History Characters / Warhammer40000ImperialGuard

* SergeantRock

* {{Expy}}: Of Franchise/{{Rambo}}

!!Sergeant Bastonne
A Cadian sergeant famous for both his loyalty to his men and his perfect memory.

* SergeantRock

* AFatherToHisMen: Famed for never leaving a downed man behind, with a story being that he literally dragged a wounded trooper with him halfway across a continent without stopping at all. His troops reciprocate the care for him to [[MadeOfIron quickly patched up and sent back into the fray]]. He tactically does not throw his regiment into conflicts of pointlessness.

* AFatherToHisMen
* BadAss

* MadeOfIron

!!Commissar Yarrick

* UndyingLoyalty: The reason why he fights, and how he can pull off his HeroicSacrifice. Also the name of a special rule of his; if a Commissar executes the commander that Nork is guarding, the berserk Ogryn will immediately kill the Commissar for doing so.

* BadassColonel: Attilan soldiers fight ritualistic duels to prove themselves worthy of riding with him, so respected is he.

** If that's a little too small for you, try the Stormlord, an Apocalypse Baneblade variant that's had its main gun replaced with a Vulcan Mega-Bolter - that is, ''ten'' rotating heavy bolters. Oh, and it's got two more heavy bolters on the sponson mounts... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and a Storm Bolter or Heavy Stubber on the pintle mount]]. Got enough Dakka yet?

!!Lord Castellan Creed and Colour Sergeant Kell

Also see the Abhuman section on Characters/Warhammer40000CurrentFactions for information about Ogryns and Ratlings and their uses in the Guard.

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* MemeticMutation: Creed's rule "Tactical Genius"[[note]]this allows an army containing Creed to make a scout or outflank move with one unit of their choice before the game, even Baneblades and Humongous Mecha[[/note]] has been inflated to the point that he can hide tanks behind lightposts or outhouses.

A mysterious orphan rescued from the ruins of Kasr Gallan by the 8th Cadian Regiment, he forged a lifelong alliancs with the garrulous Jarran Kell and the two have become legends in their own life time.
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!!Notable tropes:

* BadassGrandpa -- Legendary Commissar Sebastian Yarrick, who led the Imperium to victory during the Second War for Armageddon (which started on the day he ''would have'' retired had the War not erupted), {{retired|Badass}}, 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 [[EyeBeams shoots lasers]]. Now he's tagged along with a Black Templar crusade to hunt down [[ArchNemesis Warlord Ghazghkull mag Uruk Thraka]] once and for all. The Templars took him on because ''he has the most chance of actually accomplishing their objective''.
** [[OmnicidalManiac Most]] [[BloodKnight Orks]] will '''actively avoid''' facing Yarrick in battle. It's heavily implied that the only reason he replaced his lost eye with a bionic one was because he wanted to feed into the already-existing rumors among the Orks that he could kill you just by looking at you. Ghazghkull has actually [[WorthyOpponent praised Yarrick twice]], and once captured Yarrick, had him tortured a bit, and then ''let him go'' because he relished the chance to fight him again more than the opportunity to kill him. Source material also rather heavily implies that the Orks' regarding him as an unkillable badass has [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve turned him into an unkillable badass]]. Games Workshop paint jobs of his model always give his skin a greenish tinge, and in the game, if his model is killed against an Ork army, it stands a good chance of ''[[BackFromTheDead getting back up again]]''.

Legendary Commissar-Colonel of Armageddon, who beat back the Ork warlord Gazghkull Thraka during the Second and Third Wars for Armageddon.

* BadassGrandpa
* PowerFist
* MadeOfIron

!!Captain Al'rahem
Captain of the Tallarn 3rd 'Desert Tigers', a natural leader who may be the same individual who served the legendary Solar Commander Macharius.
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* BadassArmy -- Without BioAugmentation, SuperStrength, SuperToughness, PoweredArmor, PsychicPowers, or the most advanced technology, the Imperial Guard gets by on good old-fashioned combined arms warfare...and [[WeHaveReserves massive, massive casualties]].

