Astartes

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	Astartes (阿斯塔特)
Alias(es)	Space Marines; Astartes Battle-Brothers; “Astartes Brothers” 14 33
Type	Neutral Character (AI)
Species/Race	Gene-seed-augmented transhumans whose capabilities are partly Warp-linked 4 98 170
Affiliation	Astartes faction; Astral Claws, Maelstrom Wardens, and later the Maelstrom Alliance 3 96
Occupation/Role	Super-soldiers, commanders, administrators, researchers, astropaths, navigators, and psykers 72 98 114
Status	Active 199
First Appearance	Chapter 2 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Optimized Initiate Modification Surgery	2	Greatly improves gene-seed compatibility and implantation success while lowering recruit-selection standards, enabling rapid expansion from broader candidate pools.
Veteran-tier proficiency (Level 3)	69	Recruits inducted in 718 reach veteran-level proficiency in three to four years through continuous live combat rather than the expected five years.
Psyker Awakening	98	The Emperor’s Domain awakens dormant psychic potential in all current Astral Claws Astartes. Most begin around A9 rank, able to cast stable but limited psychic techniques.
Mass Librarian development	99 150	Librarians train newly awakened battle-brothers in telepathy, pyromancy, biomancy, telekinesis, and psychic resistance; by 788, roughly four million of the Alliance’s five million Astartes are Librarians.
Ascension I	179	New Astartes receive a composite, stabilized gene-seed incorporating beneficial traits from numerous lineages. They normally run at nearly 400 km/h, can briefly reach 800 km/h, and can deform Judgment Power Armour with bare hands.
Second-stage Gene Lock baseline	192	By 838, 99% of Alliance citizens reach the second gene-lock stage, making Astartes-level physical capability the starting standard for new military recruits rather than an exclusive Astartes trait.

Background / History

The Astral Claws possessed implantation methods for all nineteen Astartes superhuman organs, but their early strength was constrained by poor gene-seed compatibility, lethal recruitment traditions, equipment shortages, and Codex-based limits on Chapter size. Huron’s optimized modification surgery transformed this situation by allowing former implantation failures, serfs, administrators, and other adults to become viable candidates. The first mass implantation program produced more than one thousand successful implants in under ten days, raising the Chapter to 2,026 battle-brothers. 4 5 6

Huron replaced recruitment practices that treated mortals as expendable with a reserve-and-Auxilia model. His reforms framed Astartes as exceptional people drawn from humanity rather than divine beings inherently separate from it, while requiring new battle-brothers to take on administrative, technical, and civic duties alongside military service. 5 33 69

The Astral Claws were reorganized into Codex-inspired Grand Companies and became the core around which the Lamenters and Mantis Warriors were integrated. By 743, the three Chapters functioned as an approximately 80,000-strong legion under Huron’s effective leadership; their later expansion surpassed conventional Chapter limits by orders of magnitude. 8 96 99

The Psyker Awakening decision made every Astral Claws battle-brother a potential psyker. This shifted Astartes from a purely martial force into a source of Librarians, astropaths, navigators, researchers, and administrators essential to controlling the Alliance’s expanding territory. 98 114 150

Later genetic projects sought to repair inherited physical and psychological defects across many gene-lines. Ascension I created stronger, more stable New Astartes, while the Gene Lock Project eventually extended Astartes-level baseline physical ability to nearly the entire Alliance population. 179 192

Organization

Astral Claws Grand Company Structure

The Astral Claws adopted ten approximately 2,000-man Grand Companies, removing separate scout and training companies in favor of combat-ready formations. 8

Formation	Primary role
1st Company	Veterans and future Terminator formation 8
2nd–6th Companies	Tactical formations combining battleline, fire-support, and close-support squads 8
7th–8th Companies	Fire support, armour, artillery, and anti-armour operations 8
9th–10th Companies	Assault, vehicle, breakthrough, pursuit, and flanking operations 8
Chapter Headquarters	Direct command of Dreadnought ancients, attached to Grand Companies as required 8

Appearance

Astartes are extensively altered humans built around gene-seed and nineteen superhuman organs. Their defining interface organ is the black carapace, which allows direct control of power armour. 4

• Black carapace — Essential neural interface for operating Astartes power armour. 4
• Power armour — Standard protective equipment; shortages in the early Astral Claws expansion left many newly transformed battle-brothers temporarily unable to deploy at full capability. 5 6
• Ceremonial armour — Astral Claws formations later use ornate artificer power armour decorated with elaborate ornaments for formal occasions. 103
• Ascended physique — Ascension I Astartes can exceed the performance of their existing armour, forcing the Alliance to develop stronger replacement designs. 179

Abilities & Skills

Gene-seed Augmentation

Astartes are implanted with specialized organs that drastically modify their bodies. The Astral Claws retain implantation methods for all nineteen organs, unlike Chapters that have lost portions of their original procedures. 4

• Optimized surgery allows candidates with previously unacceptable compatibility to survive implantation. 2
• Automated operating systems can implant gene-seed and accompanying organs into tens of thousands of reserves in under half an hour. 150
• Ascension I combines favorable traits from multiple gene-lines while attempting to remove inherited defects. 179
• Ascended Astartes can reproduce, but their children remain ordinary humans; true hereditary transmission of Astartes traits remains unresolved. 179

