How much would power armour be worth?

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**Smacks**

tldr version: How much is Space Marine armour / power armour worth in the 40k setting, relative to other things? And are marines given money, in case it is required on missions?

Long version:

Spoiler:

EDIT: added tldr, spoilered long rant.

**ImAGeek**

I'm sorry I can't really help with the question, but that is an awesome dream!

**von Hohenstein**

According to the warhammer RPG, zivil power armour (with enough energy to work for D5 hours) is worth 8.000 throne gelt.
A worker living in a hab block may be able to spent 30 throne gelt per month. A highly trained tech priest may have 800 throne gelt per month.

So I guess space marine power armour is worth the price of a small military vehicle.

**jhe90**

Probbly a massive fortune vs the average wage.
The materials cost huge amounts, high end ceramite, metals, fibre muscle strands, technology, micro reactor for power.

None of this is a average lasgun type stuff.

**Spetulhu**

jhe90 wrote:
Probbly a massive fortune
The materials cost huge amounts

Not only the materials, but also the work. Some PA comes right from a Forge World asked to supply your starting Chapter, but after that the armorers of the Chapter build stuff more or less by hand. You don't want to know what a marine armorer bills people for an hour of work.

**Thatguyhsagun**

More than the lives of a thousand guardsmen, and more than they made in their lives combined.

As for cash for bribes/supplies, would you refuse 8 feet of ceramite and genetically engineered muscle encasing something you've been told to venerate as an extension of the Emperors will, one of the Angels of Death? if the answer is no, there is no need for a bribe/payment. If the answer is yes, than there is need for a few dozen bottles of disinfectant and a new door/wall for whoever decides to come in the room next, but still no bribe or payment.

Emperor-fearing citizens would never refuse a request from a Marine, and if they did they would not be making the same mistake twice. Exceptions being for chapters like salamanders or such, who dont harm citizens, but lets face it, in the middle of a warzone you want the big guys with rocket launcher automatics to be on your side.

As for bribes, marines aren't really investigators, thats an inquisitorial deal.

**Smacks**

I can see how it would certainly be difficult to haggle effectively with an Astartes... But there must be some situations where it would be handy to have currency.

**Iron_Captain**

You dreamt you were a Space Marine? How boring...
I once dreamt I was a Dark Elf from WHFB XD

As to the Astartes power armour, they are sacred relics so I highly doubt their value can be expressed in any sort of monetary value, it is highly unlikely (and probably heretical) that such armour would ever be sold.
Besides, I highly doubt the Imperium has some sort of standard monetary currency.

**Veteran Sergeant**

I can't really imagine a situation where a Space Marine would need currency.

The only question is how they requisition stuff like fuel and ammunition and other supplies when on campaign (especially for fleet-based chapters). Do they have a credit line?

"Emperor's Express. It's everywhere you want to be."

But for an individual Marine, the number of situations they might find themselves bargaining in would be about zero. You don't send Space Marines to negotiate, or investigate. You just send them to kill things. The closest they get to investigating is showing up in a system and decided "We need to kill stuff" or, with a disappointed sigh, "We don't need to kill stuff".

**Exergy**

jhe90 wrote:
Probbly a massive fortune vs the average wage.
The materials cost huge amounts, high end ceramite, metals, fibre muscle strands, technology, micro reactor for power.

None of this is a average lasgun type stuff.

I remember reading some primary source material about the cost of a medieval knight, which was all costed in cows. From Memory:
The knight required a cow/year
The war horse another cow/year
The sword was 2 cows
Other weapons were 1 cow
And the armor was 10 cows

I would imagine that power armor would be similarly expensive, probably more something like 50x more expensive than a Bolter and a Bolter is more complex and expensive than any commoner could afford.

**Psienesis**

Based on the RPGs, a single suit of power armor is worth more than 90% of anyone in the Imperium makes in a year.

**Veteran Sergeant**

The cost is simply listed in raw materials.

