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Space Marines are usually recruited from the strongest of the strong from death worlder's to the top gang scum anyone who can survive in extremely difficult environments...space marines as far as I have read in the books are extremely honorable and "knightly" but being gang scum or someone who has to survive in extremely harsh environments that hardly is promotes honor and duty as those traits would more than likely get you killed vs being selfish and murderous how do space marines overcome these traits that they learned previously to induction?

I am not convinced that your premise is universally true. Ultramarines, for example are recruited from stable worlds that are nice places to live. They turn out to be mostly decent.

Other flavours of marine may be less nice, but are always disciplined. They are always recruited young. This is essential for the conversion process to work, but is also handy for installing military discipline.

Recruits are chosen from the best warriors among humanity. Naturally this makes Death and Feral Worlds prized recruitment grounds, as such harsh and primal conditions produce the best warriors. However hive worlds are considered the ideal source of potential recruits, the populace of the lower levels composed of some of the most murderous scum in the human Imperium. Whole gangs of hive scum are sometimes hunted down and captured for recruitment. Among the most valued traits in a recruit are aggression and psychotic-level killer instinct. More rarely, certain Civilized Worlds are also recruited from

source: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Creation_of_a_Space_Marine


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I would agree though that it is not universally true like what you mentioned with the ultramarines who are the pinnacle of duty and honor but many other chapters may have to take what they can get.

During the training recruits go through intense propaganda and brainwashing to turn them into space marines. Also don't forget what they in the imperium view as honorable and what we do may not necessarily be the same.

I think it's been toned down over the years fluff-wise, but don't forget how a Space Marine is made; pre-pubescent boys of 10 or 11 are taken and subjected to major invasive surgery, the harshest of physical training and mental indoctrination, over the course of the next few years, becoming something more than human - transhuman killing machines with most of their human emotions programmed out of them. Recruits from gangs on death worlds would be ideal material to become the ultimate storm-troopers in the right wing fascist regime that is the Imperium.

They are given structure and support to overcome their upbringing and become Astartes. Hypno training and intense training drills discipline and structure into their very core until it's all they know.

The fact that they come from a place where they've had to do everything they need to survive is just an evolutionary testing ground to weed out the week and ensure that only the strongest and toughest are chosen for the trials. Nothing else. Psychologically the Marines are broken down and rebuilt brick by brick. I'm sure they have many that they can't put back together, and end up as servitors or some horrible fate.

Another thing to consider is that Chapters rarely get to lord it over some important well-populated world. Death Worlds and all sorts of mostly worthless barbarian worlds are chosen for them because that way they have recruits and a place to train without getting in the way of the rest of the IoM until needed. Space-based Chapters recruit where they have permission, which is often the aforementioned Hive World all too happy to get rid of some scummy gangers. Over time many have come to see this sort of barbarism and savagery as an important selection criteria for recruits.

And as the UM prove that's really not necessary if you just have things set up right. The military schools of Ultramar double as their recruiting ground - they can check test scores and genetic compatibility before even calling in a batch of aspirants. Civilized people with good education. Who still become superhuman soldiers killing without hesitation.

The vast majority of marines remember nothing of their lives before their implantation. Occasional flashes of memory but that's about it. They're essentially given new personalities.

jareddm wrote:
The vast majority of marines remember nothing of their lives before their implantation. Occasional flashes of memory but that's about it. They're essentially given new personalities.

For example the Chapter Master of the Obsidian Glaives only remembered a big man standing in the doorway of his prison cell.

I wonder what unlucky bugger has the job of rounding up all the "greatest warriors of humanity". I have a feeling some won't exactly cooperate, and somehow I don't think they'd waste a space marine by making him act as a sheep herder.

Actually, they often do - because they want a trained eye to judge fighting spirit, etc.

Overseeing 'recruiting' expeditions are a standard job of the 10th Captain. Sons Of Dorn follows the Imperial Fists master of novices (Captain Taelos) in the process of this.

Suppose there is a marine chapter that recruites from the toughest of scummy criminals and gangs that has not fallen to chaos (ie Luna Wolves and Night Lords).

This toughest of the tough just gets you to Phase 1 of becoming a space marine. Phases 2-20 again select for the toughest of this bunch (Tough Squared). But also selects for desirable attitudes and traits such as team mentality, honour, learning. Just being the toughest of the tough does not a space marine make. Even the T Squared guys will still get weeded out if they don't possess the desired personality traits.

For every noble marine chapter there are ones that aren't so noble. Whilst there are always individuals that are more honourable or a bit of a wrongun in lots of chapters, the main image they put across are intertwined with the chapters MO.

On one hand you have the Salamanders, on the other end of the spectrum you have the Marines Malevolent.

Though, I think the fluff would be far richer if there were more of the Marines Malevolent ilk floating about.