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I was thinking about the interaction between genetics and gene seed. I wanted to see if there was any fluffy answer or what the communities thoughts are. I think I can explain it best by using the example of Alexis Polux and the Crimson Fists.
So I am unaware of any pre-augmentation description of Polux ,but as a space marine he is usually considered to be larger than the average space marine and have lighter features (blonde, ect...). I would assume this is being from Inwit and having Prussian / Northern European features. This appears to be in contrast to the Crimson Fists of 40k that are usually considered to be hispanic with darker hair and features (eventhough they would have the same IF gene seed). Is this due to current CF recruits coming from Blackwater? Is there an interaction where when the gene seed is implanted repeatedly into someone who has particualr traits it begins to take those traits on? I would assume that directly after the heresy the first Crimson Fists would have been identical to the IF with the exception of armor and over the next 10k years they would have changed. It just seems like other chapters such as the Salamanders have extremely dominant features with the onyx skin. Is this due to recruiting from Nocturne, is it built into the gene seed or is it bulit into the geen seed by being implanted into natives of nocturne from generation to generation?
Does anyone have thoughts on this or fluff to back up this assumption?

Skin tones, facial features, etc. come from where a space marine is recruited from. The Salamanders have onyx skin because they recruit from a world of people with that colored skin, and so on with other chapters who recruit from other worlds.
Keep in mind though that just like here, not everyone from another planet looks the same, so things like hair color and facial features can be varying.

 Jollydevil wrote:
The Salamanders have onyx skin because they recruit from a world of people with that colored skin

*Brrrt

Wrong. The Salamander's skin color is a result of an interaction with a mutation in their geneseed and the natural radiation on Nocturne. The human population actually have light skin due to living mostly underground.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Salamanders#Gene-seed

SpyderG6 wrote:
I was thinking about the interaction between genetics and gene seed. I wanted to see if there was any fluffy answer or what the communities thoughts are. I think I can explain it best by using the example of Alexis Polux and the Crimson Fists.
So I am unaware of any pre-augmentation description of Polux ,but as a space marine he is usually considered to be larger than the average space marine and have lighter features (blonde, ect...). I would assume this is being from Inwit and having Prussian / Northern European features. This appears to be in contrast to the Crimson Fists of 40k that are usually considered to be hispanic with darker hair and features (eventhough they would have the same IF gene seed). Is this due to current CF recruits coming from Blackwater? Is there an interaction where when the gene seed is implanted repeatedly into someone who has particualr traits it begins to take those traits on? I would assume that directly after the heresy the first Crimson Fists would have been identical to the IF with the exception of armor and over the next 10k years they would have changed. It just seems like other chapters such as the Salamanders have extremely dominant features with the onyx skin. Is this due to recruiting from Nocturne, is it built into the gene seed or is it bulit into the geen seed by being implanted into natives of nocturne from generation to generation?
Does anyone have thoughts on this or fluff to back up this assumption?

The geneseed enhances or improves a marine's existing genetic code, it does not completely overwrite it. AFAIK the people of Nocturne do not have onyx skin, only the Salamanders do because of how one of their additional organs is affected by Nocturne's radiation. Also, Blood Angels are commonly described as attractive or even "pretty", but they all differ from each other in regards to overall facial structure and the color of their eyes and hair.

Actually, I believe Salamanders are stated to end up with coal black skin and red eyes regardless of their genetic stock regardless of what they started with. Rather like Night Lords end up with pallid skin and Raven Guard get pale skin and black hair.

This implies that not all residents of Nocturne begin with black skin and red eyes. It also implies that in some cases Astartes geneseed overwrites native gene traits.

On the other hand there is speculation in the fluff that the radiation and damaged DNA of Baal contributed to the development of Black Rage and Red Thirst in Blood Angels. Apparently environment matters; Nocturne's environment is radical enough that it has to have an effect on the Salamanaders.

In the end, the development of a Space Marine is the intersection of basic stock, Astartes geneseed and environment. It's not a simple 'always happens this way' thing. We know that because there are variations in size and appearance among Marines within each chapter.

I imagine that some Astartes geneseed is more prone to overwrite basic stock than others, and that the Salamanders, Raven Guard and Night Lords are typical examples of this kind of 'strong' geneseed. However, this is speculation on my part,not supported directly by any canon I'm aware of.

My two cents.

That is incorrect. According to the traditional backstory the black skin/red eyes of the salamanders comes from a defect in the genseed that is affected by the radiation of the planet/star of their homeworld.

Natural genetics and Geneseed merge during the process of becoming a space marine. Geneseed rewrites parts of a persons DNA to accept the new genetic information. If a person was naturally going to be a larger person they would be a larger space marine. The reverse is true as well a shorter person will be a slightly shorter space marine.

It depends.
Typically Marines will look how they did as they were human, just more huge.
Sometimes a person will seem to take more to the gene-seed and end up looking more like their Primarch. Blood Angels are noted to become beautiful like their Primarch, despite starting as rad-blasted wretches.
Sometimes the gene-seed is flawed and their appearance will change due to that. Raven Guard always turn very pale for instance due to their gene-seed.

The appearance of Salamanders has changed a couple times in the game's history. I don't think GW has ever fully reconciled the fluff on them.

Also, most Chapters have something wrong with their geneseed. One or more of the implanted organs either doesn't work or works in overdrive, or is in some other way malfunctioning. That is, I heard, the (current) reason for the coal-black skin and red eyes of the Salamanders, their implanted radiation-protection organs kick in to overdrive because of Nocturne's environment, and so they get those results.

Isn't there a story in one of the anthologies where a Khorne champion is hunting the recipient of a particular geneseed over the centuries, and notices that each marine looks much the same? If that makes sense.

It would seem that it changes between Legions and writers. In general though, it seems that it has little (generally) overall impact on appearance.

Might very much depend on the geneseed and the Chapter, too. Those Chapters that recruit from multiple worlds, or worlds with diverse "ethnic" backgrounds might exhibit more individuality among their Marines than Chapters like, say, the Space Wolves, who have only 1 world available.

Which kinda makes sense, cause otherwise, why would Little Horus looks so similar to Horus?

 Orblivion wrote:


The geneseed enhances or improves a marine's existing genetic coder.

I feel hopeless. I feel like it's going to do no good at all to even be alive. I just hate myself and the hell that is all the human nations of the world.


Am I going to be killed? I only want good things for my fellows. You are a biome, my comrade, you are not a single thing.

Geneseed does absolutely nothing to the marine's basic genetics. It's a set of implanted (sometimes vat-cultured) extra organs that change the body. The progenoid glands also don't copy anything of the marine except the DNA of the implanted geneseed organs. Marines often think that the geneseed recovered from an especially heroic marine will make a better marine, but that's on the same level of silly as thinking your children will automatically be stronger because you've been lifting weights.

The geneseed organs do however interact with the body. If the aspirant was already going to become tall and muscular as a normal man the increased hormone levels might drive him to grow in size beyond what the average marine could expect. But this is significant only for him. The next marines made from his geneseed won't be any larger than average unless they too had the same basic genetics (maybe his brother's grandsons).

Having found the story, "Honour Among Fiends" in the Space Marine Anthology, Scaevolla hunts the recipients of the geneseed of Aleph, who has silver eyes. His 500th descendent, Demetros, also has silver eyes and features much the same as Aleph. So apparently there is at least some features that will be passed on.