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Well my friend has just started a space marine army, and he has created his own paint job and characters (it is only in early stages). I am an author so he asked me to write him up some fluff, I am writing up some ideas but I need some help with the aspect of detail in the lore, geography in the solar system and space marines before they are scouts.

Things I need to know are:
Space marine childhood
different positions, e:g commander, and how do you get to them, also which order, e;g scout-marine-sergeant-captain-dreadnought-dead.
What different factions are their in the imperium,
what is an inquisitor,
whats the emporer's name,
space wolves, blood angels, why are they different?
Thanks

Lexicanum is your best bet for all warhammer 40K lore

As far as I know:

They have relatively normal childhoods. I think they get recruited as teenagers.

The ranks you should mostly concern yourself with is Sergeant, who leads a squad, Captain, who leads a Company, and Chapter Master who is the overall leader. Promotions are based on merit.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Imperium#.T-ikJZHHHk8 will help you on the different factions in the Imperium. Of which there are many.

Check the Lexicanum, it will help on what an Inquisitor is.

The Emperor's name is unknown. He is just known as the God Emperor of Mankind.

Space Wolves are basically vikings in space and Blood Angels are a blood obsessed melee centric Chapter. Though they are more of a fast melee then a slow and slogging brawl. I'm not 100% exact on the Space Wolves' specialization but I do know that they looooove Wolves.

EDIT: Space Marines also have a lot of different positions. Like I and crazyrossboy said, check the Lexicanum.

Wow, lexicanum did help out alot, thanks guys.

Perhaps the easiest thing to do is find a warrior "type from history" and then Space Marine it

Already officially done:
Vikings, Vampires, Crusader Knights, Mongol Horsemen, Hoplites, Romans etc

Possible ones to look at:
Samuari
Sohei
Persian Immortals
Hittites
Egyptians
etc

I would recommend a glance at the 40k core rulebook, the Marine Codex and the Index Astartes books as reference. They contain a heap of information that should help a lot.

As for Lexicanum, I feel it is important to keep in mind that 40k does not have a solid "canon" but is a patchwork of individual interpretations heavily dependent on the individual gamer. A ton of authors has contributed to the franchise by novels and other material, yet since conformity or consistency are not enforced they may introduce conflicting viewpoints where the reader has to choose what he likes more. In short, Lexicanum only shows you one possible interpretation of the material. Better analyze the sources directly and see for yourself (Lexicanum is a good place to start finding those sources, though).

I will attempt to provide a brief answer for the questions you had, however:

#1: Space Marines are recruited at an age of 10-14, often from the population of feral world barbarians as their aggressive lifestyle and cultural values (tenacity, strength, resilience) will have promoted aspects that render them promising recruits for the Chapters. Newly inducted neophytes undergo a lengthy process of implantation, indoctrination and chemical treatments that takes years (about 4-8) to complete - in fact, the chemical treatment never stops as it is required to keep their bodies stable. A Marine will first join the Scout company where he will earn his first actual combat experience and prove his worth in the eyes of his superiors. You could say Scouts are basically Marines-in-Training, but they already count as Battle Brothers.

#2: You pretty much already got the order right, although it is worth pointing out that, at least beyond the rank of Captain, Company membership plays a role, too. In short, when a Chapter Master dies, he is usually replaced by the Captain of the First Company, which is then replaced either by one of his Sergeants or the Captain of the 2nd Company and so forth. I guess that it depends very much on the individual Chapter which is more common, however, and how much value is placed on Company membership.

#3: The Imperium is a vast network of factions often divided into subfactions. Aside from the "official" departments of the church (Ecclesiarchy), the military (Munitorum), the bureaucracy (Administratum) and so forth, there are also various factions existing under and beyond the borders of the official bodies, mostly concerned with stances on alien technology (use it? destroy it?), mutations (what can you allow, what needs to be killed) and similar topics. Even the Inquisition is riddled with internal unrest, as some Inquisitors operating on a "fighting fire by fire" approach clash with colleagues of the "don't open Pandora's box" variety, which occasionally results in violent conflict between said Inquisitors and their allies, who may at times not even know why they are truly ordered to shoot fellow Imperials.
The Space Marines, on the other hand, largely stand apart from all this infighting. Although they share some opinions with various political movements in the Imperium, they are a semi-independent body largely keeping to themselves. Since they are not immune from developing relationships with individual Imperials or establishing a way of thinking of their own, however, they may have "feuds" with other Space Marine Chapters, ranging from honorable vendettas with Marines challenging each other to duels, all the way to outright hatred with a Chapter seeking every opportunity to inflict heavy casualties upon another or even jumping at a chance to be allowed to destroy them.

#4: The Inquisition is an office largely concerned with the preservation of the Imperium as it stands - like a secret police with all-encompassing authority. There are various "Ordos" specializing on specific threats (internal security, aliens, demons), though membership is not mandatory but simply a matter of networking with colleagues. Inquisitors are granted ultimate authority and are officially able to requisition any Imperial force for their missions, from planetary militias to Imperial Guard regiments and Navy ships all the way to Titan Legions and Marine Chapters. The latter's independence, however, occasionally results in Chapter Masters simply turning down a request, and many might get away with it when they are considered too important or have a good relationship with other Inquisitors. Due to this, it is often said in the books that Inquisitors tend to word their plans as requests and pleas rather than commands and orders, hoping that a Chapter Master would be more inclined to lend the assistance of his Marines.
The Inquisition has a special Marine Chapter on its own, however - the demon-fighting Grey Knights. They also had the Deathwatch (small elite kill-teams of select Marines from different Chapters sent on alien-hunting missions, often accompanied by non-Marines), but this one isn't mentioned anymore in the current material so it may or may not be outdated.