But while Bill Gates could afford an F-22, the government isn't going to let him buy one, lol. And I doubt there is a market for second hand power armor.

So you might as well refer to power armor as "priceless", because it has no value. That and a normal human being wouldn't be able to use Space Marine armor anyway, simply by virtue of the sheer size of it.

**Wyzilla**

Considering all astartes power armor is a relic and automatically holy, I don't know if it'd be even legal to sell or own. Or if it was somehow, it would purely be a religious relic, nobody could use it.

**Smacks**

I thought it might have appeared in the Necromunda rare-trade chart, but after flipping through, it doesn't. Although some of the spyrer armour appear to be like, if not superior to power armour, but that doesn't have a price. However, it does show that wealthy people have access to that kind of tech.

**BrianDavion**

Psienesis wrote:
Based on the RPGs, a single suit of power armor is worth more than 90% of anyone in the Imperium makes in a year.

keep in mind though that the power armor as priced in the RPG there isn't a suit of astartes power armor which has some additional features the stuff you buy in dark heresy doesn't

**PhillyT**

Normal humans can't even wear Astartes power armor. It is way too big and requires the black carapace.

**Gwaihirsbrother**

In a society as big, spread out, and poorly managed/supervised as the imperium, I find it entirely plausible that there would be cities or worlds where someone has a contraband suit of power armor that they are willing to part with four the right price.

**TheCustomLime**

It depends on the market and the suit. For SM power armor, the only market would be wealthy unscrupulous collectors. Therefore, it'd be worth more than some planets. For regular humie PA the market would be wealthy military folk so... Comparable to a high end sports car.

**jhe90**

Seeing as on wiki a civilian found with one bolt round, the punishment is death....

Power armour I doubt is very legal, its a holy relic of emperors defenders, no mere fleeting trinket.

Yes some may own a pistol, knife, but military class weaponry. Doubt authorities would ignore that.

**Psienesis**

Gwaihirsbrother wrote:
In a society as big, spread out, and poorly managed/supervised as the imperium, I find it entirely plausible that there would be cities or worlds where someone has a contraband suit of power armor that they are willing to part with four the right price.

Yes... but there's only 1 million Space Marines.

The odds of even the scuzziest of wealthy Rogue Traders coming by a suit of Space Marine PA are pretty slim... and then trying to sell it?

The Inquisition would be on him like white on rice.

**PhillyT**

Can't Rogue Traders command far more powerful and interesting things than space marine power armor?

**Psienesis**

It's not the defensive value of the armor that would attract the interest of a RT, it would be the bragging rights of possessing it.

**Grey Templar**

Its entirely possible for a Rogue Trader to acquire a piece of SM armor. 10,000 years of warfare means there will be plenty of fragments laying about. Possibly enough to even amass an entire suit.

Of course the owning chapter would want it back if they found out about it, but what they don't know won't hurt them. And the Inquisition has bigger fish to fry than a Rogue Trader with a truly harmless oddity in his collection.

It might technically be illegal, but nobody but the most anal or junior of Imperial law enforcement is going to waste his time on such a trivial matter. Wasting the Emperor's manpower is a bigger crime than a piece of battlefield detritus sitting in a display cabinet.

Rogue Trader are also partially outside the Imperium's laws as stipulated in his contract. So he's got way more leeway than other people.

**Psienesis**

Rogue Trader are also partially outside the Imperium's laws as stipulated in his contract. So he's got way more leeway than other people.

Their Charters don't extend to selling the relics of the Adeptus Astartes on the side, however. Same as it never permits them to possess or utilize profane (read as: Chaos) artifacts.

At best, it grants them rights to treat with certain Xenos in certain sectors of space, and to travel certain places. A given Chapter might grant a Dynasty a certain bond of honor, given extraordinary circumstances (and epic heroism on the part of the RT)... but no RT is going to be around 10,000 years to collect the parts to a suit of armor and, once he does, what's he going to do with it?

