Iirc the lore gets a bit weird about this, but essentially their nutrient requirements are so high that unless they’re eating an entire butchered hog for every meal, they’re basically starving to death. Slowly, yes, but it takes a lot to maintain the astartes’ physiology. Basically tho if things are so bad even the astartes supply line is cut off, you’ve got bigger problems than food to worry about.
Comment on Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 Receives Official Mod Support, Fishing Mini-Game Possible
shininghero@pawb.social 2 days ago
It’s not exactly written in the codex Astartes, but one does expect the near demigod tier supersoldiers to be fully self-sufficient and able to hunt if needed.
An army runs on its stomach, and supply lines on an interplanetary scale can be quite fragile.
Warl0k3@lemmy.world 2 days ago
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 2 days ago
Space Marines can survive off very little in the lore for surprisingly long periods. All that genetic engineering… somehow.
They can also gain memories from people they eat. And spit acid.
AFLYINTOASTER@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Holup, what were those last two things?
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 1 day ago
Oh yeah. They’ve got tons of weird organs thanks to the Emperor’s engineering. Most of them are normal super soldier stuff, improved blood clotting, that sort of thing. But they can also produce extremely acidic spit, which helps them break down materials for food in a pinch, or to be used as a weapon. They can also gain your knowledge by eating you. Genetic memory is a thing in 40k and Space Marines aren’t the only ones capable of getting at it - see: Kroot.
They can also survive space longer than humans, as one might expect from space-faring super soldiers. Uhhh, what else…