pg 157): Counts as armor, gives DR/adamantine
Bonemail (Fiend Folio 214): grants natural armor
Bone Plating (magic of eberron pg128): grants natural armor and cold resistance
Chitin Plating (lords of madness 216): grants natural armor
Darksight eyes (lords of madness 216): grants darkvision
Darkwood Flesh (magic of eberron 134): light fortification, gain fast healing when crit/sneak attack succeeds
Deathless flesh (magic of eberron 128): 50% immunity to sneak attacks and death effects
Fast Leg (fiend folio 210): increased movement speed and climb/jump check bonus
Fiendish skin (Fiend folio 210): gain natural armor, bonus dex and poison 1/day (blinding acid spit?)
Hauling Back (fiend folio 212): carrying capacity of a quadruped
Healing Blood (lords of madness 216): Fast healing
Healing Nodules (magic of eberron 134): Once per hour make a potion of cure serious wounds, once per day remove disease
Heart of Steel (faiths of eberron pg 157): Immunity to disease/poison/paralysis, reduced magical healing (reduced magical healing fits somewhat, as space marines are notoriously hard to operate on due to their defenses)
Heavy legs (faiths of eberron pg 158): Immunity to fatigue, exhaustion instead results in fatigue
Perception Seed (magic of eberron 135): Lowlight vision, bonus to spot/search
Plated Skin (fiend folio 209): bonus to natural armor
Silithar bones/heart/muscles/tendons (lords of madness 217): Bonus to str/dex/con, and auto heal when dying 1/day
Springing leg (fiend folio 211): big bonus to jump
Stony plating (Magic of Eberron p 133): natural armor
Strong Leg (fiend folio 211): bonus to con
Wakeful Mind (faiths of eberron p 158): No need for sleep


DR 2/adamantine
medium fortification
Immunity to disease/paralysis/poison
Immunity to Sleep and Stunning
Don't need to Sleep
Immunity to Fatigue, exhaustion becomes fatigue
Cure serious 1/hour, remove disease 1/day
fast healing 3 for 1/3rd of sneak attack/crit damage
Low-light vision, +2 search/spit
+14 natural armor
Cold Resistance 5
+10ft move speed
+5 climb/jump
Poison 1/day (CL16)
Carrying Capacity of a quadruped
Fast Healing 2
Darkvision 60ft
+2 con/str/dex
heal 4d8+20 hp 1/day when reduced below 1hp but not dead

Reduced magical healing
-2 swim checks
-2 knowledge checks when not sleeping
-2 Fort Saves


Cost for all of those grafts tallys up to just over 1 million gp.


Normally there's a limit to what kinds of grafts you can put on someone (you can't mix and match them, they all have to be the same kind) as well as, I believe, a limit to how many grafts in total, but I think for this, you'd need to handwave that. With all of that, along with an individual with 18 across the board, you'd be looking at quite a terror without actually beginning to build the character's classes at all, let alone equipment.

[ExLibrisMortis]

Space marines aren't psykers by default though, so having them all be some kind of psychic class doesn't really fit.
True, but psionic classes aren't equivalent to psykers by default either. You could use the aegis and refluff the power points (that an aegis can't manifest with anyway) as something else.

That said, I really like your list of grafts. Detailed, accurate, flavourful.

[Stoic]

I think a Psychoactive Skin of the Hero would work well with the Golem Armor.

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/universalItems.htm#psychoactiveSkins

[Crake]

True, but psionic classes aren't equivalent to psykers by default either. You could use the aegis and refluff the power points (that an aegis can't manifest with anyway) as something else.

That's true as well, though I personally think the flavour and name of the 3.5 tome of battle crusader fits much better in almost every way. Inspiration in the god emperor is, after all, what space marines are all about, right? :smalltongue:


That said, I really like your list of grafts. Detailed, accurate, flavourful.

Thanks, I had a lot of fun putting it together. In all honesty, it's actually very expensive for what it gets you (though it does come at the benefit of all being innate abilities, not something that can be stolen or removed), and still misses out on some of the things that they should have. Higher damage reduction for one, I was thinking mineral warrior fits quite well, as it's something that's given through a ritual (read: through surgery), and grants a lot of benefits I think space marines would have, including increased natural armor, better physical stats (though at the cost of reduced mental stats), and MUCH better damage reduction. Arguably as well, the jotunbrud feat would cover the "large size" without ACTUALLY bumping them up into large size. Space marines are 7-7.5 feet, and the jotunbrud feat increases your base height to 6'4", using the base human modifier of 2d10, resulting in an average height of 7'5", fitting almost perfectly with the height expected of a space marine.

