Space Marines

[Amiel]

Space Marine, Adeptus Astarte
Medium Outsider
Hit Dice: 18d8 + 201 (345 hp)
Initiative: +8
Speed: 30 ft.
Armor Class: 45 (+8 armor, +6 deflection, +4 Dex, +17 natural) touch 28, flat-footed 41
Base Attack/Grapple: +18/+29
Attack: Heavy bolter +23 ranged (4d8 + 10) or power sword +34 melee (2d8 + 11 + ignore armor/15-20/x2) or slam +29 melee (2d6 + 11)
Full Attack: Heavy bolter +23/+23/+17/+13/+7 ranged (4d8 + 10) or power sword +34/+29/+24/+19 melee (2d8 + 11 + ignore armor/15-20/x2) or 2 slams +29 melee (2d6 + 8)
Space/Reach: 5 ft./5 ft.
Special Attacks: Acid spittle
Special Qualities: Bletcher's gland, biscopea, catalepsean node, damage reduction 15/normal, fast healing 10, haemastamen, immunity to disease and poison, Larraman's organ, Lyman's ear, melanochrome, mucranoid, multi-lung, neuroglottis, occulobe, omophagea, oolitic kidney, ossmudula, preomnor, progenoid glands, powerful build, scent, resistance to cold 20 and fire 20, secondary heart, the black carapace
Saves: Fort +21, Ref +15, Will +16
Abilities: Str 32, Dex 18, Con 31, Int 16, Wis 16, Cha 22
Skills: Yes
Feats: Cleave, Diehard B, Endurance B, Improved Initiative, Improved Sunder, Iron Will, Toughness B, Point Blank Shot, Power Attack, Self-Sufficient B, Track B, Weapon Focus (heavy bolter)
Climate/Terrain: Warhammer Metaverse
Organization: Squad
Challenge Rating: 20
Treasure: Double standard; heavy bolter, heavy armor, chain sword
Alignment: Any non-evil

Bletcher's Gland (Ex): These glands secrete an extremely corrosive acid, capable of working through solid iron. This acid is delivered whenever the space marine makes a bite attack.

Catalepsean Node (Ex): The space marine becomes highly resistant to the ill effects of sleep deprivation, and is able to subsist on minimal or no sleep for a period of days equal to 10 x its Con score.

Biscopea (Ex): This implant increases the space marine's Str by +2 (already factored into the stats above).

Larraman's Organ (Ex): Larraman's organ effectively confers the benefits of fast healing 10. Additionally, the space marine is furthermore resistant to massive damage. This implant also gives Toughness as bonus feat.

Lyman's Ear (Ex): The space marine becomes immune to dizziness and nausea.

Melanochrome (Ex): This genetic modification grants the benefits of resistance to cold 20 and resistance to fire 20 (only when the mucranoid organ is functioning properly).

Multi-lung (Ex): This genetic implant allows the space marine to breathe easily in toxic and heavily polluted environments and to filter out poisonous elements by absorbing oxygen from oxygen poor environments; it grants immunity to poison and disease, but the space marine may still be affected normally by magical poisons or diseases.

Neuroglottis (Ex): This organ bestows the space marine with the ability to Track as a bonus feat. This gene modification also duplicates the scent ability.

Occulobe (Ex): This organ grants exceptional vision and superior low-light vision to the space marine.

Ossmuldua (Ex): The ossmuldua genetic modification bestows the space marine with a +4 increase to AC and a +2 increase to Str (already factored into the stats above).

Preomnor (Ex): The space marine becomes immune to poisons (only when the oolitic kidney is functioning properly). The space marine is also able to ingest normally inedible materials; he ignores the hardness of properties whenever he chooses to ingest otherwise inedible materials, ie adamantine, mithral et al.

Progenoid Glands (Ex): Arguably the single most important implant of all, 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.

Secondary Heart (Ex): The first of many gene-seed implants, the secondary heart effectively bestows the space marine with Diehard, Endurance and Self-Sufficient as bonus feats.

The Black Carapace (Ex): This modification allows the space marine to directly interface with and gain the greatest benefit from his power armor. The space marine does not suffer from a -AC or Dex penalty to AC when implanted with the black carapace nor does he suffer encumbrance penalties or from a reduced speed.

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Design notes: this variation of the spess mahrens was designed quite a while ago, although it still uses 3.5 edition rules. I've only just recently revisited the concept having once again fired up a Dark Crusade campaign on the PC, hope you folks enjoy it!

[hamishspence]

Why Outsider?

I suppose that if you take the Emperor as a Physical God, the primarchs as quasi-deities derived from Him On Earth, and the space marines as taking just a little bit of divinity from the primarchs, you could make that case.

But it seems a bit unusual.

Especially given that every space marine begins as a normal (though exceptionally tough) man, before induction.

[Amiel]

Mainly for the nice things the type grants, I could, after all, design them as Monstrous Humanoids. However, the interpretation I am adhering to is the "physical scions of the children of the God-Emperor, himself a god, being products of His gene-seed." However, this could be Imperial Propaganda, and made a fair while ago. Take that as you will.

Also, space marines do utilise inductees, but the above space marines are mostly to represent the direct lineage of the Primachs, rather than the initiates they recruit, which would be Scout Marines rather than Space Marines.

