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Protect the Imperium of Man. Serve the Emperor, Purge the Unclean, Cleanse and Burn. Slay the heretic and the Xeneo filth.

Few of the typical things we hear from Space Marines. But to the point of this thread...What is the job of a space marine? I've read my Space Wolf dex many times along with having checked the lex for more information about the overall imperium. Thanks to a Deathwatch session where I, a space wolf and my friend who was an Iron hand, had a bit of a showdown between our characters. Everything was going fine until it came down to a matter regarding some workers who operated anti-air batteries. The planet had come under Ork attack. The people manning these guns having been forced by the Orks to fire on friendly units. So our Deathwatch team(there were 2 others aside from us) had a few objectives and one of which was to secure those batteries. The space wolf cleared his tower and managed to rescue the workers that were operating the one he was in. Whereas the Iron Hand(my friend) had secured his tower but executed the workers in his. Our other two team mates were moving in on the last tower as were my character and the Iron Hand. in there we took out the Orks, but the Iron Hand wanted to execute the workers, labeling them as traitors & heretics and that it was his job to execute them even if they were forced they could have fought back and because they didn't they were traitors.. The space wolf(me) disagreed and said they could be of use and man the batteries now in the name of the emperor once again now that the orks were handled, that it was their job to protect the people of the Emperium, to free them from the xeno grasp and bring them back to the light of the emperor. The situation escalated to the point where they were aiming bolters at one another's head. The Storm Warden used a knock out grenade to incapacitate my character while the Iron Hand proceeded to executing the workers in that tower. More stuff followed but I'll leave it at that since that's where it's relevant to the topic of this thread.


So once more to the topic/title: "What is a Space Marines job?" is it to protect the citizens of the imperium and guide them back to the emperor when they go astray or are captured by xenos? Or to execute them for their fear & for them not being strong enough to fight back? I think I mite be wording this wrong...I don't know....I know space marines execute traitors. But is a citizen who was afraid and forced to follow xenos really a heretic? Not everyone is a cadian or a space marine or an inquistor or the warband of one. So isn't it the job of a space marine to protect Imperials of all types? To guide them back should they go astray and to execute those who truly turned away instead of those who were forced?

Yes, if a citizen of the Imperium is firing on Imperial troops he is indeed a Heretic. serving the people is NOT generally a priority. tin the 41st Millinium life in general, is actually pretty cheap. HOWEVER, every space Marine Chapter has differing views on this matter. Space Wolves are much more..... populist then the cold and unforgiving Iron Hands. so honestly the arguement could very well have happened ICly. so neither of you two where, OOCly, wrong.

I'd reccomend if you want a really good example of this, reading the novel "The Emperor's gift"

To punish and enslave. Sure it's a Transformers reference but it's still accurate. A Space Marine punishes those that are not part of the Imperial Creed and forces others to submit to it. There is very little protection that isn't steeped in 'you think/are/look/smell different so you need to die'. The actual threats outside of the Imperium are pretty few if they weren't trying to subjugate the entire galaxy to the Emperor's 'will'.

Rescuing a subjugated population isn't on the list of Space Marine things to do. Let them burn. The only mercy is from the Emperor and it is the duty of the Space Marine to send them to Him. Which is why I find the Badab War so friggin fascinating that entire Chapters weren't wiped out when they sided with (or were tricked into siding with) Huron Blackheart.

You did the right thing and so did your friend.

Are more Orks coming? Do we need those men to arm the guns now? If yes, give them another chance. Once the job is done.. kill em all.

So in the end...Both were right? I suppose it's that I was confused and thrown for a loop because of the difference in how Space Wolves & Iron Hands see things...Reading the fluff of my chapter(Space Wolves) I love how they seem to care about the people of the imperium and how Grimnar and the rest of the sons of russ would put themselves on the line for any citizen of the empire that once more I thought it was their duty to well...do that?

But my friend told me how the Iron Hands worked afterward and it was just so different....The weak die and the flesh is weak along with going on a campaign to wipe out weakness and all that....Even that incident with the Raven Guard during an Ork assault on a planet...it's so different that I questioned what is even the job or duty of a marine? Isn't it to the fellow chapters & battle brothers they fight along side? To the people that make up the imperium that the Emperor fought to protect? To whom the emperor made the Space Marines to essentially secure?

