# comparison between SM and Thunder Warriors



## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

for those of you who have read The Outcast Dead (I admit I flipped through it at the bookstore and found it to be rather wanting), could you break down the differences between Thunder Warriors and SM? The impression I got from reading stuff on forums is that: 

Thunder Warrior advantages:
superior in physical combat (bigger, stronger, faster)

*I dare say the TW sound even bigger/stronger/faster than the custodes 

Space Marine advantages: 
superior mental capabilities/stability 
more acute senses 
greater ability to endure space travel
better at adapting to new physical environments (thanks to all those Astartes organs)

*I think it's also likely that the SM are more quickly produced 

is the above comparison about right?


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## ckcrawford (Feb 4, 2009)

Pretty much. I would say, that in my opinion, the Thunder Warriors were built to win a faster war for Terra. So they were built stronger, and yet, meant to fail at the right time.


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## 18827 (Oct 23, 2009)

This will fill you in on the details................

http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Thunder_Warriors


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## MontytheMighty (Jul 21, 2009)

ckcrawford said:


> Pretty much. I would say, that in my opinion, the Thunder Warriors were built to win a faster war for Terra. So they were built stronger, and yet, meant to fail at the right time.


I guess they weren't meant for conquering alien worlds
their biology was only suited for fighting on Earth 

thus the Emperor had conveniently designed them to die out when the need for *space* marines arose


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## Emperorguard500 (May 5, 2010)

basically

a space marine would beat a thunder warrior in a shooting war..

thunder warriors would probably win a clsoe combat fight (H2H)

astartes are just much more superior soldiers and can fight beyond terra..where thunder warriors were meant to fight only in Terra...

thunder warriors are stronger, bigger.. but space marines are superior soldiers

a squad of space marines would destroy a squad of thunder warriors


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## Emperorguard500 (May 5, 2010)

i have a question though

Where Thunder Warriors mentioned anywhere Non-black library stuff, like in a official rule book or codex or anything...

or is just an invention created by Mcneil for the outcast dead and future novels


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

You should make a thread about it Emperorguard500, you're bound to get better and faster results.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Malus Darkblade said:


> You should make a thread about it Emperorguard500, you're bound to get better and faster results.


How about you give the trolling a rest and just answer the man?

Yes, the thunder warriors have been mentioned before. No, they were not created by McNeil for The Outcast Dead and have existed prior to this. They are noted in Collected Visions and are in one of the short stories from Tales of Heresy.


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## randian (Feb 26, 2009)

MontytheMighty said:


> thus the Emperor had conveniently designed them to die out when the need for *space* marines arose


I'd bet most of them lived relatively normal lifespans, they certainly weren't dying at 35. Even if they were dying at, say, 50 that doesn't mean they were supposed to die early. It's more likely that the extra research required to compensate for the deleterious side effects of the Thunder Warrior process hadn't been completed yet. That's not the same thing as _designed _to die young.


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## Baltar (Aug 16, 2008)

I doubt any sort of contest between a thunder warrior and a space marine is certain. Much as it isn't between a custodian and a space marine.

From what I could gather, a thunder warrior is larger and perhaps as fast, but they are also crude and lacking many of the implanted advantages that a space marine has within their physiology.

It's clear that they were designed to conquer Earth quickly and crudely, and without any sort of regard for what they'd be good for afterwards.

I'm not sure that their physical characteristics make them any better, inherently, than a space marine at all. I imagine they *seemed* better in the Outcast Dead simply because they've been fighting much, much, much longer than even the oldest of Astartes veterans, and therefore probably have great skill. I seriously doubt the Emperor made the space marines 'weaker' or 'smaller' outright.

Space Marines also wore Thunder Armour... If the Thunder Warriors were larger, that would seem odd...

Space Marines are an improvement in, perhaps, every way. What count be accounted for is the fact that these thunder warriors are beyond veteran. Like tripple veteran.

EDIT:

Lol, that wiki page on the thunder warriors is so inaccurate it's appalling. I will make a note never to read anything from that website again. It's essentially a fanfic blog.


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## mob16151 (Oct 20, 2011)

Baltar said:


> I doubt any sort of contest between a thunder warrior and a space marine is certain. Much as it isn't between a custodian and a space marine.
> 
> From what I could gather, a thunder warrior is larger and perhaps as fast, but they are also crude and lacking many of the implanted advantages that a space marine has within their physiology.
> 
> ...


Didn't the Thunder Warriors wear an unpowered version of Astartes Plate though. Which would make them significantly stronger, at least.


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## Malus Darkblade (Jan 8, 2010)

Pretty sure they wore power-armor though not nearly as advanced as the one Astartes wear.


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## Chompy Bits (Jun 13, 2010)

Actually, only Dhakal was described as being larger than the Space Marines. Ghota was slightly smaller, but he did seem to posses superior strength to a space marine (with the possible exception of the Death Guard warrior). One also has to take into account that the Astartes in question had been through quite a bit, including:



Being held captive in pretty shit conditions for years, possibly decades. Having to fight their way out of possibly the most secure prison in the galaxy. And then they suffered a pretty horrific shuttle crash in which one of them sustained mortal injuries.


We also know that in order for astartes to operate at peak efficiency they generally receive monitoring and have frequent check ups to ensure everything is functioning properly. Also, they maintain a strict training regime in order to maintain that level of prowess. 

An example is in _The Killing Ground_ where Uriel and Pasanius remark that being away from their chapter so long and not being among their battle brothers have caused them to become somewhat weaker, not even close to their peak because they couldn't maintain the same level of physical training. And they still saw plenty of action during that time.

The Outcast Dead/Crusader Host didn't even have that, being locked up, with the most physical exertion available to them being pacing around their cells. So they were far from being at their peak. I'm willing to bet that if they were, then Ghota would have had a much harder time facing them.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

Baltar said:


> EDIT:
> 
> Lol, that wiki page on the thunder warriors is so inaccurate it's appalling. I will make a note never to read anything from that website again. It's essentially a fanfic blog.


And people still keep asking me why I refuse to set a foot in 40k wiki and Lexicanum. :laugh:


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## 18827 (Oct 23, 2009)

mob16151 said:


> Didn't the Thunder Warriors wear an unpowered version of Astartes Plate though. Which would make them significantly stronger, at least.


they used a similar type of Armour to the techno barbarian tribes.

It was a type of power armour, the upper body was powered but the legs were not and it was only designed for fighting on terra and not in space or on other worlds with hostile environments.

the space marine armour has powered legs and is sealed to better suit fighting in the vacuum of space.


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