Do Space Marines remember their human past? For example do they have memories of their childhood?

Thanks. And sorry if this has been discussed before. Tried a quick forum search and didn't find anythiing.

They would, but only as well as a normal human, in theory. Since their minds haven't been augmented at that point. But once augmented, they shouldn't forget too much, even with hundreds of years of new memories being made.

I don't know that mind-wipes are standard practice for many chapters outside of Grey Knights. Some other groups, such as the Assassin Temples will mind wipe, but most Marines are left with their memories intact. But as Blood Pact indicates, those memories would likely be 'just as good' as a human, which is great for some and terrible for others.

Also, besides the change in memory capacity, there's also the change in memory quality from their improved senses; their human memories would seem weak, washed out and colourless compared to their HD/Dolby Surround Sound post-Initiation memories.

Not all Astartes Chapters practice mind wipe, but even those who do not find their members gradually forgetting about their childhood. Their mindset changes drastically, and eventually the more mundane aspects of Humanity become lost to them. It's simply the outcome of not thinking about something that ultimately has no importance to them once they advance in the Chapter enough.

This is not to say an Astartes can't remember their time before becoming a transhuman warrior. It depends greatly on their Chapter's "culture" as well. Salamanders (ah the Salamanders, ever the hipsters ) on account of their dwelling with the locals of Nocturne seldom become completely divorced from their humanity. Dark Angels are encouraged to cut ties to their former lives through a series of methods, like being given an "angelic" name and avoiding the stationing of Marines in recruiting worlds resembling their birth planet.

Hey everyone--Thanks for the feedback. Helps me out quite a bit!

It's mentioned in the main rule book, I believe, as well as a few other canon sources.

Most marines only have hazy memories of their time before being a marine, and no emotional attachment to it. It's like someone else's dream, essentially.

I think it's mentioned that it's a side-effect of the hypno-training.

Siranui said:

Fluff wise, heroic characters like Uriel Ventris and Pasanius Lysane do remember their days as novitiates (re the portion about the Chaplain punishing them when they returned to the monastery late).

However, memories from before are slightly hazy, such as the tomb of Ventanus and memories from childhood are rather hazy and marines they must spend some abit more effort to recall.

As long as they aren't mind wiped they remember things as any other human. Memories aren't something insubstantial and their intensity depends on the hard wiring of the specific braincells which store these memories. Over time some memories begin to fade because these hard wiring will break up when these memories are unnecessary for our life but some memories while being useless are kept because of the impression they have made on us. In reality we aren't forgetting anything which is stored in our long-term memory as long as the cells are not destroyed but our brain cuts the path to access this memory if we don't use them often.

So a SM will likely forget memories which will remind him of his limitations as an unaugmented human, it's like someone who had to wear glasses for half his life does some eye surgery. He will quickly forget about his past restrictions and he will wipe his nose more often without the need to take care of his glasses for example. A SM will probably forget the concept of trade because it's unnecessary for him and he will have difficulties to understand the needs of normal humans.

I'm not really sure about love because the impression it makes on humans is overhelming but otherwise I've never read anything about a SM falling in love. Since the memories of love are based mostly on chemical reactions which will be probably supressed after his augmentation (strangely SM in DW haven't the Chem Geld Talent) so it's likely he won't be able to interpret the memories for his teen-love any more and even if it was a big impression in his life he will slowly forget about it.

Kain McDogal said:

Not to derail into another sex and the single space marine debate, but I think Ragnar is described as falling for a female Inquisitor- mind you this is described as surprising him, since he didn't have those feelings about anyone else since he was 'modified.'

Honeslty, as for what they remember, I think the fiction is broad enough to leave it up to the player and the GM, whatever fits the mood and for and what fits the story. If you want to play up the 'sacrificed everything to be a Marine' go for lack of memory. If you want them to have a link to their human side, let them recall their time as a youth.

A number of Marines seem to be drawn from worlds that the Marines own, more or less, so they are probably some of the safer worlds in the Imperium. While I wouldn't describe any such place as idyllic, that safety would make the training, and everything else they do to a Marine all the stronger, and thus the easy days fade away more. Most Marines remember those days, but they aren't really important, and when you've lived as long as some of them do, those way back memories dim in comparison to the violent, blood-filled, glory-emblazoned moments Space Marines fill their existence with. I don't remember the moments of my childhood oh so well, and I'm sure bits of it are because nothing memorable was happening; things Space Marines do are VERY memorable, which makes the other stuff even more inconsequential.

As for my Grey Knights, none of them will remember their childhood. As is known, they are mind-wiped, upon completion of their training, to deprive the Ruinous Powers of anything to tempt the Knights with. They have no "early fears of the bogeyman", or "childhood friends" for Daemons to strike at them with. In this way, among others, they may stand before a Greater Anything, and fight on, where even a mighty Ultramarine, Blood Angel, or Black Templar would cave before their warp might, and die. The GK might die, too, but he did so defiantly.

venkelos said:

In most of the fluff, the space marine worlds, while very well defended, are some of the most hostile worlds around. Marines like this because it toughens their recruits up, and weeds out the week. Take Baal for example: http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Baal

Even Chogoris, the homeworld of the White Scars Chapter, and which is described as being lush and fertile, is an incredibly dangerous place to live because of the fact that the entirety of human civilization on the planet is made up of (essentially) warring Mongol hordes.

http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Mundus_Planus

Well, based on the Ragnar of the Space Wolves novels, Space Marines remember quite a lot from their human past.

As a youth, Ragnar fell in love and had sex, travelled with a Space Wolf and killed his murderer in battle.

After being ‘resurrected’, he remembered all of this. As a result, he hated his fellow Space Marine murderer (who also got 'resurrected'), often thought of his former love who was dragged away as a slave and remembered the wonder and mystery he experienced on that journey with the Space Wolf and how that translated into the technology he now experienced.

And Ragnar also often compares his own current strength and abilities with the natural challenges of Fenrir and how normal humans would be hard pressed to meet them.

Every chapter may differ in how they allow these memories to be dealt with. Some may suppress them, others celebrate them but I guess most will just ignore them as a non-issue as long as the recruits embrace the chapter fully.

For my DW character, I want to take Hatred: Dark Eldar based upon memories of his home planet being attacked by Dark Eldar and destroying his human family. Seems like from the fluff and the comments here that would not be that much of a stretch. Thanks again!

Eradico Pravus said:

There is no reason to forget memories which are related to conflict and war for a SM. In fact just the opposite is true because the hypno-conditioning will enhance the neural pathways which lead to braincells storing this information. It's safe to assume that even past memories of fear will now be interpreted as hatred and so your background story is absoluty reasonable.