I know it probably sounds like I'm taking this seriously and stuff it's just I do enjoy lore and fantasy settings. 40k & Fantasy interest me with their worlds! I heard initially about how it's the grim dark future and blah blah. I thought "Eh...sounds sorta depressing and no real heroes or anything..." then found the space wolves and got hooked because to me they seem like heroes! Reading how they stand up for Guardsmen and above all how the Armageddon incident went down made me think that the duty of a marine is to essentially be heroes and to bring hope to the imperium while the Emperor sits upon the throne. Now sure purging the xenos & chaos makes sense it's just...how causally the executions happen and above all hearing how the Iron Hands worked and such made me sorta question the purpose of the marines since they seem like they are doing what Chaos Marines would be doing....Hence the topic's question and such. Sorry if this had been an annoying read! Just I feel passionate about the fluff of 40k so I like to learn more and such...I mite even check out that novel that was suggested because I've heard it before.

Marines will regard normal people in at least as many different ways as there are Chapters. Some think normals are just in the way when the big boys come to fight and will cut them down without hesitation if it scores them an enemy kill. Like the Marines Malevolent (I think?) who saw nothing wrong in bombarding an ork labor camp full of human prisoners just to kill the orks. Salamanders - who regularly risk themself to aid normal people - take such callous actions very badly, sometimes to the point of coming to blows over it.

Ofc, your Space Wolf might have decided to kill the workers too. While SW take a protective stance they're also big on heroics, and someone surrendering to orks and working for them (under threat of death or not) is no hero. But grand gestures is also a thing, and giving a disgraced man a chance to die with honor in battle wouldn't be out of character.

Space Marines do not protect, serve, dominate, or rule.

Space Marines SEEK AND DESTROY!

Anything else is an exception to the rule. Sure, there are worlds ruled by Space Marines. Sure, there are worlds dominated by Space Marines. There are worlds ruled by Space Marines. There are worlds served by Space Marines.

... but for every world that falls under one of the four, there are a dozen worlds on which a Space Marine has never set foot during the lives of its inhabitants.

Space Marines go to trouble, kick ass, and let the Guard clean up the mess.

Anything that is decreed an enemy of the empire, is the target of the space marines!

That last one makes me think that if someone said "Space marines are the enemy of the empire!" that you'd have space marines ending themselves in the droves....Probably was planned by Tszeech no doubt.

If in doubt, tap them out.
if there is any chance or chaos taint or dislike of the Emporer, exterminatus maximus!
I would probably have done as your friend did, their sanity and loyalty in doubt.

As the OP himself has noted, Space Marines vary WILDLY in character and their interpretation of their mandate.

I mentioned the Novel the Emperor's gift as a great example of a novel where we see this in action. I'll explain the events surrounding it a little to give you some idea. (note that this info won't spoil your appreciation of the novel AT ALL)

in the yeah M 41.444 the planet Armageddon, a hive world with massive industral output, fell under attack by the forces of Chaos. in particular it was a full blown attack by the forces of Khorne lead by the deamon prime Angron. The Space Wolves and Imperial guard forces fought to defend the planet, and the Grey Knights would join the fray. defeating Angron, at great cost. so, deamon primarch is defeated, wars won, everyone's happy? well not so fast...

Because of what they'd seen, not only evidance of deamons and grey knights, but that a Primarch had fallen to chaos, the Inqusition decides that the guardsmen need to be sanctioned and that the planetary populace needed to be sterilized and herded into work camps. to avoid any risk of the taint of chaos spreading. The Space Wolves... objected to this. which lead to a series of show downs between Space Wolves and Grey Knights, as the Grey Knights attempted to ensure that all steps where taken to ensure this did not spread.

basicly it was a conflict over what to do. and both sides where right. the Grey Knights where absolutly correct that given what the guardsmen and seen and heard there was a distinct threat that they'd be carrying the taint of chaos. allowing them to leave ran the risk of chaos cults popping up on the worlds the guardsmen returned too etc.
The Space Wolves meanwhile where correct that it was poor repayment for men and women who'd risked life and limb battling such a horrid foe.

So yeah, all space marines are differnt and sometimes chapters will disagree. sometimes there are deep deep feuds between chapters as a result

 Wolf Lord Kevin wrote:
That last one makes me think that if someone said "Space marines are the enemy of the empire!" that you'd have space marines ending themselves in the droves....Probably was planned by Tszeech no doubt.

Read up on the Badab War; it's pretty much just that!
This was a small-scale but recent 'Horus Heresy Lite' that involved open war between several chapters with no particular chaos influence involved - at least not at the start.
The problem is that there are several factions within the Imperium all classed as 'Peers of the Imperium' who all have almost unlimited power and diametrically opposed worldviews.


