Ultima Founding

The 27th Founding (also known as the "Ultima Founding") of Space Marine Chapters has recently occurred in the wake of the events of the Gathering Storm and the fall of Cadia during Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade. The scattered Space Marine Chapters of the galaxy have been bled dry, and with the advent of gigantic Warp Storms that swallow whole systems, the formation of the Great Rift and constant attack by the Forces of Chaos, rampaging xenos and more, the Adeptus Astartes are stretched thinner than ever. With many Chapter Planets now actively under siege, some Chapters are confirmed as destroyed or lost, and even those faring relatively well have suffered high casualties and are in desperate need of reinforcement. With the resurrection of the Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, the Avenging Son has assumed command as Lord Commander of the Imperium over all the Imperium's military forces. Finally, after ten millennia, he puts into action his ultimate contingency plan, 100 centuries in the making -- the Primaris Space Marines. These new warriors are the next step in the evolution of the Emperor's Angels of Death -- genetically altered from their brethren to be bigger, stronger and faster -- timely reinforcements for the Imperium's armies as their enemies close in for the kill in the wake of Abaddon the Despoiler's 13th Black Crusade and the birth of the Great Rift dividing the Imperium in two. The newly reinstated Lord Commander of the Imperium has decreed that those Chapters most devastated by the ongoing wars should be amongst the first to be reinforced with this new breed of warrior. Starting with the Ultramarines, but also deploying these new Space Marines to every other Chapter in need, Guilliman aims to reinforce the Imperium's scattered defenders across the galaxy. It is not just as reinforcements to existing Chapters though. Guilliman has also ordered the creation of a host of new Chapters, the Ultima Founding, composed entirely of Primaris Space Marines. The warriors of these new Chapters were created entirely using the new processes discovered by Archmagos Belisarius Cawl and established with all the necessary weapons, armour and equipment that they'll need to conduct their defence of the Imperium.

These Chapter's still trace their genetic lineage back to the gene-seed of the First Founding, and scions of all nine loyalists Legions emerged from the vaults beneath the red planet. They benefit from three additional organs and larger size, but it still remains to be seen if Cawl was able to successfully stabilise any of the known genetic deviations or impart any additional resistance to the effects of Chaos. Many of these new Chapters have been assigned home worlds on the edge of the Great Rift, the Imperium's new frontline in the war against Chaos, though some have inherited the empty Fortress-Monasteries of Chapters that had been lost to the attrition of constant war. Many of these worlds face a continuous battle against the Daemons of the Warp, as well as an unpredictable mix of xenos raiders, pirates and invaders.