Upon returning to Space Marine II because of the recent update, I realized that while I am familiar with the blueberries — the Ultramarines — and the other founding chapters, that I know next to nothing about their Successor chapters. So, I thought I would delve into research and learn more about them.
Each chapter has a multitude of Successors, but — to maintain some semblance of sanity — I will be focusing on the ones that are represented in Space Marine II. Not all the Successors were created equal, so some will have more information than others, which leaves room for players to jump in with some of their own ideas about who they are.
Unknown Founding Chapters sourced from: Imperial Armour Volumes 4, 9, and 10.
Blood Ravens are the nerdy bunch. They have some of the most extensive libraries in the Imperium, and they have a higher number of Librarians in their ranks — someone has to deal with all of that bookkeeping. Those Librarians also function as many of the company’s commanders; an action that is not supported by the Codex, but they do have chambers specifically prepared to deal with any Psykers that might fall prey to the warp. When they aren’t tearing holes in reality, the Librarians will predict the movement of their enemies, as the most common tactic for the Blood Ravens is meticulous planning.
Possible Geneseed Origin: Blood Angels, Raven Guard, or Dark Angels.
Prominent Media: The Dawn of War video game series.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Red with white shoulder pads and black and gold details; a black raven with a drop of red blood.
The Minotaurs — much like their namesake suggests — are the head on, close combat, attrition specialists. In the past, they were crazed berserkers, but now they promote stringent protocols that must be maintained. They also prefer to deploy at their full might — an uncommon tactic for Astartes — bringing as many of their Chapter to the same battle as possible. Due to their ability to quickly refill their ranks, Minotaurs don’t mind losing battle-brothers in attrition if it means victory.
Even though they were a part of the 21st Founding — aka, the Cursed Founding — they showed no signs of genetic mutation, and they currently show no signs of continuing their previous methods of direct enraged assaults.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Bronze and red; a bull’s head in red.
The Red Scorpions follow the Codex dutifully and avoid operations with those that don’t if they can. To maintain the purity of their Geneseed — something they pride — Apothecaries are attached to Tactical Squads to retrieve it if necessary. Chapter Veterans stand apart from others with their superior quality weapons and even relic blades wielded by their commanders.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Dark grey with black shoulders and yellow details; a red scorpion on a white circle.
Carcharodons — aka Space Sharks — prefer an infantry based ruthless combat doctrine with a focus on close combat assaults, leading some to speculate that their origin could involve the Black Templars. Their naming conventions however, are more akin to the Raven Guard, as they share titles for their Chapter leaders, and they also share the same pale skin. Similarities end there with the other chapters because they have many other unique attributes.
Their recruiting events are known as ‘Red Tithes,’ they kidnap imperial citizens and submit them to trials; those that do the best are put into their initiate programs. Any of those that become a Carcharodon aren’t referred to as a Battle Brother like most other chapters, they are instead called Void Brothers.
Possible Geneseed Origin: Raven Guard or possibly chimeric.
Prominent Media: The books, Carcharodons: Red Tithe, and Outer Dark.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Dark grey with black shoulders; a white shark.
Exorcists lean more into unorthodox practices. As part of recruitment, initiates are subjected to temporary daemonic possession. Those that survive must further prove their fortitude in a combat excursion to planets with heavy daemonic presence. Because of this training, many of the initiates come out with physical alterations, like spikes and scales which they tend to cover up with cloaks and other gear.
When they aren’t directly subjecting their initiates to the horrors of the warp, they are in transport to another location to do just the same to the rest of their Chapter. They can be seen in the Oaths of Damnation novel.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Their colors are red with white and gold details.
Cover art by Artur Nakhodkin for the novel Oaths of Damnation
The last three are a few of those Chapters that have very little information on them and no reference for possible Geneseed origin, so I will just provide a quick fact along with their other descriptions.
Omega Marines contributed 9 Companies in the Third War for Armageddon.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: black and white split vertically down the middle with gold details; a white omega symbol with a skull overlayed on top.
Taurans owe a debt to the Deathwatch, so they consistently send them a tithe.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Black and bone; a black bull’s head.
Storm Giants also fought in the Third War for Armageddon.
Possible Geneseed Origin: Due to similar physical stature, some believe they descended from the Salamanders.
Chapter Colors and Symbol: Pale yellow with red right shoulder guard; red lightning striking upwards.
Tune in next time for a continuation with the Successor Chapters of the Ultramarines.
Imperial Armour Volume Ten – The Badab War – Part Two: Alan Bligh
Imperial Armour Volume Nine – The Badab War – Part One
Imperial Armour Volume Four – The Anphelion Project
Codex Armageddon
Codex: Deathwatch (8th Edition)
Codex: Space Marines (8th Edition, 2nd Codex)
