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Quoting from Lexicanum,

Originally known as the XVIIIth Legion, the origins of what would become the Salamanders are largely shrouded in mystery. In order to protect the nascent Legiones Astartes from both hostile action and espionage, the origins and deployments of several early Legion gene-seeds are further classified beyond usual protocol. These Legion groups were formed and established largely in separation from the rest, and it is generally thought to a very specific end. The XVIIIth Legion, along with the VIth Legion and XXth Legion, comprised this group of proto-legions. That this 'trefoil' of three proto-Legions was somehow veiled from the rest during their creation and establishment was something known only to a few. Deliberate effort was made to distance these three legions from the others. There are none save the Emperor and a handful of his aids who know what the exact purpose behind this policy was.

I think we've been lead to believe that the wolves were created as an internal cleansing mechanism on the other legions (they certainly believe it) and the alpha legion are distinct in their operation as a shadow force, of counter-ops, but what of the salamanders? I feel that I have missed something about their uniqueness.

Anyone care to fill me in?

They looked scary

The Salamanders for whatever reason have slower reflexes than other marines (although I imagine on the battlefield this is compensated for by their well-forged weapons that they forged, themselves)

They also have some flame resilience and that black onyx skin.

......if these traits were made on purpose, I'm currently stumped as to what their purpose could have been. The wolves having canine traits added in so they could hunt down things better is obvious in hindsight, but the purpose of the Salamanders? Dunno. Maybe something to do with purification or crafting.

Your all missing the key factor of the salies, humanity

Is their humanity due to their gene seed or due to some passed down culture from Prometheus? According to the book, the Salamanders were ruthless and bellicose at first (presumably before Vulkan was found)

Interestingly it's explicitly stated that of the three, all three weren't trusted at first due to this secretive origin but the Space Wolves and Alpha Legion would become even MORE distrusted while the Salamanders became tolerated/loved/trusted over time.

As an aside, the Salamander gene seed has always been unstable in the fluff, which is one of the reasons why they have so few successors. So I guess this origins thing is a way to show why that's the case.

TiamatRoar wrote:
The Salamanders for whatever reason have slower reflexes than other marines

This hasn't been the case in the fluff for a long time.

Okay! Well, it wouldn't have made much sense for it to have a part in their origins anyways.

I'm not sure about the mutation thing either, come to think about it. But they do have a high rate of mutation in the Death Watch chapter creation table IIRC.

Hostile environments conflict, perhaps? Maybe created as a check on the Mechanicus, like Space Wolves were a check on other marines? That fire resistance ought to help when you're fighting your way through a manufactorum bristling with crucibles and forges and whatnot, and crafting one's own weapons speaks for itself...

TiamatRoar wrote:
Okay! Well, it wouldn't have made much sense for it to have a part in their origins anyways.

I'm not sure about the mutation thing either, come to think about it. But they do have a high rate of mutation in the Death Watch chapter creation table IIRC.

90% IIRC. That said, Salamanders all have a mutation as their gene-seed causes their skin to react to their homeworld's radiation. Though I've never heard anything about further mutation.

Here's my theory-
Salamanders are meant to be the original defenders of the IoM.
They're compassionate because they will do anything to protect the people they care about.

That's it. All I have to say.

Given that Vulkan was a perpetual, and the legion both crafts their own gear and are closer to humanity than the others, maybe the Emperor meant for the Salamanders to be his successors.

I don't think the Emperor was planning for his own death so it's unlikely he'd plan to have successors.
It's possible he wanted them to deal with a threat that never arose.

I know that the prior HH book goes out of its way to establish that the Salamanders are one of the most effective war-by-attrition legions in the Pre-Heresy Imperium, second only to the Death Guard. I mean, the book outright states that 19,000 Sallies managed to fight "over 1 million" Orks to a standstill in open warfare for over a year. That's a 53-to-1 ratio there. Very impressive.