[hamishspence]

Could be done as a template. Remember all scouts have the Geneseed, and all the organs get installed one by one after that, ending with the Black Carapace.

Template- Any male human- adds the Outsider type and native subtype.

That would cover the basic scout with just the first organ added (geneseed) and the other stuff could be added on top of that.

[Brother Oni]

Especially given that every space marine begins as a normal (though exceptionally tough) boy, before induction.

Induction is done just before or during puberty due to the necessity of the Space Marine augmention process required a growing/developing body.


One question though, in the fluff, Space Marines are substantially larger than normal people due to their implants and armour.
Would that up them to the Large size class, or is the D&D Large class not suitable for them?

[hamishspence]

Well, boy, man- old enough to be seen as a man by some cultural standards.

The Space Wolves in particular- the "boys" are seen as men by the standards of Fenris.

Powerful Build was in the statblock- it works for bigger than Medium but smaller than large. 7 to 8 ft tall is about right for Powerful Build.

[Amiel]

Could be done as a template. Remember all scouts have the Geneseed, and all the organs get installed one by one after that, ending with the Black Carapace.

That would cover the basic scout with just the first organ added (geneseed) and the other stuff could be added on top of that.

Template- Any male human- adds the Outsider type and native subtype.

A template has already been made, I wanted to try something completely different; the reason being that this was supposed to represent a space marine at its peak physical conditioning. The template could be used to represent a scout marine ready for induction into the Great Chapters, but not yet a combat veteran, or one who is bloodied.

One question though, in the fluff, Space Marines are substantially larger than normal people due to their implants and armour.
Would that up them to the Large size class, or is the D&D Large class not suitable for them?

Hmm, I gave them powerful build within the creature mechanics, do you think that covers it?



Also, this space marine was meant to moreso represent the fluff rather than the tabletop rules.

[hamishspence]

Makes for an interesting monster.

Space Marines as NPCs could possibly have class levels instead of hit dice.

Something like Class- Space Marine Fighter, Prestige Class- Veteran, or some similar combination.

[Amiel]

Thanks, mate :)

I was actually hoping for advancing HD to represent tenure and survivability, imagine an advanced HD Captain, or even the max HD Primarchs, who'd be totally, totally badass.
But yes, the advancement line was left open-ended so one is free to advance however one would like.


As an addendum, to bring up an alternate take on the space marine process, it could be described that the processes of transforming an inductee or recruit into the hallowed ranks of the space marines would be so traumatic and transformative on the body, that their physicality becomes so changed that they completely turn into the above.
The adherents are not only given physical and mental conditioning but spiritual conditioning as well. Their entire genetic, intellectual and spiritual make-up changes.

[Brother Oni]

I was just voicing a comment as I'm more familiar with 40K fluff that I am with later versions of D&D. Judging from both of your comments, Powerful Build fits the bill perfectly.


As for the template, it'd depend on the Chapter really. Remembering how the Imperial Fists did it, all scouts were fully implanted marines, they just didn't have the training or experience to go up to full power armour.


With regard to Class levels, wouldn't be more along the lines of Legionaires Astartes trooper base class, with Tech/Devastator/Assault/Scout/Terminator Marine, Librarian, etc prestige classes?

Veteranacy would be simply conferred by class level, rather than a separate prestige class, no?

[hamishspence]

Possibly- veterans get specialist equipment in 5th ed though- and the training to use them.

something like "Bonus Feat- Exotic Armour Proficiency- Terminator Armour" would fit if veterans were being represented with a prestige class.

[imp_fireball]

No offense, but this looks like complete fan wankery.

And if you didn't comprehend me... I mean, you utilize mostly opinion before logic. I'm not put off by the fact that you claim that this is the 'fluff instead of the mechanic'.

Meaning this thing isn't gonna be accepted by as many people. Sorry.

For crying out loud, the actual space marine template that someone else created was LA +4! The template!

[Solaris]

I agree. CR 20 seems high - 10-15 might be better for a basic Space Marine. I note you say this isn't meant to be the rank-and-file, but rather one of the really high-grade Marines. The one I wrote was about CR 4-5, but that's because it was intended as a PC option.
(Don't forget, Scouts typically become Marines - and in the Space Wolves, it's usually the other way around. Just in case I interpreted your statement about scouts being the initiates and the marines being a different group entirely correctly. Ignore if that's not the case.)

[hamishspence]

I think there were suggestions that Horus Heresy marines were much more powerful than modern ones, being so close to the original Primarch Geneseed.

And, immortal, or nearly so.

If so, that would fit this guy a bit better- his geneseed would be very close to the original Primarch lineage, rather than having been passed down for 10000 years.

[Brother Oni]

Wouldn't that mean the proposed stat block be more appropriate for Traitor Marines (after tacking on a couple mutations) as they're all supposed to date back to the Horus Heresy?

[hamishspence]

Not anymore- a large proportion are from chapters who have fallen since then.

Even in 2nd ed, there were the Red Corsairs, but in 4th, we got a whole lot more.

That said- in theory a Chaos Marine from one of the Traitor Legions should be more powerful than one from the modern Traitor Chapters/Companies/Squads etc.

In practice, on the tabletop, they don't do that.