Lore Question Concerning the Betcher's Gland

[Tarthor]

Ok, so I'm writing a snake themed chapter, and I was wondering: is there a first founding chapter that, if descended from, could cause an over stimulated or downright mutated Betcher's Gland? Also, is the Betcher's Gland still canon? I titled this wrong.

[Kinstryfe]

Not the Dorn strain, as it's missing. I'm not sure if any other strains of geneseed are permenantly missing the Betcher's Gland. In theory any other strain is a candidate, though some strains are more or less stable than others. It's less likely it would be the El'Johnson strain just because it's fairly rarely used, and of course the Russ strain isn't really used either. So I think you have 6 options, plus the good old nobody knows who their seed is from option.

[Bryan Blaire]

In addition to what Kinstryfe pointed out, the Ultramarines gene-line is pretty rock solid, with no to minimal known mutation. The Ultramarines have the Iron Snakes Successor, although they don't have a Betcher's Gland mutation.

 

You have the Salamanders as a reptilian forebearer Legion, however, they weren't known to have any Successors. Their appearance difference is supposed to be solely due to their Melanochrome's specific reaction to Nocturne's solar radiation, not due to a gene-seed mutation, so any Successors they had should have the normal Astartes shifting skin tone. There are at least two rumored Successors, but the Salamanders don't acknowledge any kinship with the Storm Giants or Black Dragons if there is one.

 

The Raven Guard are supposed to be without a Betcher's Gland as well.

 

The Alpha Legion have the only other known reptilian iconography of the Legions.

[Bronze Beast in the Dark]

In the Iron Snakes novel, the Iron Snakes absorb venom into their betcher gland from being bitten by the snakes on their homeworld(and probably anywhere else). They are Ultra successors. You could probably make any chapter work if you were so inclined.

[Kinstryfe]

There's something to be said for going against convention too, if you're looking to avoid the obvious connections. A snake themed chapter screams Salamanders or Alpha Legion, but there are examples (though not enough for my liking) of chapters avoiding the obvious, like the Iron Snakes as Bryan said. (Also thanks for pointing out the Raven Guard. I was pretty sure there was another strain without but couldn't remember whom.)

 

Really, this kind of mutation could crop up theoretically in any chapter, though they'd need to consciously cultivate it through generations for it to eventually affect everyone. That means that there would be overwhelming likelihood that they would be Ultramarines successors, a chance of White Scars or Iron Hands, a small chance of Dark Angels, Blood Angels, or Salamanders, and pretty much no chance of them being successors of the Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, or Raven Guard.

 

There's also the mostly unknown and speculative origins of the geneseed for the cursed founding. Maybe the overactive gland is the result of some gene magos trying to fix the Imperial Fists gland by experimenting at mixing their seed with that of another Legion.

[Bryan Blaire]

Honestly, there's a pretty big dearth of repitilian themed Loyalist Marine Chapters, and I personally think it's because people still sub/unconsciously look at "reptilian" and think "bad guy!" for various reasons. It isn't helped in 40K by Fulgrim's appearance, IMO.

 

I would definitely look at a Dark or Cursed Founding Chapter (13th/21st) for your idea, and not even worry about addressing the progenitor gene-line. They just are who they are. It sounds like it will be an interesting idea, just don't over-theme them. There's nothing to be gained by being the snake version of the Space Wolves (the Salamanders already border on this anyway).

[Beta galactosidase]

There are lots of things to synthesize from all these posts.

 

It can be a cultural adaptation instead of biological. The Iron Snakes have a venom related ritual and most chapters have weird rituals related to blood, toxins, scarification, bionic arms, etc. Perhaps instead of mutation the marines deliberately ingest or expose themselves to venom in a variety of contexts and this gives them some exotic property.

 

Having a chapter explicitly name themselves and theme their symbols around snakes but also have a snake mutation seems very on the nose. I think you sort of have to choose one or the other.

 

Dorn is the first gene seed I thought of because the best way to cause a mutation from the outset is to try to fix an existing problem.

 

This isn’t a widely shared opinion, but it seems clear to me from some of the lit that a later founding, say the Eagle Warriors, is considered a definitely distinct gene seed from their relatives, like the aurora chapter or the ultramarines. They aren’t interchangeable. Bryan Blaire is right, you should move on from what chapters they are related to pretty quickly. It’s not usually an interesting part of the story.

[Claws and Effect]

A Cursed Founding Chapter descended from the Imperial Fists or Raven Guard seems most plausible.

 

Pretty much all the Cursed Founding chapters were the result of the Mechanicus trying to fix a geneseed deficiency and having it go haywire in unpredictable ways.

 

You could have them try to correct the lack of a Betcher's Gland in descendents of a Chapter that lacks it and have it go too far the other way. Meaning the Betcher's Gland they got is so overactive they have to periodically purge the venom from their system or it will harm the Marine's own body.

[Panzer]

A hyper active Betchers Gland definitely sounds like something that could've happened with the cursed founding when the AdMech tried to "fix" some geneseed for the first time.

[Kinstryfe]

Raven Guard primary geneseed, attempting a fix of their missing Betcher's Gland with Salamanders geneseed therapy. Due to an odd interaction between the two strains' melanochrome defects absorbing radiation no longer darkens the Astartes' skin but, rather, acts as an overstimulant of the Betcher's Gland. This leads to excessive production of acidic discharge around radiation, including many battlefields, requiring frequent purging to avoid pain and eventually damage to the Astartes' mouth.

[Claws and Effect]

Raven Guard primary geneseed, attempting a fix of their missing Betcher's Gland with Salamanders geneseed therapy. Due to an odd interaction between the two strains' melanochrome defects absorbing radiation no longer darkens the Astartes' skin but, rather, acts as an overstimulant of the Betcher's Gland. This leads to excessive production of acidic discharge around radiation, including many battlefields, requiring frequent purging to avoid pain and eventually damage to the Astartes' mouth.

I like it.