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There have been 27 Foundings(counting the Primaris founding) if I am not mistaken, but how often do Space Marine chapters get formed outside of those Foundings? Does it ever happen? If it does, what would cause a chapter to be formed outside of a Founding?

As a bonus question, how long would a regular Space Marine be able to stay healthy enough to fight? Basically, how long would a Space Marine live if fortunate enough to not get killed in battle or wounded badly enough to be entombed in a dreadnought? Thanks!

Regarding foundings, I’m not certain. I imagine that should a few chapters be reduced to so few Marines that recovery is deemed impossible, the survivors might be folded together into a new chapter?

A chapter may find a world with suitable recruiting population that the world is tagged for future founding as a successor.

As for how old Marines *can* get, I believe that Dante of the Blood Angels is the oldest... 1400 years? With Warp shenanigans, Characters like Abbadon have been around for 10k years, since the Heresy.

Every Chapter being made is part of a Founding except for the Grey Knights who nobody talks about and the Sons of Medusa who split from the Iron Hands to end a fight they were having internally.

In terms of longest living it's probably the 1400ish of Dante because others are either in stasis/life support as a Dreadnought or in weird time altering Warpland.

Not very often. there has to a unanimous vote from the High Lords to create a new founding and there is no set time period, it is done when deemed necessary such as when SM chapters are wiped out and there still needs to be 1000 chapters.

 Grimtuff wrote:
Not very often. there has to a unanimous vote from the High Lords to create a new founding and there is no set time period, it is done when deemed necessary such as when SM chapters are wiped out and there still needs to be 1000 chapters.

Pretty sure that can be overruled on the say-so of one person these days.

There are a few examples in the fluff, but they are noted as being exceptional. The founding of the Sons of Medusa is a great example.

Another would be the creation of the Disciples of Caliban, who were founded at the personal request of the Dark Angels Chapter Master. At the time, this was a unique request, but it may have set a precedent, even if it remained very unusual to do so.

 greatbigtree wrote:
Regarding foundings, I’m not certain. I imagine that should a few chapters be reduced to so few Marines that recovery is deemed impossible

One of the primary reasons for having separated chapters is to have isolated islands of gene seed. The mechanicus can make a chapter with just isolated gene seed and ideology, they don’t need to introduce contaminants from some other preexisting set of marines.

Dante I remember as having been chapter master for 1400 years, and being alive for an unknown period before then.

I can imagine when chapters are at full strength or above that they will split up and create a new chapter, even though that would be pretty rare.