Warhammer 40,000/Characters/Imperial Factions: Difference between revisions

Ten thousand years later [[God-Emperor|the Emperor is venerated as a God]], [[Medieval Stasis|the Imperium's technology has barely progressed]], [[Witch Hunt|Witch Hunts]]s are commonplace since every rogue psyker is a potential gateway to the [[Legions of Hell]], each day [[Powered by a Forsaken Child|thousands of souls are sacrificed to power]] the psychic navigational aid known as the Astronomican, planets deemed tainted beyond salvation are [[Earthshattering Kaboom|subject to Exterminatus]], and the sheer size of the [[The Government|Terran bureaucracy]] means that entire planetary populations can be forgotten due to filing errors.

== '''Tropes associated with the Imperium''' ==

** Well, it would be silly to not believe in the Emperor -- hisEmperor—his existence is a simple matter of fact.

**** This feeding off of emotion has been present in the fluff for much longer, actually -- sinceactually—since at least Slaves to Darkness, released back in 1987. Granted, the metaphysics of it has changed somewhat.

** When compared to the Elder or the Interex (a human/alien alliance from the first Horus Heresy novel), the Imperium seems to have swung directly from the two extremes of this trope (fanatically denying there is anything other than what strict real-world science teaches to just as fanatically revering the [[God-Emperor]]) without hitting the interim point. This point, where the society in question doesn't worship anything but, at the same time, openly recognizes and seeks to guard against Chaos, tends to be shown as being just as effective at fighting against Chaos as the Imperial Cult.

* [[Blind Seer]]: Astropaths, sanctioned psykers that act as the Imperium's communications network, are rendered blind (and sometimes even more crippled than that, to the point of losing other senses) by the [[Mind Rape|Soul Binding]] ritual that reshapes their minds.

* [[Central Theme|Central Themes]]s:

** '''The End Justifies the Means:''' The Imperium's war is ultimately one of survival; merely living to see the next day is hailed as victory, and the price of defeat is extinction of the human race and destruction of the very fabric of reality. Against that, what is a few million lives, or even an entire world? What mercy can one afford to those who would bend knee to the Xeno or Daemon? Better that they all die. And of the loyal souls lost? Well, "The Martyr's Grave is the Keystone of the Imperium."

** The [[Horus Heresy]] was what caused the Imperium to be the barely functioning husk that it is.

* [[The Empire]]: Pretty self-explanatory.

** A degree of genetic deviation ''is'' tolerated; abhumans like Ogryns and Ratlings are useful. However, the human genome is sacred, and creating retroviruses that seek to change it is among the greatest of sins.

* [[Forever War]]: Ten thousand years and counting.

* [[Humans Are Bastardsthe Real Monsters]]: With the Imperium's religious fanaticism, aggressiveness in taking over the Galaxy, overzealous anthropocentricism (see above), and their ability to make ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' look like the [[Nostalgia Filter|cliched portrayals]] of [[Eagle Land|1950s America]], it doesn't take a genius to see why fans sometimes call the Imperials "[[Fan Nickname|Catholic Space Nazis]]."

* [[Kill It with Fire]]: This is ''official policy'' to all threats to the Imperium -- whichImperium—which is everyone.

* [[Low Culture, High Tech]]: The Imperium of Man is basically the culture of Medieval Europe with technology far beyond it.

* [[Obstructive Bureaucrat]]: The Administratum has planets of them, one of which is on the verge of a civil war on where to store the files.

* [[Orphanage of Fear]]: The Schola Progenium, run by the Ecclesiarchy, is an orphanage for children of Imperial soldiers and officials, where they receive a strong Imperial Cult upbringing. Not really a terrifying orphanage (at least by 40K standards), the Schola's graduates often go on to become various Imperial officials, such as [[The Political Officer|Commissars]], [[State Sec|Inquisitors]], and [[Career Killers|Imperial assassins]], while a number of the girls go on to join the [[Amazon Brigade|Adepta Sororitas]].

** This has actually had subtle effects on virtually all of Imperial society. For example, all canonical [[Space Marine]] chapters have Chaplains, [[Badass Preacher|Badass Preachers]]s of the Imperial Cult whose primary task is to keep their charges from falling to Chaos. But, pre-Heresy, the Chaplains only existed amongst one Legion, the Word Bearers, and this intense devotion to religion made them ''the very first Legion to fall to Chaos''.

* [[The White House]]: The Imperial Palace, a massive construct [[City of Gold|made of gold]] which covers most of Europe and is not only visible from orbit, but also ''visible from Mars''. The heart of the Administratum and, most importantly, the site of the Golden Throne.

== '''The Emperor of Mankind''' ==

[[File:t-be-Wr.jpg|link=Warhammer 40000|right]]

At the center of the Imperium of Man is a being known only as the Emperor of Mankind. The mysterious ruler of the Imperium, and a seemingly immortal being of incredible scientific knowledge, psychic powers, and charisma, the Emperor emerged from out of nowhere at the end of humanity's Age of Strife. Gathering a massive army of [[Super Soldier|Super Soldiers]]s, the precursors to the future [[Space Marine]] legions, he reunited an Earth that had fallen into pointless civil war, then led humanity back out into the galaxy once more, seeking to reclaim all of the worlds that humanity had settled before the Age of Strife. With the aid of twenty Primarchs, [[Super Prototype]] versions of the Space Marines, he conquered untold thousands of worlds for mankind, and it looked as if humanity would, indeed, claim the entire galaxy for themselves. Then, ten thousand years ago, came the [[Civil War|Horus Heresy]], in which half of his Primarchs, under the leadership of Horus, his most trusted son, went rogue and swore themselves to the Dark Gods of Chaos. The Emperor killed Horus, but was mortally wounded and placed on his Golden Throne, and has been suspended at the brink of death ever since.

=== [[Notable]] tropes include: ===

* [[Alternate Character Interpretation]]: As the most mysterious and enigmatic, and yet vitally important figure, to the setting, he invites a lot of this. Was he a [[Physical God]]? An emissary from the future intended to lead humanity to a golden age? A unique mutant who further obscured the truth through his incredible psychic powers and mastery of lost technology? A gestalt embodiment of every human psyker to have existed before the birth of the Chaos Gods?<ref> (Note that last one was canon in the earliest editions.)</ref>

** Even after the Emperor's entombment in the Golden Throne, these questions still persist. Is he still watching over the Imperium to this day, casting his mind into the warp to defend human souls from damnation as the mainline Ecclesiarchy dogma claims? Or did he "die" centuries ago and the Golden Throne is only maintaining the appearance that he has some semblance of life? Does the Golden Throne empower him in ways he could not be while he walked among men? Or is it limiting his potential by keeping him shackled to his mortal shell instead of [[Ascend to a Higher Plane of Existence|ascending to true godhood]]?

* [[And It Worked]]: It's true that during his life he killed a ton of people, and made highly objectionable decisions, but the Imperium he left behind is the only place Chaos can't completely defile,<ref> even though many of those who live under it are at risk of being corrupted</ref>, allows trillions to live unmolested, and even allows for something resembling a heaven of sorts.

** [[Four-Star Badass]]: He didn't just win his battles by overwhelming force.

* [[Canon Discontinuity]]: The original Chaos sourcebooks for Warhammer and 40K, "Slaves to Darkness" and "The Lost And The Damned", gave the Emperor an origin as the gestalt embodiment of a thousand powerful human psykers who had existed before the coming of the Chaos Gods, who realised that the dawning gods were consuming or corrupting all of their fellow Shamans and so ritually sacrificed themselves to create a single mighty Warp entity in human flesh that would be able to protect against and eventually defeat the Chaos Gods. This has been subtly [[Retcon|Retconned]]ned out with the passing of the editions, most notably the recent emphasis that Chaos came into existence during the war between the C'tan and the Slann, making all of the Gods (bar Slaanesh) older by far than the human race. Presumably the intention is to make the Emperor even more enigmatic, unknowable and alien.

** The same sourcebooks also introduced the concept of the Star Child -- inChild—in essence a nascent God created when the Emperor was struck down by Horus and comprised of his positive attributes; compassion, love, tolerance, understanding, etcetera. Closely interlinked with this were the Illuminati, a secret cabal of daemonhosts who had been freed from their possession but retained incredible psychic powers and an immunity to all subsequent daemonic possession, and the Sensei, mutant offspring fathered unknowingly by the Emperor during his years amongst humanity, who were immortal, sterile, untouchable by Chaos and invisible to their father. The Illuminati were gathering the Sensei together, planning to sacrifice them in order to fuel the birth of the Star Child into a fully-fledged God to lead humanity to safety and glory once again. In the third edition corebook, the Star Child and its attendent Illuminati and Sensei was stricken from the setting, in universe, by noting that the "Star Child Cult" was a minor Tzeentchian cult that was hunted down and destroyed utterly by the Inquisition.

*** However, the Inquisition has fair cause to think that they're just being manipulated by Tzeentch.

** Of course, to other daemons, such as a certain one from [[Dawn of War]], he's just a 'corpse on a throne, who cannot protect anyone', so possibly subverted.

* [[God Is Good]]: To an extent. While he was still lived, his goal was to keep humanity from destroying itself in the same way that the Eldar empire did. His methods were what was morally questionable. He's still at least much more benevolent than the Chaos Gods. Though arguably much, much weaker.

* [[Humans Are White]]: Averted, artwork shows him as noticeably tan. He was born in Ancient Turkey, in fact.

* [[I Have Many Names]]: While his birth name is unknown, he is variously known as the Master of Mankind, the Outlander to the Salamanders and people of Nocturne, and the Allfather to the [[Space Wolf|people of Fenris]]. Followers of Chaos refer to him as the False Emperor and the Corpse-God, while Daemons call him the Anathema.

* [[Man in the Machine]]: The Emperor was entombed in an incredibly elaborate life-support system known as the Golden Throne after he became mortally wounded slaying Horus. He has remained there ever since, existing in a vegetable-like state, unresponsive and uncommunicative, throughout the Imperium's history. His frame has atrophied to the point that he is almost skeletal, a wrecked shell of the man he once was.

** [[I Am a Humanitarian]]/[[Powered by a Forsaken Child]]: In order to keep the Emperor alive, exactly one thousand psykers (those deemed unfit to be trained to resist [[Demonic Possession]] and made otherwise useful) are fed to the Golden Throne daily, being sacrificed so that their souls can power its psychic connection with the Astronomicon, the warp-beacon that allows Imperial ships to navigate galaxy-spanning distances through the otherwise shrouded and swirling empyran. Should this connection ever go down, long-range interstellar travel would become impossible for humanity and the Imperium would fall apart.

* [[Nice Job Breaking It, Hero]]:

** Several Traitor Primarchs got their [[Start of Darkness]] because the Emperor was such a [[Jerkass]]. One of the more significant examples; the Word Bearers became the first Legion to turn to Chaos, and thus were significantly involved in corrupting the rest, because the Emperor, after having let it go by for a hundred years, obliterated an Imperial Faith World that the Word Bearers had taken great pride in and cherished for their success there. Then he summoned the Word Bearers to the smouldering ashes of the world they viewed as the jewel of their achievements and humiliatingly dressed them down for their 'failures' to himself and the Great Crusade, while [[Kneel Before Zod|using his immense power to force them all to kneel before him]]. The result? Lorgar ends up in a [[Crisis of Faith]] and then eagerly turns to gods that accept they are gods and expect worship -- theworship—the Dark Gods of Chaos.

* [[Stop Worshipping Me!]]: And he enforced that decree. Violently. This is indirectly the cause of the [[Horus Heresy]], also.

* [[What an Idiot!]]: Honestly, many of the Emperor's decisions were so obviously wrong it's hard to imagine how a sensible human being could have made them, never mind a supposedly perfect being. Take, as a perfect example, the situation with the rescue of Angron, Primarch of the World Eaters Legion. The Emperor discovers Angron in the final stages of a [[Spartacus]] scenario, poised to be wiped out by a vastly superior number of forces. Having approached Angron in secret, Angron refuses to abandon his comrades and is willing to die with them. The Emperor's options include summoning his own forces to reinforce Angron's, whisking all of Angron's army aboard his massive spaceships, or unleashing an orbital barrage to at least devastate the enemy army so that Angron's force can win. Instead, he chooses to whisk Angron away from the battlefield at the last moment and leave Angron's friends and followers to be utterly wiped out, leaving Angron bitter, resentful, hating the Emperor, and full of rage -- inrage—in other words, a perfect candidate to swear allegiance to Khorne in order to take revenge.

