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im2randomghgh wrote:

BluntmanDC wrote:Space Wolves can only recruit from world, while the Black Templars can recruit from nearly any world they find during their crusades.

This is the main limiting factor on the size of the Space wolves.

Yeah their legion can only be the size of a planetary population.

So you have no idea of either Space wolves fluff or general space marine fluff.

1. Fenris has only one stable region, which the Fang is built on, the rest is a vast area of dangerous wilderness with VERY SMALL groups of humans.
2. Geneseed only works with males, so even by your poor logic it could only be half the planetary population.
3. Geneseed is very selective and only works with a small perecentage of people
4. Trials to make sure that the integrity of the chapter's geneseed (their lifeblood and future) are performed, this lowers the number of candidates even more.
5. The cup of russ can cause some bad effects (but for the good of the chapter) so lower the number of candidates again.
6. Recruitment is done roughly once or twice a generation, usually after events of tribal conflict, this lowers the number of candidates seeing as loads are dead on the battlefield.
7. You cannot have a chapter the size of the planetary population as that would remove the breeding population leading to no new future marines.

Hold on guys.

How come the BTs are larger than the SWs? I was under the impression the Space Wolves were still a legion size.

Also, how are the Black Templars so large?

BT kinda just kept recruiting...
They are so spread out they don't really constitute a threat to the Imperium however.
The SW legion slowly depleted itself over the course of the HH and afterwards.
It then divided to make another chapter.
And, it was never a large legion to start with...
These combined show that even at legion strength they didn't exactly have much more than they do now.

purplefood wrote:We aren't counting descendants...
DA descendants are very close with the DA chapter to the point that calling them separate chapters is more of a technicality.
But, if you are going purely by organisation then it goes:
BT
SW
Exorcists (They have 2 extra scout companies)

Actually there are a few chapters that are absolutely huge.

Exorcists have alot of marines and the ultramarines actually exceed 1000 marines with tyrannic war veterans.

Not only that but the Crimson fists at their height had 128 Space Marines in their first company + an extra company of marines.

Asherian Command wrote:

purplefood wrote:We aren't counting descendants...
DA descendants are very close with the DA chapter to the point that calling them separate chapters is more of a technicality.
But, if you are going purely by organisation then it goes:
BT
SW
Exorcists (They have 2 extra scout companies)

Actually there are a few chapters that are absolutely huge.

Exorcists have alot of marines and the ultramarines actually exceed 1000 marines with tyrannic war veterans.

Not only that but the Crimson fists at their height had 128 Space Marines in their first company + an extra company of marines.

As standard they have more.
The CF and Ultras do not have those numbers as standard.
BT, SW and the Exorcists do however.