[Pleh]

As odd as it may sound, the Half-Minotaur Template from Dragon Magazine #313 is almost perfect for a Space Marine.

It changes the base human to Large Size, Gives them +2 Natural Armor, +4 Str, +2 Con, -2 Int, +2 Wisdom, all for LA+1. This primarily covers the base physiological changes a space marine goes under, as well as the psycho-indoctrination.

Equally importantly, it gives them the Track feat, along with Scent, which Space marines have, and excellent general senses with +2 to Search, Spot and Listen checks, and 60ft darkvision.

The only thing that the Half-Minotaur has that the Space Marine doesn't (Other than the bestial appearance) is a 1d8 Gore attack, and a +4 Bonus to escaping the Maze Spell, But if you re-fluff it a little bit, turn the 1d8 Gore attack into a Natural Slam attack, and the bonus vs Maze can equate to being hardened against the Warp.

From there magic items can shore up any thing else you want to, such as the above weapons and armor. I hope this helps!

Edit: Fun fact, I double checked the Dragon Magazine Entry, applying Half-Minotaur to a creature does not in anyway change it's type. A Half-Minotaur Human, is still a Human.

Sounds like a great crunch for a Super Soldier serum.

You could also trade out the immunity to maze for a level appropriate fast healing without messing balance very much.

Edit: Mass Inervation project 0: Type 4, Recurring.

The MIn0-T4r serum.

[One Step Two]

Space marines aren't psykers by default though, so having them all be some kind of psychic class doesn't really fit.

Do you want to be as close to cannon in terms of creation process? Are you averse to homebrew? There's nothing REALLY that replicates the geneseed in dnd, but it could be quite easily homebrewed.

Much of the geneseed process involves redundancies, ensuring that the space marines have no singular vital area (barring the head, though even then... arguably not), so getting immunity to critical hits, or at least resistance is a must. There are 19 implants done over the course of 4-8 years during puberty, each of the following is a benefit provided by a geneseed implant:

A second heart, most likely resulting in some significant constitution bonus
Growth hormones result in a large size
Enhanced skeletal density would provide a mix of damage reduction and natural armor (a space marine's ribcage is bulletproof for example)
Their blood is far more oxygenated than normal, allowing their bodies to operate at a much higher capacity
They most definitely have fast healing being able to heal wounds in seconds thanks to an organ that produces rapid healing cells.
They are able to survive prolonged periods without sleep by sequentially shutting down portions of their brain, allowing them to "sleep" while remaining completely awake and alert
They are completely immune to ingested toxins thanks to a second stomach
They are able to learn things from corpses by eating them, typically primal things, like survival and tactical information, nothing super in depth
They are able to survive in low-oxygen environments as well as ignore airborne toxins thanks to a third lung
They have hyper developed eyes giving them heightened visual acuity as well as the ability to see in low light and near darkness conditions (but no mention of ACTUAL nightvision, so darkvision is not something they have it seems, they have equipment for that)
They have improved inner ear functionality, rendering them immune to vertigo or motion sickness, as well as letting them filter different sounds almost perfectly
Near death they are able to enter a state of stasis, the longest recorded of which 567 years, allowing them to be recovered and healed.
Their body can produce different levels of melanin, giving them resistance to many forms of electromagnetic radiation
Any toxins they aren't already immune to can be detoxified by the space marine entering an unconscious state.
They can identify toxins biochemically by simply chewing, tasting or smelling it, as well has gaining incredibly heightened nasal senses.
They have the ability to coccoon themselves in a waxy protein substance, allowing them to survive even the harshness of a vacuum or extreme temperatures, though this has to be chemically activated by an injection
They can digest incredibly difficult substances thanks to highly corrosive saliva, which they can also spit as a blinding acid.
They can also all individually create these organs and implants through the actual gene-seed implant, allowing the propagation of the space marine corps
Finally, they have an integrated nervous system that can interface with their power armor, allowing them to fully activate the potential of the suits, something others wearing it will not benefit from (would probably result in reduced/nonexistent ACP/max dex bonus for space marines, as the armor literally reacts to their nervous system)


Quite an extensive list as you can see, but these are all things a space marines has inherently, without any external equipment. Grafts were mentioned earlier, and most definitely fit the bill, but something else of note: The imperium of mankind has literally trillions upon trillions to select to put through the geneseed process, they have no shortage of quite literally perfect specimens, so there's no reason all space marines should start with anything less than 18s across the board.