The short version:

~ The Maelstom is a big warpstorm. Not Eye Of Terror big, but big, and full of renegades, pirates and so on. Sadly, it's also rich in rare resources.
~ The Badab sector and surrounding regions (The Maelstrom Zone) exist to mine said resources, which were subsequently shipped out to the Kathargo sector to be processed.
~ Kathargo's worlds are extremely rich as a result
~ The Maelstrom Zone is defended by fleets, guardsmen and most importantly the Maelstrom Warders - the Astral Claws, Mantis Warriors and Lamenters chapters
~ Lufgt Huron became chapter master of the astral claws, and was very successful in trying to stem the tide of renegade attacks and pacify the maelstrom, but every time he was turning the tide, the Imperium would yank away some of his troops for use elsewhere (since the threat from the maelstrom would drop and new threats kept popping up).
~ After this happened for the third or fourth time, there was a rebellion on Badab itself, which Huron put down...emphatically. Losing his rag with the local administratum governors, he declared himself defacto ruler of the sector, the chapter taking personal rule in the same way as the Ultramarines rule Macragge and its surrounding worlds
~ After the Imperium still kept taking his troops whenever he was on the brink of lasting success, Huron stopped shipping resources to Kathargo, taking it on his own authority as governor to invest those resources into the Maelstom Zone's armed forces and fixed defences.
~ This pushed the Kathargo sector (who were dependent on Badab's exports) to the edge of bankruptcy, and they went crying to the administratum.
~ The administratum sent a polite note to Huron and were rebuffed. They sent a fleet to Badab to insist, and when they tryed to force their way and collect huron's back taxes by force, discovered that he wasn't embezzeling them for personal gain but had, as noted above, invested them in a new planetary defence grid called 'The Ring of Steel'. End of administratum fleet.
~ Now totally desperate, the Kathargo governor contacts another chapter master who they had good relations with (the Fire Hawks) whose chapter master held a gruge against Huron for being given command of a joint crusade over him. The fire hawks were talked into sending an expedition of their own, and - because they were arrogant tools, when the Mantis Warriors intercepted them, they opened fire.
~ Each chapter was now convinced they were in the right and started calling in its own honour-bound allies, and this swiftly degenerated into a massive open war.....



But yes, every Chapter sees its duty differently. Some see it as a duty to the Emperor, some to the Imperium, some to its citizens. Some would say they're there to defend the Imperium, others to destroy its enemies (and hence any collateral damage is permissible in pursuit of this aim).

Equally, firing on Imperial troops is, by the strict definition, the act of a traitor. So theoretically their execution is justified. Yes, all right, it's easy to say that when you don't have an ork slugga at your temple, but plenty of other Imperial factions would agree. Not all of them would execute them for it, of course.

locarno24 wrote:

 Wolf Lord Kevin wrote:
That last one makes me think that if someone said "Space marines are the enemy of the empire!" that you'd have space marines ending themselves in the droves....Probably was planned by Tszeech no doubt.

Read up on the Badab War; it's pretty much just that!
This was a small-scale but recent 'Horus Heresy Lite' that involved open war between several chapters with no particular chaos influence involved - at least not at the start.
The problem is that there are several factions within the Imperium all classed as 'Peers of the Imperium' who all have almost unlimited power and diametrically opposed worldviews.


The short version:

~ The Maelstom is a big warpstorm. Not Eye Of Terror big, but big, and full of renegades, pirates and so on. Sadly, it's also rich in rare resources.
~ The Badab sector and surrounding regions (The Maelstrom Zone) exist to mine said resources, which were subsequently shipped out to the Kathargo sector to be processed.
~ Kathargo's worlds are extremely rich as a result
~ The Maelstrom Zone is defended by fleets, guardsmen and most importantly the Maelstrom Warders - the Astral Claws, Mantis Warriors and Lamenters chapters
~ Lufgt Huron became chapter master of the astral claws, and was very successful in trying to stem the tide of renegade attacks and pacify the maelstrom, but every time he was turning the tide, the Imperium would yank away some of his troops for use elsewhere (since the threat from the maelstrom would drop and new threats kept popping up).
~ After this happened for the third or fourth time, there was a rebellion on Badab itself, which Huron put down...emphatically. Losing his rag with the local administratum governors, he declared himself defacto ruler of the sector, the chapter taking personal rule in the same way as the Ultramarines rule Macragge and its surrounding worlds
~ After the Imperium still kept taking his troops whenever he was on the brink of lasting success, Huron stopped shipping resources to Kathargo, taking it on his own authority as governor to invest those resources into the Maelstom Zone's armed forces and fixed defences.
~ This pushed the Kathargo sector (who were dependent on Badab's exports) to the edge of bankruptcy, and they went crying to the administratum.
~ The administratum sent a polite note to Huron and were rebuffed. They sent a fleet to Badab to insist, and when they tryed to force their way and collect huron's back taxes by force, discovered that he wasn't embezzeling them for personal gain but had, as noted above, invested them in a new planetary defence grid called 'The Ring of Steel'. End of administratum fleet.
~ Now totally desperate, the Kathargo governor contacts another chapter master who they had good relations with (the Fire Hawks) whose chapter master held a gruge against Huron for being given command of a joint crusade over him. The fire hawks were talked into sending an expedition of their own, and - because they were arrogant tools, when the Mantis Warriors intercepted them, they opened fire.
~ Each chapter was now convinced they were in the right and started calling in its own honour-bound allies, and this swiftly degenerated into a massive open war.....



