Fluff question: Space Marine Chaplain of the Omnissiah?

[Necron2.0]

I had an odd thought this afternoon. Not being the "fluffy" type, I thought I would ask the experts. My apologies ahead of time if this is a common question, or is a source of nerd rage.


To start, the question is, "Could a Space Marine Chaplain also be a Techmarine?"

I was daydreaming today and envisioned something like the story of Joan of Arc, only "Joan" was a boy in this case. The kid finds some sort of Space Marine artifact out in the field. Because of his innate tech-savviness he recognizes almost immediately its importance, and takes on a pious pilgrimage to make sure the artifact gets back where it belongs (even though he realizes he'll almost certainly be killed on the spot for having dared touch the item). Instead of a grisly (immediate) death, however, he ends up impressing those he's relinquished the item to, both because of his bravery and also because of his single-minded piety, and so is inducted into the ranks of hopeful space marines. Throughout his training, the boy's dedication to humanity, to the Imperium, but most of all to the Emperor are never in doubt. At the same time, technology "sings" to him (as he puts it), and he instinctively knows how machines work, what ills they may be suffering from, and how to rouse their machine spirits. This is why and how he recognized the artifact he'd found for what it was and where it needed to go. In that light, he is seen as being as pious a devotee of the Omnissiah as he is the God Emperor.

Could this narrative play out in the Grim Dark?

[hyudun]

Iron Fathers of the Iron Hands do just that:
[url]http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Father[/url]

[Aaron LeClair]

Most chapters this would be a no, due to mistrust they have of marines that train as techmarines on mars but then you do have chapters like The Iron Hands as hyudun pointed out and most of their Successor Chapters.

Now that hyudun pointed the Iron Fathers out kind makes me wish there was a special character in the SM for the IHs to use.

[energongoodie]

[QUOTE=Aaron LeClair;452016
Now that hyudun pointed the Iron Fathers out kind makes me wish there was a special character in the SM for the IHs to use.[/QUOTE]

Testify!

[Necron2.0]

Iron Fathers of the Iron Hands do just that:
[url]http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Iron_Father[/url]

Yes, but Iron Fathers really aren't quite the same as Chaplains. Certainly not in the eyes of the Ecclesiarchy. Iron Fathers are priests, yes, but of the Machine God, and they do not hold all that closely to the Imperial Creed.

Perhaps I was misleading in the title I picked for this thread. What I meant was is it possible to have someone whose piety with respect to the Imperial Creed is unquestioned - someone who is seen immediately as a zealot for the God Emperor - and at the same time is someone whom the Tech-priests of Mars would accept as one of their own?

[Aaron LeClair]

Yes, but Iron Fathers really aren't quite the same as Chaplains. Certainly not in the eyes of the Ecclesiarchy. Iron Fathers are priests, yes, but of the Machine God, and they do not hold all that closely to the Imperial Creed.

Perhaps I was misleading in the title I picked for this thread. What I meant was is it possible to have someone whose piety with respect to the Imperial Creed is unquestioned - someone who is seen immediately as a zealot for the God Emperor - and at the same time is someone whom the Tech-priests of Mars would accept as one of their own?

Well when you read in tech marines they are mistrusted by the fellows of their chapter due to ties to the machine cult, where as Chaplains are highly respected but their chapter. So short of a chapter that has close ties on a whole with the machine cult it would be a no. But normally any chapters that have ties to the machine cult have very limited ties to the Ecclesiarchy. I'd say no but this is 40k Where we have librarian and Dreadnought chapter masters because well... because.

[Katharon]

As has been said, the closest approximation is the Iron Father of the Iron Hands -- and even then, the Iron Fathers are more akin to standard SM Masters of the Forge than they are priests in the Ecclesiarchic sense.

But to put it simply: no, there isn't really such a middle path. And that's the point really. All marines who leave their parent chapters to take up their 50 (or was it 100?) years training on Mars always come back changed in their beliefs to a degree that their fellow marines even consider them somewhat 'other' to a degree, though not in the same fashion as they might find discomfort in a member of the Librarius.

Also, you should consider the ecumenical matter of the fact that the Omnissiah, in the eyes of the IoM at large, is simply another facet of the God-Emperor and is therefore not separate except in slight deviations in creed and ritual. So the idea that a marine might find a clear distinction between the two is a far more ideologically, critically dangerous idea than trying to have a marine who is simply worshiping the Omnissiah (aka Dah Emprah) with the sort of fervor usually reserved for Chaplains.

[Thornblood]

I think it would make a great one-off special character. Lots of possibilities that could be done with him.

However a Chaplain couldn't become a Techmarine, once specialized as a Chaplain, there's no option for studying techmarine stuff.

However a techmarine could easily become an enthusiastic devotee of the Omnissiah. Chaplains have badges of office from the Ecclesiarchy (crozius, rosarius etc), possibly Mars grants our tech-hero something similar. Rules wise a cog-shaped Iron Halo? Chaplains historically have crozius arcanums as a cross between the bishops crozier badge of office and the fact that clergy forced into middle-ages war would take clubs to knock out opponents as they were not allowed to kill them. Need to come up with a Martian equivalent. Maybe its a cortex controller and he comes with some Thallax bodyguards?