I think most would really. Nothing says 'I own you' like eating it...

So it seems the consensus is that you can't control the memory and you only get 1 memory from chewing down.

I also like the idea that it's connected to digestion... meaning it's not an instant thing.

Tarkand said:

Eating your enemy is a great way of saying that he's (soon to be) just a useless pile of ****!

HappyDaze said:

not so fast, he can be digested again and again and again... even few months.

boruta666 said:

So that's another use for head tubes - just connect your anus to your mouth and have a perpetual digestion machine. Isn't the high point of the Emperor's work grand!

HappyDaze said:

The latter has been a running gag in our group since the first final sanction session. The grimdark version of "got milk?", I guess.

Alex

so basically space marine diet is composed of brains, blood and ****...

Emperor Finest Wonderful Diet!

In my games, I limit the knowledge gained to that falling within a particular natural/deeply ingrained skill. They don't learn the actual personality of what they ate, but rather the natural tendancies of the species. They may gain an improved awareness or a silent move bonus. They won't learn of recent troop movements. At most they might learn a particular skill that that individual was trained in (piloting vehicles), but would not gain a knowledge of that individual's relationships with others.

Charmander said:

Barring the travesty/comedy that is Space Marine, there is only one instance of SM utilizing this particular ability.

In Ben Counter's Soul Drinkers, Sarpedon consumes the flesh of a mutant to learn more about the enemy's plans. As I recall, this is treated as a Chapter ritual, and is in-part the reason for their name. It's been a while, but I believe it's mentioned that he can only process the flesh for so long before the risk of corruption becomes an issue.

Also happened in the Courage and Honor book by Graham McNeil. Lechaurs (sp?) learns how to pilot a Tau craft, but doing so sickens him and he has to change out his blood if I recall correctly.

Gaurdian31 said:

Good catch. I should probably refrain from making such sweeping statements when I can't back it up.

I would only like to quip in and state that I consider Watson's Space Marine to be grand, really. Enthralling read, witty and quite well-written (I like how he toys with the language). Talk about subversive and partisan hired pens.

Admittedly, I haven't read much else in the WH40k Black Library repertoire.

Von Todkopf said:

It really is great. I found an old copy and it blew my mind compared to the new stuff I was reading. And at the table of 'remembering flesh' from that book is a perfect example of how this problem is supposted to go. Basically as part of their training with this gland, they all had to eat something from a table and then remember it. The main character ate the flesh of a pregnant chaos woman who was carrying a demon baby. He at the flesh, started remembering her, and when he started talking about the demon baby part, the elder marines stopped him. It also wasn't brain matter, it was just flesh, that's why it's "genetic knowlege" Yes that isn't where memory goes, but it's supposted to be useful no matter what part you get.

However, I do disagree with the idea of "Just don't give them anything useful". There's nothing I hate more than when I have an idea, and the GM just goes "No, that won't work, because I wont' allow it". However, rampant usage does ruin a game. Players are like children. If they go wayward, sometimes it's a guiding hand that works best. So, I'd suggest three things here that some have already said, and some haven't.

1. Make 'em roll for it.
The first time my group consumed the flesh, I was actually the one that suggested it to them via a space marine roll (General space marine knowledge, 50/50 chance of success).
They were getting attacked alot on a tyranid infested planet, and I kept telling the space wolves they smelled something, but didn't know what it was. It was actually Pheromones from a Lictor that was following them around.
So, the librarian volunteered to eat the flesh. First, he had to do a poision check, as it was toxic. Then he had to do a willpower check to overcome as he actually touched the hive mind. Then, he had to do another willpower check to actually gain information. He failed the willpower check for the hive mind, and subsequently gained insanity points, as well as a level of fatigue.

More checks make it challenging for them to do it. Failure in any of these checks can offer insanity and fatigue, but also more problems that are immediate. If they eat an Ork, lets say, and fail their check, they can become very angry, and might even attack their brothers, as Orks are known to attack their own brethren. You could change their demeanor, making them not get roleplay exp, or influencing their decisions. If they're non librarians, give them a few psy points (Say what they ate was a latent psyker or simply that they eat so many psyche's that now they have it). Then, mess with them because they have it. This is especially fun Black Templars.

Make the price of failure greater and greater, and then still give them things even if they succeed flawlessly. Nightmares that make it impossible for them to sleep makes them more fatigued with every mission. Loss to certain abilities like hatred. Then, one day, just make it so they just start talking in a random Xeno language like Tau or Ork, and then nobody can understand them least they speak the language. Make this happen in important meetings with their superiors (Also remember that violence is basically the Ork Language).

2. Official Channels
After a mission, have their Watch Captain come up to them and ask them how they knew about certain things. If they are honest, make him be disgusted and order them not to do it again unless absolutely necessary. If they lie, have him have a sneaking suspicion and he sends a cyber skull to follow them around. So base case, he always knows.
So, after direct orders, if they continue, make more trouble for them. Lets not forget this is the inquisition, and eating every enemy is borderline heretical, or at least seems as such. Give them less renown for their missions, and harass them with inquisitors. Deny them things they want to requisition because of it, and make allies less likely to want to work with them. AS a final note, in the extreme statements above where they suddenly just start speaking Tau and can't stop, make the Inquisition lock their character up and they have to make a new one. Such is the price of Xeno knoweldge.

3. Misinformation
Not every creature knows the entire battle plan, where everything is, and how effective it is. Perhaps they were fed misinformation directly, or in some cases, they're just too dumb to know. A rebel governor knows marines can get information from this, and purposely leads them astray. An Ork when asked for the location of his base leads them to the Truk where he sleeps at night. The Average Tyranid doesn't know a thing about battle plans, just knows what he's been told by the hive mind. A Tau flesh leads them to knowledge that the base on is on a salt plane, but neglects to mention that it's patrolled by gundrones and any intruder is mortared from a long distance. This releases their dependance.

This all actually sounds so fun that I want to encourage my players to get to this level.

Remember. If the players are making your life hell. Make their lives hell. It's what good GMs do.

Frostfire said:

If your players are making your game (I won't comment on what it says if you let your players have an impact on your life) hell, ask your self "Why?" Sometimes what they are doing is perfectly reasonable if viewed objectively, and you should consider that their goals and methods are valid too even if it's not the way you'd prefer to handle it yourself. It's what great GMs do.

The ending was a sardonic comment.

I know how you feel. I'm GMing my groups game and we just finished the Price of Hubris from The Emperor Protects. My Asian girlfriend is happily playing a Space Wolf Devastator with two goals in mind. 1) Line up enemies to she can mow them down with the Heavy Bolter and 2) Eat every enemy killed. At the end of every combat, I get asked, "Can I eat them?" All I can do is just, *Facepalm*.

As for your post, even she agrees that her Space Wolf wouldn't want to eat everything. I think some people take the concept out of context. You might just want to explain to your group how its really supposed to be used in the fluff.

Kilbourne said:

For some reason, this made me think of Knives from Scott Pilgrim vs the World.

On topic, I'm most likely GMing a Deathwatch campaign some time in the near future, and this thread has gotten me worried. I will probably limit what memories my players get, depending how often they use it.