But yes, every Chapter sees its duty differently. Some see it as a duty to the Emperor, some to the Imperium, some to its citizens. Some would say they're there to defend the Imperium, others to destroy its enemies (and hence any collateral damage is permissible in pursuit of this aim).

Equally, firing on Imperial troops is, by the strict definition, the act of a traitor. So theoretically their execution is justified. Yes, all right, it's easy to say that when you don't have an ork slugga at your temple, but plenty of other Imperial factions would agree. Not all of them would execute them for it, of course.

Ork slugga, beaten and scarred with the remains of co-workers and other citizens scattered about outside the battery along with having witnessed the entirety of the deaths along with how casual the orks with one of the workers who sought to remove their teeth....As I said in my first post there was a lot of stuff. To explain further a lot of messed up stuff to which hey our DM/GM did an awesome job with setting the mood! Just...again everything led to this topic's creation. The Badab war is what led to Huron creating the Red Crosairs right? The war was centered around marines doing what they thought was right. in that as well they were right yeah? That what happened in the session I described in my first post...could have actually happened in the fluff of the universe because as everyone has said previously...it more or less is how things are, the line black and white with either side having justified reasons for their actions? One great big...To each their own?

 Wolf Lord Kevin wrote:

Ork slugga, beaten and scarred with the remains of co-workers and other citizens scattered about outside the battery along with having witnessed the entirety of the deaths along with how casual the orks with one of the workers who sought to remove their teeth....As I said in my first post there was a lot of stuff. To explain further a lot of messed up stuff to which hey our DM/GM did an awesome job with setting the mood! Just...again everything led to this topic's creation. The Badab war is what led to Huron creating the Red Crosairs right? The war was centered around marines doing what they thought was right. in that as well they were right yeah? That what happened in the session I described in my first post...could have actually happened in the fluff of the universe because as everyone has said previously...it more or less is how things are, the line black and white with either side having justified reasons for their actions? One great big...To each their own?

As noted, still depends. Bear in mind that to the stricter puritan types of the Imperium, "Circumstances" is never an acceptable excuse for your actions - certainly the Dark Angels have spent ten millenia hunting down people who did exactly what they would probably have done, had situations been reversed.

The Badab War is several chapters ending up in a war over arrogance, misunderstanding and the Administratum not really giving a crud about the people who it rules.
The aftermath of the war resulted in the Red Corsairs coming into existance - Huron was believed killed in the war but survived, and he and his surviving cronies were the nucleus that the Red Corsairs formed around. That wasn't Huron's goal - he was, at least initially, genuinely trying to better protect the people he was responsible for, but the Imperium wouldn't gve him (or let him keep) the resources he needed to do so.

It is very much 'One great big...To each their own' - with the deciding vote going to whoever has the biggest gun (political or actual) in a given place at a given moment...

To cleanse the galaxy of fools and lickspittles...

Is the wrong answer.

Good RPing from all involved in that Deathwatch session, but I don't think you RP'd your character the wrong way, and neither did they. Being a Space Wolf who had people you were trying to protect killed on your watch, why not swear vengeance against the Iron Hand?

Isn't this the whole problem with the soul drinkers, they thought they should "rule the cattle of humanity", obviously this was not looked upon well, as all the other chapters think that they are there to protect and serve.

Serve the Emperor and be the most effective weapon of war they can be.

It's a mistake to think of imperial space marines as anything other than living weapons. It is more apt to compare them to a bolter than say, a police officer or a some kind of slave master. It is when they step away from this role - which is their purpose - that you get things like Istvaan and Badab.

