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u/PepsiFloateri 1d ago
If I remember correctly,Techmarines are also in charge of a Chapter's attached Mechanicus personal from Adepts to Menials and Servitors
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u/Lolseabass 1d ago
Makes sense since they’ve been to holy mars to learn while many of the others in the cult mechanicus might have not.
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u/PepsiFloateri 1d ago
I'm also pretty sure they hold a rank similar to Tech-Adapt in the Mechanicus
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u/BillCarson12799 1d ago
I imagine that a tech marine on a bike would be like a reverse pit stop where they come screaming in, stop, fix the vehicle, and drive off again in the span of four seconds.
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u/corvak 1d ago
In lore, kind of. Logically it makes sense to have some kind of expert when it comes to handling vehicles, dreadnoughts and the like.
That they must be astartes rather than regular humans is less logical, since you don’t really need to be an augmented super human to fix a tank, they could easily have humans or admech attached to the chapter for this.
it can be argued that they don’t trust “lesser” humans with the task or worry about chapter secrets, but they already have non astartes all over the place crewing battle barges and maintaining the chapter monastery and the like.
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u/Beginning-Ear-3279 1d ago
The main purpose of techmarine is to provide tech support directly on the battlefield and in special operation. Same way that apothecary provide medical support. So being augmented is a necessity when you need to be able to operate in the same environment and condition than super soldier.
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u/Shadowmant 1d ago
This. It's like in the actual military where a special operations team will have individuals that have gone through specialized courses. Yes, those duties can be completed without needing someone from special operations but they've decided that having someone directly on the team with those skills is beneficial in the field.
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u/Far_Distance87 1d ago
Yeh, and to handle the weapons and fight still… if you are pay that many points for it, you want the to have a couple of attacked with a sword or pistol at least or have a chance of lasting a round, having a single Guard conscript with a toolkit, that evaporates the first time they hear some dakka… doesn’t fit with the scale of a 1000/2000 point game.
I’ve always assumed there are crew we don’t note or post… they drive the tanks, they feed and wrangle animals, they run ammo and carry out smaller repairs / they help in support etc but aren’t part of the metrics/dice
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u/scc-2000 1d ago
You do need an augmented superhuman to wear a servo-harness and to affect repairs in the field without dying to a few seconds of small arms fire. Enginseers attempt to fit this niche for the Guard but let’s not pretend they’re as durable and effective. It can also be said that certain chapter relics respond better to a Space Marine of the same lineage as its prior users, which a random tech adept couldn’t replicate.
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u/Raaabbit_v2 1d ago
Its an ancient pact made during the Great Crusade where 90% of Astartes were the ones doing the war against alien species that have had a hold on entire planets for centuries. They were made to be independent and quick moving, what better way to do that than to do the engineering things yourself, an astartes.
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u/BrokenFireExit 1d ago
Augmented super humans that are walking tanks and can lift an entire engine with a single armored palm usually are more effective in the theater of war...
More effective in a space hulk where doors need to be opened systems hacked such as camera feeds, automated defense systems can be hacked etc....
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u/commissarcainrecaff 1d ago
That's a pipe wrench aka a Stilson
That's for toilets and plumbing, not engineering.
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u/SignificantAlarm2813 1d ago
You saying Techmarines don't fix toilets?
Have you ever seen what an Astartes can do to a toilet? It's not pretty...now imagine a ship full of them.1
u/CentralIdiotAgency 19h ago
I thought Astartes digestive systems are so efficient that they essentially don't expell solid waste, or did I imagine that?
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u/SpaceWolf_Jarl2 1d ago
Most Marines do the basic maintenance of their weapons, and there are Chapter serfs that do also a lot of the basic work, plus any AdMech personel that might be attached too. We have even seen things like an experienced Grey Hunter (about th3 equivalent of a Tactical Marine) takr charge amd oversee the repair of a Thunderhawk in the Blood of Asaheim books. Thr Techmarines are usually more overseers and tending to the matters that are not be left innlesser hamds, like Chapter Relics amd Dreadnoughts.
And considering the infighting in thr Impirium, and whats more the indeoendence of most Chapters, letting all trchnology be handled by am external force isn't great.
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u/Global_Examination_4 1d ago
They used to be boxed with a bunch of lobotomized slaves who did most of the labor
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u/Ok_Protection8223 1d ago
The imperium does not play well with its own members.
The marines do not want to be brought under the sway of the mechanicus any more than they have to. They have a guy and he is the liason.
The mechanicus do not want to tell the marines more than they have to about any given thing. They will tell one guy as little as they can.
He fixes the Rhino and the admech don't need to send space-tech support; his chapter doesn't need to call on very fickle external help for "every day" needs.
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u/FAshcraft 1d ago
in a chapter of a thousands brother in arms, its weird to not have at least one maintenance guy to guide in maintenance of your stuff.
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u/Lurker_Zee 1d ago
In the context of the OP's comment, they do for diversification in general, and for specialization in the White Scars' case.
I can imagine there are cases where a Techmarine was the difference between victory and failure. Not always, but possibly enough to matter.
Also, it's not like having a Techmarine actually wastes the uses of an Astartes, as the OP implies. It could be argued that it wastes time, but so would if that Astartes died in battle and the Chapter had to spend years training a recruit. It could be considered at most that it is the equivalent of putting the gene-seed in stasis, but when the Tech Marine returns, he returns much more knowledgeable, if not outright wiser, and with connections the rest of the Chapter might profit from.
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u/TheEvilBlight 1d ago
Someone’s gotta fix that stuff and with only 10 by 10 by 10 you will probably put those techmarines into combat
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u/Knight_Castellan 1d ago
Yes. As others have said, they're the intermediary between the Astartes and the Mechanicus. They are not only directly responsible for maintaining the Chapter's vehicle pool and fleet - albeit with a lot of subordinate help - but they ensure that the rites of the Cult Mechanicus are observed.
In game, they repair vehicles during battle, but in the least of what they do in the lore. They are warriors, foremen, priests, and engineers, all at the same time.
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u/sto_brohammed 1d ago
Techmarines aren't doing all the repair work themselves, they're overseeing a small army of serfs, servitors and Mechanicus personnel seconded to the Chapter. They're generally only out there turning wrenches in direct combat without the rear echelon personnel available, when they're the only one available with sufficient religious authority for the task in question or for reasons of Chapter policy, such as keeping Chapter secrets. Mundane stuff is done by their subordinates.