[http://i.imagehost.org/0787/prima.jpg The children of the Emperor]{{Dead link}}, created from his very own DNA. Each of the Primarchs was the pinnacle of humanity, a posthuman demigod who commanded the full might of a [[Super Soldier|Space]] [[Space Marines|Marine]] [[Badass Army|Legion]]. However, half their number fell to Chaos, and the repercussions of this [[Horus Heresy|betrayal]] led to Warhammer 40K becoming the Hell-universe we know and love.

=== Notable tropes associated with the Primarchs include: ===

* [[Ascended to A Higher Plane of Existence]]: The surviving Traitor Primarchs have ascended to Daemon Prince status.

* [[Authority Equals Asskicking]]: They kicked ass before they became Legion Masters.

* [[Bodyguarding a Badass]]: They had bodyguards of mere Space Marines.

* [[Calling the Old Man Out]]: And ''how''!

* [[Carry a Big Stick]]: Lorgar's crozius.

* [[Chronic Hero Syndrome]]: All of the Primarchs found themselves on worlds where their skills allowed them to improve the lives of the fellows. Konrad Curze went insane from it.

** Mortarion.

* [[Fangs Are Evil]]: Subverted with Sanguinius and Leman Russ. Possibly played straight with Konrad Curze.

** Rogal Dorn after the Emperor died. He went from being the beloved son to an avenging angel dressed in black.

* [[Humanoid Abomination]]: Not on the level of the Emperor, but the [[Horus Heresy]] shows unaugmented humans suffering [[Brown Note|Brown Notes]]s upon seeing the Primarchs. It's described as sensory overload.

* [[King in the Mountain]]:

** The Ultramarines have the poisoned body of Roboute Guilliman in stasis, and some members of the chapter insist that he is slowly healing himself and will someday reawaken.

* [[The Patriarch]]: Many Space Marines see their Primarchs this way, and the Emperor as that to their Primarchs. Given that all Space Marines are implanted with geneseeds descended from their Primarchs, and the Primarchs themselves were engineered with genes from the Emperor, this is almost ''literally'' the case. They have many rituals revering both Primarch and Emperor, resembling almost a form of filial piety and ancestor-worship, compared to the more distant and divine worship common to the rest of the Imperium.

** A little bit of Fridge irony and Fridge symbolism here. Ferrus Manus and Fulgrim became friends in what was basically a perfectionism fight - who could craft the best weapon. Manus made a sword, Fulgrim made a hammer. They both inspected each other's works, neither could find a flaw, and they traded. Cue bifflehood. At the battle of Istvaan, where Fulgrim is on the verge of accepting his new demonic nature, he and Manus go down in a duel to the death using each other's weapons. Ferrus Manus uses the sword he forged for Fulgrim and slices the hammer made for him by Fulgrim in half. This reveals that A) Manus was the perfect one the whole time, having forged a weapon that was, in the end, superior and B) Fulgrim's hammer breaking is symbolic of his own flawed perfectionism, and obsession with the aesthetic.

** Konrad Curze was constantly plagued by visions of the Emperor murdering him.

** Sanguinius had [[Prophetic Dreams]] that allowed him limited foresight.

* [[Our Angels Are Different]]: Sanguinius.

* [[Religious Bruiser]]: Lorgar, with terrible consequences.

** Perturabo towards Rogal Dorn.

** Upon being introduced to his Legion and seeing that there were only two hundred Marines who had survived the augmentations, Fulgrim gave such a rousing speech that the Emperor was so moved that he renamed them the Emperor's Children.

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: Since they're considered the Emperor's sons, they're technically royalty. Ultimately subverted however, in that he never intended them to rule the Imperium, fearing that such a trend would lead to humanity instead being ruled by a genetically enhanced ruling class (ironic, considering that the Emperor was barely human himself) instead of by its own. Forcing them to be beholden to their inferiors who did nothing to help establish the Imperium also helped contribute to the [[Horus Heresy]].

* [[Sibling Rivalry]]: Present and accounted for.

* [[Training the Peaceful Villagers]]: Mortarion and Vulkan.

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]]: Leman Russ and Lion El'Jonson.

== '''Malcador the Sigillite''' ==

Serving the Emperor at civilian level was Malcador the Sigillite, the Regent of Terra and first Master of the Adminstratum, Grand Master of Assassins, and First Lord of the Council of Terra. Affecting the simple robes a regular Terran Administrator, Malcador was the Emperor's right hand man. While the Emperor managed the military and technological innovation that made the Imperium, Malcador crafted the bureaucracy that would one day be the Adeptus Terra. A powerful psyker, Malcador was also the founder of the Inquisition and the Grey Knights. During the Siege of Terra, Malcador took the Emperor's place on the Golden Throne, but the strain of the effort wore him out, causing him to turn to dust as soon as he was disconnected.

== '''Space Marines''' ==

Ten thousand years ago, when the [[Messianic Archetype|Emperor]] led his Great Crusade to reunify humanity, he did so at the head of twenty legions of genetically-engineered [[Super Soldier|super men]]: the Adeptus Astartes, also known as the Space Marines or the Angels of Death. Each of these legions was based off of and led by one of the Primarchs, the Emperor's clone-sons who were blessed with the strength, wisdom, and charisma to become great leaders of men. But in the hour of mankind's greatest triumph, [[Horus Heresy|fully half of these legions turned upon the Emperor]], and nearly undid all that he had accomplished. After this grand betrayal, the loyalist legions were reorganized into thousand-man strong organizations called chapters, and new ones were founded to help protect the Imperium. Today there are around a thousand chapters of Space Marines, either based on specific homeworlds, ruling entire regions of space, or patrolling the stars in formidable fleets. Recognizing no authority other than the Emperor himself, Space Marines either lead their own crusades to fight the enemies of mankind, or answer petitions for assistance. They stand apart from the Imperium despite serving it, just as they protect humanity despite transcending it.

* The Grey Knights are the chamber militant of the Ordo Malleus of the Inquisition, and owing to their specialization, have no successor chapters.

=== Notable Space Marine tropes include: ===

** It's common for [[Power Fist|Power Fists]]s to be armed with integrated Storm Bolters, but the Grey Knights typically wear their wrist-mounted Storm Bolters on their regular gauntlets.

* [[Art Major Biology]] -- As—As is common for the setting, this is the only possible reason (besides the ever-present [[Rule of Cool]]) for the fact that part of the process of turning a man into a Space Marine is [[You Fail Biology Forever|fusing his rib cage into one solid lump of bone]].

* [[Asexuality]] -- By—By the time a Space Marine is done with training, they have few impulses beyond fighting and killing in the name of the Emperor, and thus have no interest in sex.

** The Blood Angels in particular are known for being very aggressive, even by the standards of Astartes, and their strategies typically involve getting to grips with the enemy as soon as possible. Their forces tend to be pulled forward by their assault squads, with their other elements providing support to that offensive thrust. While they can adapt to a variety of situations and tactics like other chapters, their geneseed flaw means that any of them can be overcome by the [[Unstoppable Rage|Black Rage]] at any time in combat. Thus focusing on aggressively attacking tends to be their most reliable strategy since they do not have to alter their plan if one of their marines goes [[Leeroy Jenkins]] with [[Blood Lust]]. Some of their successor chapters, such as the [[Meaningful Name|Flesh Tearers]], go [[Up to Eleven|even further]] with this.

* [[Awesome Personnel Carrier]] -- The—The signature ground transport for Space Marines is the humble Rhino, a simple but incredibly durable and versatile vehicle that serves as the basis for most of their [[Tank Goodness|tanks]], and due to being based on a tractor template can run on almost anything. If necessarily, they'll power it with ''wood''...or ''corpses''.

* [[Badass]] -- Officially—Officially held to be the most Badass group in the series, so let's get started:

** [[Badass Army]] -- One—One of the best examples in the series.

** [[Badass Beard]] -- The—The Space Wolves love their beards.

** [[Badass Biker]] -- Those—Those Marines on bikes, especially the White Scars.

** [[Badass Bookworm]] -- Librarians—Librarians aren't just the Chapter's psykers, they're also the Chapter's record keepers.

** [[Badass Cape]] -- Captains—Captains often wear capes with their armour.

** [[Badass Creed]] -- Each—Each Space Marine Chapter has a Catechism of Battle, a war cry that invokes their Primarch and/or the Emperor in battle.

** [[Badass in Charge]] -- Space—Space Marine Chapter Masters, Captains, and Sergeants ''need'' to be this.

** [[Badass Grandpa]] -- Most—Most Space Marine Chapter Masters, in particular Commander Dante, Marneus Calgar, and Logan Grimnar.

** [[Badass Long Hair]] -- Popular—Popular among the Blood Angels.

** [[Badass Long Robe]] -- The—The Dark Angels wear their robes ''over'' their power armour.

** [[Red Baron|Badass Nickname]] -- The—The Emperor's Angels of Death.

** [[Badass Preacher]] -- Chaplains—Chaplains, who tend to the spiritual needs of the Chapter and are just as dangerous combatants.

** [[Badass Teacher]] -- By—By design, the relatively young [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|Mentors chapter]] are this to the Imperial Guard, and conversely consider older, more established chapters to be this to themselves. The [[Gadgeteer Genius|Adeptus Mechanicus]] also tends to use them as [[Where Does He Get All Those Wonderful Toys?|field-testers]] for their latest designs and upgrades.

** [[Cultured Badass]] -- Part—Part of the hat of the Blood Angels, which contrasts their more...[[The Berzerker|iconic image]].

** [[Four-Star Badass]] -- Any—Any Chapter Master worth his power armor is this.

* [[Berserk Button]] -- Several—Several:

* [[Beware the Nice Ones]] -- The—The nicer Chapters (mainly the Salamanders, Ultramarines, Space Wolves, Blood Angels, Imperial Fists and Raven Guard) can be some of the most dangerous enemies in the setting.

* [[BFG]] -- All—All the Space Marines guns are huge. Because they're the only ones who can hold them.

* [[BFS]] -- Power—Power swords, chainswords, force swords...basically any sword a Space Marine will wield will be about half the height of a regular human.

* [[Big Brother Instinct]] -- The—The nicer chapters towards non-combatants and the Imperial Guard if they're putting up a good fight.

* [[Big Book of War]] -- The—The Codex Astartes

* [[Big Damn Heroes]] -- For—For many of the Imperium's battles, the turning point came when the Space Marines arrived from orbit.

* [[Bio Augmentation]] -- The—The source of their [[Super Soldier]] status, particularly embodied in the 19 specifically-engineered organ implants that are present in all Space Marines. [http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Creation_of_a_Space_Marine See this for the entire process].<ref>For various reasons, some chapters have lost a couple of the implants; nevertheless, all have the most essential two, the Progenoids and the Black Carapace.</ref>

* [[Bishonen]] -- Sanguinius—Sanguinius, Primarch of the Blood Angels, was ''very'' handsome. The Blood Angels are also known for a refined aesthetic.

* [[Bizarre Human Biology]] -- The—The result of all the aforementioned extensive [[Bio Augmentation]]. Many Black Library writers and ''40K'' characters use the term "posthuman" to define the status of the Astartes, because their physiological differences from normal humans are so vast.

* [[Bling of War]] -- Oh—Oh, yes. Purity seals, prayer inscriptions, shiny battle honors, wolf pelts and fangs, giant fireproof lizard skins, suits of ''solid gold power armor''... the Marines ''love'' their bling.

** [[Bling Bling Bang]] -- Their—Their weapons are not exempt.

* [[Bodyguarding a Badass]] -- Their—Their chapter masters, no slouches themselves, often have bodyguards.

* [[Boisterous Bruiser]] -- The—The [[Space Wolf|Space Wolves]] in general. Their current Great Wolf, Logan Grimnar, is a charismatic and unquestionably heroic individual in a galaxy of [[Well-Intentioned Extremist|Well Intentioned Extremists]], who actually objects to the Inquisition killing off Imperial Guardsmen who know too much. Leman Russ, the Space Wolves' Primarch, only joined the Emperor after a [[Drinking Contest]]...and a ''[[Power Fist]] to the head.'' [[Made of Iron|And the former was the reason he had a headache after, not the latter.]]

