It might be old, old fluff - but if it isn't contradicted in current fluff it stands.

They were originally allowed to fight, no matter the severity of their mutation, but they were brought up (even during the IA, it seems) with this belief that the Emperor was a god, or godlike figure. So they were used, primarily, as fodder forces to try and cleanse the stain that was their mutation.

I personally find it an interesting concept - just more to show how messed up the IoM has always been.

I don't think IG Beastmen have really had any mention since about Rogue Trader days. I seem to recall a couple of models, a basic trooper with a flashlight or autogun, and a packmaster with plasma pistol and chainsword. Easy enough to convert up a bunch though, use them as Cultists in a Chaos list, or maybe conscripts / Guardsmen in an IG one.

im kinda shocked by the "hatred" towards the SDs.
after reading the horus heresy, ultramarine omnibus and a smattering of a few other novels on a few chapters i find the SDs fit my idealistic view of Space Marines. i was kinda shocked by how.. wussy the ultramarines were, how truly tainted the Blood Angels were, how the Alpha Legion could turn on the emperor and how the emperor condemned the Thousand Sons even though Magnus was at one time more favored than Horus, if the emperor had supported the TS instead of trying to rid the IoM of psykers... he very well could still be alive.

true they were tricked and half the chapter died trying to kill the mutants due to their blind faith and misplaced values.
true that even after that, they were split in half again by the taint of chaos.
BUT! through this all the majority of the "core" SDs remained fiercely loyal to the emperor and didnt lose faith in the empire, until the very end, even as they were hounded by other Space Marines. the SD never gave up, Sarpedon never faltered from the emperors true will.

i accept that the SDs are a dead chapter.. yet i think they along with the Thousand Sons were probably some of the most loyal to the emperor. they may have been tainted by chaos (SDs) and they may have disobeyed the emperor (TS) but they did it for all the rights reasons. bringing the emperors vision to fruition and protecting humanity for xenos/chaos. and they never worshiped him as a god. cept maybe Chaplin Iktinos and his flock, whos worship of the emperor actually lead them to chaos.

From the Warhammer 40k wiki (maybe not the most reliable source but still}

As far as the Soul Drinkers go, they were my first favorite group of Space Marines. The plot got kind of irritating at times when most of the killing being done was from Chapter infighting buuut other then that, I loved the whole sense of of Space Marines not being mindless slaves, FOR THE EMPEROR, and all that mess. They drew the line between the "Emperor" and the species that make up the Imperium that they are supposed to protect and they chose to advocate for the species rather than the laws of the "Emperor".

In a similar vein (though slightly less tragic) was the Space Wolves and the whole "Months of Shame" thing (they have come a looonnnnggg way from being a mindless attack dog entity....or perhaps they just do not consider the Inquisition or the High Lords of Terra worth as much of their devotion as the Emperor did back in the day).

As far as "these morons" being tricked by Tzeentch...errr their devotion to the Emperor is what led them down that path more than anything. In a universe where there are countless saints for the emperor, it seems that this would be an easy way to trick...just about anyone in the Imperium. In this case it happened to be a Space Marine chapter. How many other stories have there been where demonic entities tricked citizens of the Imperium into believing they were actually of the Emperor? I think there might be a couple (and those stories often lead to a straight up devolution to Chaos worship; something that the bulk of the Soul Drinkers managed to resist).

And really, the Soul Drinkers seemed doomed from the start what with a certain warrior-philosopher being corrupted and what not. Tzeentch had his hooks in this chapter for a good long while and in the end, the figurehead, along with the bulk of his chapter, decided to say that they stood for themselves and the species that they were oath-bound to defend. If that is not admirable, I do not know what is.

Galen, you wrote:

. And that´s what I quoted and replied to. I never said anywhere that they are followers of Chaos. I actually stated that they gave the Imperium AND Chaos the finger

Let me state some things for the sake of argument:

Firstly, they were declared Excommunicate Traitoris by the Inquisition not because of being d!cked by Tzeentch, to use your wording, but by attacking the Mechanicus force in order to re-acquire the Spear. Whether that attack is justified or not has to be decided by the reader. They are SM. Mechanicum stole my toy? Ok, let´s kill them and act surprised afterwards, what the fuss is about. Erm, ok...