To destroy all xenos, and decide that it's a good idea to charge 50 Chaos Titans by himself. In other words, acting like the typical idiot.

 Wolf Lord Kevin wrote:
That last one makes me think that if someone said "Space marines are the enemy of the empire!" that you'd have space marines ending themselves in the droves....Probably was planned by Tszeech no doubt.

Plenty of Marine Chapters "go rogue", for a variety of reasons, and are thus declared Renegade and Excommunicatus Traitorus... which means that every other Space Marine Chapter then shoots at them, as does any other Imperial body that's gotten the word.

 Psienesis wrote:

 Wolf Lord Kevin wrote:
That last one makes me think that if someone said "Space marines are the enemy of the empire!" that you'd have space marines ending themselves in the droves....Probably was planned by Tszeech no doubt.

Plenty of Marine Chapters "go rogue", for a variety of reasons, and are thus declared Renegade and Excommunicatus Traitorus... which means that every other Space Marine Chapter then shoots at them, as does any other Imperial body that's gotten the word.

You get things like the Badab war because.

A Space Marine obeys without question. Unless he believes the orders to be heretical whereby he reports his thoughts to the nearest chaplain who either reassure him or contact the Inquisition. That is a Space Marine, in theory.

Regardless of what the specific point of what the Space Marines Doctrine should be, I wanted to comment on your game.

I gotta be honest man, I'm actually on your friends side in this one. Those dudes fired their guns on their own allies. You can argue they were "forced" to by the orcs, but in the end the orcs would've slaughtered them after they'd had their fun. The only threat the orcs can offer you is death, and the orcs certainly wouldn't let you go or have mercy in any way once you had done what they told you to do. In my mind, if they're going to kill you no matter what you do, then your own defiance/dignity is all you're left with. And that's more than the allies you just shot down were allowed.

Also, keep in mind, they chose to give up. Lets say you leave them alive, to repent/avenge/feel better about themselves and when you leave, another group of orcs shows up. They "might" be defiant a second time around, but chances are higher they'd simply do what the new group said too and you'd be back at square one.

I could understand if they'd put their own live ahead of others in the initial situation, and been firing because there was some slim chance they'd be spared, but it's orcs. That made what they did doubly bad, because in the end, there wouldn't "be" any chance they'd have been left alive. It's a mistake to think of those men as powerless. They weren't. They could have sabotaged their own equipment or at least stalled if they were unprepared to go down fighting, but they didn't. They turned their guns on their own allies, weakening the chances of their own people. They may not be space marines or super human, but there is always choice. It's sometimes the only thing an individual has. And they gave it up.

One thing I forgot to add: Sounds like it was an incredibly good game. I don't find what you did wrong at all btw. Like others have said, very varying views. I feel like the "job" of the space marines at that point would just be to weigh the tactical advantages and move forward, which it sounds like is what happened. This is a great thread, I really liked thinking through what my response would be.

Neither. The purpose of the space marines is to cleanse and purge. They find a threat to the iom, remove that threat through force, and then move on to the next threat

Flame-Rage has it.

Their purpose is to utterly destroy enemies of humanity, and the Imperium by extension. Enemies both within and without. Humanity is what is important, an individual life is worthless.

Refusing to fight back could easily be labeled as cowardice. And the Commissariat is dedicated to punishing cowards, among other things. Refusing to fight back against the xeno foes would definitely be grounds for execution.

Different chapters will have different points of view in how strict this is to be enforced. Some chapters will be benevolent, seeing the weakness of humanity as a limitation that is to be pitied and shown mercy. Others will see no excuse for cowardice, they cannot empathize with humans due to their own superiority and inability to see things from human perspective. And still others will be apathetic, expecting nothing more than weakness from the humans they are protecting. Lack of Empathy, but it doesn't turn to malice. Just to contempt and apathy.

hungryugolino wrote:To cleanse the galaxy of fools and lickspittles...

Is the wrong answer.

Good RPing from all involved in that Deathwatch session, but I don't think you RP'd your character the wrong way, and neither did they. Being a Space Wolf who had people you were trying to protect killed on your watch, why not swear vengeance against the Iron Hand?