* [[Bruiser with a Soft Center]] - The "nicer" chapters outside of battle, namely Ultramarines (and their offshoots), Salamanders, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Imperial Fists, and Raven Guard:

** Ultramarines are stoic yet fair rulers who treat their subjects with respect '''and''' dignity, something of a rarity in the vast morass of the Imperium.

** Salamanders are the only chapter that ''live with their human families'' outside battle, and hence have closer ties to their humanity than other chapters do.

** The Raven Guard often refuse to abandon civilians unless there is absolutely no other choice. Captain Kayvan Shrike actually doesn't abandon them even if their ''isn't'' a choice.

* [[Bullet-Proof Fashion Plate]] -- The—The Space Marine's [[Powered Armor]] is undoubtedly tough, but they rarely show any of the grime from mud, blood, and debris one would expect them to get caked with when wading through the kind of high-intensity firefights they tend to be deployed for. This is [[Justified Trope]] by some of the fluff that says they have servitors dedicated to scrubbing down and cleaning their armor and vehicles immediately after a deployment so that [[Highly-Conspicuous Uniform|their bright heraldry is always displayed clearly]] when the deploy next. The official Citadel tank painting guide recommends that weathering on Space Marine tanks be kept very slight to reflect this.

* [[Canon Immigrant]] -- The—The Blood Ravens chapter, invented for the ''[[Dawn of War]]'' video game and embraced by Games Workshop.

* [[The Captain]] -- Each—Each company is lead by a Brother-Captain, who also usually holds some sort of logistical position within the Chapter (such as Master of the Arsenal, Fleet, Recruits, etc). The senior most of the these is the Captain of the First Company (aptly named First Captain) who serves as the second-in-command of the Chapter.

* [[Chainsaw Good|Chain]]''[[Chainsaw Good|sword]]'' [[Chainsaw Good|Good]] -- A—A most common melee weapon amongst the Space Marines that is arguably signature of them.

* [[Church Militant]] -- The—The majority of Space Marines maintain that the Emperor was a powerful man, but a man nonetheless. Their general devotion to him, though, frequently approaches the line to this trope, while other chapters, such as the Black Templars and White Consuls, are this more outright.

* [[Combat Medic]] -- Apothecaries—Apothecaries. Unlike the traditional idea of battlefield medicine, due to the nature of Space Marine physiology, almost any injury sustained in field that would need assistance in treating it is likely to be fatal for the Marine, so the Apothecary simply makes the process less painful. He then rips a massive hole in the Marine's chest and neck to remove the geneseed that is literally more precious than the Marine.

* [[Crazy Prepared]] -- Their—Their [[Bio Augmentation]]. A lot of it makes sense - the secondary heart, ribcage-turned-bulletproof-armor, ultra-fast clotting, night vision, and increased muscle mass all make sense for improving a soldier...but the ability to darken their skin to resist radiation, go into suspended animation to as a response against mortal wounds, be treated to resist a vacuum and extreme temperatures, an extreme sense of taste to be able to identify many common chemicals in what they taste, and spitting metal-corroding acid seem like The [[God-Emperor]] of Mankind kinda overdid it, despite being useful.

* [[Dark Is Not Evil]] -- Well—Well, no ''more'' evil than average.

** The Raven Guard is actually noteworthy for using subtlety in battle, specializing in covert operations, guerrilla warfare, and surgical strikes. One of the more intellectual chapters, they generally lack numbers and brute force, but prefer to disable the enemy with pinpoint strikes and leave the mop-up to others.

*** The Raven Guard is in fact one of the most nice chapters to its home planet. It is not an uncommon sight to see a Raven Guard mixing in or helping the populace.

* [[Dead-Man Switch]] -- Space—Space Wolves hero Lucas the Trickster had one of his hearts replaced with a stasis bomb. If he's killed it goes off, freezing him and his killer into an imperishable monument to his ego.

** Space Marines typically arrive via the ubiquitous [[Drop Ship|Thunderhawk]] [[Gunship Rescue|gunship]] and/or [[It's Raining Men|drop pods]].

* [[Destructive Savior]] -- The—The Space Marines can win nearly any battle they fight, but will often leave whole cities devastated in the process.

* [[Drop the Hammer]] -- Thunder—Thunder Hammers are ginormous mallets wrapped in an electrical field that stuns whatever they don't pulverize. The Salamanders chapter in particular favors them as part of the Cult of Prometheus, rituals tied closely with their Primarch's history as a legendary blacksmith.

* [[Dynamic Entry]]: Assault Marines, [[Jet Pack|jump pack]]-equipped close combat specialists, often find that hundreds of pounds of armored Space Marine is an [[Goomba Stomp|effective weapon in itself]].

** In the [[Dawn of War|video]] [[Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine|games]] based on the franchise, Assault Marines are even shown using brief flares of their jump packs across an open surface to send themselves literally crashing into the enemy they are charging.

* [[Emergency Transformation]] -- Mortally—Mortally-wounded Space Marines with enough fighting spirit are interred within life-support sarcophagi that can "pilot" the walking tanks/tombs called Dreadnoughts.

* [[Famed in Story]] -- Dreadnoughts—Dreadnoughts are universally renowned within their chapter. Most players can name Bjorn The Fell-Handed, Tankred, {{spoiler|[[Dawn of War|Davion Thule]]}}, [[Hey, It's That Guy!|and that Ultramarine one who's older than Bjorn]].

* [[Feudal Future]] -- In—In addition to Chapter Masters often serving as planetary governors of their homeworlds, Chapters are supported by a civilian population of Chapter Serfs, who perform the day to day duties of maintaing the fortress-monastery, farm work for the Chapter, etc. Descended from those who failed to become Space Marines, these people are generally better off than other planetary populations, with the added benefit of being on one of the most well defended planets in the Imperium. Well, as better off as one can live on the Feral/[[Death World|Death Worlds]]s the Space Marines frequently call home.

* [[Genius Bruiser]] -- The—The average Space Marine is trained under a [[Big Book of War]] that tries to predict every tactical situation ever, and how to deal with it. A Space Marine may find himself stagnant in their training and end up staying as an Assault or Devastator Marine instead of becoming a Tactical Marine, as a Tactical Marine is meant to be able to adapt and be fluid in any battle situation while the formers stick with melee and ranged combat, respectively. Commanders from Sergeants on up are [[The Same but More]]. Then we have Librarians -- asLibrarians—as befits their name, they are record-keepers and tactical advisers to the Chapter, as well as terrifying [[Psychic Powers|psychic]] warriors just as adept with their conventional weapons as any other Marine.

* [[Gentle Giant]] -- Salamanders—Salamanders, Blood Angels, Space Wolves, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists and Raven Guard [[Big Brother Instinct|when it comes to innocents]].

* [[Glory Seeker]] -- Some—Some, though their indoctrination causes many to feel being a [[Space Marine]] is already achieving glory. That being said, Space Marine chapters are almost universally proud and only accept the missions that they choose to take on. Inevitably, they choose only the thickest of the fighting, and the most dangerous and critical of missions. When participating in joint operations with other Imperial forces, this often comes across as glory seeking, hogging the most important tasks and garnering most of the credit, regardless of how the Space Marines themselves see it.

* [[Good Is Not Nice]] -- A—A trait of all "good guys" in this universe...

* [[Gunship Rescue]] -- This—This is virtually the entire purpose of the Thunderhawk Gunship. While it is also used as a [[Drop Ship]] for insertion and recovery, its purpose beyond that is to remain on station and serve as the Marines' air support. Any Marine force on the ground is likely to have a Thunderhawk come to their aid when they run into something too big for even them to handle alone, and given that they are often committed to the most dangerous actions and need quick recovery once achieving their objective, it will often be used to rescue them from still-hot battle zones.

* [[Hand Cannon]] -- The—The bolt pistol, the standard-issue Space Marine sidearm, is fully automatic and shoots rocket-propelled armor-piercing explosive rounds capable of coring a man's torso and blasting apart light vehicles. Their standard-issue longarm, the bolter, is the same thing with even better range.

* [[Heroic Willpower]] -- All—All Marines have this in spades, but Chief Librarian Mephiston of the Blood Angels takes the cake. He succumbed to the Black Rage while trapped in rubble, but somehow remained in control and sane, ultimately fighting the bloodlust off. The Blood Angels, an army of blood-crazed eight-foot killing machines armed with [[Chainsaw Good|chainsaw swords]], call him "The Lord of Death," making him clearly a man not to trifle with.

* [[Hope Bringer]] -- For—For the Imperial Guard and common civilians...assuming they haven't been called in for an Exterminatus.

* [[I Gave My Word]] -- Keeping—Keeping oaths is an important matter to many chapters.

* [[I'm a Humanitarian]] -- Thanks—Thanks to their [[Bio Augmentation]], Space Marines can absorb memories from the flesh of those they eat.

* [[In Harm's Way]] -- Once—Once the battle's done, the Marines are off to the next warzone.

* [[Interservice Rivalry]] -- Present—Present among many chapters.

** Nobody likes the Marines Malevolent.

* [[It's Raining Men]] -- Drop—Drop Pods are basically capsules containing a squad of Space Marines that are fired at a planet from orbit, and hit without noticeably slowing down. Drop Pod assaults are a signature tactic of the Space Marines, as few foes can recover from a surprise attack that instantly drops dozens of super soldiers in the middle of your base camp.

* [[Jack of All Stats]] -- Roboute—Roboute Guilliman, the Primarch of the Ultramarines, penned the ''[[Big Book of War|Codex Astartes]]'', the book detailing Space Marine organization and tactics. His chapter tries to follow the book religiously, resulting in an extremely well-rounded fighting force that defines the Space Marines.

* [[The Juggernaut]] -- The—The role of Space Marine Terminators, wearing ancient suits of armor that make them [[Nigh Invulnerable]]. They can approach situations that even [[Implacable Man|a normal Space Marine]]'s [[Power Armor]] would struggle to weather.

* [[Kill It with Fire]] -- As—As befits their namesake, the Salamanders like flamers and meltaguns. Pretty much all the Space Marines will consider it, though.

* [[Knight Templar]] -- Most—Most Space Marines to some extent, but especially the Black Templars chapter. They run around the galaxy in crusades known for (occasionally) wiping out entire planetary populations, and their extreme zeal even has the Inquisition worried, especially since they ignore the recommended thousand-man maximum for Chapter size and thus might number somewhere around ''50,000'' or more, but no one outside of perhaps the Black Templars' own chapter masters can say for certain what the Black Templars' true numbers are, other than that if they were ever assembled in one place, they would be a force vast enough to easily constitute a significant threat to the entirety of the Imperium if they wanted to (which they very much [[The Atoner|do not]]).

* [[Meaningful Rename]] -- Several—Several Legions were renamed when they found their primarch.

* [[The Medic]] -- The—The Apothecaries. And as the [[Grimdark|Grim Darkness]] of the far future lacks anything even remotely similar to [[The Laws and Customs of War|the Geneva Conventions]]...

** [[Combat Medic]] -- They—They are no less capable [[Super Soldier|SuperSoldiers]] then their more official [[Super Soldier]] brethren.

* [[Mercy Kill]] --

* [[Mini-Mecha]] -- When—When a Space Marine veteran or hero is mortally wounded but recovered, he is [[Man in the Machine|placed in a life-supporting sarcophagus]] and installed in a Dreadnought. As such, Dreadnoughts are held in awe by the rest of their Chapters, and seen as links to their past. Not to mention the fact that they're incredible warriors who are basically walking tanks whose possible armament includes [[Gatling Good|Assault cannons]], [[Power Fist|Power Fists]]s, built in [[More Dakka|Storm Bolters]] and [[Kill It with Fire|Flamers]], and have absolutely no fear of death (they already died once, so how much scarier can it be?). The most famous of all Dreadnoughts is [[Space Wolves|Bjorn the Fell-Handed]].

* [[Mysterious Past]] -- Many—Many chapters have their share of secrets, but the Blood Ravens' past is particularly shrouded in mystery. Their records don't extend back very far, so they have no idea where their homeworld is or what "parent" legion they were based off of. Furthermore, one of their commanders destroyed Blood Ravens relics [[Dawn of War|recovered on the planet Kronus]] before anyone else could examine them, and in the same campaign Chaos forces mockingly called him "[[Not So Different|brother]]." The Blood Ravens chapter motto is "Knowledge is Power, Guard it Well."