Here are a list of grafts that would be a good start to some of the above:
Adamantine Body (Faiths of eberron pg 157): Counts as armor, gives DR/adamantine
Bonemail (Fiend Folio 214): grants natural armor
Bone Plating (magic of eberron pg128): grants natural armor and cold resistance
Chitin Plating (lords of madness 216): grants natural armor
Darksight eyes (lords of madness 216): grants darkvision
Darkwood Flesh (magic of eberron 134): light fortification, gain fast healing when crit/sneak attack succeeds
Deathless flesh (magic of eberron 128): 50% immunity to sneak attacks and death effects
Fast Leg (fiend folio 210): increased movement speed and climb/jump check bonus
Fiendish skin (Fiend folio 210): gain natural armor, bonus dex and poison 1/day (blinding acid spit?)
Hauling Back (fiend folio 212): carrying capacity of a quadruped
Healing Blood (lords of madness 216): Fast healing
Healing Nodules (magic of eberron 134): Once per hour make a potion of cure serious wounds, once per day remove disease
Heart of Steel (faiths of eberron pg 157): Immunity to disease/poison/paralysis, reduced magical healing (reduced magical healing fits somewhat, as space marines are notoriously hard to operate on due to their defenses)
Heavy legs (faiths of eberron pg 158): Immunity to fatigue, exhaustion instead results in fatigue
Perception Seed (magic of eberron 135): Lowlight vision, bonus to spot/search
Plated Skin (fiend folio 209): bonus to natural armor
Silithar bones/heart/muscles/tendons (lords of madness 217): Bonus to str/dex/con, and auto heal when dying 1/day
Springing leg (fiend folio 211): big bonus to jump
Stony plating (Magic of Eberron p 133): natural armor
Strong Leg (fiend folio 211): bonus to con
Wakeful Mind (faiths of eberron p 158): No need for sleep


DR 2/adamantine
medium fortification
Immunity to disease/paralysis/poison
Immunity to Sleep and Stunning
Don't need to Sleep
Immunity to Fatigue, exhaustion becomes fatigue
Cure serious 1/hour, remove disease 1/day
fast healing 3 for 1/3rd of sneak attack/crit damage
Low-light vision, +2 search/spit
+14 natural armor
Cold Resistance 5
+10ft move speed
+5 climb/jump
Poison 1/day (CL16)
Carrying Capacity of a quadruped
Fast Healing 2
Darkvision 60ft
+2 con/str/dex
heal 4d8+20 hp 1/day when reduced below 1hp but not dead

Reduced magical healing
-2 swim checks
-2 knowledge checks when not sleeping
-2 Fort Saves


Cost for all of those grafts tallys up to just over 1 million gp.


Normally there's a limit to what kinds of grafts you can put on someone (you can't mix and match them, they all have to be the same kind) as well as, I believe, a limit to how many grafts in total, but I think for this, you'd need to handwave that. With all of that, along with an individual with 18 across the board, you'd be looking at quite a terror without actually beginning to build the character's classes at all, let alone equipment.

This is a great list, well composed! I think we should combine our ideas and Roll them into our Space Marine!



Space Marine
Size/Type:Large Humanoid (Human)
Hit Dice:1d8+4
Initiative:+1
Speed:35ft. (50ft. reduced by Medium armor)
Armor Class:20 (-1 Size, +1 Dex, +5 Natural, +5 Armor), touch 9, flat-footed 19
Base Attack/Grapple:+6/+10
Attack:Slam +5 (1d8)
Full Attack:Slam +5 (1d8)
Space/Reach:10 ft./10 ft.
Special Attacks:Poison 1/day
Special Qualities:Low-Light Vision, Darvkvision 60ft, Cunning Mind, Scent, Hauling Back, Fast Healing 2, Cold Resistance 5 Silthilar Heart, DR 2/Adamantine, Medium Fortification, Immune to Disease, Paralysis, Poison, Sleep, and Stunning, Reduced Healing, Tireless March, Deathless Flesh, Cure Serious wounds 1/hour, Cure Disease 1/day
Saves*:Fort +2, Ref +1, Will, +0
Abilities*:Str 24, Dex 12, Con 18, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 10
Skills*:Climb +9, Jump +9, Listen +2, All Knowledges -2, Search +2, Spot +2, Swim +5
Feats:TrackB, Bonus Feat
Treasure:Fast Leg Graft, Fiendish Skin Graft, Haling Back Graft, Healing Blood Graft, Silthilar Bones Graft, Silthilar Heart Graft, Silthilar Muscles Graft, Sithilar Tendons Graft, Strong Leg Graft, Adamantine Skin Graft, Heart of Steel Graft, Bone Plating Graft, Deathless Flesh Graft, Healing Nodules Graft, Perception Seed Graft
Level Adjustment:+1

