Imperial Guard: Difference between revisions

The ''Imperial Guard'' is the [[Redshirt Army|collective military of normal humans]] and the military backbone of the Imperium in ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]''. It has been said that if the [[Space Marines]] are the tip of the Imperium's spear, the Guard are the rest of the spearhead, the shaft and ''the man holding it''. While often the designated victim in works featuring other forces, the Guard appears to have [[Badass Army|considerable success]] in the 41st millennium, as well as having a considerable favor with the fans.

Besides the popular [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] and [[Ciaphas Cain]] series, they feature in ''Fifteen Hours'', ''Death World'' and ''Rebel Winter'' (collected in the ''Imperial Guard'' omnibus), Steven Lyon's ''Ice Guard'', Aaron Dembski-Bowden's ''Cadian Blood'', Steve Parker's ''Gunheads'', ''Desert Raiders'', and Henry Zhou's ''Flesh and Iron'', just to name a few. They also commonly appear in other ''[[Warhammer 4000040,000]]'' works, such as Henry Zhou's ''The Emperor's Mercy'', [[Graham McNeill]]'s ''Storm of Iron'', and ''[[The Last Chancers]]'' series. And in third quarter 2012, the guard will get their own game in the 40K roleplaying series: ''[[Only War]]''.

* [[Brass Balls]]: One common saying (in fanon) about the [[Imperial Guard]] (the [[Redshirt Army]]) is that on the first day, each recruit is handed "a T-shirt (flak jacket<ref>WhichAcording isto bettermore detailed RPG rules, lighterlight (6 kg), andstops more(to durablesafe thanfor anythingaverage wehumans canlevel) dare3/10 hopehits tofrom producecommon inrevolver, theassault nearrifle future("autogun") or lasgun, fullythough capabledoesn't ofeven blockingweaken (minushits brokenfrom ribsautogun with AP bullets or heavy machinegun ("heavy stubber"). theGood damagenews: fromit's called flak because it works better against explosive munitions - not so good that a directcrude hitfrag fromgrenade thecouldn't equivalent[[One-Hit ofKill]], but a modernGuard's heavychance machinegun!to survive it without cover is actually pretty high. Bad news: basic kit is just vest & helmet, so a Guard's chance to lose hand is also fairly high.</ref>), a flashlight (a lasgun, one of the weakest possible weapons <ref>inas 40kpowerful as autogun, but no full-auto (except very few variants), twice the magazine capacity (60) and is much more reliable. The downside is that meanswhile an autogun can "be simply loaded with e.g. armor-piercing ammunition and then used normally, a laser doesn't allow much versatility. The only way to increase penetration of a lasgun is using "hotshot dismemberpower anpack", unarmoredwhich is one-shot and as such practical only for sniping. However, ''[[Only War]]'' improved effect of las volleys and thanks to Lasgun Variable Setting, there's Overload mode, in which lasgun hits armored target onas hithard as a heavy stubber - but then it's ''less'' reliable than most weapons, consumes ammo 4x faster (thus effectively has 1/2 of autogun's magazine)... and still usually has no full auto</ref>), and [[Badass Normal|a wheelbarrow for their pair of giant steel balls]]".

* [[It's Raining Men]]: Drop troops, most famously Elysians. Enough said.

* [[Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better]]: Bolt weapons (reserved for officers, usually), Ogryn Ripper Guns and most vehicle mounted weaponry. Of support weapons, there's Heavy Bolter and Autocannon (neither dakka multilaser or heavy bolter pour downrange, nor armor penetration anywhere near lascannon, but may be a decent option if you must choose only one and don't know what you'll face).

** Averted by the [[Space Navy|Imperial Navy]] where weapons such as the Nova Cannon and lance batteries far outshine their kinetic counterparts. Nova Cannon is devastating, but at long range it's not that accurate, and at close range, a broadside is more practical. Torpedoes are another good option, and for the same reason: they can be [[Macross Missile Massacre|launched in a big salvo]].

* [[Tank Goodness]]: The [[Imperial Guard]] takes this trope [[Up to Eleven]], starting with the humble [[Awesome Personnel Carrier|Chimera IFV]], the [[Kill It with Fire|Hellhound Flame Tank]], and the ever-reliable Leman Russ Main Battle Tank, all the way up to the massive superheavy Baneblade. Just check out what [https://web.archive.org/web/20101119212115/http://www.forgeworld.co.uk/ Forgeworld] cranks out. They had tanks coming out of every orifice for a year or two before slowing down again.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]]: The [[Imperial Guard]] has been [[Flanderized]] as full of [[General Ripper]] type leaders who do nothing but human wave attacks against enemies, but recently, a number of novel series, particularly the [[Ciaphas Cain]] series and [[Gaunt's Ghosts]] series, have portrayed the Guard has a highly trained and sophisticated modern fighting force combining mechanized warfare, air support, and artillery strikes. Nevertheless, considering all the horrible stuff out there in the 40k universe, it's not always enough.

[[Category:Imperial Guard{{PAGENAME}}]]