* [[Number Two]] -- After—After the Chapter Master, the ranking member of the Chapter is the First Captain and usually his designated successor.

* [[One-Gender Race]] -- Apparently—Apparently all the implants just don't work right on women. Of course, the Sisters of Battle come very close to female Space Marines. [[Internet Backdraft|Not that it stops many fans, and the outrage from suggesting such a thing.]]

* [[One-Man Army]] -- In—In the propaganda, anyway. [[Cutscene Power to the Max|They're powered appropriately in order to be competitive on the tabletop]].

* [[Our Vampires Are Different]] -- A—A motif played with, but mostly downplayed and [[Ret Conned]] out in recent editions.

*** Older fluff used to give them all pale skin, red eyes, and black hair. It's been [[Retcon|retconnedretcon]]ned since.

* [[Our Werewolves Are Different]] -- Oddities—Oddities in the [[Space Wolf|Space Wolves]]' gene-seed manifest as lengthened canines, as well as heightened senses allowing them to detect enemy locations and morale purely by sense of smell. They also carry a defect which manifests as the Curse of the Wulfen, which transforms the Marine into a slavering, bestial monster. Experiencing this is a standard part of the induction of every Space Wolf aspirant. There are three possibilities at that initial point: either their body stabilises and they become a full Marine, it doesn't and they... don't, or it ''appears'' to stabilise, only to manifest the Curse in the heat of battle.

* [[Outgrown Such Silly Superstitions]] -- While—While their reverence for the Emperor borders on the religious, a number of Space Marines maintain that the Emperor was not a God (a view the Emperor himself subscribed to) but a [[A Father to His Men|father-figure]] to be emulated. The Ecclesiarchy isn't too thrilled with this policy, but since their usual tactic of "kill the heretic!" won't work, what are they going to do about it?

** It is close enough to Imperial Doctrine. The Emperor is venerated the same, with Cathedrals being built, monasteries being erected, and prayers being offered for his intercession on the field of Combat. While the Emperor is not viewed as ''god'', he is ''venerated'' to a similar degree in a form of ancestor-worship.

* [[The Paladin]]:

* [[Power Fist]] -- The—The trope namer is a piece of wargear usable by most characters, but standard issue for Space Marine Terminators.

* [[Powered Armor]] -- A—A standard Space Marine has better protection than other races' elite troops. Then there's the Tactical Dreadnought or "Terminator" armor, which can carry [[Gatling Good|miniguns]] one-handed and survive being stepped on by ''[[Humongous Mecha|Titans]]''.

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] -- Space—Space Marines are an analogue of medieval knightly orders, and possess a chivalry of sorts. They don't let this get in the way of genocide or xenocide, however.

* [[Red Oni, Blue Oni]] -- Leman—Leman Russ and Lion El'Jonson. Their chapters (the Space Wolves and the Dark Angels) have inherited the rivalry.

* [[Scary Black Man]] -- Averted—Averted by the Salamanders chapter, who are among the nicer forces in the Imperium. Well, ''mostly'' averted... a weird interaction with their gene-seed results in [[Red Eyes, Take Warning|red eyes]] for a demonic appearance only heightened by their love of flamer and melta weapons. They also have a very nasty army list, so all such weapons count as twin-linked, and any Thunder Hammers are master-crafted.

* [[Sergeant Rock]] -- Any—Any Brother-Sergeant is this.

* [[Shoulders of Doom]] -- Proudly—Proudly displaying the Chapter badge.

* [[Super Soldier]] -- Eight—Eight feet tall, a lifespan measured in centuries, spending every waking moment either in battle or training for it... and those are your basic Space Marines. Now consider their [[Elite Mooks|veterans]]...or [[Authority Equals Asskicking|Chapter]] [[Asskicking Equals Authority|Masters]]...or the [[Physical God|Primarchs]].

** The Dark Angels, a trait inherited from their Primarch, Lion El'Johnson.

*** Because of this, he initially didn't get along with [[Boisterous Bruiser|Leman Russ]], seeing him as a [[Dumb Muscle|boisterous idiot]] while Russ thought the Lion was an [[Jerkass|insufferable pompous prick]]. They eventually became [[Vitriolic Best Buds]], but their respective chapters are still bitter rivals.

*** Very nearly canonical, especially since the Imperial Fists and Salamanders Legions were equally, if not ''more'', stoical than the Dark Angels, and there's no indication that the Space Wolves have ever had any problem with them.

* [[Tank Goodness]] -- While—While the humble Predator tank is a versatile fighting vehicle, the baddest thing on tracks beyond the Imperial Guard's super-heavy vehicles is the Land Raider, the Space Marines' transport from hell. Essentially a rolling bunker, it packs a punch with two twin-linked lascannons and a twin-linked heavy bolter, has the highest armor rating in the game on all facings, and can carry a squad of Space Marines (or worse yet, Terminators) right to the enemy's front line.

* [[Time Abyss]] -- Space—Space Marines can live for centuries or millennia. Dante has been Chapter Master of the Blood Angels for 1,100 years, and Bjorn the Fell Handed of the Space Wolves fought during the Great Crusade ten thousand years ago.

* [[Token Minority]] -- The—The Salamanders have the majority of black Space Marines, while the White Scars have the Asians. The Salamanders' skin color is justified in-universe, being a combined result of their particular geneseed and Nocturne's high radiation levels (which also accounts for their red eyes).

* [[Training Fromfrom Hell]] -- Starts—Starts when aspirants are [[Child Soldiers|in their early teens]], and [[The Spartan Way|tries to whittle down a hundred to a single neophyte]]. They're actually deployed as Scout squads before they've finished the transformation into full-fledged Space Marines.

* [[Treachery Cover-Up]] -- The—The reason the Dark Angels chapter call themselves [[The Atoner|the Unforgiven]]. During the [[Horus Heresy]], a faction of their soldiers rebelled out of confusion or [[Green-Eyed Monster|jealousy]]. These Fallen Angels are hunted mercilessly by the Dark Angels, so that they may grant them [[Death Equals Redemption|absolution]] after [[Cold-Blooded Torture|vicious torture]], and finally restore the chapter's honor. {{spoiler|There is also the theory that the ''Dark Angels'' are the traitors, who sat out the Horus Heresy to see who would win.}}

* [[True Companions]]: From day one of training, Space Marines are taught the value of working with their fellow Marines and refer to each other as brothers. Since they share organs derived from a single being, and grew up together during training, this is as close to family as they actually have. It's actually one of the few psychological weaknesses that a Space Marine can have--thehave—the need for the companionship of their fellow Astartes.

* [[Vitriolic Best Buds]] -- Surprisingly—Surprisingly, Lion El'Johnson and Leman Russ. They hated each other for a while, but eventually patched things up, becoming firm friends while paradoxically remaining bitter rivals. Their descendants however, lack the 'best friends' part of the relationship.

* [[Warrior Monk]] -- Not—Not only do Space Marines possess nigh-unshakable faith in their role as favored champions of the God-Emperor, they also live in Fortress-Monasteries and refer to each other as "Brother."

* [[Weirdness Coupon]] -- Space—Space Marines in general have this. Many of them are jerks, mutants or have exotic beliefs, but the Inquisition glosses over their minor heresies because of their necessity. And then you get into individual examples:

** The Dark Angels spend most of their time trying to hunt down the Fallen, whose existence is more or less an open secret within the Inquisition. Being the first Space Marine Legion means that an [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner|Inquisitor]] needs some damn good evidence to declare them Excommunicate Traitoris.

* [[Wolverine Claws]] -- Lightning—Lightning Claws are Power Weapons with three or four claws attached to a [[Power Fist]]. Very popular among Terminators in general and the Raven Guard in particular.

* [[The Worf Effect]] -- Due—Due to the Adeptus Astartes' toughness, new threats are often expressed in terms of how many Space Marines they killed. The Tyranids for example are introduced by wiping out the Ultramarines' 1st company and nearly overrunning their homeworld, while the Necrons are shown blowing holes in ''both'' sides of a Land Raider with a single energy weapon.

* [[Would Not Shoot a Civilian]] -- Depending—Depending on the chapter.

== '''Imperial Guard''' ==

The [[Redshirt Army]]. The Space Marines hog all the glory, but since there is less than one Space Marine for every world in the Imperium, it is the untold billions of the [[Imperial Guard]] that do 99% of the fighting. Individually, a Guardsman is your [[Puny Earthlings|average Joe]], going up against [[Super Soldiers]] and [[Eldritch Abomination|Eldritch Abominations]]s. He's got a set of basic [[Bulletproof Vest|flak armor]] that can withstand outdated small arms fire; a lasgun that, while capable of blowing off limbs, is among the ''weakest'' weapons in the setting; training full of propaganda and blatant lies; commanders [[We Have Reserves|willing to sacrifice millions of men and machines]] in decade-long campaigns; and [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner|commissars]] [[You Have Failed Me...|ready to summarily execute]] [[Dirty Coward|cowards]] and [[Dangerous Deserter|deserters]]. His odds are not good, but the guard has trillions like him, and millions of tanks and artillery pieces.

Thematically, the Guard is a melting pot of inspiration from every army in history, and then some. The Catachans are ''both sides'' of the Vietnam War. Valhallans are grim but determined ice worlders reminiscent of Soviet infantry hordes. Tallarns are pious and wily desert raiders. Cadians are taught to field-strip a lasgun before they learn how to walk. The Praetorians wear [[The British Empire|pith helmets and red coats]]. The Mordians are Prussian-esque soldiers always in dress uniforms. The Death Korps of Krieg are everything scary and callous about the First World War ramped up to eleven. The Steel Legions of Armageddon look like [[WW 2]] German paratroopers and fight like panzer grenadiers. The [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Tanith First-And-Only]] are scouts and woodsmen beyond compare. The Elysians are heavily-armed and armoured pastiches of every [[It's Raining Men|elite airborne regiment ever]] with [[Nerves of Steel]] and no tank or artillery support. Traditionally the Imperial Guard were depicted as being used in human wave attacks or trench warfare right out of [[World War OneI]], but a [[Gaunt's Ghosts|recent series of novels]] has seen the Guard re-tooled into a sophisticated and highly-trained war machine combining infantry, armor, and air support into a fighting force the equal of any modern army. Considering what they're up against, it isn't always enough.

There's also an Imperial Navy that fights battles in space and transports Guard troops, which follows similar protocol to the Guard and has a similar chain of command but separate leadership.

=== Notable Imperial Guard tropes include: ===

* [[Ancestral Weapon]]: [[Planet of Hats|The hat]] of the Vostroyan Firstborn is that the firstborn son of every family joins the Imperial Guard, each one uses a locally produced weapon, and each weapon is property of the family to whom it is issued. Where possible, weapons are brought back to the homeworld and returned to the families to which they belong, who then pass the weapon down to the next firstborn. Very old weapons are considered priceless heirlooms, and are [[Bling of War|quite valuable]].

* [[Badass]] -- Quite—Quite possibly the most Badass group in the setting, given that they're normal humans going up against aliens, supersoldiers, and demons from hell.

** [[Badass Boast]] -- Every—Every regimental motto.

** [[Badass Grandpa]] -- Legendary—Legendary Commissar Yarrick, who led the Imperium to victory during the Second War for Armageddon (which started on the day he ''would have'' retied had the War not erupted), [[Retired Badass|retired]], then came back ''again'' to save the day during the Third War for Armageddon. He's so incredibly badass, after he got his arm lopped off by an Ork, he [[Determinator|killed the thing and took its power klaw for a replacement and trophy]]. He has a bionic eye that [[Eye Beams|shoots lasers]]. Now he's tagged along with a Black Templar crusade to hunt down [[Arch Nemesis|Warlord Ghazghkull]] once and for all.

*** Finally, consider this: Under all that, Yarrick is still just a normal, unmodified (but extremely badass) human closing in on his 70s.

*** "Normal" is stretching it a bit. Source material rather heavily implies that the fact that Orks regard him as some sort of unkillable badass has [[Clap Your Hands If You Believe|turned him into an unkillable badass]]. Games Workshop paint jobs of his model always give his skin a [[Badass Abnormal|greenish tinge]]. Orks actually think so highly of him that if his model is killed against an Ork army, it stands a good chance of ''[[Back Fromfrom the Dead|getting back up again]]''.

