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I've tried a lot of different searches, but the only actual date I've found for the Third Founding is one quoted elsewhere on this Forum: 4001001.M32 - from an obsolete piece of fluff from White Dwarf 97 which has the Ultramarines as Third Founding!
Is there any canonical date anywhere? I want to know how long after the Second Founding I can start a DIY chapter without clashing with GW's fluff.

If such information exists, I'd bet it'd be in the Index Astartes. Not teribly helpful, but I can't think of anything else. Might I inquire as to why you're looking for this date?

Which begs a question, does the imperium wait until it needs lots of marines and then creates several new chapters at once giving a new founding, or do new chapters get created all the time outside of these foundings?

Perhaps foundings were the original method and now it's a free for all so far as chapter creation goes.

Good point. We really don't know that much about it, second founding aside. My inclination is that they get spun off in groups, not just willy nilly. How they (whoever they are) decide when is mysterious, though.

hmmmm, I think the 3rd founding was after the 1st and 2nd founding but BEFORE the 4th. lol

Manchu wrote:If such information exists, I'd bet it'd be in the Index Astartes. Not teribly helpful, but I can't think of anything else. Might I inquire as to why you're looking for this date?

My original fluff was written some 20 years ago, and had my Chapter as part of the Second Founding. With GW's subsequent changes that now seems untenable. I've revised the fluff to have The Steel Guardians formed at about the same time as the Second Founding, but not officially recognised as a chapter until the Third Founding. I really only want the gap to be a few decades, but I don't want to find I've missed something in the official canon.

More details here: User:Sgt Jelal

After the second but before the fourth, obviously.

Edit: Damn you EF.

Saw something on Lexicanum that says 3rd founding took place in M31

@Canonness Rory: Victory-IS-MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNE!!! MAWHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!