Blood Angels age

[Jarl Bloodwolf]

Hello to all,

 

On Lexicanum.com it says that a side effect of the Blood Angels gene seed is a prolonged lifespan which for an Astartes has to be extremely long. Now this isnt that hard to believe in that Dante is eleven hundred years old. What I am wondering is barring death would it be possible to have a chapter master who lived for roughly three thousand years? The reason I ask this is because I'm wanting the first chapter master of my White Guard succesor chapter to have fought in the great crusade, the seige of Terra and the 1st black crusade before the chapter was formed.

 

Now my chapter was created during the 3rd founding and the time period between the Horus Heresy and the 3rd founding is about 3000 years. Is this pushing it on the age scale? If need be I can drop the Horus Heresy and seige of Terra from his history but the Black Crusade is staying in his fluff as it was during this conflict that he proved himself a compitent enough commander to lead a chapter and so was chosen to lead the newly formed White Guard.

 

Well thats my pitch. Is it to much for 3000 years or would that be ok? also not sure if this has much affect on the idea but the commander is now dead.

[igotsmeakabob!!]

IIRC, A Thousand Sons has stated officially that Space Marines are functionally immortal. So I'm not really sure what that means for our extended-lifespan BA's.

[Priest33]

Most (if not all) of the Heresy books claim that SM's are infact immortal unless they die on the battlefield. Take from that what you will.

[Jarl Bloodwolf]

But the HH series (while amazing) isnt cannon. I was taking a risk posting that I got my information from Lexicanum, but if it says it in the Thousand Sons book that was mentioned and it was a GW book then I see no problem as to having my chapter master be that old before he died.

[igotsmeakabob!!]

Dan Abnett said at some point that the HH series was canon, though GW never supported or denied the claim.

[SamaNagol]

To have fought in the Great Crusade he would have to be around 11,000 years old. So no.

[gorbhan]

To have fought in the Great Crusade he would have to be around 11,000 years old. So no.

 

Im ok with 3000 years old, but to be old enough to have fought in the great crusade and still be fighting to this day? He would certainly have to rival a primarch or be one himself.

[Jarl Bloodwolf]

But the chapter master is no longer alive? I thought I said that in my first post? and that 3000 year period is the time span between the end of the Horus Heresy and the year of the 3rd founding. So the Horus Heresy and seige of Terra would have been at the begining of his service, the 1st Black Crusade would have been somewhere around the middle and taking over the chapter at the end of those 3000 years would have been near the end of his life. He isnt alive in the modern 40k universe he is just aprt of my chapters origins. I hope that cleared a few things up.

[gorbhan]

But the chapter master is no longer alive? I thought I said that in my first post?

 

Oops, missed that. Then the answer to your question is yes, he can be that old, no problems what so ever.

[SamaNagol]

Oh, yes I think marines lived a lot longer around that time anyway as they had far superior technology and such. I know Bjorn was pretty old by the time he was interred in his Dreadnought sarcophagus, and he was the 'Chapter Master' of the Space Wolves having served through the Great Crusade.

[Jarl Bloodwolf]

Ok cool, thank you brothers

[BrotherMoses]

When space marines still died of old age this was a relevant piece of cannon. These days I take this little slip to mean nothing more than that we age well. <_<

[Terrahawk]

As far as I've understood in the HH books the marines themselves believe they can't die of old age. Which is pretty understandable since they do have greatly prolonged life spans compared to humans and haven't been around for that long.

 

This allows both the HH fluff and BA fluff to be valid. Haven't read A Thousand Sons though so my info might be outdated when it comes to HH stuff.

[Requiem of the Wolf]

As far as I've understood in the HH books the marines themselves believe they can't die of old age. Which is pretty understandable since they do have greatly prolonged life spans compared to humans and haven't been around for that long.

 

This allows both the HH fluff and BA fluff to be valid. Haven't read A Thousand Sons though so my info might be outdated when it comes to HH stuff.

And It is not as if Space Marines tend to be the type to sit around and risk old age to begin with. In answer to your question earlier,It is possible that like Bjorn he became a Dreadnaught and unlike some others..Didn't go into the stasis sleep but instead lead the chapter till it was good and established,and in the process,wore down his sarcophagus so that when he did go into sleep they couldn't rouse him again.

[daboarder]

The original marines were functionaly imortal, but do to degredation of their geneseed like so much other technology in 40k current marines are really just shadows of their former selves and are therefor nolonger imortal.

[Requiem of the Wolf]

The original marines were functionaly imortal, but do to degredation of their geneseed like so much other technology in 40k current marines are really just shadows of their former selves and are therefor nolonger imortal.

So essentially...one from the earlier time period would be immortal and could very easily still be around. Or have been around at the relevant time?

[daboarder]

pretty much yeah, though of course they would have to survive all the fighting but thats not impossible, look at bjorn.

[SamaNagol]

I use Bjorn as an example of someone who lived through the Great Crusade and went on to lead the Chapter for years until they were interred in their sarcophagus. Not as an example of Marines being effectively immortal.

 

I took it from the OP that he wanted a Marine to have lived for several thousand years and went on to be seconded as Chapter Master of a 3rd or 4th founding chapter using the BA gene seed.

[daboarder]

oh yeha I just meant bjorn was an example that it was possible for a marine to survive 10000 or so years of fighting not immortality.

[SamaNagol]

Yeh thats the thing though, he hasnt really 'survived' as Dreadnoughts are mobile life support systems and he spends almost 100 years at a time in stasis

[daboarder]

hmm good point. I still think its not completely unreasonable for a Heresy marine to live for 3000 years.

[SamaNagol]

Yeh severeal millennia is possible. I'd imagine it would be unique, but I am sure there are many heroes and legends who's names are not remembered prominently in the fluff background, so if you want your successor chapter to be founded by a Marine who was around during the Great Crusade in the original Legion and went off to lead a new chapter in the 3rd or 4th founding (it couldn't be 2nd founding) then that is fine in terms of fluff. Just say due to his vast experience and huge list of accolades and honours he was the natural choice to found the White Guard chapter, he could have been Captain of the BA 2nd, 3rd or 4th Company at the time.

 

There you go.

[Chaplain-Skylax]

IF you read "Hero's of the space marines" You will read that a member of the black legion is still alive even though he fought on the "Walls of Terra" during "The great Crusade". And if you yourselves have read the "Salamanders" novel you will find out towards the end that there is still a Marine of the Salamanders Chapter still alive from when the Prim-arch of the Salamanders still walked among he army, Thus being a normal marine can live fundamentally forever, due to the fact of the enhanced genetics. All though the black legion dude is now officially tainted by the warp as he cannot be killed untill the gods get bored.

[SamaNagol]

I'd say the Chaos Marines are still alive due to the passage of time passing differently in the Eye and many of them being lost in the warp and displaced over time, like The Fallen of the Dark Angels.

 

However if they put in a novel that a loyal Salamanders marine is still alive from the Great Crusade times then that is an epic facepalm.

[Bloody Wolf]

Considering that some people believe that The Sanguinor has been alive since the Horus Heresy, and is inside just a marine, it's perfectly possible for another marine to live 3000 years, though highly unlikely. Also Dante's actual age could be far older than 1100, it is only known that he has been chapter master for that long.