** [[Badass Longcoat]] -- Commissars—Commissars. Also have a [[Nice Hat]], specifically the much sought-after [[Commissar Cap]].

** [[The Red Baron|Badass Nickname]] -- The—The Hammer of the Emperor.

* [[Bad Boss]] -- A—A great deal of officers, commanders and generals are this. Commissars are generally always this, their job description being to execute [[You Have Failed Me...|when neccessary]].

* [[Base on Wheels]] -- The—The Leviathan mobile command center, as well as the Capitol Imperialis, which can house tank companies.

* [[Beam Spam]] -- The—The only way to effectively use lasguns is [[Death of a Thousand Cuts|in bulk]].

** [http://1d4chan.org/wiki/File:Guardsmen.jpg This little educational strip] explains the proper way to use lasguns with Imperial Guard.

* [[Big Book of War]] -- The—The ''[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Tactica_Imperium_passages Tactica Imperium]'' is a collection of countless commanders' combined battlefield experiences, containing advice on topics from barricade construction to force organization. Imperial generals may find it useful, though they have to keep in mind that [[The Bible|it occasionally contradicts itself, should not be adhered to too strictly, and some passages are best read as metaphors]].

* [[Bifurcated Weapon]] -- The—The standard lasgun is usually equipped with a bayonet. That's right, forty thousand years into the future and bayonet charges are still a valid infantry tactic.

* [[BFG]] -- Heavy—Heavy Weapons Platoons, the Basilisk mobile artillery's Earthshaker cannon, and then we move into super-heavy battle tank territory...

* [[Butt Monkey]] -- A—A serious example, which even extended to the players, before the new codex.

* [[Cannon Fodder]] -- A—A popular image for the Imperial Guardsmen troops, though this varies between regiments and commanders. However, there are conscript squads in the game, of which their use is pretty much undeniably this.

* [[Character Exaggeration]] -- The—The people in charge for the Imperial Guard are frequently portrayed in fan works are being either so sociopathic or imcompetent that it would be wonder the Imperium didn't fall long ago. There certainly are cases, the Imperium being very vast, and it's likely done to emphasize how 40K is [[Grimdark]] (or is [[Played for Laughs]] as [[Black Humor]] in the [[Refuge in Audacity]] of it.). Which it is.

* [[Church Militant]] -- Considered—Considered to be an aspiration for the Imperial Guard, though the success and extremity of this heavily varies between regiments. The regiments raised from Ecclesiarchial fiefdoms, or "shrine worlds", are often this in a nearly literal sense.<ref>Though they are not members of the clergy like Sisters of Battle, they are considered lay-members of the Imperial church.</ref>

* [[Cool Tank]] -- Baneblades—Baneblades.

* [[Combat Medic]] -- Anyone—Anyone who has medical abilities in the Imperial Guard is otherwise trained and armed similar to standard infantry.

* [[Commissar Cap]] -- The—The [[Trope Namer]], obviously. The hats worn by the commissars are so flashy that you will immidiately see that he is a man of fear and respect.

* [[Crippling Overspecialization]] -- Deliberately—Deliberately [[Invoked Trope]] at the company level by the [[Vast Bureaucracy|Departmento Munitorium]] when levying Imperial Guard. Any given Imperial Guard company will be trained and equipped for exactly one role, be it foot infantry, mounted infantry, armor, or artillery. The intention being that no company can survive long going rogue, and must rely on other companies for combined arms warfare.

* [[Death From Above]] -- The—The Imperial Guard heavily use artillery as part of their combined arms, and probably have more of it with more possible options for it than virtually any other military in the galaxy.<ref>In fact, they have no less than '''five''' different kinds of tank dedicated to that purpose.</ref> Sure, the Imperium has plenty of ships which can [[Kill Sat|devistate a world with lance fire]], but that is only for very critical targets or when past the [[Godzilla Threshold]]. The Guard on the other hand, sling shells skyward as part of normal operations, and does it with much greater frequency and specific effect.

* [[Death Seeker]] -- Some—Some of the more fanatical regiments fall into this. For example, the [[Meaningful Name|Death Corps of Krieg]] have this as part of their [[Planet of Hats|hat]].

** Imperial Stormtroopers ([[Star Wars|not ''those'' guys]]) are basically special ops teams outfitted with improved versions of a Guardsman's wargear (earning them monikers such as "Toy Soldiers" and "Glory Boys" from the resentful rank-and-file).

** Cadia's equivalents, the Kasrkin, are trained and hardened to such a degree that they could be considered the Elite Mooks [[Beyond the Impossible|OF the Elite Mooks]]. Consider that instead of being resented by other guardsmen, they are looked ''up'' at.

* [[Fake Ultimate Hero]] -- Commissar—Commissar [[Ciaphas Cain]] ([[Bold Inflation|HERO OF THE IMPERIUM]]!). Contrast with Commissar [[Gaunt's Ghosts|Ibram Gaunt]], [[Little Hero, Big War|an actual hero doomed to obscurity]].

* [[Fantasy Counterpart Culture]] -- Not—Not as obvious as the Space Marines, but Cadia is based on modern soldiers from various countries, whereas we have the Catachans who are based on both sides in the Vietnam conflict, while the Valhallans and Vostroyans are based on the Red Army and the Imperial Russian Army, respectively. There's also the Attilan Rough Riders, based on Mongols, Steel Legion and Death Korps of Krieg, both based on the World War II era German army to various degrees, the elite Elysian Drop Troopers, who take notes from just about every paratrooper and air-cav force in military history, and a few others that would take up too much space to describe. Many of these armies are at least somewhat nice by comparison to their real life counterparts, however.

** Valkyrie transports are equipped with line spools for precisely this reason.

** [[Elite Mooks|Stormtroopers]] in particular tend to train heavily in this technique, and are the most likely to attempt it on the battlefield, forgoing a more cautious insertion when speed of deployment is a priority.

* [[A Father to His Men]] -- No—No shortage in these as well.

* [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] -- The—The Imperial Guard is the single biggest military organization in the galaxy, and the single biggest user of laser-based [[Energy Weapon|Energy Weapons]]s, coming in multiple varieties:

** Lasguns -- TheLasguns—The most common weapon, the "old-standby" of the Imperium. A rifle-like laser weapon with greater stopping power than the majority of modern conventional projectile firearms, but still one of the most comparatively weakest weapons in the setting. There are many regional and functional variations on the design, some with different settings for rate of fire and damage, but all share certain common core parts and take the same charge packs for ammunition (which can be recharged in a few hours from field generators.) [[Easy Logistics|This is a big part of the reason they are so popular for a massive organization like the Guard]]. Tend to be easy to keep functionally clean and keep working in rough conditions. Desperate Guardsmen are known to set them to [[Overclocking Attack|set them to overload and hurl them at the enemy]] as [[Improvised Weapon|an improvised grenade]].

** Long-las -- Alas—A marksmen's version of the common lasgun. These are tuned to produce a killing shot at greater distance, though they usually have a reduced rate of fire and lower shot capacity per charge pack as a sacrifice to achieve this. Experienced Guard snipers often prefer to equip their long-las with overcharge packs to increase their power per-shot, but this results in even fewer shots per pack, and they need to keep several spare barrels on hand as this wears the barrel out very quickly.

** Hellguns -- AnHellguns—An upscaled version of the lasgun, this achieves a greater punch through the expedient of being bigger and [[Tim Taylor Technology|pumping more power into it]]. [[Required Secondary Powers|This necessitates a much more elaborate cooling system though]], making a hellgun much more bulky and mechanically complicated than a lasgun. Because the power draw is so much higher, many hellguns attach to [[Ammunition Backpack|Ammunition Backpacks]]s to allow a wielder to [[Beam Spam|pour on the fire]], though there are variations which use standard charge packs as well. Because of their size, they are often only used by heavy infantry or dedicated elite forces.

** Hot-shot Lasguns -- LasgunsLasguns—Lasguns with overcharge packs and special tuning to increase their lethality. The combination of the stopping power of the heavier hellguns with the portability of the more common lasguns has made these weapons highly popular with special forces who need to keep their equipment light, such as [[It's Raining Men|para-drop storm troopers]]. However, [[Necessary Drawback|they have the drawback]] of wearing out the weapon very quickly; [[Explosive Overclocking|it runs so hot that its components burn out and fuse together with frequent use]], making it unsuited to long deployments or situations where supplies are limited.

** Multilasers -- EssentiallyMultilasers—Essentially a [[Gatling Good|gatling version]] of the hellgun, it is a multibarrel weapon capable of maintaining a [[Beam Spam|high rate of fire]]. These are usually too big to be used by infantry, but it is often mounted on vehicles such as the [[Awesome Personnel Carrier|Chimera infantry fighting vehicle]] to supress enemy infantry and light vehicles.

* [[Gas Mask Longcoat]] -- The—The Death Corps of Krieg wear these as part of their [[Planet of Hats|hat]], justified due to their planet of origin being [[Nuclear Option|a radiological wasteland]].

** Some models fall into this, with Stormtroopers being the most common source of them.

** The Death Corps of Krieg are nothing '''but''' this.

* [[General Failure]] -- There—There's no shortage of Guard generals who got their position entirely through family connections and interdepartmental politicking, and who couldn't command their way out of a wet paper bag. Many follow the [[We Have Reserves]] school of Imperial tactics, reasoning that even the most [[Egregious]] tactical errors can be overcome by throwing enough men at the problem. The most incompetent of them even manage to screw ''that'' up.

* [[Genre Savvy]] -- Despite—Despite their "training", most guardsmen know precisely how bad their odds are in the universe. They compensate by employing every dirty trick in the book from camo netting to mines to snipers to [[Dirty Coward|good old fashioned cowardice]]. In the event a commanding officer insists they hold the line and fight bravely against impossible odds guardsman have been known to [[The Coroner Doth Protest Too Much|insist]] [[Unfriendly Fire|back]].

* [[Highly-Conspicuous Uniform]]: Generally [[Averted Trope]] by most regiments, who tend to wear practical uniforms with either dull unassuming colors or camouflage. However, it is played straight with a noticeable minority of them. For example, the Mordian Iron Guard wear these as part of their [[Planet of Hats|hat]], with brightly colored uniforms to match their goose-stepping, line volley firing, parade field image. <ref>Supposedly they are so regimented and disciplined that they will continue a column march with eyes forward even if they are being shot at. This seemingly era-mismatched style of warfare might be justified as their home planet is subject to frequent Chaos incursions, and the bright colors and iron discipline could very well be a method to keep the troops [[Go Mad Fromfrom the Revelation|fighting and sane]] in the face of the [[Eldritch Abomination|mind-blasting horrors]] they are up against. Their planet is also constantly night time so the bright uniform may also be useful for identifying [[Friend or Foe|Friend From Foe]] in the darkness.</ref>

* [[Hobbits]] -- The—The rarely-seen but still canon Ratling Snipers, a breed of [[Mutants|abhuman]] known for their marksmanship, knack at finding cover, gluttony and petty theft, and being great cooks.

* [[Hollywood Tactics]] -- Still—Still common amongst the regiments, though [[Dan Abnett]] shows that not all commanders are that stupid.

* [[Home Guard]] -- Imperial—Imperial Guard regiments are formed from the best members of the Planetary Defence Forces that are available when it's time for a planet to pay its tithes. Since planets always have to pay their tithes, the PDF are considered to be ill-disciplined and unsuitable for prolonged engagement. The Imperial Guard consider the PDF to be inferior to the Guard. The [[Irony]] is lost on no one. There are noticeable aversions, however, such as the Cadian Home Guard (as Cadians are some of the best soldiers in the galaxy) and Ultramar Auxilia (given that they're whipped into shape by the Ultramarines).

* [[Interservice Rivalry]] -- A—A major source of friction, both within the guard and outside of it. You have the traditional rivalry between the Imperial Navy and the ground-pounders, between [[Glory Seeker]] COs and [[Spotlight-Stealing Squad|Spotlight Stealing Space Marine companies]], between [[Fantastic Racism|regiments from different planets]], and occasionally between regiments from the same planet if their culture is particularly competitive.