Cunning Mind: +4 bonus on Intelligence checks to escape maze spells and the ability to determine which direction is north automatically.
Reduced Healing: Any spell from the healing subschool or supernatural ability that cures hit point or ability damage, including healing potions, provides only half its normal effect to the Space Marine. (This includes Healing Nodules and the Silthilar Heart graft.)
Tireless March: The Space Marione take no penalties for being fatigued. If they are exhausted, he is instead treated as being fatigued. (Strong Leg Graft)
Deathless Flesh: 50% chance to ignore Death effects.

This is currently a very early Alpha release of the creature/template.
*All abilities are based on a stat of 10, Skills points are not spent and the listed skills represent the ability modifiers and any bonuses and negatives bestowed by the Grafts, and there is no class based Saving throw bonus attached to the saves.

As a Note, I removed the Darksight Eyes Graft, as the Half-Minotaur Grants Darkvision, and I removed Springing Leg because it imposes a -10 movement speed. I left of all the various Natural Amour boosters for the moment other than Boneplating (Cold resistance of the Mucranoid for Vacuum), just to see what our creature looks like. The Darkwood Flesh was left off too, mostly for the sake of a positive Dex Score, as Space Marines are quite dexterous, even for their size.
The ability modifiers are a little wilder than expected Due to the Half-Minotaur Template specifically calling out the fact that it changes the creature to Large, and all the benefits and drawbacks that it entails (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/improvingMonsters.htm#sizeIncreases).

With all the attached grafts, the cost is: 779,000gp, and -24 Hp. A Second level Barbarian Of 16 years of age with a Starting Con of 10 (An minimally suitable Candidate), can survive the transformation process to Become a Space Marine, and is now ready for training.

[sjeshin]

Wow, just wow. I love all of these ideas. It toom me a while to check back, thank you very much! I have to watch the penalties to int though, they are freakishly intelligent next to humans. I think after doing all of this it will work out great.

[fallensavior]

Has anybody else ever thought about treating power armor as a mount?

[Andor13]

Has anybody else ever thought about treating power armor as a mount?

It's probably doable through some series of creatures/feats/items and spells that wasn't actually supposed to work that way.

It's easily doable as a synthesist summoner in Pathfinder.

The closest I ever came was a 3.0 Blue Goblin Psion-Shaper Mecha Pilot who used astral constructs shaped to have a pilot compartment and controlled via Ecto-Puppet. He was quite potent actually.

[fallensavior]

I've had villains use Warforged Titans as mounts. I didn't give the pilot full cover though, so it played more like Final Fantasy magitek armor than power armor.

I've also thought about doing Iron Man as a Human Artificer riding inside a hollow Warforged (refluffed) Warlock as a mount.

[One Step Two]

Okay, I did a little digging and I have a new option for our Space Marine!

First, we begin with the Goliath, putting aside Racial Traits, the important thing here is that it's an LA+1 Monstrous Humanoid which qualifies it for the Monster of Legend Template, from Monster Manual 2!

Which gives it the following:
Changes Type to Outsider(Native)
+5 Natural Armor
+3 to all Saving throws
1d6 Slam attack
+10 Str, +6 Dex, +10 Con, +2 Int, +2 Wis, +2 Cha
Gains Improved Multi-attack, and Improved Initiative as Bonus feats
It gains a choice of other special abilities, but the best ones to represent a Space Marine would be
Poison Bite 1d6/1d6 Str, Con Based DC
Fast Healing 5, Immune to Fear

This is not playable as it has LA -, but is perfect for NPC Space Marines.