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As the title says, Why does the Deathguard and Plague Marines in general wear Gasmasks? They seem like the only people in the galaxy who don't need them. Is it because they used to need them before the Heresy on their home planet or is it because it makes people think of diseases or is it because the model designers are insane?

This seems a good place to make my DakkaDakka debut!

There could be a number of reasons for this. Firstly, Plague Marine's might wear them because the clean air is poisonous to them, but this seems a crap theory.

The Death Guard, way back in the 30th Millenium, made the practice of poisoning themselves a great deal. It became one of the greatest rituals for the Death Guard to actually consume vast amounts of amazingly deadly and venomous concoctions so that they might overcome them and eventually gain immunity to these diseases.

I suppose that the model designers would have used gasmasks to invoke the relationship between chemicals and warfare.

Maybe a lot of them wear them because they can't take them off/don't have an alternative helm/have a huge sentimental connection to the gasmask helm?

Have you smelled a plague marine? Wouldn't you want to wear a gas mask?

Maybe they wear them to keep their plagued breathe to themself, not in the fear of spreading it, but because the stench of the plague and the very strength of it is intoxicating to them. Instead of watering down the smell they bottle it up in those masks to consume such a blessing from their papa Nurgle. just my $0.02

Gas masks are a symbol of death and disease in society, so maybe they wear them as a symbol of pestilence.

Id assume they want to keep away from their own stench and bacteria. Theyre still people you know.

This is very loosely paraphrased from Lex, so bear with me.

Mortarion was raised on a planet where the air was filled with toxic fumes. If people wanted to fight well and exist in parts of the planet that weren't underground they needed gas masks. Mortarion lived with a warlord above ground and fought against the other warlords that existed, eventually making his one of the most powerful in the land. The ruling warlords abused people underground. One day Mort somehow wound up underground and discovered what their community was really like. He trained several warriors to rebel against the warlord. In this he constructed crude gas masks for his warriors. It should be noted that the toxins didn't bother Mort. As they journeyed higher and higher in the region his troops slowly got better gas masks to resist the poisonous air. Eventually he defeats the warlord who once raised him. I'm pretty sure Emprah steps in before, after, or during that fight. Either way, that's why Plague Marines wear masks. Mort has a small re-breather that constantly supplies him with toxic air. Nurgle steps in when they turn chaos, making an easy transition.

I haven't read this article in a while, so anyone can correct me if I'm wrong somewhere.

Justus wrote:This is very loosely paraphrased from Lex, so bear with me.

Mortarion was raised on a planet where the air was filled with toxic fumes. If people wanted to fight well and exist in parts of the planet that weren't underground they needed gas masks. Mortarion lived with a warlord above ground and fought against the other warlords that existed, eventually making his one of the most powerful in the land. The ruling warlords abused people underground. One day Mort somehow wound up underground and discovered what their community was really like. He trained several warriors to rebel against the warlord. In this he constructed crude gas masks for his warriors. It should be noted that the toxins didn't bother Mort. As they journeyed higher and higher in the region his troops slowly got better gas masks to resist the poisonous air. Eventually he defeats the warlord who once raised him. I'm pretty sure Emprah steps in before, after, or during that fight. Either way, that's why Plague Marines wear masks. Mort has a small re-breather that constantly supplies him with toxic air. Nurgle steps in when they turn chaos, making an easy transition.

I haven't read this article in a while, so anyone can correct me if I'm wrong somewhere.

Kinda, Mortarion was only somewhat immune to the toxic gases. His "father (the warlord who "raised" him) discovered how far up Motarion could go, then deliberately built his new keep above that line. When the Emperor showed up and told the humans he was going to solve their problems, Mortarion left in a huff to go deal with the warlord who had raised him, and started to succumb to the toxic gases when the Emperor saved him and killed the Warlord.

In the process, he embarrassed Mortarion and embittered him against the Emperor.

But it actually makes sense that they wear the gas masks, since it was the standard equipment for Mortarion's troops on Barbarus before he encountered the Emperor. Per Lexi, Mortarion also apparently made certain that the Death Guard could fight in any atmosphere.

Of course, it could also be a case of Nurgle's sense of humor showing through by altering the armor of his heralds of decay and toxins so they are wearing gas masks.

agnosto wrote:Have you smelled a plague marine? Wouldn't you want to wear a gas mask?

In the grim darkness of the 41st millenium, even a plague marine cant stand how badly he smells...

Its mostly just for ascetics. They arent needed but they are awesome.

Because they look awesome

Because of Threadnomancy.

Because wearing a gasmask makes you look bad .