Traitor Space Marines

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**Reality-Torrent**

So I'm curious, how are the Traitor Legions replenishing numbers? Never once have I heard it mentioned that they are collecting those glands to create new warriors, and where do they get their trainees from? But surely their numbers should had been expended by now if they did not recruit more..

**dekinrie**

in a number of the BL books its mentioned gathering gene-seed from fallen loyalists the biggest heist was from the old eye of terror campaign the book storm of iron has iron warriors contracted by abbadon to attack a facility which stores major gene-seed stock the largest except from mars ,
another way is to buy gene-seed from fabius bile
though in the book dead sky black sun the iron warriors were cloning troops

**Reality-Torrent**

Ah cool!

**Wyzilla**

They do anything from cloning people/farming people and implanting and maturing gene-seed in their bodies like an organ farm, enslave and use women as gene-seed factories (Honsou was weird), to the standard practice of simply recruiting the old ways.

**Iracundus**

Yet again I copy paste the following because this question gets asked seemingly every few months:

Within the Eye the Traitor Legions fight constant wars amongst themselves for gene-seed, slaves, resources, or martial honour. New Chaos Space Marines are recruited from the most dangerous heretics that are drawn into the Eye by the lure of Chaos, or else selected from the masses of slave-warriors who fight eternal battles for the amusement of the Dark Gods. The implantation of recruits is a brutal affair, quite unlike the carefully measured program of development used by Imperial Space Marines. Whether the candidate lives or dies is left to the will of the Chaos Gods. Initiation rites are similarly debased and savage, ensuring that only the toughest initiates ever survive.

p. 19, 2nd edition Chaos Codex.

**dusara217**

Iracundus wrote:
Yet again I copy paste the following because this question gets asked seemingly every few months:

Within the Eye the Traitor Legions fight constant wars amongst themselves for gene-seed, slaves, resources, or martial honour. New Chaos Space Marines are recruited from the most dangerous heretics that are drawn into the Eye by the lure of Chaos, or else selected from the masses of slave-warriors who fight eternal battles for the amusement of the Dark Gods. The implantation of recruits is a brutal affair, quite unlike the carefully measured program of development used by Imperial Space Marines. Whether the candidate lives or dies is left to the will of the Chaos Gods. Initiation rites are similarly debased and savage, ensuring that only the toughest initiates ever survive.

p. 19, 2nd edition Chaos Codex.

And yet, the CSM die in droves to the Loyalist Space Marines.

**BrianDavion**

the novels show regular marines killing chaos marines cause the regular marines are useally the protagionists,. the few CSM novels basicly show the same from the oppisite standpoint.

that said I think you could proably make a good case for loyalist marines having better training. obviously this is talking about post heresy training and recruitment. still you could also make a strong case that it averages out to being about equal

**Nightlord1987**

One Night Lords short story had them do a culling of a hive world, where rival gangs must survive the night and just maybe a few survivors will be selected as aspirants.

**Jollydevil**

I always just figured that those who died, died, and thats why the big players (like the Emperors Children) were so seldom taken out of retirement to join the action.
But I guess not.

**dusara217**

Jollydevil wrote:
I always just figured that those who died, died, and thats why the big players (like the Emperors Children) were so seldom taken out of retirement to join the action.
But I guess not.

Not all of the Traitors were stable enough to continue recruitment. The Emperor's Children are a prime example.

**techsoldaten**

We should all remember Eliphas was sent to the Basilica of Torment (or whatever it was called) by the Chaos Gods when he was defeated in Dawn of War.

I took this to mean CSMs are capable of resurrection. Also, stories about Kharn.

**BrianDavion**

yeah CSMs are indeed capable of being ressurected

**Jollydevil**

techsoldaten wrote:We should all remember Eliphas was sent to the Basilica of Torment (or whatever it was called) by the Chaos Gods when he was defeated in Dawn of War.

I took this to mean CSMs are capable of resurrection. Also, stories about Kharn.

BrianDavion wrote:yeah CSMs are indeed capable of being ressurected

By many ways too. Lucius the Eternal is a great example.

**CaptainStabby**

In the older fluff it was pretty clear that they got recycled in the warp when they died in the real universe, how much of that still applies. *shrug* who knows.

**Reality-Torrent**

Awesome! These replies have been great! Yeah I can see that the worlds beyond the borders of the eye would be able to support the legions!

**ChazSexington**

It's worth mentioning there's a theory the Alpha Legion have an Empire/base outside the range of the Astronomican, in addition to likely having their own recruitment, training and gene-seed facilities. It would make sense, 'cause the Alpha Legion sent the Crimson Consul gene-seed to Abaddon instead of keeping it for themselves. However, they did take the indoctrinated Crimson Consuls (Filthy UM-descendant scum) and did the same to the Emperor's Swords, but also took their gene-seed.