* [[It's Raining Men]] -- The—The Imperial Guard might not have the flash of orbital combat drops like the Imperium's most elite forces, but they do still make use of more conventional air drop operations. Some regiments train more extensively in this kind of operation than others, with the Elyssian regiments in particular having this as their [[Planet of Hats|hat]]. A typical drop operation will involve a few Valkyrie transports coming in fast and low to {{[[Fast Rop]]|ing}}e [[Elite Mooks|stormtroopers]] in to secure an initial landing zone, with larger numbers of higher flying Valkyries following shortly in their wake to deploy reinforcements via grav-chutes.

* [["Join the Army," They Said]] -- Though—Though not all of them had a choice in the matter.

* [[More Dakka]] -- Taking—Taking a cue from the Orks, the newest Guard codex introduced the Leman Russ Punisher, armed with a [[Gatling Good]] cannon that fires twenty shots a round, theoretically capable of turning entire Ork mobs into goo.

* [[Officer and a Gentleman]] -- The—The Imperium has a convention of granting parcels of territory to ranking officers during its crusades of conquest. This has the effect of creating noble families with strong military traditions, and established noble families seeking to expand their own domains and influence via taking commanding positions in new crusades. The end result is that the upper echelons of a large scale operation are almost entirely recruited from the aristocracy. The quality of these commanders is quite variable, with the best ones usually coming from families with long histories of [[Royals Who Actually Do Something|noblesse oblige]] to the Imperium, while [[The Neidermeyer|the worst]] tend to be [[Glory Seeker|Glory Seekers]]s more used to [[Deadly Decadent Court|courtly intrigue]] with [[We Have Reserves|little regard for the forces under them]].

* [[One-Gender Race]] -- Though—Though there are the odd all-female, or even rarer mixed-gender Imperial Guard regiments, there are approximately four Imperial Guardswoman models.

* [[The Political Officer]] -- Imperial—Imperial Commissars, identified by their characteristic [[Badass Longcoat|greatcoats]], red sashes, and [[Commissar Cap|Commissar Caps]]s ([[Trope Namer|naming that trope]]). They are each a product of the Schola Progenium where they are indoctrinated to hold the Imperial Creed above life itself, and given an iron will to see the Imperium triumphant. Their role is to ensure that the Imperial forces in-theater have the will to get the job done, no matter how daunting the odds are, and are granted full authority over life and death to see that will enforced. The fact that they can and occasionally do [[You Have Failed Me...|conduct field executions]] tends to be subject to a lot of [[Character Exaggeration]] with regard to the frequency that authority is invoked, but is simply one tool they are given to fulfill their mandate. As [[Ciaphas Cain]]<ref>'''HERO OF THE IMPERIUM!'''</ref> observed, Commissars who conduct frequent executions tend to be subject to [[Unfriendly Fire]].

* [[Power Fist]] -- It—It being an Imperium weapon, many models of the Imperial Guard may use them.

* [[Propaganda Machine]] -- [[The Political Officer|The Commissariat]]'s role of ensuring the Imperial Guard have the will to get the job done extends beyond the common image of line Commissars [[You Have Failed Me...|shooting deserters]] or Commissar Lords [[Sword of Damocles|sitting in on planning sessions]] to ensure officers are willing to [[We Have Reserves|make the necessary sacrifices]]. They also do such things as publish information to be read to the troops educating them on the importance of the current campaign, and cutting off the [[Gossip Evolution|rumor mill]] by relating news from different parts of the front. Said information and news tends to put the most optimistic spin on everything they can to keep the troop's spirits up. Even if major sections of those reports are [[Blatant Lies|fabrications]], a few sermons from the preachers about [[Belief Makes You Stupid|the blessed mind being too small for doubt]] is enough to convince.

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] -- Any—Any regiment raised from a world with a particularly strong military tradition will often be composed of a culture of them. However, the Cadians are perhaps [[Up to Eleven|the biggest standout example]] in the Imperial Guard. Their birth rate and recruitment rate are the same. Every Cadian is trained from birth to be a soldier, literally being taught to strip a lasgun before they are taught to read. Every settlement on their planet is fortified to make street-to-street combat favor the defenders, and even those citizens who work their "civil sector" jobs (such as their local industries) are technically reservists. Such is their reputation than many planetary defense forces of other worlds [[Sincerest Form of Flattery|model themselves on the Cadians' structure and equipment patterns]], which means that a lot of other Guard regiments resemble them.

* [[Put on a Bus]] -- Several—Several regiments are no longer supported by GW, including the Praetorians, the Savlar Chem Dogs, and the Kanak Skull Takers. While they still exist in-universe and you can technically still use them if you can track down the models, they've just barely escaped going the way of the Squats.

* [[Resignations Not Accepted]] -- Depending—Depending on the regiment. Some keep fighting until they are too depleted to be effective, then the survivors muster out permanently; some actually have a fixed length of enlistment; some combine the two approaches in periodic reorganisations with a trickle of reinforcements between, so a given soldier might be in for two years or twenty. Officers have more of a defined length of service, but [[Blessed with Suck|talented ones can be called back to the Emperor's service after their retirement]].

* [[Sergeant Rock]] -- Probably—Probably a major factor to Guardsmen actually standing off against their enemies. Until the [[Sergeant Rock]] dies, of course. [[We Have Reserves|Of course again, there's more where that came from]].

* [[Tank Goodness]] -- A—A huge appeal of the Imperial Guard. Even the standard Leman Russ is a very good tank. Then there are the dozens of variants, and the even bigger super-heavy battle tanks such as the Baneblade, with their [[Dawn of War|"Eleven barrels of]] ''[[Dawn of War|hell!"]]''...

* [[The Ogre]] -- Ogryns—Ogryns are big, stupid abhumans sought after in Guard regiments as walking meat shields. They are armed with the [[Short-Range Shotgun|Ripper Gun]], a sturdy weapon specially-designed for their users to wield as a club.

* [[Throw the Dog a Bone]] -- IG—IG players after the new codex.

* [[Took a Level Inin Badass]] -- Post—Post new codex, the guard have become gods of mechanized warfare.

* [[Who's Laughing Now?]] -- The—The reaction to the new codex.

* [[You Have Failed Me...]] -- An—An actual rule with Commissars: Units that fail a leadership test will have the Commissar execute their leader and make them retake it. Characters actually get a leadership bonus when one joins the unit due to the intimidation.

== '''The Inquisition''' ==

=== General Inquisitorial tropes include: ===

* [[Badass Longcoat]] -- Favored—Favored by the Witch Hunters in particular.

* [[Boxed Crook]] -- A—A common background for Inquisitorial retinue members. Some [[Fearless Fool|intrepid]] Radicals employ boxed ''Daemons''.

* [[Church Militant]] -- In—In a nutshell.

* [[Cold-Blooded Torture]] -- Occasionally—Occasionally used by the Inquisition, but much less often than their reputation would suggest. They find information extracted under such duress to be of questionable reliability. Typically, they find it easier just to have a psychic interrogator [[Mind Rape|forcefully extract the information from the subject's mind.]]

* [[Drop the Hammer]] -- Daemonhammers—Daemonhammers are consecrated warhammers that are especially potent against Warp-spawn. They are favored by agents of the Ordo Malleus, which translates to Order of the Hammer.

* [[Evil Is Not a Toy]] -- The—The Xanthite faction, a Radical faction, holds that the best way to defeat Chaos is to use [[Artifact of Doom|Chaotic artifacts]] and [[Captured Super Entity|bound daemonhosts]] against it. A lot of them (but not all) end up getting killed by said artifacts and daemons.

* [[Fate Worse Than Death]] -- Some—Some heretics or blasphemers may be ordered to undergo the rites of Arco-Flagellation as an extreme act of repentance. This involves lopping off the condemned's hands and replacing them with power flails or other nasty weapons, sticking the guy's back full of combat drug dispensers, and [[Mind Rape|lots of mental conditioning]]. The result is a wasted, wiry cyborg who wears a hood displaying calming religious images, but with the right command word the visor retracts, the stimm-packs activate, and the former heretic goes [[The Berserker|berserk]].

* [[Great Big Book of Everything]] -- The—The Inquisition has an extensive library of banned, heretical, and downright dangerous musty tomes.

* [[He Knows Too Much]] -- Inquisitors—Inquisitors are known for requisitioning Imperial Guard regiments, and sometimes ordering the grunts killed after being exposed to whatever it was they were called on to help deal with.

** Though they're pretty cautious about doing this when Space Wolves are within earshot.

* [[Inspector Javert]] -- The—The less unstable and pugnacious Inquisitors sometimes end up in this role, pitted against the rare well-intentioned rebels like the Soul Drinkers, or more often [[Right Hand Versus Left Hand|Imperial servants with conflicting orders]].

* [[Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique]] -- The—The "[http://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Action Nine Actions]", nine stages of intensity used in interrogating suspects. The farther you go down, the more brutal the interrogation.

* [[Judge, Jury, and Executioner]] -- The—The Inquisition's motto is "Innocence Proves Nothing." And [[Because I Said So|few dare question]] if an Inquisitor decides someone is just guilty enough for a dangerous but high-paying retinue position, a [[Fate Worse Than Death]], or a simple bolt round to the head.

* [[Jumping Off the Slippery Slope]] -- Occupational—Occupational hazard for any enforcer with a blank check, but far more common than betrayal or simple abuse of power as a villainous Inquisitor's [[Start of Darkness]].

** Also the reason for the saying "Every Inquisitor starts off a puritan and becomes a radical." The idea being that the more an Inquisitor learns about the nature of the universe, the more sacrifices they have to make to secure the Imperium, the more compromises they make to get what they need, the more radical they become. A big source of [[Right Hand Versus Left Hand]] in the Inquisition is disagreements about where the edge of that slope is, and how far down it is too far.

* [[Nice Hat]] -- Inquisitors—Inquisitors of the Ordo Hereticus are often show wearing rather [[Badass]]-looking capotains, in addition to [[Badass Longcoat|Badass Longcoats]]s.

* [[No Kill Like Overkill]] -- The—The Inquisition will go to any extreme to ensure that threats to the Imperium are defeated, up to and including killing untold billions of innocents by subjecting the planet in question to [[Apocalypse How|Exterminatus]].

* [[Ragtag Bunch of Misfits]] -- The—The members of an Inquisitorial entourage will be...interesting, to say the least.

* [[Reincarnation]] -- The—The premise of the Thorian faction, a Puritan faction, which holds that the best way to save the Imperium is to bring about the reincarnation of the Emperor of Mankind.

* [[Right Hand Versus Left Hand]] -- You—You've got your standard turf wars between the three Ordos; open violence between Radicals and Puritans; wrangling between the Thorians, Amalthians, and Monodominants; and battles by proxy between Inquisitors who don't know that they're working on the same case.

** [[All There in the Manual|Supplemental]] [[Dark Heresy|materials]] indicate that this is actually something of a check and balance on Inquisitorial power. As an Inquisitor wields absolute authority up to and including the [[Earthshattering Kaboom|obliteration of entire planets]], they are necessarily accountable to other Inquisitors. All the infighting, or simple potential for infighting, forces Inquisitors to use a degree of restraint in that authority, and keeps any one Inquisitor from acting unilaterally.

* [[Social Darwinist]] -- Inqusitors—Inqusitors of the radical Istivaanian school of thought believe that the Imperium grows stronger through conflict. If a particular sector of the Imperium has had it too easy, they might arrange a conflict to hit it, just to make sure it stays on its toes. In an lot of cases, they might set up a "crucible of fire" just to ensure that only the strong survive it. They will carefully observe such conflicts for potential strong candidates that they can groom for positions of influence to further strengthen the Imperium. That said, they prefer to keep such conflict limited and controllable. After all, their goal is to strengthen the Imperium, not batter it down.

* [[To the Pain]] -- Stage—Stage two of the [[Cold-Blooded Torture|Nine Actions]] involves meticulously explaining in worrying detail what the next seven stages will involve. This is often enough to get captives to cooperate.

* [[Token Evil Teammate]] / [[Hero Antagonist]] -- On—On a faction level. No one in the Imperium is [[Black and Grey Morality|squeaky clean]], but if someone who should be an ally is going to oppose the protagonists of a 40K story or be [[What the Hell, Hero?|too extreme]] for them, it ''will'' be an Inquisitor.

* [[Utopia Justifies the Means]] -- The—The Radical Recongregator faction is defined by this, spending as much time plotting to reshape the Imperium, whether world-by-world or from the top down, as they do investigating threats. Their methods may range from involvement in political intrigues to fostering the same rebellions other Inquisitors are trying to prevent.