The book basically states that they're masters of attrition warfare and "Zone Mortalis" warfare, which is 40K terms for fighting on battlefields where the environment itself is as deadly as the enemy (death worlds and the like).

So, combining that fact with the humility, patience and compassion they possess that most other Astartes lack, you kind of begin to see a picture being painted. Salamanders are masters of defensive fighting, and are programmed to be much more compatible with Humans and human society.

Imo, they're original purpose was to be the Astartes equivalent of PDF. A garrison army that can function among society just fine, and which possess the stubbornness and grim tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds to fight and die to the last man protecting their charges (Humans). Compare that to Legions like the Raven Guard, White Scars or Alpha Legion, who would most likely abandon a planet if it was deemed tactically nonviable to defend it, or would be content with letting the population get slaughtered while they used hit and run tactics.

Terra would have been a rather poor place to fight on during the Unification Wars, if the Chronicles of Ursch are anything to go by. Perhaps the Salamanders are some form of Astartes/Thunder Warrior hybrid.

From The Outcast Dead, we know that such a hybrid is possible or at least theoretically possible according to Babu Dhakal. His lifespan also seems to be abnormally long, perhaps some form of connection between that and Vulkan?

Clearly they weren't created the same way or to be the same, just an idea. Maybe I am giving to much to the 'proto - Legion' notion.

Another possibility is uncorruptability. In the HH book 2, the Salamanders were mentioned as having no warrior lodges and that the Word Bearers attempts were rebuffed. This was down to their outlook - independence, loyalty and patience amongst others - an almost religious zeal to them. Unknown if that is down to genetics or simply unbringing though.

 BlaxicanX wrote:
I know that the prior HH book goes out of its way to establish that the Salamanders are one of the most effective war-by-attrition legions in the Pre-Heresy Imperium, second only to the Death Guard. I mean, the book outright states that 19,000 Sallies managed to fight "over 1 million" Orks to a standstill in open warfare for over a year. That's a 53-to-1 ratio there. Very impressive.

The book basically states that they're masters of attrition warfare and "Zone Mortalis" warfare, which is 40K terms for fighting on battlefields where the environment itself is as deadly as the enemy (death worlds and the like).

So, combining that fact with the humility, patience and compassion they possess that most other Astartes lack, you kind of begin to see a picture being painted. Salamanders are masters of defensive fighting, and are programmed to be much more compatible with Humans and human society.

Imo, they're original purpose was to be the Astartes equivalent of PDF. A garrison army that can function among society just fine, and which possess the stubbornness and grim tenacity in the face of overwhelming odds to fight and die to the last man protecting their charges (Humans). Compare that to Legions like the Raven Guard, White Scars or Alpha Legion, who would most likely abandon a planet if it was deemed tactically nonviable to defend it, or would be content with letting the population get slaughtered while they used hit and run tactics.

Not just a garrison army that can function among society. A garrison army that can maintain its own weapons without a dedicated supply chain and expensive technicians and will fight to defend the populace because they care for them.
You might have cracked this...
If not it's still a great idea. It suits them really well.

I assumed it was related with the Perpetual thing...

 da001 wrote:
I assumed it was related with the Perpetual thing...

Yeah but the issue with that is Perpetuals are silly.

 purplefood wrote:

 da001 wrote:
I assumed it was related with the Perpetual thing...

Yeah but the issue with that is Perpetuals are silly.

Agreed,
But I still think is what they were implying. The info comes from Horus Heresy 2: Massacre, page 115. It gives no details, but there are three Legions with "something hidden", so to speak: Alphas, Wolves and Salamanders. The Legions were created from their Primarchs, and we have:

Sort of make sense, I guess.

 zedmeister wrote:
Another possibility is uncorruptability. (...)

Perhaps I am wrong, but I think we have traitor Salamanders: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Dragon_Warriors

At least their most powerful sorcerer is a former Salamader Librarian.