There was a planet invested with Orks they had to deal with at the time, needed to prioritize. They do continue to but heads, Ironically enough after the Storm Warden charged the Ork Warboss through a plaza full of Nobz and decapitated him in one go with his claymore and sent his head flying into a loota who was knocked from their high point down to the ground and died things got more interesting. in the fact that as they were escorting an Inquisitor they eventually returned to the location of the Orbital batteries. To which there was only one standing while the others were destroyed. The one still standing was the one that my Space Wolf had spared and they could hear the cursing of the operators as they damned the Orks and took their sweet revenge while one of them was holding off advancing Orks by themselves and was actually dropping orks and even a Nob with nothing more but a space lasgun they found. Now our Deathwatch team have a foot hold that could work as a temporary base. I'll be honest....The Iron was left speechless and my wolf proceeded to to verbally destroying him and his reasoning for executing the other operators who ran the other batteries along with going with "You kill the weak because they aren't strong. Yes they were weak before because their hope was destroyed so they swayed...I restored their faith and ignited it brighter and look at what it brings. Humans without hope are just pups without fangs. Let them grow...and they will become strong wolves with fangs to rip out the throats of their foes.". Didn't stop things however from being bitter between them..But hey that's how it is.

Phyrekzhogos wrote:Regardless of what the specific point of what the Space Marines Doctrine should be, I wanted to comment on your game.

I gotta be honest man, I'm actually on your friends side in this one. Those dudes fired their guns on their own allies. You can argue they were "forced" to by the orcs, but in the end the orcs would've slaughtered them after they'd had their fun. The only threat the orcs can offer you is death, and the orcs certainly wouldn't let you go or have mercy in any way once you had done what they told you to do. In my mind, if they're going to kill you no matter what you do, then your own defiance/dignity is all you're left with. And that's more than the allies you just shot down were allowed.

Also, keep in mind, they chose to give up. Lets say you leave them alive, to repent/avenge/feel better about themselves and when you leave, another group of orcs shows up. They "might" be defiant a second time around, but chances are higher they'd simply do what the new group said too and you'd be back at square one.

I could understand if they'd put their own live ahead of others in the initial situation, and been firing because there was some slim chance they'd be spared, but it's orcs. That made what they did doubly bad, because in the end, there wouldn't "be" any chance they'd have been left alive. It's a mistake to think of those men as powerless. They weren't. They could have sabotaged their own equipment or at least stalled if they were unprepared to go down fighting, but they didn't. They turned their guns on their own allies, weakening the chances of their own people. They may not be space marines or super human, but there is always choice. It's sometimes the only thing an individual has. And they gave it up.

One thing I forgot to add: Sounds like it was an incredibly good game. I don't find what you did wrong at all btw. Like others have said, very varying views. I feel like the "job" of the space marines at that point would just be to weigh the tactical advantages and move forward, which it sounds like is what happened. This is a great thread, I really liked thinking through what my response would be.

I'm glad you enjoyed it and hey I can see it from where my friend was standing by. As everyone else who has responded to this thread thus far has essentially said: To each their own. Every legion/Chapter has their own rules essentially and interpret their duties differently. Every one here has their own way that they see Space Marines. I'm glad that this thread was able to spark thought and reflection upon the matter. That really does make me happy because it just shows how much one truly cares about the mythos of this world and honestly makes one think how they really see it.

As I've said before and will gesture to my signature I believe in the more hero like Space Marines. Those who do not crush or punish the weak but inspire them and help them grow stronger. in those Space Marines who try to give hope to the IoM during the grim dark future. Because to me if you're cold to people then you're just giving in to those dark desires that the dark gods feed upon and you're just helping the enemy. Kinda why I disagree with how the Imperium treats it's citizens really but hey it's the grim dark future where there is only war. So I know it's a given but hey I love the fandom because it makes grim dark just a bit brighter with each one

Flame-Rage wrote:Neither. The purpose of the space marines is to cleanse and purge. They find a threat to the iom, remove that threat through force, and then move on to the next threat

Grey Templar wrote:Flame-Rage has it.

Their purpose is to utterly destroy enemies of humanity, and the Imperium by extension. Enemies both within and without. Humanity is what is important, an individual life is worthless.

Refusing to fight back could easily be labeled as cowardice. And the Commissariat is dedicated to punishing cowards, among other things. Refusing to fight back against the xeno foes would definitely be grounds for execution.

Different chapters will have different points of view in how strict this is to be enforced. Some chapters will be benevolent, seeing the weakness of humanity as a limitation that is to be pitied and shown mercy. Others will see no excuse for cowardice, they cannot empathize with humans due to their own superiority and inability to see things from human perspective. And still others will be apathetic, expecting nothing more than weakness from the humans they are protecting. Lack of Empathy, but it doesn't turn to malice. Just to contempt and apathy.

/Thread.