[Multiple Excerpts] The Lore behind "Salamanders have Families" (2024)

TL;DR - FFG's Deathwatch First Founding mentions that Salamanders maintain 'tribal elder' style links with families on Nocturne. These families are NOT their direct descendants, but may be related to them.

I've seen a lot of discussion about where the 'Salamanders have families' idea comes from. This idea can be found on various forums dating back to the 2000's, but rarely are any sources listed. A few people reference a short story about an old Astartes visiting his family before a greenskin attack to meet his newborn distant grandnephew, but unfortunately for the people who quote it, that story seems to be a particularly lovely piece of fanfiction written by YouTuber Baldemort. Nick Kyme's books don't mention this aspect of the Salamanders, focusing instead on war and the connections between his characters.

So, where does this piece of Salamander lore come from? I'm still not sure if this is the only direct reference, but I have found something in the First Founding supplement to FFG's Deathwatch TTRPG.

Deathwatch First Founding, page 21

When not engaged on operations or training for them, the Salamanders live amongst their people, and each is the headman of a smaller community of families. The people of Nocturne therefore grow up in the company of god-like warriors, to whom they themselves are related, and they aspire above all else to join their ranks and fight for the Emperor. As every Salamander practises the trade of the smith, so many take young apprentices into their service, the best of these being judged worthy to become aspirants and undertake the trials to join the Chapter as neophytes. The trials are like those fought between the Emperor and the Primarch, though no man alive could perform such mighty deeds as were seen in that epic undertaking. Nonetheless, the Salamanders are uniquely blessed by their close ties to their kith and kin, and the people uniquely honoured in turn.

It's short but clear. According to this, they can fulfill a sort of 'tribal elder' role, and while they may be related, as in the fanfic linked above, their families are not directly descended from them. This page also contains one of my favourite pieces of Salamander lore, which is that the Salamanders take in young apprentices.

While that is the clearest mention of families I've found, there are a couple of relevant quotes gathered by other Reddit users under this post. I'll be copying the quotes here because they're a little lost in the comments:

From their 8th Codex Supplement (posted by r/Vorokar)

Unlike many Chapters of the Adeptus Astartes, the Salamanders do not remain aloof from the human population of their home world. When not at war or engaged in training or Chapter rituals, most Salamanders warriors live amongst the people of Nocturne. While the veterans of the 1st Company lodge in the Chapter’s fortress monastery upon Prometheus, every other company maintains barracks within Nocturne's sanctuary-cities. Here, the Space Marines act as elders of their people, providing guidance and wisdom as well as mentoring prospective novitiates in the Chapter's ways. Mindful of Vulkan’s own compassion for those he protected, the Salamanders see this leadership as an extension of their duties to the Imperium as a whole. By living amongst their people, conversing with them and personally shepherding their survival, the Salamanders learn the humility and understanding that permeates their Chapter's culture.

"Firedrake", Chapter 5 (posted by r/Shalliar, shortened for sub rules)

Many of the Fire-born lived outside of its coal-black walls amongst the people. Here, they would inspire with their example, learn humility and self-sacrifice from those who lived it every day of their lives. Some in the Chapter, those of vaunted rank or with closed minds, believed that to associate with the human populace was to encourage their weaknesses to grow in the Astartes; that by living amongst the native Nocturneans they were somehow brought low when their purpose was to elevate. Tu’Shan, Regent and Chapter Master, did not hold that view.

[...]

Serfs and brander-priests trod these lonely corridors. The Salamanders were out in the Sanctuaries and beyond, on the plains and the deserts; plying the seas and ranging the mountains. Nomadic and solitary was how many of the Fire-born lived their lives away from the fires of battle, yearning again to return to the anvil of war and be tested.

But they loved their people dearly.

No other Chapter, Tu’Shan was sure, had such a close link to its charges as the sons of Vulkan. It was something the Regent took great pride in and reminded his warrior brothers of regularly.

These references to their lives off the battlefield speak to Salamanders' varied lifestyles on Nocturne. Even though neither excerpt directly mentions them spending time with their extended families, an individual Salamander choosing to do so would be in keeping with both.

Another thing I have seen people say is that, unlike many chapters, the Salamanders remember their pre-ascension lives. I couldn't find many direct references to this except in Nick Kyme's books. He has been unclear on how much individual Salamanders may remember of their families, but his writing agrees that they may remember something.

"Fires of War"

Tsu’gan was the epitome of the Promethean ideal. Strong, tenacious, self-sacrificing – he was everything a Salamander should aspire to be. But there was a vein of arrogance and superiority hidden deep within him. He was born in Hesiod, one of the seven Sanctuary Cities of Nocturne, and the principal recruiting grounds for the Chapter. Unlike most on the volcanic death world, Tsu’gan was raised into relative affluence. His family were nobles, tribal kings at the tenuous apex of Nocturnean wealth and influence.

"Firedrake", Chapter 11

His mind went back to Themis. Just a boy then, he had faced a wounded leo’nid on the Arridian Plain. Ba’ken, or Sol as he was known when he was a child, had tracked the beast for days. His snare had injured it, slowed the creature so he could finally confront it. Sol had come from a large family – the memories of them were indistinct and hazy now, subjugated by his Astartes conditioning – the leo’nid had slain nearly half of them when it came upon their camp four nights previously. A mean, scarred brute, its scaled haunches were leathery with age and its tendril-mane ropey and thick. Sharp, yellow eyes spoke of cunning but they also contained malice. It was a killer. Ba’ken had faced death on the plain that day and triumphed. The leo’nid’s pelt was a trophy of special significance. In the xenos hound he fought a similar beast. The old instincts returned.

Tsu'gan certainly knows his background, while Sol Ba'ken seems to have distinct memories of his early years. It would be easy to say, "how much they remember varies," especially considering the average person's childhood memories grow hazy with time anyway. Still, some of you might find it useful to know exactly what a BL writer has said.

I wonder why the family aspect of the Salamanders isn't mentioned more in modern lore? It seems to be a popular idea with Salamander fans and GW doesn't seem to have retconned it, plus their position on 'what is canon' can be nebulous. I can only assume that this aspect is irrelevant to most of the stories GW and BL currently want to tell about the Salamanders (which makes sense to me, especially if the focus of a story is war, chapter-based drama, or interactions with another chapter).

So, thoughts? Are there any more references out there that I've missed?

Also... This is irrelevant to the topic, but I had forgotten how cool the Salamander on Deathwatch First Founding's cover is.

No shade intended to Baldemort or Nick Kyme. Baldy's love for the Sallies sustains me, and I've enjoyed a lot of Nick's work even if his vision for the chapter doesn't always align with mine. Baldemort's Salamanders story can be found here.