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warhammer40k - Age of a Space Marine?


How long do Space Marines live on average?


What technology lets them live longer than we are living now or does it have more to do with their psychas?



Answer



A Space Marine enjoys the dubious type of longevity called "immortal until killed". Several Chapter Masters boast lifespans of over a thousand years of age. There are also Chaos Marines who are still alive (such as it is) for over ten thousand years, living in the Eye of Chaos.




  • Commander Dante is one of the most experienced and able Space Marine commanders. In no small part, this is due to the longevity of the Blood Angels, which he has ruled for 1,100 years. Dante is the oldest living Space Marine in the Imperium (excluding Dreadnoughts) and is held in awe by leaders of other Chapters, who can remember him being a famous commander when they were in the Scout Company.






  • The average age of a Space Marine who is dutiful to the Emperor and repelling enemies of the Empire is about 300-350 years. No Space Marine has ever been reported of dying of old age and all of them expect to die in battle against enemies of the Empire.




  • In the gaming literature, from which the characters are derived, most Space Marine Captains will have two or three of their hundred year studs on their foreheads as a sign of their superior resilience under battle.




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  • Space Marines have been genetically-engineered to be paragons of destruction whose modifications and technologies take twenty years to complete and kill 80% of the people chosen to undertake it. The number of modifications and the nature of them ensure the only way for a Marine to die is on the field of battle. They are the shocktroops of the Empire whose lives are spent only on battles which affect the ultimate longevity of the Empire.


Since there are only a thousand chapters with an average of a thousand members each, spread across the millions of worlds of the Imperium, Space Marines are built to survive conditions no other fighting force in the galaxy can easily compete with; they have to survive fighting the most fearsome forces ever seen. Dying may be part of the job description, but not before a huge number of enemies precede them into death. Getting old isn't even calculated as part of their personal equation for life.



For eleven hundred years, I have fought and I have seen the darkness in our galaxy. I have seen the vileness of the alien and the heresy of the mutant. I have witnessed the sin of possession. I have seen all the evil that the galaxy harbours, and I have slain all whose presence defiles the Emperor. I have seen what you will see. I have fought what you must fight, and I have slain what you must slay... so fear not and be proud, for we are the sons of Sanguinius, the protectors of Mankind. Aye, we are indeed the Angels of Death. --Commander Dante - Codex: Blood Angels (4th Edition)



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