Topic: How do the Chaos Marines replenish their numbers?

[dalaran1991]

I thought the new codex would shed some more lights on this, but apparently not so. As far as I know Chaos Marines don't have the structures and facilities of loyal marines, i.e no stores of geneseeds or Apothecarion to oversee all that stuff, also no official recruiting processes. How do they replenish their numbers to wage 13 Black Crusades and still come back for more?

[Wyddr]

Well, besides saying 'The Warp Did It!', there's always Fabius Bile. He does a pretty mean business in super-soldier contracts, I'd bet.

[Benis]

They do still have some facilities (Storm of Iron, Dead Sky, Black Sundeals a bit with this) and capacity to 'recruit', the legions had massive amount of resources and while most of it was left behind during the Scouring a few such ships and equipment is bound to be left within each legion so that they can raise new companies. Other means are by simply recruiting existing Marines, renegade Chapters have means to produce their own Marines and might take on some work from a legion to supply their ranks. Then, as Wyddr mentions, there is Fabius Bile who is the prime source amongst the legions for new members given his skill and expertise and he has been doing this since the Horus Heresy.

[Sir_Godspeed]

I believe there are several mentions of ordinary human inhabitants of Daemon Worlds in the Eye of Terror, or otherwise being under control of Chaos Space Marines - who can aspire to become Chaos Space Marines themselves. The one example in specific I remember was in regards to Wizard Thralls of the Thousand Sons. I'm not sure if this has since been retconned, but there's that.

We also have - as mentioned above - Black library novels that depict Chaos facilities used to create Astartes, albeit in somewhat unorthodox ways.

[TheBigBadPanda]

A recap of the valid points that have been made above:

1) Some legions (Iron Warriors for example) still have facilities for creating new marines

2) Loyalist marines turn renegade and either join up with the old legions (i think its mentioned here and there that Alpha Legion and Black Legion do this)

3) When entire loyalist chapters turn renegade, their "marine-making" facilities become available to the chaos legions.

4) "The warp did it!". Its called Chaos for a reason, sometimes thats all the explanation you need.

[ozzfann0666]

Also, it's not unheard of for chaos marines to steal geneseed. My memory is a bit fuzzy, but I believe that's how the Iron Warriors got started on their project in Dead Sky, Black Sun.

[wper34]

A recap of the valid points that have been made above:

1) Some legions (Iron Warriors for example) still have facilities for creating new marines

2) Loyalist marines turn renegade and either join up with the old legions (i think its mentioned here and there that Alpha Legion and Black Legion do this)

3) When entire loyalist chapters turn renegade, their "marine-making" facilities become available to the chaos legions.

4) "The warp did it!". Its called Chaos for a reason, sometimes thats all the explanation you need.

One more that can be added to the list is, as ozzfann0666 stated, Chaos Space Marines raid some of the Loyal/Imperium facilities for those precious gene seeds or even possibly make the facilities theirs instead of doing a getaway operation with the loots.

[MortVader83]

 In the Night Lords novel Blood Reaver they kidnap hundreds of pregnant women and small children from Ganges Station. I'm sure similar acts are carried out by other legions and renegade chapters. It also goes into a little detail about squad leaders harvesting the gene seed of their fallen brothers, albiet in a more grisly manner sans narthecium.

[commissar_bob]

Im thinking that if they die whats to stop nurgel or some deamon from bringing them back on a chaos planet threw a portal or something?

[Koval, Master Verispex]

The short answer is "very little" although it's a lot of effort and I doubt anybody really cares. Eliphas the Inheritor's been brought back twice now, I think, and Khârn's also supposed to have been resurrected by Khorne (and don't get me started on that weird arrangement Lucius has with Slaanesh) -- though in Eliphas' case it's because Abaddon has a lot of influence, and for the other two it's because Khorne/Slaanesh simply liked them too much to just let them go. By contrast, Brother Bob of the Death Guard ain't gonna be missed by anyone, and Nurgle's probably going to turn round and go "who were you again?" before leaving him to his fate. Or turning him into soup.

[Awfully Dandy]

The short answer is "very little" although it's a lot of effort and I doubt anybody really cares. Eliphas the Inheritor's been brought back twice now, I think, and Khârn's also supposed to have been resurrected by Khorne (and don't get me started on that weird arrangement Lucius has with Slaanesh) -- though in Eliphas' case it's because Abaddon has a lot of influence, and for the other two it's because Khorne/Slaanesh simply liked them too much to just let them go. By contrast, Brother Bob of the Death Guard ain't gonna be missed by anyone, and Nurgle's probably going to turn round and go "who were you again?" before leaving him to his fate. Or turning him into soup.

I thought that people with the mark of nurgle became plaguebearers upon death? Has that changed?

EDIT: I thought wrong, see Benis' post.

[Sir_Godspeed]

That's the fluff I've read... but let's be honest - even supposedly quasi-benign Chaos entities like Nurgle probably just does something crazy with a soul sometimes. Besides, it was just an example.

EDIT: I thought wrong. See below. 

[Benis]

I thought that people with the mark of nurgle became plaguebearers upon death? Has that changed?

Creatures who die from Nurgle's Rot are can be turned into a Plaguebearer, it has nothing to do with having the Mark of Nurgle (I would argue that the souls of those who came willingly to Nurgle are probably worth more than being turned into a Plaguebearer):

Plaguebearers are formed from the energy of mortals that died from Nurgle's Rot.

It is said that the fate of those who die of the foul disease Nurgle's Rot is to serve the Lord of Decay forever in the most disgusting form of a daemon called Plaguebearer.