* [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]] -- And—And this is one of the more pleasant ways to describe them.

** Within the context of the Inqusition itself, this is practically the definition of a "Radical", an Inqusitor who uses means to secure the Imperium that other Inqusitors would find questionable. There is a ''lot'' of room for [[Grey and Gray Morality]] in this. For example, a Radical Inqusitor might use [[Human Sacrifice]] to form a [[Demonic Possession|Daemonhost]] bound to them to eliminate a critical threat. This is obviously a break from mainline Imperial dogma and methods, but what if they alternative is [[Earthshattering Kaboom|purging the entire planet]] so-threatened? At this point, which approach is more "extreme" is a matter of some debate, [[In-Universe]].

* [[You Have Outlived Your Usefulness]] -- Overlaps—Overlaps with [[He Knows Too Much]]. It is very hard to simply retire from an Inquisitor's retinue.

=== Tropes specific to the Officio Assassinorum: ===

* [[Absurdly Sharp Blade]] -- The—The C'tan Phase Weapons, used by the Callidus Assassins to cut through absolutely anything.

* [[Anti-Magic]] -- The—The specialty of the Culexus.

* [[The Berserker]] -- Eversors—Eversors, who are [[Explosive Overclocking|pumped so full of performance-enhancing combat drugs that their bodies explode if the drug flow ceases circulating]]. Because these drugs enhance lethal aggression and cannot be shut off without killing the addicted assassin, [[Sealed Badass in a Can|putting them into cryo-stasis]] is necessary to keep them alive between deployments.

* [[Bloody Murder]] -- This—This is the inevitable result of using Eversors.

* [[Brainwashed and Crazy]] -- Some—Some of the more... "[[Axe Crazy|volatile]]" Imperial assassins are subject to this, being mindwiped after every mission and having their next mission subliminally programmed into them while kept sedated. Eversor assassins are a common example, though this is not necessarily limited to them.

* [[The Chessmaster]] -- The—The Vanus Temple consists entirely of these. As one of their members said, 'the cleanest kill is one that another performs in your stead with no knowledge of your incitement'.

* [[Cold Sniper]] -- Assassins—Assassins of the Vindicare temple are expert marksmen and infiltrators, complete with special ammunition allowing them to potentially one-shot a tank.

* [[Form-Fitting Wardrobe]] -- The—The stereotypical garb of an Imperial Assassin is a layer of "synskin", a kind of semi-organic body sheath applied directly over the assassin's flesh. Multiple variations of it exist, some of which enhance strength, others of which have chameleon qualities, and some are capable of changing shape (along with the wearer.)

* [[Improbable Aiming Skills]] -- The—The main talent of the Vindicare Assassins.

* [[Master Poisoner]] -- The—The specialty of the Venenum Temple.

* [[Our Souls Are Different]] -- Culexus—Culexus assassins are horrifying creatures that seem to lack a soul, thanks to the Pariah gene. Ordinary people find them [[Brown Note|quite disturbing]], but the assassins are trained to [[Mage Killer|prey on enemy psykers]], who are especially sensitive to them. Their wargear fires what has been described as bolts of [[Anti-Magic|anti-soul]].

* [[Shape Shifter]] -- Callidus—Callidus assassins have access to Polymorphine, allowing them to disguise themselves as a member of just about any race. They are employed to infiltrate enemy organizations, supply them with false intelligence or bad advice, and surgically remove the leadership.

=== Tropes specific to the Sisters of Battle include: ===

* [[Amazon Brigade]] -- The—The Sisters of Battle are basically Space Marines who make up for not having any kind of genetic enhancement with pure zeal.

* [[The Atoner]] -- Comes—Comes in two forms:

** The most well known branch of the path of the penitent is the Sisters Repentia, who seek to atone for their own sins by [[Full-Frontal Assault|charging into battle unarmored in anything]] [[Vapor Wear|except purity seals]], hoping for [[Death Seeker|a redemptive death]] on the battlefield.

** A lesser known branch of the path of the penitent is that of the Sister Oblatia, a Sororitas who seeks to atone for the sins of another. She assumes another's sins as her own,<ref>Often that of a family member, an ancestor, or some other figure that they feel close to</ref>, then leaves her sisters to [[Walking the Earth|Walk The Galaxy]] as a [[Knight Errant]], seeking out and defeating the enemies of the Imperium so that those sins may be absolved in the eyes of the [[God-Emperor]].

** Normal Sororitas infantry are a rare aversion, clad head to toe in [[Powered Armour]], albeit often modelled unnecessarily closely on the figure underneath.

* [[Chainsaw Good]] -- Aside—Aside from their lack of clothing, Sisters Repentia are also known for carrying [[BFS|enormous chainswords]] into battle as their only weapons.

* [[Church Militant]] -- The—The primary reason for the Sisters of Battle's existence, and one of the more blatant examples of this trope [[Beyond the Impossible|in a setting where it is almost ubiquitous]]. The reality is slightly more complex than that though, as not every Sororitas is necessarily a Battle Sister. In addition to the Orders Militant, there are the [[Ambadassador|Orders Famulous]], the [[Cunning Linguist|Orders Dialogous]], and the [[The Medic|Orders Hospitaller]]. Regardless of vocation, each Sororitas is expected to draw strength and courage from her faith and lay down her life if need be in the Emperor's name.

* [[Exact Words]] -- The—The Ecclesiarchy is specifically banned from maintaining any ''men under arms'', as stated by ''Decree Passive''. They get around this with the Sororitas.

* [[Girl with Psycho Weapon]] -- The—The Sisters Repentia.

* [[Kill It with Fire]] -- Needs—Needs to be repeated.

* [[Macross Missile Massacre]] -- The—The Exorcist is a combination tank, [[Musical Assassin|pipe organ]], and multiple missile launcher. It fires as a Battle Sister plays a keyboard on top of it.

* [[Whip It Good]] -- Sisters—Sisters of Battle "Mistresses" lead squads of Sister Repentia, driving them along with whips.

* [[White-Haired Pretty Girl]] -- Sisters—Sisters of Battle are typically depicted with pure white hair, presumably dyed.

* [[White Magic]] -- The—The Sisters are known for performing Acts of Faith on the battlefield, optimistically a sign of the Emperor's favor, pessimistically a form of psychic witchcraft.

== '''Adeptus Mechanicus''' ==

Mankind's golden age is long past, and many of its technological secrets have been lost. When the Emperor was reuniting humanity, he found on Mars a strange priesthood devoted to the preservation of what knowledge remained. This Adeptus Mechanicus became a vital part of the Imperium, providing technical expertise, planet-wide factories known as Forge Worlds that produce everything from lasguns to civilian goods, and incredible weapons such as the [[Humongous Mecha|Titan Legions]]. They are theoretically subordinate to the Imperium, and their highest-ranking member is one of the twelve High Lords of Terra, but the Machine Cult has its own specialized army, the Skitarii, and run the aforementioned Titan Legions, standing slightly apart from the Imperium of Man despite propping it up.

=== Notable Adeptus Mechanicus tropes include: ===

* [[Admiring the Abomination]] -- Techpriests—Techpriests have a bad tendency in the fluff to get ''really'' worked up over Necron tombs, and will abandon all semblance of sense to poke and prod at what should, at best, be [[Alien (franchise)|nuked from orbit]]. This almost always gets them in big trouble, and by extension anyone they're working with.

* [[AIA.I. Is a Crapshoot]] -- At—At some point in the distant past humanity dealt with a [[Kill All Humans|robot uprising]], and therefore the Imperium operates under a strict ban on artificial intelligences.

* [[An Axe to Grind]] / [[Blade on a Stick]] -- A—A common melee weapon of the Adeptus Mechanicus is that of a long-handled, halberd-like power-axe with an edged blade on one side, and a half-cogwheel emblem on the other. Such things are considered badges of office, and are a sign that the tech-priest is favored by their superiors.

* [[Belief Makes You Stupid]] -- The—The cause of the [[Medieval Stasis|Technological Stasis]].

* [[Bio Augmentation]] -- "Organicists" is the name given to a school of thought within the Adeptus Mechanicus that gives the same value to organic life that they do to inorganic construction. They see an organic body as its own kind of machine, taking in fuel, producing waste, and generating action like any constructed device. Much like their fellows though, they are not content to exist unaugmented, and seek to improve their bodies to become closer to the Omnissiah. The difference being that they are much more willing to graft engineered organs and other biological components to themselves in addition to more "normal" mechanical enhancements.

* [[Bunny Ears Lawyer]] -- By—By and large, they are good engineers despite everything. They ''do'' understand a significant fraction of their devices, and always strive to learn more--butmore—but this doesn't demystify anything, it simply brings them closer to union with the holy Omnissiah.

* [[Cargo Cult]] -- The—The AdMech's worship of technology is completely literal, and they attend their machines with prayers as much as with tools.

* [[ClarksClarke's Third Law]] -- Played—Played straight, and integrated into their background. Technology achieved full Clark's-Third levels during the Dark Age of Technology, and most of that know-how has been lost to time since. Hence, the highest levels of technology for the Imperium is seen as magical by Imperial society, including the tech-priests themselves.

** [[Religion Is Magic]] -- In—In full force here, going along with the "magic" in question being indistinguishable from sufficiently advanced technology. The devotees of the Machine God even consider the theoretical principles on which their technology is based to be a form of theology.

* [[Cloudcuckoolander]] -- Members—Members of the Adeptus Mechanicus that are relatively friendly tend to be...quirky at best.

* [[Combat Tentacles]] -- One—One of the more common enhancements is the mechadendrite, a long, flexible extra limb that is intended for delicate mechanical work, but is frighteningly handy in a fight.

* [[Companion Cube]] -- Well—Well, who hasn't resorted to pleading and begging when dealing with a computer at some point? The Adeptus Mechanicus are simply the (il)logical culmination of such desperation.

* [[Corrupt Church]] -- The—The techpriests frequently apply [[For Science!]], and their cult holds a great deal of power in the Imperium. [[Just Think of the Potential|Most do genuinely think of the progress such applications can do]].

* [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul]] -- Subverted—Subverted. As a techpriest advances in the ranks, he usually replaces more and more of his "weak flesh" with augmetics, at the same time as his mind draws farther away from normal human concerns. Some even replace half their brain with a computer, in order to approach the Omnissiah's perfect reason. But it is ''not'' the cybernetics that do the soul eating, but the Tech-Priests' beliefs.

* [[Empire with a Dark Secret]] -- It—It is heavily implied that the Tech-Priests may be worshipping the C'Tan known as the Void Dragon, who is possibly imprisoned on Mars.

* [[Eternal Engine]] -- Mechanicus—Mechanicus standard for interior (and exterior) decor. Wall-to-wall gears and electronics, only broken by the odd devotional shrine. The longer-established Forge Worlds are nothing but.

* [[For Science!]] -- The—The Machine Cult will do anything to find an STC or understand an ancient device.

* [[Genius Bruiser]] -- Techmarines—Techmarines combine the muscle and training of a standard-issue Space Marine with a number of tools that double as weapons and the best technology they can bring to bear. They're actually one of the most formidable units in the army list!

* [[In the Hood]] -- The—The standard outfit for priests of the Machine God is a hooded red robe. If a tech-priest expects to go into battle, they will usually don an armored suit, and trade their robe in for a hooded red cloak that allows them a bit more freedom of movement.

* [[MacGuffin]] -- The—The second-biggest prize for the Tech-Priests is a Standard Template Construct, one of many designs dating back from the Dark Age of Technology that were made to be as adaptable and robust as possible, using technology long since lost to man. The biggest would be a Standard Template ''Constructor'', an automated factory and technical library that can build or describe ''any'' of them. So far, all they have found are partial, damaged ones that can only create one or a few -- andfew—and even these are worth more than whole star systems.

* [[Machine Worship]] -- The—The group that inspired the trope.

* [[Mad Scientist]] -- Some—Some Tech-Priests rather lose their perspective in seeking ancient technology or pursuing the Omnissiah's thoughts in the workings of technology and the universe.

* [[Mecha-Mooks]] -- Though—Though rare after the various [[Retcon|Retcons]]s over the course of First Edition, the Mechanicum still has the "Legio Cybernetica", squads of brainless-but-tough robots (or [[Brain In a Jar|full-conversion servitors]], [[Depending on the Writer]]) each commanded by a single Techpriest.

