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So, reading the codex, they sometimes refer to Space Marine units, such as the Chapter Relics section on pg. 200 which states that "you may give one of the following Chapter Relics to a Space Marine CHARACTER in your army". But no units in the codex has a "Space Marine"-keyword, and factions are defined by the faction keywords.

My question is then basically, what is a Space Marine? Is there any passage in the codex that states that only the units inside it are considered "Space Marines", as I would consider Space Wolves, Grey Knights, Deathwatch, Blood Angels and Darkangels to be "Space Marines" too? This could come into play with non-codex marine units, e.g. if Forge World decides to add a special generic character such as the Space Marine Siege Master from the old Siege Assault Vanguard list, or if the same wording is kept in the AM codex (which would probably state "Astra Militarum CHARACTER"), which would make it possible for DKoK or Elysian characters to take relics. On the other hand, the "DEFENDERS OF MANKIND" paragraph on pg. 3 states that the section includes datasheets, wargear lists and weapon rules for every Space Marines unit, which would make every Space Marine outside of the codex non-Space Marines unless specifically stated even though it could share every single keyword and be intended as a Marines unit, such as those in the index but absent from the codex (Libarian on bike etc.)?

I'm just curious about how to treat this in a strict RAW-sense, even though I would never play it as such.

Is this the new "do Terminators have Terminator Armour"?

Codex page 194, Space Marine Units.

That defines what a Space Marine unit or detachment is.

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Is this the new "do Terminators have Terminator Armour"?

No, it isn't, because the codex does define what "Space Marine" means.

Medicinal Carrots wrote:
Codex page 194, Space Marine Units.

That defines what a Space Marine unit or detachment is.

It reads:

"In the rules described in this section we often refer to 'Space marine units.' This is shorthand for any Adeptus Astartes unit that has one of the following Faction Keywords: <Chapter>, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, Salamanders, White Scars, Raven Guard, Iron Hands, Crimson Fists or Black Templars."

It also states that the <Chapter> cannot be replaced by Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Grey Knights, and other chapters that "deviate from significantly from the Codex."

Add far as i know they haven't said how this effects the forge world only chapters, though it seems you can either pick what you want, or go with the most known parent chapter.

Hopefully they FAQ to clear that up at some point.

So it is not: "do terminators have terminator armor".

It is; what is an "Imperial Guard"?

The same rules or codex satatement of "When we say X we are really meaning the long-form version Y" apply here.

Discounting certain aberrant chapters from the <chapter> keyword as evidence against that is similarly meaningless. Those aberrations are getting their own books soon; usinf Adeptus Astartes: Space Marine(oh, there it is in the boon title) for them with no special rules or units, while techncally doable, reduces them to red, blue-grey, silver,black with specisl right-shoulder pads' and datk green, but sometimes bone-white or black space marines; which devalues them for fans of the outcasts.

Yes a Space marine army is an Adeptus Astartes army that is drawn from a chapter other than one of the aberrant chapters.

Thanks for the page reference, I had missed it! Was exactly what I was looking for, and I guess that all Forge World chapters are not counted as Space Marines, whereas the FW units with <CHAPTER> actually are (i.e. Carab Culln is not a Space Marine, though a Relic Whirlwind Scorpius is). A bit disappointing they did not word it otherwise and just excluded the Blood Angels etc, but not surprising consider GW's usual wording.

Now I can just hope that the similar wording in Codex: Astra Militarum only refers to units with the AM keyword instead of <REGIMENT>, CADIA, CATACHAN and so on.

 BaconCatBug wrote:

 JohnnyHell wrote:
Is this the new "do Terminators have Terminator Armour"?

No, it isn't, because the codex does define what "Space Marine" means.

I mentioned it flippantly as it's as inconsequential and as easily resolved. There will rarely be an instance where a model cannot be identified as a Space Marine.

Servitors?
Their keywords are a bit iffy, and they get a mention in the ATSKNF rule.

 Skinnereal wrote:
Servitors?
Their keywords are a bit iffy, and they get a mention in the ATSKNF rule.

Page 195: Note that due to their lobotomised nature, SERVITOR units are an exception and never gain a Chapter Tactic.

Yeah, that bit.
But, are they Space Marines? The keywords suggest so.

 Skinnereal wrote:
Yeah, that bit.
But, are they Space Marines? The keywords suggest so.

They are Space Marines in the same way that a Rhino is a Space Marines. This is done for game/rules purposes. When you're asking "Is that model a Space Marine?", from a rules context you're really asking "Is that model part of a Space Marines unit?". This is an easy question to answer. If the unit has the Adeptes Astartes faction keyword plus another faction keyword from the list in the Codex, it's a Space Marines unit. Is that bolter dude a Space Marine? Yes, his unit has the Adeptes Astartes and <Chapter> faction keywords. Is that Rhino a Space Marine? Yes, its unit has the Adeptes Astartes and <Chapter> faction keywords. Is Dante a Space Marine? No. While his unit has the Adeptes Astartes faction keyword, it doesn't have one of the other requisite keywords that we use to identify Space Marines units.

From a fluff standpoint, Space Marine has an entirely different meaning. Marneus Calgar is a Space Marine. Dante is a Space Marine. Abbadon the Despoiler is a Space Marine. They just diverge from zero (Marneus) to somewhat (Dante) to quite a bit (Abbadon) from the Imperial standard. Fortunately, we're not discussing fluff. Best to ignore your preconceptions of what a Space Marines is.

The correct answer is "a miserable pile of secrets."