* BadassBoast -- Every regimental motto.
* BadassGrandpa -- Legendary Commissar Sebastian Yarrick, who led the Imperium to victory during the Second War for Armageddon (which started on the day he ''would have'' retired had the War not erupted), {{retired|Badass}}, 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 [[EyeBeams shoots lasers]]. Now he's tagged along with a Black Templar crusade to hunt down [[ArchNemesis Warlord Ghazghkull mag Uruk Thraka]] once and for all. The Templars took him on because ''he has the most chance of actually accomplishing their objective''.
** [[OmnicidalManiac Most]] [[BloodKnight Orks]] will '''actively avoid''' facing Yarrick in battle. It's heavily implied that the only reason he replaced his lost eye with a bionic one was because he wanted to feed into the already-existing rumors among the Orks that he could kill you just by looking at you. Ghazghkull has actually [[WorthyOpponent praised Yarrick twice]], and once captured Yarrick, had him tortured a bit, and then ''let him go'' because he relished the chance to fight him again more than the opportunity to kill him. Source material also rather heavily implies that the Orks' regarding him as an unkillable badass has [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve turned him into an unkillable badass]]. Games Workshop paint jobs of his model always give his skin a greenish tinge, and in the game, if his model is killed against an Ork army, it stands a good chance of ''[[BackFromTheDead getting back up again]]''.

** The Imperial Guard's RPG ''OnlyWar'' also at least [[http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/ffg_content/only-war/frpgd/Eleventh%20Hour%20Bonus%20Characters%20%28High%20Res%29.pdf has a female Commissar, Zara Harper, as a bonus character]].

* PowerFist -- It being an Imperium weapon, many models of the Imperial Guard may use them. Because everything else is usually faster than them and stronger, this at least lets them stand toe to toe with some of the scarier foes, although it's nowhere near as effective as in the hands of other, stronger races.

* RedShirtArmy -- [[WeAreTeamCannonFodder The Imperial Guard on a bad day]]...[[CrapsackWorld and the bad days outnumber the good on any given week]].

* AmazonBrigade: In the fluff, there are entire armies of Imperial Guard that are composed solely of women, but this is not supported so much in the models. Given a lampshade hanging in the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, where it's explained that women make up roughly 10% of the draftees for the Imperial Guard, so those women who are inducted are typically formed into women-only regiments, which among other things has certain practical benefits. Namely, avoiding [[SurprisePregnancy certain special incidents]] that can only result from a mixed-gender unit.