* [[Medieval Stasis]] -- The—The Adeptus Mechanicus' beliefs have mostly ensured this for the Imperium. There is some innovation, but ''very'' slowly...

* [[Neural Implanting]] -- Some—Some of the sacred implants of the Omnissiah are cogitator databases hooked directly into the brain (sometimes removing "useless" portions of the brain to make room) which contain information on how to build some of their most advanced technology. There is some speculation that this is what enables the Tech-Priests to build very complex technology without actually understanding the principles on which it works, the implants containing information on '''how''' to construct something without explaining the '''why''' of it.

** It is worth noting that this was absolutely true of all tech-priests in the early era of the game, where low-ranking members were directly implanted with the procedures they needed. New editions have since [[Retcon|Retconed]]ed this sort of implant to be restricted mostly to high-ranking Tech-Priests, actually authorised to design and research, for whom it is no substitute but rather an extra advantage. The more novice tech-priests must build their technology through rote memorization taught to them by their superiors, with all the religious pomp and circumstance their construction is known for. The knowledge-bearing sacred implants are only gifted once a tech-priest has been properly indoctrinated against potential misuse of the Omnissiah's secrets.

* [[New Technology Is Evil]] -- Because—Because everything worth discovering was done so thousands of years ago, or has always existed logically implicit in the universe, to be discovered by inspired reason rather than be invented by merely human creativity, more along the lines of New Technology Is Impossible.

** And in a recent book by Black Library, the Mechanicus is suddenly pouring out newly discovered and developed weapons and technology. Must have something to do with [[Horde of Alien Locusts|Hive Fleet Leviathan]] or [[Like a Badass Out of Hell|the 13th Black Crusade]] rampaging through the galaxy at the end of the millennium.

* [[Redshirt Army]] -- Forge—Forge Worlds have their own local equivalent of a Planetary Defense Force or Imperial Guard regiment known as the Skitarii Tech Guard. They often wear red uniforms as a symbol of their allegiance to the Adeptus Mechanicus. They are exempted from normal tithing practices for the Imperial Guard, as Forge Worlds contribute tithes of a different kind, but they often accompany Mechanicus Explorator fleets, or act as infantry and tank support for Titan Legions. Due to their close relationship with the Mechanicus, they are more likely to have [[Hollywood Cyborg|augmetic enhancements]] and high-tech weaponry than the Imperial Guard, but exact practices and equipment varies between regiments.

* [[Right Hand Versus Left Hand]] -- If—If you think academic politics are bad now, just wait a few millennia and it ''will'' get worse. The Mechanicus fight and scheme against each other almost as much as the Inquisition, for various reasons--thereasons—the "invention is evil" versus "invention is discovery" positions above, various more abstruse disputes, and simple struggles over prestige and promotion.

* [[Technopath]] -- They—They only think they are, but sometimes it becomes true. With enough chanting, they can make [[Percussive Maintenance]] or an insane bodge job work when there's no way in hell it should, and some Techpriests are masters of "intuitive maintenance", diagnosing malfunctions by sound and touch and comforting the machine-spirit with nearly imperceptible adjustments.

* [[The Red Planet]] -- Mars—Mars is the capital of the organization, and one of the most developed planets (i.e. covered in factories and hive spires) in the Imperium. It is second in importance only to Terra itself.

** This is generally true of servitors and other communicative [[Wetware CPU]] devices created by the Adeptus Mechanicus.

* [[Techno Babble]] -- Techpriests—Techpriests tend to do this...a ''lot''.

* [[Techno Wizard]] -- With—With emphasis on "Techno." And "Wizard" too.

* [[Unwilling Roboticisation]] -- [[Depending on the Writer]], some [[Mecha-Mooks|servitors]] are created by growing artificial lifeforms which are then grafted with mechanical components to form a completely artificial cyborg. However, it is also a common fate for those who have sinned against the Machine God to be condemned to be made into servitors themselves, their cadaver repurposed and re-animated with mechanical components.

* [[Warrior Monk]] -- Secutors—Secutors are tech-priests who focus on the destructive potential of the Machine God, manufacturing and wielding some of the most potent of the Adeptus Mechanicus' weaponry, and further augmenting themselves to enhance their combat abilities, becoming vessels for the Omnissiah's wrath.

* [[Wave Motion Gun]] -- The—The Ordinatii of divisio reductor are some of the biggest guns in the galaxy.

* [[We Will Use Manual Labor in the Future]] -- The—The [[Schizo-Tech]] resulting from all this lost technology leads to ships with warp engines and force fields requiring slave labor to manually reload cannons the size of office buildings.

* [[Weirdness Coupon]] -- The—The Adeptus Mechanicus disdain the holy human body, altering it both cybernetically and biologically at will. They belong to the Imperial Faith only on the slimmest of technicalities, and some make an open secret that they don't even make that effort, preferring to see the Omnissiah as a separate and older divinity than the Emperor. Most suspiciously of all, they pursue knowledge on secretive quests under a regime that adores blind faith and unthinking loyalty. Yet, while some members run foul of the Inquisition, Ecclesiarchy, or Administratum in ways that range from embarrassing to deadly, by and large they are left alone as powerful if not respected members of the Imperial order. De facto, they are simply necessary no matter how evil a zealot may think they are. De jure, they are only joined to the Imperium of Mankind by a personal union, sworn to the Emperor's service separately from the Adeptus Terra that run everything else, and subject to it only on secondment.

* [[Wetware CPU]] -- To—To get around the ban on advanced computers or robotics, the Adeptus Mechanicus creates servitors, which are either criminals or vat-grown humans who have their brains replaced with "bio-programming" and useful cybernetic upgrades such as tools or weapon systems grafted to their bodies. In extreme cases, servitors are wired into networks directly, forming the fleshy core of a computer system. Basically slaves, they are hopefully not sentient.

== '''Abhumans and Mutants''' ==

The Imperium does not simply worship the Emperor, but also the holy human form. Part of the [[Manifest Destiny]] of the Imperium states that humanity has a right to rule the galaxy. However, the simple fact is that after thousands of years on other worlds, various human populations have evolved into different types of humans. These are referred to as Abhumans or Mutants, variously; Abhumans are fairly minor, stable strains of mutation that are effectively the result of natural evolution caused by different environments, while Mutants are far more bizarre in form and stem from the wide variety of genetic degeneratives at loose in the galaxy at large -- radiationlarge—radiation, genetic warfare, toxic chemicals, ''et cetera''. While the Imperium officially disdains them, some are useful or even necessary. In the time of the Emperor, the view of Abhumans and Mutants was more lenient, but after ten thousand years, the Imperium has taken a more draconian approach.

In the background, the most important of mutants are the Navigators, families who were genetically engineered in the distant past to navigate the Warp with psychic powers. Collectively, they form the Navis Nobilite, wealthy families who are necessary for the Imperium to survive. On the tabletop, certain Abhumans are useful to the Imperial Guard for specialist skills. Mutants, in the background and to an extent on the tabletop, are typically executed on sight for their genetic damage or kept as slaves -- asslaves—as a result, they are eager worshipers of Chaos, aided by the fact that Chaos tends to both cause mutation in its followers and treats those bearing mutations as being blessed by the Gods.

=== Notable Abhuman and Mutant tropes include: ===

* [[Dumb Muscle]]:

** Ogryns are massive, powerful, and dumb. During the [[Horus Heresy]], it was said that they were told the loyalists had betrayed the Emperor. The smarter ones are given [[Bio Augmentation|enhancements]] to increase their intelligence, called Bio Ogryn Neural Enhancement ([[Fun with Acronyms|BONE]]). This allows them to become sergeants of Orgyns squads, called ''Bone'eads'' (though not that much - one of the most intelligent examples of Ogryns, Nork Deddog, is simply capable of writing his name, counting on four fingers with his thumb confusing him, and speaking in full sentences.)

* [[Extra Eyes]]:

* [[Fantastic Racism]]: The Imperium typically takes a very dim view of mutation from the accepted norm of the "Holy Human Form", though the degree to which a typical citizen subscribes to this will vary. One major reason for this is that mutation is often a sign that one is becoming [[The Corruption|corrupted by the warp]], potentially becoming a vessel for the Ruinous Powers. However, this hatred extends to those whose mutations are caused by more "mundane" sources, such as generations of exposure to radiation or industrial waste, leading to widespread hatred and distrust of all mutants. Since mutation can continue to appear generation after generation, killing all mutants tends to be impractical, so most are allowed to exist as an oppressed underclass, looked down upon by all.

** Abhumans are subraces of humans whose differences have manifested into stable genotypes, without the randomness seen as signs of corruption. They often suffer some prejudices related to their differences, but find a much better measure of acceptance, especially if those differences make them valuable to the Imperium in some way. Navigators in particular, while still somewhat feared, are also held in a degree of awe due to the absolutely essential role that they play in the Imperium.

* [[Go Mad Fromfrom the Revelation]]: [[Averted Trope]] by the Navigators when exposed to the warp, which is what makes them unique in the setting in which this trope is otherwise played straight. Their [[Third Eye]] allows them to perceive the warp in a way which will not overwhelming their mortal mind, enabling their ability to guild a ship through its currents. This perception is subjective, and each Navigator will see it in a different manner, so that when they try to describe it to others, the only way they can do so is through vaguely poetic metaphor.

* [[The Ogre]]: Ogryns are Abhumans who evolved on heavy gravity worlds with barren environments.

== '''Squats''' ==

The Squats were a race of abhumans--anabhumans—an offshoot of the human species that had adapted to subterranean life on high-gravity worlds near the galactic core. Separated from mainline humanity for tens of millenia, they grew shorter and, well, squatter, eventually coming to resemble the traditional fantasy dwarf in both appearance and temperament. Due to the difficulty of living on barren planets with radioactive surface conditions, the Squats developed extremely reliable food production systems, armor, and other technology, but also had a fatalistic attitude toward life. Over time, they made contact with the Orks and Eldar and gained a reputation for their high-quality tech, shrewd business dealings, and potent military defense. Eventually they were rediscovered by and reabsorbed into the Imperium, as their tech fascinated the Adeptus Mechanicus and made them a welcome addition to the Imperial armed forces, but they maintained a high degree of autonomy.

=== Notable Squat tropes include: ===

* [[Badass Biker]] -- Well—Well, ''triker''. This was one of the very few unique, consistent parts of the Squats' racial identity.

* [[Candle Jack]] -- An—An unofficial but heavily enforced rule on the old Games Workshop forums was that anyone who stated that the Squats should be brought ba

* [[Canon Discontinuity]] -- Don—Don't [[Berserk Button|mention them]] at GW press events.

* [[Cool Train]] -- One—One of the Squats' war machines for the large-scale ''Epic 40,000'' was the Land Train, a crawling fortress each car of which had a different function, be it troop transport, landing pad, or mortar battery.

* [[Dropped a Bridge on Him|Dropped A Hive Fleet On Him]] -- When—When 40K decides to kill you off, you are killed off with ''extreme'' prejudice.

* [[Expy]] -- The—The Demiurg of the Squats, who were in turn an expy of ''Warhammer'' Dwarfs.

* [[Heavyworlder]] -- Strangely—Strangely enough, the Imperial Guard's [[The Ogre|Ogryns]] also come from high-gravity worlds, but turned out completely different.

* [[Meaningful Name]] -- Demiurg—Demiurg is Greek for "craftsman" or "artisan."

* [[Mood Dissonance]] -- Part—Part of the reason Squats were problematic.

* [[Old Shame]] -- GW—GW classifies Squats as one of those things "best forgotten."

* [[Our Dwarves Are All the Same]] -- Even—Even in space!

* [[Private Military Contractors]] -- See—See the quote above.

* [[Proud Warrior Race Guy]] -- Because—Because Dwarfs are.

* [[Recycled in Space]] -- Perhaps—Perhaps in more ways than one, given the Demiurg's arrival.

* [[Shout-Out]] -- In—In the Tau language, the Demiurg are referred to as "Bentu'sin." A very similar race of ion cannon traders called the Bentusi appeared in the video game ''[[Homeworld]]'', which was made by Relic Entertainment, who would later go on to give us ''Warhammer 40,000: [[Dawn of War]].''