Secondly, their own chapter master stated that what they did was wrong. Ignoring the chapter master, Sarpedon and him (Gorgo something) duel and during the duel, Sarpedon´s lower half just explodes and spider legs instead of real legs are revealed, killing the chapter master with said new mutations. And now the most stunning reaction: He doesn´t stop the killing and doesn´t let his not tainted battle-brothers regain some honour to their chapter.No, they continue to slaughter them.

Years of psycho-indoctrination about the xenos, mutants and Chaos and Sarpedon still doesn´t seem to understand or care what he has become . He is a Librarian for crying out loud, who in the Adeptus Astartes know more about the dangers and lures of the Warp than a Librarian. They start killing every other battle-brother and novice who see the taint and who started to fight the mutated marines whose leader just killed their chapter master with arachnid extremities like every Space Marine worth his black carapace would do. Again, the reader decides how to judge these actions.

Thirdly, to close the circle, the mutations they embraced, are granted by Tzeentch and you state that has nothing to do with Chaos. To be honest, there is not much I can reply to that statement.

These are the main things that stuck in my mind re-reading the novel and after committing fratricide and still somehow believing to stand on a moral high ground or taking said high ground by arguing that they are true to the Emperor and that the Imperium is bad etc.pp. I quit reading.

If you enjoy the novel(s) and are a fan of the Soul Drinkers, please continue to do so but if you want to further argue that they are

please share your thoughts with us, because I sure as heck have a hard time understanding how anyone can call Sarpedon and his Soul Drinkers loyal to the Emperor after what I wrote. Please refer to the first novel in your arguments because I read the first three some years back.

must disagree. they NEVER gave the emperor the finger. the IoM yes, but the IoM no longer follows the emperors will and is thus heretical.

the toy was theyre most sacred relic. the entire reason they participated in that battle was to recover it. and then teh (again corrupt) mechanicum stole it just as it was in their grasp. they could have easily asked to borrow it for study, the SD would have loaned it to them to further the emperors power.

Sarpedon DID try to stop the fighting. the "loyalist" would have none of it. Sarpedon and the SDs always regretted fighting any IoM troops and always tried to avoid it. again the indoctrinated IoM soldiers never listened and attacked based on ignorance to the SDs true cause. also, they believed the mutations to be a gift from the emperor (ignorant i know) BUT the emperor is a "warp god" and has been known to bestow miracles upon the truly faithful

cant disagree with this too much BUT all the SDs regret these mutations eventually. knowing that they make them outcast. and indeed they even curse these mutations.

they did serve the emperor. if you read all the books youll see that. also i dont think anyone can argue that the IoM follows the Emperor anymore. its been far too corrupted by Chaos. if the emperor was reborn he'd probably kill half the human population.

Oh god the Soul Drinkers. The biggest embarrassment of all Astartes, traitor and loyal, because nobody wants to be related to those purple () . The Soul Drinkers are the single Chapter that can boast of being so bloody incompetent and downright stupid they make the Blood Ravens and Marines Malevolent look competent and tactically gifted. Hell, the Soul Drinkers are barely even a chapter to begin with, what as I recall them lacking Termiantor Armor, vehicles, and Thunderhawks. One wonders if their ship is lighted by the Chapter Master banging two rocks of flint against each other.

Thankfully the Soul Drinkers are least appear to be as dead as the dodo. But damn. Those novels were ()

Man, what? You need to stop drinking the Ben Counter cool-aid.

just because a retarded bareucraut excommunicated them doesnt make them traitors,or because a Chaos god decided to "play" with them ...They did some questionable acts but several other SM chapters have aswell.
In my opinion they acted as every LSM would act if chapter relics were stolen by some AM magos /being tricked by a brother you respect/being d!cked by a chaos god.
bold for the bold god?!

Exactly.

I doubt that the Space Wolves would have paused at all if the Inquisition or any other bureaucratic entity of the Imperium had been the ones to acquire the Spear of Russ. Just as so many other chapters have recovered artifacts from so many outsiders.

Again, the Soul Drinkers were set up for failure by design.

ETA: I REALLY want to go point by point on some of these arguments but I am nowhere near neckbeard enough to do so. I like the Soul Drinkers and what they represent (defending humanity without the shackles of laws passed by people who have no clue what is actually going on). They are a tragic example of how too much faith in something can lead to ruin.

Geez, read my posts, I wrote finger and Imperium, NOT Emperor °sigh°

Thanks for the rest of your replies, though. I can understand many of your arguments but I don´t share them.

Live and let live.

@ Galen: You get a like at least for the bold god part.