#5: The God-Emperor does not have an actual name - if he ever had one, it is long forgotten. On some worlds, he may be known by a different title, however, since the Ecclesiarchy tends to expand His faith not by replacing the native belief system of a reclaimed human world but rather subvert it (for a real world example see the origin of St. Valentine's Day and other Christian festivities).

#6: Different Space Marine Chapters were all created from the genetic material of a Primarch, which was a "customized" superhuman being specifically grafted by the Emperor's top-scientists long ago. Due to this, many of the Chapters and the Chapters succeeding them display some genetic quirk connected to their Primarch. Geneseed mutation has, over millennia, worsened these traits, in some cases bordering clear mutation that occasionally requires a Marine Chapter to be purged by the Adepta Sororitas or some other force operating under Inquisitorial mandate (at times including other Marine Chapters). Most differences, however, are merely cultural, and based on the Chapter's homeworld. Even though the Space Marines largely isolate themselves from the local communes, many end up adopting local customs, be it due to the influx of new recruits, due to the proximity to the natives, or because their Primarch had already believed in them.

These are just some very short basics, though. There's much more to be found in the sources I mentioned above. Give it a look and try to find a balance between preserving the general theme and inserting your own ideas. Pick and choose what you like or discard what you don't from the existing material - and ask your friend what sources of fluff he likes to stick to, then tweak your concept to his perception of the 'verse. Good luck!

Greenskinchris wrote:Well my friend has just started a space marine army, and he has created his own paint job and characters (it is only in early stages). I am an author so he asked me to write him up some fluff, I am writing up some ideas but I need some help with the aspect of detail in the lore, geography in the solar system and space marines before they are scouts.

Things I need to know are:

Space marine childhood

-Depends. The conventional wisdom suggests that they get recruited as early as 6 or 7 given how long the implantation process takes and that it needs to be completed before full maturity. Several fluff sources have suggested older recruits, as old as 14. Anything past that is probably not compliant with the canon and either old, or artistic license.


different positions, e:g commander, and how do you get to them, also which order, e;g scout-marine-sergeant-captain-dreadnought-dead.

-One would assume the rank structure would be more complex than it has been depicted in the book. But it seems to be merit based. You become a Sergeant after decades of experience and showing a talent for leadership. You become a Captain after much longer, and demonstrating exceptional leadership skills and a comprehensive grasp of tactics and strategy.


What different factions are their in the imperium,

-Factions? There's no short answer for this. Look up the organization of the Imperium on Lexicanum for the descriptions of the Ecclessiarchy, inquisition, Administratum, etc..


what is an inquisitor,

-Angry guys from Spain. Just kidding.


whats the emporer's name,

-Steve. Actually, he doesn't have a name that's ever been mentioned. He's just "The Emperor".


space wolves, blood angels, why are they different?

-Best to read the Lexicanum articles on them too. Short answer: Furry Vikings vs Angry Vampires.

Mr Morden wrote:Perhaps the easiest thing to do is find a warrior "type from history" and then Space Marine it

Already officially done:
Vikings, Vampires, Crusader Knights, Mongol Horsemen, Hoplites, Romans etc

Possible ones to look at:
Samuari
Sohei
Persian Immortals
Hittites
Egyptians
etc

Egyptians = thousand sons

But I hadn't thought of that to create a chapter... I shall do so myself! Cheers!

OT:
Lexicanum is your best bet


Von Chogg

Mr Morden wrote:Perhaps the easiest thing to do is find a warrior "type from history" and then Space Marine it

Already officially done:
Vikings, Vampires, Crusader Knights, Mongol Horsemen, Hoplites, Romans etc

Possible ones to look at:
Samuari
Sohei
Persian Immortals
Hittites
Egyptians
etc

Wow, I hadn't thought of that, I am going to do that for my other armies, cheers!

1. I don't know what you mean by this, but Space Marines are recruited between the ages of 7 and 13, usually.
2. It would go Scout-Marine-Veteran/Sergeant-Captain-Chapter Master. If you are heroic enough and get horribly wounded, you can be put in a Dreadnought at almost any time, though it isn't likely as a Scout.
3. Administratum: The guys who run the Imperium.
Ecclesiarchy: The priests of the Imperial Creed.
Adeptus Mechanicus: The Preisthood of the Omnissiah.
Departmento Munitorium: The upper echelons of Imperial Guard command.
Inquisition: Hunters of Heretics, Aliens and Daemons.
Imperial Guard: The main military of the Imperium.
Imperial Navy: The space-borne military of the Imperium.
4. An Inquisitor is someone who roots out and hunts for aliens, heretics and Daemons.
5. The Emperor does not have a name.
6. Space Wolves are space vikings, Blood Angels are space vampires.

I like to think the emperors name is Steve.
As for childhoood, It depends on the planet/chapter.
The White Scars Recruit from the mightiest warriors in the steppes, Salamanders they recruit the hardiest individuals, The ultra marines i think have an exam or something, like th SAT.

On the topic of the Emperors name...

Has anyone noticed the importance that GW seems to be putting in names?

As far as Black Library novels go.

If a daemon knows your name he can control you and vise versa.

Like most of GW's (and, to be fair these days, everyone else's) fiction, that's not an original idea. It's a fairly common theme in demon- or magic-related fantasy.