Superhuman Combat Capability

Astartes serve as elite shock troops, boarding forces, commanders, and specialists in dangerous environments where ordinary troops are inadequate. Their physical conditioning and neural speed also allow them to perform tasks beyond normal human limits. 85 110

• Astral Claws can manually guide individual nuclear weapons toward dense enemy formations. 110
• The Combat Ladder measures martial performance through one-on-one duels across 100-, 1,000-, 5,000-, 10,000-, 20,000-, and 40,000-match tiers. 91
• A recruit who cannot complete 1,000 matches within a decade is considered unfit to remain an Astartes. 91
• Exceptional Alliance Astartes can defeat Custodians in identical standard power armour, though this is not typical of all battle-brothers. 150 151

Psychic Ability

The Astral Claws’ gene-seed is explicitly linked to Warp potential. Psyker Awakening converts that latent potential into usable psychic ability under the protection of the Emperor’s Domain. 98

• Newly awakened Astartes generally begin at A9 psychic rank and require training before becoming reliable combat psykers. 98
• Librarians train battle-brothers in telepathy, pyromancy, biomancy, telekinesis, concentration, and psychic resistance. 99
• The Psychic Ladder permits unrestricted psychic combat, unlike the melee ladder. 150
• Badab’s repeated Emperor’s Epiphanies suppress Warp activity; even powerful psykers operate less effectively there than in normal or Warp-saturated environments. 150

Administration and Technical Work

Huron rejects the idea that Astartes should exist only as warriors. Their enhanced reactions and black-carapace interfaces make them valuable administrators, researchers, and managers of automated systems. 69 72

• Neural-interface strips convert electronic signals into signals usable through the black carapace. 72
• In theory, five Astartes linked to a smart-city management system can administer a city of one million people. 72
• Astartes increasingly serve in astropathic communication, navigation, scientific research, and government administration when not deployed in combat. 98 114

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Power armour — The standard Astartes combat system, operated through the black carapace. 4
• Bolters and chainswords — Treated as basic supplies by the Astral Claws during their expansion. 65
• Cataphractii and Tartaros Terminator armour — Used by veteran and elite formations; Astral Claws frequently distribute Terminator armour outside conventional Codex allocations. 51 130
• Land Raiders, Rhinos, Land Speeders, and Thunderhawks — Commonly fielded alongside Astartes formations for armoured transport, assault, and pursuit. 51 103
• Judgment Power Armour — Standardized armour used in some Alliance combat-ladder duels, including contests between elite Astartes and Custodians. 150

Relationships

• Lufgt Huron — Astral Claws Chapter Master and later Lord of the Maelstrom; reforms Astartes recruitment, organization, civic responsibilities, psychic development, and genetic ascension. 2 69 179
• Chief Apothecary Galien — Oversees improved implantation procedures, gene-seed cultivation, Astartes-compatible medicine, and the Ascension project. 5 91 179
• Chief Techmarine Armenius — Develops armour, exoskeletons, neural interfaces, and other systems that extend Astartes military and administrative capabilities. 55 72 179
• Chief Librarian Amos and the Librarium — Train the Astral Claws after Psyker Awakening and expand the Librarian corps into a central Alliance institution. 98 99
• Lamenters and Mantis Warriors — Allied Chapters integrated into Huron’s wider military structure; their recruits, equipment, and battle formations increasingly depend on Astral Claws support. 56 96 99
• Auxilia — Enhanced human forces whose equipment, serum treatments, prosthetics, and power armour narrow the traditional gap between mortals and Astartes. 98 103 130
• Custodes — Initially distant from Astartes, but later become combat-ladder rivals; elite Alliance Astartes and Custodians repeatedly exchange victories. 103 150 151

Story Role / Major Arcs

• Rebuilding the Astral Claws — Astartes expansion begins with Huron’s optimized initiation surgery, mass recruitment reforms, and the replacement of disposable recruitment customs. 2 5 6
• Creation of a Legion-like force — The Astral Claws reorganize into Grand Companies, integrate allied Chapters, and use industrial production to ignore normal Chapter-size limitations. 8 91 96
• Psyker transformation — Psyker Awakening turns every Astral Claws battle-brother into a potential Librarian and makes Astartes psychic labour central to Alliance governance and communications. 98 99
• Alliance militarization — Astartes become the spearhead of campaigns against Orks, Chaos, Tyranids, and other threats, supported by increasingly capable Auxilia, fleets, Titans, and automated logistics. 103 126 173
• Genetic ascension — The New Human Project, Ascension I, and Gene Lock Project progressively erode the distinction between Astartes and enhanced Alliance citizens. 170 179 192

Trivia

• The system classifies the Astral Claws, Lamenters, Mantis Warriors, White Scars, Blood Angels, and other founding Chapters under the broader Astartes faction, even when they also belong to separate political or genetic affiliations. 3
• Badab’s government promotes the term “Astartes Brothers” to challenge the belief that Space Marines are inherently divine “angels” rather than exceptional people selected from humanity. 33
• The Alliance’s growth eventually makes five million Astartes seem administratively insufficient, because they are expected to govern, communicate, research, and sustain society rather than serve only as special forces. 150