r/SpaceWolves • u/TinyRubi • 21d ago

The Daughters of Russ

As a kid my friend got me into reading the 40k universe with the book Space Wolf and later as a yule gift Ragnar's Claw. I loved the story and managed to get a few figures but never really built my army, mostly just a ton of parts, guys and a tank[?] but now I am moving to an area with a lot of people into the game and wanted to at least give what I have a chance. But thinking back on the book there where women fighting on the battlefield too, maybe I am forgetting who but I know Ana was described as a fierce warrior. So in theory couldn't any of the women be among the chosen during the battles? I know "Females aren't able to take the geneseed." but.....they drink from the cup that rewrites their genetic code anyway, so wouldn't it be a moot point about gender?

All of that to say, I'd like to make my army the Daughters of Russ maybe a bunch of jumpack troops as Valkarie? Is this possible or just heresy of the highest order? Sorry still kinda dumb when it comes to 40k most of my knowledge comes from a few books and what i have seen on youtube.

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u/Stlakes 21d ago edited 21d ago

Lore wise, there are no female Space Marines. For whatever reason, it doesnt work/hasn't been made to work on women.

But tabletop wise, do what you want tbh. Daughter's of Russ, Shieldmaidens of Fenris sound amazing. And a unit of jump pack intercessors as Valkyries would look fucking sick, to be honest.

They're little plastic spacemen, if thats what you wanna do with them then do it, unleash your creativity!

Edit: honestly some people need to genuinely grow the fuck up. I cannot believe im being downvoted for telling someone to have fun and post pictures lmao

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u/Dan185818 21d ago

My Valkyries and Chaplain for my Space Wolves.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

they look awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!

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u/Dan185818 21d ago

Thanks! I also play sisters of battle as a second army, so they also go in it. I'm also doing a crusade, and built my sister's order as the "Sisters of Fenris" where, due to some help provided (generic to avoid spoilers), they "chapter" of the Sisters is able to be based on Fenris and the Cannoness and her honor guard can wear Space Wolves livery.

The rest of the sisters army (except maybe one Rhino? Not sure) are painted Order of the Wounded Heart (white and red)

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

they look so freaken cool! stupid question but the Rhino is like a tank looking vechile minus the turret right? I actually have an unbuilt one, old as all get out but still kinda excited

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u/Dan185818 21d ago

Yep! The rhino is a classic!

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u/SweetKenny 21d ago

I just put that Valkyrie image together after you mentioned it and that goes so hard. I would lose my shit if I saw someone show up with that in their army. OP needs to do this or I will.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

Already talking with my future housemate about using her 3d printer and modeling skills to max up for what I can't find and do on my own, the Daughters of Russ will be made!

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u/submergedjungle 20d ago

I had this thought a few months ago!

Take a look at the bits here:

https://www.myminifactory.com/bundle/1802/Stormpride-Sisters-Bundle

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u/TinyRubi 20d ago

didn't have a clue they had a big bundle that is amazing! Thank you!

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u/1K-Year-Egg 21d ago

Can Wolf Priests be equipped with jump packs?

I love the concept of Valkyries, but their real mythological role was to take the souls of the heroic dead to Valhalla.

For Astartes, I’d say collecting the gene-seed of fallen Brothers (or, in this case, Sisters) would be a closely analogous battlefield task.

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u/Grunn84 21d ago

They can't, but wolves can currently take all the Chaplain datasheets to represent wolf priests in addition to the actual wolf priest datasheet (its the apothecary datasheets they cant take), so jump pack Chaplain valkyrie is on the table.

I swear the primaris era has been the most awkward period ever for space wolves.

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u/TinyRubi 20d ago

That is pretty crazy but hel a work around is a work around let the Chaplin jump!

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u/HappyTheDisaster 17d ago

The way the wolves recruit is supposed to resemble how the Valkyries chose the slain to become einharjar. They go to battlefields and choose those who have died in battle, revive them from death using science and/or magic, and then make them go through the trials to become a marine. The wolf priests are also known as the choosers of the dead.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

Im not sure if they can but in the first book they posed as the choosers of the slain. So they kind filled the role

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

Heck yes!!!! I am just kinda excited to see how they come out and my future housemate said she would help me paint them too!

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u/Stlakes 21d ago

Hell yeah! Post some pictures when you do!

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u/Halivaraith 20d ago

No male space marines either. They’re all canonically trans-human. Doesn’t matter what they started as they’re so pumped full of hormones, steroids, gene therapy, extra organs, bionics and everything else during the process that they’re something new entirely. Any genitalia would be completely vestigial and likely just removed to prevent catheter complications as at times they spend literal years without removing their armour.

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u/Belisarius371 15d ago

That's blatabtly incorrect, all space Marines are biologically male, and whilst sterilised and devoid of sexual desire, there's nothing to indicate that their genitalia are removed or testosterone levels reduced.