An Inquisitor (or another RT), looking for a good "in" with the Chapter that suit belongs to (assuming Loyalist, and not Traitor, which is a death sentence) will most certainly move to seize it (or report him to the Inquisition, as it gets rid of a competitor, in the case of another RT).

**Grey Templar**

Psienesis wrote:
Rogue Trader are also partially outside the Imperium's laws as stipulated in his contract. So he's got way more leeway than other people.

Their Charters don't extend to selling the relics of the Adeptus Astartes on the side, however. Same as it never permits them to possess or utilize profane (read as: Chaos) artifacts.

At best, it grants them rights to treat with certain Xenos in certain sectors of space, and to travel certain places. A given Chapter might grant a Dynasty a certain bond of honor, given extraordinary circumstances (and epic heroism on the part of the RT)... but no RT is going to be around 10,000 years to collect the parts to a suit of armor and, once he does, what's he going to do with it?

An Inquisitor (or another RT), looking for a good "in" with the Chapter that suit belongs to (assuming Loyalist, and not Traitor, which is a death sentence) will most certainly move to seize it (or report him to the Inquisition, as it gets rid of a competitor, in the case of another RT).

I'm unaware of any official documents which say it is expressly illegal to own artifacts of the vaunted Adeptus Astartes.

But Inquisitors can do whatever the hell they want if it furthers the mandate of the Inquisition. This would apply to anything in a RT's possession, not SM artifacts specifically. Most Inquisitors won't do it unless it furthers their own agendas.

So a RT can possess some Space Marine gear. The owners might ask for it back if they found out, but if they never do its all a wash.

And unless an Inquisitor would have a specific reason for wanting to get on a chapter's good side he's not going to waste his time with some SM armor a RT has in a display case in his private collection. Just like Cops will often ignore a guy smoking a joint on a corner, he's not worth their time.

**Smacks**

Some marines might also want to get rid of their armour, such as renegades. I know a lot of them do keep it, but it isn't exactly inconspicuous if you're trying to avoid the inquisition... Though I guess neither is being 7 foot tall.

**jhe90**

If the owner found out, bumped into them, its very wise to surrender it. Rare moment but even a strike cruiser is a real threat, a battlebarhge is a close range combat ship monster.

Even a rougue trader would think twice about challenging marines.

**Grey Templar**

Smacks wrote:
Some marines might also want to get rid of their armour, such as renegades. I know a lot of them do keep it, but it isn't exactly inconspicuous if you're trying to avoid the inquisition... Though I guess neither is being 7 foot tall.

Even without armor they'd stick out like a sore thumb. Might as well keep the armor.

Renegades basically have only a few options.

1) Join the Deathwatch as a Black Shield.

2) Go to the Eye of Terror.

3) Join an Imperial Crusade as penance.

4) Hunker down somewhere on the fringe of Imperial space and make your way as best you can with your special abilities as a mercenary.

**karimabuseer**

Astartes PA is different to regular human's PA, due to the interaction with the black carapace implanted into marines. So the cost of marine armour wouldn't be worth it for your average individual.

With regards to marines getting left behind/caught behind enemy lines, they tend to just kill their way back to friendly territory. in the GK omnibus, a justicar offers escape off a daemon world to captured soldiers in return for their aid; an example of how being an Astartes provides one with everything they need in regard to bribes.

Also, regarding the RT discussion - I believe that the Inquisition most certainly has more pressing matters than hunting down some old PA that a RT has collected. I'd be more surprised if a RT who owned Astartes PA didn't exist. And not all marines view their armour as a 'holy relic'. Different chapters view it in vastly different ways.

**Gashrog**

Smacks wrote:
I thought it might have appeared in the Necromunda rare-trade chart, but after flipping through, it doesn't.

I'm pretty certain it was on the trade charts for Necromunda's predecessor Confrontation that was published in WD (trade charts were in issue 137 IIRC).