** BadassBoast -- Every regimental motto.
** BadassGrandpa -- Legendary Commissar Yarrick, who led the Imperium to victory during the Second War for Armageddon (which started on the day he ''would have'' retired had the War not erupted), {{retired|Badass}}, 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 [[EyeBeams shoots lasers]]. Now he's tagged along with a Black Templar crusade to hunt down [[ArchNemesis Warlord Ghazghkull mag Uruk Thraka]] once and for all. The Templars took him on because ''he has the most chance of actually accomplishing their objective''.
*** [[OmnicidalManiac Most]] [[BloodKnight Orks]] will '''actively avoid''' facing Yarrick in battle. It's heavily implied that the only reason he replaced his lost eye with a bionic one was because he wanted to feed into the already-existing rumors among them that he could kill you just by looking at you. Ghazghkull has actually [[WorthyOpponent praised Yarrick twice]], and once captured Yarrick, had him tortured a bit, and then ''let him go'' because he relished the chance to fight him again more than the opportunity to kill him. Source material also rather heavily implies that the Orks' regarding him as an unkillable badass has [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve turned him into an unkillable badass]]. Games Workshop paint jobs of his model always give his skin a greenish tinge, and in the game, if his model is killed against an Ork army, it stands a good chance of ''[[BackFromTheDead getting back up again]]''.
** BadassLongcoat
*** Commissars typically wear a large black greatcoat as part of their uniform.
*** Valhallan Guard units have one as part of their standard uniform.
** [[TheRedBaron Badass Nickname]] -- The Hammer of the Emperor.
** [[BadassArmy Badass]] [[BadassNormal Normal]] [[BadassArmy Army]] - Without BioAugmentation, SuperStrength, SuperToughness, PoweredArmor, PsychicPowers, or the most advanced technology, the Imperial Guard gets by on good old-fashioned combined arms warfare...and [[WeHaveReserves massive, massive casualties]].
*** Just to make the point clear. Remember that [[TrainingFromHell training facility]] in ''Film/StarshipTroopers''? In ''Warhammer 40K'', it's an average [[RedShirtArmy PDF]] training ground. After serving at least two years in PDF, the best soldiers may be recruited by the Guard. After six months of extensive training on the IG training grounds, they will actually join a Guard regiment. In the regiment, all of them are considered green newbies, that will be pushed around the training course by veteran superiors. Nevertheless, statistically, less than half of them will live through their first campaign. Those who do can be considered proper Guardsmen.
** ColonelBadass -- More than a few regimental Colonels, such as "Iron Hand" Straken, Ibram Gaunt, and countless others.
** FourStarBadass -- Not all of the Guard's senior commanders are [[GeneralFailure complete failures]]. There are plenty of Guard Generals that are strategic geniuses and kick ass just as well, such as Lord Castellan Usarkar E. Creed and Lord Commander Solar Macharius.
** TookALevelInBadAss -- Post new codex, the Guard have become gods of mechanized warfare. The most recent one (6th) also extends this to air power while buffing up their ''already'' formidable tanks and artillery.

** ''Many'' officers, commanders and generals are this.

** This is why Literature/CiaphasCain ([[FakeUltimateHero HERO OF THE IMPERIUM]]!) carries around a humble laspistol when he has access to a much more potent bolt pistol or hellpistol; the difference in ammo count the laspistol affords has saved his life many times in the field. He's also so used to the weight he thinks a heavier, more powerful weapon would throw off his aim enough for him to possibly miss at a critical moment and get himself killed.
** The Lasgun is described as being somewhat on-par with a modern-day assault rifle in terms of strength. This is in contrast to the automatic grenade launchers known as a Bolter use by the space marines, the shuriken catapults that flings mono-molecular edges of matter at people and the horrible monstrosity that flays victims one molecule-at-a-time known as the Gauss Flayer. The Heavy Stubber is even more of this, since some of the fluff and the model hints that it's actually a contemporary Browning Machine Gun.

* CannonFodder -- A popular image for the Imperial Guard, though this varies between regiments and commanders. However, there are conscript squads in the game, of which their use is pretty much undeniably this.
** Previous editions even had the ''Penal Legions,'' a place for people facing death row to serve the God-Emperor in the one way every human can... as a HumanShield. Even the ''regular'' Guardsmen regarded penal legions as CannonFodder.
* [[RunningGag Again]], [[ChainsawGood Chainsword Good]] - A common melee weapon amongst the Imperial Guard aside from standard issue combat knives.

* CommissarCap -- The TropeNamer, obviously. The hats worn by the commissars are so flashy that you will immediately see that he is a man of fear and respect.

** Special mention goes to the Hellhound family of medium tank. While they lack the sheer brutal power of the Baneblade or even the workhorse Leman-Russ tank, they win RuleOfCool superiority by being one enormous ''flamethrower.'' For those generals not afraid to get their hands [[WeaponOfMassDestruction truly filthy,]] the Imperium manufactures variants that spew poison gas or toxic waste.

