Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-20282318-20140210075721/@comment-15803608-20170613050506

Fantredath wrote: I've been wondering for awhile now, whether this has ever been addressed in any of the books. While I understand that the Gene-Seed is not something that can be passed on to offspring through simple reproduction, and therefore you can't "Breed" new Space Marines, I have yet to find any mention in any of the Novels and/or tabletop Books, that makes mention of whether or not they are Capable, or even interested in Sex. I'm Loathe to try a simple web Search, since I have no desire to be bombarded with conjecture, and the obvious "Fan Art" that such a search would inevitably turn up. I'm simply curious as to whether Games Workshop or their Affiliates have ever addressed this question? I'd say that Space Marines are capable of sexual feelings and (some) sexual acts, but that their occupation makes it difficult and that they are unable naturally reproduce. I'll cover what I mean below.

Sex Drive: Chaos Space Marines devoted to Chaos Undivided and to Slaneesh likely have sex quite often (a Celibate Slaneeshi is a Failed Slaneeshi), and there are are a couple of mentions of Loyalist Marines being sexually attracted to women. So they still have some labido. Even if they didn't, asexual people still have sex for romantic reasons and Space Marines are human beings.

Anatomy: As for acts, their Gigantism tends to complicate this. If the partner was a normal human woman and the Space Marine was a loyalist then I imagine that the Space Marine would have to be REALLY careful (especially if they tried doing traditional intercourse instead of just non-traditional sex acts). Of course Traitor Space Marines from Slaneeshi and Undivided Warbands might be willing to lay with Deamonettes and Xenos and would almost certianly not care about the well being of their partner.

Schedule: But the biggest obsticle to Space Marine sexuality is occupation. When at their Fortress Monestary Space Marines only have between 30-60 minutes of personal time (the Codex Astartes says Space Marines should reflect on their importence during leisure, which most Chapters interpet as meaning they should have some leisure). So if he has his eye on a Chapter Serf, then he has a short window to find her and act on it. The rest of the time, he'll be dressed from head to toe in a suit of armor that does not include a zipper. So if a Space Marine and a cute Guardswoman are both alone together during a campaign, they can't do anything because of the former's armor. So while Space Marines could probably have sex, their occupation makes it rare.

Chapter Culture: Now while schedles and armor make an obsticle, I don't really think Chapter Culture would be. While Space Marines are supposed to think "EMPEROR! EMPEROR! EMPEROR! EMPEROR! EMPEROR!" all day every day, they're still humans and they still do things for themselves. They have friends, they drink Fenrisian Ale, they enjoy fighting for the sake of fighting, they like being praised and honored and respected by peers, they mourn their dead, and in some chapters they maintain connections to their homeworld. So I don't think a Space Marine would be executed just for having sex.

Sexual Reproduction: On reproduction, I think that virtually all Space Marines will never be fathers. They weren't made to reproduce, and the closest they come to reproduction is when they pass their geneseed to new initiates, so I'd say that the process makes them sterile. Salamanders have children and families, but I think that's due to other factors (adoption, sexually reproducing BEFORE they get their geneseed installed, artificial insemination, etc). Even then I think that Salamanders who do have children often have very little interaction with them due to long campaigns: if you're dad's a Salamander then you might see him once as a baby before he goes on campaign ... and if you're luck you'll see him again as a 90 year old man when he returns in between campaigns ... then you're great-great grandson will see try to pass initiation and if he passes than he MIGHT meet up with your father again.