Editing Gland War Veteran (section)

==Difference between Gland Warriors and Space Marines==
You may wonder what makes Glandies so different from Space Marines despite sharing what appears to be similar biological enhancements. The answer could be that Space Marines use artificial organs to help "augment" their body in new and interesting ways that are simply not possible without them. However, Space Marines are still considered Human due to very little genetic tempering and if you somehow removed those organs ''(without causing utter biological system failure to the patient)'' there would be little to differentiate between what was left and a regular human with a bad attitude. Their size and such is mostly due to increased growth hormone production over a longer period than natural and a bit of gene-therapy to smooth it all together and generally improve what already exists.

On the other hand, Glandies are not only supplemented with new organs, but draw from a completely altered DNA strand that may completely alter the genetic make up of the original owner. This is because they have no Progenoid and so the genetic alterations are heavy to prevent implant rejection. However, in every incarnation of the rules, whether it be on the tabletop or in RPGs, Gland Warriors retain an ultimately "human" statline with only a few minor alterations; typically higher Weapon Skill and Initiative. This is because their biological upgrades are somewhat more subtle, with the actual "glands" of their Lostok Augmentations secreting drugs and hormones into their bloodstreams, increasing the strength and agility of their natural-born muscles and then filtering these chemicals before they become a drawback and cause the body to crash, while also making them resistant to many external chemicals and pathogens too.

With that being said, the procedures undertaken to become a Gland Warrior are not as time intensive as with an Astartes, who by necessity have to take their candidates at a very young age ''(usually early-mid teens)'' with the process of implantation taking about a decade or more as the applicant passes through his Chapter's 10th company. By contrast, the surgeries that gland warriors get are considered "somewhat short, it takes many months for the recipient to learn how to properly utilize their new biological additions", meaning the Imperium can generate gland warrior super-soldiers much more quickly. If talented tithe recruits are scouted, their training to adjust to their implants could easily be covered during their mandatory Imperial Guard training months for maximum efficiency.

And that's not to say that Gland Warriors cannot be further augmented with any of a variety of commonplace military upgrades such as vat-grown muscle fibres, subdermal armour and minor cybernetic enhancements, because if you're going to the extent of [[Heresy|introducing foreign DNA to the human genome]], you might as well protect your investment. And yes, commonplace. Because lore says that augmetics are extremely common and finding someone without at least a few is unlikely. Which makes everything more horrifying when you realize this means the poor cannon fodder Guardsmen are supersoldiers by any other setting's standards.

Glandies are not non-human or inhuman, though. They still are genetically descended from ''H. sapiens'' and so still scientifically human. That's pretty much where it stops, though. Interesting thought is: can Glandies become Space Marines? Considering that Astartes recruit from a very young age by necessity and are incredibly selective regarding genetic compatibility, this seems unlikely; an adult Gland Warrior with foreign DNA undoubtedly fails the process at every hurdle, not least without either incorporating some ''additional'' technology that we are unaware of, or by contaminating the gene-seed, which is something considered extremely heretical.

However the better question is whether a Space Marine can become a Gland Warrior? This is potentially more likely since there are [[Emperor's Children|established]] [[Marneus Calgar|precedents]] [[21st Founding|for interfering]] with existing Astartes by adding additional implants on top of the Space Marine organs, it doesn't stretch the bounds of imagination to conceive of Astartes receiving something akin to Gland Warrior implants. The next issue becomes whether the Lostok Augmentations are compatible with Astartes physiology, considering whatever superhuman chemicals and enzymes that the actual "glands" secrete into their bodies may simply get neutralised by the Oolitic kidney; or may not have any effect on a individual already enhanced ''(there is no guarantee that these things "stack")''; or whether it would just be easier to attempt something else entirely, seeing as the '''Magnificat''' organ does essentially the same thing for [[Primaris Marines]] without worrying about unstable drawbacks or issues of xenos-contamination.