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How do!

So this is something I genuinely don’t know if the background has an answer for. And it’s the potential scenario where multiple Chapters end up reduced below fighting strength, and end up getting merged.

This is common practice with the Imperial Guard. Regiments can suffer such horrific casualties, they’re merged together into a more useful fighting unit. The best example comes from Ciaphas Cain, where two under strength Valhallan Regiments are merged. And I guess nobody in the position to make such decisions cares enough to ensure the donor Regiments are from the same world or background.

But I’m not aware of it happening with Space Marine Chapters? In purely “make the most of what you’ve got”, it does seem preferable to letting multiple Chapters fade into extinction. But on the other hand, it’s hard to say exactly who might have the authority to order such a merger, given Chapters are largely autonomous.

Can anyone weigh in on this one?

I think the only in-universe example seems to have been when the Imperial Fists went extinct during the War of the Beast. Maximus Thane gathered the Successors and created a whole new Imperial Fists Chapter from 10 companies donated by various Successors, with Thane elected as Chapter Master.
It is very rare for Chapters to go extinct entirely and often new Chapters are created during schisms such as the Sons of Medusa who were drawn from the Iron Hands and their Successors during the Moirae Schism or the Red Seraphs and Angels Numinous who were both born from the Blood Eagles.

Given that each chapter tends to have its own strictures, traditions and culture, not to mention geneseeds, I imagine this is only doable with successor chapters of the same primogenitors.

Imperial Guard regiments are sometimes merged despite different cultures, but that tends to happen under orders of a warmaster or the likes. I am not aware of many people in the Imperium who hold similar authority over multiple Space Marine chapters. Maybe Guilliman and the High Lords of Terra.

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Closest example I can think of are the Moirae Schism exiles from the Iron Hands successors. They banded together as an unofficial chapter under their shared belief in the Moirae doctrines. It wasn't until two thousand years later that the High Lords granted them official chapter status.

The Astral Claws merged in the survivors of the Tiger Claws chapter (a successor chapter of the Astral Claws). This particular example was considered heretical, but it is unclear if that is because the Astral Claws themselves were renegades breaking many laws at this point, or because the assimilation occurred without official oversight, or because merging is outright outlawed.

I do think I've seen other merger examples though. I think, in general, the numerically larger or more storied prestigious chapter would take precedence and simply absorb the newcomers, rather than a new chapter being formed.

A note on merging regiments- according to Imperial Guard lore, mergers between regiments from the same homeworld are preferred, but mergers between those who are from different worlds do occur. Sometimes this successful generates a superb regiment, usually it makes subpar units, and occasionally it fails utterly (a notable example was a merger of a Savlar and a Necromundan regiment resulting in rife gang warfare and the execution of the regiment).


Automatically Appended Next Post:

-Guardsman- wrote:
Given that each chapter tends to have its own strictures, traditions and culture, not to mention geneseeds, I imagine this is only doable with successor chapters of the same primogenitors.

Imperial Guard regiments are sometimes merged despite different cultures, but that tends to happen under orders of a warmaster or the likes. I am not aware of many people in the Imperium who hold similar authority over multiple Space Marine chapters. Maybe Guilliman and the High Lords of Terra.

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I think the Departmento Munitorum has the power to merge regiments (from any homeworld), so it probably happens a fair bit overall.

The Munitorum has power over the Militarum but not the Astartes. Theoretically, nobody but the Emperor has power over the Astartes and its often the case in reality as well.

There are some examples- sons of medusa origins as well as the tiger claws being reabsorbed into their patent chapter.

Could it happen? Undoubtedly. But I can imagine a lot of politicking, mistrust and friction between the remnants.

A lot of it would depend on the character of thr chapters themselves..

 Gert wrote:
The Munitorum has power over the Militarum but not the Astartes. Theoretically, nobody but the Emperor has power over the Astartes and its often the case in reality as well.

I was mentioning that in response to the raised idea that only Warmasters and the like merge regiments. I think it occurs far more frequently at a bureaucratic level through the usual Imperial "death by administration" vibe. The Departmento Munitorum is explicitly a branch of the Administratum controlling logistics for the Astra Militarum.

Hmm, the High Lords of Terra, operating as the proxy of the Emperor's power, also have that power. Generally they are the ones authorising the creation of new chapters and the sanctioning of existing ones. Presumably, if they so wished, they could merge two chapters. However, if it was generally considered heretical, I'd expect that order to be rescinded and the merged chapter to be excommunicated as soon as a different faction gained power within the High Lords.

The Inquisition also has jurisdiction, although whether they actually have the power to exercise that over a force as powerful as an Astartes chapter is variable at best. Usually they convince other chapters to do the dirty work, as in the Badab war.

I am not sure how explicitly this is explored, but Guilliman's current role probably also gives him authority over such matters.

Agreed. When it comes to the High Lords and Inquisition interacting with Astartes, its still very "please can you do this" and heavy handed tactics often fail miserably. We see it during the War of the Beast and later with the Black Templars/Emperor's Spears loyalty to the Celestial Lions, as well as a bunch of other examples. It's the balance of "you need Astartes to keep you safe and we are going to keep our autonomy". Most Lords and Inquisitors are smart enough not to mess with the balance, others end up less than alive.
As for Guilliman, Chapters aren't really in a position to say no. They could but then the Emperor's attack dogs (the Custodes) can declare you Heretics and wipe you out. I quite like that despite all the "Guilliman is great" stuff, GW still shows that at his core Guilliman is an authoritarian dictator.

Agreed.

The High Lords obviously maintain a lot of power too though, their authority is not merely nominal. They have an unusual level of control over the Minotaurs in particular and can rally other chapters for situations that are (at least initially) ambiguous, the Badab war being a great example. At first, it was not especially clear who was in the wrong before the full heresies of the Astral Claws came to light. Chapters like the Black Templars are incredibly prestigious and respected, so manoeuvring against them or chapters supported by them is going to be different to censuring chapters with less prominent supporters. I doubt there would be much opposition to targeting loners like the Carcharodons, for example, assuming at least some veneer of legitimate concerns over heresy.

The Minotaurs are the High Lord's pets and have suffered due to this status, for example, they are flat out barred from the 500 Worlds in Ultramar. That's 500 Worlds you can't dock for resupply and repairs in one of the most contested zones in the galaxy.

I would just like to point out you probably would not want anything with the Carcharodons, even if they have no friends. The taste does not justify the cost in any way thinkable. They are just that unpleasant.

On the merging idea, this is probably something that is more common among heretics.

For loyalists though one thing is problems with culture. But certain genetical make ups are a huge problem. Some lineages lack certain organs. (Although all have the black carapace.) But if you have SW or BA genes you have certain side effects.) (This is potensial a problem for chaos marines ad well.)

The Thousand Sons defectors probably ended up as Blood Ravens. Although this is strongly hinted at it is confirmed and probably never will.