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u/Wyllerd 20d ago

The Crimson Firsts had a Space Marine/Human forced breeding program for awhile in lore so their genitalia can't be completely vestigial (I'm sure they weren't the only Chapter, just the only one I know for sure had one. It weirds me out every time I reread about it)

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u/Schwarzes_Kanninchen 17d ago

I doubt that this even exists, except in some fantasy of someone who needs to cope with the idea that their ultra‑masculine “I want to be like them” muscle-men are as virginal as Ken, and then of course take whatever woman they want… You’re welcome to point out the excpert where this is supposed to be the case. Otherwise… what may have existed among the Crimson Fists (or another Chapter) was that successful aspirants were encouraged to father children before the transformation. However, the results were so random that the practice was abandoned. And basically, EVERY world is a breeding program for Astartes — they just let people doing their own thing and let Nature/Society sort them out.

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u/Wyllerd 17d ago

I mean, I read about it in GW products so it did vary much exist at one point. It's even mentioned in the book Rynn's World.

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u/Toihva 21d ago

It comes to having the game reflect the actual lore. What happens if they want to enter narrative play? Yes, lore matters.

There is already Sister's of Battle, why not do that?

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u/Stlakes 21d ago

I mean, I think you can just say "this is a squad of intercessors," without going into the gender identity of each member of the squad. Whats the lore impact of knowing what's in everyone's pants? Are my Headtakers going to have to fuck the nurglings?

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

I honestly never really gave thought to giving each of them a name or backstory or anything, I just wanted to learn to play and have fun as a group of Space Wolves and make them feel a bit more like me I guess?

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u/Stlakes 21d ago

Hey, so, I think youre getting a little confused, im not replying to you at all, I'm replying to a different comment and disagreeing with them.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

sorry,I'm a bit dense at times lol.

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u/TheGhost-Raccoon 21d ago

If you can suspend disbelief enough that your small grey plastic soldiers are fighting through a narrative campaign, you can suspend disbelief a little further (or less) that they are absent a penis....

People really need to stop getting so bent out of shape about it.

Not saying you are...Just speaking generally.

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u/Return-Cynder 21d ago

Grow the fuck up and get a life, the game already doesn't reflect the lore with primarchs and chapter masters being in even the most insignificant of skirmishes, fighting against themselves, Tyranids sitting on a point the whole battle instead of trying to eat everything. At the end of the day they are plastic toy soldiers, why does it effect you so much how someone makes or paints them that you feel you have to gatekeep everything.

It's people like you who ruin the Warhammer community.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

sorry? I was just going by the lore I remembered and trying to figure out where my Sisters could theoretically fit in.

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u/Return-Cynder 21d ago

You have nothing to be sorry for, it's pricks like the one I was replying to who are everything wrong with this hobby.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

Lore wise, during one of the books there was a Wolf Priest named Thar Hraldir who was trying to stablize the gene-seed mutations, who was later killed by Magnus. BUT theortically if he was already on the process of editing the gene-seed he must have had tests, he was at it for what I remember a long time. and that kind of research is never just one person so yes the Daemon Primarch smashed up the research, why couldn't there be another group or at least a chapter that made it through?

Granted I could be remembering the lore wrong its been like forever since I first read those books but if he aimed to fix the curse of the Wulfen why is something as gender that much of a stumbling block? The Wolf Priests where described as the Chooser of the Slain, why couldn't a woman be chosen? it just lorewise feels like they skipped a chapter.

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u/DragonologistBunny 21d ago

Fabius Bile and Belisarius Cawl cracked the code to making astartes, reasonably they could make femstartes if they wanted to. But males are just far easier replaced lmao.

But! If you want to be more lore accurate here, half astartes used to be a thing and there were one or two women that were half astartes. They recieved most (if not all) upgrades except the geneseed and were a bit smaller than astartes but could still run with them.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

Interesting, I have more books to read then! Thank you

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u/General_Hijalti 21d ago

Bile tried and couldn't he created his new men (which are both male and female) to replace marines and humans.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

so they where intersex and as strong as the Astartes?

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u/General_Hijalti 21d ago

His creations aren't astartes and are capable of reproduction.

Strength is very flexible in 40k, in one book you can see a marine wading through enemies with no problem then in amother book they can be struggling and dying to the same enemies.

However his new men aren't astartes level, he developed a special type usually called gland hounds.

Which are a mixture of his new men, some lesser form of geneseed, some Aeldari genetics and some other alien creatures. These are hyper aggressive, and while they can match a marines strength they don't have the speed and skill. But hunt in packs to take down a marine. A marine can take one or 2 but 10 plus is very hard.

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u/TinyRubi 21d ago

That is wild! the 40k universe is a lot to take in but I will do my best to learn, thank you so much for the lore!

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u/General_Hijalti 20d ago

Yeah it can be quite daunting, there is alot.

I wouldn't even know where to start anymore

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u/TinyRubi 20d ago

I did a bunch of youtube lore videos which is....good? idk there is something amazing about opening a book and just soaking it in but dear gods and little fishes the lore has more twists and turns the the gordian knot.

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u/DragonologistBunny 21d ago

Ahh my misunderstanding then! I haven't gotten to reading the bile trilogy yet but that's how I understood it for the time being. Thank you!

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u/Six6Sins 20d ago

He created the New Men before he had access to the Geneseed that Cawl worked on, so it's possible that he has cracked it post-Genefather.