*** The looking up part also has something to do with how Kasrkin are recruited, Imperial Stormtroopers are exclusively made up by men who are picked from the imperial nurserys as children to become the elite, making them quite detached from the common guardmen. Kasrkin meanwhile are either picked from the best and brightest cadian recruits or from veteran guardsmen who showed exceptional performance in combat, putting them much closer to the common Guardsmen.
* EmotionSuppression -- The Death Corp of Krieg, while being {{Death Seeker}}s from a MartyrdomCulture ([[UpToEleven even by Imperial standards]],) are not actually suicidal. In fact, they feel little depression, hope, or fear. This is because each soldier is outfitted with a small augmetic rig which keeps chemicals circulating through their blood ostensibly to help them survive in harsh environmental conditions, that also keeps their mood extremely even. This is, among other things, why they often keep to themselves during combined operations. They have little reason to even want to interact with others.

** The latest addition to the litany of goofy historical themed regiments is the Arkhan Confederates, a grey-clad, [[MiniMecha mechanized cavalry]]-loving bunch with absurd biblical names who are basically the Confederate States of America by way of the Inglessa and Louisiana Militias from ''TurnAGundam''. Another would be the [[http://warhammer40k.wikia.com/wiki/Scintillan_Fusiliers Scintillan Fusiliers]], comprised primarily of local elites and are essentially a futuristic version of 17th-18th Century Italy, particularly Venice, at its most decadent.

* Flanderization:

** Lasguns -- 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). [[EasyLogistics 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 [[OverclockingAttack set them to overload and hurl them at the enemy]] as [[ImprovisedWeapon an improvised grenade]].

** Plasma weaponry -- Not as commonly used as the lasgun, these fire superheated bolts of energy that cuts through or vaporises the target. Unfortunately, they are much more difficult to manufacture, with only a few forge worlds still capable of doing so. Also, plasma weapons have a tendency to overheat and explode (shown in the game as the "Gets Hot" rule), but sometimes the extra firepower they provide outweighs the risk. The Leman Russ Executioner variant uses a plasma cannon.

* InterserviceRivalry -- 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 GlorySeeker [=COs=] and [[SpotlightStealingSquad Spotlight Stealing Space Marine companies]], between [[FantasticRacism regiments from different planets]], and occasionally between regiments from the same planet if their culture is particularly competitive.

** If that's a little too small for you, try the Stormlord, an Apocalypse Baneblade variant that's had it's main gun replaced with a Vulcan Mega-Bolter - that is, ''ten'' rotating heavy bolters. Oh, and it's got two more heavy bolters on the sponson mounts... [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and a Storm Bolter or Heavy Stubber on the pintle mount]]. Got enough Dakka yet?

* TookALevelInBadass -- Since the 5th Codex, the Imperial Guard as a fighting force went from being the laughingstock of the tabletop to a credible threat with even more TankGoodness and the new Orders system directly buffing infantry. Not that the men themselves needed bigger balls of steel.

* MoreDakka -- 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.

* AmazonBrigade: In the fluff, there are entire armies of Imperial Guard that are composed solely of women, but this is not supported so much in the models. Given a lampshade hanging in the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, where it's explained that women make up roughly 10% of the draftees for the Imperial Guard, so those women who are inducted are typically formed into women-only regiments, which among other things has certain practical benefits. Namely, avoiding certain special incidents that can only result from a mixed-gender unit.

->''[[BecauseWereHere To each of us falls a task.]] And all the Emperor requires of us Guardsmen is [[CannonFodder that we stand in line, and we die fighting.]] It is what we do best: [[BadassBoast we die standing.]]''

* AmazonBrigade: In the fluff, there are entire armies of Imperial Guard that are composed solely of women, but this is not supported so much in the models. Given a lampshade hanging in the ''Literature/CiaphasCain'' novels, where it's explained that women make up roughly 10% of the draftees for the Imperial Guard, so those women who are inducted are typically formed into women-only regiments, which among other things has certain practical benefits. Namely, avoiding [[AccidentallyPregnant certain special incidents]] that can only result from a mixed-gender unit.

->-'''General Sturnn''', Officer Commanding, Cadian 412th

->''For every hero commemorated, a thousand martyrs die, unmourned and unremembered.''