Rubric Marines

It just occurred to me. If all marines of the Thousand sons are literally dust and soul trapped inside armor then how do they gain new recruits to replenish their numbers? Do they just seal some sucker up in power armor and cast the Rubric on him, too? If this were the case then wouldn't it mean the Thousand Sons do not require gene-seed?

I would imagine that only the original Thousand Sons are rubric marines, unless Magnus has suddenly had a change of heart and allowed his sorcerers to do such things. As for the new recruits, beats me, though I would suspect that they receive some kind of protection from mutation if they aren't rubricized yet.

I would actually think all new successful recruits are Sorcerers. The Rubric Marines are the marines of the legion that DIDN'T have psychic powers if I remember correctly, and it was most of the legion so their numbers would still be huge to this day. I also don't really see the Thousand Sons (when not using the Rubric Marines) charging around like most Space Marine armies. They would most likely opt to summon in Daemon's and use cultist hordes, so they wouldn't even need to replenish their numbers in the numbers the other marines do.

Only the marines who had little/no psyker powers and/or were already horridly mutated were reduced to dust and soul-bound to their armor. The psykers and those relatively mutation free in the legion had their powers greatly augmented. And there's few times the Thousand Sons have come out of the Eye of Terror since the Rubric. One of the times they did was in an attempt to resurrect thousands of dead marines ... which lends credence to the belief that since the Rubric the Thousand Sons cannot replenish their numbers normally, or simply do not want to because since Magnus banished Ahriman the Rubric cannot be duplicated, thus saving them from the mutations (or trapping them in their armor). Also, Cell, most of the Thousand Sons were wiped out when the Space Wolves, Adeptus Custodes and Sisters of Silence attacked Prospero on Horus' orders. Magnus was ready to accept the Emperor's judgement on himself and his legion, until it became apparent they were going to be annihilated. Then he gave into the daemonic voice and took what remnants of his legion that had survived into the Warp.

I really need to read those Horus Heresy novels already. <_< I'll do that after maybe I'm done with the first A Song of Ice and Fire book.

Sure their numbers are dwindling, but I'd imagine it would be bloody hard to kill a soul in a power-armour shell. It is possible that the Chaos Sorcerors of the Thousand Sons have created an imperfect rubric, but I dont recall it being mentioned in fluff.

You don't have to kill the soul, you just have to crack the armor and let the soul out. It took Ahriman, the most powerful sorcerer in the legion, and the entire Corvidae (well, those who survived Prospero) to work the Rubric. Since Ahriman is now banished and the fate of the Corvidae never revealed, it's doubtful any of the others would be capable of reproducing anything close to the Rubric. The spell was so powerful it sent shockwaves through the Warp that even daemons shied away from. That's some potent sorcerery.

I'd much rather shoot a Marine in the head than crack his armour ^^ and with that being said, it would still be remotely possible if:*

1, A group of powerful Chaos Sorcerors were assembled for the task.
2, A shitload of studies into Ahrimans Rubric (not likely to be shared among the weak minded - Ahrimans most probable view)
3, Those able to replace the Corvidae.

*If these conditions were met, an imperfect Rubric could be created. Sure they might have to do one at a time, but it is a way.

P.s. Were any Obliderators turned into Automatons?
P.s.s. The rubric wouldn't be the only way to replenish the Legions.

The Corvidae are (or were) the most powerful sorcerers in the Thousand Sons, and thus arguably the most powerful of the Chaos sorcerers, and Ahriman was their leader. It's doubtful after what happened with Arhiman's Rubric that they would attempt another one, or even share the knowledge of such sorcerery with their lesser peers. And I doubt any Obliterators survived the Rubric. They rely entirely upon the mutations. And, no, it's not the only way to replenish the Thousand Sons- but without it, the new recruits will become horridly mutated, just like before Magnus arrived and after he took them into the Warp.

Seeing as Obliterators were apart of the Iron Warriors clan, not to mention as mercenary factions. It might just be that they didn't have any to begin with.

Although I believe they have a new ritual to make thousand suns with, or that it might be possible to just Revive previous members and continue on with that. Never gaining members, but never losing.