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Fluff wise, from what I understand csm aren't organised or centralized like the sm. Are they? Do they have a moral code? Do they have a chain of command?

Chaos Marines were first organized into the traitor legions, just like the original Space Marine chapters.

Usually, Chaos Marines group themselves based on worship (i.e. which god).

Chaos has a minimal moral code. It's the survival of the fittest in the warp, but there are some codex (I.E. "Kill! Maim! Burn!").

Usually, Chaos Marines unite into warbands, led by aspiring champions. These warbands fight each other for the favor of the chaos gods.

Sometimes, Chaos legions will stay strong and never break into warbands (such as the Iron Warriors or Emperor's Children), but sometimes a small warband grows huge (Black Legion).

Chaos is, first and foremost, chaotic. In regards to your question, it's very hard to make general statements that will be true for every warband. One group might be largely unchanged since they were first a legion. I believe the Black Legion still rolls around as one large force. Talos's band of Night Lords, on the other hand, are scavengers who do not worship any one particular entity, nor do they have any real motivations beyond survival. Then you look at Huron and his psychos, and they're a cohesive group of pirates, with clear cut goals and plans. Really, each warband should be viewed on its own in that regard. Probably the only real unifying characteristic is that in most all cases, everyone is rallied behind the biggest, nastiest Chaos Marine on the block. I think having an alpha-predator on the top of the heap is probably a prerequisite for a warband, but then again there is a good chance that there are a few warbands that would buck even that rule.

As of M41, most CSM forces are broken up into warbands. The Emperor's Children, World Eaters, Thousand Sons, and Night Lords are completely fragmented while the Death Guard seems to be almost at that level, though a loose allegiance to Mortarion is probably maintained. Warbands are led by Chaos Lords, usually the most powerful or clever CSM in the force.

There are however organized Chaos Legions that maintain their structure. The Black Legion is a massive, organized force led by Abaddon and his 4 Chosen Lieutenants (described being 10 times bigger then the Word Bearers, who are probably the 2nd largest). The Word Bearers have many forces under the command of Dark Apostles, but these all in turn report to the Dark Council on Sicarius which makes the WB's a bit of an oligarchy. The Iron Warriors are a bit more fragmented, but still have maintained their pre-Heresy Grand Company structure. These 3 legions are probably the most powerful Chaos forces out there right now.

Different warbands have different moral codes and culture. A Night Lord will be drastically different then a Word Bearer, lacking the allegiance to the Chaos Gods and viewing their fight against the Imperium as a struggle to preserve their honor as Astartes and deliver terror the enemies of their Primarch instead of some crusade or glory/booty campaign. A World Eater will kill whatever it can get its hands on, an Emperor's Children will be utterly self-absorbed and not concerned with much else. Many CSM like the Red Corsairs are just interested in self-indulgence, pillaging, and forging miniature empires and make pacts with Daemonic powers to further their ends, having no real connection to them.

...Morality? Chaos Marines? Are you 'joking'?

Most of the forces of Chaos fight in scattered warbands gathered around particular Chaos Lords/Daemon Princes/Sorcerers and ruled by the respect accorded the leader by his subordinates. The rules: attract the favor of the Chaos Gods without dying.

Night Lords (according to the Dembski-Bowden Novels) try to be organised into companies.

They certainly are the least warband like legion.

Again... This is according to the Night Lords Novels, which I would consider as gospel to how they act.

They still have a sort of honour code, where as the Black Legion don't give a rat's ass who they screw over.

Puscifer wrote:Night Lords (according to the Dembski-Bowden Novels) try to be organised into companies.

They certainly are the least warband like legion.

Again... This is according to the Night Lords Novels, which I would consider as gospel to how they act.

They still have a sort of honour code, where as the Black Legion don't give a rat's ass who they screw over.

Night Lords are among the least organized Legions. While they still call themselves Companies and share a broad goal, they are completely fragmented and under the control of various Warlords.

Black Legion, Word Bearers, and to a lesser extent Iron Warriors are the only CSM Legions with any semblance of organization by this point.